’Tis the [fig] season here in the Lowcountry so why not make the best of it in an Old Fashioned?
Next up on the #FestiveOldFashioned series with @oldforester is the talented, Meagan Cheek (@meaganvision) with a fig inspired Old Fashioned that is as local as it it is seasonal. Check out his details below.
“Figs, allspice, brown sugar, maple syrup, and of course bourbon... what flavors could be more fitting for the holiday season? I wanted to feature figs because they often get a bad rap (pun intended). For this representation of the OG Old Fashioned I have chosen Old Forester 1920 for its warming winter flavors of cherry, vanilla, and graham cracker sweetness. The spirit is then infused at a low heat with dried figs rolled in a bit of brown sugar. Finish with a touch of allspice dram, maple syrup, and cherry bark vanilla bitters. Garnish with a fresh halved fig nestled in a big beautiful peel of winter grapefruit. If you don’t know, now you know!”
Here’s a cozy Old Fashioned to curl up to this season
Read More2-INGREDIENT COCKTAIL REVIEW | EP. 2 | FERRARI🏎️
A while back I made the M+M (Monte + Mezcal) and asked y’all what your favorite 2 ingredient drinks are and y’all delivered. This first one had me a little skeptical but this one seemed like they shouldn’t ever belong together, check out my review above.
Llet me know what I should make next!
🎅🏻🎄 MERRY CHRISTMAS! I’ve been wanting to smoke a Holiday themed cocktail for a while now and I think I found the perfect vessel for it. I saw this at @target and immediately thought it was for smoking my cocktails… is that weird? Anyone know what this is really for? …either way it doesn’t matter because this drink ended up being delicious.
Read MoreA julep in December? Yes please.
Together with my friends at @vineyardvines, we’re making a drink before we head to a holiday party. Who says a julep is only a spring cocktail, this one combines the traditional with some winter elements to make a fun, refreshing and seasonal variation on a classic.
We’re getting a little dressed up for this one too, so make sure to stay till the end to see how I can transform this casual/cozy combination to something that is a bit more elevated and easy to pull off.
Happy holidays! Cheers y’all.
#EDSFTG #vineyardvines
Is it safe to assume you’ll be hosting or attending a Holiday Party this year?
Need some tips on what cocktail to make? Well how about we batch it? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. The best part about this recipe is you can make it ahead of time and that it does NOT freeze, so keep it in the fridge or freezer until your guests arrive and have them serve themselves over a large clear cube so you can enjoy the party instead of making drinks all night.
Now try this out and go be hero at the next party.
Get all the holiday vibes with this festive take on the Old Fashioned. Cheers y’all!
Rosemary, with its fragrant and pine-like aroma, has long been cherished as a symbol of remembrance and love during the holiday season. Its vibrant green needles evoke the festive colors of the holidays, while its robust flavor adds a touch of warmth to holiday dishes and cocktails. Whether infused in rich gravies, delicately dusted over roasted meats, or incorporated into hearty stuffings, rosemary brings a sense of tradition and comfort to any holiday table. Cocktails are no exception.
Read MoreA Batanga, but make it 🍒
Shoutout to my guy @cocktailsbyhawk for the idea!
Let’s do drinks…
This one goes out to one of my inspirations for @holycityhandcraft, my homie @apartment_bartender. Me and Elliott go back to the infancy of @instagram. Back when it was all about pretty, curated photos and baked in filters via the app.
Elliott was one of the first people on Instagram that made home bartending approachable and look cool as hell doing it. Back when there were only a handful of cocktail accounts, he was one of the firsts who picked up a real camera and truly took cocktail content on social media to the next level. I’m almost positive he came up with the term ‘#boozemail’ which is ubiquitous among creators these days. I feel like brands didn’t even know what to do with us back in the day because the term ‘influencer’ wasn’t coined yet.
Fast forward a couple years later, I get a phone call from Elliott while we’re both at our real office jobs, telling me he’s going to quit his sales job and do AB full time - I was completely blown away at even the thought of that. I don’t think I knew anyone at that point who quit their job to pursue a career in social media/content creation. But I remember him telling me, ‘you’re next!’ and at that point in my life, I just couldn’t even fathom that happening but always appreciated his hustle and his endless support. I loved following his growth and journey as he paved the way for other creators in the cocktail space.
I’m sitting here, writing this over 4 years since I quit my office job and pursued HCH full time. While I probably would have gotten to this point eventually, I don’t think I would have been here as fast without Elliott. I’m proud to call him a friend and can’t be more proud of him for releasing his first book ‘Let’s Do Drinks!’. So I figured what would be a more fitting way to celebrate then by making a recipe from the book.
Moral of the story is: everyone needs an Elliott in their life. Someone who supports you and you can draw inspiration from. Someone who inspires you to be your very best and do what you’re good and and just fucking hustle.
Cheers to you E, let’s do drinks soon.
Hosting a dinner party soon? I got you covered…
Together with my friends at @milagrotequila, I’m excited to share the newest bottle in their lineup that’s perfect for such an occasion; Milagro’s new #CristalinoAñejo. This tequila made with 100% blue agave that’s been aged up to 24 months in French and American oak and filtered to have a nice blend of caramel and vanilla sweetness from the barrel with an extra smooth finish from the filtering process. Today I’m going to show you TWO easy ways I’d serve it to my friends for our upcoming dinner party that we’re hosting.
Let’s start off with a cocktail shall we? I love the idea of making a spirit-forward classic like a martini to showcase the nuances of flavors in this Cristalino. The second serve is more for those tequila-purists that want to taste ever single aspect of the liquid, this signature serve is highlighted by a grapefruit twist to complement the citrus notes in this tequila.
The cure for all those Sunday scaries 💀🥃
Together with my friends at @blackenedamericanwhiskey, we took the traditional elements of a classic Boulevardier but enhanced it with caramelized banana and some torched absinthe to create something unique and familiar. BLACKENED American Whiskey provides a great base that provides both depth and richness to this already delicious recipe. Let me know what y’all think if you make it! #ad21+
Cheers y’all.
We can never have enough Old Fashioned recipes, amirite? 🥃
Together with my friends at @redemptionwhiskey, we’re going to make a jasmine-inspired Old Fashioned using the latest release Redemption Sur Lee. This whiskey provides some notes of walnut, jasmine and finishes with a unique umami note which ties together all the ingredients in this cocktail. It’s great neat or on the rocks, but also versatile enough to hold its own in a spirits forward cocktail like this old fashioned.
Cheers y’all!
It’s the cantaloupe life raft garnish for me….
Up next on Charleston’s tour of #NegroniWeek with @campari_southcarolina is my buddy Megan Deschaine (@meganmakesdrinks) at @eatbarcopa with her take on a classic.
“A bright, tropical inspired Negroni featuring a briny, sea breeze like Martinique Agricole, playing with the bitter Campari and lightly sweet herbal notes of the infused vermouth. Best enjoyed with sunshine and friends”
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 @eatbarcopa to give this one a try and support the cause!
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.”
Up next on Charleston's tour of #NegroniWeek with @campari_southcarolina is my buddy Jimmy Chmielewski (@jimmy_withthe_goodhair) at @thearcher with his take on a recipe thats a Negroni that drinks like a spritz, check it out below. "We really wanted to showcase some of the less conventional ingredients or techniques that we're utilizing at The Archer. The coconut and milk oolong tea really give the Campari a sort of bitter fruit loop flavor and a much more velvety mouthful. We also stand by the belief that most things are better carbonated and a negroni is no different. The force carbonation makes a boozy sipper feel like a light and fizzy Spritz. In terms of the thought process of the ingredients, toasted coconut screams tiki, so we really wanted to lean into that flavor profile (hence, banana and rum) without getting too far away from what a negroni truly tastes "
Read MoreGive 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 MoreIt’s time to finally try the Wisconsin Old Fashioned 🥃
I don’t think I know of any other classic cocktail thats so heavily disputed by an entire region. I’ve been drinking old fashioned’s for a while now and always have preferred them… the old fashioned way (ps. This is how the drink got its name - spirit, bitters, sugar + water). Wisconsinites will always slide into the comments section asking where the muddled orange and cherries are, so today we’re going to try it out.
Have you revisited this lately, what are your thoughts?
Thanks to @highproofpreacher for the new HPP challenge coin 🥃