Featured Spirits

  • Featured Spirit

    Captain’s Nest Cocktail
    1 oz Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum,
    2 oz pineapple juice, 2 oz orange juice,
    1/4 oz amaretto, Lime slice
    Combine all but lime in a shaker. Shake with ice and strain into an ice-filled cocktail glass. Garnish with lime slice.

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Articles

  • Spirited Buzz

    Parfait for Grown-Ups

    We’ve simplified things when it comes to after-dinner drinks: a little cognac, a touch of Grand Marnier, a snifter of Sambuca.

     

    But 100 years ago, the ideal way among sophisticates to top off a meal was a bit more complicated. The rage then was the pousse-café, or “coffee chaser,” and done right, this layered drink is just as pretty to look at as it is fun to drink.

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  • Middle West Spirits focuses on taste, terroir

    By Karen Edwards

    Middle West Spirits, a micro-distillery located in Columbus’s Short North, has been turning out its Oyo brand artisan spirits since April 2010, thanks to two transplanted entrepreneurs who recognized value in Ohio’s plentiful wheat crops.

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  • Four Roses and 10 recipes

    By Karen Edwards


    Not many people say they can’t wait to arrive at work each day, but Jim Rutledge, master distiller for Four Roses Bourbon, can. That doesn’t mean, however, that Rutledge rests on his – well – roses when he’s on the job.

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  • Macallan’s Cure for March Madness

    By Sarah Jaquay


    “I have to eat haggis with my Aunt Agnes,” said Randy Adams, brand ambassador for The Macallan, single malt scotch that’s been distilled since 1824. Adams visited Ohio in March and explained how he became enamored of all things Scottish. Although he lives in Florida, his Scottish wife, Nicola, has a house in Morningside, a suburb of Edinburgh. Randy and Nicola go there every June and observe traditions such as sipping Macallan.

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  • Becoming a Buckeye Tequilador

    By Sarah Jaquay


    “Tequila has an appellation just like wine,” remarked Jorge Dagnino, brand ambassador for Tequilador. Tequilador makes high-end, triple-distilled tequila from 100 percent blue agave grown in the highlands of Tequila in the state of Jalisco – one of the five states certified by Mexico’s Tequila Regulating Council (CRT) as an appellation of origin for this distinctly Mexican spirit.

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    Spirit Reviews

  • Vodka

    Got a craving for some really good vodka? Check out Crāv Vodka (80 proof, $33), the brain-child of Cleveland-area former corporate guy Thomas Rini. Distilled from Idaho winter wheat, it’s remarkably smooth, clean and elegant with more body and creamy richness than we generally expect from vodka. We can’t imagine diluting this spirit with anything but an olive or a twist.
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  • Spiced Rum

    Put some spice in your life!

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  • Tequila

    Cinco de Mayo is almost here, so bring on the tequila! We tasted a bunch of them in honor of the holiday. Here are some recommendations. You’ll find more in our May/June issue.

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  • Gin

    It may be gin and tonic time, but those of us who love a well-made martini don’t abandon them in the heat. While a good, but not expensive, gin is perfectly serviceable for a mixer, a martini calls for top-shelf goods.

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Recipes

  • Quisi Night

    1/3 part Limoncello di Capri
    1/3 part Espresso coffee
    1/3 part cream, whipped
    Zested Sorrentine lemon (or any lemon, if you’re not near Sorrento)

    Layer Limoncello, espresso, and cream in a cocktail glass and top with lemon zest.

  • Port and Starboard

    1/2 oz Grenadine
    1/2 oz Crème de Menthe (green)

    Pour the crème de menthe carefully over the back of a bar spoon to top the grenadine.

  • Traditional Pousse-Cafe

    1 part Grenadine
    1 part Yellow Chartreuse
    1 part Crème Yvette
    1 part Crème de Menthe (white)
    1 part Green Chartreuse
    1 part Brandy

    Pour ingredients carefully on top of one another in the order given, using the back of a bar spoon.

    Different versions of this recipe call for as little as 1/6 ounce of each ingredient to 1/2 ounce of each. You be the judge.

    The hardest thing about making this drink may be finding the ingredients. You will probably have to look online for Yellow Chartreuse and Crème Yvette (a purplish, violet-scented liqueur), though some recipes say you can use Crème de Cassis in place of the Crème Yvette. There really is no good substitute for Yellow Chartreuse, but some suggest Benedictine can work.

  • Three Olives Collins

    2 oz. Three Olives Vodka
    1 tsp. powdered sugar
    4 oz. club soda
    Splash lemon juice

    Shake first three ingredients with ice and strain into a glass filled with ice. Fill with club soda and stir. Garnish with a lemon and cherry.

  • The Pink Flamingo (or, as we would say, The Pink Buzzard)

    1.5 oz. Hangar One Straight vodka
    1.5 oz. Peach schnapps
    Splash of champagne
    Splash cranberry juice

    Try it standing on one leg.

  • Antaloupe Martini

    1 oz. watermelon liqueur
    1 oz. Hangar One Straight vodka
    .5 oz. orange juice
    Juice of 2 lime wedges

    Mix all ingredients over ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a cherry.

  • Skinny Kaffir Limeade

    1.25 oz. Hangar One Lime Vodka
    1.25 oz. Monin Sugar-Free Triple Sec Sweetener
    1.25 oz. Lime Juice, freshly squeezed
    Soda Water
    2 lime wheels, for garnish
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  • Kaffir Lime Spritzer

    1oz. Hangar One Kaffir Lime Vodka
    2oz. Sauvignon Blanc
    1oz. lime Juice
    1.5oz Simple Syrup
    Soda Water
    2 lime wheels for garnish
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  • Corzo Silver Infusion

    4 seedless watermelon spears
    4 cucumber spears

    Slice fruit and vegetables into spears. Infuse with 750ml Corzo Silver Tequila. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours. Serve chilled.

    (Fruit will stay good up to three weeks. Makes approximately 17 servings.)

  • Corzo Modern Margarita

    1 part Corzo Silver of Reposado Tequila
    1 part agave nectar
    2 slices fresh lemon
    2 slices fresh Lime
    1 slice fresh orange
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