How about a fast and easy bourbon sorbet cocktail for Mother’s Day this year? Mom likes bourbon, and she also likes bubbles. Who’s to say the two can’t make a fantastic cocktail together? I love mixing my favorite 100 proof (or higher) bourbon with some tasty fruit sorbet and top off with bubbles. It makes […]
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Channel Your Inner Mobster with this Amaretto Julep
A lazy afternoon resulted in an easy, 3-ingredient Amaretto Julep to celebrate warmer weather and the return of longer days. With just bourbon, amaretto, and cardamom bitters (and mint for garnish), this Mint Julep makes a nod to the 70s classic cocktail, the Godfather. So I named it Vito’s Julep. Somehow associating a cocktail made […]
Muddle Your Way into Summer with this Watermelon Mint Julep
We’ll keep this Watermelon Mint Julep recipe short and to the point. Once watermelons come into season in mid-May, I use every opportunity to make syrups, cocktails, salads and desserts with them. Because so much of the watermelon is (you guessed it) water, it’s a fabulous, easy-to-manage addition to cocktails. To start, if you need […]
Super Easy Strawberry Mint Julep Celebrates All Things Derby
Step up your Derby entertaining with the simple addition of muddled fruit to your bourbon cocktails with this fast and easy Strawberry Mint Julep. It’s a quick variation of the classic julep that’s a fun twist guests will love, especially when they get to sip on the bourbon-soaked muddled strawberries at the bottom of a […]
Juleps Gone Wild: Blueberry Sage Julep
If you love blueberries or sage you will want to make a batch of these Blueberry Sage Julep and invite all of your favorite friends over to share with you. Remember last week when I made the sour with blueberry sage simple syrup? I had cousins over on the weekend and made up a julep […]
Easy Chocolate Mint Julep To Die For
When the track is open in Lexington or Louisville all I can think of are mint juleps, but at home, my preferred mint julep is this Chocolate Mint Julep. It’s a fast and easy julep cocktail for any beginner and just requires bourbon, chocolate liqueur or whiskey and chocolate bitters. And a mint sprig of […]
Perfect Summer Sip: Blackberry Basil Julep
Juleps are made for summer sipping, and this Blackberry Basil Julep celebrates all the best flavors of summer in one julep cup. It’s a favorite my friends ask for every Derby Day, and with frozen blackberries available year-round, it’s easy enough to make with some basil steeped in the syrup. (Post may contain affiliate links.) […]
Step into Spring with this Coopers’ Craft Blueberry Bourbon Sour
While I adore amber-colored whiskey cocktails, there’s something about spring that makes me want to celebrate bright colors, flowers blooming and warmer weather ahead of us – and this Coopers’ Craft Cocktail is a beauty. For this post, sponsored by Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve, I decided to mix bright colors with intriguing spices for a […]
Mix Up this Easy Earl Grey Spring Bourbon Spritz
Something about warmer weather makes me want fast, bright, easy cocktails that aren’t too heavy, and this spring bourbon spritz checks all those boxes. If you’ve seen my other posts using Earl Grey tea, you know I’m a fan of bergamot, and today, we’re using Italicus, a beautifully bottled bergamot liqueur to add that flavor […]
Stirred, Strained and Bitter, the Negroni Book Review
I came to the Negroni via a side door – the Boulevardier. As a bourbon fanatic Campari’s red bitterness and bourbon’s sweet heat made me backtrack to the original version: the Negroni. Because I love reading about cocktails almost as much as making them, reading through the short book Negroni by David T. Smith and […]
Angry Mule Suze Cocktail
I waited down to the wire to come up with a quick mule for a cocktail contest and ended up coming up with one of the most wonderful cocktails I’ve made in months – a mule Suze cocktail. This drink mixes ginger beer, lime, Italicus and Suze (a bitter French aperitif with flavors of gentian) […]
Shut Up and Make this Peanut Butter Whiskey Old Fashioned Right Now
I don’t sip flavored whiskies neat, but with this Peanut Butter Whiskey Old Fashioned, I set out to duplicate the rich flavor of a Reese’s peanut butter cup in a cocktail. This time of year my attempts to leave the grocery without a bag of Reese’s peanut butter eggs are generally kept. But, I can […]
Easy Craft Cocktail Shortcuts with Mixicles
Great craft cocktail shortcuts can be hard to find. Sometimes you want a great cocktail without having to make two simple syrups, sourcing an out-of-season fruit juice and hand juicing a lemon as well. Even I want shortcuts some days when an easy cocktail sounds much more delightful than picking through my spirits collection for […]
Fast and Easy Peanut Butter Whiskey Cocktails
As a bourbon geek, I wanted to hate peanut butter whiskey. But a small sip of a sample and the cocktail lover in me grabbed a bottle to go home and get my cocktail game on. And while Skrewball peanut butter whiskey is perhaps the best-known example of the peanut-flavored whiskies, it’s not the only […]
Pissed Leprechaun – Green Suze Cocktail
I swore I wasn’t going to post a kelly green cocktail for St Patrick’s Day. Turns out I was lying because I came up with this green Suze cocktail I’m calling the Pissed Leprechaun. Some French liqueur Suze, whiskey, and pineapple is a brilliant combination – and it becomes brilliant green with the addition of […]
Irish Gold Rush – Pot o’ Gold
Instead of heading to the land of fake green cocktails for St Paddy’s Day, I’m striking out for the end of the rainbow with this Irish Gold Rush cocktail riff. Instead of using bourbon, I’ve got a lovely Irish whiskey as the base (single malt or a blend if you have it). With a nod […]
Bourbon for Beginners
If there’s a class that I could teach in my sleep it would be Drinking Bourbon for Beginners. As someone converting cocktail drinkers to whiskey lovers every day, it’s a passion of mine. Around any major holiday, I get emails and messages from non-whiskey drinkers asking for help selecting a bourbon or answering basic questions. […]
Amaretto Cardamom Cocktail – the Semla
If you love cardamom, this Amaretto Cardamom Cocktail reels you in with its strong cardamom aromatics and keeps you sipping. It combines an infused amaretto, cardamom bitters, and just a dash of rose water. A few weeks ago I had a cardamom/rye sweet bun filled with almond paste called a semla. It’s a Nordic treat […]
The Suze Sour – A Must Mix Angry Cocktail
This Suze Sour, with its cheery yellow color, balances sweet citrus and bitter herbaceous notes in a tangy and bitter sour. The bitterness compels you to keep drinking – just to check. It’s sweet, but that spice and hint of bitterness coat the tongue, making it an intriguing cocktail I had stolen from my hand […]
Easy Hot Toddy Warms All Your Toes
If you’re feeling under the weather, or just need a warm comforting tipple, this easy hot toddy is your cold cure for what ails you. Growing up near Louisville, Kentucky, I learned early on the powerful healing benefits of a hot toddy. That little bit of citrus, the soothing taste of the honey, and the […]
Must Mix Gin Toddy
Try this Gin Toddy and you’ll know for a fact that hot toddies are meant for more than whiskey. You may have seen a random rum toddy, but the gin hot toddy is relatively rare, and I’m here to tell you, it shouldn’t be. (Post may contain affiliate links.) What is a Hot Toddy in […]