Brands & Products from Milk Street Live Class

Thank you to everyone who joined my live cocktail class with Milk Street!

If you missed it, no worries. I’m sure there will be more opportunities (either virtual or in-person) to hang together and make cocktails.

We made 5 different cocktails from my cocktail book “Twist - Your Guide to Creating Inspired Craft Cocktails.” If you haven’t picked up the book yet, I hope you do! Feel free to purchase from your local bookstore, online, or wherever you prefer– I am compensated the same regardless of where you purchase it, just FYI.

The cocktail recipes are listed in the book itself, but I wanted to share some links to some of the recommended products that I shared during the live class. Spirits can be difficult to order or buy online, due to every region having different liquor laws, so I’ll simply mention those by name and link to products like barware, syrups, bitters, etc.

Modern Medicine (page 24)

For this cocktail, we used Old Forester Bourbon as the base spirit, as well as some Aperol, and Ardbeg 10 year for the float.

You can make your own Demerara syrup or purchase a bottle like this one. Angostura Aromatic bitters are recommended, and used in many cocktails. This 3-bottle set will allow you to make most classic cocktails.

Honey-Basil Sour (page 47)

For this cocktail we used Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin. For the sweetener, I recommend using honey simple syrup (1 part honey, 1 part water) as straight honey tends to not mix well on its own.

You can use egg white to create the foam, or “aquafaba” (the liquid leftover from cooked chickpeas) as a vegan alternative. There are some various “cocktail foamers” on the market, but I was not able to find one online that I could link.

An optional garnish is bee pollen, but you may wish to avoid this if you have allergy issues.

Power-up Technique (page 43)

We used Pueblo Viejo Tequila Blanco and Bahnez Mezcal Ensamble as the base spirits for this Margarita variation.

In the book I used black lava sea salt for the rim, but this is purely for aesthetics, and normal sea salt works just fine. Agave nectar is pretty common these days, but here is a link just in case.

Pineapple Train Wreck (page 145)

For this delicious Mai Tai variation we used Appleton Estate Signature Rum and Plantation OFTD (an overproof rum) as the base spirits.

As mentioned previously, this 3 bottles set of bitters will serve you well, and we use 2 out of the 3 here. There is a great recipe from the drink’s creator on how to make their fresh Spicy Ginger Syrup, but you can also buy Ginger Syrup here.

Peruvian 75 (page 98)

I used Control C Pisco here, but I should note, that this particular brand is not from Peru 🤫

Use any sparkling wine that you prefer. Passionfruit Syrup can be difficult to make yourself (as it can be hard to find fresh passionfruit, depending on where you live), so I recommend Liber & Co. or BG Reynolds.

Barware

For barware, I really love Bull in China’s offerings. You can also check out Cocktail Kingdom for all kinds of barware and glassware. If you want to get a little more specific, I have an Amazon page with various recommended items.

Thank you friends! Be sure to stay in touch and follow me via High-Proof Preacher on Instagram and TikTok. Always feel free to shoot me a Dm to say hi, or ask about spirits, cocktail recipes, or whatever. Happy to help when I can!

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Brands & Products from Milk Street Live Class

Press Feature: Don't Knock the Parmesan Espresso Martini Until You Try It

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Basil Gimlet

When adding fresh herbs to cocktails, like basil or mint, many reach for the muddler and proceed to crush the herbs into pieces in the base of the cocktail shaker. There’s really no reason to do this and you probably shouldn’t because overly crushing the herbs may introduce unwanted bitterness in the cocktail.

Pineapple Demerara Old Fashioned

The Old Fashioned meets… well… Pineapple! The star ingredient in this cocktail is Pineapple Demerara syrup- and it’s definitely worth making! The syrup itself can be a bit inconsistent, so you may need to adjust the amount you add to the cocktail to properly balance it.

Hibiscus Sidecar

Here’s a colorful twist on a Sidecar using Cointreau that I cold-infused with Hibiscus tea for 24 hours. The color turned out AMAZING and the added flavors of black current and lemon verbena from the tea paired exceptionally well with the cognac.

Pineapple Demerara Syrup

This syrup does not require any heat– as most involve heating various ingredients on the stove to properly integrate those ingredients and dissolve the sugar. However this no-cook syrup relies on the acid already present in the pineapple to break down the sugar over several hours,

Husband Material

This cocktail is made with high-proof bourbon (I used Old Granddad 114 but Coopers’ Craft Barrel Reserve was really nice too), a touch of quality vanilla liqueur and Rosato amaro; a bittersweet liqueur with fresh and fruity aromas of hibiscus and orange blossom. I also added some tropical spice bitters, but you can just as easily sub in aromatic bitters.

Jordan HughesMay 24, 2023Comment