Soaking cocoa nibs in Campari is a method of infusion rather than flavoring, providing an enhancement to the alcohol’s flavors, that Campari needs it.
Chocolate Campari
Ingredients:
1 cup of cocoa nibs
12 ounces of Campari
Method:
Add ingredients to a jar. Pour with your heart but if you need a recipe. Cover the jar with a lid or plastic wrap. Leave at room temperature or refrigerate. Wait two days to two weeks, depending on the desired chocolate taste. Add to your favorite cocktail or drink over ice. An orange twist is optional but certainly recommended.
Where can you buy the goods? Cocoa nibs, glass jars, jiggers, photo equipment, and other items? Blonde Behind the Bucket Storefront, of course! Please note that I may receive commissions from eligible purchases. Thank you so much.
Please be of the legal drinking age and enjoy responsibly.
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?
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.
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 foamSecure 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!
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.
1 Tablespoon of edible confetti and edible sprinkles
1 sheet of gold
Isn’t it the cutest ?
Method
For the whipped cream
Take two room temperature egg whites and add to a mixing bowl. Mix using a Kitchen-Aid mixer with the whisk attachment (or by hand with a chilled bowl and chilled whisk or hand mixer) until soft peaks. Add pinch (or two) of cream of tartar and a dash of salt. Increase the speed of the mixture. Slowly add sugar as the foam begins to form stiffer peaks. Reduce speed and toss in some raspberries. Once mixture is a light pink stop mixing and set aside. Pieces of raspberries will be visible. Do not worry if you over whip. The more air the better. Sipping the liquid cake through the foam is the fun part.
For the shot glass coating
Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler (Ban-Marie) or microwave. Using a pastry brush, paint the chocolate onto the top of the glass. Let it cool slightly before adding sprinkles and gold. Don’t forget to sprinkle the raspberry sugar. Set the glass aside until ready to use.
For the shot
In a mixing tin, muddle raspberries. Add citron vodka and hazelnut liqueur. Shake and strain into the decorated shot glass. Place a zip lock bag into another empty glass creating a pastry bag for piping. Spoon in the raspberry meringue. Twist the top of the bag, punching all foam to the corner point that will be used for piping. Snip the end with scissors and pipe the meringue into a swirly cone. Have fun with it. Add sugar and gold to finish. Remember to use toothpicks to handle your gold. Stand away from the fan.
Did you know that smoking dried rosemary can add incredible uniqueness to cocktails? Smoking dried herbs, like rosemary, can enhance the flavors of mezcal, tequila, bourbon, rye, Campari (yes, I am forever on a Campari kick), and gin cocktails. This technique, known as glass smoking, not only adds depth of flavor but also creates a visually captivating experience for onlookers. After preparing your cocktail, relight the dried rosemary, blow out the flames, then place the smoking herb stick in the glass as a garnish. Make sure the sprig is long enough to continue smoking once inserted into the cocktail for an added effect. It also smells really great!
What you will need:
Fire safe surface
Dried Rosemary
BIC lighter gas stove top or butane torch
Chilled bucket glass for your cocktail. A chilled glass provides a sticky surface for the smoke from the condensation.
Method
Place your chilled glass on the fire safe surface, up right. Light the dried rosemary. Blow out the flame. Once it starts to smoke place dried rosemary sprig on the fire safe surface and let it smoke. Then turn the glass upside down and catch the smoke by placing the glass drinking side down on top of it. Leave for a few minutes. Turn the glass upright again and build your cocktail. Voilà .
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 refrigeratorOverhead viewSimple rubber band and plastic wrap until ready to filterLabel and dateSeparation indicates readinessFirst drip coffee filterWhat is left behindCoffee filter broke a couple of times and I switched to a cheese clothGive 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 bandThis 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
2 1/2 ounces of Amaretto (make your own from my almond liqueur recipe here)
3 dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters
Settled Angostura garnished foam. Small shiny bubbles.Egg whites and coil. This coil is larger than I usually use. This one was in the space I was working. Second visual. You don’t need a coil to get foam like this. Shaking harder is necessary.Last bit of foam before letting the cocktail settle.
Remove the coil from the strainer. Place into a mixing tin. Crack the egg and remove the egg yolk adding the whites to the tin. Dry shake the egg until soft peaks form. In another mixing tin add raspberries. Muddle. Then add raspberries with all other ingredients to the egg white foam. Dry shake some more. Remove the coil and add ice. Shake until the tin is cold. Double stain using a fine strainer to eliminates any particulates. Three dashes of Angostura bitters once the foam settles. Swirly swirl a design.
* Bar Chef Notes: an excellent foam can be achieved without a coil. A longer shake is required. Express citrus peel. Aquafaba can be a substitute for vegan version.
