Here are two more drinks I’ve made For the August – September time period. Given how busy I am one drink per month isn’t bad, but I’m planning to up my game now that I’ve settled in my new home. For the full list of drink recipes visit The Cocktail Barrel section. Feel free to contact me for any questions.
These are both delicious drinks, and the second one is also a submission for the Home Bar Awards September competition because I really liked the theme – unfortunately I didn’t realise one of the ingredients I used is out of production, but worry not, I did think of a rough substitution.
I wanted to make and use cola reduction for ages and I’m really happy with the result.
For this drink I chose Ron Larimar Oloroso Cask Finish, a young, yet tasty rum sourced from the Dominican Republic.
Ron Larimar was aged in the tropics in ex-Bourbon casks and was brought to Scotland by Angus Dundee Distillers in order to be finished in Oloroso Sherry casks. The result is a 5 year old featuring dark, spicy and tart fruity notes.
Pretty uninspired in naming this one but here is:
Cola Grog
Lime Juice – 25ml
Coca-Cola Reduction – 35ml
Pimento Dram – 5ml
Angostura Bitters – 2 dashes
Ron Larimar Oloroso Cask Finish – 35ml
Briottet Creme De Banane – 15ml
Add all the ingredients to a shaker and shake. Strain over crushed ice in a cola tin mug and garnish with pineapple leaves and cloves.
The result is a rich and yet acidic drink that resembles the profile of a Fizzy Cola Bottle Jelly.
I wanted to post a new cocktail on the page, but I didn’t have any inspiration until I saw the @homebarawards challenge for this month.
Bee’s Knees is the theme for September and it’s done in collaboration with @barrhillgin and @licensed_to_distill in order to celebrate Bee’s Knees Week.
So that being said I tried to use all things honey, hence the name:
Bee’s Mead
Tanqueray No. 10 – 25ml
Montanya Exclusiva – 25ml
Kamm & Sons British Aperitif* – 15ml
Keepr’s Apple Blossom Honey Syrup (homemade 2:1) – 15ml
Reagans’ Orange Bitters – 4 dashes
Stirred down until it reaches optimal dilution & temperature and strained into a Nick & Nora.
I decided to go with a Martinez style drink with a split base of gin and rum for more complexity. Also I love rum.
Tanqueray No. 10 is a citrus forward gin that works very well by giving the drink a sharp note.
Montanya Exclusiva is distilled at Montanya Distillers, a Certified B Corp company based in Colorado, USA, that produces rum and is involved in various sustainable practices. They also add a very small amount of honey (0.28ml/bottle) to most of their offerings and so supporting the local beekeepers.
Kamm & Sons* is an aperitif that contains an amalgam of botanicals and spices including manuka honey, ginseng, grapefruit peel and juniper. This is the glue of the drink.
Keeper’s Honey comes from a company in Cotswolds that also supports the local beekeepers and makes true honey. Their apple blossom honey is more floral than your usual offering, and it’s integrating into my drink very well.
Reagans’ Orange Bitters are here to add a touch more citrus and edge to the drink.
The result is a botanical-floral-citrus drink with chocolate/warm spice undertones thanks to the rum.
For my garnish I (tried to) cut some lemon peel in hexagons representing the shape of the honeycombs and stuck them to my Nick & Nora using honey.
*I didn’t realise that Kamm & Sons was discontinued when I made the drink. As a replacement I’d use a combo of Suze and Yellow Chartreuse – 5ml Suze & 10ml Yellow Chartreuse.
That’s all folks, more drinks to come soon. The cola reduction bit was really interesting and good, definitely worth giving it a try.
Cheers!