Some cocktails are doubtlessly a magnet for your guests, whether in a bar or at home. This may be the case due to a certain flavor, but there are also other reasons, for example because a particular cocktail enjoys a general popularity as a “trend cocktail”. Often, however, it can be something quite trivial like the outward appearance of a drink. Of course “trivial” is not always the right word because you can ultimately put a lot of effort and sophistication in the exterior of your drinks. But anyway some drinks which are not very difficult to make are simply impressive as well. Today I would like to introduce an example which also is quite convincing in terms of taste. Read More →

Before I start writing down words about the content of today’s bottle on the imaginary paper, it is certainly useful to make a brief excursion into the world of terminology. Unfortunately in the wide field of orange liqueurs there is quite a mix of brand names, generic names, regional designations and manufacturing differences. And if you even should intuitively have asked yourself why the bottle of “Dry Curacao” in the picture is not blue, you should continue reading very urgently. Read More →

Today I have to start with a confession that will probably surprise some but then again not too many people as I do not stand alone with my opinion across the cocktail and bar scene: I do not think very highly of vodka and I am also using it only on very few occasions. Nonetheless, I must also admit that I am no vodka expert but perhaps I know just enough about it to be able to issue a judgment about certain brands. Anyway, I consider vodka to be rather uninteresting. Nevertheless, today’s article is about a vodka which I recently became aware of and which really interests me. Read More →

Cocktails and grilling – this sounds like a good combination at a cool and nice summer party. And of course there are numerous, especially summery cocktail recipes out there for such an occasion. But only few people would think of using grilled ingredients inside a cocktail. Don’t worry, of course I do not want to stuff a pork belly in the shaker or blend a steak with crushed ice into some awful cannibalistic tiki swill, I am speaking about the aromas that are created when grilling and roasting certain ingredients, which can lift some cocktails on a whole new level. I would like to briefly show you how easily this can be done. Read More →

Once again: Gin is still on the greatest roll since its original historic triumphal march through England. Even if the end of this development is prophesied almost every week and the “throne” of being the trendy spirit these days is regularly attributed to other spirits, the demand for gin is still unabated. Against this background it is, of course, particularly important to stand out from the masses of other gins. Today’s gin succeeds in this respect in a quite innovative way. Read More →

Some time ago I did already introduce the Hoos London Gin by entrepreneur Heiko Hoos from the German city of Karlsruhe. This gin did absolutely please me and therefore I am glad to announce that I am able to present two more bottles from Heiko Hoos today. These are two very different products, of which both are a very exciting approach and will be further described in the following. Read More →

If you have read my article about the very recommendable Banksy Cocktail you will have noticed my extensive remarks on the combination of pineapple and coconut, which was a very important one for the history of cocktails and, of course, especially for the Piña Colada. However, although the Piña Colada is still the first association you’ll get from the triad of rum, pineapple and coconut (and will probably always be), there are of course many possibilities to use those ingredients differently. For example you can combine them in a very simple yet very elegant way, like today’s cocktail, the Cofresí, will doubtlessly demonstrate. Read More →

Pineapple and rum – this combination is surely familiar to almost everyone who has ever been to a Tiki bar and the whole Tiki segment would be unimaginable without it. But while the two are usually married inside of a cocktail shaker, here and there you can also encounter aromatised rums which already come with a pineapple flavor. Unfortunately those flavors are very often artificial. However, the Plantation Pineapple Stiggins’ Fancy Original Dark proves that it does not have to be that way. Read More →

If you take a closer look at the history of cocktails, it is quite obvious that from the very beginning it was strongly connected to whiskey. Whiskey is something like the historical heart around which old classics such as Old Fashioned respectively Whiskey Cocktail, Sazerac or Mint Julep have emerged. But since the cocktail history of the 18th and 19th centuries was nearly an all-American one, whiskey did almost always mean bourbon or rye whiskey (or also Canadian whiskey during the Prohibition in the early 20^th century). Scotch whisky, on the other hand, hardly played a role and is still rarely found in cocktails. Especially if peat smoke is part of the game. Read More →

After a few more or less turbulent days of moving my stuff from my old place to the new one it is finally time to continue blogging. The last days have once again shown to me how much I hate to move because of all the things that have to be done. Especially as a lover and collector of spirits this is anything but fun since the transportation of all the bottles is not necessarily free of risk and also you simply have to carry a lot. Of course there’s also the usual stress that comes with furniture, boxes, etc. However, when you’ve finally made it, this is the ideal opportunity to enjoy a moment of peace and to open yourself to the new environment. And what could be better than a glass of Scotch Single Malt Whisky while doing that? Read More →

Galumbi Drinks & More takes a short break because I am moving to my city of birth in the coming days. By the end of the week the next article should be online and everything will be back to normal. Why not enjoy a beautiful cocktail in the meantime? You can find lots of suggestions over here.

The current state of the gin market and the correlating question whether you like the situation or not is certainly subject to a lot of discussions. However it is hard to deny that the demand for gin is still very high and almost everywhere the people ask for the trend spirit. Therefore it is only of little surprise if you are also frequently asked for good gin recipes. So today I would like to introduce such a recipe. One that is really not difficult to make or complicated. And in addition to this, it almost certainly meets the taste of the masses. However, it also meets my own. Read More →

Anyone who has ever dealt with the Japanese culture and its aesthetic ideas or its culinary tradition will certainly know that almost everything is about the seasons. Not only the food, but also the dishware is designed according to the seasons. As I have already mentioned briefly in my article about the Hibiki Japanese Harmony, traditionally there are even 24 seasons in Japan. However, in order not to confuse you too much, for this article I will stick to the usual four seasons. And since autumn has started, today’s cocktail is also dedicated to this time of year. So basically it is only about one particular season. Read More →

A very nice cocktail that I have did not yet present here in the blog is the Williams Sour. Pear brandies or Eau de Vies are currently enjoying an ever-growing popularity. And so it is no wonder that people mix it with together with lemon in a sour to create a refreshing summery-autumnal drink. Today’s cocktail is inspired by the Williams Sour, but makes a few crucial things a little bit different. Read More →

And once again it’s time for a gin on my blog. It is a mere truism to state that the gin market is booming, also in Germany. Nevertheless I believe it is still worth it to have a closer look on the matter and to stay open-minded for new releases. That was not really difficult for me when it came to the two bottles I’d like to review today, because while with the Edelstahl Dry Gin I have recently presented a gin from the Ruhr Area, both bottles in this article are even closer to my personal ancestry since they are from my city of birth, Dortmund. Read More →

Today’s whiskey is a special one in many respects. Not only is it a whisky of special quality but it is also quite special for me because it reminds me of some very nice whisky experiences (not to say: revelations) I had in the past. Although this particular one entered the market not before 2015. Last but not least, it is also the youngest member of a whisky series that was one of the first I knew by name at all. Read More →

Of course you all know the concept of signature cocktails for certain brands not just since yesterday. The most famous example certainly is still the Dark ‘N’ Stormy which is even trademarked or the original Moscow Mule. Meanwhile it has become quite common for spirits manufacturers and the makers of various fillers to publish their own signature drinks for example in the form of recipe books. That does not always lead to very refined drinks because often the aim is to have recipes for a mass audience so that particularly few ingredients are needed. (an understandable and welcome intention). But sometimes you can also find real gems and such I’d like to present today. Read More →

Who is following my blog for a while will certainly know that I am a child of the Ruhr area in Western Germany and live here, too. At one point or another I also wrote some rather skeptical lines about the region I live in, not because I do not like living here but because it is simply not the ideal location for the subject of my blog. Well, that is not entirely true since in terms of beer the Ruhr region – and in particular Dortmund – has a huge tradition and is also a growing part of the craft beer movement. Therefore you will occasionally encounter beers from my home region under the blog’s category “From the Brew Kettle”. Read More →

Today’s drink is of course no real new creation but merely a variant of the much-valued Negroni. In many contexts I have not become tired of repeating that the Negroni is my all-time favorite cocktail (together with the Mint Julep) and I guess there is no drink I am having more often. That should also explain why I am consistently fascinated by different varieties of this drink (I listed some cool varieties in my article about the Negroni). Yet today’s version is very simple, since it is identical to the original in terms of proportions. Nonetheless it is an absolutely top notch drink, I think! Read More →

Without any doubt Italy’s culinary soul is one – if not the – brightest in the world. Although most people certainly won’t primarily think of its liquid and alcoholic contribution, of course we owe Italy a lot of innovations also in this respect. Whether it’s the little things like a good Limoncello, numerous vermouths and grappas or the fascinating world of Amaros (Italian bitter liqueurs): Italy is a Lucullan paradise also for every bartender. Read More →

Today’s cocktail is a drink whose recipe is one of my own and its very strongly related to a vacation experience that happened last year. A crucial ingredient in order to realize this project is the Fichtensprossengeist (spruce shoots spirit) from Florian Faudes “Faude Feine Brände” which gives the cocktail a decisive twist in the desired direction. However I must warn you: It is certainly not a drink for everyone. Read More →

Introducing a new gin to the market nowadays requires lot of considerations and marketing strategic skill. After all you have to create a distillate that stands out from the mass of available products and that somehow is able to draw some attention to it. Of course I want by no means suggest that it’s only up to marketing strategies – which of course is not the case – but even if you’re delivering a very high quality, your gin has to become known to a wider audience and to successfully do that you have to ideally connect it to a specific story. Read More →

Until the present – when writing articles in my category “Pure Spirits” – I was mainly concerned with classic spirits which are not uncommon as an ingredient in cocktails or which are unmistakably representatives of  the often so called “sipping segment”. However, fruit brandies are certainly not the first category of spirits that comes to mind on these issues. Although fruit brandies were used in cocktails even before the Prohibition in the US, mainly as the liquid legacy of German immigrants. Nevertheless, today they are often living in the shadows. But there are very ambitious efforts to change that. Read More →

Once again it’s the hour of one of the great classics of cocktail history. Until now I have not written about this cocktail here although it has been waiting for its own article without any doubt; and it really deserves it. I’m talking about the Daiquiri, the Cuban-Caribbean classic that has influenced countless other cocktails directly or indirectly. But I must confess that the Daiquiri is not really my biggest favorite among the classics. This has nothing to do with the essential cocktail (if done right) but is more about my first contact which was not necessarily what you would call love at first sight. Read More →

Today I’ll settle for a rather short article about a signature cocktail that belongs to the BOAR Gin from the Black Forest region in Germany. A few days ago I have written a separate article about the BOAR Gin and must again repeat here: I really did like it.  And with each bottle of BOAR Gin also comes a small notelet and also a small information flyer which feature the recipe for the BOAR Lockstoff (German for attractant). I’m not always writing about every signature drink that belongs to a certain spirit but this sounded interesting enough that I wanted to try it here. So will the BOAR Lockstoff attract me? Read More →

Ok, now the time has come to write about one of my very favorite cocktails of all time. It constantly competes with the Negroni  in a head-to-head race for the title “My personal No.1”. Eventually with its very special flair and that certain “more” that the preparation requires it might be that one little step ahead…but finally it’s too close to call. I am talking about the Mint Julep, a cocktail incredibly much has been written and said about and one that is far too unknown to many people in europe. Read More →