Brb… gotta clean some peppercorn off my lens…
Up next on Charleston's tour of #NegroniWeek with @campari_southcarolina is Fabiana Pinillos (@fabiliciousssss) over at Dalila's (@dalilas_on_spring)
"Dalila's would not be the bar it is without the Negroni - it is one of the first cocktails we think about and play off of when designing menu changes. This takes all those traditional components that we love and amplifies them in a floral, but non-pastiche way, toasting the pink peppercorn to bring out some richness and citrus notes, matching that with Italicus, a rose and bergamot liqueur that's light on its feet, and putting an underrated classic gin like Gordon's at the helm to steer the beverage in the right direction. A bit of seasoning ties it up all nicely - a pinch salt, an expression of lime oil, and just a dash of a rich simple syrup add body to make this Negroni delicious."
Just a reminder that this week, I'll be featuring five of Charleston's finest bartenders to show us their take on a Negroni. The cool part about this if you're local, they'll actually be serving these up at their respective bars THIS WEEK ONLY, so make sure to go to @dalilasonspring to give this one a try and support the cause!
Read MoreEXTREMELY 👏🏽 FLAVORFUL 👏🏽
Up next on Charleston’s tour of #NegroniWeek with @campari_southcarolina is Stephen Blackmon (@stephenblackmon) over at Doar Bros. (@doarbros) - make sure to stop by and give this one a try in person!
“I was inspired by one of my favorite Indian restaurants, Chai Pani in Asheville, NC owned by Chef Meherwan Irani. The backstory of his great grandfather running one of the only Irani Cafes in his hometown along with what it must have been like hanging out there on a regular basis painted a vivid picture for what I wanted to share with others. The combination of culturally driven flavors and lively but chill vibes are what incited me to produce this very special cocktail riff.
I knew I wanted to have three things come out of this cocktail’s production: tea, spices, and savoriness in homage to Meherwan and his family’s heritage. By using the specific barrel-aged gin with big notes of Indian spices, infused for further complexity with malty Assam Tea along with traditional Masala Chai, I was able to ground the base idea around those bold flavors. I then chose to infuse a commonly found Italian aperitif white wine with spiced orange tea to play off both the infused gin and also tie it to both the Campari and Grand Mariner rather than use the typical sweet vermouth. I chose to do a “fat washing” process using traditional brown ghee along with coconut oil to round out the entire cocktail with a lingering silky and savory finish.”
Give me a Negroni by candle light all dayyyy 🕯️🥃
It’s here! @negroniweek is starts tomorrow (9/16-9/22) and I’ve got something special planned for the week here in Charleston with some talented friends of mine and @campari_southcarolina. If you havent already, make sure to register at negroniweek.com and stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks!
As if the Negroni Sbagliato couldn’t get more refreshing 🥒
Together with my friends over at @empress1908gin, we made a refreshing Negroni Sbagliato riff inspired by the ingredients in their Cucumber Lemon Gin. The brightness of the lemon and refreshing/vegetal aspects of the cucumber play perfectly well with the ‘Bianco’ version of this classic cocktail.
My apologies to the entire country of Italy 🙈
I mean… It works for the Old Fashioned right? Muddling oranges and cherries into a Negroni over crushed ice actually wonderful. I would 100% make this again and maybe add some saline or olive brine next time. Sorry Wisconsinites - no Brandy or Sprite in this recipe ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Cheers y’all.
Read MoreToday we’re drinking our vegetables
Together with my friends over at @empress1908gin, we made a gin sour inspired by the ingredients in their Elderflower Rose Gin. Elderflower and cucumber have always been a match made in heaven but I really wanted to highlight the vegetal aspects of the black carrot in this offering as well. The addition of fresh carrot juice in this cocktail provided that sweet, vegetal note I was looking for. Hope y’all enjoy this one!
Read MoreI’m convinced this is the martini of the summer 🍅🍸
This is long overdue, but I finally had to try the Tomato Martini (aka Tomato-Tini aka Tomato-tini) created by my friend @drinksbyevie. If you’re a fan of dirty (read: filthy) savory martinis then this one is for you. I added just a slight kiss of MSG to this one just to highlight a bit of the natural MSG in tomatoes and I thought it worked out beautifully.
Have you made this recipe yet?
Here’s your new favorite “Freezer Door” cocktail.
Just wanted a quick second to feature my dude Joey Goetz of lastsaintchs. He’s doing us a favor by showing us how to make a batch of SIX bottles of liquid gold - aka a chocolate + coconut-fat washed Negroni. My god, this was so good.
“Coconut and Chocolate visit a classic Negroni in an updated take on everyone’s favorite gin cocktail.
We build our standard house negroni, add Cacao Nibs and Coconut Oil to fat wash and infuse the entire cocktail. Freeze it and then strain everything off. It give you a classic negroni backbone but with wonderful notes of coconut and chocolate to compliment.”
Cheers y’all!
🎃Trick or Treat! The full moon is out tonight so I’m whipping up something spooky for #Halloween 👻
Read More“Ohhh we’re halfway there...”
If you didn’t at least sing the last part in your head, you’re not human. Anyways, here’s a new mid-week recipe for y’all to celebrate. Cheers y’all!
Read MoreIt’s watermelon szn and #WorldBeeDay? Let’s cook 🐝🍯🍉
This recipe combines a couple of my favorite things: gin, honey, basil, watermelon with an addition of a bitter aperitif in Select and a pinch of smoked sea salt just to bring out more of the fruity flavors in this cocktail. Of course this is going to be served over crushed ice which will let the drink evolve a bit as you drink it.
Cheers y’all.
You’ve heard the term teeny tiny, but have you heard the term… 🍸🤏🏾
Read More🇺🇸 Happy Birthday America, you don’t look a day over 240 years old! Coming at you hot with a fresh new recipe to celebrate the independence of the greatest country on earth. Happy 4th, y’all. Have fun and be safe out there! 🎇🎆🇺🇸
Read MoreA bramble to match the season? Yes please.
We created a festive take on a classic bramble. Try this one for your next holiday party! Cheers y’all!
Hey friends! I’m proud to announce my participation in The durhamdistillery at 2017MixMaven Contest. Did you know you can win $150 worth of booze related prizes? Submit your original recipe using @conniptiongin or Damn Fine Liqueurs using the link in my bio or go here for your chance to win! >> http://durhamdistillery.com/pages/mix-maven-2017-holycity
Read MoreWe found the perfect cocktail to kick off the weekend.
Charleston-based photographer and mixologist Miguel Buencamino of Holy City Handcraft (@holycityhandcraft) whipped up a jumbo Manhattan cocktail, complete with a giant “cherry,“ at the @gardenandgun offices. The recipe below provides 20-25 servings of this classic cocktail and can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer. Cheers and happy Friday! 🥃
Please note: This is a great way to enjoy a batched cocktail to share with friends, but we don’t recommend consuming alone.
Let’s get back to it…
Together with empress1908gin, we’ve created a refreshing and airy sour with flavors of elderflower and lavender. Cheers y’all!
I guess it's been a while since I posted one of these but here it is:
Read MoreLet’s make a cocktail I didn’t think I’d like.
I always thought the lemon and chocolate sounded awful together but this was actually perfectly balanced and I was pleasantly surprised at how it turned out. Is it my new favorite cocktail? No, but will I make it again? Absolutely.