Apparently I’m not the only one with a basil gin gimlet on the brain.  I hadn’t even heard of them until a couple weeks ago, when I saw an article about them that intrigued me.  I created a blog post draft because I have a stupid amount of fresh basil to use.

Then I tried out an awesome new restaurant last weekend and they just so happened to have a basil gimlet on their menu.  Serendipity for sure.  I tried out my own recipe the next day and I have to say that I AM IN LOVE.

I’ve already talked a little bit about the gimlet cocktail in my French gimlet post…this is an herbaceous twist on the tart and boozy classic and it’s perfect for this time of year. READ THE POST

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. 

READ THE POST

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.

READ THE POST

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 🙂  

READ THE POST

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.

READ THE POST

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*

READ THE POST

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!

READ THE POST