COCKTAILS

The craft beer revolution has been making major waves in the bar and restaurant world for over a decade but what about the small, craft distilleries that create fine, handcrafted spirits? We’re talking about the small batch bourbons, vodkas, mezcal and other liqueurs being made by dedicated craftsmen and craftwomen. These operations aren’t bootleggers using bathtubs or a makeshift still deep in the woods but rather expert artisans creating unique spirits…legally.

The Indie Spirits Expo, a part of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, is dedicated completely to these small batch operations. You won’t find Bacardi at this event and it’ll make you reconsider your drink choice the next time you order a cocktail. Joonbug attended the expo, held at Crimson nightclub, on Tuesday. We learned a ton about the process, ingredients, history, and some very interesting people while at the event. Below you’ll find some of our favorite spirits we sampled along with some of their cocktail recipes for your drinking pleasure.

If you have ever attended a food or wine festival of any kind you know it is nearly impossible to remember what you ate and drank if someone asks you the following day. If you cannot remember what it was you surely won’t be able to recall the ingredients, methods used, or history and inspiration of the said dish or beverage. Now you won’t have to rack your brain in the morning or type into the notes section of your Smartphone every time you happily sampled a memorable food. The Manhattan Cocktail Classic has devised a plan to help their 3,500 guests at the 3rd annual Gala on May 11th at the New York Public Library to remember the cocktails they sampled. The Gala, which sold out in only a matter of minutes, is a very suitable place for the debut of this ingenious new technology due to the amount of drinks being served. Like mama always said, “never mix types of liquor, it’s a cocktail for a hangover” and a very blurry memory. Gala guests will each receive an electronic tracking bracelet enabled with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology.

Frenetically we race against clocks: clocks demarcating time, deadlines, and necessary markers in our existence. Nothing reaffirms this more than the construct of the “work week." Battling the exasperation, disillusion, and general listlessness inherited by the “Americana Proletarian Dream”—one must salvage sanity when they can. One must make a concentrated effort to forcibly infuse joviality into the miasma of the week. Every day the options are ripe with enticing avenues for exploration and cultural growth—one need merely seize desire and reroute the inevitable doldrums towards more sunny horizons.

Winter is almost over and the warm weather has already arrived. It's time to switch from dark to light beer or from cabernet sauvignon to rose. Put on your floppy summer hat and lounge on a patio chair while sipping on a drink.

Refreshing cocktails go down easy when the sun is shining, especially when they are extra tasty. We have come up with the perfect cocktail for you to kick right into spring with. Enjoy a Sloe Gin Fizz every so often? This drink is a perfect substitute.

If you ask any cocktail aficionado, egg whites and bitters are just the thing to make your drink exceptionally tasty.

Egg whites can be used as a binding agent which creates a frothy, beautiful head and velvety texture. To add a layering effect, it is good to shake up a separate element of a cocktail that can float on top for aesthetic purposes and flavor-layering.

Be careful when making cocktails at home, the FDA still does not approve working with raw egg whites because even though it is unlikely, salmonella is a serious issue. Make sure you store your eggs properly and to be safe, use fresh organic eggs when choosing the right product for your cocktail.

Absinthe, a spirit made from anise, botanicals, fennel and other medicinal and cooking herbs, is commonly used as an ingredient to many popular cocktails.

Unlike Scotch whisky and many other spirits, absinthe, in most countries, has no legal definition and production regulations. One of two processes are typically used to create the spirit: the distillation method or cold mixing. Switzerland is an exception to this rule, this country only permits the distillation method of production.

In distilled absinthe, botanicals are macerated in a base alcohol that has already been distilled then it is redistilled to make the spirit more smooth and complex.

Asia de Cuba, a well-known South Beach restaurant located in the Mondrian hotel overlooking the Downtown Miami skyline, hosted an exclusive preview of this location’s latest addition: the new Ceviche and Raw Bar! Upon entering, we were greeted with our choice of cocktails. I opted for the Triple Berry Mojito. This drink included white rum, muddled mint and lime, fresh raspberry, blackberry, and strawberry, with cane syrup and a splash of soda. This refreshing beverage perfectly balanced the sweetness of the berries with the tang of the lime. My palate was satisfied. They also offered a choice between a mango mojito, chili passion capirinha, and a raspberry cloud caipirinha. I was given the opportunity to taste all of them, and each offered unique flavors to satisfy all palates.

I always like a one stop shop and Huckleberry Bar, in the part of Williamsburg that has not yet been entirely consumed by gentrification and uber-emo trenders, is a gem. With a comfortable charm that feels both new and old, every walk is welcomed. And my walk was steadied by their selection of focused yet thoughtful food and drink. Thus my two visits, an evening and the subsequent sensible brunch, yielded fabulous edible finds for any time the clock tells - even for a slim wallet.

While we all go around complaining about $15 dollar cocktails, someone in Kentucky is dropping a G on some mint julep. And that's mere chump change compared to the drink that takes the #1 spot. Here are the ten most expensive cocktails in the world.

10. Kentucky Derby Mint Julep, $1,000, Churchill Downs, KY (above)

This $1k cocktail is made of Woodford Reserve Mint Julep, turbinado sugar, Louisville-grown mint, and ice from a 10,000-year-old glacier. But the expense isn't as much in the ingredients as it's in the experience of drinking out of limited-edition Tiffany & Co. silver cup while watching the 2 minute long race in a really large hat, of course.


9. Original Mai Tai, $1270, Merchant Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland

This is J. Wray & Nephew Jamaican rum sourced from the real Trader Vic Bergeon "Trader Vic" of the 1940's. Only six bottles from the original harvest remain and the Merchant Hotel owns one of them, so they charge an absurd amount of money to really rich people with cash to spare.

Do you love tea? Do you love cocktails? Well, we have the perfect combination for you. What if we told you, you could have the best of both worlds all in one drink? The Tealogist has done just that. With their high quality whole leaf teas they've managed to fuse two of our favorite drinks.

The question is, how come no one has thought of this before!? We've personally tasted these tea-cocktails and can attest --they are genuinely delicious! We especially love the Coconut Chai Tea flavor infused with tequila. It's like a yummy hybrid pina colada-chai tea. The best part is, the teas are actually hydrating and soothing, so for once you're actually getting some positive benefits from your cocktails, rather than just an hangover the morning after.