New Make or White Dog is a term that is regularly used in connection with whisky production (and more and more often beyond that context). If the term tells nothing to you, however, there is nothing to be ashamed of, because it usually does not play a particularly important role for the end consumer, unless you are specifically looking for it. Although today’s bottle shows that it can sometimes be worthwhile to give a New Make a chance – I can already tell you about that right at the beginning. Read More →

This year I have already presented some Italian herbal and bitter liqueurs on this blog. In general, hardly any other country seems to have such a complex tradition in this field as Italy. Amari (Plural of Amaro) are as indispensable in Italian culture as they have become in the international bar world – and for good reason, because they are not only elementary basic ingredients in great cocktail classics, they also enrich the repertoire of mixing possibilities with their wide range of flavors. Read More →

I can still vividly remember the time when I occasionally came across the term “Falernum” while browsing through cocktail books and recipe collections. At that time, my personal horizon was hardly comparable with today’s and somehow I must have categorized this particular ingredient as “something totally special” and simply avoided any recipes that called for it. Anyway, I can still recall the feeling when I first decided to research what it is: “Caribbean spice liqueur or spice syrup” – where the hell can I find something like that? Read More →

Comparing rum with whisky is basically a futile undertaking. Of course it is understandable that this is tried again and again, but in the end it really does not make sense. Just like the famous comparison of apples and oranges. Nevertheless, today I would like to try a small allegory from the whisky world to point out a special circumstance in the world of rum. Read More →

Most of the times you’re looking for inspiration in old bar books, you’ll come across some ingredients that don’t necessarily are familiar to everyone. Although the availability of traditional cocktail ingredients has developed very positively in the meantime, such products usually do not count among the starlets in the cocktail world. One of these ingredients is the Swedish Punch – and I would like to present a very special revival attempt in this category today. Read More →

It may seem like cliché bartender talk when I state that I most often decide to mix the classics at home. But that does not change the fact that this is true. On the other hand, however, the desire for variety is always present, which seems to contradict each other at first glance. The logical consequence is to regularly vary classics. And of course the number of endless variations found throughout the world of drinks shows that most people probably think that way. Read More →

In the first place, St. Lucia is the name of an island in the Caribbean. People who are into Geography may be interested to know that it belongs to the archipelago with the sound name “Islands Above the Wind”, which in turn is part of the Lesser Antilles. But lovers of rum will certainly sit up when the name of this small, independent island state is mentioned. Primarily this has to do with the bottlings from “St. Lucia Distillers”, which also produce the rum that I want to focus on today. Read More →

In the past, I’ve actually been asked several times why “Cold Brew” or “Cold Drip Coffee” has hardly played a role in my blog so far. Especially considering that the possibilities to use it are so diverse, especially for cocktails. And indeed, I do not really have a satisfactory answer to this question, except that I have not really addressed the issue yet. Time to change it. Read More →

Let’s once again think of Italy! Of the city of Bassano in the Veneto region where the grappa and amaro producer Nardini is based (I did already introduce them in detail here in the past). So if you are looking for basic information about the question of what exactly an Amaro is, or maybe just for some background information about the house of Nardini, I’d recommend you to take a look at the corresponding article. That also makes sense because today another amaro is in the center of attention. I’m talking about the Nardini Amaro. Read More →

When I wrote about the Singapore Sling here on this blog about two and a half years ago, I also dropped a few lines about the name of that world-famous cocktail. However, I kept it rather short at that time and merely pointed out that this drink – although Singaporean in its original form – probably did not have much in common with today’s recipe. After I recently had an excellent twist of a Singapore Sling and once again spend some time thinking about the drink, I would like to add a little more information today – and present two very interesting recipes. Read More →

Today it’s once more about another gin. A gin that maybe wants to provoke a feeling of holiday while at the same time it is trying to innovate in this highly competitive market. The gin comes from a distillery built up as part of a crowdfunding campaign and it promises to bring a touch of Dutch-Frisian lifestyle into your glass. And of course the Dutch should know a little bit about juniper distillates… Read More →

Today I would like to present a cocktail and a matching champagne here. In the past, I have already blogged about a few champagne cocktails and in that course, I have also always written about the problem of using champagne as a cocktail ingredient at home. And of course, as a home bartender you are always faced with the question of whether it really has to be a champagne and whether you will really use up the bottle in the short time that is available. Read More →

In the course of my article about the Plantation Vintage Edition Fiji 2009, I had had already mentioned some thoughts about various cocktails that came to my mind during the tasting of this particularly beautiful rum. Today’s drink is simply a result of those thoughts and they have really let to an astounding result. A summery purist cocktail, so to say – basically exactly the right thing to have during the current heatwave (albeit it is more suitable for the evening hours). Read More →

Today I would like to raise a toast – to the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which has surely delectated a lot of bloggers in the last few weeks and which became effective today. Although I would still like to keep politics out of this blog in the future as far as possible, I hope you will allow a little potshot at this point. Read More →

I did already announce it and now the time has come: the second new release from the Plantation Vintage Edition series is in the spotlight of today’s article. The Plantation Fiji 2009 is a rum from a country that really is not the first associative address in terms of rum; even more excited I am to find out what such an exotic rum will actually taste like. Read More →

Today it will once again become bitter and spicy because again it is about an Italian Amaro. And it is one I was very excited about. The Amaro Abano from Luxardo enjoys quite a respectable reputation and has been recommended to me from several people as a rock-solid and versatile representative of his genre. How it tastes like and what I have done with it you can find out in this article. Read More →

The fact that Rum is not only produced in the Caribbean, but increasingly also in other countries around the world who want to participate in the big market for sugarcane distillates, is no longer a big secret or something only known to rum geeks. Sometimes rum is even called the “most global” of all spirits, but it is also the most chaotic (because of the many different legal regulations and categories). Meanwhile, Rum from Central and South America is almost considered a completely normal mainstream product. Read More →

Irish whiskey has more or less played a minor role in my blog so far, which is mainly caused by the fact that I personally prefer a good Scotch. Well, I don’t want that to be understood as a blanket statement because of course there are also big differences among Irish whiskeys and of course, not every Scotch whisky is better than every Irish one, but in general I would tend to uphold this preference. Nevertheless, I am very curious about today’s whiskey. Read More →

In addition to the classic London Dry Gin, there is hardly a gin that represents the British gin tradition in a similar way as the Plymouth Gin does. The city of Plymouth is also closely interwoven with the history of the Royal Navy and is still home to an important naval base today. What all this has to do with Gin and how far Plymouth Gin is something special, I will briefly try to outline below. Of course, the focus lies on the gin itself and on a suitable cocktail for the spring season. Read More →

Green tea and chocolate are two flavors that harmonize beautifully with each other. And even if you might primarily think of cookies or other sweets when hearing about this combination, it also works very well in a refreshing cocktail belonging to the category of Sours. If you do not believe it, just try it! Read More →

This year, April definitely offers more than just a foretaste of summer. So what could be better than a nice and refreshing cocktail under the open sky? In this sense, today I would like to present you a beautiful, spicy-fresh summer drink, which certainly offers a little sophistication. Read More →

As I’ve stated in my recent article on the “The Torran” Single Malt Whiskys, today I want to make short work and introduce three cocktail recipes here (and thereby suggest to try them on your own), which are a great match for these Single Malts. So let’s go directly in medias res. Read More →

A Scotch Single Malt, whose name does not correspond to any known distillery? What may confuse some whisky beginners, is a pretty normal circumstance for the advanced friend of Scotch whisky: Independent bottlers buy whisky casks of a particular distillery (or as part of the contract even already bottled ones) and decide themselves, how long the whisky should stay in the cask or if it will get a finish in a special cask. They decide whether it will be blended with other malts from the same distillery and finally when it will be bottled and sold. Read More →

Today, I’d like to introduce a cocktail along with a liqueur, which in a way relies on a similar aromatic style as the Port, Spice & Cherry-Punch from my last article did. The liqueur is a representative of a world-famous Italian traditional brand, about which I have already presented some background information in the context of another article (and if you should primarily think of Amaros respectively Amari when it comes to Italian liquor, will find some basic information here). Read More →

Punches often get the short end of the stick. At least that applies to me when it comes to making them at home – especially those numerous punch recipes that call for a large bowl to be served in. The reason is quite simple: they are only worth the effort for a larger number of guests. Nevertheless, there are so many beautiful recipes among these punches, so I would like to introduce one of them today. In addition, I will show you a rather trivial way to deal with the problem of large quantities. Read More →

Again, its Tiki time here in the blog – this time even cracking a corny joke: because what could be a better drink at Easter than a cocktail from the Easter Island? Well? Ok, excuse that one. Of course, today’s drink is not really from the Easter Island, but still it is in contact with that place. At least in the realm of imagination. And between all the chocolate and the heavy Easter meals, it even offers some real refreshment. Read More →