Not An Alcoholic

Aperol Spritz               Smells sweet and light, almost like a candy. Lightly orangey, bubbly, not too sweet, not to dry (using a brut sparkling wine for all of these). Absolutely drinkable and refreshing, unfortunately I wasn't able to chill my glassware today, but that would make it even more refreshing I'd imagine! 8/10 Chambord Spritz     Smells like sweet berries, reminding me of baking some sort of pie. A bit sweeter and more tart than the aperol spritz, I find this one personally more enjoyable. Both are light and easy to drink, and fine celebratory drinks. 9/10 Elderflower Spritz     Harder to get a nose from. Still smells a bit sweet. Tastes exactly like a elderflower gelato that I've had before. Sweet, tasty, floral, a tiny bit tart. Excellent. 9.5/10  My Spec Brief Note: To avoid binge drinking, I will only be making half servings of each of the following drinks. The specs I have listed are for a full si...

  A Riff on a Dark N' Stormy     First off: Why a riff? Well, Gosling's rum has a trademark on the name "Dark N' Stormy" so if you want to call your drink that, you legally have to use Goslings Rum. This is a real thing people have gone to court over. To avoid this, a lot of places will call their drink a "Dark And Stormy" or a "Dark 'N' Stormy" with 2 apostrophes, in order to get around the trademark. In my case, I'm not selling this to anyone, so I should be legally clear, but I'll call it my riff anyways, just to avoid any issues.  In addition to the name change. A "Dark N' Stormy" calls for a slice of lime, which I have omitted, it's served in a highball glass, not a double old fashioned. A "Dark N' Stormy" is also usually served with lots of ice chunks, or chips, or shavings or something, where as mine is with one large ice "sphere" (first time using the spherical ice molds, eventua...

  Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters Review     Smells of rich dark chocolate, some caramel, maybe a little bit of something akin to a peppery note, but it doesn't smell "spicy". A little thin, but likes to stick to your teeth and walls of your mouth, and linger. Initial taste is almost a weird stinging bitter note, that sounds bad, but it was really interesting and unique, not a negative. Probably similar to a quinine bitterness flavor wise. That gets swept away by rich chocolatey notes with a little bit of acid, maybe a fruit zest or something. As the chocolate fades, a brief slightly spicy note comes out to play with the acid, nothing anyone should be scared of, it's an incredibly mild spice, but it does come forward for a second to mess with the fruity acid notes. Then those notes fade and leave a deep bitter chocolate note behind that I revel in. I am a fan of dark chocolates, so maybe if you prefer milk chocolate, the after taste might be a bit more bitter tha...

  Egg Nog Review     Sweet, very lightly alcoholic, the nose is full of cinnamon and nutmeg, probably because I grated cinnamon and nutmeg on top of it. I do get some cinnamon in the taste, but the nutmeg is mostly lost. It doesn't taste like raw eggs, but the egg is adding some creaminess and thickness to it. I also get some vanilla and peanut notes from the bourbon. The cognac is a bit more subtle, but I think it's giving a tiny bit of interplay with the cinnamon. Very nice 9/10 My Spec My spec is: 4oz Milk (whole is better, but 2% works, try to avoid skim) 1 Whole raw egg 3/4oz Cognac 3/4oz Bourbon 1/2oz Demerara simple syrup 1 dash of angostura aromatic bitters 1 dash of angostura cocoa bitters Grate the top with cinnamon and nutmeg DRY SHAKE FIRST, that egg is going to expand as you shake it, and doing a good dry shake first makes sure that it expands properly, and that you're keeping your shaker sealed well. After the dry shake, shake it again with ice to ...

Plantation Original Dark Old Fashioned Review     The nose is slightly sweet, orangey, maybe a bit of vanilla, something a little nutty as well. Mouth feel is a little on the thin side, not as smooth as I would've hoped. It's immediately sweet, gives to orange, gives to vanilla, I get some banana, a woody note that I want to place as oak. Finishes with a bitter maple syrup note.  8/10 Yummy My Spec My spec is: 2oz Plantation Dark rum 1/2oz Simple syrup 2 dashes Regans Orange Bitters What is an Old Fashioned?     "Sam, I thought an old fashioned was a whiskey drink" some of you might be saying. Well, you're correct. If you go to any bar, and ask for an old fashioned, they might ask you if you want it with bourbon or rye, but they will assume you want whiskey. American Whiskey has become the default for a "modern" old fashioned. "So isn't making it with rum wrong?" Well no. The origin of the old fashioned is muddy, but according to David Wond...

  A bottle that is no longer sold?     Perhaps a slight exaggeration, this bottle is no longer available to purchase from Appleton. In March of 2020 it was announced that Appleton would be changing their product stack, and the formerly Appleton special rum would now be sold by another brand under the same corporate umbrella as "Kingston 62 Gold rum". As you can tell from the photo, this is an older bottle that my parents had from a Jamaican friend of ours. Review     Sweet nose, bits of oak, banana, but also a little bit of paint thinner in there. Not incredibly aggressive, but definitely present. A little thin, a little abrasive in the mouth at first, particularly if your lips are as dry as mine, but it smooths out pretty quickly. I get notes of banana, maybe some sweet apple, brown sugar, a little something earthy, and a bit of wood on the finish. It's a shame that this bottle is no longer sold by Appleton. I have no reason to doubt that the Kingston...

The Division Bell Cocktail Review     Smells lightly smoky, maybe a bit of citrus from the Aperol and lime juice. Mostly just the smoke though. Mouth feel is pretty nice, I unfortunately had to let it sit for a moment, so it's not as cold as I would've liked. It's a little tart, a bit of sweet, with a mildly smoky mezcal finish. Perfectly drinkable, particularly if I had gotten to it when it was colder I'm sure. I did serve mine with ice because I knew I would be unable to drink it right away, usually you would serve this drink "up" (without ice) and with no garnish, though I think a bit of citrus oil expressed over the top wouldn't do any harm. If you serve this with ice, keep in mind that the ice likes to melt and create a separation layer of water above the drink itself. Perfectly sippable, lightly tart and sweet. Not too smoky, might be a good introduction to mezcal if you're curious. 8/10 My Spec My spec is: 1oz Mezcal 3/4oz Aperol 3/4oz Lime Juic...

  Xicaru Silver Mezcal Review     Sweet and extremely smoky, I spilled a little on my hand while pouring this evening, and it smells like mesquite barbeque now. It's such a rich smoky flavor, simply smelling it causes salivation. Very layered flavors in the mouth. It honestly feels like lukewarm tap water in the mouth, but the taste is so complex. Immediately earthy. Rich flavors that taste as a garden smells, that gives to a soft chocolatey herbal note, that gives to a heavy smoke. Honestly, while this is no dig at the mezcal itself, it's a bit much for my palate. I'm sure there are people who would drink this and scarcely blink. If you enjoy islay scotches, this might be an interesting foray into agave spirits for you. But this is really beyond what I am capable of making too many objective comments about. 8/10 Would love to revisit as my palate grows. What is a Mezcal?     Mezcal is a spirit distilled from agave, just like a Tequila, however a Tequila is usua...

Aviation Cocktail Review     Lemon and a hint of violet on the nose. Not much from the gin at all. In person, especially when it's a bit dimmer, the purple from the Creme de Violette comes through a bit more. I would describe the mouth feel as light, it almost took me a minute to realize it was there. The flavors involved are also really delicate as well. I'll say that this isn't a drink for everyone. A lot of people don't like gin already, and some people are really adverse to the Creme de Violette, calling it "soapy". I can understand how people detect soap in this. To me, while I could interpret that as soapy, it's not really chemically, and the texture and natural rejection of getting soap in your mouth is not present, so I get some flavors that some people associate with soaps, but I do not mind it. It is a very airy, almost wispy flavor. You're not working with any "heavy" flavors here. Everything is light. It really is hard to detect m...

  Regans' orange bitters No. 6, Angostura Orange Bitters, and Fee brothers west Indian orange bitters respectively. Regans' Orange Bitters     Subtle nose, smells bittersweet, softly of oranges, something mildly herbal I can't quite place, maybe light floral notes. Thin mouth, very bitter forward, lots of orange peel, something slightly salty, again a mildly herbal note that doesn't immediately register as anything I know of. Soft floral note, I'd imagine it's probably orange blossom water. Really solid bottle of bitters. 8.5/10 Angostura Orange Bitters      Soft nose, almost smells a little artificial, definitely a bit sweet smelling. Thicker mouth feel, pretty sweet orange note, with some bitter spices, definitely cinnamon, clove, maybe a hint of ginger? Rather good. Doesn't taste like the artificial note I was getting from the nose, I'd imagine it's just some sort of association I'm making in my mind. 8/10 Fee Brothers West Indian Orange Bitte...

  Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur Review     Unbelievable nose, a lot of things where I'm not only struggling to determine what exactly I'm smelling, but I'm wholly unfamiliar with the smell itself. I get some honey, a definite smoky spicy note, a little something musty, which I have smelled with some poblano peppers (the pepper that when dried becomes an "ancho chile") before. There's also a sort of sour milk note that I wasn't expecting, and maybe even a bit of mango. But beyond all the things I could identify are a range of spices I don't know how to place. The mouth feel was thick, a bit syrupy even. Being a liqueur, that's not out of place, but I was expecting a lot thinner. Immediately it's all of the flavor of an ancho pepper WITHOUT the spice. It's smoky, it's warm, it's a bit chocolatey, it's got a little earth. Then I get overtaken by that honey note again, metallic, sweet, then the spice from the ancho finally sweeps back i...

  Fee Brothers Grapefruit Bitters Review      Smells strongly of grapefruit unsurprisingly, maybe a note of cardamom, and cinnamon. There's also some sort of perfume quality in the nose, I'm not sure what it is, but it's less of a "note" and more of a characteristic, something about how it reaches your nose. A bit hard to explain. Smooth mouth, thick, almost creamy. Really coating. Very fast, but complicated evolution. I immediately got a bright citrus note, definitely some grapefruit, but also lemon zest. Then I get a deep floral component, multilayered, maybe lilac, honeysuckle, violet, and then the bitterness is very late in the evolution, that's when I get a bit of cardamom, maybe even a hint of celery seed. 7/10 will get used behind my bar. So what are bitters? Why do you use them in drinks?     Bitters are a traditionally alcoholic spirit, often in small bottles (usually 4-6oz, but sometimes you might see a 16oz) infused with botanicals, spices, flowe...

Why have multiple bottles of rum from the same brand anyways?      While this might be a trivial question to some of the members of my reader audience, if you'll indulge me for a moment, I'd like to explain my reasoning for this, and go into what rum is a little bit as well. If you'd just like to see my reviews of the bottles today, there will be another section further down where the text is once again emboldened.     So, why have multiple bottles of rum? Well, lets start with a bit about rum production in general and compare it to some other spirits. Rum is at it's core, a distillate product made from sugarcane or sugarcane byproducts. But, that leaves a lot of room for interpretation, for example, you might have a Rhum Agricole made from sugarcane juice from a single harvest of sugarcane in a single country, that's distilled in column stills, not aged, and bottled at 40% ABV. Or you might have a jamaican rum, made from molasses from multiple harvest...

 Behind a bar, one of the most recognizable and widely used bottles will be Angostura Aromatic Bitters. The small bottle, with the oversized label and that yellow cap are iconic imagery in the world of bartending and mixology. While there's plenty of drinks that call for peychaud's or maybe an orange bitters, no bottle of bitters is called for as much as Angostura Aromatic Bitters. However, people are quick to forget that while Angostura's main product is their standard Aromatic Bitters, they also make an orange bitters, and the subject of today's review, Cocoa Bitters (and also an amari, a few rums, brandy, a vodka, and some soft drinks. But those are for another time). The nose is extremely rich and complex. There's some deep chocolate notes, but also a bit of cinnamon, clove, maybe some anise? perhaps even cardamom? The smell evokes a glass of hot chocolate, while something is baking in the kitchen, but it's concentrated and heavy. When the small sip I took i...

 Smells slightly of bitter oranges, but a lot of herbal and earthy notes as well. Immediate mouth feel is thick, almost syrup, incredibly dry. In Italy, this is often served as an "Aperitif" or a drink that's supposed to wet ones appetite. So as I'm drinking this at 9pm having ate dinner already, it's a bit late for a glass. However I have this bottle for cocktails primarily. The flavor is obviously dry as stated before, but I get a lot of herbs, and a lot of orange peel, maybe a slight floral component, perhaps violet? Very strong aperitif, especially compared to it's other common aperitif cousin Aperol. 6/10

 Nothing crazy tonight, sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist. The expressed lemon oil is front and center on the nose. I also get a bit of some vanilla. Smooth, soft mouth feel, lots of vanilla, some cherry, fig, a little herbal note. Lovely sipper. 9.5/10 Carpano antica formula is a very nice sweet vermouth. If you're going to be mixing, you can go a lot cheaper. But if you just want a glass of vermouth on it's own, what a wonderful glass it is.

Smell is amazing, I get honey peanuts, rye, maybe a tiny bit of chocolate, but its soft. I also find the color rather appealing, but that's much less important. Mouth is a bit thin, spicy and rye forward, but I get honey, licorice, peanuts and butter. Very good 9/10 It's also worth noting that this is a relatively inexpensive bottle, and it's bottled in bond, and going to be one of the most commonly called for spirits behind your bar. You really want your rye to be something you enjoy, and the flavors here are just excellent.

Finally made my mother a Margarita. And... she didn't like it. She usually gets hers at a Local Mexican restaurant, and it's not a blender drink, but it is a lot sweeter and more dilute than mine. TLDR I guess I have a higher tolerance for the taste of alcohol than my mother I mostly smell the triple sec, it's a warm, bright, sweet orange smell. The mouth feel is thin and sharp, I get a very bright orange note that gives to sweet, but still sharp tequila, the lime is really more of an after thought than anything. 7/10 My spec is 2oz Tequila 1oz Triple Sec 1/2oz Lime Juice shaken with ice and strained.

A pisco sour! Smells like the angostura bitters that garnish it, but the egg white froth blocks almost everything else. It's tart, earthy, creamy, smooth, maybe not for everyone, but certainly a fine cocktail. 8/10 2oz Pisco 1/2oz Lemon Juice 1/2oz Lime Juice 3/4oz Simple Syrup 3/4oz egg white Dry shake to froth egg, then shake with ice Double strain, be gentle with the foam drop a couple drops of angostura onto the foam gently for garnish Mom said this was better than the paper plane I made last night. But she still was not a big fan. It is a lot closer to her preferred drink, the margarita, but hopefully I'll find something soon that she enjoys.

Smells like grapes (It is basically a Peruvian grape brandy), but there's also a lot of earthy notes. In the mouth it's sweet and earthy, with little fruity notes, and also some vegetal notes. 8/10

The Paper Plane! The camera doesn't capture it well, in person its a lovely pink color. Smells softly of lemon and a little bit of bourbon. It's super balanced, a tiny bit tart, then I get warm bourbon flavors, a bit of orange, a bit of soft apricot flavor and then it does it all over again, it's got a super long and smooth evolution. In all honesty, probably the best cocktail I've had to date. I'd say 9.8/10 Equal parts (3/4 oz recommended) Lemon Juice Bourbon Aperol Amaro Nonino (which I found incredibly hard to open, idk if I got a defect bottle or something) Shaken with ice, strained and served up, with a typically 1/2 size paper airplane garnish Just for transparencies sake, I took this out to my mother because I was so impressed, and she was incredibly displeased with it. For reference, her usual go-to is a Margarita, on the rocks, with a half-rimmed glass. Or she likes a little baileys from time to time.

Yes I need to clean some glassware Soft nutty smell, but it's a bad glass for smelling. Thick mouth feel, sweet, a little nutty, a tiny bit of cherry, bitter finish. Really coats your mouth. Essential in a home bar, 7/10

This is a Queen's Park Swizzle! It smells strongly of the deep brown sugary rum, I wish my mint was stronger, but my grocery store's mint was very sad. It's very boozy, but I also get lime, lots of funk, and cinnamon. Very good! 9.5/10 It's a riff on a Mojito using a much heavier rum and also bitters. My spec is: 1/2 oz Lime juice 1/2 oz Demerara simple 1 1/2 oz Lemonhart and sons 151 1/2 oz Smith and Cross 8 Dashes of angostura bitters A ton of mint, like probably 15 leaves of mint . This is going to be a lot higher proof than your standard mojito (like, 1.5x) and also the rum I chose has a lot more character and deeper flavors than a traditional spanish style that you'd see in a normal mojito

Made a Caipirinha, being almost entirely Cachaça it smells unsurprisingly like said Cachaça, maybe a touch brighter. It's cold, it's tart, it's a bit grassy, a little earthy, but less so than the Cachaça. Not really my preferred drink, but pleasant. 7/10

Strong vegetal nose, like earthy and also green smelling, almost savory. The mouth feel is soft, thin, maybe a bit silky, I get notes of grass and earth, but no bitterness, it's really interesting. For being a "cousin" of rum, it's not what I was expecting at all. 8.5/10