Drink Recipes

‘Tis the season to drink the egg and cream concoction called eggnog. And what better way to make a batch, because everyone should, than to look back at old newspaper articles and find a centuries old recipe to sample from, like White House Eggnog and a British Hotpot which incorporates ale and gin. Now if eggnog isn’t your thing, there are some punch recipes in this newspaper article… [Continue]

Most aspiring mixologists love to create unique cocktails by combining an array of flavours. The use of bitters is one example of an ingredient that has become popular again. For many years bitters were left out of Manhattans and many bars didn't even stock them. But times are changing and with the cocktail… [Continue]

Bitters have been popular in Europe for hundreds of years, but in North America, they haven't quite stayed as popular since the introduction of refined sugar. However, there seems to be a rekindled interest in bitter liqueurs and cocktail bitters. This could partially be caused by the Jagermeister shot phenomenon. Or, it could be that people just get bored and need to try new things. Either… [Continue]

This drink is basically a french Mojito. It uses cognac / brandy and ginger ale, instead of rum and soda. The drink is just as refreshing as a Mojito, but is a little more complex, so there are more flavours to think about and enjoy. When a Mojito doesn't suit your tastes, try a Centaur Cocktail.

The… [Continue]

Making classic Tiki drinks isn’t the easiest endeavor. When you start browsing through the drink recipes, trying to decide what to try next, you may often find yourself in short supply of a number of key ingredients. One of them is Falernum, sometimes called Velvet Falernum, which is fairly easy to make, if you can’t find a supplier. The other one is Pimento Dram, which is extremely… [Continue]

As much as the maraschino cherry is reviled by professional bartenders, it is lovingly embraced by the consumers of sundae's and artificially flavoured fruit “martini's”. Why do people love the artificial variety? Aside from the brilliant red colour, the cherries remain plump like a cherry should be, and not shriveled like the head of a 105 year old person. Oddly, a portion… [Continue]

Valentines day is a wonderful commercial holiday. If the governments of the world wanted to fix the economy, they’d just make Valentines a week event and everything would be fixed. But alas, only Hallmark had that level of ingenuity. Flowers, chocolate, cards, diamonds and a dinner out now represent the modern definition of love, which is paid in one annual lump sum, due on February 14th.… [Continue]

The Phosphate was the defining category of drink during the soda fountains golden era and the Wild Cherry Phosphate was the most popular, but not far behind in popularity was the Chocolate Phosphate. That's right, chocolate soda. This wasn't an egg… [Continue]

Another Mixology Monday is upon us, with the topic being Bourbon and our host being Scofflaw's Den. When I think of bourbon, I sometimes reminisce about the perception it has compared to Canadian whiskies. Bourbon is bold, fiery and strong; Canadian whiskies are light, easy going and smooth. Obviously this isn't going to apply… [Continue]

Just prior to prohibition, a great little booklet was put out by The Wine and Spirit Bulletin called Beverages De Luxe. It is a collection of articles, and recipes, written by owners of distilleries and others in the business. Some of the contributors include George Brown (Brown & Foreman) and A.M. Hanauer (Hamburger Distillery, Pittsburgh, PA) among many others. Hanauer wrote… [Continue]

Tasting history is one of the more enjoyable aspects of classic cocktails, however many of those original ingredients have been lost to time. Abbott's bitters is one of those ingredients, and without it we really don't know how the original Manhattan tasted. Sure, there are those rare vintage bottles of Abbott's bitters floating around on eBay, but those bottles are at least 70 years… [Continue]

Creating a good cocktail is tough, making it popular is even tougher. There are currently thousands of very talented bartenders around the world who take their profession seriously. Many have honed their skills so they can mix high proof spirits with bitter components to make a worthwhile cocktail, which is no easy task. Once you have a good cocktail, how do you make it popular? That's actually… [Continue]