Bourbon

Five Great Jobs

/ Dani DeLuna / 2 Comments

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Say it with me, “Barr-ell Bour-bon. Barr-ell Bour-bon! BARR-ELL BOUR-BON!” Woo y’all, this Barrell Bourbon Batch 006 is deeeeeelicious and today I’m putting it in a tasty sour. If you’re unfamiliar with this unstoppable cask strength bourbon, head over to my review so you can understand the awesomeness that I’m talking about.

You read it? You read the review? Cool! Let’s proceed.

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Golden glory, y’all. Golden glory.

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Cast of Characters:

  1. I wanted to put all that Barrell Bourbon Batch 006 fruity, wheaty, popcorny, apricoty, fabulousness to use with some bright flavors. I was thinking, “Spring sour. What could go in a spring sour?”
  2. ST-GERMAIN! Man, I haven’t used St-G in such a long time. What happened to me? It’s so wonderful, so pleasant, so beautiful to behold and smell. St-G, will you marry me?
  3. Then I thought, “ohhh, let’s keep the fun going and add a bit of orange!” So I reached for the Grand Marnier. It totally complimented.
  4. Lemon for acid, balance, and cause this is a sour. Captain obvious is obvious. (I mean, I could have tried it with Grapefruit or Lime but why? Lemon is the only choice here except for maybe Yuzu. Damn, I wish I had some Yuzu!)
  5. Lastly, a small amount of 2:1 Cane Syrup cause I felt the drink needed to be just a tiny bit sweeter.

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I decided this was going to be an “express and discard” situation. If you want to plop the peel in the drink, go for it!

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Why Five Great Jobs? Cause there are five ingredients and they are doing a helluva great job.

Five Great Jobs

  • 1 1/2 oz Barrell Bourbon Batch 006
  • 1/2 oz St-Germain
  • 1/4 oz Grand Marnier
  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1 Barspoon Rich Simple Cane Sugar Syrup
  • Garnish: Lemon oil

Combine ingredients over ice and shake it like a rocket. Double strain into double Rocks glass on the rocks. Express Lemon peel and discard.

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Yum yum yummy yum yum. This drink is so damn fabulous, it makes wanna shake my tail feathers!

Cheers y’all! May all your Barrell Bourbon dreams come true!

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Barrell Bourbon & the BB Julep

/ Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

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Y’all, I’ve got a killer cask strength Whiskey from Barrell Bourbon for us today! I found out about them from a friend of a friend who suggested that I might be interested in their bourbon and hoooo boy, I’M SO INTO IT! If you note the photo above, I’m already 1/2 way through the bottle!

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Each batch of Barrell Bourbon is sourced from Kentucky or Tennessee and bottled at cask strength. The vision of Barrell Bourbon is to provide a unique expression with every release and I can honestly say, I’ve never had a Bourbon like this! The mash bill for Batch 006 is 70% Corn, 26% Rye, and 4% malted Barley. It was aged for 8 years, 6 months in charred white oak barrels.

Barrell Bourbon Batch 006 Tasting notes:

  • Color: deep honeyed Amber
  • Nose: Initial notes of toasted nuts, buttery popcorn, summer wheat, and charred oak followed by caramel, strawberry, baked peach, minerals, dried vegetals, and baking spices.
  • Palate: Really welcoming and super delicious. Notes of orange peel, apricot, peach, strawberry, buttery popcorn, wheat, charred oak, cinnamon, and dry stones.
    Add water and the fruit notes really come out! More apricot. Lemon peel. Wow! Super fruity!
  • Mouthfeel: at cask strength it’s hot but the heat dissipates quickly making for a smooth and very flavorful dram. Really wide and pleasant stone fruit and citrus notes dance on the tongue.
  • Finish: really really lonnnnng finish with stone fruit, decadent popcorn, and cinnamon notes coming in waves.

I would highly recommend drinking this neat in a snifter, at least for the first few sips. Once you’ve experienced Barrell Bourbon at full strength, add a few drops of water and see how the bouquet just opens up! Such an incredible experience.

However, y’all know how I roll and I was dying to put all that fruity fun into a cocktail!

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My first thought was “how can I make this Bourbon shine like the star it is? What cocktail could I put it in where it isn’t covered up by other ingredients?” MINT JULEP! Yes y’all, a Mint Julep with Barrell Bourbon and some Peach Nectar. OOOOOOH MAN!

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Since we’re using more than just Bourbon and sugar for this Julep, I’d advise stirring things together ahead of time.

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BB Julep

  • 1 1/2 oz Barrell Bourbon batch 006
  • 1/2 oz Peach Nectar
  • 1 barspoon Rich Cane Syrup*
  • 4-5 Mint Leaves
  • Garnish: Mint sprig

Combine Barrell Bourbon, Peach Nectar, syrup  and stir until they’ve combined nicely. Grab your Julep cup or Mule mug and muddle some mint into it. Add liquids, ice, and garnish with a big Mint sprig.

*If you have peaches and can make fresh Peach juice, you may want to omit the syrup.

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Damnnnnn this drink is good. I mean, this Barrell Bourbon is so damn good that you don’t really have to do much to make a great cocktail with it. I will be making more drinks with it in the near future so stay tuned!

Cheers y’all!

Be Mine, Clementine

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If January 2015 was spent in a #TikiTheSnowAway denial of Winter, then February is me embracing the cold. It’s so damn frigid in NYC. Everyone East of Colorado has been prisoner to bone crushing temperatures and an endless blanket of snow. I love snow and am a total Winter sports person (Skier 4Lyfe) but could the temperatures just be above 32° F?

So, I did it, I made a Hot Whiskey Punch. My girlfriend wanted something warm when she got home from a hospital shift and I wanted to use up some of the 2 dozen Clementines which come in a box of “Cuties”. Why are there so many Cuties in a box? Why? I’d really be happier if there were like 10. Two dozen are too many Cuties. Just TOO MANY.

Anyway, tl;dr: I’m cold, this drink is Hot & Delicious, Whiskey, Clementines, Spices, Punch. Bang.

Be Mine, Clementine

  • 4 oz Bourbon
  • 1 oz Domaine de Canton or other Ginger Liqueur
  • 1/2 oz Santa Maria al Monte Amaro
  • 2 oz Clementine Juice
  • 1/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1 oz Cinnamon Bark Syrup
  • 6 oz Water
  • 7 drops Scrappy’s Cardamom Bitters
  • Garnish: Clementine Wheel

In pot combine ingredients and heat on LOW. Like really really LOW. Stir continuously until liquids are swimming nicely together but don’t boil. Nooooooo boiling. When it’s ready to go, strain into Mugs. Should make two Mug sized servings or four Espresso Cup servings.

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This delicious Hot Whiskey Punch was named by my girlfriend. Thanks Baby!

Golden Age of Quackery

/ Dani DeLuna / 3 Comments

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I named this one after the notion of a 19th-Century-Cure-All because this drink has everything meant to cure ailments: Bourbon, Honey, Ginger, Lemon, Apples and Fernet! I nearly called it “Patented-Cure-All” but with the preProhibition Cocktail revival we’re having, I felt this name was a bit better. 🙂

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In tin, combine Bourbon, Bushel & Barrel, Honey Ginger Juice, Lemon Juice over ice and shake. Double strain into rocks glass with ice. Float Fernet on top.

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Bonus: The Golden Age of Quackery is also awesome hot! Add 1 oz Water, make sure not to boil the liquids and still float the Fernet on top after you’ve poured the rest into a mug.

Home Bar Gurls: Rio del Oro

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This is Home Bar Gurls, the segment where another Home Bar Girl or Dude sends a recipe!

Rio del Oro

Today’s recipe comes from Eleni Crush, a fellow Californian, trendsetter and writer living in Brooklyn, NY. Eleni likes wine, Greek food and delicious cocktails! Don’t we all?

Rio del Oro

  • 2 oz Bourbon
  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 3/4 oz Agave Nectar
  • 2 dashes of Scrappy’s Aromatic Bitters
  • Rosemary Sprig

Combine ingredients in tin. Shake and strain, serve on the rocks with Rosemary Sprig.

Have a recipe you’d like to be featured? Please send a recipe, cocktail photo and a bit about yourself to homebargirl@gmail.com.

“The Lord’s Been Good To Me”

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You may be thinking, “ummm, this Home Bar Girl is a little obsessed with Bourbon.” Well, now that it’s Autumn I sort of can’t help myself! I want to use bourbon all the time, errrry day, errrry night.

The name for this drink is from a song in Johnny Appleseed, a Disney animated short released in 1948. As a child, I watched Johnny Appleseed countless times and loved to sing along to this song. Upon taking the first sip of the cocktail and tasting the apple notes, the cartoon rushed back to me. Ah, memories.

“The Lord’s Been Good To Me”

  • 1 oz Calvados
  • 1 oz Bourbon
  • 1/2 oz Honey Syrup
  • 1/4 oz Cynar
  • 2 dashes of Orange Bitters
  • Maraschino Cherry

In tin, combine Calvados, Bourbon, Honey Syrup, Cynar and bitters. Stir and strain into chilled coupe. Garnish with Maraschino Cherry.

It’s A Long Shot

/ Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

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So, are you ready?  Are you ready for that “get up and go feeling”? Are you ready to run screaming out of the building?

The inspiration for this coffee cocktail comes from St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur. It’s a phenomenal blend of chicory root, vanilla and dark coffee. Hands down the best coffee liqueur I’ve ever tasted. To this I added bourbon, espresso, half n half and a little dust of cinnamon. BOOM.

It’s A Long Shot

  • 1 1/2 oz Espresso
  • 1 oz St George NOLA Coffee Liqueur
  • 1/2 oz Bourbon
  • 1 oz Half n Half
  • Cinnamon

In tin combine Espresso, Coffee Liqueur, Bourbon, Half n Half and stir. Pour into rocks glass over ice. Dust cinnamon on top. Hold onto your hat!

Brunch Bonanza: Wandering Wasp

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Wandering Wasp

Welcome to Brunch Bonanza. The segment where we talk about brunch cocktails!

Happy Week-end to you all! May this bright and refreshing Bourbon cocktail bring even more joy to your brunching. The name of this drink comes from an incident where my girlfriend and I were trying to chase a wasp out of our apartment and the silly thing just would not leave! It kept wandering from room to room, meandering about. When we finally ejected the wasp through the bathroom window, we needed a drink! Wandering Wasp

  • 2 oz Bourbon
  • 3/4 oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice
  • 1/2 oz St-Germain
  • 1/2 oz Mint infused Simple Syrup
  • 2 dashes of Orange bitters
  • Lemon peel

Combine Bourbon, Grapefruit Juice, St-Germain, Mint Simple Syrup and Orange Bitters in tin with cracked ice. Shake and double strain into chilled Coupe. Express Lemon peel and use as garnish.