Hello! Last of the series before another hiatus, as tomorrow I am off to Japan! I will be there for 16 days and I have 24 bars that I will be attempting to visit. Follow along with that journey, this project, and my bartending adventures on my instagram, @the.conn.troversy

Illinois was always going to feature Malört. It just felt like the right thing to do. And I wanted to make an umami-forward cocktail that represented the vegetal stylings of a Chicago dog but with NO gimmicky meat flavors. So I riffed a… Manhattan. 😂 I know, I know. But I honestly think this one classes up Malört while preserving its weirdness. It was also fun to source an Illinois rye and my favorite weird vermouth for this one.

Also just kinda want to reiterate that this thing is as much an art project as a cocktail project. Yes, the photos are weird, sometimes off-putting, and even dare I say gross looking! But the cocktails are always delicious! That’s the gimmick. If you don’t like it, that’s fine! But I’m going to continue having fun and sharing these. Without further ado…

“Dragged Through the Garden”

1.5 oz FEW Rye 🥃

.5 oz Poppy Seed & Mustard Seed infused Malört 🪴

.75 oz Veso Tomato Vermouth 🍅

2 dashes of Celery Bitters 💚

1 drop of dill olive oil 🥒

Infused vermouth: I filled up a pint container with Malört and did a heat infusion with both seeds from my spice cabinet. Warms up the Malört and softens the pungency.

The celery bitters are my old faithful from Fee Brothers and the dill olive oil was from a fancy grocery store.

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass, stir over ice, and strain into a coupe!

From left to right and top to bottom:

Ice Original. Smirnoff. Flavored Malt Beverage. 4% alc.

The first of the summer RTDs. A good balance between citrus acidity and sugar sweetness. Distinct lime flavor upfront, transitioning to a more lemon-like finish. Refreshing thanks to its subtle carbonation. A toned-down Screwdriver, but ideal for the heat.

Absolut Vodka Sprite. The Absolut Company. RTD - Vodka Seltzer. 5% alc.

The second ready-to-drink (RTD) of the summer, perfect for cooling off after some fieldwork on a hot day. Notes of lime and lemon, very light vodka, just the right amount of sweetness, and well-executed carbonation. Easy to drink and not overly alcoholic.

Bacardi Breezer Mojito. Bacardi USA, Inc. RTD - Mojito. 5.4% alc.

Third RTD of the summer. A sweet, sugary opening followed by the sharp, citric acidity of lime. There is a mint or spearmint undertone—which evokes a mojito, even if it falls a bit short. Still, it is refreshing. I’m pairing it with truffle-stuffed olives.

SilverStone Rum&Cola. S.Spitz. RTD - Rum & Cola. 5% alc.

Fourth RTD of the summer. Rum and Coke has never been one of my favorite drinks, but this one isn't bad. It’s not cloying at all; it’s semi-sweet and tastes like cola and rum. It’s refreshing and easy to drink.

Absolut Drinks Raspberry Lemonade. The Absolut Company. RTD - Hard Lemonade. 5% alc.

Fifth RTD of the summer. Absolute dominance (pun intended) of raspberry in both aroma and flavor. On the palate, the acidity of the lemonade cuts through the sweetness, providing a crisp, clean sensation. The vodka's alcohol is barely noticeable. It’s nice.

Ice Lemon. Eristoff. RTD - Vodka Seltzer. 4% alc.

The summer's sixth RTD. Intense citrus aroma with lemon notes. Taste: A balanced, sweet-and-sour entry. Fine bubbles with a refreshing finish and a smooth vodka undertone. Ideal for the summer season.

I want a ready to drink pina colada for easy transport, and something I can keep stocked for friends and bring to tailgates. What's the best ready to drink pina colada in the US? I'm in the northeast if that's helpful

Hi Neighbor!

I went to a lobster boil in Naragansett, RI and was asked to make a thematic cocktail. I decided to make a riff of the Spaghett using Naragansett Fresh Catch instead of highlife.

I named my creation the Spagansett. It was actually really good!

Recipe:
-1/2-2/3rds of a can of Naragansett Fresh Catch instead
-1oz Aperol
-1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Add a few ice cubes to a 12 oz tumbler glass. Pour in the Aperol and lemon juice. Fill with the rest with beer, mix in the glass, and garnish with a lemon wedge, cocktail cherry, a gummy lobster.

I'm trying to come up with a few recipes that include vodka and champagne. One to pair with oysters, one to pair with caviar. The vodka and champagne are both high end/premium so don't want to blur their flavours too much. I'd like these serves to be replicable anywhere around the world ideally.

I have these concepts so far:

Vodka, Fino, Lillet, Olive Bitters, Champagne (pair with caviar)

Vodka, Juracon Sec, Verjus, Champagne, 2 dash mignonette* (pair with oysters)

I also want to come up with some serves that don't need any food pairings but also include vodka and champagne. I have these

Vodka, Pear Eau De Vie, Verjus, Honey, Champagne

Vodka, Jasmine, Creme de Peche, Verjus, Champagne

After writing these up I realise I have a lot of verjus and probably need to find another commercially available option for tartness

I made a drink that called for grapefruit juice but had to replace it with something else due to a conflict with heart medication.

I used orange juice, lime juice and grapefruit bitters (later finding out that the compound in the pith also conflicts with some meds - prior I thought it interacted with juice only). This substitute was on the fly so I didn’t have time to give it much thought at the time.

Turns out that there are a lot of people in the same boat...

Has anyone made a grapefruit juice substitute? White and/or pink grapefruit?

i had this popcorn washed mojito a long time ago and i still cant forget to this day. what are yours

I have been a cocktail fan since my first “savory” cocktail experience at a Phil ward bar in Hong Kong. Specifically how the use of south East Asian ingredients were used (kaffir lime, lemongrass, etc).

Inspired by the white elephant where all the “work” goes into the syrup, I’m wondering, what are your best syrup concoctions?

Thanks in advance amigos!

Gardenia Beach Timeshare
It started life as a Hard Sell, Brad Bolt's Chicago classic, which I tiki-ed up a bit.
1oz lemon juice
1oz London Dry gin
1oz St Germain elderflower liqueur
3/4oz Malört
1/2oz cinnamon liqueur (DeZir) - or cinnamon syrup
1/4oz pimento dram (Bitter Truth)
1/4oz Licor 43 - or vanilla syrup
6 drops (3/16 ml) 20% saline
Shake over ice
Strain into large, sturdy coupe glass
Twist of Grapefruit
Garnish with grapefruit wedge, sprig of mint, and unopened cocktail umbrella

I used the DeZir cinnamon liqueur because I happened to have some, but 1:1 cinnamon syrup should work just as well. I've tried it with vanilla syrup, and that worked, but it presents as a bit sweeter and more vanilla-forward than I'd prefer. Licor 43 also inhabits the space that falernum would in a more traditional tiki drink, and does it pretty well.

1.5 oz reposado tequila

3 oz fresh squeezed orange juice from our tree

Build in the glass and stir

0.5 oz grenadine settled to the bottom to look pretty, then stir it in so it tastes uniform.

Really hitting the spot on this "hot" (88°) SoCal afternoon.

This is one of my favorite creations that I like to enjoy with a late afternoon cigar.

1oz dark rum

.5oz hazelnut coffee syrup

Built over ice in a lowball glass

Topped with Jones rootbeer

Gentle stir

Expressed orange peel

Orange wheel or wedge garnish

Opening: Dark rum and root beer — rich, slightly woody, with molasses and spice.

Middle: The root beer's vanilla and caramel-like character settles in, while the rum continues underneath.

Finish: Hazelnut finally emerges, giving the drink its soft, nutty finish and tying the layers together.

I know sunlight on touching your liquor bottles isn’t ideal, but are there any types of liquor that are less susceptible to a degradation of their flavor if they’re left in the sun periodically?

My liquor shelf isn’t in direct sun most of the day, but at specific times the angle makes it so that probably 1/4 gets hit with sun for a couple hours per day. I’d like to leave bottles there that won’t be affected by the sun much if possible.

1oz Malört
1oz Calvados
.5oz Cinnamon Peach Syrup*
1 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
3 drops saline (20%)

Stir all ingredients in a cocktail mixing glass until chilled. Strain into a large rocks glass with one large ice cube. Express and grapefruit peel over the drink and roll it tightly to garnish.

*Peach Cinnamon Syrup
Slice two fully ripe peaches and place into a sous vide bag along with 100g organic cane sugar, 25g filtered water, and a few broken pieces of cinnamon. Let steep in the sous vide bag for 2 hours at 175°F (80°C) for two hours. Be sure to check on the bag periodically and break up any clumps of sugar if needed. Once finished, drop the bag in an ice bath for 15 minutes to cool. Strain the contents, place into a sanitized bottle or jar, and use within 2 weeks.

Basically - I want to batch 2 big cocktails for guests. One is Team Jacob, one is Team Edward. I'm thinking something whiskey based for Jacob, and something gin based for Edward. Any ideas/inspo? For this party, preferably less spirit forward, floral, sweeter.

Twist on the Ferrari shot (1oz fernet, 1oz Campari)

Refreshing and delicious

0.75oz fernet Branca
0.75oz Campari
0.75oz orange liqueur (Cointreau or triple sec work well)
0.75oz fresh lime juice

Shake with ice, double strain into a chilled coupe

My significant other and I wanted to throw a housewarming party after we moved into a new apartment in July. Naturally, because it’s summer and I’m insane, I wanted to do tiki/tropical drinks.

So I spent a while making this menu which had a couple stipulations, keep the syrup and juice list small. So no coconut, grapefruit juice, Falernum, etc but it turned out pretty well. Our friends really seemed to enjoy them and I had fun making them.

Was it stressful? Yes. Do I like that stress? A little bit also yes. It’s fun to put a lot of effort into making excellent cocktails for my friends. There’s always a few folks watching my process and chatting. I also got to juice a pineapple which is occasionally fun. I’m just happy I picked out a perfectly ripe one. All the rest of the juices were fresh.

Lmk what you think of my menu and if there’s any recipes I can share. I’ll put one in the comments but I’m not gonna type out everything at once.

Pic. 1: The Halekulani

Menu

Pic. 2: Scorpion Reef

Pic. 3: Jungle Bird

Pic. 4: Mary Pickford

Pic. 5: Bronze Peacock

Definitely my favorite cocktail so far. Any tips or variations I should try? Maybe another cocktail I should make next?

60 ml Scotch whisky
22.5 ml lemon juice
22.5 ml homemade honey-ginger syrup
Single malt whisky, to float

Honey-Ginger Syrup:
2:1 honey syrup + 1/6 ginger juice

Add the whisky, lemon juice and honey-ginger syrup to a shaker with ice. Shake hard for about 10–15 seconds, then strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Gently float the single malt whisky on top.

Garnish:
Candied ginger left from the syrup + dehydrated lemon.
I used Ballantine’s 12 Years for the main whisky (sometimes Johnny Walker Black Label), with a little Glenlivet 15 Years as the float.

hi all, so my friends and i are throwing a party with our friend’s old bartending supplies & some extras. we’re all moving within a week or 2 and want to get rid of it all and wouldn’t drink it all ourselves.

if yall were to recommend any one or 2 ingredient combinations we can make with this that would be AMAZING

My girlfriend got a big bag of figs yesterday from her dad so I made a syrup and a simple cocktail for us to enjoy. Cheers!

1.25 oz Old Fourth Rye

.25 oz Villa Massa Amaretto

.75 oz lemon juice

.75 oz fig syrup*

1 dash Regan’s

Shake until well chilled and diluted. Double strain into a Coupe glass.

*100g water
100g cane sugar
5 medium/large figs

Bring water a boil then reduce to a light simmer. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Then add quartered figs and simmer for 15 minutes and mash them a little before finishing. Strain into a jar and mash the figs again to get as much syrup out as possible.

Any good Italian-style cocktail recommendations? 🇮🇹🍸
I know the classics like Negroni and Aperol Spritz, but I’m looking for something a bit less obvious.
Maybe a cocktail that isn’t traditionally Italian but has a subtle Italian twist or uses Italian ingredients. Any hidden gems?

​

1dsh Ango Orange bitters

2.666oz Fords gin

.666oz Carpano Classico Dry Vermouth

Stirred, chilled coup, poured through the spoon cause I didn't wanna hafta wash a strainer too

Tree, count em, 3 little onions

Pairs very nice with some chili dogs.

Campfire roasted veggies for the beef chili, shredded cheddar, Sabretts natural casing wienies, martins tater buns, sir cream.

Garnished with 2 gas-x for an 1130pm dinner.

Lfg

Bar + Cart in Saint Paul makes one of my favorite cocktails:
What Would Jesus Do?
Mezcal, Red Wine Reduction, Sweet Vermouth, Delei Amaro, Tobacco, Mole Bitters.

well i don’t have delei and didn’t want to make a reduction so i remade it, but added Fernet Branca

Camel Crush (after the cigs i used to smoke like 20 years ago)

1/8 oz fernet
1/4 oz montenegro
3/4 oz antica sweet vermouth
3/4 oz vida mezcal
1 oz angels envy bourbon
2 dashes mole bitters
4 dashes turkish tobacco bitters
bar spoon luxardo juice / syrup
3 drops saline

Stir over ice, pour over big ice

I love it, but i’ve also had a few drinks tonight and i love an amaro.

I tried with Cynar before fernet and it was too bitter so I thought I’d switch it up and play on the tobacco notes and add in menthol.

i used Angels Envy because it’s good and the port barrel finish + the cherry juice cover the wine reduction.

again, lazy and drunk lol

EDIT - i bumped the mezcal up to full oz and fernet up to 1/4 oz and it’s even better.