Command of Color

This was my first entry into the Van Gogh Art of the Cocktail competition for Chilled Magazine. It's a fantastic competition where they encourage you to explore the art of making drinks. It's clever in the era of Instagram. I won a weekly prize for this submission. We'll see about the finals.

1.5 oz. Van Gogh Pineapple Vodka

0.75 oz. Strawberry infused Campari

1 oz. Acid Adjusted Orange Juice

0.25 oz. Orange Blossom Honey Syrup

Mango Habanero BBQ Sauce

Shake all the ingredients together with ice. Brush a coupe with a couple strokes of Mango Habanero BBQ Sauce. A squeeze bottle will also do the trick. Double-strain the cocktail into the painted coupe. Serve. 

To make Acid Adjusted Orange Juice:

Mix 1 liter of freshly squeezed and strained orange juice with 32 grams of citric acid and 20 grams of malic acid. Stir until mixed and uniform.

To make Homemade Mango BBQ Sauce: 

Brown 1/4 cup of chopped onion in a pan with 2 minced garlic cloves and olive oil. Stew 1/2 tsp grated ginger, 1 1/4 cups peeled, chopped mango (1 whole), 1/2 cup peach nectar, 1/4 cup tomato paste, 2T dark brown sugar, 2T honey, 3T cider vinegar, 1 T molasses, juice of 1 lime, 1.5 t Worcestershire, 1.5 t mustard, and 1 finely diced habanero chile until mango is soft. Blend everything together until creamy and uniform. Store in the fridge for up to 10 days, or boil the sauce to 190 degrees Fahrenheit and store in sterilized jars indefinitely. 

I studied Art and Art History in college but never much cared for the art that came from Van Gogh. His realism and perspective were always completely out of sorts. The Doctor Who episode "Vincent and the Doctor" drilled home a bit about the artist himself. If you haven't seen it, watch it. You will weep. The color orange was used prominently in Van Gogh's work, from the sunflowers to his own hair in self-portraits. As a hobby during quarantine, I took up hot sauce making, and that mango habanero balance works beautifully. Bringing out that sweetness of tropical fruits with a light tingle of heat has been a joy at every step. 

Loaded Dice

This was my entry for the Patron Perfectionists Tour. It is about consistency in the culinary and beverage world and how fresh ingredients are inconsistent. This cocktail was my attempt to help flatten the curve. 

1.5 oz. Patron Reposado

0.5 oz. Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro

0.75 oz. Acid Adjusted Pineapple juice

0.75 oz. Orange Blossom Honey Syrup

Add all the ingredients to a shaker tin. Add ice and shake thoroughly. Double strain into a large rocks glass with a large carved cube.

To make Acid Adjusted Pineapple Juice:

To every 100g of pineapple juice, add 4.5g citric acid and 0.7g malic acid. Stir vigorously to dissolve the powder. Shake the solution lightly before each use.

To make Honey Syrup:

Mix Dutch Gold Orange Blossom Honey with an equal weight of boiling water and stir until uniform.

This drink was inspired by every molecule's randomness or lack of predictability. The fermentation tanks of the Patron distillery are open and surrounded by countless varieties of plant life that produce different strains of wild yeast. Each strain will create a different character. Even every piece of fruit will be unique. Two pineapples from the same tree can have wildly different sugar contents and acidity. This just won't do for a competition called Perfectionist. I aim to erase chance and balance flavors as I see fit. Craft comes from taking what nature gives you and using it to create a consistent quality product.

The Dutch Gold Honey comes from a local apiary as well.

Cockney Stairs

This was my entry for Bombay Sapphire's Most Imaginative Bartender competition a few years ago. I just never got around to posting it. It really is just a touch of English time in a cocktail. Not the most imaginative thing I've ever done but it is a pretty tasty drink. It's definitely better as a batched drink. 

1/8th Honeycrisp Apple

1/8th Red Delicious Apple

1/8th Bartlett Pear

1/8th Starkrimson Pear

15 Black Peppercorns

5 Cardamom Pods

4 Allspice Berries

1 Star Anise Pod

1 1/2 oz. Bombay Sapphire

1/2 oz. Raw Honey

4 1/2 oz. Hot Water

1 1/2 oz. Whole Milk

Using a mortar and pestle, pulverize the peppercorn, cardamom, allspice, and anise. Dice the apples and pears. Bring water to a boil. Add 4 1/2 oz. of the water and all the other ingredients aside from the milk and gin to a french press coffee maker. Stir lightly and apply the cap. Froth the milk using a steamer or motorized frother. Add the gin to an Irish coffee glass. Once the cocktail has steeped for approximately 2 minutes strain the cocktail into the glass. Top with the frothy milk.

The inspiration for this drink was a trend I've seen in coffee shops repurposing their tools. I've seen coffee shops use a milk steamer to make hot chocolate and even small servings of mulled wine. The heat helps the infusion process and aromatics. A go-to nightcap of a friend is boiling water, with a lemon peel, and just a touch of gin. I decided to take the flavors just a little further with some juicy, sweet, and floral apples and pears along with some spices. Adding some warm milk turns this drink adds a touch of British heritage, softening out any intense edges that may have over intensified in the infusion process, as if you were having a nice midday tea. 

The name come from cockney rhyming slang where one would use phrases like "Apples and Pears" to replace works like "Stairs". There is some peculiarity in that the phrase "Apples and pears" became so widely known to people who didn't understand cockney slang it's actually fallen out of fashion. 

Excerpt from Austin Powers Goldmember:
Nigel: Don't you remember the crimbo din-din we had with the grotty Scots bint?
Austin: Oh, the one that was all sixes and sevens!
Nigel: Yeah, yeah, she was the trouble and strife of the Morris dancer what lived up the apples and pears!

Parting Glass

This was my entry for the Copper and Kings Mixt&pe competition. Make a drink to pair with a song. I've been getting into a lot of Classic Irish Folk music. It's a wonderful blend of comedy and tragedy. I chose The Parting Glass as my song, as performed by The High Kings. It rings of a final song, a goodbye, and the joys and lamentations of one's life. My cocktail reflects this balance. Fire's being extinguished, sweetness, bitterness, and intensity

1 oz. Copper & Kings Butchertown Brandy
1/2 oz. C&K Floodwall Apple Brandy

1/2 oz. Rooibos Tea infused Honey Syrup

6 -8 drops Bitter End Moroccan Bitters

Copper & Kings Absinthe Blanche

Add the brandies, honey, and bitters to a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for 12 seconds. Rinse a small cocktail glass with the absinthe and discard. Strain the cocktail into the rinsed coupe. Light a candle and raise your glass.

To make rooibos infused heather honey syrup:

Add 12 oz. of water and 12 oz of heather honey to a saucepan. Apply light heat and stir until well mixed. Measure out 2 tablespoons of loose leaf rooibos red tea and add it to the syrup. Let the tea infuse for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and strain through a mesh filter. Store in the refrigerator.

I can't say this cocktail is one of my favorites. I think I'm going to revisit this idea soon. 

Walking in Little Shoes

This was my entry for the Gentleman Jack Whiskey Sour Classic competition. I've been playing a lot with acid solutions, but they tend to fall a bit flat compared to fresh juice. They tend to lack some body and texture, and there are all kinds of flavors in juice besides just acids. We talk about balance in cocktails as a ratio of sugar to acid, and while that is crucial, it is also boring. 

2 oz. Gentleman Jack

1 oz. Acid-Adjusted Apple Juice

1 oz. Honey Syrup

2 dashes Bar Keep Apple Bitters

Add the fluid ingredients in a mixing tin, add ice and shake well for 6 seconds. Rinse the rim of a rocks glass with honey and rim with spicy cinnamon sugar. Add a large ice rock and strain the cocktail into the glass.

Spicy cinnamon sugar: 

Mix 16 parts sugar, 2 parts ground cinnamon, and 1 part cayenne pepper.

Acid-adjusted apple juice: 

To every 100 grams of apple juice, add 1 gram of citric acid and 4 grams of malic acid.

I loved my time down at the Jack Distillery. Kevin the Barrel Man was a hoot. The story of walking through the caves with a chicken on a string was absolutely hilarious. Bluffing his way into massive concerts is something that charmer could do without even trying. Amazing stories all around. Miss Mary Bobo's was a very eclectic, warm experience. The legacy of Jasper "Jack" Daniels lives on all the loyal workers of that entire town. 

"Basically, I'm for anything that gets you through the night - be it prayer, tranquilizers, or a bottle of Jack Daniels."

- Frank Sinatra

Shakers

There are two main types of shakers used by bartenders across the globe. Each bears its own merits. Some are designed for aesthetics while others are designed for versatile use. 

The Boston Shaker

Supposedly the first concept of a shaker goes back to well before the common era to Central and South America where it was used to incorporate chocolate into a beverage. The Egyptians also used it to incorporate spices. The shaker as we know it today goes back to the late 1800s where an innkeeper noticed that two of his serving vessels nested together. In 1872, a device was actually patented to shake six drinks at once.

In America and many other countries, when you shake a drink, it's going to be in a Boston shaker. Especially in a high volume bar environment. The two pieces of a Boston shaker are very multi-purpose. Mixing glasses can be used as beer glasses or even collins glasses. Take a mixing tin, and insert it with the open end down over the mixing glass and give it a light smack to make a seal. Most bartenders find it easier to create a seal with the tin cocked to the side to create a flush seal between the glass and tin. This makes it easier to separate the two once shaken. Shake vigorously, horizontally, rather than up and down, for 8-10 seconds. to break the seal that has most likely tightened due to the ice shrinking the metal strike the side of the tin, at the rim, 90 degrees from where the two parts are flush. This should break the seal and allow the removal of the glass.

Variants of the glass on tin combination are very common. Many craft bartenders have opted to use smaller, 16 oz., cheater tins to make the seal rather than a mixing glass. this allows for a seal that can be gripped and maintained with one hand while shaking. This allows for the shaking of two drinks at once which is very handy at craft cocktail bars as they have become famous date venues. No one wants to stare at their drink waiting for their partner to get theirs, so two drinks at once allow for a proper toast. The French shaker may deserve its own category, but I regard it as a simple variant to the standard Boston shaker. The smaller tin is specially designed to create a perfect seal with the mixing tin and bows in to create a firm grip for the bartender. This also has the advantage of not having any glass that could break.

The Cobbler / Three Piece Shaker

The cobbler shaker has a similar design but with an added dedicated middle piece in the design. It dates back to 1884 as a modification to the Boston shaker which included a built-in strainer. One simply builds the drink in the bottom tin, adds the middle strainer piece to the top of the tin, and then adds the cap on top to create a full seal. Some people say that this incorporates less air into the drink and that when liquid gets trapped between the top two pieces it creates a less emulsified drink. I do find myself just naturally shaking these drinks longer to make sure it's well chilled. Personally, I really don't enjoy this style of the shaker as they often can become stuck together and impossible to separate. With a bit of training, I'm told this won't occur but I really don't see it as a time saver in the long run. There is still a separate strainer piece you need to clean and the pieces are far less versatile. These styles of strainers can look very impressive and ornate, but they really don't serve many functions, all things considered. 

"You can't buy happiness, but you can prepare a cocktail, and that's kind of the same thing."

Photo Credit: Wikimedia, Project Noun

Advanced Syrups

Sugar is a crucial component in just about every cocktail available today. Sometimes it's the sugar in a piece of fruit. Sometimes it's honey or maple syrup. Bartenders have been taking these sugars and making them our own for some time now. 

Flavored Syrups

One of the easiest types of complex syrup you can make is a simple infusion. Take an Earl Grey Tea Syrup for instance. We all know how to make simple syrup, simply apply heat to sugar and water. Well, this is exactly how we make tea. Simply add our tea bag or tea leaves to warm water. let this sit for about an hour and then add to a saucepan and put on heat. Add equal parts sugar and stir until well mixed. Remove from heat and strain off any solids. This same technique can be applied to mint syrups and even things like berries and peppers. Simply make a syrup the way you normally would and steep the flavors you would like to infuse. Try not to boil the syrup as that takes away the water and makes the flavor significantly harder to replicate. One of my favorite creations was a strawberry and serrano pepper flavored agave nectar.

Fruit Syrups / Grenadine

Most fruit syrups are actually very easy to make. While the typical syrup uses water to mix with the sugar component, a perfectly legitimate substitute is to use a juice. This method only works well with fruits that leave a very watery type of juice such as pomegranate. Juice like lime and the like need to be cut down with water to ensure a consistent texture. To make homemade grenadine, simply pour equal parts of pomegranate juice (I use POM Wonderful) and sugar into a saucepan and apply heat while stirring. I like to add a tiny splash of fresh lemon juice and a few drops of orange flower water to really make it unique.

Oleo Saccharum

Oleo, in short, is oil. Saccharum is sugar. Lemon oil syrup was a crucial component in old-world punch recipes. The oil comes from the peel of citrus fruit, lemon being the most common. Oleo can also be made from other citruses, like orange and grapefruit. The easiest way of making this is by peeling several lemons into a bowl and adding about two ounces of sugar to the bowl per lemon. Muddle this vigorously for about 15 minutes to ensure that the sugar really gets into the peels and they start to sweat. Let the bowl sit for a few hours or overnight to allow all the oil to precipitate. collect this in a bottle and filter out any peel, some people will add a bit of hot water to stretch the oil and make it less potent in cocktails, but in punches that doesn't matter as much.

Orgeat

Orgeat is probably the most difficult syrup to make on your own and I don't recommend trying unless you are well versed in syrups. Orgeat is used in several tiki cocktails. It is a very potent blend of flavors and can be incredibly overpowering if prepared incorrectly. To make, one would muddle a blend of sweet and bitter almonds in a mortar and pestle with a little water until it becomes a smooth paste. Add more water without heat. Then incorporate some sugar and orange flower water or rose water. These are very potent flavors that if not used cautiously can seriously overpower any cocktail. Floral sweet almond syrup is very tempting to start playing with, but I urge you to start small and leave this one to the professionals. The fact that this doesn't use any heat also tends to mean the shelf life is not as great as many other syrups so I encourage you to use filtered water or water that had been boiled beforehand. Also, keep it stored in a well-sealed container. Also, don't trust any store brand orgeat that costs less than $10 a bottle. 

Gum Syrup

Gum syrup is actually one of the more basic and classic syrups. It is, at its core, a simple syrup that has been thickened to change the texture of certain cocktails. Gum, also called Gomme, syrup is a simple syrup made typically with gum arabic. Very few people, aside from some artists, have heard of this powder. It's a simple thickening agent used in some painting, and, in our case, cocktails. Gum syrup works best in stirred, spirit-forward cocktails so that the texture it brings can be appreciated. Typically it is used in old fashioned cocktails and some sazeracs. It can be used in shaken cocktails and with drinks built with crushed ice.

"I told my wife the truth. I told her I was seeing a psychiatrist. Then she told me the truth: that she was seeing a psychiatrist, two plumbers, and a bartender."

- Rodney Dangerfield

Photo Credit: pxhere, open food facts

Syrups

Syrups are one of the quintessential components for any knowledgeable bartender. They are what give a drink its sugar, it's sweetness. They are what making drinking fun, and not like drinking medicine. There are many great sugars in the world at a bartender's disposal and I'm going to touch on the most common and most versatile of these syrups. Coming soon I will be doing a post on making some more advanced syrups and I hope you take those techniques and create something truly that is your own.

Simple Syrup

Simple syrup is the easiest and most common sweetener in cocktails today. Is very quite simply, sugar and water. The most common type found in America is equal parts sugar and water by volume, put over some heat to remove any impurities. This is commonly referred to as 1:1 simple syrup. Across the pond, they use a ratio of 2:1. This is called rich simple syrup by many. The added sugar acts as a preservative which helps the shelf life of the syrup before it goes off and starts accumulating mold. The reason we use syrups instead of accurately measuring granulated sugar is because sugar dissolves very slowly in cold environments like cocktails. No one wants a muddy puddle of raw sugar at the bottom of their drink. Simple syrups are typically made with plain white sugar, but they can also be made with brown sugar which is comprised of 3.5-6.5% molasses. Many bartenders have opted to use Demerara sugar, or Sugar in the Raw, made from crystallized sugar cane juice, which brings some notes or caramel and molasses. 

Honey Syrup

For the record, a honey syrup is not the same as honey. Raw honey right from the bottle is far too dense to be incorporated in a cocktail. Even a hot toddy might not dissolve all of it. Again, we simply mix our raw honey equal parts with water, ideally with heat to remove impurities and help the shelf life. When you pick out a bottle of honey from the store try to make sure you invest in quality honey, not one from a little plastic bear. Pure honey can have citrus notes or even taste grainy. different styles like sage honey can be quite delicate while avocado honey is richer, almost buttery. I'm not saying you need eight different honey syrups, but be aware of how different kinds of honey can compliment different cocktails. 

Maple Syrup

Maple syrup can be a very fun syrup to use in whiskey cocktails. Again we need to dilute it to make it functional for cocktails. It is made in the same style as honey syrup. Take maple syrup and add it to hot water in equal parts. Again, the stuff in the plastic log cabin isn't that great quality. Premium maple syrup is incredibly easy to find at your average farmers market and you can probably find some quality syrups at the supermarket, but it might take some experimentation and research to find the best quality. Some people think that Canadian or Vermont maple syrup is the best. This isn't necessarily true, it's just that climates with greatly changing seasons yield more sap as the seasons change. These regions thus produce more and get a name for being producers. I made maple syrup in my house with my father in Massachusetts since I was old enough to carry a bucket. and it tasted great. As a kid, I liked the plastic bottle of Log Cabin, but when I grew older I enjoyed the richer woodier flavor, especially with some whiskey. Dad's Hat has actually started aging maple syrup in their old whiskey barrels.

Agave Nectar

Agave nectar is actually the concentrated compound from which tequila and mezcal (mescal) is fermented and distilled. Most agave nectar comes from the blue agave, the agave used in all tequila production, but it can come from other species as well. Agave nectar, like honey and maple syrup, contains fructose, not the sucrose found in granulated sugar. Nutritionally they behave the exact same way. They are just broken down differently in the liver. Agave nectar is arguably the sweetest syrup you will find common behind the bar. Agave nectar can come in two varieties, light and dark. Light is fairly flavor neutral while the darker varieties can pick up flavors of caramel, and even some fruity pineapple notes. As always the plastic bottles you find in the average supermarket are very close to high fructose corn syrup but you can find less processed nectars if you look hard enough.

"Health - what my friends are always drinking to before they fall down."
- Phyllis Diller

Photo Credit: Pixy, pikrepo

#015 Beedrill

This is a part of an ongoing project I'm working on to make a Pokemon cocktails for each and every Pokemon. I'm starting with just generation one and we'll see how the response is. 151 drinks is a tall order, but people have done crazier things. If I succeed I will most likely publish an eBook or possibly hard copy collections of each drink. Give them a try and let me know what you think. 

1 1/2 oz. Pepper Infused Tequila

1/2 oz. Blood Orange Liqueur

1 oz. Honey Syrup
1 oz. Lemon Juice
Top Sparkling Wine

Add all the ingredients except the bubbly to a mixing tin. Shake well with ice. Double strain into a tulip glass with ice. Top with bubbly. Garnish with two spears of serrano pepper. 

To make a pepper-infused tequila simply fill a small mason jar with whatever type of peppers you'd like. Make sure you cut it up to about 1/2" pieces to increase the surface area. Personally, I'm a fan of serrano pepper for this cocktail. Many people may prefer to use a Jalapeno or Habanero pepper, but I find that serrano offers a very balanced flavor and heat for this drink. If you don't want too much spice to dominate the drink I recommend seeding the peppers first. Pour tequila over the peppers, seal the jar and give it a little shake. I like a Reposado tequila here. The slight smokiness brings out the pepper flavors, but an Anejo could work as well. I find that about 6 hours is enough to get a full pepper flavor without it becoming too potent. For seeded Jalapenos and Habaneros, less time may be prudent.

This drink again takes a lot of inspiration from the margarita. A common variation I've seen in chain restaurants these days is a champagne margarita with a little split of sparkling wine stuck into the drink just like the Coronarita. Beedrill is a bee, so for a sweetener, honey was the obvious choice. It also has a potent poisonous sting that can supposedly kill, so I wanted a little more spice in this one. I find that blood orange plays a bit better with spice that Cointreau or another triple sec. Add a little lemon juice and bubbly and you have yourself a great drink to sip on out on the patio on a hot spring day. 

"Beedrill. This Pokémon is an evolved form of Weedle, following its Kakuna stage. Its sting is highly poisonous."

Pidgey -->

<-- Kakuna

Recommended Brands: Milagro Reposado, Solerno, wildflower honey, fresh lemon juice, Comte de Bucques Brut

#014 Kakuna

This is a part of an ongoing project I'm working on to make a Pokemon cocktails for each and every Pokemon. I'm starting with just generation one and we'll see how the response is. 151 drinks is a tall order, but people have done crazier things. If I succeed I will most likely publish an eBook or possibly hard copy collections of each drink. Give them a try and let me know what you think. 

1 1/4 oz. Reposado Tequila

1/2 oz. Blood Orange Liqueur

1/2 oz. Honey Syrup
3/4 oz. Lemon Juice

Add all the ingredients to a mixing tin. Shake well with ice. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a small spear of serrano pepper that has been deseeded. 

This drink clearly takes a lot of inspiration from the margarita. I opted to use a Reposado tequila to help represent the middle nature of Kakuna. The insect and bee-like nature of this evolution line made honey an obvious choice for a sweetener. I like a wildflower honey syrup if you can find it. A different orange liqueur could be used, but I adore Solerno, and I find it pairs better with spicy and smokey flavors which are going to be more present in our last iteration of this evolutionary line. You have to have a bit of sting in your bee Pokemon. 

"Kakuna, a transitional stage between Weedle and Beedrill. Kakunas remain inactive until they evolve into deadly Beedrills and hatch."

Beedrill -->

<-- Weedle

Recommended Brands: Milagro Reposado, Solerno, wildflower honey, fresh lemon juice

#013 Weedle

This is a part of an ongoing project I'm working on to make a Pokemon cocktails for each and every Pokemon. I'm starting with just generation one and we'll see how the response is. 151 drinks is a tall order, but people have done crazier things. If I succeed I will most likely publish an eBook or possibly hard copy collections of each drink. Give them a try and let me know what you think. 

1 1/4 oz. Mezcal

1/2 oz. Blood Orange Liqueur

1/4 oz. Honey Syrup

Gusano

Add all the ingredients to a mixing tin. Shake well with ice. Double strain into a shooter glass. Garnish with the worm from a mescal bottle if possible. A thin lemon twist can also work. 

For this cocktail I knew I wanted to use mezcal. The little worm in the bottle looks just like a Weedle. Well, technically it's a caterpillar of a moth but it just matches up so well. Weedle turns into a cocoon and then evolves again, strangely enough into a bee, but the theory is there. The use of honey does naturally take inspiration from Weedle's final evolution (not counting the mega). I knew I'd wind up going with a sort of margarita vibe in the later iterations so I opted for one of my favorite liqueurs, Solerno, a blood orange liqueur. This shot does pack quite a punch alcohol-wise. But the flavor does very well. A sweet smokey earthy flavor makes for a very fun shot or cocktail.

"Weedle. The stinger on this Pokémon's head guarantees that any attacker will get the point right where it hurts."

Kakuna -->

<-- Butterfree

Recommended Brands: Ilegal Reposado, Solerno

#001 Bulbasaur

This is a part of an ongoing project I'm working on to make a Pokemon cocktails for each and every Pokemon. I'm starting with just generation one and we'll see how the response is. 151 drinks is a tall order, but people have done crazier things. If I succeed I will most likely publish an eBook or possibly hard copy collections of each drink. Give them a try and let me know what you think. 


1 oz. Applejack
1/2 oz. Melon Liqueur
1/4 oz. Lime Juice
1/4 oz. Blue Curacao
1 dash of simple syrup (~1/8 oz.)

Add all the ingredients to a tin and shake with ice. Double strain into a shooter glass to get out any pulp, or two shot glasses if you feel like sharing.

This cocktail is a simplified version of the Ivysaur. It bares many similarities to the Jack Rose on a smaller scale. The Jack Rose would use grenadine instead of Midori and blue curacao. If you use rose's lime juice you can omit the simple syrup to avoid making the drink too sweet. It actually took a bit of tinkering to figure out which ingredients to maintain. The choice of a base spirit was a difficult one, but I think a fruit based brandy actually fits the drink very well. Using a vodka or rum did cross my mind but what else would you use for a grass type but something fruit based.

"Bulbasaur. It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely calm and very difficult to capture in the wild."

Ivysaur -->

Recommended Brands: Laird's, Midori, Bols

The Girl with Honey in her Hair

This was a drink I made for a competition for Bärenjäger. I named it after the great song featured in numerous scenes in Game of Thrones, The Bear and the Maiden Fair. Bärenjäger is a German honey liqueur that translates to be "Bear Hunter". The recipe itself is a modified Jack Rose with a honey foam on top to garnish. 

1 1/4 oz. Applejack 

3/4 oz. Bärenjäger 

3/4 oz. Lemon Juice 

1/2 oz. Fresh grenadine 

Shake and Strain into a Sours glass. Garnish with a Honey Foam 

Honey Foam Recipe: 

10 oz. Heavy cream, 3 oz. Bärenjäger, 2 eggs, dash lemon juice 

Whisk the eggs, Bärenjäger, and lemon juice. Start incorporating the cream while mixing. Pour into an Isi whipper and charge with NO2. Shake well and chill in the fridge for a few hours. Feel free to modify ratios to fit your own palate 

I had been playing with good flavors for foams and whipped creams, and honey liqueur just felt natural. I took a honey-based recipe from ISI's website and just switched out the runny honey with Bärenjäger. It also pairs well with a number of desserts and warm drinks.