Paper Plane, All Grown Up A bourbon-forward Paper Plane with Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Bright, balanced, and served chilled in a coupe or Nick & Nora. Bar Chef Notes Traditionally served in either a coupe or Nick & Nora. The coupe has long carried the rumor that it was modeled after Marie Antoinette’s breast — one of hospitality’s favorite lingering myths. The Nick & Nora, named after the cocktail-drinking couple in The Thin Man films, is favored for its slightly narrower shape and cleaner for actual service. Traditionally made with Amaro Nonino, though Montenegro makes a softer, slightly sweeter variation. Either works perfectly. Shop the BBB Storefront This may be commissionable.
Christmas Campari Because Christmas is every day, and today. The garnish takes the longest for this one, but it’s worth it. I confess, I was caught licking my finger a few times. Plus, it gives you (and me) an opportunity to zen out and maybe enlist help from family and friends as a fun kitchen activity? Especially if kitchens intimidate you—or drink-making, for that matter. So, yesterday, while I was packing, I thought about how Campari has notes of orange, and the combination of Campari and orange juice is like an Italian screwdriver 2.0. The hibiscus bitters I decided to add contributes softer floral notes to the drink and, overall, a more unique flavor. Not that Campari needs help. Plus, hibiscus is just good. These bitters are alcohol-free as well and can easily be used for mocktails too. This drink is excellent enjoyed before dinner or at the end of the evening, with or without food. You could also add prosecco or champagne, but I didn’t this time. If you do, I recommend fill to the top. Please drink responsibly, of course. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Cheers and Happy Merry Christmas or to whatever you may celebrate! Christmas Campari 2 oz Campari 2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice 3 or 5 ish drops of All The Bitter Hibiscus bitters (label reads New Orleans Style on the bottle) or use measure guide on dropper to taste 6, 8, 12 or how many ever you like of sugared cranberries Sprig of dried Rosemary (smoke the glass if you like, not necessary) there is loose instructions on that technique on this blog as well 1 trimmed quarter Orange slice Ice cubes Method for the drink Add ice to a bucket glass. Pour in Campari. Top with freshly squeezed orange juice. Add sugared cranberries, an orange slice, and a dried rosemary sprig. Light the rosemary sprig on fire and let it smoke. Alternatively, you can light the sprig first, extinguish the flame, and then add the smoking rosemary to the glass. Please use fire tools with care and safety in mind. Thank you. Glass: bucket glass Garnish: sugared cranberries orange slice and smoking dried rosemary Bar Chef Notes: This is a super simple cocktail, with not many ingredients, making it perfect for decorating. Bonus: rosemary is a stir swizzle stick. You can add an optional topper of Champagne or Prosecco, or skip the Campari and add juice and bitters. That’s not the drink, though. Whatever slightly flavored cranberry syrup you have leftover can be used for another cocktail, Mocktail or simply to flavor sparkling water. For the cranberries 1/2 cup white granulated sugar + extra 1/4 cup ish for the coating (I eyeballed this) 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup cranberries Add white granulated sugar to a saucer or a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, and set aside. For the cranberries, I use frozen 365 Whole Foods brand, but some argue that fresh are better. I say it doesn’t matter. This is a drink garnish. In a saucepan, combine equal parts sugar and water. Heat just enough to dissolve the sugar, then set aside to cool. Add the cranberries and stir until they are fully coated. Let them steep for a few minutes. The using a slotted spoon, transfer the cranberries to the sugar mixture and coat them evenly. Use your clean hands with or without gloves or a spoon to aid in coating. I use my clean hands without gloves and a spoon. For the orange Wash and slice the orange lengthwise from end to end. Cut it in half, then into quarters. Trim the center so that each orange piece has a straight edge. For the orange juice Juice two navel oranges and one blood orange using a handheld juicing tool or a juicing machine (I use an Omega). Machine is a bit messier but faster for me. You do you though. Make sure to peel the oranges before juicing. Save the leftover orange juice for mimosas or vodka screwdriver alongside blueberry pancake brunch. Where to buy the goods? You know bucket glasses, juicers, sugars and stuffs. Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront, of course. *I may receive compensation for eligible purchases. Thank you.
Ginger Cube Champagne Cocktail I found these ginger cubes from Saratoga Sugar Company and couldn’t resist. I originally discovered other flavors, and this is a sample they sent to me. Just add honey syrup and the sugar cube with a dash of bitters, and a new champagne cocktail is born. Don’t tell the others! It’s super simple. Order the sugar cubes and wait for them to arrive. Once they do, add one to a champagne or dessert glass and proceed with the instructions. Sit back and sip, whether during a retrograde or a holiday—no problem! Except if you drink too much, of course. Ruinart Blanc de Blanc is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes. Some may wince at the idea of putting anything in it to make a cocktail, but I don’t—and it’s delicious! Fancy bubbly Chardonnay grapes with superb flavors. Superb flavors with superb flavors is a win win. Yes, even for those that are purists. And yes, “superb” is my new favorite word. Ginger Cube Champagne Cocktail 1 ginger sugar cube (from Saratoga Sugar Company) 1 oz honey syrup (1 part honey, 1 part warm water mixed until combined) A dash of bitters (orange or aromatic bitters work well) Champagne (or sparkling wine) Blanc de Blanc is my vote, no wincing please. Bar Chef Notes: Optional: Lemon twist or fresh ginger slice for garnish Method Prepare the Honey Syrup: If you haven’t done so already, mix equal parts honey and warm water until the honey is fully dissolved. Let it cool. Add the Ginger Sugar Cube: In a champagne or dessert glass, place one ginger sugar cube. Combine Ingredients: Pour the honey syrup over the sugar cube. Think barspoon. About a teaspoon. Add a dash of bitters. Top with Champagne: Slowly pour champagne over the sugar cube mixture. Not too fast as overflowing sometimes happens. Watch delightful bubbles. Maybe give a teeny stir half way and continue. Garnish (optional): For an extra touch, but not necessary, you can add a lemon twist or a thin slice of candied ginger along side. Or fastened over the mouth of the glass using a cocktail pick. Where to buy the goods, you know champagne stoppers, ice buckets and stuffs? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course. -*I earn commissions from eligible purchases More about ruinart from a previous post here. And here. And here. Blonde Behind the Bucket
Espresso Martini’s Stylish Friend: Sparkling Lillet Blanc Coffee Reading about coffee tonic earlier this week, I got to thinking about the suave version and a spin-off of our friend, the ever-popular espresso martini. This is a goodie. Lillet Blanc offers the tonic vibes with a kick, and the citrus effervescence from the club soda-style bubbles, topped with an Americano, surely checks all the necessary boxes. Coffee sparkling pre-dinner rally in style. Elegantly. Sparkling Lillet Blanc Coffee 2 oz Lillet Blanc 2 oz of citrus flavored bubbly water named Olipop (this water contains other ingredients like various roots citrus and fruits. A split tonic club soda 1:1 or cutis sparkling water an excellent substitute) Top with unsweetened restrato (strong) Americano coffee, about 1 – 1/2 oz for the ice Penny Pounder round (or square) large cube or many small ice cubes Method This couldn’t be easier. Add an ice cube to a chilled martini glass. Pour in the Lillet and then bubbly water, and then top it off with coffee. That’s it! Garnish with an orange wheel optional. Glass: martini Garnish: Orange wheel (optional) Bar Chef Notes: substituting ice and ingredients will change the recipe slightly and dilution may occur more rapidly. Where to buy the goods? You know martini glasses coffee bubbly water and stuffs? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course. Please know I may receive commissions from eligible purchases. Thank you! Behind the Scenes looks:
Single Serve White Wine Sangria Spritz 2.0 Figs and Riesling, oh my! In the mood for Sangria? I almost always am. With some figs and Riesling on hand, I’m getting creative. Let’s get to it. Single Serve White Wine Spritz 2.0 Ingredients 2oz hibiscus tea (use tea bags if you wish, I prefer dried hibiscus flowers with hot water and steep, strain and chill) 2oz of honey syrup (2:1 ratio honey to water) 1/2 oz Grey Goose vodka 3 muddles figs (the plumpest you can find) 1 oz saville citrus (it looks like an orange but bitter like a lemon, sort of. It’s a hybrid? Hey Siri) 1/2 oz sparkling water (your choose, bubble texture doesn’t really matter here) Top with as much Kabinett Mosel Riesling crisp wine as you wish (I love a German Kabinett) I use Zilliken. 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Method Muddle the figs and black pepper. Add citrus, honey syrup and hibiscus tea and then vodka. Best to put honey syrup in jigger first and then use the citrus to wash it; the remaining stickies from the syrup. Add ice and shake. Pour into bucket glass over ice. Add sparkling water then the wine and give a quick stir. Top with sliced figs. Glass: bucket glass or high ball glass Garnish: sliced figs Bar Chef Notes: more on the wine here. Remember when I attempted (wink, wink) to open my Riesling using a tuning fork?! Kabinett is specific to Germany, FYI. Please drink responsibly and be of the legal drinking age. Thank you. Where to buy the goods? Bucket glasses, black pepper and stuffs? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront. Please know, I may receive compensation for eligible purchases. Thank you!
Popcorn Martini I was thinking about cereal milk the other day and decided to try something new. I saw some popcorn and milk, and I went for it! I steeped the buttered popcorn in whole cow’s milk for two days using this similar to movie theater popcorn. You could use butter extract for the cocktail (I’m guessing), similar to what would be used for butter tasting notes in a wine class. For the garnish, a fancy French buttered popcorn works best. That’s what I did anyway. I could have made an ice cream and done something affogato-style, but why not try something different. So here we are. A buttered popcorn martini. Your movie nights may never be the same. Buttered Popcorn Martini 2 1/4 cups of buttered popcorn (1/4 cup reserve for garnish and munching) 1 1/2 oz of vodka of choice 1 oz of honey syrup (1:1 ratio) 2 1/2 oz of popcorn milk Method Pop popcorn. Steep buttered popcorn for two days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Strain with a fine mesh strainer. Pour ice and all ingredients into a shaker and shake, shake, shake until mixing tins are cold. Strain into a martini glass using a fine mesh strainer. Garnish with popcorn. Glass: Martini glass Garnish: Buttered popcorn Bar Chef notes: add a pinch of salt or add 3:1 ratio of honey for sweeter. Or both. Citric acid for clarification. Lemon peels for brightness, steep in milk. Where to buy the goods? Martin glasses popcorn and stuff? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront. Please know I may receive commissions for eligible purchases. By the way, do you prefer my storefront to be organized by recipe or set up for general browsing? Comment below! Thank you.
A Martini Tinytini This morning, I went down a rabbit hole instead of doing all the things that I need to do. It’s almost like the example given in “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. Can any of you relate? I’ll try to clothes or take a shower, or basically do anything and everything but what I had on my list to do or in my scheduled blocked time. My other excuse is, it is summer. Oh, and what about you ask? The martini. I know. Piggybacking on an earlier post; team stirred or shaken. Shaken, stirred, olive twist, dry rinse, classic, dirty, blue cheese olives, regular olives, a twist and onion, olives, a twist and onion olives, and no wait, three olives. One olive, two olives, caviar olives, and so on. Say that five times fast. For the record, onions and maybe onion juice and maybe a twist too make a Gibson. I’ll save that for another post and rabbit hole. According to Mr. Boston’s martini book, a martini is 1 1/2 gin and 3/4 vermouth with one olive. And an extra dry martini 2 ounces of gin and 1/4 ounce of dry vermouth. And then there is the vodka version. I have decided each week to make one drink from the Mr. Boston’s book and add a tab named Mr. Boston cocktails. The first of this series coming soon. This one and my soufflé martini series. Non related to this post, not the series coming. In case you’re wondering. I like the Tatum Barnes 2 oz alcohol split 1 oz gin 1 oz vodka a vermouth rinse blue cheese olives an onion and a pickle version with a side of caviar. Thats me. In case you’d like to try here it is: A Martini Tinytini 1 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin 1 oz Ketel One rinse of Dolin dry gin Cornichon pickle, cocktail onion, one house stuffed blue cheese olive. Petrossian caviar. Simple syrup (optional) Method Add ice to a mixing glass or tin. Rinse a chilled glass with vermouth. Add liquor to the mixing vessel and stir at least 10 times. Dash of simple syrup optional. Using a metal pick add onion blue cheese olive and pickle in no particular order. Pour into a glass. Glass: martini Garnish: cornichon pickle onion blue cheese stuffed olive and side of Petrossian caviar Bar Chef Notes: If you enjoy a Vesper martini, then you will like this. I know there isn’t any Lillet Blanc, so if you need a hint of sweetness, add a dash of simple syrup and a couple of dashes orange bitters. The blue cheese can be any type. Creamy crumbly, doesn’t matter. Where to buy the goods? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course. Please know I may receive commissions from eligible purchases. Thank you!
a semi classic Whiskey Sour Creating sours for a contest produces drinks like this. I stray from my usual sweet tart version. This is a slight alteration of the classic whiskey sour. Gentleman Jack the base. I add gold to a clunky lemon and a red cherry. I don’t use either in my sours, clunky or not, 90% of the time. They sure are pretty though. You will want to try this one at home. Ingredients 2 ounces of Gentleman Jack 1/2 ounce simple syrup 1/2 ounce agave 1 ounce of fresh lemon juice 2-3 dashes of angostura bitters 1 egg white from a chicken egg 1 lemon wheel 1 cherry gold leaf for the garnishes Method Place gold in a bowl of water. Look at this foam Secure your fruit garnish to the end of a bamboo skewer and place it on the gold in the water and swirl. The gold will stick. Separate the yolk from the whites. Add the whites to the mixing tin. Save the yolk for something else or toss. Up to you. Remove the coils from the Hawthorne strainer. Dry shake the whites first. Add all other wet ingredients. Dry shake some more. Add ice. Shake some more. You can double fine strain the cocktail. I don’t. Strain over ice in a bucket glass. Squeeze a bit of lemon over the settled cocktail from the rest of that lemon. A couple of dashes of angostura bitters for the stirring. Add your gold lemon and cherry. That’s it. Creamy, smooth sour. Glass: bucket glass Garnish: gold lemon wheel and cherry Cheers! Please drink responsibly Where to buy the goods and stuff? You know glassware, jars of cherries, strainers and pre made egg white foams because you can’t be bothered? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course! Please know I may receive compensation for eligible purchases. Thank you!
Tatum’s Whiskey Sweet Tart Sour I took a few sips of the first drink while photographing the second one I photographed a couple of these while testing presentations of the same drink. Let me know what you think and which presentation you went with! It’s a goodie! I make a ton of these behind the bar! Tatum’s Whiskey Sweet Tart Sour 1 egg white from a chicken egg 2 ounces of whiskey 1/2 ounce agave 1/2 ounce of simple syrup 1/2 ounce of fresh lime juice 1/2 ounce of fresh lemon juice 2 dashes of cream of tartar Dash of pink salt 6-8 dashes of angostura bitters for the swirl gold leaf for the garnish Method Mix white granulated sugar with water in a 1:1 ratio. It should last for about a week in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container. For the citrus:Use fresh lemon and lime juice.Squeeze the juice of lemons and limes into separate containers. Place your glass in the freezer to chill. Add two dashes of cream of tartar to the mixing tin. Crack the egg and separate the whites from the yolk. Save the yolk for pudding or cake. Add the whites to the tin with the cream of tartar. Remove the coils from the Hawthorne strainer and add them to the mixing tin as well. This will be a dry shake. Shake the egg whites and cream of tartar with the coil for about twenty seconds. The mixing tins stick together better when chilled, so keep this in mind while shaking. Some of the whites may escape and end up on your clothes, floor, or in your hair if you have hair. Then add the remaining ingredients. Dry shake for another twenty seconds. Add ice. Kold draft ice is my favorite as it doesn’t dilute the cocktail as much as some ice will. Keep this in mind while shaking. The tins should be cold when you finish shaking. You can remove the coil and refasten it to your strainer or leave it inside (it can get messy) and use another strainer to strain your cocktail into the glass. Once the drink is in the glass, let it sit for a moment. The foam will stiffen. Add angostura bitters dashes using a dasher or dropper, and use a toothpick or bamboo skewer to swirl. I add gold. Toothpicks are a great tool to use when working with gold. Why gold? Uhm, who doesn’t like a little glamour? Bar Chef Note: Lemon juice curdles the egg, and many use a fine mesh strainer to double strain. I do not. Also, I use SLO gold sheets here. There are also gold flake shakers available at Pastry Chefs Boutiques. Glass: coupe glass Crate & Barrel Garnish: angostura bitters and gold flakes Where to buy some stuffs? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront of course. Please know I may receive compensation for eligible purchases. Thank you. Please drink responsibly and be of the legal drinking age.
a softer side of a gentleman (Jack) I entered this one into a whiskey sour contest. It was one of two drinks required. This, the second assignment was be as creative as I wanted staying true to sour and using what I have learned from whiskey’s past to present. I clarified and chose a gender neutral color yellow. I added clarified lemon juice and brûléed the foam to remove any egg smell. Who wants a nose of egg white straight away? The flavors add simple complexity to the drink. With each sip the liquid dissolves the foam. All pleasantly pleasing and excite the palate. Think charred wood with ginger black pepper flavors of whiskey. The syrups add just the right amount of sweet and the citric acid brings back the pucker. The white chocolate was going to be slats of chocolate bark up and around the sides of the glass but I thought it too much and added the white chocolate shavings instead. The sugar pearls could indicate a wedding, a new year or perhaps just the intention, added texture. This one goes down easy. Another question of is there or isn’t there alcohol in this sour. There is. It’s clear. It’s pretty and pale yellow. May I introduce A Softer Side of a Gentleman (Jack) sour. softer side of a gentleman 3 ounces of Gentleman Jack (goat milk lemons limes orange clarified) 1/2 ounce and a bar spoon of homemade fresh ginger simple syrup (bar spoon for the foam recipe below) 1/2 ounce of homemade toasted black peppercorn agave syrup (you can purchase a pre-made if you don’t want to make it) generous pinch to 1/4 teaspoon of Cultures for Your Health citric acid powder (depends on how much pucker you want) For the foam 1 chicken egg egg white for the foam dash of cream of tartar (if using kitchen aid whisk attached mixer instead of canister) 1/2 ounce of clarified lemon juice (1 1/2 teaspoons of agar agar to 8 ounces of lemon juice freeze 24 hours and throw using coffee filter fastened to a freezer safe lid container) bar spoon of ginger syrup pinch of pink salt Add egg whites to a mixing bowl or canister cylinder. If using a mixing bowl and whisk add cream of tartar. Add salt and lemon juice and ginger syrup once soft peaks have formed in the mixing bowl. For the cocktail. Add all ingredients to a bucket glass. Add large clear ice cube (if you can). Crushed ice is great too. Add egg white foam.! Garnish the cocktail with chocolate shaving, SLO food gold leaf for garnishing, Bamboo skewers and toothpicks to work with the gold, Vanilla candy pearls optional (sometimes I get carried away) Butane torch to brûlée to give that charred campfire smell and taste Glass: clear bucket glass 1 large clear cube ice cube Enjoy! Please drink responsibly where to buy the goods to make this? Many available at Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront I made this drink with two different foam toppings. One gold white chocolate brûlée and the other gold white chocolate brûlée add white sugar pearls