Cocktails Archives • LiquorAlchemy

Improving the Cuba Libre and the Gin & Tonic

These two are the drinks that probably everyone knows - the Cuba Libre and the Gin & Tonic. In the past, there has even been some argument as to whether they are cocktails or not. I would argue that the Gin & Tonic is not - at least not in its simplest form. By contrast, the Cuba Libre is (it contains lime juice in addition to rum and coke). In any case, they are dead simple longdrinks and while they are excellent in principle (I do not want to doubt that), one might wish for a bit more complexity at times. Today, we will consider two recipes that…

Caballito Cocktail = The Aperitif Mojito

Are there cocktails that everyone enjoys? Probably not. However, there are definitely some that one can rightfully call crowd pleasers. And it is without doubt that one of them is the oh so legendary Mojito. The Mojito really is a "highball Daiquiri" with the addition of mint and a true Cuban classic. Now if I had to think of a "cocktail category" that I am most interested in, that would be aperitifs. And quite clearly so. Today, I would like to present a hybrid of aperitifs and Mojitos: The Caballito cocktail, sometimes called the Caballito Mojito. How is this an aperitif? As Wikipedia tells us, Aperitifs are beverages…

The Zombie Cocktail – The Prototypical Tiki Drink

When thinking about Tiki drinks, there are many that immediately come to mind: the Mai Tai, the Planters' Punch, the Painkiller, and so on and so forth. One of these is the Zombie cocktail, a drink that I like to think of as the "Long Island Iced Tea among all Tiki drinks". Today, we are going to check it out. What the hell is Tiki? Generally speaking, Tiki is a style of fashion that became particularly popular during the 1950s and -60s. It lends itself to every culture found in the South Seas as well as in the Caribbean, from Jamaica to Hawaii and the Easter Islands. However,…

A DRY Chocolate Martini???

Let me start by saying that I think it is totally okay to have sweet drinks once in a while. White Russians? Amazing! Espresso Martinis? Classic! So what's wrong with the usual syrup-y sweet chocolate Martini? Nothing. This post is just about an interesting approach that is not meant as a substitute for the "common cocktail": A dry Chocolate Martini. Believe it or not, I had this idea in mind for a while and I was very happy to discover that legendary German bartender Jörg Meyer recently posted a video on it (in German unfortunately). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Voks1zRG1WI Martini vs. Chocolate Martini But finally, what is a "dry chocolate Martini"?…

The Carpo Lavoro – bitter and bitter means sweet???

There is whole array of drinks based around mixtures of Campari and some kind of vermouth, out of which the Milano Torino is probably the simplest. It simply consists of qual parts of Campari and sweet vermouth. Lenghtening this mix with soda water renders an Americano cocktail. Now the idea behind today's cocktail, the Carpo Lavoro is replacing the vermouth in an Americano with coffee. Sounds weird? As it will turn out, this is an excellent idea! I tried to find out more about where this Americano riff came from, which turned out to be impossible. I stumbled upon it in this video by Steve the Bartender, but…

The Breakfast Martini – How to Achieve Interesting Taste

When dealing with cocktail recipes, one might ask how good taste can be achieved. In this post, I will try to give an at least partial answer to this question and, as an example, explain how Salvatore Calabrese's delicious Breakfast Martini satisfies the criterion derived before. I will also briefly touch upon further examples that illustrate the concept. As is commonly known, the sensation that we usually call taste is produced both by our sense of taste and our sense of smell. There are five basic tastes that we can detect with our tastebuds: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and savory (umami). So it is safe to say that…

The peanut butter and jelly sour – turning a classic sandwich into a cocktail

There are generally many joyful culinary experiences. Some people are more into eating delicious foods and drinking delicious drinks than others, but most people have several things they really like. This post is about an approach for creating new drinks that I call "turning things into drinks". This post is going to demonstrate the concept by presenting a recipe for a "peanut butter and jelly sour". This drink is obviously inspired by a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I think it is fairly interesting to see how one can "translate" the flavors into liquid form. Originally, I got the idea from this post about a peanut butter…

The BITTER Long Island

The classic Long Island Iced Tea is on of the most controversial cocktails in the world. Equal parts of vodka, rum, gin, tequila and triple sec with some citrus juice (lemon or lime) and coke. Some people like it, some despise it. There are many recipes and variations, e. g. omitting the tequila or changing the proportions. The base of the Long Island, however, is always the same: a mix of the five clear spirits. So how about a BITTER Long Island? Today, we will apply this concept to the category of "bitter liqueurs", which includes bitter aperitifs and so-called amari as subcategories. This might seem counter-intuitive, but…

Sgroppino al Limone cocktail with a bottle of vodka in the background

Sgroppino al limone – with extra layers of lemon flavor

The Sgroppino al limone (lemon Sgroppino) - a weird name for a simple drink. A summer drink, really. Lemon sorbet, vodka, sparkling wine, blended - what's not to like? It is definitely on the sweet side, which makes it a dessert drink despite the absence of creamy ingredients. While this Venetian drink might not be the most sophisticated one, it is most certainly delicious. What the hell is a Sgroppino? The traditional Sgroppino consists of nothing more than these three ingredients, yet one can, of course, imagine numerous variations. While non-traditional, other flavors of sorbet or a flavored vodka might be used. Another, less obvious choice that one…

Making an “authentic” Negroni – but it’s Tiki!

The classic Negroni - despite some controversy it can be called the "king of aperitivo". Despite its simple composition, being equal parts of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, it is hugely popular and a very interesting template for bartenders and mixologists to create new recipes. As I can call it my favorite drink with certainty, what better way to start off this cocktail blog than with a fun variation. Most people will think of a classic Negroni as being bitter, herbaceous and complex. Most of the times, it uses a London dry gin, Campari and a standard sweet vermouth (e. g. Antica Formula or Cocchi Vermouth di Torino).…