Flair Project
The summer heat is in full swing this year, and everybody is looking for creative ways to chill their palates and find their oasis. Possibly with a drink in hand. With the emergence of handcrafted spirits, artisan sodas, and fancy kombuchas, freshly juiced watermelon often takes a back seat in summer cocktails in bars around the U.S.
As bartenders, our cocktail creations are often influenced by seasonal flavors and inspired by trending ingredients. But as cocktail enthusiasts ourselves, the thrill of trying out new booze and creating something different and exciting is what keeps us going forward. And yes, sometimes, we get our cocktail muse from the most unlikely of sources – like today’s inspiration, a Khordz glass…well, a mug to be more precise.
I know that you probably don’t think cocktails when you hear bananas and I can’t really blame you for it. I mean they are virtually impossible to juice and muddling them wouldn’t get you anywhere either, but I’ve always said: “where there’s a will, there’s a way.” So let’s go bananas guys!
Now, it’s not like we ever need an excuse to have a cocktail around here, but with wretchedly high temperatures this summer, we thought sipping on a Caipirinha (or in this case variation of it) might be the perfect way to revive ourselves, get a break from the torching hot sun and introduce you to something new and exciting.
When you think of cherries, you’re probably thinking cherry pie or cherry Garcia ice cream, or God forbid, Maraschino cherry in an Old Fashioned. But iconic desserts and fake garnishes is not what cherries are all about. From a delightful brandied cherry in a classic Manhattan to deliciously crafted liqueurs such as Luxardo, cherries have a long-standing relationship with craft cocktails
Even though for many, hopping on the healthy bandwagon again this summer includes some serious cocktail tweaking, kale infusions and just plan sketchy substitutions , making low-calorie cocktails is just not our thing. And while we are hopeless romantics, believing that cocktails should have a fair amount of booze, and yes some sugar, we love the idea of using super foods, such as pistachios, as a cocktail ingredient.
The crisis of “should I have wine or a cocktail?” is something we hear at weddings all the time! Might seem silly, but the struggle to answer this question is real 🙂 …and then an idea came to us. Lets combine the best of both worlds of booze and wine, and “marry” them into a cocktail that will quickly solve the drinking dilemma. Of course, the New York sour came to mind. The classic whisky sour topped with red wine is a gorgeous cocktail, but there was something about red wine and white dresses that didn’t sit well with us.
Classic cocktail videos in under a minute
Making spicy margaritas can be like playing with fire – fun but a little risky. It seems like everyone is hollering for muddled jalapenos in their tequila cocktails these days, but the reality is that you never know how spicy a jalapeño will turn out to be. Sometimes a whole pepper is not enough to pack a punch and other times a single slice is enough to have you run for the milk.
Classic cocktail videos in under a minute
Summertime and the living might be easy (or so says Sublime), but when your house feels like an oven, doing anything other than laying in a hammock and drinking a cocktail might seem like a chore. It is times like these that the simplicity of a cocktail can be the biggest draw – less work, more play.
You might wonder if a gin and tonic is really a drink worthy of a post from us. But there is more to this cocktail than first meets the eyes. With the emergence of different styles of gin and unique flavored tonics, the refreshing mixture is now evolving into more than just a two ingredient cocktail- it is becoming its own drink category.
I’ll be honest – if you don’t like Coca Cola, there isn’t much we can talk about 🙂 Well…this might be a bit strong but I am in fact an absolute Cola fanatic and while I love drinking the soda straight, I have hard time using it in craft cocktails. So instead, I use it in the shape of a syrup.
To be honest this cocktail might be the result of my slight obsession with hazelnut – I mean, Nutella and crepes? Hazelnut snickers? And have you tried Frangelico on ice cream yet? Let me stop here, before I get too sidetracked…
