- First, time to pick some flowers and grab a bottle of amaro. We’ve got a low ABV sipper you’ve gotta try.
- For everyone who tries to shame you about adding a splash of water to your whiskey… science says they’re wrong.
- Looking for a new brew? Try these picks from Biercraft!
- Not your ordinary cocktail (menu).
- California is producing sake. And it’s good!
- A new way to be sustainable in your bar: citrus stock.
- Browsing through the Mueller Report? Here’s what you should drink (I like the Redacted Manhattan)!
- Familiar with Sotol? Me either, let’s read about this Mexican spirit!
- I’ve heard a lot of good things about this Mezcal book. As an often misunderstood spirit, it’s worth taking a look!
- And finally, if you’re looking to speak at Bar Convent Berlin, now’s the time to put in that application!
This post is made in partnership with Amaro Lucano. Recipes and ideas are my own.
The flowers here in SoCal are everywhere (I’m sure you caught a poppy or two on Instagram)! But did you know some of those gorgeous blooms are edible? And today our cocktail is brimming with a whole bunch of colorful spring flowers that are safe for cocktail garnishes and also super pretty to look at. While you may not want to taste all of them, if you do, you’ll find tastes ranging from cucumber (borage) to raw green beans (bachelor’s buttons) to slightly bitter and spicy (chrysanthemum). All of these can add to the flavor and aroma of this amaro-based cocktail, a Strawberry-Rhubarb Amaro Cobbler Cocktail.
Isn’t cobbler a dessert?! Well, yes. Many people will be familiar with the cobbler as a baked good, but a cobbler cocktail is like a fancy dessert… in the cocktail world! I go into the cobbler a bit in 
Amaro Lucano has been a staple in my home bar for awhile now (and that 93 point rating from Wine Spectator would tell me some of you enjoy it a lot too!). Amaro Lucano has a mild, bittersweet taste that is great on its own, but lovely in cocktails. There are some citrus and herbal notes here too (which isn’t surprising as it’s blended with over 30 herbs!) and I thought they’d pair really well with the strawberry-rhubarb syrup as well as the flowers in the garnish. Since I wanted an easy drinking, low ABV cocktail to pair with my Easter brunch, Amaro Lucano fits the bill with an ABV of 28%.
I really love that people are so into flowers, and gardening, and just taking some time to enjoy nature; this is one current trend I can get behind! Maybe we could all do it with a lot less handheld devices though… but still, at least everyone’s getting outdoors.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Amaro Cobbler Cocktail
Squeeeezing in here at the end of the month (and what a month…. so glad it’s over), this might just be our easiest DIY of the bunch so far. If you can boil some water, you can make… Coffee Liqueur.
For today’s post, we’ll be comparing coffee liqueur made with cold brew coffee. I have seen some infusions with coffee beans, and while we’ve done something similar for cocktails around here before, since the coffee liqueur that can be bought is made with cold brew, it made sense to match apples to apples. Also, since many of these posts have some content that is repeated in the pros and cons, I’ve decided to bullet point each to make it a bit easier to read and streamlined. Let me know what you think in the comments or through social; I’m here for you.
To Buy: 
To Make: Homemade Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur (aged rum base)
This post was made in partnership with 
What I’m getting at is this, Tiki cocktails have come a long way and these new modern nods are just as interesting, and sometimes, much more complex and delicious, than the originals. And today I have a very out there, very delicious, addition to this new wave, the Port Dues Cocktail.
If you’re a familiar reader around here you may have noticed that I partnered with 
So I’m super excited about this cocktail, with nods to some of my favorite tiki drinks and especially to the Missionary’s Downfall with the herbal, minty notes from the fernet. You’d be surprised, but there are actually quite a number of tiki drinks out there that incorporate a hint of chocolate in them too. Using the creamy, rich Kerrygold Irish Cream here gives this dry, rum forward cocktail with a sour punch an unexpected twist with a hint of chocolate at the end.
Port Dues
This post was made in partnership with Truvia®. Recipes and ideas are my own.
My very first post on this site was for a Hot Buttered Rum, and it’s been almost that long since I’ve made one again. Today I thought I’d change that and bring you all something with a hint of spring, but that’s still warm and cozy. If the idea of florals in your cocktails makes you a bit wary, I can assure you, this isn’t going to taste like someone dumped your grandmother’s potpourri in your cup.
We’ve teamed up with Truvia to add some sweetness to your cup today. The Truvia Natural Sweetener packets make recipe time so easy and we’ve got two uses for them in our recipes below. The pre-portioned packets mean one less measuring spoon to wash as we’ll need one packet per cup. We’ll also use the packets to crystalize a few rose petals and make the most gorgeous garnish for your cocktail.
Adding butter to a hot drink feels way more common today than it did when I first started writing on there. Now, everyone is putting butter in their coffee or tea… they’re just learning how rich and delicious it makes sipping their drink. In much the same way adding an egg white to a chilled cocktail gives a silky mouthfeel to the drink, adding butter to a hot cocktail has a similar effect. It also feels slightly indulgent, but since we’re using Truvia to sweeten the drink, it’s made with less sugar than if we used ordinary cane sugar.
And the taste? There are lots of warm baking spices mixed in from the aged rum and the butter mix. The roses give a very subtle aroma to the drink when you lean in to take a sip, and the flavors mingle well together with those spices. Make this an indulgent cup to have for a “High Tea” or make a batch for a weekend afternoon get-together.
Rose and Spice Hot Buttered Rum
Crystalized Rose Petals