Mai Tai

Credit: Jeff “Beachbum” Berry

Ingredients

1 oz Rhum Clément VSOP Martinique Rum
1 oz Appleton Estate Signature Blend Jamaican Rum
1/2 ounce Pierre Ferrand Curaçao
1/2 ounce orgeat
1/4 oz 2:1 demerara syrup
1 oz lime juice
spent lime shell
mint garnish


Directions

Shake and strain over crushed or pebble ice. Garnish with spent lime shell and mint.


Notes

Fantastic—definitely needs the ice for some dilution. Jeff “Beachbum” Berry is the authority on tiki drinks!

 
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Aperol and Tonic

Credit: Christopher Buecheler, DrinkShouts

Ingredients

3 oz Fever Tree Indian Tonic Water
1 1/2 oz Aperol
1/4 oz lime juice
2-3 dashes Angostura Bitters
lime peel garnish


Directions

Build in a glass, squeeze lemon peel over drink, and use the peel as a garnish.


Notes

Well-balanced, light, refreshing, and with Aperol at only 11% ABV, the equivalent of drinking about 1/4 of a glass of white wine. I changed the recipe to use lime juice once when i didn’t have lemons, and haven’t looked back. The lime juice adds some more acidity to balance out the sweetness of the Aperol.

 
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Clyde Common Egg Nog

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

2 large eggs
4 tbsp superfine or baker's sugar
2.5 oz Osborne Amontillado sherry
2 oz Lunazul añejo tequila
6 oz whole milk
4 oz heavy cream
grated nutmeg


Directions

Beat eggs in blender for one minute on medium speed. Slowly add sugar and blend for one additional minute. Add and blend remaining ingredients. Chill thoroughly to allow flavors to combine and serve in chilled glasses, grating nutmeg on top immediately before serving.


Notes

So, the sherry and tequila just make this. It’s different and interesting, with the same great texture and balance of Morgenthaler’s base recipe. A real bright spot this season.

 
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Iced Green Tea Latte

Credit: Namiko Hirasawa Chen, Just One Cookbook

Ingredients

2 tsp matcha (green tea powder)
1 oz hot water
8 oz milk
1/2 oz 2:1 clear syrup
ice


Directions

Sift the matcha into a small bowl, add the hot water, and blend with a small frother. Add the clear syrup. Pour that mixture into a large glass filled with ice. Froth cold milk in a separate container, and add it to the glass.


Notes

Refreshing and vibrant! I’ve always wanted to make this drink at home, and Nami’s recipe is foolproof! I used unsweetened soy milk, so I added 1 oz syrup. It’s a reminder of why it’s important to have a syrup that just adds sweetness but no flavor, so nothing competes with the matcha.

 
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Guinness Punch

Credit: Craig McAnuff and Shaun McAnuff, Original Flava: Caribbean Recipes from Home

Ingredients

440 ml Guinness (1 can)
100 g Nature's Charm Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup ice


Directions

Blend everything in a blender and serve over ice.


Notes

Wow, this is great. I’m not a beer fan, but Guinness paired with the sweetened condensed coconut milk and spices is a great play on bitter and sweet. The spices really come through. I used coconut because I didn’t have regular condensed milk, and thought it was fantastic. I split this amount with my husband and still couldn’t finish it though…it’s so rich! This would be great for the holidays.

 
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Egg Cream

Credit: Serious Eats

Ingredients

1 oz Fox's U-bet Chocolate Syrup
1 1/2 oz whole milk
5 oz Canada Dry Club Soda


Directions

Pour the chocolate syrup in a tall glass, followed by the milk. Slowly pour in the club soda water and stir vigorously.


Notes

I had such high hopes for this—and they were justified!! It’s rich chocolate milk with some fizz. The recipes for this drink vary widely—and many have way more milk—but this one totally works. The Serious Eats recipe called for 6 oz club soda, but I used a bit less because I was worried my rocks glass wasn’t big enough.

 
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Cafe Colada

Credit: Cocktail Chemistry, citing Brandon Bramhall, Attaboy Nashville

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Appleton Estate Signature Blend Rum
1/2 oz Tempus Fugit Creme de Banane
1/2 oz Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
1 1/2 oz pineapple juice
3/4 oz Coco López
1/2 oz orange juice
1/4 oz lime juice
nutmeg garnish


Directions

Shake and strain over crushed ice. Grate nutmeg over the top.


Notes

Another great tiki drink. It reminds me of the Mr. Bali Hai as coffee is the dominant flavor to me, then coconut. I didn’t get much banana, but I might try it next time with Giffard Banane du Bresil.

 
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Enzoni

Credit: The Educated Barfly, citing Vincenzo Errico

Ingredients

1 oz St. George Botanivore Gin
1 oz Campari
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz 2:1 clear syrup
7 grapes
grape garnish


Directions

Muddle the grapes with the other ingredients in a shaker tin. Shake and strain over a large ice cube. Garnish with grapes.


Notes

This is a favorite. It’s similar to a Negroni, but you’re swapping out vermouth for lemon juice, simple syrup, and grape. It’s so light and refreshing—perfect for summer! The color is gorgeous too, a deep, bright, pink. The green grapes I used were ok and this drink was still spectacular, so I can only imagine what it might taste like with ripe red or purple grapes.

 
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Piña Colada Clarified Milk Punch

Credit: Cocktail Chemistry

Ingredients

8 oz aged rum
4 1/2 oz Harmless Coconut Water
2 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1/2 oz 2:1 clear syrup
3 oz pineapple juice
2 oz lime juice, strained
5 oz whole milk


Directions

1. Add milk to a large container and set aside.

2. Mix the remaining ingredients into another container.

3. Slowly pour the mixture into the milk, and gently stir until it curdles.

4. Run a few ounces of the curdled mixture through through a coffee filter, then pour those first few ounces back into the filter.

5. Filter the remaining curdled mixture…it will take a few hours!

6. Bottle and store in the fridge. To serve, pour about 4 oz over a large ice cube in a rocks glass.


Notes

Finally! Success with clarified milk punch. This stuff is sooo easy to drink…be careful! I recommend Harmless Coconut Water as it tastes so much more like coconut than other brands.

 
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Thai Tea Concentrate

Ingredients

4 tea bags Wang Derm Thai Iced Tea Flavored Black Tea
16 oz boiling water


Directions

Steep the tea bags in boiling water for 15 minutes. Strain, let cool, and store in the fridge.


Notes

For traditional Thai iced tea sweetened with condensed milk of some kind, the tea has to be quite strong. This tea should be deep amber in color, rather than lighter orange.

 
 

Blended Grasshopper

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Tempus Fugit Creme de Menthe Glaciale
1 1/2 oz Tempus Fugit Creme de Cacao
1 tsp Fernet Branca
1/2 oz heavy cream
1/2 oz whole milk
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
1 cup ice
4 drops saline solution


Directions

Blend until smooth, then serve in a chilled collins glass.


Notes

That 1 teaspoon of Fernet makes all the difference. Jeffrey Morgenthaler is brilliant. This is an amazing, happy drink. That is all.

 
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PX Sherry Mudslide

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry
1 1/2 oz St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur
1/2 oz heavy cream
1/2 oz whole milk
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
1 cup ice
4 drops saline solution


Directions

Blend until smooth, then serve in a chilled collins glass.


Notes

Wow this is good. I might reduce the ice a bit so it’s thicker, but the flavor was spot on. My first time trying Pedro Ximenez sherry and St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur—a win for both!

 
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Key Lime Pie

★ Original Cocktail ★

Ingredients

2 oz Brinley Shipwreck Coconut Rum
3/4 oz caramelized condensed coconut milk
1/2 oz blended lime cordial
1/4 oz lime juice
4 drops saline solution
grated graham cracker garnish


Directions

Shake and strain over crushed or pebble ice. Grate graham cracker over the top.


Notes

This is my first original cocktail, and it nails the key lime pie flavor. This took some trial and error, including using heavy cream, which didn’t work. Brinley Shipwreck is key here, because of its thicker, sweeter texture.

 
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Orange Whip

Credit: Leandro DiMonriva, The Educated Barfly

Ingredients

1 oz Plantation 3 Stars White Rum
1 oz Brinley Shipwreck Coconut Rum
1/2 oz John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum
1 oz heavy cream
1 oz orange juice
3/4 oz lime acid orange
1/2 oz 2:1 clear syrup
1 egg white
sparkling water


Directions

Add some ice cubes to a chilled collins glass, then pour in 1 1/2 oz sparking water. Dry shake all the remaining ingredients, add ice, then shake again until chilled. Strain and pour into the glass, and let it rest for a minute. Slowly pour soda water into the center of the foam until it rises above the rim.


Notes

This is like an orange coconut version of a Ramos Gin Fizz, but tastes a lot like an Orange Julius. For the win! Watch the Educated Barfly video for more on the drink’s origin. I used ingredients I had on hand, so my recipe is slightly different.

 
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The Remedy

Credit: Existing Conditions

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces Plantation Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple Rum
1/2 ounce Smith & Cross Navy Strength Rum
3/4 ounce lime acid orange
3/4 ounce caramelized condensed coconut milk
4 drops saline solution


Directions

Shake and strain over crushed or pebble ice.


Notes

This is a take on the classic Painkiller. It’s amazing how much pineapple comes through solely with the rum and no actual juice. I’d have to taste this and a Painkiller side by side since this drink tasted nearly the same to me.

 
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Lime Acid Orange

Credit: Dave Arnold, Liquid Intelligence

Ingredients

500 ml fresh orange juice
10 grams malic acid
16 grams citric acid


Directions

Combine all ingredients, bottle, and store in the fridge.


Notes

It’s orange juice, but with the acidity of lime, which helps the otherwise lower-acid citrus come through in cocktails.

 
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Caramelized Condensed Coconut Milk

Credit: Existing Conditions

Ingredients

1 can Nature's Charm Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk


Directions

In a pressure cooker, place the unopened can of condensed coconut milk with enough water to cover it. Cook for 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely on stove top without rapid depressurization. Once cool, open the can, and store the caramelized condensed coconut milk in a mason jar in the fridge.


Notes

I first tried this in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes. It was good, but that extra 10 minutes adds a lot more caramelized flavor. I avoided going near the kitchen once this process started, though.

 
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