Root Down

     Delicious root beer with an alcoholic kick, Sprecher, you've stolen my heart. This is what root beer should be. The flavors it sends your palate through are nothing less than a sensory roller coaster ride. Intensely flavorful root beer, a good undertone of "malt beverage," and finishing with a great vanilla-bourbon sweetness. I love this stuff. Now what can we do with this?
     The first thing that comes to mind is a shot we used to drink half a decade ago. Once root beer on tap came about the big thing then was to mix it with Jagermeister and slam the whole thing. Although slammers are great, it's not something savored. So why not make it a long drink? I believe Averna amaro would work great here, and it does. Give it a try.

Root Down
1 oz. Pyrat XO Reserve
1/2 oz. Averna Amaro
top with 1/2 bottle Sprecher Hard Root Beer

Stone Fence

     Patio weather is here, and what's more refreshing on a hot day than some hard cider? I do love a good carbonated apple beverage, but hard cider for me just isn't that hard. Outside of the "usual" ciders, Strongbow and Woodchuck there has been a resurgence over the last few years, and I must say that I am on board. Shock Top's Honey Crisp Apple Wheat and Angry Orchard are but just a few great ciders that have come to light with a near cult following, and I must say that they are delicious. But what's better than a cider beer to cool down?, how about a shot of rum with it? Yes, please.
     The Stone Fence or Stone Wall as it it sometimes referred is a great, simple cocktail for the warmer days of summer. Delicious, refreshing and simple. Why make it complicated after a hard day?

 Stone Fence
1.5 oz. rum (Pyrat XO Reserve)
1 bottle of cider
(I used Newton's Folly)
build in a glass
(ice and/or bitters optional)

Curious George

     A recent trip to St. Louis cultivated a cocktail enthusiasm I wasn't expecting. From the duck-fat infused scotch to the house-made allspice drams and tobacco bitters, this city surprised me. Playing off these ideas reminded me of some of the offerings in Left Coast Libations, a book chronicling some of the best drinks and bartenders on the west coast. A melange of all of this spooled around in my noodle for some time.

     Let's start then with some banana chip infused rum, homemade allspice dram, and some tobacco bitters. These sound like a great start for a curious drink that will compile upon these flavors. Waiting is the worst part, ten days to infuse the rum and steep the tobacco bitters? Two to three weeks to infuse the dram? Patience is a virtue, one I don't believe I possess in this matter.
     Finally the wait is over, and WOW! is that dram intense, like eating a spoonful of cinnamon I suspect it to be quite astringent. But alas, it's not quite so crazy. The cinnamon definitely comes through on the nose and leads to pure unadulterated allspice berry flavor. I think using a whiskey rather than a light rum really added a depth of flavor that such an intense liqueur needed. But on to the drink.
     Concocting the recipe felt effortless, a glug of this a dash of that and we have a great cocktail. Although I had originally intended to use tobacco bitters in this cocktail I found that months would be required to draw out the tobacco flavor and I knew this drink couldn't simply wait on that. But once the bitters is ready it will added into this cocktail as a garnish to entice the senses. And thus I give you;

Curious George

2 oz. banana chip-infused rum

(I used Pyrat but Bacardi 8 might be better)

1 oz. lime juice

3/4 oz. spiced honey syrup

1/2 oz. Averna amaro

1/3 oz. homemade allspice dram

- shake and strain

garnish 1-2 dashes tobacco bitters