Two At The Most

As a home mixologist, sometimes I am faced with a request for a drink for which I don’t have all the ingredients on hand. The question then is whether to improvise or just make something else altogether.

Air Florida

This was the case the other night, when my co-taster asked for an Aviation. I had to tell him that I was out of both lemon juice and lime juice…. Continue Reading

I’ve had my eye on Magellan Gin for a while. Something about that ethereal blue tinge in the nicely decorated bottle. When I saw my local store had a gift pack with an attractive, hand-painted glass, I decided to finally give it a try.

Magellan is made in France from wheat. It is triple distilled with juniper, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, grains of paradise, licorice, cinnamon, coriander, orange peel, cassia, and iris. According to Magellan’s web site, there is then a “fourth distillation,” which sounds more like an infusion, when additional iris root and iris flower are added to give Magellan … Continue Reading

Over at Kaiser Penguin, Rick has posed a challenging question:

If you could only have 10 bottles of alcohol, what would they be? You have to name brands, and you must include vermouths if you want them. They are, at least, infinitely replenishable.

I tried to focus on my favorite cocktails, and favorite categories of cocktails, as I made my decisions. I must have at least one scotch, mixable or not. I have to have my Manhattans. And I give up the ability to have something approximating a mai tai in order to have Pisco sours.

So here’s my … Continue Reading

Anna at Morsels and Musings certainly gave me something to think about when she chose Fruit Liqueurs for this month’s Mixology Monday. I tend to shy away from really sweet cocktails.

Initially, I thought about using this as a good justification for picking up a bottle like creme de cassis or even chambord, but decided I’d stick to what was already in my cabinet, which left me with orange liqueur and maraschino…. Continue Reading