Brown Derby

BROWN DERBY

"The classic bourbon Brown Derby cocktail is named for the eponymous hat-shaped Los Angeles diner. " 

- Liquor.com

So I decided to give this one a go. The recipe looked interesting enough and it's always fun to play around with different syrups. The cocktail Brown Derby itself is an old classic so I reckon there are numerous ways to twist this baby up!

• 6 cl bourbon

• 4.5 cl pink grapefruit juice

• 1.5 cl honey syrup (1:1 ratio)

Shake everything with ice, strain and garnish. I loved how balanced this cocktail was and also its incredible freshness! Especially with the grapefruit aromas. I like!

Mudslide (shooter)

MUDSLIDE 

(SHOOTER)

Beautiful 3-layer-shooter

Evening everyone! It's time for a shooter! :D

Here's a good o' classic called the Mudslide. There is a longer version of this out there, but I decided to try out the shot-style Mudslide since I conveniently had the ingredients and time to do it.

Easy to make and ingredients readily available, the Mudslide is, in hindsight, a delightful shot!

• 1/3 Kahlúa (coffee liqueur)
• 1/3 Baileys (cream liqueur)
• 1/3 Vodka

Layer in given order with the help of a (bar)spoon. As you can see from the picture above, they layer quite beautifully on top of each other.

Taste-wise, I enjoyed it so much! Keep in mind that using a low-tier vodka WILL yield poorer results. Fine, I went all-in and went as far as using Russian Standard Platinum :D Also what I always suggest when doing shooters especially like this one (layered), keep the drink a bit in your mouth and swirl it around so you can taste more than just the last one from the glass, usually Kahlúa!

Well balanced, tasteful and yummy! I give it my approval!

Virtanen (Koskenkorva-energydrink)

VIRTANEN

The classic in the snow

Hey! Happy weekend everyone! Here's a Finnish classic from waaaaaay back, I introduce you to the Virtanen! Virtanen is the most common surname in Finland, it is said that every 250th Finn is a "Virtanen". The drink essentially is Koskenkorva mixed with energy drink (most famously with Battery).

• 4 cl Koskenkorva viina (or any local "neutral grain spirit")
• energy drink (Battery)

Fill a glass with ice, add your spirit and top it off with energy drink. Add a straw, gently stir and enjoy!

I did make second version using vodka (Finlandia in this case). The difference was noticeable as well but positively speaking, even with Koskenkorva you could clearly taste the spirit in it, though "faintly". Moreover, if one were to use vodka in this, my 2 cents is

1. Don't use the most expensive luxury vodka
2. Don't settle for the cheapest spirit either

And you'll do good :)

Tootsie Roll Shot

TOOTSIE ROLL SHOT

Happy 2018 everyone! We start off the year with a shot I made with a friend of mine! Well, we actually made three different versions of it (keep reading) because quite frankly, so many variations exists of this shooter!

Before we dwell upon this shot, I was busy working through Christmas and New Year's Eve, so yeah, that took its toll. Luckily my family escaped up north (my wife's family lives there) for the holiday season.

That being said, this shot is called the Tootsie Roll. A candy exists by the same name. Three different versions were made based on the recipes I found online. I tried to look up pretty consistent ones and here are the TOP3 versions:

• 1.5 cl kahlua OR creme de cacao (dark if you have it!)
• 1.5 cl orange juice
• 1.5 cl vodka

- Build in a shot glass and shoot!

OR

• 1.5 cl kahlua
• 1.5 cl creme de cacao (dark preferred)
• 1.5 cl hazelnut liqueur (frangelico)

Quick shake with ice and strain into a shot glass.

So what ended up happening was us (me & friend) making all three versions. Our ranking:

1. creme de cacao + oj + vodka
2. kahlua + oj + vodka
3. kahlua + cacao + hazelnut shaken

For me personally, the cacao version tasted kinda like cointreau, amazingly enough!