Spirits and coffee, booze and buzz - it's the best of both worlds.
This is the Kentucky cousin to two cocktails—the Moscow mule and the Dark and Stormy—made popular with ginger beer, which is much spicier than ginger ale. The Moscow mule, traditionally served in a copper mug, is made with vodka, ginger beer, and a squeeze of lime. The Dark and Stormy hails from Bermuda and combines Goslings dark rum, ginger beer, and lime. Our version uses bourbon (of course), which again is the perfect canvas to spotlight the delicious taste of ginger.
I adore this fragrant and refreshing strawberry-gin drink, created by Shannon Tebay Sidle of New York’s Slowly Shirley and Death & Co. The secret ingredient is a dollop of unsweetened Greek yogurt, which gives the cocktail a tangy flavor and subtly creamy texture. The final result isn’t sweet or smoothie-like; this is definitely still a cocktail. A sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper highlights the gin’s herbal character, but I also like this drink with grassy blanco tequila or a full-bodied aged rum. If your fridge doesn’t dispense crushed ice, fill a freezer bag with cubes, wrap them in a dish towel, and go wild with a meat tenderizer or rolling pin.
Portland- and San Francisco–based bartender Kate Bolton has the touch for subtle, delicate drinks that go wonderfully with food. This spin on the gimlet is no exception: shaking shaved fennel and muddled arugula into the drink gives it an anise-and-pepper flavor that’s ideal for serving with seafood or light pasta dishes.
Carrot cocktails sometimes end up tasting oddly healthy. But this one from Chad Hauge of Chicago’s Longman & Eagle is just pure fun. It’s salty, bright, smoky, and fresh—the kind of thing that’ll get you dancing. Orange and lime juices give the carrot juice a lift, and leathery mezcal finds its match in a rim of salt and smoked paprika. If you don’t have a bottle of mezcal, you should get some. Liquor store’s closed? Blanco tequila will do.
A historical stout with delicate minerality and a creamy smoked oysteriness. Yes, we said oysters! And this method provides a perfect opportunity to some eat the oysters during the brewing process and enjoy them in a way you never have before. Note: This recipe assumes you are already familiar with the all-grain homebrewing process and related equipment. Visit the American Homebrewers Association "How to Brew" webiste for more information and introduction to the brewing process. Read more about the growing popularity of oyster stout among homebrewers and professional brewers in our story, "Oyster stout unites classic pair in emerging craft beer style."
This is the most basic, everyday cider that you can make. No frills, no special tricks, just a solidly good cider. Use any apple juice you like, taste it frequently during fermentation, and then adjust it, if needed, using acid blend and wine tannin when you get close to bottling. English ale yeast makes a cider with a mellow character and good apple flavor. If you like ciders that are more crisp and dry, try a white wine yeast like Montrachet or Côte des Blancs instead. When confident in your cider-making skills, use this recipe as a base for adding fruit, spices, hops, or any other flavoring you like. Average ABV: 6 to 8%
This recipe is adapted from Ruby Punch, a recipe that cocktail historian David Wondrich found in Jerry Thomas’s Bar-Tenders Guide from 1862 (but can trace back even further) and which he describes as “a plush and seductive punch that practically drinks itself”. He’s not wrong. It features a seriously tasty combination of black tea, ruby port, lemon, and a funky rum-esque liquor called Batavia Arrack. In its original form (not clarified with milk) the tannins from the black tea and port provide grip and add texture, not to mention deep, inky color. After clarifying with milk the result is full bodied, but silky smooth with a rosé-like color and fruitiness. This is my personal favorite milk punch recipe.
This recipe is based off of the oldest known written recipe for milk punch (which I found in cocktail historian David Wondrich’s book Punch). The original features a simple combination of brandy, lemon zest and juice, sugar, and water and is clarified with scalded milk. My adaptations to Mary’s original recipe are few: I use cold milk in place of hot, add orange peel and orange juice to the lemon for a more complex citrus flavor, and scale it down to make one quart (the original makes about twelve 750-milliliter bottles). The finished drink is bright and clean with limoncello-like lemon (and orange) intensity, and the whey that remains after clarification provides velvety body.
Cava has always been a celebration drink in Spain, but with prices being so affordable these days I thought I could make a sangria with it. The result is so refreshing, fruity and sharp.