Memorial Day is the perfect time for simple, low ABV, thirst-quenching drinks.  Since beer says summer and barbecues, nothing is better than celebrating the weekend with beer cocktails.  The classic is the Shandy – equal parts lemon soda and beer.  But you can get really creative by just combining your spirit of choice, fruit juice, simple syrup and beer.

One of our favorite beers, Highwheel Betty, is a Kölsch style brew from San Antonio.  Mexican beers are a good alternative and also Dogfish Namaste.  For spirits, we use gin, vodka, tequila, and Kinsman Rakia – an apricot eau de vie.

Here’s a glass lifted to all those service men and women who gave their all!

For recipes, scroll down or clink the links.

Old Glory Kinsman Grog

Old Glory Gin or Vodka Grog

Old Glory Tequila Grog

Gin and Beer Tonic

Kinsman

This cocktail is refreshing and light.  The taste is apricot, lemon and beer.  To create this cocktail, I tried first lemon, then lime then grapefruit juices.  I put a splash of Rakia in a shot glass along with each different juice and simply tasted them. After making the choice of lemon, I added the Rakia and lemon juice to a shaker without ice.  To that I added 1/4 oz simple syrup and tasted the drink.  I felt it needed more simple so I added another 1/4 oz.  This taste was slightly sweet – which means the finished cocktail, after chilling, will be well balanced.  You can use the same methods to create cocktails with the other spirits below.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. Rakia
• 2 oz. Fresh lemon Juice
• 1/2 oz. Simple Syrup (1/4 oz – 1 1/2 oz per your taste)
• 6+ oz. Highwheel Betty or your favorite
• Lemon wheel for garnish (Optional)

Directions:

1. Add the Rakia, lemon and simple syrup to a shaker with ice.  Shake to chill.
2. Strain into beer glass
3. Top with beer
4. Garnish with lemon wheel

Gin or Vodka

The flavor of your beer cocktail will be significantly different depending on your choice of Gin or Vodka.  Going deeper, your choice of Gin will also effect the flavor.  The use of a flavored vodka will add even more layers of flavor.  Whichever of these spirits you choose, the ratios of ingredients are fairly constant: 1:1 Spirit to Juice

The beer you use will effect your choice of juice and the quantity of simple syrup.  Which fresh juice is a personal preference but I suggest lemon, lime or grapefruit.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 – 2 oz. Gin or Vodka
• 1 1/2 – 2 oz Fresh citrus juice
• 1/4 – 2 oz. Simple syrup
• 6+ oz beer
• Garnish to match your choice of juice – optional

Directions:

1. Add spirit, juice and simple syrup to a shaker with ice.  Shake to chill
2. Strain into beer glass, with or without fresh ice, and top with beer
3. Garnish

Tequila

For Tequila beer drinks, we like to use lime, pineapple or grapefruit.  The ratios are similar to our Kinsman cocktail.  The amount of simple syrup will primarily be determined by the tartness of the juice.  Generally more simple with lime and grapefruit and less to none with pineapple.  If your pineapple concoction is too sweet for your taste, try using equal amounts of pineapple and lime juice.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. Plata tequila
• 1 1/2 – 2 oz. Fresh juice
• 1/4 – 1 1/2 oz. Simple syrup
• 6+ oz beer
• Garnish to match your choice of juice – optional

Directions:

1. Add Tequila, juice and simple syrup to a shaker with ice.  Shake to chill
2. Strain into beer glass and top with beer
3. Garnish

Enjoy!

Cinco de Mayo was originally observed to commemorate the Mexican Army’s victory over the French at Puebla in 1862.  Today, it is usually celebrated in the US by indulging in chips, salsa and margaritas.  While margaritas are really, really good, we would like to offer a few additional tequila cocktails to enjoy.  (And maybe some food as well!)

Grapefruit Tequila Sour

This has just the right balance of sweet, tart and sour.  It will be prettier with white grapefruit juice, but we usually can only get ruby reds.  Just be sure to use fresh juice. Continue reading  →

San Antonio Cloud

I found the recipe on a scrap of paper along with a bunch of other little “notes to self” hiding in my desk a few years ago.  There was no reference on it, so I have no idea where it came from.  Anyway, it’s a tequila based cocktail with the tartness and color of pomegranate.  The elderflower foam floating on top makes for a pretty as well as delicious drink.    Continue reading  →

Tequila Old Fashioned

This is another bitters forward old fashioned.  The tequila is perfectly complimented by the sweet, smoky agave and the  chocolate and spices of the bitters.  Continue reading  →

Yucatan Old Fashioned

This is a smoky, spicy version of the Tequila Old Fashioned.  You can use an iSi Whipper for instant gratification, or give yourself a couple of days to let the tequila infuse with the chipotle.  Either way, this is an impressive, complex cocktail.  Continue reading  →

Tequila Manhattan

Definitely not a chocolate martini, this is a southwestern makeover of the Manhattan.  Continue reading  →

Rosita Cocktail

I’m fairly certain that this is Robert Hess’s version, but the Rosita Cocktail first appeared in a Mr. Boston recipe book in the 1980’s.  The plata tequila blends nicely with the complex flavors of the sweet and dry vermouths and the herbal/bitterness of the Campari.  Continue reading  →

 Tequila Moonlight

This was our entry into MxMo, “The Unknown.”  The combination of Reposado Tequila, Cocchi Rosa and Kahlua Midnight makes a perfect after dinner drink.

Continue reading →

Now, how about some snacks to go with these drinks!

Smoked Gouda-Chorizo Jalapeno Poppers

Jalapeno Poppers

These are easy and quick to make, and the filling can be made ahead of time.  Continue reading  →

Fish Tacos

This is our version of the iconic street food.

Finally, if you really NEED a margarita, here are three of our most requested:

Jalapeño Margarita

This margarita is a new favorite because of its subtle taste of jalapeño with the slightest bit of heat on the finish. Continue reading →

Classic Margarita #1

A simple but classic margarita on the rocks.   Beware: the sweetness hides the alcohol content.  Continue reading  →

Cadillac Margarita

This is our Classic Margarita #2 dressed up with Grand Marnier Foam.  It’s not as tart as #1 – nor as strong! Continue Reading →

Have fun but stay safe!

Cheers!

When we host a party, my wife often tells me she wants a cocktail(s) that will pair with food “X” for which she can coordinate a name, even the colors she wants.  This time she wanted a cocktail with tequila and pineapple.  While there are a few delicious, classic pineapple/tequila cocktails, most of these drinks are sweet and poorly balanced.  Now I’ll digress!

You can download this spread sheet, Pineapple Simple Sour, follow the directions and skip the explanation below.  Then just jump down to the recipe here.

The problem you encounter when you substitute one juice for another in a cocktail, especially if you swap a citrus for a non-citrus juice, is loss of balance.  The drink easily becomes too sweet, (the most frequent result), too sour (acidic), too bitter, too strong or too weak.  The example for this cocktail is pineapple juice, but this discussion is equally true of orange, strawberry, apple or practically any juice.  When you substitute all or part of lime or lemon juice with pineapple juice, you are decreasing the primarily acidic and not very sweet lime/lemon juice and adding the sweet and not as acidic pineapple juice.  Lime juice is 6% acid and 1.5% sugar, while pineapple juice is 0.8% acid and 10% sugar.  Let’s say that you have a cocktail that is:

• 2 parts Spirit (45%  ABV)
• 2 parts Lime juice

The above drink will have an ABV of 22.5% and will be 3% acid and 0.75% sugar … and will not be very good.  If you were to add 2 parts pineapple juice, your drink will have an ABV of 15%, and will be 2% acid and about 4% sugar.  While adding pineapple juice to the above drink would probably be an improvement, it will still be a completely different cocktail.  Now, think about the above with 1 part simple syrup.  Figuring out how to maintain the cocktails sweet/sour balance quickly becomes mind numbing.

Dave Arnold extensively covers all of this in his book, Liquid Intelligence.   A book I highly recommend.  His suggestion for solving the above substitutions is to add acid to the juice to make it equal in acidity to lime juice.  Then you can sub away.  I heard Dave speak at this year’s San Antonio Cocktail Conference.  In addition to discussing the above, Dave covered creating fruit juice syrup with the same sugar content by weight as 1:1 simple syrup.  It is not uncommon for a cocktail to be 20% simple syrup.  That means a 20% dilution.  If you use a fruit simple syrup, you will still be diluting the ABV and acidity, but you’ll at least be enforcing the fruit flavor.  This is all a whole lot easier than it sounds.

Acidifying Fruit Juice

Lime juice has both citric and malic acids.  So, to acidify a juice, you need only know the percent acid in that juice and subtract that from 6% (the acid content of lime juice).  Since pineapple juice is 0.8% acid, 6%-0.8% = 5.2%.  To acidify a liter of pineapple juice, you will add 32 gm of citric acid and 20 gm of malic acid.  Pineapple juice has a highly variable quantity of pulp, even if you filter it.  This means that 1 liter of pineapple juice will actually weigh more than 1 Kg.  However, it usually makes little difference, so you can just measure out 1 liter of juice and add 32 gm of citric acid and 20 gm of malic acid.  The spread sheet above, actually asks you to weigh 1 cup of juice because it also calculates your pineapple simple syrup.

Making Pineapple Simple Syrup

Simple syrup is made by dissolving 1 part sugar in 1 part water.  This should be by weight, though it’s frequently made by volume.  The issue with making a syrup from fruit juice is that the juice already contains sugar.  Adding the full quantity of sugar by weight or by volume will result in a syrup that is too sweet, thus easily unbalancing your cocktail.  To avoid this, you need to know the weight of sugar in the juice and the weight of the liquid – which will equal the weight of the sugar to make 1:1.  If you’re using bottled juice, just look at the label to see the weight of sugar in a “serving” of the juice.   The weight of sugar per volume will vary by brand.  The nutritional chart shown here indicates that 240 ml of juice contains 30 grams of sugar.  If you’re using fresh juice, consult the Google!  So to use this juice:

1. Weigh 240 ml of juice in grams
2. Subtract 30 grams (the weight of sugar in that juice) to calculate the weight of liquid.
3. The weight of the liquid will equal the weight of sugar needed.  But you already have 30 grams of sugar.  So subtract 30 from the calculated weight of liquid to equal the weight of additional sugar needed.

So by example:

1. Lets say the 240 ml of juice weighed 250 grams
2. The liquid weight will equal: 250-30 = 220 grams
3. You need 220 grams of sugar.  But, you already have 30 grams.
4. Therefore, the weight of additional sugar needed will equal 220-30 = 190 grams.

Or you can use the spread sheet: Pineapple Simple Sour

The Ghost of Birthdays Past

The only extra tool you will need for this is a digital kitchen or postal scale that will measure in grams.  You can purchase one from Amazon here.  You will also need to purchase citric and malic acid, also available from Amazon.

The name of this cocktail is derived from Ghost Tequila and the fact that I made the drink for my birthday!  The flavors are pineapple and the tequila with the Ghost Tequila bringing just a touch of heat.  You can alter the amount of Ghost Tequila to adjust the spiciness to fit your taste.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 oz. Ghost Tequila
• 1 1/2 oz. Silver tequila such as Milagro
• 2 1/2 oz. Acid adjusted pineapple juice
• 1 1/2 oz Pineapple Simple Syrup
• 1/4 oz. Cointreau or triple sec

1.  To make the Acidified Pineapple juice and the pineapple simple syrup, refer to the spread sheet: Pineapple Simple Sour
2. Chill a large, stemmed glass with ice and water
3. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice
4. Shake to chill
5. Double strain into chilled glass

Cheers!

Mixology Monday

It’s Mixology Monday, hosted by Garnish Blog, and the theme is chocolate!  I absolutely love it: chocolate and booze are a match made in Heaven!  We have three cocktails to offer this month: the Chocolate Manhattan, the Chocolate Covered Rum and the Chocolate Rum Old Fashioned.

Chocolate Manhattan

I attended a seminar on tequila and chocolate at the San Antonio Cocktail Conference last year.  It was an epiphany!  Which statement is true: “Chocolate goes with everything” or “Alcohol goes with everything?”  Or both?  Anyway, I used Milagro Plata Tequila which blends with the Lillet and chocolate in surprising ways.  The touch of bitterness and complexity of the Lillet Rouge complements the bittersweet Godiva.  This cocktail is not too sweet, but balanced and intriguing.

• 1 1/2 oz. Milagro Plata Tequila
• 3/4 oz. Lillet Rouge
• 1/2 oz. Godiva Dark Chocolate Liqueur

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Strain into chilled glass and serve

 Chocolate Covered Rum

Well, we have chocolate covered peanuts and chocolate covered espresso beans and chocolate covered everything else so why not chocolate covered rum? I made a chocolate simple syrup with coconut nectar and drinking chocolate.  It is really deeply chocolate and very thick.  This cocktail has the flavor of rum and coconut but the dark chocolate predominates.  The spice of the chipotle and bitters keeps the sweetness at bay.

• 1 1/2 oz. Rum
• 1/2 oz Coconut Liqueur
• 1/4 oz. Chocolate Simple Syrup – see below
• 2 pinches chipotle powder
• 1 dash Fees Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and stir with a spoon to dissolve the chocolate syrup
3. Add Ice to the shaker and shake to chill
4. Double strain into chilled glass and serve

Chocolate Rum Old Fashioned

I thought that a simple Old Fashioned with aged rum and bittersweet chocolate would work.  It does.

• 1 1/2 oz. Barbancourt 12 yr old Rum
• 1/4 oz. Chocolate Simple Syrup
• Orange peel for garnish

1. Chill an Old Fashioned glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and stir with a spoon to dissolve the chocolate syrup
3. Add Ice to the shaker and shake to chill
4. Double strain into chilled glass, express the orange peel over the glass and serve.

Chocolate Simple Syrup

This is like eating a 97% cacao chocolate bar.  Only a touch sweet.  If it’s too thick, add some hot water.

• 1 oz. Water
• 1 oz. Coconut nectar or sub honey
• 4 tbls. Dagoba Drinking Chocolate mix.  You can substitute another brand but I used 130% of the amount to make 1 cup of drinking chocolate.
• 1 tbls. Sugar or to taste.

1. Heat all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat until dissolved
2. Cool slightly before use.
3. If it’s too thick, add some hot water.

Cheers!

Barrel aging at home is fairly simple, not ridiculously expensive and seriously worth doing.  The in’s and out’s of getting started are covered in our Barrel Aged Cocktails page.   While simply barrel aging cocktails is reason enough to get started, the real magic occurs when you age something in a barrel previously used for a different cocktail or spirit.  For instance, tequila aged in a barrel previously used to age sherry, bourbon, Manhattans and gin.  Or White Whiskey aged, first in a new charred barrel, then aged further after Negroni’s and a Martini.   Each of these take on flavors far beyond those found in a charred barrel alone.  Thus, the fun!

Here are some examples of what we’ve been putting in our barrels.

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Hudson White Whiskey

We used Hudson White Whiskey to flavor a new, charred oak barrel.  It went in, first for 1 month, then back into the barrel for 2-3 week stents between Negroni’s.  A Martini also spent some time in that barrel as well.  The Whiskey came out with a nice color.  The nose is caramel, vanilla, clove, herbal with a touch of corn whiskey.  The flavor is slightly sweet corn whiskey with the oak, caramel, vanilla and herbs.  There is a background of gin with a touch of bitterness on the finish.  We used it to make an excellent Boulivardier:

Boulivardier with Negroni Aged White Whiskey

• 1 oz. Negroni Aged White Whiskey
• 1 oz. Dolen Sweet Vermouth
• 1 oz. Campari
• Fat orange peel for garnish

1. Chill an old fashioned glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients, except the garnish, in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Strain into chilled old fashioned over fresh, large ice
4. Express orange peel over drink and float the peel

Barrel Aged Sherry

We used Lustau East India Solera Sherry to flavor a second new, charred oak barrel.  The barrel was then used to age Bourbon Manhattans.  These were aged alternating with the Sherry 3 or 4 times.  The barrel was then used to age bourbon, a Tequila Manhattan and gin.  The sherry revisited the barrel for 2 – 3 weeks between each cocktail or spirit. The sherry has a bit of color added.  The nose is sherry with vanilla, clove and a bit of caramel.  The flavor is dried fruits: current, apple, apricot and raisin.  I have used it in a number of cocktails that call for sherry.  It imparts a slightly mellow flavor along with the sherry you’d expect.  Here is our Sherry’d Manhattan:

Manhattan 2.0 with Manhattan/Bourbon/Tequila Barrel Aged Sherry

For the the bourbon in this cocktail, we tried Basil Hayden and Belle Mead.  Both were excellent.  The bourbon brings flavors of maple, tobacco, smoke and vanilla.  This blends well with the rich, earthy Carpano Antica’s tastes of herbs, spice and slight bitterness.  The aged sherry intermingles with the Italian Vermouth, smoothing the bitterness and adding to the richness.  Here is the recipe:

Manhattan 2.0

• 1 1/2 oz. Bourbon
• 3/4 oz.  Carpano Antica
• 1/4 oz. Manhattan/Bourbon/Tequila Barrel Aged Sherry
• 1/8 tsp. Grand Marnier
• 1 dash Angostura Orange  Bitters
• Garnish: Luxardo Maraschino Cherries and an orange peel

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Add the ingredients, except the garnish, to a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Strain into the chilled cocktail glass
4. Add the cherries, (or place them on a pick), and express the orange peel over the drink and discard.

Sherry Cask Aged Bourbon

This is one of my favorites.  The Sherry Cask Aged Bourbon alone makes barrel aging at home worth while!  I used Russel’s 10 yr Old Bourbon.  For an aged bourbon, Russel’s has a lot of spice.  Aging in a Sherry Cask which had previously been used to age Manhattans mellowed the spice.  There are significant flavors from the charred oak barrel: oak, clove, vanilla, and caramel.  You can also taste the sherry along with dried fruit, possibly from the Manhattans.

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Manhattan 3.0 with Sherry Cask Aged Bourbon

This cocktail is similar in concept to a barrel aged Manhattan cocktail.  However, since the bourbon has taken on flavors from the Sherry barrel while the vermouth was not exposed to the barrel or allowed to oxidize, the flavor is significantly different.  As noted above, the Sherry Cask Aged Bourbon brings flavors from the charred oak barrel: oak, clove, vanilla, and caramel with a touch of aged Sherry.  The unaged Carpano Antica maintains its rich flavors of fruit and almonds with spice and a slight bitterness on the finish.  Together, they create a fabulous cocktail.

• 2 oz. Sherry Cask Aged Bourbon
• 1 1/2 oz. Italian Vermouth (sweet)
• 1 tsp Grand Marnier
• 1 – 2 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
• Orange peel and Maraschino cherries for garnish

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water.
2. Stir to combine all ingredients, sans cherries, in a mixing glass with ice.
3. Strain into chilled cocktail glass, express the orange peel and garnish with the cherries

Negroni/Whiskey Barrel Aged Tequila

I used Milagro Plata Tequila and aged it for 2 weeks.  The barrel was the one described above with Hudson’s White Whiskey alternating with Negroni and a one time Gin Martini.  With this aging, I had placed the aged White Whiskey in the barrel just prior to the Tequila.  I suspect that the flavor profile might be significantly different if the Tequila had followed a Negroni instead.  In the 2 week time, the Tequila took on a little color and a  lot of flavor.  I was aiming for a primary Tequila flavor with background barrel notes.  I was not trying to create Repasado from Plata.  After the 2 weeks, the flavor of charred oak was fairly prominent but it was still Tequila and it had picked up vanilla and clove from the oak and spice from the whiskey/Negroni.  There was also some dried fruit and herbs from the Negroni.  After a few weeks in the bottle, the charred oak flavor diminished some while the rest of the flavors remained.

Whiskey/Negroni Barrel Aged Tequila Manhattan

In our standard Tequila Manhattan, I use Lillet Rouge instead of vermouth.  This cocktail calls for a much lighter touch so Dolin Sweet Vermouth fits nicely.  Sticking with the Tequila theme, I used Agavero Orange Liqueur as the sweetener.  It has a nice orange flavor and is a little sweeter than Grand Marnier.  If you need to substitute, use more Grand Marnier or add a dash of simple syrup.  I wanted to keep the “Manhattan” flavors as much as possible so I went with Bitter Truth’s Jerry Thomas Own Decanter Bitters.  The maraschino cherry brings the last touch of sweetness while the bitters up the complexity.

• 1 1/2 oz. Whiskey/Negroni Barrel Aged Tequila
• 1/2 oz. Dolin Sweet Vermouth
• 1/4 oz. Agavero Orange Liqueur
• 4 drops Bitter Truth’s Jerry Thomas Own Decanter Bitters sub Angostura
• Maraschino cherry

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingedients but the garnish in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the cherry.

 Sherry Barrel Aged Gin

The most distinctive thing about gin is the fresh, herbal flavor.  This is true whether you prefer a heavy juniper London Dry or one of the New American Styles.  In my use, barrel aging any gin cocktail flattens those herbal notes.  They are still there, but the bright, fresh aspect is gone.  What is added by the barrel aging process depends almost entirely on what was previously in the barrel and how long the gin is aged.  The process works very well for a Negroni – not so much for any type of Martini.

I have seen Sherry Aged Gin on the market, so I wanted to try this with my Sherry barrel.  I chose Ford’s Gin, one of my favorite London Dry’s.  The barrel had been used to age Sherry, several Manhattans, including a Tequila Manhattan and bourbon.  The Sherry went back into the barrel between each Manhattan and before and after the bourbon.  So, it had last been used for Sherry just prior to the Gin.  Of note, this barrel was reaching the end of its life.  Ultimately, you extract all of the flavors – just like a tea bag.  After the Gin, I put the Sherry back in the barrel for 4 weeks, then followed it with Bourbon.  The Bourbon required 8-10 weeks to achieve the flavors that previously had taken only 4 weeks.  After that, the barrel was done!

The Gin was aged for 4 weeks.  What came out was straw colored.  As noted earlier, the Gin looses some of the brightness of the botanicals but gains a touch of charred oak, a bit of bitterness, clove, cinnamon, dried fruit herbs from the vermouth in the Manhattans along with a bit of spice from the Bourbon.  There is a definite touch of Sherry.  All in all, aging the Ford’s Gin in the Sherry/Manhattan/Bourbon Barrel was one of our best outcomes.  Definitely worthy of a repeat!

Sherry Barrel Aged Gin Wet Martini

I wanted to enhance all of the flavors of the aged Gin and you’ll notice that this goes very light on the sweet vermouth.  With so little sweetener, the bitterness of the charred oak comes through.  The overall nose is Gin with a touch of oak.  Flavors are London Dry Gin with a flattening of the herbal notes and a bittersweet background of Sherry/Charred Oak.  The barrels previous Manhattan occupants add some dried fruit, herbs and spice.  I tried this with and without expressing a lemon peel, but couldn’t decide which I liked better.  So, I’ll leave the garnish to you!

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• 1 1/2 Sherry Barrel Aged Gin
• 1/4 oz. Dolin Sweet Vermouth
• 4 drops Regan’s Orange Bitters
• Lemon peel for garnish – optional

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Strain into chilled cocktail glass
4. Garnish with the lemon peel if using

Well, these are some of my ideas for barrel aging.  In reality, and part of the adventure, is that none of these will be 100% reproducible!  I highly recommend that you try this at home.  The barrels are not expensive and the outcomes are definitively worth the little effort involved.  The process will require you to frequently sample some tasty cocktails and spirits as they age.  It’s a tough job…

Cheers!

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Tepache is pineapple, top removed, chunked, unpeeled, juiced, then mixed with a few spices and sugar and allowed to ferment, uncovered, first at room temperature and then in the refrigerator, with whatever is in the air, for one week.  If pineapple juice and hard cider had a baby – it would be tepache.  This favorite street drink of Mexico is tropical and slightly pungent with a little funk.  Traditionally served alone or with Mexican beer, tepache is making its way onto cocktail menus all over the US.

It first came to my attention when I read a Bon Appétit post last Summer.  Then this past July, I spotted an article about a DIY tepache in Imbibe .  When I noticed that the recipe was from our friends at Victor Tangos, my curiosity was truly peaked.  Victor Tangos is one of the restaurants I try to visit when we’re in Dallas.  So, I absolutely had to head over there at my first opportunity.

When I had a chance to discuss Victor Tangos’ version with Manager Matt Ragan, he said their tepache is basically just the way Bartender Alejandro Galindo’s mother used to make hers.  According to Matt, they make their tepache in the restaurant and there is little, if any, variation between batches.  They have used it in several cocktails, mainly Tiki drinks, substituting tepache for pineapple juice.  During my visit a few weeks ago, they were offering the Tomar de los Muertes, which eschews the rum and combines mezcal and tequila.  Matt says that the tepache cocktails have been well received and will continue on the menu for awhile.

I used Alejandro’s recipe, which is simple and came out very similar to what I had at Victor Tangos.  It was good at the end of the seven days proscribed in the recipe, but got better when allowed to ferment another ten days.  You don’t have to make your own – just ask at your favorite liquor store. We tried it alone, with beer and in a few different cocktails.  I found that the cocktails are best if the amount of tepache is equal to, or less than, the volume of hard spirit.  Otherwise, it overwhelms the drink.  We settled on 3 favorites: a Tiki variation, a tequila/amaro combination and a gin cocktail.

The Potted Tepache Parrot

This is a riff on Trader Vic’s Potted Parrot using tepache rather than orange juice.  I also increased the orgeat.  The flavors of the ingredients all come through: the rum, the tart/funky tepache, the orgeat and a hint of lemon.  Here’s the recipe:

• 2 oz. Cruzan white rum
• 2 oz. tepache
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. curacao
• 1/4 oz. simple syrup
• 1/2 oz. orgeat
• 12 oz. crushed ice

1. Chill a Double Old Fashioned glass with ice and water
2. Shake all ingredients with crushed ice
3. Pour unstrained into chilled  glass

Next up is:

The Tepache Tease

The bright flavor of the tequila adds to the tropical pineapple while the plum/cherry notes in the Bonal plays with the pungency of the tepache.

• 2 oz. Tepache
• 2 oz. Plata Tequila such as Milagro
• 1/4 oz. Bonal
• 1 dash 2:1 simple syrup

1. Chill a Double Old Fashioned with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake to chill
3. Strain over fresh ice in chilled glass

And finally:

The Tepache Cocktail

This proves you can have an elegant cocktail that uses pineapple!  

• 1 oz. Plymouth Gin
• 3/4 oz. Tepache
• 1/4 oz. Lemon Juice
• 1 dash (1/8 tsp) 2:1 simple syrup

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake to chill
3. Strain into chilled glass and serve

Cheers!

This margarita is a new favorite because of its subtle taste of jalapeño with the slightest bit of heat on the finish.    It was popular at our last party…and we knew we had a hit when the rest of the cocktails went untouched!  The simple syrup takes only a few minutes to make, but does require time to cool.  So plan ahead!

The Jalapeño Margarita

• 2 oz. Premium plata tequila such as Milagro
• 2 1/2 oz. Fresh lime juice
• 2-3 slices of fresh jalapeño  – seeds removed
• 1 1/2 oz Jalapeño Simple Syrup – see below
• 1/4 oz. Cointreau or triple sec

1. Chill a margarita glass with ice and water
2. Add the lime juice and jalapeño slices to a shaker and muddle
3. Add the remaining ingredients with ice and shake to chill – about 15-20 sec.
4. Double strain into chilled glass
5. You can rim the glass with salt and/or garnish with a lime if you wish

For a frozen variety – see below

Jalapeño Simple Syrup

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 jalapeño stemmed and coarsely chopped

1. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over med-low heat.
2. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes (be careful, sometimes this will foam up and boil over)
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool
4. Strain into a jar, bottle or squeeze bottle and store refrigerated – it will keep a couple of weeks.

Frozen Jalapeño Margarita

1. Chill a margarita glass with ice and water
2. Add the lime juice and jalapeño slices to a mixing glass and muddle
3. Double strain the lime juice into your blender
4. Add the remaining ingredients along with 8 – 10 oz. ice
5. Whir it up and serve in your chilled glass

Cheers!

Practically everyone who mixes drinks on any level has their own margarita recipe.  Without disparaging anyone’s favorite, here is our most requested version.  It is a simple but classic margarita on the rocks.  We make this as a sour, shaken and served straight up without a salted rim.

This is the only drink we make using Equal.  A lot of people love the idea of low calorie drinks.  Since the object here is to  offset the tartness of the lime, the simple sweet flavor of the Equal will work as well as sugar. Mouth feel is not an issue with this cocktail.  If you do use sugar it needs to be the superfine variety.  Regular granulated sugar will not dissolve well.

Beware: the sweetness hides the alcohol content.

• 2 oz. Premium plata tequila – such as Milagro
• 2 oz. Fresh lime juice
• 1/4 oz. Curacao – we use Cointreau or you can use blue curacao for some extra color
• 3-4 tsp. Superfine sugar or 1-2 packets of Equal
• Pinch of salt

1. Chill a margarita glass with a few ice cubes and water
2. To a shaker add all of the ingredients.
3. Shake with ice until shaker is frosted, 10-15 sec
4. Strain into  chilled glass

Cheers!

Christmas is upon us.  In other words, it’s that time of year when we find ourselves faced with last minute entertaining “opportunities!”

You don’t have to reinvent the cocktail to provide your guests with memorable Holiday themed libations.  Simply use great existing recipes and give them festive names.  The following examples are easy to make using common ingredients:

Christmas Punk from Imbibe Magazine

1. Conquistador Punch from Imbibe Magazine
2. Christmas Punk also from Imbibe Magazine
3. Snow Drift from Cinco Vodka
4. Midori Sour

Krampus Dare – aka Conquistador Punch

This is a punch, which means that you can make it as a single cocktail or in small to large batches.  While definitely a tequila drink, it is balanced by the brightness of the citrus and mellowed by the sherry.

The recipe is:

• 3 parts Reposado Tequila
• 1 1/2 part Sherry
• 1 1/2 part Lime juice
• 1 1/2 part Orange Juice
• 1 part simple syrup

For 2 single drinks, think ounces for parts and shake all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glasses.  Garnish with an orange peel.

For a pitcher, combine ingredients with ice and stir to chill.  Strain into a pitcher and refrigerate.  Serve in chilled cocktail glasses and garnish with fat orange peels.

For a punch bowl, combine ingredients with ice cubes and stir to chill.  When chilled, remove ice cubes and replace them with a large piece of ice.  Add slices of limes and oranges and ladle into cups.

St. Nickolas Punch aka Christmas Punk

Left to Right St. Nicholas Punch and Krampus Dare

This drink combines apple and ginger with the richness of port and the spice of the bitters.

• 2 oz. Applejack
• 1 oz. Domaine de Canton
• 3/4 oz. Port
• 3 dashes Fees Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters
• Long Lemon peel for garnish

1. Combine all ingredients except the garnish in a mixing glass with ice.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
3. Garnish with the lemon peel

Snow Drift

This is a pretty drink reminiscent of eggnog with a hint of chocolate.

• 2 oz. Chilled Vodka
• 3/4 oz. Cointreau
• 1 oz. White Creme de Cacao
• 2 oz. Heavy Cream
• Grated white chocolate for garnish

1. Combine the ingredients except the garnish in a shaker without ice.  Shake for 30 seconds.
2. Add ice and shake until welled chilled
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail or martini glass and garnish with the chocolate

Christmas Kiss aka Midori Sour

Bright green always works for the Holidays.  This sweet and sour drink is always a hit with the sweet drink crowd.

• 2 oz. Midori
• 2 oz. Fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz. simple syrup
• Brandied cherry for garnish.

1. Combine all ingredients except the cherry in a shaker with ice.  Shake until well chilled.
2. Strain into a chilled martini glass and drop in the cherry.

Remember to use premium ingredients and fresh juices.

Cheers!

This has just the right balance of sweet, tart and sour.  It will be prettier with white grapefruit juice, but we usually can only get ruby reds.  Just be sure to use fresh juice.

• 1 1/2 oz. Melagro Plata Tequila
• 1/2 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• 2 oz. Fresh grapefruit juice
• 2 drops grapefruit bitters

1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake 10-15 sec.
2. Strain into chilled champagne flute.