I tend to drink more in the fall. Maybe it’s the looming of my upcoming birthday, maybe it’s the slight chill in the air, hell, maybe it’s the pheromones in the air. For whatever reason, I enjoy throwing more than a couple back in September. The shift of season brings on richer, more full bodied cocktails with wonderfully rich spices and deviant amounts of booze… Just my style.
The Bloody Mary has to be one of the most versatile cocktails out there – but very few people have the audacity to alter it much from its vodka roots. As it were, I am the queen of bastardizing classic cocktails. I love switching out the vodka for other spirits – especially tequila. And I also love adding beer.
This weekend, I found myself craving a Bloody Mary (with beer, naturally!) – but I didn’t have tequila in the house (insert sad face). But, I did have some Mezcal – which got the brain ticking. Why not mix-up a smoky almost BBQ-like Bloody Mary with the Mezcal?
But in order to get that straight off the grill, molasses BBQ flavor really narrowed down – I decided to use a stout in the recipe. The result? A bad-ass Bloody Mary hybrid worthy of being garnished with a slice of bacon. In fact, you better garnish this baby with bacon – if you truly want a flavor orgasm in your mouth!!! Continue Reading
This is the cocktail that I submitted for the Bols Cocktail Competition, so cross your fingers for me.
I love these beer syrups, the honey is amazing with Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René. The sour and sweet blends harmoniously and opens the floral components of the beer nicely. The cocktail is delicately sweet and surprisingly refreshing. Plus, blood orange makes for a stunning color.
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For a recent beer event, I was challenged to develop a beer cocktail using a Baltic Porter. Unique for its ability to be brewed with both lager and ale yeast, the Baltic Porter was originally developed as an export version of the English Porter destined for the Baltic Sea ports.
Inspired by the beer’s heritage, I decided to follow a “Baltic” theme. Naturally, vodka was the first spirit to come to mind. While doing research, I found that the blackcurrant is native to Northern Europe. In fact, Poland, Russia and Germany are the largest producers of the blackcurrant. (Source: AgroAtlas). Known most commonly for its use in the “Kir” and “Kir Royale” cocktails, Creme de Cassis ia a sweet, dark red liqueur produced from blackcurrants. As with most liqueurs, it is available in both commercial and artisan forms — and is also quite simple to make, if you have access to black currants. Continue Reading
Three breweries, three states, three beer cocktails. On February 25th, BREWPUBLIC is bringing together a trifecta of tristate craft breweries to perform the ultimate beer mixology hat-trick at The Guild Pub in Portland, OR.
Saturday evening, starting at 6pm, The Guild Pub will experience an invasion of brewers and a three-way tap and cocktail menu takeover. Representing the home team is Commons Brewery, a small craft brewery located in Southeast Portland, Oregon. Joining the threesome from the North is Mt. Tabor Brewing, the newest craft brewery to open in Vancouver, Washington. And completing the love triangle, from the state to the South, is Bison Brewing, a 100% certified organic craft brewery from Berkeley, California.
Do you remember girls in high school stuffing their Zima’s full of skittles? No? Maybe it was a Reno thing… I guess maybe girls in other cities went with Smirnoff Ice. The point is, that generally speaking, women are not the target market when it comes to beer. I know this upsets some of you, but it is not a judgement, it is just the truth. And it is rather unfortunate if you ask me. Between the image factor, the social stigma and those damn skinny girl margaritas, what is a sophisticated (or not) beer loving lady to do?
While serving up flavored vodka after flavored vodka, I began to formulate a plan for a mixture that would appease the fairer of the sexes. This concoction caters to the fruity cocktail loving palate as well as introduces some depth and interest that will never be found at the bottom of a Whip Cream Vodka & Soda glass.
I just started playing around with beer syrup. I happened to have some Guinness in the fridge, so that was the logical ingredient. I browned some sugar and added the stout, stirring slowly and constantly for 20 minutes and let it cool. Pleasantly surprised by the depth of flavor, I couldn’t wait to get it to the bar.
As soon as I got to work I started mixing. Bourbon was the starting point. I dabbled with different liqueurs, stirring, shaking, straight pouring… Soon an audience ensued and I had lots of people suggesting and tasting. It got a little out of hand. I finally came to my conclusion– but it needed a name.
I work with some guys that are completely obsessed with Batman, Spiderman, Green Lantern… You know the type. I mean really, who is more badass than Batman? So I am pleased to introduce “The Dark Knight”
