• Nordés – Gin & Tonic

    Mar 21st, 2020

    Nordés – Gin & Tonic

    Nordés is a Spanish Gin from the Galicia region on the country’s north west Atlantic coast. It uses several local botanicals & comes with natural aromas and exquisite flavours.

    On the bottle label is world map that highlights the Galician origin of Nordés and the compass, an expressive symbol that connotes  the Atlantic character.
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    The base alcoholic drink is the wine distillate that happens to be produced by using a portion of the Galician Albariño grape. To this are added botanicals viz.,sage, laurel, verbena herb, eucalyptus, peppermint, and a type of seaweed called glasswort. All these impart the freshest subtle floral notes and white fruit aromas. The other botanicals such as juniper, ginger, cardamom, hibiscus flower, and black tea contribute subtle secondary notes that balance the final product.


    Thanks @anuj2691 my boy for gifting this Galician
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    So the best way to try out this gin is the G&T way
    Ingredients
    Nordes Gin – 50 ml
    Tonic water – 200ml
    White grapes – 3 nos.
    Fresh Mint leaves
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    Preparation Method
    Add plenty of ice to glass. Add in the Nordes gin & top it up with tonic water. Garnish with three white grapes & a fresh mint sprig. Stir gently and relish
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    Cheers!

  • Campari Punch

    Campari Punch

    Ingredients
    Campari – 30 ml @campariofficial
    Lemon  juice – 30 ml
    Honey syrup – 15 ml
    Peach liqueur – 15 ml 
    Beer – 45 ml
    Maraschino Cherrie
    Lemon wheel

    Preparation Method
    Combine all except beer & shake it with ice. Strain it in cocktail glass & top it up with beer. Garnish with lemon wheel & drop two maraschino cherries

    Enjoy this drink with its’ subtle bitterness, sweet & citrus peachy aromatic flavours.

    Cheers!

  • Long Island Blue Lagoon

    Feb 27th, 2020

    Long Island Blue Lagoon

    This was an  exhilarating evening.
    I simply enjoyed making this one.
    Spontaneous or rather trail and error are key to some of the wonderful  mixes in the world of mixology.
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    Goa’s Cashew Feni was awarded Geographical Indication registration in 2009 as a speciality alcoholic beverage from Goa, described as a colourless, clear liquid. Locals just love this spirit as it’s also known for it’s medicinal property & well for the tourists visting Goa it’s a must try drink
    Keeping Feni as my foundation drink I have my eyes set on the rest of white spirits with a blue punch of Curacao to finish.
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    Long Island Blue Lagoon🧊
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    Ingredients

    Cashew Feni – 30 ml @cazulopremiumfeni
    Gin – 15 ml@strangerandsons
    White Rum – 15 ml @bacardi
    Vodka – 15 ml @magicmomentsvodka
    Blue Curacao – 15 ml @desmondji_agaveindia
    Lemon juice – 15 ml
    Sugar cubes – 2

    Preparation Method

    Combine Feni, Gin, Rum, Vodka & lemon juice in a mixing glass & add sugar cubes. Muddle the cubes and stir with a couple of ice. Add Blue Curacao and add in a some more ice and boston shake the mix. Strain it in a cocktail glass. Unveil the magic moments with this luscious feni  cocktail.

    Cheers!

  • Italian Gentleman

    Feb 19, 2020

    Italian Gentleman

    Today’s cocktail reminds me of the classic Boulevardier which is whiskey’s answer to a Negroni made with gin, offering a wondrous depth of flavor from equal parts American whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Campari.  However, in today’s riff the  Orange Triple Sec replaces Vermouth  keeping Bourbon(Tennessee) & Campari in place.
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    Campari is one of the nicest liqueur  with it’s  bitter quality  as well pleasing spicy zesty flavour with orange on the nose and notes of citrus and vanilla. It might be difficult to enjoy neat but certainly imparts balance and complex flavors to a cocktail.
    .
    Tennessee whiskey  has the right quality to hold up to the bitterness of Campari.
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    All time favorite Grand Marnier Orange liqueur which is the blend of Cognac Brandy, distilled essence of orange & sugar adds the body and texture to the drink.

    Ingredients
    The Italian Gentleman
    Tennessee whiskey: 45 ml @georgedickel
    Campari : 45 ml @campariofficial
    Orange liqueur: 30 ml @grandmarnierofficial
    Regan’s Orange bitters : 2 dashes
    Orange peel: to express oil
    Orange wedge : to garnish
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    Preparation Method

    Combine all in a shaker with ice🧊 Shake and strain it in a coupe crystal Express the orange peel & garnish with an orange wedge.

    Italian Gentleman

    Cheers!

  • Old Fashioned – one of the greatest Bourbon cocktail

    Old Fashioned – one of the greatest Bourbon cocktail

    Old Fashioned a 19th century classic cocktail predates to most of the other classic cocktails. It was created in Penndennis Club in Louisville Kentucky buy James E Pepper, the bourbon maker himself and later on added to the menu list of Waldorf- Astoria Hotel bar in New York & went on to become one of the top six classic cocktails🥃🥃
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    You can go to 20 different bars and you will find 20 different ways the drink is being made. Some may take 15 minutes to create this drink🥃
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    Ingredients

    Bourbon whiskey – 60 ml
    Angostura bitters – 3 to 4 dashes
    Sugar cube
    Maraschino cherry
    Orange 


    Preparation Method

    This being a built drink we take the tumbler or whiskey glass which  is also known as the old fashioned glass after this cocktail & place a sugar cube in the bottom of the glass.
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    Add three dashes of Angoustra bitters and then add around 15 ml of your favorite bourbon. With the disc of your barspoon gently crush the cube to get a smooth paste
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    Add two ice cubes and then gently squeeze the juice of  maraschino cherry into the drink. Add  30 ml of bourbon upto the level of ice. Combine the drink by blending and stirring to bring together all the flavours. Stirring helps to dilute, soften, smoothen as well chill the drink🧊
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    Add more ice cubes to about two third of the glass. Take a thick slice of orange with the flesh and good skin and add few drops of the juice to the drink and rub the skin to the inner side of the glass. Drop the slice in it.
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    Add 15 ml of bourbon and stir to combine all the flavours. Ensure to retain the bite from the bourbon by not over diluting the drink
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    Cheers to the Classic Old Fashioned!

  • Sidecar – The Brandy Classic

    Sidecar – The Brandy Classic

    An old time classic which many  claim to have invented it but one name that pops up is of Harry MacElhone, the guy who ran the Harry’s Newyork Bar which still exists in Paris. In  the 1920 book ‘the ABC of mixing cocktail’ this recipe first appeared in there. Let’s create this simple Brandy Classic
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    Ingredients

    Brandy – 30 ml
    Triple Sec – 30 ml
    Fresh lemon juice – 30 ml
    Lemon wedge – to garnish
    .
    Preparation Method

    Set your Martini glass to chill. Cut fresh lime & squeeze in the juice in a mixing glass over ice. Add in the brandy & the triple sec. Shake it good & strain it in your chilled Martini glass. Garnish with lemon wedge
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    You could also  sugar rim  the glass. To have a flavour balance, if you wish a more sharper & sour drink then you may have more of brandy & less of triple sec & if you wish more sweeter then you may lift the  triple sec & may be drop the brandy a little as well the lemon juice.  Be brave & play with it to your taste & palate
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    Cheers!

  • Jack & Coke – The Cinnamon Twist

    Jack & Coke – The Cinnamon Twist

    J&C cocktail is simple drink made with Tennessee Whiskey & Coke served in a Collins glass & also known as ‘Lemmy’ named after the popular member of a heavy metal band ‘Motorhead’🥃🦌🥃
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    An alltime Southern American  popular drink is especially a  big hit with young guns, though  some whiskey aficionados  consider it not intellectual or cultured fare drink.  Why not make it a high brow with a twist. Experimentation gives rise to new life. So here is a Cinnamon twist to the famous JD&Coke🥃🦌🥃
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    Ingredients

    Tennessee Whiskey – 45 ml @jackdaniels_us
    Coke – 125 ml
    Club Soda – 20 ml
    Peychauds Bitters – 5 ml
    Lemon wedges
    Cinnamon stick straw
    .
    Preparation Method

    Fill the Collins glass with ice &  throw in the lemon wedges with a gentle squeeze. Pour on the rocks the whiskey & the bitters. Pour in the club soda & give it a gentle stir. Top it up with coke.  Garnish it with Cinnamon straw & sip through it as you enjoy the refreshing, bubbly drink with the aroma & flavor of pungent & scenty cinnamon lingering finish🥃🦌
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    Whiskey notes: The Lincoln County Process (LCP) followed in production of Tennessee whiskey is  a 3-5 day filtration process where the newly-distilled whiskey such as the Jack Daniel’s trickles drop by drop through ten feet of densely packed sugar maple charcoal prior to entering it into the barrel. The result of charcoal filtration is that it removes certain compounds from the new make whiskey, such as esters and congeners, making  a Tennessee Whiskey of exceptional smoothness with maple flavor.


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    Cheers!

  • Boulevardier – The Orange Twist

    Boulevardier – The Orange Twist

    Boulevardier cocktail is a concoction of whiskey, sweet vermouth, and campari & its creation is attributed to Erskine Gwynne,  who founded a monthly magazine in Paris called Boulevardier🥃
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    Here is the Orange twist to the Boulevardier. It is believed that a great cocktail incorporates spirits with sweet, sour, and bitter components to achieve a harmonious balance.

    Well, with my whisky as the spirited base, sweet & tangy orange juice replacing the sweet vermouth, the herbs & fruit liqueur Campari, the hazelnut monin syrup for that nutty flavor &  the punky Alpino bitters to finish, it’s time to shake this one rather stir.
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    Ingredients

    Single Malt Whisky – 45 ml @pauljohnwhisky
    Campari – 15 ml @campariofficial
    Orange juice – 25 ml (substitute to Sweet Vermouth)
    Hazelnut Syrup – 5 ml @monin_europe
    Bitters – a dash Alpino bitters
    Orange peel

    Boulevardier

    Preparation Method

    Combine all, except Alpino bitters, in a boston shaker with ice & shake well. Strain it into a crystal stem & express orange peel. Add a dash of Alpino bitters. Garnish with orange rind
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    Whisky notes – 2 row barley vs 6 row barley. We all know 100% malted barley goes into making of a Single Malt Whisky & there is no other grain permitted under the regulations governing  production of Single Malt. Two general types of barley are 2 row  and 6 row. The 2 row barley has a lower protein content &  higher starch which helps in converting to sugar to fuel fermentation.  Barley with lower nitrogen is high in starch & has large grain size & good enzyme potential & ability to germinate. The 6 row barley has more protein that  fastens conversion to fermentable sugars. It has a higher carbohydrate. 6 row has higher enzyme which means it can convert adjunct starches, which lack or are deficient in enzymes, during mashing. Both types of barley have their own pros & cons🥃
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    @pauljohnwhisky are created from Indian 6-row barley sourced from across the vast lands of Rajasthan to the foothills of the Himalayas which are responsible to several of the whisky’s intrinsic characteristics🥃

    Sour Mash
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    You must have heard the term ‘Sour Mash’ often either on the whiskey bottle label, uniquely the American whiskies, or in the course of discussion on making of whiskey🥃🥃
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    Sour mash has really nothing to do with being something sour. It’s  a process to reuse material from an older batch of previous run of mash to start the fermentation of a new batch🥃 Something, akin to the process of making of sourdough bread. A  whiskey made using this technique can be referred to as a sour mash whiskey. The purpose –  to control the growth of bacteria which could impact the whiskey’s taste and create a pH balance for the yeast by controlling acidity levels & the ultimate goal to have flavor consistency in between the batches. In the case of Tennessee Whiskies it is a legal requirement. Other terms that can be used in place of sour mash are spent grain, spent mash etc.🥃🥃🥃
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    Here is Dickel Tennessee Whisky
    ‘Sour mash”, 90% proof,  which is filtered through charcoal before being aged & thus not a Bourbon. With a Mash Bill of 84% Corn, 10% Rye, 6% Malted Barley, this dram has a caramel colour, to the nose – very appealing/ vanilla/citrus sweet apple/
    on the palate – delightful spiciness/ evoking  cinnamon/fruity sweetness/ woody/ & has a smooth finish with lingering oak & dried fruits🥃🥃🥃🥃
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    It’s said as a child  Dickel grew up in Europe & considered Scotch the ultimate whisky & thus he adopted the Scottish spelling ‘whisky’  to his dram & skipped ‘e’ which is otherwise so common in American Whiskey
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    Cheers!

  • Seduction – A Twist

    Seduction – A Twist

    Ingredients

    Whisky – 45 ml @pauljohnwhisky
    Orange liqueur – 15 ml @grandmarnierofficial
    Lime juice – 10 ml
    Sugar syrup – 10 ml
    Ripe Pineapple – 3 chunks
    Red wine (Merlot)- 10 ml @bigbanyanwines
    .
    Preparation Method

    Combine pineapple chunks, syrup, lime juice in a mixing glass & muddle to extract pineapple flavour. Add in the whisky & orange liqueur. Shake it well with ice using a Boston shaker. Double strain into a cocktail glass.  Float the red wine using a spiral bar spoon. Garnish with a pineapple wedge
    .
    With the bouquet of ripe berries of Merlot Wine interspersed with fragrance  of fresh pineapple in the  subtle concoction of smooth & rich flavorful whisky & sweet citrusy orange peels, this cocktail comes to life. A perfect cocktail to toast an occasion🥂
    .
    Coming to whisky & nuances. Let’s check compounds  responsible for the aromatic notes & tone that we perceive when nosing & sipping a dram🥃
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    Lactones: These compounds are found in the oak barrels that whisky is aged in & is picked up by the spirit. This contributes to the woody & coconut flavor🥥
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    Phenolic compounds: These compounds such as guaiacol & eugenol are the reason behind the smoky, bitterness & spicy flavour in a whisky. In the case of scotch, it’s the peat fire which dries the malted barley that results in the presence of phenolic compounds. Cresols are responsible to that band-aid like medicinal aroma
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    Aldehydes: These compounds are extracted from oak barrels into the whiskey that contributes to spicy, woody aroma. While ‘Vanillin’ contributes to the vanilla tone the ‘Furfural’ adds to the grainy flavour while ‘Heaxanal’ adds  the grassy note to a whisky
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    Esters: These compounds add to the fruity flavors. ‘Ethyl hexanoate’ contributes to sweet apple flavour whereas ‘Isoamyl acetate’ gives a banana & pear like aroma
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    Other compounds such as Damascenone add floral notes while ‘Diacetyl’ contributes to the buttery taste
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    So the next time you perceive these notes while sipping your dram be sure the chemical compound  strikes your  mind

  • The Whisky Apricot Sour

    The Whisky Apricot Sour

    A twist to the classic Whisky Sour. With the @pauljohnwhisky SM X’mas  edition fresh in my cabinet & to compliment it, the Apricot Brandy with it’s rich aroma &  amaretto flavour, the evening is all set for another happy hours
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    Ingredients

    Single Malt – 45 ml @pauljohnwhisky
    Apricot Brandy – 20 ml @bolscocktails
    Fresh lime juice – 25 ml
    Half Egg white – 15 ml
    Sugar Syrup – 10 ml
    Bitters – A dash @angosturahouse
    .
    Preparation Method

    Combine all, except bitters, in a Boston Shaker & shake it dry for half a minute. Then add few ice cubes & shake it again. Strain it in an old fashioned glass over ice cubes & splash a dash of bitters. There friends we have the Friday evening – “The Whisky Apricot Sour” – A Prelude to Christmas🥃
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    Filtered vs Unfiltered Whisky: You read it right, many a times on a whisky bottle label you would find these terms. So an unfiltered whisky is also known as non-chill filtered, meaning it has not been filtered once pulled out from barrel. So it’s said that when it’s chilled or diluted to reach it’s bottling proof, unfiltered whisky will have particles & takes on a cloudy hue. Thus, before dilution these whiskeys are filtered so that the whisky on the shelf looks clear and doesn’t get cloudy on dilution🥃
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    Well, on the other hand filtration gives a clear look to the whisky but also removes somes flavor. Whereas, unfiltered or non-chilled filtered whiskey are considered to be more flavourful and generally bottled at barrel strength or proof so that a small amount of chilling or infusing with a few drops of water will not make it cloudy. @pauljohnwhisky here carries a non-chilled filtered statement on the bottle label🥃
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    Cheers!

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