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  • Glencairn Whisk(e)y Glass

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    ‘The Glencairn glass’ – It is a style of glass developed by Glencairn Crystal Ltd, Scotland for drinking whisky. The glass design was concluded by five  master blenders from the largest whisky companies in Scotland.

    Though, the Whisky tumblers, snifters, nosing tulips or copitas or the dock are other types of glasses that are commonly used for drinking whisky, however, Glencairn glass is the most robust &
    preferred glass by connoisseurs who consider the aroma especially important to the experience of a whisky.

    It has a solid base  to swirl the whisky to open up the aromas for full appreciation & capture the congeners & push them to the nose.

    For a spirit Educator it’s of immense importance to use the right drinking glass to derive and understand the fine nuances of a spirit or a wine.

    Well my pair of twin set has arrived & there’s nothing better than to inaugurate it with Glenlivet 12 years Single Malt from Moray, Scotland & check the tasting notes.

    Five golden rules: Check the appearance, See the viscosity or the mouthfeel by swirling, Shake the glass by keeping your hand over the glass, Bring the glass to the nose & take quick short sniffs while keeping the mouth open & finally Sip & taste it.

    Tasting Notes:
    Appearance: Vivid & Shining gold,
    Nose & Aroma: Fruity, rich Vanilla, ripe apples, Spice (cinnamon)
    Palate : Fruity favour, taste creamy cake, ripe banana, apple.
    Finish: Long & pleasant with subtle spices notes

    “Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is never enough” – Mark Twain –

    Glencairn whisky tasting glass

    Cheers!

  • Cîroc Curacao

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    Cîroc Curacao

    Cîroc Vodka comes from the region of France & is distinguished from other vodkas as it is derived from grapes, rather than using grain, potatoes or corn. It is five times distilled from French grapes Mauzac Blanc and Ugni Blanc from the Cognac region. The first four distillations of the Ugni Blanc take place in stainless steel column stills, the Mauzac Blanc grapes are distilled in copper continuous stills. These are blended & the final distillation is performed in Armagnacstyle copper pot still
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    CÎROC X MOSCHINO VODKA – Limited Edition – A connoisseur vodka, gifted to me by my bro from Glasgow, is a vibrant bottle from brand Moschino the Italian couture line. When sipped straight, it is resounding crispy, refreshing palate & citrusy.  A great base spirit  for some classic cocktails
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    Vodka – 60 ml @cirocvodka
    Orange Curacao – 15 ml @bolsbartending
    Passion fruit Sirop – 15 ml @monin_europe
    Bitters – a dash
    Apple slice – for garnish
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    Combine all in a shaker with ice & give a good shake. Strain it in a cocktail stemware. Add a dash of bitters. Garnish with a juicy apple slice. Sip & let the aromatic drink take you down the Cognac region of France
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    Cheers

  • Rum & Ginger Ale

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    Rum & Ginger Ale
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    Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum is named after the 17th-century Welsh privateer of the Caribbean, Sir Henry Morgan who died on 25 August 1688. Since 2017, the label has used the slogan “Live like the Captain”🥃🥃
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    The rum is distilled in a continuous still. Once distilled, the clear spirit is aged in oak barrels for up to a year, adding a golden colour and character to the rum before the flavours and spices are added.
    The other variant is the Black Spiced Rum – Crafted from Caribbean Blackstrap rum and select ingredients, including “rich clove spice and premium cassia bark … finished with double charred blackened oak for a premium, smooth taste”🥃🥃
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    Here is my Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum with Ginger Ale & a dash of Orange Bitters
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    Spiced Rum – 50 ml @captainmorganusa
    Ginger Ale –  150 ml
    Regan’s Orange Bitters – A dash
    Lime – wedge
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    Fill the rocks glass with icecubes.
    Pour  the rum &  your favorite ginger ale into the glass. Splash a dash of Orange bitters. Stir gently. Garnish with a wedge of lime. Sip your way to the Carribean Coast

  • Gin & Tonic

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    Gin & Tonic

    There are various types of gin with notable difference in the way it’s made & tastes. This depends on the stills, pot or column, used to make these gins & the types of botanicals & spices infused
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    Types of gin include
    Distilled gin, London Gin, Compound Gin, Plymouth Gin, Old Tom Gin, Sloe Gin, Juniper flavoured spirit  drinks
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    Tanqueray London dry gin –  In essence no flavouring can be added after distillation and use of artificial flavouring is not permitted. Unlike distilled gin where it’s permitted to add further flavorings both natural & artificial
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    Tanqueray has subtle influences coming from juniper berries, coriander, angelica, cassia. The herbs used in distillation process gives this gin a clear texture and an unsweetened taste
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    Here is my Gin & Tonic this rainy evening

    Ingredients

    Gin – 60 ml @tanqueraygin
    Tonic – 60 ml @schweppes
    Fresh Basil leaves
    Lemon wedges
    Blueberries
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    Preparation Method Fill the rocks glass with ice.  Pour in the Gin. Release some folded fresh basil leaves. Top  it up with tonic water. Add some lemon wedges & some blueberries. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.
    Sip as you enjoy the rain drops 

    Cheers!

  • Tennessee Kopi

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    Tennessee Kopi

    Kopi luwak or Civet coffee, is coffee that includes partially digested coffee cherries, eaten and defecated by the Asian Palm Civet
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    Kopi luwak is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. It is produced mainly on the island of Java, Sumatra, Bali in Indonesian Archipelago
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    I relished it as filter coffee. But thought of exploring this unique Civet coffee with Whiskey
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    Ingredients

    Whiskey –  60 ml @georgedickel
    Coffee Peaberry – 40 ml @kopi_luwak_indonesia_
    Simple syrup – 20 ml
    Bitters – 10 ml @peychauds
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    Preparation Method

    Combine all in a shaker with ice & shake it well. Strain it in Rocks glass with ice. Express the orange peel as well garnish with an orange wheel. Was indeed a new palate. Relished it for sure!
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    Cheers!

  • Monk Tea

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    Monk Tea

    Monkey Shoulder Scotch is a blended malt whisky  made with single malts from three famous Speyside distilleries. The Whisky maturation in used Bourbon American oak cask, which is high in Lactones, gives this dram it’s unique vanilla, caramel, anise to nose. It’s malty, smooth, fruity, honey on palate with  a spicy oak finish.
    An excellent choice for whisky cocktails
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    The website of MS describes : “Some say it tastes just like riding bareback on the wild moors of Scotland with a flame haired maiden on Christmas morning🤶 Others agree it tastes like 007 wearing a tuxedo wetsuit.”
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    So with the base spirit as flamboyant as Monkey Shoulder, I couldn’t think better than a shake with Grand Marnier, Monin lemon tea le sirop & with a dash of Regan’s Orange bitters
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    Ingredients

    Single malt blended Whisky – 60 ml @monkeyshoulder
    Orange liqueur – 20 ml @cointreau
    Lemon tea – 20 ml @monin_usa
    Orange Bitters – A dash
    Two toasted Star Anise – to garnish


    Preparation Method

    Combine all in a Cobbler Shaker with half filled ice. Give it a good shake. Strain it in a Coupe crystalware with two ice cubes. Garnish &  float a toasted Anise. A feel of sophistication as you sip & enjoy.

    Cheers!

  • New York Sour

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    New York Sour

    It is said that this drink dates back to the late 1870s & was created in Chicago by a bartender who claimed to have invented the Manhattan. Though doubts on Manhattan claim, but New York Sour can be attributed to this bartender. This cocktail was also known as the Continental Sour and Southern Whiskey Sour before becoming the New York Sour.
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    Now why a change in the classic Whiskey Sour. During  days of yore,  bartenders were constructing sours with a claret snap. Claret referred to any red wine & snap referred to floating a bit of red wine on top of the drink. And thus the origin of New York Sour. We will all sure agree the floating wine over top of the drink does look appealing. One can try out different wines to float right from Malbec, Shiraz, Tempranillo or Cabernet

    Ingredients
    Tennessee Whisky – 60 ml @georgedickel
    Fresh lemon juice – 30 ml
    Sugar syrup – 30 ml
    Cabernet Sauvignon – 20 ml San Medin
    Orange peel – to express & garnish


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    Preparation Method

    Combine  Whisky, lemon juice, and syrup in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice, cover, and shake until outside of shaker is frosty, about 30 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass with a qtr fresh ice. Gently pour red wine  over the back of a spoon held just above the drink’s surface so wine floats on. Express orange peel & garnish.To get the best, stir gently to incorporate those fruit flavours from the wine & the soursweetness of lemon, syrup & the barrel from whisky. The sourness from the lemon & flavours from Whisky draw out the fruit flavours of Cabernet Sauvignon in this drink.🥃🥃🥃🥃
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    Enjoy this classic in your private bar & pair it with grill & bbq.

     

    Cheers!

  • Gimlet

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    Gimlet

    A light green, lime-heavy cocktail with a rich naval history. Gimlet is a small tool used to tap the barrels of spirits which were carried on British navy ships & this could be the origin of drink name
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    Legend has it that during 1700s, sailors  were prescribed consumption of citrus fruit juice to prevent scurvy. So during their voyage they consumed it and over the period 15% rum was added to it for preserving it on long journeys. Later on Lauchiln Rose, owner of a shipyard in Leith, Scotland, patented a process of preserving the fruit juice with sugar instead of alcohol, & this was the origin of famous Rose’s Lime Cordial. Tale carries on that the officers while sailing started mixing gin with cordial & there was born Gimlet
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    Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), specifies one half Plymouth Gin and one half Rose’s Lime Juice Cordial. Now that’s too sweet to palate. So better three parts gin to one part of the lime Cordial. I don’t have the famous Rose’s Lime Cordial so my local delicate Mapro Lime Cordial did the substitute
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    My summer sip:
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    Ingredients

    Gin – 60 ml @bombaysapphire
    Lime Cordial – 20 ml
    Lime to garnish.
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    Preparation Method

    Add both ingredients to a mixing glass with ice. Stir. Strain into a chilled Martini glass over some crushed ice. Garnish with lime.
    Enjoy the summer sip & Cheers & happy weekend

    Cheers!

  • Bulliet Bourbon

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    Bulleit Bourbon a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced  in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky was the toast tonight.

    This amber beauty is characterized by a high rye content for a bourbon with a mash bill of 68% corn (maize), 28% rye (which is more than half of what’s mandated for it to be considered rye whiskey) and 4% malted barley. At 90% proof it was such a sweet spicy treat.

    It has a great legacy with the first batch coming out way back in 1830. The slight tilted label sure is a bold designers’ move. The bottle with the embossed brand name looks magnificent.

    Bulleit Bourbon

    Well I had it neat & then gave a shot on the rocks. Here is my tasting notes in my diamond whiskey Glass @bon.zeal
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    Colour – Amber
    Nose – Sweet & with spicy notes of cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg coming in from high rye content for sure.
    Palate – Vanilla, sweet caramel, oak, notes of dried fruit and spice
    Finish: Well balanced with sweet lingering spice & sweet smoky finish.
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    Though BBQ recommended for pairing, I relished it with apple slices & dark chocolate.

    Cheers! 

  • Mississippi Punch

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    Mississippi Punch

    Ingredients

    Bourbon Whiskey – 15 ml @makersmark
    White Rum – 15 ml @bacardi
    Cherry Brandy – 15 ml @bolsbartending
    Bitters – a dash @cocktailpunk
    Crafted brut – 150 ml @brocodeclub
    Orange zest – 1/2 tsp
    Orange wheel – for garnish
    Ice cubes – 08
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    Preparation Method

    Combine Bourbon, Rum, Cherry Brandy, Bitters & Orange Zest in a chilled mixing glass with eight ice cubes. Give it a good pro stir. Pour the mix in a beer mug. Top it up with Crafted Brut.Garnish with a fresh orange wheel
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    “Shake a leg, break a leg, set the mood, jet the mood, crack a play, back a play. Let this drink take on and unroll your wits” so says Bro Code @brocodeclub 
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    “Maker’s Mark Bourbon” – A wonderful dram with it’s signature taste notes of rich and soft caramels on the nose, honey and fruit mouthfeel  makes it perfect choice for the cocktail🥃
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    “Bacardi Blanca Rum” with it’s delicate citrus aroma & spiced apples & notes of vanilla, pepper spice rounded mouthfeel was my next best choice for cocktail
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    “Bols Cherry Brandy” with it’s light amaretto flavour, coming from the crushed cherry kernels, along with infused brandy & selected herbs & spices makes this liqueur the right choice, I thought so, for it’s mild sweetness profile
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    “Alpino Cocktail Punk bitters” brings in the much required harmonious balance to the drink🥂
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    “Brocode Crafted Brut” –  Smooth & refreshing sparkling wine cooler was a wonderful finish to top up the drink and get that fizzy punch to the concoction
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    With some of my memorabilia picked up from States during my holidays also feature in the post to add the Mississippi punch

    Cheers!

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