The CCTB Infuse your Campari with cacao nibs. This I call chocolate Campari. Recipe available on the home page under category bitters extracts and syrups.. The CCTB Cocktail 2 ounces of Campari cacao nibs infusion 1 ounce of Bauchant orange cognac liqueur 10 small ice cubes from an ice tray 5 dashes of angostura bitters (optional) Method: Mix all ingredients in a blender. Pulse until the ice melts, giving froth to the cocktail. Pour into a glass. Peel the orange with a peeler to create what is called the horse’s neck. Use a lighter to burn the orange peel. The heat will release the oils from the orange skin. Express and rub the peel on the edge of the glass, then add the finished cocktail. Enjoy. Please drink responsibly Where to buy the goods? Bucket Behind the Bucket Storefront. *I may receive compensation from eligible purchases. Thank you.
Tatum’s Margarita! 2-1-1/2-squeeze. Salt salt salt. Repeat. 2-1-1/2-squeeze. Salt salt salt. That’s the margarita mantra. Some of your no salt margaritas made a photo though. Shoulda had salt. You’re gonna wanna drink two (or more). I promise. iPhone photos from the bar counter. Tatum’s Margarita 2 oz repo tequila 1 oz of fresh squeezed lime juice 1/2 oz agave syrup Squeeze a quater of an orange 1 or 2 dehydrated lime and/or lemon wheels Method Add coarse sea salt to a saucer. Diamond Kosher salt is great salt choice. If you can’t find Diamond, any medium to coarse salt will work. Set salt filled saucer aside. Cut a washed orange into quarters. Set aside next to saucer. Using a jigger, add all wet ingredients to a mixing tin. Order and quantity below. 1. 1/2 oz add agave 2. 1 oz juice of a fresh squeezed lime (rolling the lime at room temperature is best before juicing) 3. 2 oz Repo tequila of choice. I say Repo. Why Reposado? Because I said so. Lobos, Clasa, Casa, Patron, Don Julio, Fortaleza. Oh, and Reposado is aged from 2-12 months in case you were wondering what is Reposado. 4. Use the 1/4 piece orange to moisten the rim of the glass. Salt the glass by Turing the drinking side of the glass upside down and twisting the rim in the salt. Set aside. Squeeze the orange into the mixing tin with other wet ingredients. Toss inside after for the shaking. 5. Add ice to the salted bucket glass. Then add ice to the mixing tin. 6. Shake until tin feels cold or ice sounds like sand. Depends on the type of ice you are using for the sand sound. Kold draft vs regular 7-Eleven. Just shake shake shake the until cold. Glass: bucket glass Garnish: dehydrated lime or lemon wheel and salt That’s my margarita. Cheers! ** Bar Chef tips** if you don’t like salt or can’t have it for health reasons, I get it. If you want a stronger alcohol flavor double the tequila only. The longer you shake this drink the more bitter the lime juice and more butter the drink. *** jalapeño and Grand Mariner excellent additions to this recipe. Muddle the jalapeño and then follow order of ingredients and/or float the Grand Mariner on top. Please drink responsibly You can use a dehydrator you purchase from my Blonde Behind the Bucket storefront or place limes slices on a baking pan in a 200 degrees Fahrenheit oven for a for a few hours. Depending on your ovens calibration it could be a 2-7 hour process. Dehydrator is a little easier but both work. clean your dehydrator screen Where to buy bar stuff? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront Please note I may receive commissions from eligible purchases
Matchatini Ok, what is matcha? It’s an earthy tasting powder made from shade-grown green tea plants. Typically a chasen is used to create a uniform consistency when mixing the matcha with water or milk.. I broke tradition? Instead of using a chasen, aka a bamboo whisk, I use a Kitchen-Aid whisk attachment to mix my matcha water mixture to make a paste after dumping two heaping demitasse spoons (only clean spoons I had at the moment) into a bowl made from a coconut shell. It is possible if you don’t have a chasen. Don’t tell anyone. This one can be a Machatini or a Matcha Mocktail. Foam is optional. Vodka or Kikori (rice grain spirit) both work—different drinks, equally as good. It’s quick and easy. The more earthy matcha flavor, the better, as far as I am concerned; it is the main ingredient, after all. Don’t tell the alcohol. All measurements are with a demitasse spoon and jigger. Oh, and one eyeballed tablespoon of my vanilla extract. Sometimes I pour with the heart (Wink, wink). Cheers! All ingredients listed below are quantities for mixing the matcha and Matchatini. Ingredients 2 ounces of vodka or Kikori 2 tablespoon of vanilla (from my homemade batch as seen in the syrup extract category on home page of this blog) 1-2 ok maybe 3 large drip drops of orange flower water 6 ounces of unsweetened vanilla almond milk 2 demitasse spoons of Manuka honey (Manuka Doctor multifloral 80+MGO) 2 heaping demitasse spoonfuls of NAOKI matcha powder (ok, let’s face it’s; I eyeballed most of this) 2 teaspoons of warm water to blend matcha and prevent excess clumping Chef note: The hotter the water, the more bitter the matcha. It’s also excellent for what I like to call the un-clumping. This was supposed to be a test recipe. I decided to post anyway. It’s a goodie. Method For the matcha milk Add two demitasse spoonfuls of matcha powder to a bowl. Add about 2-3 tablespoons of hot water. Whisk matcha until a paste forms. Next, add Manuka honey. Proceed with a little more water and whisk until smooth. Then add 6 ounces ounces of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Let mixture cool before you refrigerate. After the matcha milk has chilled add 2 ounces of vodka (or a Kikori whiskey substitute) and 3 ounces cooled matcha milk to a mixing tin. Add ice. Shake to wake and strain (strain not really necessary) into a martini glass. Glass: martini glass Garnish: dust with matcha powder and honeycomb Where to buy the goods? Blonde Behind the Bucket please know I may receive commissions from eligible purchases. Thank you. Please drink responsibly
Clarified Tennessee Whiskey on the Rock Clarified Gentleman Jack Milk Washed Gentleman Jack 7 ounces of Gentleman Jack Whiskey 2 lemons 2 limes 1 medium naval orange 9 ounces of goat milk 1 jar with lid and 6-24 hours In a mixing glass add 7 ounces of whiskey and citrus. Then pour the 9 ounces of goat milk slowly. Once whiskey mixture and milk combine, cover and refrigerate for 3-24 hours. When there is a visible separation, begin to filter. Pass using coffee filters. I tried cheese too. Coffee filters are more delicate and take longer but they’re irked great. A couple of passes for this one. Filtering takes time. Be patient. The liquid should be a clear a pale gender neutral badly yellow. * I didn’t add sweeteners syrups or fruits as I wanted to make several different recipes with this batch. You can add fruits and sugars before clarification if you choose or as I have presented. As is, on the rocks. Feeling creative? Perhaps a pinch of citric acid to enhance the citrus flavors then top ginger beer. Clarified Old Fashioned anyone?
Eagle Design Ice Stamp Make an impression and send off summer with customized ice cubes for cocktails and mocktails using a custom ice stamp. This eagle ice stamp, my choice. Feel free to play using heat sources to deepen and clarify your impression. Isn’t it cool? Maybe make your own clear ice while you’re at it. The history of clear ice and how to make can be found in Dave Arnold’s book Liquid Intelligence. Both the book and ice stamp can be found on my Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront. FYI, I may earn commissions on eligible purchases.
gold hibiscus bitters foam clarified whiskey ginger juice sour ingredients for the cocktail 3 ounces of clarified Gentleman Jack 1/2 ounce of toasted black pepper agave 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger juice pinch or two of Cultures for Your Health citric acid powder 1 hibiscus flower 2 tablespoons of hibiscus syrup for the foam 4 dashes of angostura bitters for the foam 1 sheet of SLO food gold leaf Several toasted peppercorns for the garnish Method for the cocktail Add 3 ounces of clarified Gentleman Jack to a bucket glass. Add your peppercorns agave syrup ginger juice and citric acid to the glass. Add ice. I like a large rock. Several smaller ice cubes an excellent alternative if you don’t have a large rock. Scoop the foam from the mixing tin on top of the iced cocktail. Toss in a few of your toasted peppercorns and your gold hibiscus flower. Glass: bucket glass Garnish: toasted peppercorns and gold hibiscus flower For the clarification 10 ounces of Gentleman Jack whiskey 7 for the start of the clarification plus 3 additional ounces to add to the batch to finalize clarification 9 ounces of goat milk 2 medium limes 2 medium lemons 1 medium orange 2 tablespoons of vanilla (I make mine from scratch and the recipe can be found under syrups on home page) 1 tablespoon of citric acid In a mixing glass add 7 ounces of Gentleman Jack whiskey and the room temperature juice of the citrus. Then slowly pour in 9 ounces of goat milk. Whisk with a whisk or fork as you pour. Once milk bourbon mixture combined, cover, label, and refrigerate for 3-24 hours. As soon as there is a visible separation, start the filtering. A few passes for me. The coffee filter broke the first time. It always seems to break. I switched to cheese cloth for the next pass then back to the coffee filter. There were still some particles present after the second pass. One more filter and finally. The liquid should be crystal clear. After add the citric acid, vanilla, and remaining 3 ounces of whiskey. For the ginger juice Juice a medium knob of ginger root. No need to peel unless you want to do so. I recommend using a spoon and scrape the skin. I also recommend a good rinse before use. Of the spoon and the ginger root. If you use a blender to extract juice from ginger root, strain off the pulp with a cheese cloth. Set juice aside until ready to use. For the peppercorn agave syrup Toast 1/4 cup of peppercorns in a frying pan. Add them to 1/4 cup of agave. Once cool, store in refrigerator until ready to use. For the foam Add two dashes of cream of tartar to a mixing tin. Remove the coil from the Hawthorn strainer and add to the tin. Crack the egg and separate the yolk from the whites. Save the yolk for something else. The whites should be shaken dry with the coil. Dry shake. Add bitters and hibiscus and dry shake again. This should be the last step as it is the topper of the cocktail. For the toasted peppercorns Add a few peppercorns to a nonstick frying pan. Toast and set aside. Taking some from the agave syrup is also an option. For the hibiscus Add water to a bowl. Place a sheet of SLO food gold in the water. It will float. Secure a hibiscus flower to a skewer tip or toothpick or two or use a fork. Dip the flower in the water over the gold and in a swirling motion to pick up the gold with the flower. The flower will stick to the gold if done properly. You can store your flower in an airtight container for a day or two before use, if need be. More on this under garnishes on the home page if you need more information on gold hibiscus flower garnish. General Blonde Behind the Bucket Amazon list on my Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront **I may receive commissions on eligible purchases. Thank you Please drink responsibly Where to buy the goods? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront, of course. * I may earn commission from eligible purchases. Thank you so much.
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. Whiskey Sour 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.
Appletini 2.0 Appletini 2.0 2 1/2 ounces of fresh juiced apples (you will need 4 apples. 3 for the juicing and 1 for the slicing and munching while preparing the cocktail) 1 ounce of cinnamon simple syrup 1/4 ounce of fresh lemon juice 2 ounces of vodka of choice Method For the juicing In an Omega Juicer, juice three green Granny Smith apples. Set aside or chill in refrigerator until ready to use. The juice is best if used 24-48 hours after juicing when using a cold-pressed juicer. If the fresh juice isn’t cold pressed the recommended use time is immediately. For the cinnamon syrup In a sauce pan over medium heat dissolve equal parts beet sugar and water. Three ounces of water to three ounces of sugar, for example. Raise heat to a boil for about one minute. Add two tablespoons of ground cinnamon. Cinnamon sticks will work too but I only have ground cinnamon at the moment. Boil for another minute and then lower the heat to simmer for a few more minutes. Stir occasionally. Set aside to cool. Slice apples for the garnish. Dipping your slices in fresh lemon juice prevents browning from oxidation. Place on a sealable container and refrigerate until ready to use. A plastic wrapped plate will work too. Then, add all ingredients to a mixing tin. Add ice. Stir or shake. Usually shaking with citrus is the best choice but if you are unable to shake ingredients for whatever reason, a good stirring will do. Shake and strain into the glass. Glass: coupe (The glass used for this cocktail is a Crate & Barrel Camille Long-Stem Champagne Coupe Glass.) Garnish: apple slice Garnish: lemon juice dipped apple Bar Chef Notes: Lemon juice prevents the apple from browning due to oxidation. If you prefer, do a double strain which aids in removal of residual ice and pulp presenting a clearer cleaner cocktail. This one, pulp and ice crystal and all for me is best, surprisingly. A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar gives extra zing, should you be inclined. Please enjoy responsibly and be of the legal drinking age. Where to buy the goods? You know, stemware, juices, ground cinnamon and stuffs.. Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront, of course. Please know I may receive commission from eligible purchases. Thank you.
milk washed India tea Milk washed India tea What you will need: Jar, cocktail mixing glass, spoons, fine weave cheese cloth (worked best for me) or several coffee filters, jigger for measuring, glass for cocktail, fruit vegetable peeler, lemons for the twist, one medium blood orange and two small medium limes, Brother’s Bond Bourbon, Sukhi’s mango curry chutney, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, ice, a couple of small bucket glasses, several medium and large sized rubber bands Cocktail Ingredients: 10 ounces Brother’s Bond Indian Bourbon (7 ounces for the milk citrus juice and 3 ounces for after clarification) 9 Ounces of goat milk 3 Ounces of fresh citrus juice (this recipe 1 medium blood orange and 2 small limes) with pulp strained out 3 Tablespoons of Citric Acid powder 1/2 Ounce of Vanilla Extract (easy recipe to make it here) 1/2 Ounce Sukki’s Mango Chutney Coconut sugar for the syrup to taste For the Milk Wash: In a mixing glass add 7 ounces of Brother’s Bond Bourbon and the room temperature juice of one medium blood orange and two small limes. Then slowly pour in 9 ounces of goat milk. Whisk with a whisk or fork as you pour. Once milk bourbon mixture combined, cover, label, and refrigerate for 3-24 hours. Once a visible separation, start the filtering. A few passes for me. The coffee filter broke the first time. I switched to cheese cloth for the next pass. Once again I filter as there were still some particles present after the second pass. The liquid should be crystal clear. After 24 hours in the refrigerator Overhead view Simple rubber band and plastic wrap until ready to filter Label and date Separation indicates readiness First drip coffee filter What is left behind Coffee filter broke a couple of times and I switched to a cheese cloth Give the cheese cloth a good squeeze to remove all liquid into the batch in the jar My first coffee filter broke and I had to start again. I tried another coffee filter and ripped the second coffee filter and decided to switch to fine weave cheese cloth. Leave the mixture alone and let it drip as slow as it needs to drip. Patience. Pass bourbon milk mixture as many times as you need to in order to produce a crystal clear liquid. Three or four times worked for me. After clarification, add 3 ounces of the remainder bourbon 3 Tablespoons of Citric Acid and 1/2 Ounce of Vanilla Extract. Give the mixture a good stir. Cover, date, and refrigerate until ready to use. For the Mango Curry Syrup 4 heaping Tablespoons of Mango Curry Chutney 2 Ounce of Still Water In a bucket glass, mix chutney and water. In a second bucket glass fasten a cheese cloth or coffee filter with rubber band. Pass the chunky chutney liquid through the filter to remove larger pieces of fruit. Store your new mango curries syrup the refrigerator until ready to make the cocktail(s). The start of straining. To speed up the process, stir with a demitasse spoon. In one glass mix 3/4 water to 1/4 chutney. Strain mixtures through a cheese cloth. Secure the cloth with a rubber band This recipe only needs a small amount for one mango curries syrup. For the Coconut Sugar 1/2 Cup of Coconut Sugar 1/2 Cup of Water Combine equal parts water and coconut sugar in saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Occasionally stirring. Once dissolved remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Once cool, store in refrigerator until ready to use for your cocktail. For milk washed India iced tea 2 Ounces of Clarified Bourbon 1/ 2 Ounce of Mango Curries Syrup 2-3 Bar Spoonfuls of Coconut Sugar Syrup (if you like it sweeter add more to taste similar to a regular iced tea) In a bucket glass add a large ice cube or several cubes and set aside. Ice choice, a personal preference. Pour all measured all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and mix about ten stirs of the spoon. This is a stirred not shaken situation. Pour into bucket glass over large ice cube. Express the lemon and toss into glass. Glass: bucket glass Garnish: expressed blood orange, orange, or lemon peel. I like the lemon for this one. Please make sure that you are of legal drinking age and enjoy responsibly Where to buy the goods? Mixing glasses, glasses, cheese cloth, rubber bands, and stuffs? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront. **Please know that I may received commissions of eligible purchases. Thank you so much.