Dusk to Dawn

April 02, 2019 by Valcohol

With more hours of sunshine, buds appearing on trees, and my first seed garden happily sprouting on the windowsill, I’m in full spring mode and planning for patio entertaining. Springtime encourages me to transition from the richness of whiskey cocktails to the lightness of gin cocktails, but I crafted this cocktail with a barrel-aged gin to make that transition smoother. As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, barrel-aged gin is an excellent option for guests who are weary of the juniper and other herbal notes of traditional gins. Aged gins tend to carry the richer oaky mouthfeel of whiskey with a smoother layer of herbal flavor.

KOVAL barrel-aged gin is one of my favorites, in part due to the flavor profile and in part due to the gorgeous bottle design (pro tip: keep the bottle once it’s empty and add a pour spout to use for storing olive oil on your kitchen counter).

Choosing a more rounded gin allowed me to add different herbal notes with one of my favorite new liqueur additions to the home bar: Italicus. This liqueur is technically an Italian aperitivo but it’s not bitter as you would expect. On the contrary, this liqueur is citrus and floral forward and incredibly bright. It’s primarily built with bergamot and another Italian citrus variety with the addition of chamomile, lavender, gentian, rose and melissa balm.

To continue along the path of juicy, fruit-forward flavors, I added muddled Champagne grapes to the mix. This grape variety is small, sweet, and crisp with just a hint of tartness. They’re wonderful muddled and double as a beautiful edible garnish for this cocktail. If you can’t find Champagne grapes in a store near you I’d recommend using ripe green grapes instead.

I finished this drink off with a touch of lemon juice to balance the sweetness of the fruit and liqueur and a splash of club soda for bubbles.

The resulting cocktail is bursting with citrus, ripe fruit, and herbal notes yet is incredibly smooth and refreshing.

Dusk to Dawn

1.5 oz barrel-aged gin
0.5 oz Italicus liqueur
1 palm-sized step of champagne grapes (with another step for garnishing)
0.25 oz fresh lemon juice
Club soda, to top

Muddle grapes in a shaker until all juice has been released, then add ice and all ingredients other than the club soda. Shake until chilled and strain into a stemmed glass. Top with club soda as desired and garnish with additional grapes. Enjoy on the patio in the warm, tranquil dusk of springtime.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography and to Gather Vintage Tablescapes for the beautiful vintage glasses and tray.

Fruit Bowl

September 15, 2017 by Valcohol

Blended drinks aren't often bucketed into the craft cocktail category. Perhaps that's because the term "blended" makes many of us think of candy-sweet classics like hurricane slushies, strawberry daiquiris, and piña coladas. I've been happy to see cocktail bars in Chicago and throughout the country challenging that stereotype by creating blended drinks with more depth and quality of ingredients. It seemed like a great idea to join the movement myself.

I love a good blended cocktail for several reasons. They're

Easy to make in bulk
Surprisingly hydrating (you tend to consume a lot more of the ice then you would in a cocktail served on the rocks), and
Allow you to get away with using thicker textures, thus retaining more ingredient flavor.

I chose to stay with rum for the spirit since it tends to be the go-to for so many tropical, blended beverages. Instead of using white rum, I featured Oak and Cane, an aged rum infused with orange peel, for more weight and character. I wanted the rum to add interest to the drink rather than simply getting lost amid the fruit flavors and this one certainly delivered. The cool (and rare) thing about Oak and Cane is that it's made in Florida of entirely American ingredients (Florida grown sugarcane and orange peels and American white oak barrels for aging). Its flavor profile is both woodsy and lightly bitter from the citrus yet delightfully smooth at 80 proof.

For the fruit components, I used chunks of ripe pineapple, homemade peach puree, and freshly squeezed lime juice. It's true that incorporating the fruit in these forms takes more work, but it makes a world of difference in the finished product. Though pineapple juice can be an alternative if you can't find fresh pineapple, the flavor will be more muted and syrupy rather than vibrantly sweet/tart. I've also tried several different peach liqueurs but nothing ever came close to the fragrant sweetness of freshly made peach puree. That being said, ripe pineapples and peaches aren't always available so, if you really find that you love this drink, consider pureeing and freezing the fruit for future use.

Blending these ingredients with ice resulted in an absolutely beautiful (and ridiculously delicious) foam. The cocktail will separate after you pour it into the glasses and all of the froth will rise to the top. I garnished the drinks with dehydrated lime slices as they have a lovely scent and are a little bit lighter than fresh slices for sitting on top of foam. You can check out an earlier post for instructions on making dehydrated citrus at home. The resulting drink has a delightfully creamy texture and fresh fruit brightness intermingled with the woodsy depth of the rum.

The Fruit Bowl

2 oz Oak and Cane Rum
1/4 cup pineapple chunks
1.5 oz peach puree
Juice of 1/4 lime
Dehydrated lime, for garnish

Add all ingredients other than dehydrated lime to a blender along with 4-5 ice cubes and blend on a medium/high speed until the texture is consistent and frothy. Pour into stemless glasses and top with the dehydrated lime. Enjoy whenever you need some extra sunshine in your life.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography and to Gather Vintage Tablescapes for the lovely MCM tray and glasses.

Campfire Tale

March 15, 2017 by Valcohol

Lovers of bitter flavors rejoice - this cocktail is the first (and most potent) in a three part series covering my exploration of bitter spirits! Not a fan of bitter cocktails? You're probably best off avoiding this one - but I have some more manageable options coming your way. My goal was to find a spectrum of bitterness that everyone could enjoy so the two recipes to follow this one will be less booze/bitter forward and lighter in flavor profile.

I was inspired to create this cocktail after a trip to Fonda Frontera in Wicker Park. They offered a modern take on the classic Vieux Carré cocktail with Añejo tequila replacing the cognac. I loved the smoky, bitter feeling of the drink and wanted to give it a try with the ingredients I had on hand in my home bar.

I'm not much of a tequila drinker but I tend to love all forms of aged spirits for the richer, woodier taste they take on through barrel aging. Añejo tequila is aged in small oak barrels from 1 to 3 years and features an amber color and pleasantly smoky flavor and aroma. I recently received a bottle from Grand Centenario, and it's hands down the best tequila I've ever tried in terms of flavor and mouthfeel.

I used Koval Distillery Rye but Rittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond Rye could be an alternative if you're looking to limit your costs. For the bitter element, I chose St. George Bruto Americano. I first discovered this delightful spirit when looking for a natural alternative to Campari (which uses red food coloring). I had a lot of faith in the St. George brand for their diverse line of gins and Spiced Pear Liqueur. Their take on an aperitivo liqueur certainly left an impression. The Bruto really packs a punch and can be used sparingly to add citrusy, woody and bitter complexity.

I finished the drink off with a few dashes of orange bitters and an orange-peel wrapped Amarena cherry garnish to emphasize the citrus in the Bruto. The resulting cocktail is wonderfully deep in wood and smoke flavors yet surprisingly smooth given that it's 100% alcohol!

Campfire Tale

1 oz Añejo tequila
.75 oz Rye whiskey
0.5 oz St. George Bruto Americano
3 drops orange bitters

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with an orange twist, cocktail cherry, or both and enjoy while sharing gripping tales around a campfire.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography and to Gather Vintage Tablescapes for the tray and hollow stemmed coupes.

Fireside Pact

December 18, 2016 by Valcohol

This time of the year, while a whirlwind of giving and celebration, is also an important time to look inward and consider your own fulfillment. My mixology craft has brought me so much satisfaction through the ability to grow creatively, the positive feedback loop with my followers, and the relationships I've been able to build with like-minded brands nationwide. The excitement of sharing something delectable and beautiful can truly cure me of any worry.

Earlier this month, I had the very special experience of getting a private tour and tasting at KOVAL, one of my favorite local distilleries. Learning about the brand gave me such a profound appreciation of KOVAL's innovation, attention to ingredient quality, and inspired brand design. I enjoyed every spirit and liqueur I sampled, but was especially impressed with the barreled gin and barreled peach brandy. Not only were both bottles absolutely stunning, but the spirits themselves were unique, well-balanced and begging to be mixed into a delicious beverage.

I figured the barrel-aged flavors of the gin and peach brandy would pair well but wanted to make sure both spirits were highlighted in the resulting concoction. Honey and Meyer lemon came to mind as the perfect complements. A honey simple syrup contributed smooth, buttery sweetness while fresh squeezed Meyer lemon and lemon twist garnish brought a touch of tartness and enhanced the cocktail's botanical profile. I also added a dash of ginger bitters to enhance the spirits' spice without diluting the drink's strength.

The result is a definite crowd pleaser for gin and whiskey drinkers alike with its sweet, lightly spiced body, balanced tartness and pleasant herbal finish.

The Fireside Pact

1 oz KOVAL barreled gin
1 oz KOVAL barreled peach brandy
0.5 oz honey syrup*
4 drops ginger bitters
Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass over ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass, garnish with a lemon twist and enjoy over a spirited chat by a roaring fire.

*To make honey syrup, heat a half cup of honey and a half cup of water in a small pot at low heat. Stir frequently until honey dissolves to avoid boiling. Allow to cool and store excess in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Thanks to Belen Aquino for the stunning cocktail photography and to Gather Vintage Tablescapes for the lovely crystal coupes.