Cherry limeade immediately takes me back to high school, and the very rare (for me) treat of getting to stop at Sonic and get some cheddar poppers and a cherry limeade when the school bus made a stop on the way home from a softball game.  So this grown-up version of cherry limeade is the best kind of nostalgia.

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There’s a secret ingredient that makes this amazing.  I have found the perfect liqueur companion in Luxardo’s Sangue Morlacco, and am deeply obsessed with its dark, sweet cherry flavor.

It’s made by fermenting the juice of marasca cherries, and the taste is what I’ve previously described as “the most intense cherry punch in the mouth you can imagine”.  You can learn more at their website, the history and process is really interesting.

It’s also very versatile…no one-trick-pony here.  It can make lots of delicious cocktails, so the bottle won’t just sit on the shelf (I recommend starting with a cherry lemonade).  

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This basil gin smash is EXACTLY what we need to take us into the brutally hot “spring to summer” transition that’s imminently upon us.

You might also like:  The At-Home Cocktail Tools I Swear By

I love summer.  Seriously.  But we barely got a spring this year, have had a few weeks of delightful 80s, and now it’s going to be 97 this week with a heat index around 120.  TOO SOON.

So I’m trying to cling to some late-spring vibes, and couldn’t resist these stunning tulips when I saw them at the store…there’s such a narrow window for really good tulips, and these colors just make me HAPPY. 

Other things making me happy right now??  This delish gin basil smash.  

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What is a smash cocktail?

Honestly, it’s a pretty loose definition.  A smash is a subset of julep (which is also loosely alcohol, sugar, water, and shaved ice).  So a smash falls along this line with (typically) a spirit, simple syrup, ice, and some kind of fruit…served in a shorter glass than the traditional julep. 

It’s seasonally flexible, incorporating both fruit and herbs as needed, and sometimes people top it with seltzer to water it down a bit.  It’s refreshing and perfect for summer.

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My deep and abiding love for cherries is well-documented on this blog, and as I (im)patiently await sweet cherry season this year, I grabbed something on a whim that I’m now completely obsessed with.  That “something” is Luxardo’s Sangue Morlacco liqueur, and it is the secret to this delicious hard cherry lemonade.

I found this grown-up take on a cherry lemonade in Food + Wine, and loved that it used the Sangue Morlacco.  It’s super simple, using the cherry liqueur and some fresh lemon juice, and then I obvs substituted gin for the vodka it called for…

One of my mantras in life is “why have vodka when you can have gin???”

You might also like:  The At-Home Cocktail Tools I Swear By

Now, you may be wondering what Sangue Morlacco is…I’d never heard of it til I saw it on the shelf next to the Luxardo Maraschino liqueur that I’d been looking for.  After reading the bottle I was like UM YES PLEASE.

It’s a liqueur made by fermenting the juice of marasca cherries, and the resulting liqueur is truly like the most intense cherry punch in the mouth you can imagine.  You can learn more at their website, the history and process is really interesting.

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So, y’all know I love me a cocktail (see: evidence here).  But somehow I’d never had an amaretto sour until last fall…and in Jamaica of all places.  

The very first cocktail I had at the resort was truly terrible, and I was stymied on what to order.  The waiter suggested an amaretto sour, I accepted, and it (weirdly) ended up being my signature cocktail for the next 8 days.  So it’s time I figured out making this for myself!

Amaretto is an Italian almond-flavored liqueur that’s used as an ingredient in many cocktails.  It balances sweetness and a bit of bitterness, and it’s crazy I hadn’t owned a bottle until recently because I LOVE almond flavor.  It’s a running family joke that I manage to put almond extract in any baked good 🙂

So a few things to know about this amaretto sour recipe…first, it’s not light on the calories or sugar, just due to the amaretto.  I feel like we have to get that out of the way.

I’ve also made a few tweaks to make it (to my mind) perfect.  First, BOURBON.  I strongly believe an amaretto sour needs bourbon to punch it up and balance out the sweetness and low alcohol of amaretto.  I also backed off the simple syrup a bit, because I don’t feel it needs to be sweeter.

You might also like:  The At-Home Cocktail Tools I Swear By

And I do really believe it’s better with the egg white!  I’ve provided the technique below, it’s really not scary, but if you really want to leave it out you can.

As you can see, I tried this in a couple different glasses (a traditional large coupe, and a small cut-crystal rocks glass).  Both work great, though I think I slightly preferred drinking this out of the rocks glass. 

I loved using my adorable cocktail sticks to skewer the Amarena cherry.  (None of this maraschino cherry nonsense here.)

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Confession: I got busted for having Kahlua in my dorm fridge in college.  Yes, I was HARDCORE.  And once upon a time my 21-year-old self was a big fan of white russians and mudslides…and then I got into wine and moved on. 

It’s been like 15+ years since I last had a white russian until just now.  Hadn’t really given them a big thought.  Wasn’t really a big vodka drinker.  And then I saw this orange amaretto white russian and literally said UMM YESSSSS out loud.  I’ve been obsessed ever since.

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This orange amaretto white russian has SO much going on!  Not in a bad way, though, where the flavors might all be trying to out-shout each other.  It’s super balanced, quite boozy, and the richness of the coffee, sweet bitterness of the almond liqueur, and brightness of the fresh orange really elevate it. 

And while it might look like a lot of ingredients, the actual recipe/technique couldn’t be simpler.  You can see my Instagram Reel of the recipe here (first time I’ve done one, quite fun but I have some learning to do!).

You might also like:  The At-Home Cocktail Tools I Swear By

This is mostly using the original recipe from Yes to Yolks, but I backed off the cream just a bit because I prefer the flavors of the coffee and almond liqueurs and orange oils to punch through a bit more (and cream tends to deaden that).  I sometimes put a tiiiiiny bit more amaretto in too, as I love that flavor.

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I’m strongly on the record as not being into hot alcohol.  But for whatever reason, this spiked apple cider is an exception…probably in part because the alcohol doesn’t come through really heavily, but also because the combination of port and cranberries intrigued me.

This is a really great low-ABV option, as the only alcohol is coming from the port (which isn’t all that high-proof to begin with).  I’ll admit that I’m intrigued by the idea of adding some bourbon for more of a boozy punch.  

The original recipe from Floating Kitchen is for four people, but I’ve adjusted this for two (or one, if you’re me and don’t feel share-y).  I mean, who’s going to have just one?!

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Autumn in a glass.  That’s what this delightful (yet easy) spiced pear bourbon cocktail gives you.  With subtle notes of juicy pear and warm cinnamon, a boozy hit of bourbon, and just a hint of lemon to bring everything together, it manages to be both refreshing and cozy at the same time.

This cocktail pairs my spiced pear simple syrup with a quality bourbon and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for a super easy 3-ingredient drink that feels SO fancy.  

(Okay, I realize that the simple syrup technically takes a few ingredients, but make a batch and keep it on hand!)

If you’re feeling really “extra”, I feel like what this spiced pear bourbon cocktail really DESERVES is a cinnamon-sugar rim (like so).

You might also like:  The At-Home Cocktail Tools I Swear By

As you can see from the ingredients and proportions, this is basically somewhere between a spiced pear old fashioned and whiskey sour…a slight twist on the classic cocktails.

For that reason I do recommend a quality bourbon for this, and a slightly higher-proof one…90-proof or more should do it (Woodford is around 90, but my fave is the Old Forester 100-proof).  I just find that the bourbons in the 80-90 range get a little lost…you want it to punch through a bit!

If you don’t have the brandy or liqueur, you can also substitute more bourbon (and possibly increase the simple syrup just a tad to balance it).

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Yes, yes, I realize we’re in fall and careening wildly into winter.  And the refreshing porto tonico cocktail screams summer.  But I’m just over here clinging onto warm weather vibes like my life depends on it.

The thing is, I’ve loved port for years!  I realize that is very on-brand for my personal “inside I’m 80 years old” schtick.  I might be the only person under 40 with multiple bottles of port in their liquor cabinet.  But I’d never heard of white port.

What is white port?  And what is port, for that matter?  Port is a fortified wine, where brandy is added partway through the fermentation to stop it fermenting.  Most people have seen red port, typically the ruby variety (though sometimes “late bottle vintage” or fancy vintage).  

This article on Wine Mag gives a good overview on white port, which I learned about while visiting the Douro Valley and city of Porto in Portugal last month. 

While the aromatic range is wide, young white ports will often show notes of toffee, caramel, orange, lemon, apple, apricot, and/or honey.

The porto tonico—also called Portônica or white port and tonic—is kind of Portugal’s answer to an aperol spritz.  It offers a balance of sweetness and bitterness, and is a little bit more complex tasting than most gin & tonics. 

It’s super refreshing, and also a great low ABV option.  READ THE POST

I’ll admit, I am a fall denier.  I just…REFUSE to accept when summer is slipping away from me and autumn is careening in.  But this New York sour cocktail is helping soften the blow this year, with its lovely fall vibes.  And it’s so pretty!!

I love me a whiskey sour.  It was my gateway cocktail in learning to love bourbon, and still one of my go-to drinks (which reminds me, I still owe you guys a batch whiskey sour recipe).

What is a New York sour? 

The New York sour is a traditional whiskey sour with a red wine float on top, and to me feels like a perfect way to ease into fall.  The splash of dry red wine balances the lightly-sweet and tart whiskey sour and adds a little extra depth of flavor.

And now the question…to egg foam or not to egg foam???

I do STRONGLY prefer whiskey sours with the traditional egg white foam, but I hadn’t had much success getting it right at home.  I didn’t get as much foam as I wanted, and I somehow always ended up with a glob of egg white in my mouth, which, YUCK. 

But I think I’ve cracked it now!  The key is in three separate shakes.  Stick with me, it’s not hard or time-consuming, and does make all the difference. 

You start with a “dry” shake (no ice) with the egg white, then a dry shake with the liquids (minus the wine) added, and finally a shake with ice cubes to cool it down and really emulsify it.

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This berry-basil smash ended up being my Labor Day weekend cocktail.  Basically, like me, it was clinging onto summer vibes for dear life.  

As my struggling basil plants show definite signs of giving up the fight, I am trying to squeeze in all the recipes I’ve bookmarked that call for fresh basil. 

While I’ve made cocktails with a basil simple syrup (like one of my all-time faves, a basil gin gimlet), I’ve actually never used my muddler tool before.  This recipes calls for muddling basil leaves in the cocktail shaker, which releases the most amazing scent!!

(You don’t have to have a special muddler tool, I just bought a few different cocktail/bartender tools so was excited to use mine)

The “berry” in this berry-basil smash comes not from fresh fruit, but rather a small amount of Chambord.  It’s a black raspberry liqueur, quite concentrated and sweet, so a little goes a long way. 

Its sweetness is balanced out by fresh lemon juice (yes, FRESH only), and the whole thing is lightened up by some sparkling water.

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Is there a more classic combo than PB&J??  I’ve really been on a kick with this flavor combination, making everything from babka to ice cream. And while it’s great for baked goods, I wouldn’t necessarily think of it when I’m making a cocktail.

But ever since I heard of a “pb&j shot” that was gaining popularity, I was intrigued, and decided to try and make that into a more sippable peanut butter and jelly cocktail. 

Both the shot and this cocktail use Chambord black raspberry liqueur and Skrewball peanut butter whiskey to recreate that beautiful pb&j flavor in a cocktail. 

Chambord is a key ingredient in so many other lovely cocktails (like this poinsettia punch and black raspberry Irish coffee) that having a bottle on-hand is a must in my opinion.

I shook with ice the first time, and did NOT love it…muddied the flavors and just was meh.  So this one is not shaken or even stirred.  Instead it’s carefully layered, with both liquids poured over a giant round ball of ice.

That ice ball is pretty important to this cocktail in my opinion.  

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Today we’re playing around with two different things that are pretty unique on their own…a traditional flip cocktail, and the vanilla-flavored liqueur, Licor 43.

Licor 43 is a Spanish liqueur, named after the 43 different flavoring ingredients (not just vanilla, but citrus and other fruits, spices, etc).  I was first introduced to it by a bartender in Chicago who made us coffee cocktails with it (delish!).

What is a flip cocktail?

So I’d actually had one before (in Scotland), and didn’t realize that it was a classification rather than what the bartender had named that particular cocktail.  Today it’s a basically just a combination of spirit (or fortified wine), a form of sugar, and a whole egg shaken together with ice.

The much longer history is kind of weird, involving sailors, hot alcohol, ale, molasses, and egg…a heated iron rod, multiple pitchers, and…honestly, you have to read it yourself. 

I’ll definitely take today’s version.  Like eggnog without the cream (or my delicious milk punch minus the sweetened condensed milk), this is a rich and indulgent dairy-free creamy bourbon (in this case) cocktail.

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With its vanilla flavor and warm spices, Licor 43 pairs nicely with whiskey and the rich “oomph” of a flip cocktail.  It’s like a less thick version of eggnog, without the cream that deadens the flavor.  It’s indulgent but not heavy. 

The sweet aromatics in a good bourbon pair nicely with the vanilla and spices as well…this cocktail is definitely a winner.

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I have issues with alcohol + hot.  Seemingly-insurmountable issues.  You can keep you hot toddies and your mulled wine.  But I keep hearing about how amazing authentic Irish coffees are and felt like I had to truly give them a fair shot.  

Then I ran across this black raspberry Irish coffee cocktail and was INTRIGUED.

What makes it different than a regular Irish coffee??  Mostly it’s the addition of Chambord liqueur, in a couple guises.

Chambord is a black raspberry liqueur made in France, aged in old cognac barrels.  It’s super delish and you can use it in an easy Chambord Royale (with champagne).  But this is a more unique application, bringing something special to a traditional cocktail like the Irish coffee.

This recipe comes from Slane Irish Whiskey, and the addition of Chambord’s rich black raspberry flavor highlights the fruity and vanilla notes in the whiskey (to me at least).  

The pictures aren’t much (it’s hard to make this cocktail look sexy), but there is a lot to love about this interesting take on the Irish coffee.  I’m still not necessarily a “hot cocktail” fan, but this drink could maybe convert me! 

Though I kept thinking…hmm, would this be delicious as an cold coffee cocktail??

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Doesn’t that just look lovely??  I was recently introduced to this poinsettia punch cocktail by a coworker, and immediately fell in love with it. 

The flavor combo of berry, lemon, and warm spices is right up my alley, and the substitution of gin made it a no-brainer for me. 

I hadn’t heard of poinsettia punch before, though in doing some digging apparently the more traditional version has an orange and cranberry flavor profile, and often champagne. 

It’s a fairly common cocktail around the holidays (hence the name)…and honestly this recipe is entirely different.  So much so, I’m not sure how it has the same name!  

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First of all, the look of this cocktail is just dreamy.  Second, it’s absolutely delish and you need it in your life immediately.

What we have here is “preservation punch”, a lovely whiskey cocktail where sweet berry preserves are offset with acidic lemon juice and balsamic vinegar.  The result is a balanced drink that makes me think of the transition between seasons.  

Beyond how pretty it is, this is a flavor profile that really works for me.  Partly because I’m a well-known lover of jam.  But also just because it doesn’t *taste* like jam. 

Once shaken with the other ingredients, the jam ends up providing texture and body without adding much sweetness. 

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As someone who has a gin and tonic with grapefruit garnish as my go-to drink, I always end up with peel-less grapefruits that need thrown away.  But it’s a shame to throw away all that delicious juice, so I keep my eyes out for a good recipe to use it in…ENTER THE BOHEMIAN COCKTAIL.

What is that, you might ask?  I honestly hadn’t heard of it either until recently.  It’s a simple gin, elderflower, and grapefruit cocktail that is totally delicious.  And that you need to make STAT.

I’ve adjusted the proportions slightly, to amp up the grapefruit a bit and back off the elderflower…to me it balances out the tart and sweet better and keeps it from being too sickly sweet. 

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I distinctly remember the first time I ever had a French gimlet.  I’d been visiting my BFF in L.A. for a pre-bachelorette weekend just the two of us. 

We’d been shopping all day for honeymoon necessities, and her (now) husband made us homemade pizzas while we rested our weary feet.

We scarfed pizza and she made us French gimlets…strong, tart, sweet.  We had one, then another, then a third.

And then she gave me a steely-eyed long look over the top of her glass, paused for a second, and said, “I can’t drive you to the airport.”  Thus began my $60 Uber to LAX…they pack a boozy punch.

What is a French gimlet?  It’s basically a regular gimlet, but with the addition of St. Germain liqueur…the elderflower adding a “je ne sais quoi” to the traditional gin and lime juice combo.

I can’t find an exact origin of the cocktail, but the regular gimlet is said to originate from the Royal Navy in the late 1800s or early 1900s as a way to get sailors to take their lime rations and avoid scurvy.  SIGN. ME. UP.READ THE POST

I’m obsessed with how pretty this drink is.  Though I’m a gin lover, I still haven’t tried out all the classic gin cocktails.  I haven’t even *heard* of all of them.  But as soon as I saw a recipe for a classic “Army and Navy” cocktail, it jumped to the top of the list.

And somehow it feels appropriately patriotic for a 4th of July posting.

What is an Army and Navy cocktail?

As with many classic cocktails, there are a few conflicting stories. 

It’s said that this cocktail recipe was created to honor the Army & Navy college football rivalry.  The rivalry’s tradition dates back to 1890, though from what I can tell the cocktail dates back to World War II, first appearing in a cocktail book in 1948.  Or conversely, that it got its name from the famous Washington D.C. Army and Navy Club.  I prefer the first option.

It’s traditionally made with gin, and is a twist on a gin sour recipe.  I like to think that the gin and lemon are a nod to sailors in some way, but that’s completely made up on my part 🙂

Most of the ingredients are completely run-of-the-mill, except the orgeat syrup.  You can buy it on Amazon or make yourself.  Not sure if liquor stores would have it, but you could look.

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I was first introduced to the Brown Derby cocktail over a decade ago at an amazing little secret speakeasy called Prohibition. 

Hidden behind a red London-style phone booth, I was transported to a time of jazz, silent movies, and delicious boozy drinks.  I’d never really been around cocktails, but I was a convert.

Last weekend (for work reasons) I had Derby on the mind.  The Kentucky Derby, that is.  It’s the time of year when all of Louisville would have normally horse fever.  Except it isn’t. 

The horses won’t run on the first Saturday in May for the first time since World War II, and a lot of folks here are feeling the void of that spring rite.  So the other night I decided to try whipping up a Brown Derby cocktail in honor of the Derby.  

No, they’re not technically related, but that’s how my brain works 🙂  

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Given the gloomy, chilly spring weather we’ve been having here, my cocktail game has had more of a fall vibe, and it seemed time for me to finally tackle one of the great classic cocktails, the Manhattan.  Since I can’t ever just do the thing straightforward, I’m going with a rye port Manhattan.

Because, here’s the thing—I don’t like Manhattans.  I think it’s because of the sweet vermouth that provides the distinctive flavor, which I don’t like.  So I went looking for a Manhattan without vermouth, something that maintains that iconic flavor but that I actually *like*.  Enter delicious ruby port…

What is a Manhattan cocktail?

The standard Manhattan has remained remarkably consistent over the nearly 150 years it’s been around.  A basic Manattan is two parts rye whiskey, one part sweet vermouth, two dashes of bitters, and served “up” (chilled but no ice) with a cherry or twist (lemon peel). 

The original might have actually been equal parts rye and vermouth, which for someone like me who does NOT like vermouth or sweet vermouth sounds especially gross.READ THE POST

With the warm weather FINALLY making an appearance, I thought it might be time to share a refreshing spring-y cocktail to keep you company.  Sound like a plan??

This Irish whiskey cocktail uses bright and tart lemon juice, some sweet honey, and the bite of tonic water for something you could sip on all day.  The River Boyne Fizz is perfect for a day by the pool, chillin’ on your deck, or for me reading in my sunroom with the kitties.

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I just recently realized that I’ve never purchased blood oranges, despite being kind of obsessed with the idea of them (along with Meyer lemons).  They feel like…fancy citrus?  Citrus fruit for wealthy folks??

Regardless, I literally never see them at my grocery store, but magically stumbled upon a few recently and so snatched them up with absolutely zero idea of what I was going to make.  After poring through tons of recipes, I ended up coming back to the idea of a kind of souped-up gin & tonic.  A refreshing blood orange cocktail for spring!

This recipe feels like an adaptation of the French gimlet, which I *also* love.  But while the original version of this recipe calls for ginger ale, I’ve substituted tonic water as I am firmly NOT a ginger fan.  UGH.  And the tonic water lengthens the drink (makes it less potent) so you can enjoy it for longer.

One of the keys here is to make sure you’re using fresh lime juice.  Trust me when I say that the bottled lime juice you keep in your fridge will not work in this drink.  I’ve tried.  It’s terrible.  If you don’t have fresh limes then either omit it or save this recipe for another day.  *shudders*

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About a year ago—after over a decade as a die-hard wine drinker—I fell in love with gin.  

I KNOW.  But hear me out.  I’ve noticed that gin is a very polarizing subject.  I’ve met tons of people who absolutely love it, and a similar amount of people who tell me I’m insane and gin is the grossest thing ever. 

I haven’t really found anyone who’s like, “yeah, it’s cool sometimes”.  Apparently gin is an all-or-nothing 🙂  But I kind of think that’s because people maybe haven’t had a great gin cocktail.  In my experience over the last year, gin mixes so well with so many different flavors, and so that’s what led to today’s adventure.

I was first introduced to the idea of a gimlet via my Cheese, my bff in Los Angeles…and actually before I became a gin drinker.  We capped off an awesome girls’ weekend with homemade pizza (courtesy of her now-hubby) and French gimlets. 

A French gimlet basically adds elderflower liqueur like St. Germain to a regular gimlet, which is gin and lime juice.  I fell in love…and three drinks later she told me I’d have to Uber to LAX because there was no way she was taking me now 🙂

Ahhh, girls’ night…

You might also like:Blood Orange Elderflower Gin Cocktail

So today I bring you a lovely twist on a regular gimlet, where we take the bright botanical gin and fresh lime juice combo, and add to it a delicious herby rosemary simple syrup. 

It takes like 5 minutes to make the simple syrup yourself and you’ll feel pretty badass.  Then top it off with some tonic water to lighten it up and provide fun fizz.  Behold—the fizzy rosemary gimlet!

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