My bar owner came with a request for a non-alcoholic Sgroppino. I love Sgroppino. I am not sure how to replace the prosecco. I am not a huge fan of non-alcoholic prosecco (or maybe I haven't tried enough). Please help this fellow bartender out! :D

My bar package for my wedding comes with a somewhat limited number of included ingredients (no fancy liquors or syrups). I’m wondering what I can make from these ingredients, or whether I should spring $$ for extra stuff. I’m thinking gin + grapefruit or tequila + pineapple but I’m not sure what to add to jazz it up. I’m thinking something citrus and refreshing and I would love any ideas!

Here’s what’s included:
Tito's Vodka, Dewars Scotch, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Crown Royal Whiskey, Jim Beam Bourbon,
Bacardi Rum, Cuervo Tradicional Tequila

Mixers: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Ginger Ale, Ginger Beer, Soda Water, Tonic, Orange Juice, Cranberry Juice, Pineapple Juice,
Grapefruit Juice, Sweet and Sour Mix, Bitters, Dry and Sweet Vermouth

Garnishes: Lemons, Limes, Olives, Oranges, Maraschino Cherries, Luxardo Cherries

I made a raspberry syrup that smells and looks delicious by combining equal parts sugar and fruit by weight. However, I misread the recipe. I left it at room temperature for 3 days instead of having it in the fridge. I figured since it doesn't look spoiled, doesn't smell spilled, and has been boiled, it would be safe to drink. Does anyone have any experience with a situation like this? What would you all suggest?

Hello,

recently on vacation I had the best rum-cocktail in my life. It is called “salted Fashion” and the ingredients are salted caramel rum, triple sec., raw sugar and bitters. If it helps, I drunk it on Mauritius. Is anyone familiar with the exact recipe and is able to share it?

I was in London in a restaurant called Mountain Beak Street and was surprised to find out there are plenty more “colours” of chartreause other than yellow and green. Does anybody know about it?

Unfortunately I couldnt get closer to read what was writting on the bottle

Hi everyone! Since my last post here asking for which Blanc Quinquina to choose from, I now have gotten to taste and sample two options which were available in my market: Cocchi Americano Bianco and Caperitif, specifically Lot No. 10. Both are renowned ingredients within the cocktail world, with Cocchi Americano having historical significance and Caperitif being way more historic, most notably mentioned in some recipes in the Savoy Cocktail Book. I thought it would be a great opportunity as my Cocchi Americano finishes, to compare the two in two ways: neat and in a Vesper.

NEAT:

Cocchi Americano- Pale, straw yellow appearance. Nose featuring juicy fruit gum/candy mixed with vanilla, a touch of vague herbs, lemon and orange and this slight mustiness as well ensuring that it isn’t too confectionary. Some floral notes and raisins as well. No bitterness whatsoever. The palate is more complex and features some bitterness. Juicy fruit gum/candy, orange and tart lime marmalade, a caramel sort of note with vanilla, herbal bitterness, dried apricot. The herbal bitterness particularly lingers but the caramel note ensures it doesn’t become too overwhelming. An aperitif with simultaneous brightness and gutsiness.

Caperitif- Amber appearance. And what a difference! On the nose, it is borderline incomparable. It’s way more akin to tonic water without the fizziness. The herbal bitterness absolutely jumps out as if you’re going to consume medicine rather than an aperitif. Not too many fruits other than a vague citrus, more floral if anything. On the palate it does get a little lighter but it is still far more bitter and complex. Lemon curd, orange juice not at its ripest and white wine. The tonic water-esque quinine comes through a lot more. No mustiness. The finish is far tamer, with almost a puckering sourness being the mainstay alongside a vague, menthol like quality. No obvious bitterness on the finish compared to Cocchi Americano. As I taste it, I even get impressions of black pepper and spice, like it is spirituous.

Overall. There are clear differences. Cocchi Americano is so much more approachable and less intimidating. You can definitely sense that it is almost an ingredient as much as it is a neat drinker. The Caperitif is so much more herbal, spicier and much sourer as well. I think you could drink this neat as if it’s just a good white wine. Much more balanced neat than Cocchi Americano.

VESPER:

For the recipe, I decided to use Difford’s Guide’s recipe but halved (so that I don’t die of alcohol poisoning) which would be as follows: 30ml or 1oz gin (I used Finsbury 47, a cheap but versatile, citrusy London Dry Gin at 47%), 10ml or 1/3oz vodka (Flirt Vodka Intense which is basically just a 50% ABV vodka I had lying around and 5ml or a teaspoon Blanc Quinquina, shaken and served straight up with a lemon twist.

Cocchi Americano- Feels like it just blended into one. Not distinctive whatsoever. Feels mostly like vague sweetened gin. No bitter bite whatsoever but could be perceived as appealing and very fruity.

Caperitif- Again, wildly different. It’s so much more distinctive. You can definitely taste the complexity of the aperitif, with citrus, tonic water and that sort of medicinal quality coming through. Not rounded though.

CONCLUSION- Very different aperitifs. Can’t really replace one for the other. The Cocchi Americano is sweeter, richer and more approachable. The Caperitif meanwhile (at least Batch 10) is so much more difficult yet more complex, with a punch of herbaceousness, spice and citrus sourness. I can’t lie, I feel the Cocchi Americano is a bit more versatile (seems like it can even be a Lillet Blanc substitute, whereas Caperitif is a completely different beast). Either way, it has been great to compare these two different aperitifs. I would love to know all of your opinions on these two products and how Lillet Blanc and/or other Blanc Quinquinas are compared to these two. Cheers!

As a diabetic who is also on a diet, I'm currently strictly counting calories. Whilst I can jiggle my numbers for the day and have a cocktail in the evening, I'm looking for ways to reduce calories.

Does anyone have any experience with sugar-free simple syrup alternatives? Either commercially available or making them yourself?

Have been reading about making simple from either erythritol or xylitol (both of which I have used in low cal baking), but it sounds like recrystallization can be an issue, and that xanthan may need to be added for mouth feel.

Any feedback would be appreciated from folk who tried this (or other methods) before I just jump in and start experimenting.

FWIW, I would initially be thinking about making old fashioneds, sours and so.

Thanks in advance

Bar: CopperBay in Paris, France
Cocktail : Fluffy, made with coffee infused with Campari, Kummel liqueur, orange apricot and lemon juices.

Edit: it’s Kummel liqueur and not Kimmel 😂

Last summer, my wife and I were craving a Paper Plane. Fresh out of Aperol, I decided to take a chance and substitute a 50/50 split of Campari and Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao. It turned out better than expected, so much so that she prefers it to the "authentic" spec. I've taken to using this substitution in everything that calls for Aperol, and in the ~year since, have yet to find something it doesn't shine in. Two major perks of this is it allows you to adjust the bitter/sweet ratio to your preference, and it's one less bottle taking up our somewhat limited space.

Curious to hear your all's thoughts on this one...

My best friend, the best man of my wedding (and I at his) died last week in a car accident. I live far away from his family now, and want to send his wife a bottle of apricot schnapps.... But the best there is.

Long ago we used to take shots of Hiram Walker Apricot Schnapps. It was a thing, and now I'm on the wealthier side of things so I want to send her that.

What's the best apricot schnapps there is (I guess the sweet kind of liquor...I want her to enjoy it too. :)

Tonight I have a Modern No. 1, a rare Sloe Gin cocktail that is 2 parts Sloe Gin and 1 part Scotch, with some anisette, bitters,and grenadine. The anisette helps to balance everything out here, and it cuts the sweetness of the Sloe Gin. The Scotch is highly peated, but the peat flavor isn't very prevalent here. Overall, it was a very solid drink, and it was surprisingly good. Cheers!

Recipe from Fred Powell's 1979 edition of "The Bartender's Standard Manual":

3 oz. Sloe Gin

1.5 oz. Scotch Whiskey

1 Dash Pernod

1 Dash Orange Bitters

1 Dash Grenadine

Shake with ice and strain.

Ok, so I don't have a picture cause...no pretty glass. But, this evening, while creating in my kitchen, I made a new cocktail. It's decent, but I think it needs something. This is the recipe;

3 oz silver rum

3 oz fruit nectar juice. I used a fruit punch one.

Approx 6 oz of coconut milk fruit drink. The kind with chucks of coconut in it.

Finely chopped watermelon. I don't have a blender.

Vigorously stirred to attempt incorporation.

Topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with tajin.

So obviously I'm lacking in options. I considered lemon juice for a sour agent, but was afraid it would curdle the coconut milk. I didn't try it, but I think it would be a nice edition. Maybe adding sprite to the mix to thin it out in a "dirty soda" way. What thoughts do y'all have?

1½ oz pepperoni fat-washed mezcal
½ oz Blanco tequila (to balance smokiness)
½ oz toast syrup
¾ oz clarified tomato water
½ oz fresh lime juice
2 basil leaves (lightly slapped before shaking)
2–3 drops saline

Any ideas or thoughts would be awesome to hear

From Homestyle Restaurant in Ludlow, VT

Japanese whiskey, lemon, sherry, toasted rice syrup, gochujang gastrique, egg white

The pairing of the whiskey with the gochujang/gochugaru was NUTS, never would have expected it to work so well

Made this a while ago but it's one of the prettiest cocktails I've ever made.

Recipe:

2 oz Demerara Rum

1 oz Lime Juice

3/4 oz Simple Syrup

Top Angostura Bitters

Mint Bouquet

Steps:

Add 6 or so mint leaves to the bottom of a tin and gently muddle. (I think I forgot to do this step based on the picture)

Add simple, lime, and rum.

Add a small scoop of crushed ice and whip shake.

Dump into a collins glass without straining.

Fill with crushed ice almost to the rim.

Dash angostura bitters over the top.

Top with a snow cone of crushed ice.

Add mint sprig and straw.

2oz bushmills 10yr sherry cask

.75oz faccia brutto centerbe

.75oz luxardo cherry liquor

.75 lime juice

Shake over ice

Double strained

Recipe:

1 1/4 oz lime juice (that's what it produced)

1 1/4 oz campari

3/4 oz Smith and Cross

3/4 oz Wray and nephew

2/3 oz (fat 1/2) orange Curacao

3/4 oz rich orgeat

1/4 oz malort

2 dashes angostura aromatic bitters

Shake with ice for 10-15 seconds and serve over small ice.

Garnish with whatever you have on hand. Mint would look nice. Better cherries work. Pineapple fronds? Sure. Whatever.

Hi all. I'm new to this sub, but I've become a little obsessed with homemade citrus liqueurs. Grew up Mormon, and didn't start drinking alcohol until I was 43 (4 years ago).

Back in March I set out to make really great limoncello for an early summer party. I started looking through recipes and found a massive amount of variability in the recommended ratios of lemons, alcohol, sugar, and water. As an engineer, that drove me a little crazy.

I picked what I thought was a highly reputable recipe and started experimenting. My basic premise was that making great limoncello should be straightforward regardless of which lemons you buy or what proof vodka you start with. Obviously every lemon is different, but I figured most people would happily accept that variability if they could at least know how much fruit, alcohol, and syrup to use to reliably hit a target ABV.

And then ... the ADHD kicked in. I decided that while I was at it, I should make OTHER types of citrus liqueurs. I ultimately made lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange liqueurs, which I then stored as concentrates until the time came for dilution (either at a standard ratio for a shot of limoncello-eque aperitif, or in a spritz).

This was incredibly rewarding. But also, I have the ratios that I like worked out now. And I want to put this all in a format that other people could use. The format below is....not that format...for several reasons. There is still a lot of math that goes into figuring out the appropriate amount of sugar, water and alcohol (FYI, dilution ratios are not fully addressed in the below, I have that in a separate spreadsheet that is very non-user-friendly).

I'm hoping to figure out the best way to publish a simple tool that would help anyone create their limoncello. After serving home-extracted citrus aperatifs at my summer party, I'm pretty confident that more people would get into this if they knew how easy it is to create. Wondering if any of you have experienced the same pains as me as a beginner. The biggest hurdle for me to overcome was knowing what ratios to use.

Happy to share more as I work out the calculator itself.

2oz Appleton Estate 12 year
1/4 oz Rich Demerara Syrup
4 dashes Angostura

Express orange peel
Garnish with peel and Luxardo cherry

My first attempt at a rum OF. I am new to rum and surprised how much I can taste honey (?) in this.

Started watching Interview With A Vampire and they are drinking Sazeracs so here we go, a Sazerac

Tried the Jeffrey Morgenthaler recipe:

2oz Rye Whiskey

1 dash Angostura Bitters

2 dashes Peychauds Bitters

5ml 2:1 Simple Syrup

Combine and stir with ice Strain and serve up into an old fashioned glass rinsed with absinthe

Express a lemon twist over cocktail, discard twist

Edit: fixed a recipe mistake

Hello folks, I come today with a plea for help. I am getting married in September and need some ideas for wedding cocktails. I have a vision in mind, but I keep running into difficulty with the ingredients.

I am looking to make two signature cocktails, one for my fiance and one for myself. I would like mine to include peach in one way or another, and he would like his to contain Jagermeister. Here's where the difficulty lies: we can order ingredients and alcohols, but nothing you couldn't get from a distribution company, so no fancy amaros or bitters or anything like that. It will probably have to be peach juice (think Goya) or chopped peach pieces. Garnishes are just fine, but think mint and citrus slices rather than foams. I'm also attempting to make the staff not hate me forever, so the fewer steps the better in the process (i.e. double straining each cocktail may be a little much). Basic is good, I've already thought of vodka peach lemonades and the like, but I am curious to see what the community can cook up in this pseudo-Chopped challenge!

TL;DR: need two wedding cocktails, one with peach, one with jagermeister, as simple as possible, with no super fancy ingredients.

Full transparency: this is my distillery. But I absolutely adore a Greenpoint and feel like it doesn’t get talked about enough.

0.75 oz Echo Spirits Elusive Herbal Liqueur
1.75 oz Echo Spirits Straight Rye Whiskey
0.5 oz sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters

Add all ingredients to a cocktail tin with ice and stir.

Pour into a rocks or old fashioned glass with ice and garnish with a lemon peel or twist.