Drink Recipes

Mile High Mai Tai

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Sticking with a Tropical Theme, this week’s drink is Ron Zacapa Ambassador, Robert Gonzales’ take on the classic Mai Tai.


Ingredients:
1 ½ oz Ron Zacapa 23
1 oz fresh lime juice
¾ oz Mandarine Napoléon
¾ oz Velvet Falernum
½ oz Orgeat
¼ oz All Spice Dram
3 Chunks of fresh roasted pineapple, muddled

Directions:
Cut Pineapple in to chunks and roast for 10 – 15 min on 350F. Let cool. Place pineapple chunks … Read more

Pau Hana Cocktails for the Tin Man Triathlete

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Friday means end of work week and time to kickback. We’re continuing with our drink menus from Tim Rita, mixologist extraordinaire at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki. Here’s a flight of three drinks he created in honor of the Tin Man Triathlon, a lightweight race that is a tongue-in-cheek node to the more prominent Iron Man on the Big Island.  (FYI, this post is from our friends at the Hawaii travel zine Hawaiirama – part … Read more

Lychee Gimlet

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Until this drink, I’d never had a cocktail made with fresh lychees. Their bumpy shell houses a squishy, gelatinous fruit with a little seed inside that. It tastes like a sweeter more syrupy grape with an exotic fruit twist. Nolet’s Gin sent me a box of lychees and a suggestion for how to use them … a Gimlet made with lychees. How could I resist?

In case you’ve never seen a lychee before (I hadn’t), … Read more

Negroni

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This week’s drink is the Negroni! I’ll admit I didn’t love my first Negroni, but now I can’t imagine why. Made with London dry gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, this Italian aperitif has a strong character and unique flavor that I’ve grown to love.  One Negroni leaves you wanting more.

Ingredients:
1 part London dry gin
1 part Campari
1 part Italian sweet vermouth

Directions:
Pour each ingredient over ice in an old-fashioned glass and … Read more

Winners Cup

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(Note: We’re going to be doing some cross posting with Hawaiirama, a travel blog / webzine focused on Hawaii. Natch, there are some great cocktail recipes floating around the boites of paradise.)

Tim Rita is the chief barkeep / mixologist at the Halekulani, a posh hotel also known for its extraordinary cocktails. (Cocktail guru Dale DeGroff was previously the in house mixologist). Tim is a playful kinda guy and feels compelled to create whimsical seasonal … Read more

Plum Smash

This week’s drink is my favorite of this summer! Juicy, dark-red plums combine with thyme and bourbon to make a surprisingly complex cocktail. The vanilla notes of the bourbon underscore the tart and sweet flavors to make for a refreshing and fresh tasting drink.… Read more

Daiquiri

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Happy National Daiquiri Day!

Named after the Cuban town in which it was born around the Turn of the Century, the Daiquiri was invented by American miners and Cuban doctors as a way to fight disease. It is from this cocktail that it’s many, more fruity & frozen variations have arisen. Read more

Floradora Cocktail

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Originating in the 1890s, the Floradora is a fresh cool highball cocktail that still stands tall in the 21st century. The refreshing combo of raspberries, gin, lime and a bite of ginger beer is just right on a summer’s eve. The trick with this drink is to pick a gin that is not overly junipery (yep that’s a word). We like Hendrick’s.

Ingredients:
3 parts gin
1 part fresh lime juice
Ginger beer
Fresh Raspberries… Read more

Elderflower Sipper

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Hot summer days call for cool cocktails! This one is light, bubbly and low-octane.

St. Germain elderflower liqueur has a delicate floral flavor that, when combined with crisp club soda and a little lemon, is perfect for sipping in the sun. For those who want a little more kick, add some gin or vodka to this drink. There’s elderflower syrup out there as a non-alcoholic option as well.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz St. Germain elderflower … Read more

Independence

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Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz Camus VSOP Elegance Cognac
3/4 oz Ruby Port
3/4 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth

Directions:
Stir over ice. Strain into Champagne flute.

Created by Ted Kilgore – St. Louis, MO. Courtesy of Camus Cognac.… Read more