Apple of our Eyes

Posted on October 11, 2015 by BoozeNerds

IMG_4643It’s finally fall here in the Pacific Northwest. Which means cooler weather, rain, and apples (oh, and mushrooms too. Mmmm :)). We’re both big fans of cider but we also love calvados and applejack, the delightful distillates thereof. These apple-based spirits don’t get enough love in our opinions, so this week we’re going to talk about both!

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Posted in angostura bitters, apple brandy, apple jack, averna, calvados, coffee liqueur, honey, orange bitters, ramazzotti amaro, simple syrup, sweet vermouth, Tasting Notes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Vermouth all the way down

Posted on October 4, 2015 by BoozeNerds

IMG_4613While at Tales of the Cocktail, we got to try some of the Carpano white vermouths which we were very excited about as we’re big fans of the Carpano Antica. We ordered some when they were not yet available in WA, though thankfully they are in the stores now.We also recently received some samples of La Quintinya vermouth from France made with Pineau des Charentes which we’re big fans of as well (read our samples policy to understand what it means that we’re talking about the samples). At the same time, we received a sample of Adam Ford’s new book Vermouth: The Revival of the Spirit That Created America’s Cocktail Culture (again, see our samples policy). With this confluence of events, we felt it was time to talk about vermouth some more. 😉

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Posted in amaro, bianco vermouth, Booze Review, cachaca, celery bitters, dry vermouth, fernet, gin, honey, Tasting Notes | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Holy @$#*&!, 3 Years

Posted on September 27, 2015 by BoozeNerds

IMG_4586We recently passed our 3 year anniversary here at Booze Nerds HQ. Which puts us in the mood to celebrate! This naturally means drinking cocktails, and what else but fizzy wine cocktails? For us there’s just something joyous and sophisticated about them. With that in mind, we opened up the bar and started mixing up some new drinks with sparkling wine. Read on to find out what we came up with.

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Posted in amaretto, aperol, bianco vermouth, curacao, dry vermouth, grappa, sparkling wine, white rum | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

MxMo: Orange Juice

Posted on September 20, 2015 by BoozeNerds

It’s Mixology Monday time again! This month’s theme comes courtesy of DJ Hawaiian Shirt of the Spirited Remix blog (bonus points for the snazzy MxMo logo). This month it’s orange juice, sometimes overlooked, often maligned, but does wonders in a cocktail when used properly. We love orange juice in cocktails and some of our favorite drinks use it. Read on to see which one we picked for this post.

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Posted in Bourbon, lime juice, Mixology Monday, orange juice, orgeat, simple syrup | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Alternate Foams

Posted on September 13, 2015 by BoozeNerds

IMG_4534Sours are delicious, and we make them pretty frequently. Creamy, well-integrated, and friendly to a wide variety of spirit, what’s not to like? That said, what to do when you happen to be out of eggs, or you are serving folks who won’t or can’t eat egg whites? Is there a viable alternative?

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Posted in apple jack, egg white, gin, grenadine, simple syrup | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Labor Day

Posted on September 6, 2015 by BoozeNerds

IMG_4509What apparently is now a tradition for us (3 years running) it’s time for our annual Labor day cocktail post. Here’s to the 5 day work week, BBQ and drinking!

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Posted in chipotle tincture, demerara dark rum, guava puree, lime juice, orange curacao, punt e mes, simple syrup, tamarind paste | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

So many bitters

Posted on August 30, 2015 by BoozeNerds

IMG_4466Bitters. They’re an important cocktail ingredient, but sometimes they’re just glossed over in terms of what they bring to the cocktail, or everyone just defaults to Angostura. Which is understandable because Angostura bitters are delicious. However, there are now a lot of bitters out there. The bitters market has exploded much the same way the craft distilling market has. We love bitters, and we acquire them much the same we acquire booze; promiscuously ;). We have 40ish (maybe 50ish) bottles currently in the bar. This week, we decided to make some of our more unusual bitters the star of the show.

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Posted in amaro montenegro, amontillado sherry, cognac, gin, honey syrup, honeyed apricot & smoked hickory bitters, licor 43, lime juice, maple bitters, oloroso sherry, rye, spanish bitters, sweet vermouth, tequila - blanco | 4 Comments

Cachaça

Posted on August 16, 2015 by BoozeNerds

IMG_4439For a while now we’ve been thinking about doing a post on cachaça. Our recent trip to Tales of the Cocktail finally pushed us over the edge, as we discovered some lovely new ones there. If you don’t know, cachaça is a Brazilian spirit made from cane juice instead of molasses, not unlike a rhum agricole. Think white rum but with notes of fresh cut grass from the sugar cane itself. Read on to see how our current selection of cachaças compare.

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Posted in cachaca, lime juice, simple syrup | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Washington Vodka Showcase Part 1

Posted on August 9, 2015 by BoozeNerds

IMG_4418For those of you who have been following us for a while, you know we’re big on local spirits. Witness our 5 part series on Washington Gin (and we we wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a 6th part eventually). One local spirit we haven’t focused a huge amount of attention on is vodka. Until the last few years, we haven’t been big proponents of vodka. Lots of the big brands strike us as pretty flavorless, and our feeling is that even where you want the other ingredients to shine, the base spirit should add something more than just alcohol. With the rise of the local craft spirits though, there are starting to be some really interesting vodkas out there. With that in mind, we start our series on Washington vodkas!

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Posted in angostura bitters, cherry liqueur, dry vermouth, lime juice, simple syrup, vodka, Vodka, Washington | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Walnut Liqueurs

Posted on August 2, 2015 by BoozeNerds

IMG_4354We have a couple of walnut liqueurs in the cupboard that we like to use occasionally to add some nutty complexity to cocktails. Oddly enough, neither is “regular” walnut – one is a nocino made with green walnuts and the other is black walnut. Both are delicious though.  Read on to find out what we make of them.

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Posted in amaro, angostura bitters, black walnut liqueur, Cointreau, nocino, orange bitters, rye | 4 Comments