Tag Archives: old fashioned

Bourbon for the Kentucky Derby

Spirits / May 5, 2017 / No Comments.

Tomorrow, May 6^th, marks the 143^rd anniversary of the Greatest Two Minutes in Sports! The Kentucky Derby.

To help you prepare for race day, we have some delicious bourbon cocktail suggestions for your Derby Day spring parties.

The Mint Julep
The classy, traditional Derby Day cocktail.

1.24 oz. Bulleit Bourbon 10 Year Old
1.5 tsp. sugar
Fresh mint leaves
Water

Muddle mint leaves, sugar and splash of water in a rocks glass or julep cup. Add Bulleit 10, water, and fill glass with crushed ice and stir. Garnish with fresh mint.

The Blade and Bow “New” Fashioned
A great alternative to the julep, this cocktail was created with the spirit of spring in mind.

1.25 oz. Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
1.5 oz. Simple syrup
0.75 oz. St-Germain
1 orange
Soda

In an old fashioned glass (or rocks glass), add Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and simple syrup. Add 1 muddle orange and ice. Then pour St-Germain and stir. Top with a splash of soda and garnish with an orange slice and cherry.

FYI – Beginning in April, an extremely limited supply of Blade and Bow 22 Year Old will be re-released for the first time since its launch on Derby Day, 2015. Keep an eye out at leading bourbon retailers and help commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the opening of legendary Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Kentucky on the first weekend in May.

Hornitos Tequila

Reviews / January 27, 2017 / No Comments.

Free tequila? We’re in.

This week, the Drinking in America Team sampled some Hornitos Tequila. It was a ~lit~ Thursday night for us! We tasted the Plata, Reposado, Spiced Honey and Black Barrel tequila.

We started with the basics, Reposado and Plata Tequila (AKA- silver and gold). The Plata Tequila (silver) was the favorite between these two. It was slightly flowery in aroma and a little tart in taste. But it had a shockingly smooth finish. We would definitely order a round of this at the bar and convince all our friends that claim to ‘hate tequila’ that this one is different. (If your friends don’t try to talk you into taking tequila shots, are they really your friends?) Don’t get us wrong though, the Reposado was delish as well. It had a nice subtle finish. After tasting these, we put margarita mix at the top of our grocery list.

Next, we went for the more unique flavors. Spiced Honey and Black Barrel. First of all, the Black Barrel comes packaged in a super sleek, and honestly a little intimidating, black bottle. It’s double aged in whiskey barrels for eighteen months, which gives it a very unique, smoky, woody taste. If you love both whiskey and tequila- this is definitely for you my friend. Use it in an a Tequila Old Fashioned. Then there’s the polar opposite: the Spiced Honey. For those who like it sweet, we recommend you try this tequila. It has a delicious maple and honey smell. The name does not lie, it tastes just liked spiced honey going down with a smooth, quick finish. Compared to your every day tequila, this is much sweeter. Throw some of this in some red sangria– YUM.

Here’s a bonus recipe for you. Try this Grilled Grapefruit Paloma, a popular twist on a Houston favorite, using Hornitos Plata Tequila. Serve this during your Super Bowl party and we guarantee it will be a hit:

2 parts Hornitos Plata Tequila
1 part fresh lime juice
3/4 part ginger sage syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Top with grapefruit beer (approx. 1 part)
Grapefruit
Sage Sprigs

Combine equal parts sugar and water with 1 ginger slice and 4 sage sprigs and bring to a boil to create ginger sage syrup. Allow the mixture to cool, combine all ingredients except grapefruit beer in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain the mixture into a highball glass filled with ice and top with grapefruit beer. Garnish with a grilled grapefruit slice.

So over all- we totally DIG Hornitos Tequila. Order a shot. Buy a bottle. Buy a case. Go wild.

Cocktail Corner: Bacon Day

Cocktail Corner / December 30, 2015 / No Comments.

The trendiest food item since sliced bread has found its way into all corners of our life. Including the cocktail corner (see what we did there?). Bacon, the most scrumptious option on any breakfast menu, stole our hearts from the very first grease-filled bite, and we never looked back. Now, we’re raising the bar and putting it to the ultimate test: how well can it perform in our boozy drinks? (hint: the answer is really well)

Maple Bacon Old Fashioned Cocktail: (1 serving)

4 slices cooked bacon
4 ounces bourbon
1 tablespoon maple syrup
4 dashes Angostura bitters
Ice cubes, to serve
Orange twists, to serve

In small shallow dish place bacon. Pour bourbon into dish. Cover and chill 30 minutes or longer, if time permits. Strain and reserve bourbon and bacon. In small jug, combine bourbon, maple syrup and bitters. Pour over ice and serve with orange twists and cooked bacon.

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Pour One Out For Mad Men

Cocktails / April 4, 2015 / No Comments.

Tomorrow begins phase 1 of saying goodbye to our friends at Sterling Cooper (Draper Price?). Roger made us laugh, Bert made us cry, and Peggy left us wondering what ever happened to that baby of hers. We raise a glass to the memories and wisdom they gave us. For example: Don’t ride a lawn mower in the office. As you prepare yourself emotionally and speculate as to whether or not Pete will go completely bald by the series’ end, stir yourself up one of these Draper favorites:

Don’s Old Fashioned

This is Don’s go-to. He’s more loyal to this cocktail than he has ever been to a woman. Get this right, and you’ll understand why:

Ingredients:

-1 tsp. Simple Syrup

-2 Dashes of Bitters

-1 Slice of Orange

-2 oz. Bourbon

-1 Maraschino Cherry

Put the syrup, bitters, and fruit in a glass. If you really want to commit to the role, muddle them in the bottom of the glass. Fill with ice, add bourbon, and stir. You can almost taste the adultery. Full recipe here.

Betty’s Gimlet

Making one of these is easier than drastically gaining weight when you’re Betty Draper/Francis.

Ingredients:

-2 oz. Gin

-¾ oz. Lime Juice

-¾ oz. Simple Syrup

Pour ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a slice of lime. You’ll be chain smoking in no time. Full recipe here.

Sally’s Dirty Shirley

We’ve watched her grow into a woman before our eyes. But it’s hard to forget the girl who wanted the playhouse Don sort of put together. To make the adjustment easier, here’s a cocktail that looks like it belongs at the kids’ table:

Ingredients:

-4-6 oz. Sprite

-2 oz. Vodka

-1 oz. Grenadine

-As many Maraschino Cherries as you an fit in the glass

Pour it all over ice and remember a time when Sally wasn’t sneaking into the backyard to smoke and kiss whoever else was out there. Full recipe here.

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Cocktail Corner: Classic Old Fashioned

Cocktail Corner / December 11, 2014 / No Comments.

Holiday shopping, holiday traffic, holiday parties, holiday cooking, holiday this, and holiday that. This time of the year can be a well-rounded mayhem. And then just when you need a cocktail the most, you don’t have the 15 ingredients it calls for. Let’s go back to the simple life. Classy by name and taste, The Old Fashioned is for an individual who truly enjoys the taste of whiskey.

Originally, a bartender at the famous Pendennis Club in Louisville was the creator of The Old Fashioned back in the 1930’s. Some variations of the story say that the drink was made for a retired Civil War general who did not like his whiskey straight. Regardless, if you take anything away from this article, know that a sturdy Old Fashioned does not need dye #954 or a sugary soda to cover its tracks. If you see a bartender adding an acidic yellow liquid to your order, feel free to call them out.

Ingredients:
2 ounces bourbon whiskey
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 splash water or Club soda
1 tsp sugar (two sugar cubes)
1 maraschino cherry
1 orange wedge

Mix sugar, water, and angostura bitters in an old-fashioned glass. Drop a cherry and an orange wedge. Muddle into a past using a muddler or the back end of a spoon. Pour in bourbon, fill with ice cues, and stir.

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The Man Cave: Booze and Bacon

Man Cave / August 30, 2014 / 1 Comment.

Let’s cut to the chase: bacon is awesome. Everyone knows bacon is awesome. Even vegetarians know bacon is awesome, which is why the continually try to create a fake bacon that tastes good (they haven’t succeeded yet because everyone knows the only good bacon is bacon).

Today? Well, today is the day where all of us bacon lovers get together and celebrate because it’s National Bacon Day.

We like to multitask, so we wanted to find some cocktail recipes that let us drink alcohol and eat bacon at the same time (also known as the American dream). Make any or all of these extremely manly bacon cocktails today and give some extra praise to the bacon gods for all of the good they do in this world.

Smoky Bacon Bloody Mary

Blood Marys are the classic brunch drink, so you can start your National Bacon Day with this Smoky Bacon Bloody Mary cocktail and no one is going to judge your decision to drink at 10AM.

In an ice-filled cocktail shaker add 1 1/2 oz. bacon flavored vodka (or infuse your own vodka with bacon), 4 oz. tomato juice, 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1-2 dashes of hot sauce, the juice of half a lemon, and 1/2 tsp. dried ground horseradish. Shake well.

Pour into a seasoned salt-rimmed glass and garnish with a piece of cooked bacon, a celery stalk, and your favorite pickled vegetables.

Bacon Bourbon Old Fashioned

This Bacon Bourbon Old Fashioned just screams “testosterone!” You’re going to have to beat the ladies off with a stick while you drink this one. Enjoy.

Make homemade bacon bourbon (recipe through the link above)

In a cocktail shaker, add 2 oz. bacon bourbon, 3/4 oz. grade A pure maple syrup, and 2-3 dashes of orange bitters.

Shake and strain into a rocks glass; add ice if desired.

Garnish with 1 piece of fresh orange peel.

The Meat and Potato Cocktail

Some cocktails have a million ingredients in them and while that’s all well and good, there are times where you just want to be able to mix up something awesome in under a minute. Living up to its simplistic name, the Meat and Potato Cocktail from DC’s Artbar has very few ingredients, but packs a great punch.

In a cocktail shaker, add 2 oz. House Oaked Vodka and 1 oz. Blanc Vermouth. Shake well.

Pour into a rocks glass and garnish with candied bacon.

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Free Stuff People Sent Us That We May Or May Not Like. Round LVII.

Reviews / June 2, 2014 / No Comments.

We couldn’t ignore the drooling faces of our fellow DIAers any longer – we finally cracked open the bottle of Basil Hayden’s. The bourbon aficionados have been eyeing the bottle since it arrived and believe us it was well worth the wait.

You may not know it but Basil Hayden’s is actually a part of the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection, along with our friend Knob Creek. We expect nothing but the best when we dive into the Small Batch Collection and Basil Hayden’s certainly delivered. We popped open the bottle and could immediately smell the sweet vanilla and caramel notes of bourbon combined with a subtle spice.

We poured a bit over rocks and the flavor only got better. Basil Hayden’s has hints of sweet nuttiness with an oaky finish. It was (almost too) easy to sip and we’d love to try it in an Old Fashioned. Some of our bourbon experts would prefer something not so sweet as Basil Hayden’s but overall we agreed it was a winner in our books.

Pick yourself up a bottle ($36.99), a bottle of bitters, an orange slice and cherries and whip up a cocktail.

Cocktail Corner: The Old Fashioned

Cocktail Corner / March 8, 2014 / No Comments.

In a world with so many crazy cocktail concoctions and unique recipes, it’s easy to forget about the classics. We’re guilty of it and we bet you are too. This week we’re visiting an old friend who can never do us wrong: the Old Fashioned.

All you need is a few simple ingredients and a whiskey glass.

4 dashes Angostura bitters
2 sugar cubes
2 oz. bourbon
Orange slice
Maraschino cherries
Club soda

Muddle bitters, sugar, orange, cherry and soda together in a glass. Add bourbon and fill with ice. Garnish with a fresh orange peel and a cherry. Sip and enjoy a classic.

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Casey’s Cocktail Corner: The Old Fashioned

Cocktail Corner / July 4, 2013 / 1 Comment.

Today we raise a glass to independence, the United States of America, our founding fathers, and their love of Whiskey. In fact, the spirit was so important to our forefathers that one of the first post-war rebellions in our free country was to avoid a Whiskey tax.

We’ve come a long way since then, but one drink that still sticks with us is the Old Fashioned:

In an old fashioned glass, mix together 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp water and 2-3 dashes of Agostura bitters
Add a few ice cubes to the glass and stir
Add 2oz Rye Whiskey (American, of course. C’mon, it’s the 4^th of July.) and stir
Add an orange slice

This year, enjoy the fireworks with an old fashioned in hand, we certainly will be.

Cheers,

Casey

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