Jäger Sour

JÄGER SOUR

Here's yet another sour - styled cocktail, now from Jägermeister's official site. The Jäger Sour. Just like the Averna Sour I made with my colleague or the Drambuie Sour, here's a similar drink that incorporates orange juice.

• 50 ml Jägermeister
• 25 ml orange juice
• 12.5 ml lemon juice
• 12.5 ml simple syrup 1:1
• 1 egg white

Shake everything with ice (a bit longer) and strain into your prechilled, ½ with ice filled tumbler. Garnish optional, but a lemon slice/peel would look nice. So I had to use clementine juice, because my local shop ran out of oranges :D but nonetheless, this drink was absolutely wonderful! The Jäger's aroma, the freshness, the balance. All there.

Moreover, I used MANIFEST to make another drink with the exactly same recipe just to figure out the differences. It had so much more of an oompf to it, but it was good too. Not quite AS good, but still delicious.

This is a kick-ass cocktail, hands down!

BaBe Gimlet

BaBe GIMLET

Hey again! It's been such a long time since my last post! Well, I've had my summer/parental vacation through May-July, I've been abroad/away and quite frankly haven't had much time to create cocktails per se. But today I had the time as my family left the house as well :D

I present you with the BaBe Gimlet. Apparently it is from their (Becherovka's) official site, so let's take a look:

• 3 cl Becherovka (Czech liqueur)
• 2 cl gin
• 2 cl lime juice
• 1-2 cl simple syrup
• 3-6 basil leaves

Shake everything with ice, double strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a sprig of basil.

When I made this, I only use 1.5 cl simple syrup and with the gin I chose a London Dry - style, so it can enhance the flavors of everything else. The BaBe Gimlet was refreshing and had a nice taste to it. Wasn't overly sweet (because of the lesser amount of syrup). One suggests using an orange to garnish would work too. I don't doubt that at all!

Italian Latte

ITALIAN LATTE

Evening everyone! Here's one helluva treat for you all! A friend/colleague of mine dubbed it as an Italian Latte. Just wonderful in taste, this cocktail receives a special place in my heart. You'll soon find out why.

• 4 cl Molinari Caffe liqueur
• 4 cl cream
• 8 cl milk
• (grated vanilla as garnish)

Fair enough, I used 5-5-10cl, but a simple 1:1:2 ratio and you'll do good. Briefly shake everything with ice and pour the content into a tumbler, no straining needed. Especially if using larger amounts of liquids remember to have a larger glass (duh). You could garnish the drink with grated vanilla or say, coffee beans. Serve.

The flavor...magic. Molinari Caffe is such an exceptional product (sambuca based coffee liqueur with a reasonably high ABV at 38%), I will warn you and say that if you don't like sambuca, then you won't like this one either. But the Italian Latte's texture is full-bodied, smooth, strongly coffee-flavored with clear anise in the background and with the ~half-and-half dairy products it still isn't too hard to drink ie. it's not too heavy.

Moreover, this is super easy to make. Always a plus :D

Paloma

PALOMA

"La Paloma" or "little dove"

Greetings again long time no see! Busy with life & work but thankfully my vacation starts after this week! To kick-start our week here's a Mexican specialty, the Paloma. Super famous over there, I've had two of these already and can admittedly say this is going to be my this summer's next favorite!

• 6 cl 100% de agave tequila
• ½ lime (juice)
• a pinch of salt
• grapefruit soda
• lime wheel garnish/etc.

Build into a high ball glass, add the lime juice, tequila and mixer, drop a little bit of salt in the drink and stir gently. Garnish and serve.

Wow, just nice. Fresh, smooth, balanced with a very nice after taste to it, I frigging loved this! Note to self though, "use high quality tequila and careful with the salt!"

I used Jose Cuervo's Tradicional tequila, which IMHO is super smooth and balanced by itself! A sipping tequila! As for the grapefruit soda, I didn't use the "traditional" ones, instead our Finnish brand Jaffa Greippi, which did its job just as planned.

This drink...I have to share with my friends, they deserve it!

Wildside

WILDSIDE

Close enough :)

Hey everyone! It's been quite a long time since my last update...well, I have a good (?) reason for that, explained later. But now let's do some cocktailing! The recipe is not mine but instead by a chap called Tero Räisänen working at Olympiakortteli (in Finnish). I asked him about this legendary drink and permission to re-create (also in video) and he said yes! So here we go!

On a sidenote, this cocktail was created by him back in 2012 and legend goes, where ever he works, he introduces the Wildside to his staff. For a good reason I say! Let's take a look.

• 4 cl (blood)grapefruit vodka
• 3 cl lemon juice
• 2 cl sugar syrup
• ½ kiwi, muddled + some for garnish
• crushed ice

Muddle half a kiwi in a high ball glass. Add the crushed ice, the rest of the ingredients and spoon shake everything. Basically with a (bar)spoon mix everything in the glass. Add more ice and garnish with a kiwi slice + add two straws.

There you go! One fresh drink with a superb kiwi-taste to it! Moreover, I used my own blood grapefruit infused vodka and here's how to make that:

1 large blood grapefruit, washed and peeled

1 tbsp plain sugar

1 standard sized bottle (0.7L) of vodka

Let everything infuse for ~24h, stirring occasionally. Strain into a sterile bottle.

So those who live in Finland (or plan to make a trip), visit Tampere and Olympiakortteli for Tero's Wildside. Totally worth it!

Porto Flip

PORTO FLIP

Evening everyone! Here is a classic flip style of cocktail, which I wanted to make since a long time. I introduce you to the Porto Flip. For some reason I've never gotten around this one but finally, finally I had the ingredients to do it! It's definitely a small-ish cocktail so don't use your largest cocktail glass. A coupe will do just fine:

• 1.5 cl brandy
• 4 cl port wine (ruby/tawny)
• 1 egg yolk
• grated nutmeg for garnish

Shake the first three ingredients in a shaker and strain into your glass. Garnish, and serve. My thoughts on this. Well first things first, the yolk should be fresh as fuck. Secondly, the Porto Flip is definitely a dry, "adult-like" cocktail. The egg gives a smooth and nice frothy texture and overall the port wine definitely comes out, with a nice strong after taste. Honestly, this cocktail is close to the Alexander, at least I had these weird chocolate-y sensations in my mouth!

Nonetheless, I rate this cocktail 3 out of 5. Sure, I know my ratings vary from 1-5 stars to 1-100 points or just verbal, but to give you guys some "heads-up" if needed. Perhaps a teaspoon of sugar could enhance this drink...?

Averna Sour

AVERNA SOUR

Greetings everyone! Tonight's special is a real treat! The Averna Sour! I had the priviledge to make this one with a colleague and friend of mine at my work place and we actually made two versions of it; one with egg white and one without. By slightly altering the ratios you can make a cocktail that'll best suit your preferences!

• 4 cl averna (an Italian bitter liqueur)
• 2 cl sugar syrup 1:1
• 2 cl lemon juice
• 2 ds bitters
• (1 egg white)

If using egg whites, remember as always to dry shake first! Otherwise, just pour everything in the shaker, give it a good shake with plenty of ice and strain over fresh ice onto an OF - glass. Garnish with e.g. a lemon twist. As you can see in the picture, that one was made with egg white, giving the Averna Sour beautiful texture and volume. In addition, we sprinkled the bitters on top of the drink instead of putting it in the mixing glass.

Herbal, sweet and with balanced tartness, it's a great sour altogether! You could also make a slight variation/twist if you want, using different ratios of lemon juice/simple syrup or even Averna. For example, 5-1-2 (as mentioned above the ingredients). Follow your instincts and like Shia Labeouf, just do it! I know we did!

Life Updates

LIFE UPDATES

JCVD approved!

Hello and evening everyone. It occurred to me a few days ago, that it would be not only informative but also nice to let you in to a little secret. Well it's not a secret per se, but I'm having a small hiatus in this blog. The reason for this is quite simple; I've become father for my second child (boy!) on the 29th January (!!) and immediately took three weeks of paternity leave from work! So yeah, BIG STUFF going on in my life! As if the clock had reset itself. I'm trying to remember all these life hacks when dealing with babies but at least I have some help ie. my two-year-old daughter :) She's a big sister now and handling it quite well (for now :D)! 

So yeah, naturally that will make me prioritize, no doubt about that. I won't be making new cocktails in a while (doesn't mean I'll stop fetching recipes to try on later) nor videos for my cocktail channel (in Finnish). Instead I'll focus on my son & family, be it with or without much sleep :P

So that's the biggest thing going on in my life now. Huge. I did have some time writing down notes on my beloved "cocktail-journal" (just a handy diary-style book) while waiting in the hospital a week back. Motivations/aspirations for the year 2017? I mean COME ON it IS the year 2017!!

I wrote down a few with ease. Getting (positively) involved with my Youtube - channel, meaning good & fun cocktail/drink clips, guests, evaluation of different products etc. etc.. As far as I know, I'm one of the few (if not only?) Finnish cocktail content producer on Youtube. Don't get me wrong, I've seen a few which are from years back but I really want to make Cocktailnyymi a thing. I love cocktails, I love good drinks and I've had one helluva 1½ years so far doing those videos! Especially with my new camera now (and mic and tripod), I can actually film quality :D.

Secondly, with all the material I've worked on regarding cocktails (here since 2012, in 2013 on the main Finnish imageboard + real-life bartending and finally in May 2015 with my Youtube project), I really want to compile all of this material into one book. The sheer amount of positive feedback with the work I've done for getting home bartenders make better drinks (of course with the help of others; I couldn't have done it by myself) it seems like a natural path. I do recognize there are numerous cocktail books out there be it in Finnish or English and the material is practically limitless with the help of the internet, but I want to chip in my lousy two cents. With the idea of getting people interested in cocktails try and make them at home. The book idea seems like day dreaming but the more I think of it, the more sense it makes.

Thirdly, I want to create my own version of the RumPickle. See more from

https://www.instagram.com/therumpickle/

https://www.facebook.com/TheRumPickle/

So with the whole imageboard community and the whole "Cocktailnyymi" title I have, I want to make a #Nyymipickle and I want it to be a great one. I have worked a few ideas in my head and be assured, I'll let you know when it is in the making :)

These are just a few things possible in 2017, if nothing else than hopefully at least the Pickle :D

That being said, don't worry if there isn't much material popping out in the next week, two or so. I'm enjoying my family life the fullest and on the 11th of February I'll have a "guy baby shower", in its essence me & my close friends get wasted celebrating my new son! In addition, I will be making a video there, already have an idea for the perfect clip!

Be well, have good drinks! I'll see you later! Cocktailnyymi out.

Cointreau Fizz p.2

COINTREAU FIZZ p.2

Version 1 made roughly four years ago

Hey everyone! Exciting things and let us go "back to basics" with another classy high ball - cocktail, the Cointreau Fizz! As you might have noticed, I made this one in 2013 (!) May (as per link above), this time I took a more "professional" way to it, if you may. Pretty much everything has stayed the same, except now with a tad less alcohol (due to national regulations). Let's take a look:

• 4 cl Cointreau
• ½ lime, the juice
• 5-10cl+ soda water
• seasonal garnishes, berries, fruit, whatever you prefer

In a large-ish wine goblet, build this cocktail; add the ice, then the lime juice, cointreau and finally top the cocktail with soda water. Garnish and serve.

Just like four years ago, this cocktail is refreshing! The lime juice cuts the edge of the sweet liqueur and with the fruits/berries you get so much freshness. Albeit being a totally summer drink, the Cointreau Fizz works magic even during winter.

I also made this using a colleague's Cointreau Blood Orange, adding more tartness to the drink. I still preferred the original concoction better.

Electric Relaxation

ELECTRIC RELAXATION

Two versions as per the interwubs

Evening! Here's a drink suggested by a fellow cocktail-lover, the Electric Relaxation. It's a tight drink altogether and depending on one's source (I had to look it up from the internet), you might have a slight variation available:

• 3 cl cognac (1 fl oz)
• 4.5 cl triple sec (1.5 fl oz)
• pineapple or apple juice (13 cl / 4 - 4.5 fl oz)

Easily made, just build the drink into a high ball glass with ice. I had to use a bit larger glass to fit all in :D Also remember to use premium juices (as well as the alcohols) so you'll have premium results. This means at least for the apple version to use a cloudy non-concentrate juice.

Most recipes call for pineapple juice exclusively. A few internet results might yield the use of apple juice and to be honest, I liked the version better! It was more refreshing if compared to its "original" counterpart. Still heavily triple sec-y with steady cognac - flavors in the aftertaste, the Electric Relaxation takes you to places :D

Minttukaakao p.2

MINTTUKAAKAO

(part 2)

(The first one made ~3 years ago, here)

Back with a winter classic, the Minttukaakao, now looking extra pretty! :3 One of the great peppermint drinks available, using proper ingredients yields proper results:

• 4 cl Minttu schnapps
• self-made hot chocolate (with full-fat milk!)
• lightly whipped cream on top

In a pre-heated glass/mug, add the peppermint schnapps, the cocoa and finally layer some cream on top. In addition, feel free to garnish with grated nutmeg, chocolate or anything you feel like.

This is truly a magnificent hot chocolate cocktail! 

Winter Aperitif / Rudolph the Reindeer

WINTER APERITIF / 

RUDOLPH THE REINDEER

Recipe given by a guest

Winter is still here to embrace yourselves! This cocktail's recipe was introduced to me by a guest, who made it during the Christmas season. Even with Xmas gone (and no "name" for it), I liked the recipe and decided to make it as well! Mainly available in Finland (?) due to one of its main ingredients:

• 2 cl gin
• 2 cl cointreau
• 2 cl mulled wine extract
• tonic water (quality)
• wintery spices/herbs to garnish

Stir the first three ingredients with ice, strain into an OF - glass, top it off with tonic water and garnish. Add a straw and you're ready to go!

This cocktail is sweet. Using a longer stir with ice is highly recommendable before pouring it into the glass. Spiciness, orang-y flavors and with a good bitter-ish aftertaste I really enjoyed this cocktail. The best part being, for the winter season it fits like a glove.

Beton

BETON

Some Czech national pride in a glass, I present you with the Beton! Using a rather rare ingredient called Becherovka from the Czech Republic, this is a feisty one! Especially if you prepare some of the garnishes in advance:

• 5 cl Becherovka
• 10 cl tonic water (quality)

Build in a large-ish goblet ~70% filled with ice. As for the garnish, the "official" mentions a squeeze of a lemon wedge and lemon altogether, but I wanted to take this one a bit further. A clove-studded orange peel and two thin slices of fresh ginger.

I liked this one. The foremost sweetness combined with the spicy/fresh aftertaste, nice, very nice indeed! Since Becherovka is not the most common alcohol found in stores/bars...keep an eye for it. You'd be surprised (+ it works magic in e.g. a hot chocolate)

Campari-OJ

CAMPARI-OJ

A classic

Hello and a HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE 2017! Another year has passed (right under our noses! :D) and to Celebrate this I thought of making one of the great classics of all time, the Campari-OJ!

Just as the Screwdriver, since this cocktail only has two ingredients the mixer does matter. Quality quality quality!

• 4 cl Campari
• OJ (quality)
• orange slice/wedge/twist as garnish

Or simply 1:2 ratios (Campari & OJ)

Build in a short tumbler filled with ice, garnish and serve. For me...I mean, the more I drink this the more I like it! Campari is not an entry-level liqueur due to its bitter taste but the OJ works magic here. One could argue "acquired taste" when it comes to this drink, but even now, as the ice melts a little and the Campari mixes in with the OJ, this cocktail becomes tight!

I wish everyone a happy New Year 2017! May it be filled with excellent cocktails, love and joy!

Screwdriver p.2

SCREWDRIVER

The IBA version

Evening!

I present you with probably one of the most entry-level classics of all time, the Screwdriver. A fancy name for a "vodka-orange juice" or "vodka-OJ", there's a lot more to it than what you would think! First, ratios. Don't make an "Orange juice - vodka". The drink is not supposed to be a mug with a dash of vodka and filled with OJ. Secondly, use quality orange juice! I can not stress this fact enough! IF you use a cheap OJ, your Screwdriver will turn out shit. I mean, the OJ makes two-thirds of the drink, so why not use the best money can buy?

So, how to make a proper Screwdriver as per IBA:

• 5 cl vodka (don't bother using the most expensive but don't settle for the cheapest)
• 10 cl quality orange juice
• orange slice/wedge/twist to garnish

Build in a small tumbler filled with ice, garnish and serve. Now, as I don't require people to measure their orange juice exactly to be 10cl, a healthy ratio 1:2 (vodka/OJ) or even 1:1 is good. Moreover, if you insist on making this a bigger ("longer) drink, at least invest in quality orange juice :)

Actually, now that I think of it, I made this one before!! Wait...it's true! Check

this

one out.

See? In 2012 I made this using 1:3 ratios. I've gotten a lot wiser since that but still, even four years back I insisted on quality juice :D

Well played, me, well played.

Flaming Sambuca

FLAMING SAMBUCA

FEUER FREI!

Evening everyone! Since my wife & kid has been away the whole week and I've had a morning shift every day of the week (until 18:00)...man the amount of drinks I've had in the past few days :D

But enough of that. Still have one week of work, then it is my Xmas holiday! Wo-hoo! So tonight's speciality is a Flaming Sambuca. One of those shots you've heard about but never actually had one.

Here's how to make one:

• 4 cl sambuca
• three coffee beans
• a snifter
• a tumbler
• (a napkin, through which a straw is pierced)

Put the sambuca and coffee beans in the snifter, add the sambuca and place the snifter as in the picture above. With fire light the drink up (remember work safety!!) and roll the glass a little while, let the fires burn like a thousand suns. You might ask "why three coffee beans?" Well, the traditional serving is with three coffee beans, each representing health, happiness and prosperity (I wiki'ed it, boom!)

After it has been burning for a while, smother the flames by pouring the drink in the tumbler and covering it with the snifter. Now at this point you could do one of the following:

1. Drink the now-warm sambuca
2. Quickly put the snifter on top of the straw (as it has gathered sambuca fumes), shoot the liqueur and inhale the fumes through the straw

Honestly speaking. I recommend the first one. Don't ruin this drink by trying to be "awesome" and inhaling alcohol fumes. No. Don't do it.

The shot itself was quite pleasant and warm (duh) :D But yeah, leave the fumes and just ignore them!

Momentum

MOMENTUM

Hey everyone and a pleasant Sunday to y'all! It's been a rough weekend at work (Xmas season) so why not spend one's free day enjoying a good cocktail?

Fair enough, I made this a few days back but nonetheless, the Momentum is a surprisingly tasty concoction. This drink is part of the "Let's make a drink from a magazine" - series i.e. the national cocktail-magazine Shaker (in Finnish). Just like the earlier shot I made, this one includes cognac in it. Let's take a look:

• 3 cl cognac (VSOP)
• 1 cl sambuca
• espresso/coffee beans (about 1 tsp or ~10)
• lemon twist garnish

Stir the ingredients except for the lemon garnish in a snifter with ice and garnish. Serve. With a very lemony and pleasant aroma to it, this cocktail has a pleasant balance to it! A liquorice-cognac taste with one drawback; the coffee beans are constantly getting in the way :D

After my glass had sit for a while, you get those coffee-flavors to it (coffee beans). In total, a 3-/5. It's quite a short drink, so use a smaller snifter if able.

Pariisin Varpunen / Nikolaschka / La Môme Piaf

Pariisin Varpunen / Nikolaschka / 

La Môme Piaf

Hi everyone! Today I made a shot called Pariisin Varpunen (La môme Piaf / Little Sparrow) / Nikolaschka. Depending on the main ingredient used. The recipe I got from a Finnish cocktail-magazine in which many different cognac based cocktails/drinks were represented. I shall be doing more of them later in the coming weeks.

If you want to try something really extraordinary, give this one a try. It is definitely different :D

• 4 cl cognac (for a Vodka Nikolaschka use vodka instead)
• a thick slice of orange/lemon
• ~1 tsp instant coffee powder
• ~1 tsp fine caster sugar

Put the alcohol in a snifter/small tumbler. Layer the citrus slice on top with the coffee and sugar side by side. Now at this point you can still make a choice:

1. Drink the liquor and bite on the citrus
2. Bite on the citrus and then drink the liquor

I opted for the 2nd one. Also, I prefered the cognac-based shooter way better. Or then the vodka needs to be properly chilled, which in this case wasn't. Nonetheless, in case you really want to surprise your guests with an after-dinner "cocktail", try this one! :D

New York Coffee

NEW YORK COFFEE

Hey! Here's a nice touch on mixed coffee drinks! Many have had an Irish Coffee before, sure but if that sounds boring, why not try a New York Coffee? A liquorice twist with excellent taste that'll sweep your feet right away :D

• 2 cl kahlúa
• 2 cl sambuca
• hot coffee
• loosely whipped cream
• grated nutmeg to garnish

Preheat the glass. Pour excess hot water away, add in the alcohols followed with the coffee. Stir gently and layer the cream on top. Garnish and serve.

Easy and delicious! In addition, if you still want to pimp this one up, before layering the cream, add a few pinches salt in the drink and stir. Then you have a Silvertaffee Coffee, based on the Finnish "Hopeatoffee" - candy since they taste the same :)

Minttufernet

MINTTUFERNET

(Peppermintfernet)

A Finnish bar classic

Hey everyone! Today's cocktail is a short, powerful, robust drink, the Minttufernet. It literally translates to "Peppermintfernet" due to its two ingredients you'll need:

• 2 - 2.5 cl Fernet-Branca (an Italian bitter liqueur)
• 2 - 2.5 cl Cremé de menthe, green
• (1:1 ratio nonetheless)

In a tumbler filled half way with ice, add both ingredients in the glass. Gently stir and serve.

It's quite the cocktail! With a powerful peppermint aroma to it, the sweetness from the menthe goes along nicely with the aromatic and bitterness of Fernet-Branca creating a balanced drink. Moreover, as the ice melts, it mellows the drink even further. One could argue that you could use even 4-4 cl both, but with this one, less is more.

The Minttufernet also warmths one's body quite well :D

Piña Colada

PIÑA COLADA

A Piña Colada (without the garnish)

Good morning everyone! Today I made a cocktail...well, it certainly has made its way to the mainstream but this is the second (!) time I've had one (the first time was back in 2006 in Cologne when I was an au pair)! (and immediately made two versions of it :D)

For us Finns at least (if someone knows better, do correct me!), the Piña Colada is a cocktail you've had abroad during happy hours and then expect to have the same drink "back home". Honestly speaking, sure, every now and then a person asks me at work "can I get a Piña Colada?" The problem arises when you look at the ingredients of this now-classic tiki cocktail. Let's take a look. The recipe was acquired from THE BONNEVILLE COLLECTION: TIKI COCKTAILS.

• 6 cl rum
• 6 cl pineapple juice
• 2 cl creamed coconut
• 2.5 cl half & half (a mixture of half cream, half milk)
• (tiki garnish)

Both the pineapple juice/coconut stuff is something that doesn't hold for many days. I believe the Piña Colada is one of those cocktails you can't really get from Finland...well perhaps in Helsinki during summer time from one specific/certain cocktail bar. Stocking the above mentioned products is not worth their price when you might have 1 request/week. So better just make these at home.

The Bonneville recipe used Appleton 12yo for their rum of choice. I made two version; in the first one I did as per recipe and the other one with Malibu (coconut flavored caribbean rum). The reason for this was a request by a person who isn't allowed to buy strong spirits yet and Malibu being 21% ABV, so perfect for this occasion.

Shake the ingredients with ice, strain into a proper glass (tiki/hurricane, large-ish wine goblet) and garnish. I didn't have any pineapple or proper tiki garnish for that matter, so I left those out.

I have got to say, when I made the two versions, the Malibu one tasted better! It had that Piña Colada feel to it; the Appleton 12yo version tasted...well, not only more boozy but as if it lacked body. Were I to make this cocktail again, I would totally use Malibu. Otherwise the measures were great; the cocktail was creamy and pineappl-y :)

Some recipes use a blender but to heck with those.

Drambuie Sour

DRAMBUIE SOUR

Fresh magic in a glass

Hey everyone!

Today's special is a cocktail called Drambuie Sour. The recipe I got from a restaurant/bar called August von Trappe, located just by the rapids in Tampere. The idea here was the following: I wanted to see how bartenders use Drambuie in a cocktail, which isn't a Rusty Nail (as seen before). Since not many bars stock this liqueur, it was only right that I kind of challenge the staff to create magic out of it. In my sincerest opinion, that time they succeeded BUT not without mentioning that when I first ordered "A Drambuie - based cocktail, can't be a RN.", the bartender was rather insecure and couldn't come up with anything. I told her that it didn't really matter what she would make and that she can "fulfill any cocktail fantasies she has" with this liqueur. Alas, she asked her senior to help her out and together they made this. The Drambuie Sour:

• 4 cl Drambuie
• 4 cl fresh orange juice
• 3 cl fresh lemon juice
• 1 cl simple syrup
• 2 ds each orange and angostura bitters
• 1 egg white

Dry shake everything, add ice, shake again and double strain into a large-ish tumbler half filled with ice. Garnish with a orange twist.

Fresh, not too sweet and with a great orange - aroma to it. A steady egg white foam, good body. The aftertaste is a bit bitter (egg white). Just amazing.

I hope that the first bartender gets inspiration off of this and in the future keeps making great cocktails!

Rusty Nail

RUSTY NAIL

A cocktail appeared first in the 1930's

Hello everyone! Today's cocktail dates back some decades. The Rusty Nail. This cocktail has one rather "obscure" ingredient in it and as we look at the recipe altogether, it is quite similar to the Godfather/mother.

• 4.5 cl scotch whisky
• 2.5 cl Drambuie
• Lemon twist/spiral garnish

Drambuie is a Scottish liqueur with 40% ABV and flavored with honey and other spices. For me (at least) it has been one of those bottles

1. You might've heard about
2. You need in (that) one classic cocktail
3. Never intend to buy because of reason #2
4. Would collect dust once you've bought it

Luckily a colleague of mine went on a cruise and together we split a 50cl bottle. Now I have my hands on 25cl of this stuff and hell yes I intended to make this cocktail ASAP. So pour both ingredients in a glass filled with ice, stir gently and garnish.

The verdict? Quite easily enjoyable. The stinginess from the blended scotch is well combined with the sweet and honey-ish Drambuie, making a solid balance between both ingredients. Adding that lemon zest/spiral/twist you get that fresh citrusy aroma to it as well. Spices (cinnamon, clove) are apparent too. As a digestive the Rusty Nail would fit like a glove...You just need to buy that Drambuie bottle first :D

Irish Trash Can

IRISH TRASH CAN

A trash can. Its content tastes pretty good :D

Hey everyone! Today's special is called the Irish Trash Can. This drink was actually a request by a reader and I decided to pull it off. In two weeks time I'll make this as a video with a good friend of mine but for the picture I wanted to make it myself.

So...the Irish Trash Can. A big bunch of everything.

• 1.5 cl gin
• 1.5 cl vodka
• 1.5 cl light rum
• 1.5 cl peach schnapps
• 1.5 cl triple sec
• 1.5 cl blue curacao
• 1 can of red bull

Add all ingredients (except for the red bull) in a big glass filled with ice, stir gently, crack open the energy drink and add it into the glass (see picture).

Some call for using a straw and drink it as fast as possible...okay that will get you wasted fast. I had the patience to assess the drink (:D) and sip it slowly. This drink tastes candy-ish! The peach flavor comes forth nicely and the "can" is otherwise very "balanced". It's a sweet drink (literally). If you have the ingredients and the glasses for it, this'll make a "fun" house party drink!

Belgian Apple Pie

BELGIAN APPLE PIE

Hey! Here's a cocktail, or a hoptail, I made today. How this came to life is quite a story. So someone sent me a request as follows (loose quotes):

"Sir cocktail-sir

Back in the beer festival I got to taste an "apple pie drink" from a friend of mine. I was quite drunk but I remember it tasted good nonetheless. Later on I did find the pamphlet from my jacket pocket and on it were the ingredients listed: Belgian wheat beer, cloudy apple juice, lemon, vanilla liqueur. Any tips on the amount of the juice/liqueur? And how much do you reckon would go into one glass? With hazy memories I believe the size of the drink was about 0.4l."

With the help of google and some well-timed detective work, I managed to find the source of this cocktail! Luckily enough even my local store had some Belgian wheat beer and cloudy apple juice so I could make this one! It's called the Belgian Apple Pie:

• 2 cl lemon juice
• 4 - 6 cl cloudy apple juice (IMHO 6 cl is good)
• 2 cl galliano vanilla
• Belgian (style) wheat beer

Shake the three first ingredients with ice, strain into a mug filled with ice, pour over the wheat beer and garnish with a lemon slice/wheel.

I first made it with only 4 cl apple juice but had to admit it was too little so 6 cl would do much better. Smell/Taste-wise it did remind me of an apple pie, which was nice.

On a side note, if you can find, use a bit stronger wheat beer; the lower ABV ones lack body in my opinion.

Gingerhassle

GINGERHÄSSÄKKÄ

(GINGERHASSLE)

(I know, it is in Finnish)

Hello everyone! Here's a very refreshing drink, initially asked by a customer (do something citrus-y) and I thought of summoning something up for them. It turned out to be so good I figured "hey this makes one helluva drink!" Since this doesn't have a proper name yet, it is called a "Gingerhassle". Yeah, that'll do :D.

½ lime's juice

2 cl cointreau

2 cl gin

ginger beer, to top

On a highball glass filled with ice, press the juice of ½ a lime onto it. Add the alcohols and top the whole thing up with ginger beer. Garnish with a lime wheel, add a straw and there you go!

It is both fresh with good notes of citrus, orange and ginger. The lime juice cuts the tight gingery notes and the gin I used (a london dry style) was more in the background. Nonetheless, an excellent drink this was!

Cafe Nero

CAFE NERO

Hot Stuff!

Hey everyone! Here's a coffee-based cocktail a customer (while back) ordered from me! At that point, I had no idea what the hell it was so the kind (wo)man showed me how to make one! In hindsight, I would make this drink into a much smaller champagne flute/glass so the proportional amount of Galliano would be much higher. Nonetheless, here's how to make a Cafe Nero.

• 4 cl Galliano (vanilla)
• sugar + citrus wedge (for coating the inner glass)
• coffee
• loosely whipped cream
• vanilla / nutmeg / essential oils from an orange as garnish
• some fire (remember safety!)

First things first, prewarm the glass. Dump the hot water and with the help of the citrus wedge, coat the inside rim of the glass. Pour some sugar on it to create a nice sugary rim.  Add in the galliano and set it on fire. Let the flames caramelize the sugar a bit, after which pour in the coffee. Layer some cream on top and garnish.

As I mentioned in the beginning, since I used a much higher volume glass to make this one, taste-wise it had gentle vanilla notes to it and I liked its smoothness. Moreover, this drink can easily be twisted by using another alcohol and garnish appropriately. 

Jallumuuli

JALLUMUULI
(aka JALLUKINKERI)

A Finnish classic

Hey everyone! Here's a classic, that has reach a solid place in the Finnish bar culture, the Jallumuuli or Jallukinkeri. Easy to make, easy to drink and easily ordered again :D, this drink consists of:

• 4 cl Jaloviina * (A Finnish cut-brandy)
• 2 lime wedges (muddled)
• ginger ale

In a highball glass, muddle the lime wedges, add ice your Jaloviina* and top it off with ginger ale.

As said, the lime juice and ginger ale really helps cut the edge from the brandy, making this suitable for...pretty much anyone!