Cocktail O’Clock: Beer Syrup

Beer cocktails are everywhere lately, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen this twist.

At The Fifth Floor in San Francisco, bartender Brian Means takes Anchor Steam beer, combines it with sugar and cooks it down into a beer syrup, which is then used to enhance this savory whiskey drink. So this isn’t really a beer cocktail, but a strong, cocktail lover’s cocktail infused with a little taste of beer.

Hops & Dreams

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Cherry-Whiskey Upside Down Cake

I’m going through such a maniac state right now. I think my overloaded schedule has me in some sort of fit of always doing. Not that “doing” is actually resulting into anything productive. For instance if you follow me on Pinterest or Instagram, you see quite a bit of time has been sucked away admiring and trying to acheive some level of aestheticness that I’ve yet to figure out. What I have figured out is how to make a killer whiskey-loaded cake to impress the hell out of the dads in your life this Father’s Day.

Go ahead and show them that whiskey ain’t just for sipping or for licking. You truly can bite your whiskey with this cake. Here’s the quick rundown: the cake portion is tender and springy, not all all mushy as the bottoms of upside cakes can be. The whiskey gives the ensemble an extra subtle dimension that quiets the caramel topping and brings it in balance with the cake and fruity sweetness of the cherry.

If you like to bake, make this. If you don’t – well, there aren’t many times in your life where you can drink on the job, but in this case you totally can. Get in the kitchen and bake this for the dad(s) in your life, already.

Cherry  & Whiskey Upside Down Cake

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Endless Poptails: Limoncello and Raspberry Whiskey Sour

Sometimes I’m so over myself, not in the teenage angst or a depressive sort of way. Just over the madness and procrastination I create from going from frenetically over-committing to complete laziness. This poptail was slated for Wednesday, then Thursday, now it’s Friday — apologies BS. But here’s the thing: when it comes time to deliver I give it my best. I never half-ass shit. This doesn’t always work out so well, since if it flops — well, I’m dead against the wall. But sometimes, like this time, it works out well in the most awesome way.

I know bragging is not en vogue, but I’m not bragging. I threw together some flavors and booze and the ingredients did the rest by blending and playing well with one another. The whiskey evens out the bite of the limoncello, especially if you buy storebought limoncello that can sometimes taste like cough syrup.  The raspberries provide a tart balance to the sour lemons and it makes for one cool floating layer. That’s right, you can make this with the raspberry layer floating since its lighter in volume than the limoncello layer.

Oh, and no sticks required, for this poptail. It’s Have Your Way Friday – yeah, for real. No bullshit, okay, kinda  – excuse the snypatic misfire of my brain. I lamed out and forgot them. Sticks or not – these are still totally edible! Cheers!

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Cocktails Gone Spherical

Now that “handcrafted” cocktails have become about as commonplace as craft beer, bartenders and bloggers are looking for new ways to impress. You might think molecular mixology is gimmicky, but you gotta admit that these 8 cocktail spheres look pretty amazing.

 1. Old Fashioned In the Rocks

At Grant Achatz’ Aviary in Chicago the old fashioned comes neat — very neat. Drinkers get to smash the sphere open and watch the drink explode out.

2. Spherical Pickleback

Just about every bar in Brooklyn now serves a pickleback (a shot of whiskey backed by a shot of pickle juice). Only Do or Dine—home of the foie gras donut—serves a molecular pickleback, whereby the back — the spherical ball of pickle juice — explodes inside your mouth.

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Cocktail O’Clock: Hell Bent for Leather

Before you say anything, yes we do believe that the Monday morning after St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect time to talk about drinking. Whiskey.

Whether you are looking for some hair of the dog or you just haven’t stopped yet, Hell Bent Leather is a great Jameson cocktail that Michael Neff of Ward 3 in NYC recently cooked up for us.

Ingredients:
– Redbreast 12 y.o. whiskey
– Makers Mark whiskey
– Muddled cardamom seed
– Lemon and orange zest
– Sugar cube
– Burnt orange twist

Directions: Mix whiskey, whiskey and cardamom seed together, pour over ice. Add lemon and orange zest. Hold the sugar cube and orange twist just above your drink; light with a match, then drop.

More drink ideas in Endless Cocktails.

Booze Bites: Irish Car Bomb Jell-O Shots

Chewable beer bite? Sure, you probably associate that phrase with a less-than-pleasant experience, something that might have involved hanging out a car door window like a dog on a drive. Luckily, we’re here to supplant that memory with a chewable beer bite you can enjoy. Let’s talk Irish Car Bomb Jell-shots.

No more worries of having to invoke those college days when you had guzzle this drink quickly just to avoid the curdle. No, we’ve grown up, we can self-moderate and we can do so gracefully with a treat that won’t leave guzzling trails at the corner of our mouths.

*To make this fun treat we we used two types  of molds. The layered Jell-o shot  on the right is made using a mini  muffin pan. To acheive the shot-in-the-glass look like the ones on the left we used this mold found here.

Irish Car Bomb Jell-o Shots

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Booze Bites: Royal Velvet Jello Shots

Ever been in a mood when you can’t decide whether what you need is a snack or a cocktail? We’ve got you covered. Our new series, Booze Bites, is for those times when what you need is something tasty…and drink-y. We’ll be bringing you boozy marshmallows, pudding shooters and  Jell-o shots.

To get things started we are featuring a Royal Velvet Jello Shot. Set against a raspberry backdrop, the whiskey comes through strong but is mellowed out by the sweetness of Chambord.

Now that you know what we will be consuming for our next happy hour, we want to know what you would like for yours. Order-up and leave us a comment letting us know if there is a drink you want to see turned into any one of our three boozy bites.

Royal Velvet Jello Shot

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