montenegro

Lapel Piece

/ Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

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Ladies and Gents, I’ve had a great time making cocktails for Irish Whiskey Month with all of you! As we roll through the last week of March, I’ve got a really killer cocktail with Teeling Single Grain that is both smooth and floral. Let’s step to it!

Oh but first, if you wanna join the party, use the hashtag #IrishWhiskeyMonth on Instagram and I’ll repost your photo! The only rule is that you have to include Irish Whiskey in your cocktail.

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What do we say here at Home Bar Girl? “Don’t forget to stirrrrrr, stirring is zen y’all.” Yeaaaah man. Stir til you gaze out the window and grab yer prettiest coupe.

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Cast of Characters:

  1. My intention for this cocktail was to create a Manhattan variation to go with Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey. This Whiskey has berry & honey notes which definitely made me think of…
  2. Montenegro! What goes better with honey than flowers? Amaro Montenegro is the perfect spring Amari and I felt like its floral notes were apropos.
  3. Initially, I made this drink with Italian Vermouth but switched it because Dolin Rouge is lighter in body than its Italian counterparts. Manhattan variations can be really tricky because you are working with so few ingredients and I didn’t want the Vermouth to overpower the other two ingredients in the drink.

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What do gentlemen frequently put in the lapel of their suit in the spring? A flower.

Lapel Piece 

  • 2 oz Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey
  • 1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
  • 1/2 oz Dolin Rouge Vermouth
  • Garnish: Lemon peel

Combine ingredients over ice and stirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Strain into chilled coupe, express Lemon peel and garnish.

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Cheers y’all!

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MonteNegroni

/ Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

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Y’all, it hit me a couple of days ago that I’ve been making a lot of rather difficult Rum based Tiki drinks. I’ve made them because I love them so very much and I’ve made them because I’ve been in a Tropicaaaaaaaal mood. Well, now that it’s August and my mind is shifting towards Autumn, I wanna make something simple.

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Something easy breezy (cover girl). Something stirred.

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Something in a sexy vintage tumbler with an orange peel.

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Something like a Negroni. Yes, exactly, I want a Negroni but let’s swap the Campari for Montenegro and keep the Carpano Antica. Perfect.

MonteNegroni

  • 1 1/4 oz Plymouth Gin
  • 3/4 oz Carpano Antica Formula
  • 1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
  • Garnish: Orange peel

Combine ingredients over ice and stirrrrrr. Strain into a fancy tumbler over ice, express Orange peel and garnish.

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Yessssssssss. Thank you beautiful ingredients, you’re so very inspirational. Remember, every week is #NegroniWeek.

Spring Cocktails with Jägermeister

/ Dani DeLuna / 3 Comments

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Yes, you read that right! Spring Cocktails with Jägermeister!

Do you know who had no idea how versatile Jägermeister is? ME! I had no idea but oh my goodness, I’m so into it!

When I was initially approached about this campaign, I was a tad hesitant because when I thought of Jäger, I thought of shots (and y’all know i’m averse to shots). But then I read about some of the ingredients in Jägermeister: Cinnamon, Star Anise, Orange peel, Ginger root, Cardamom, Lavender, and I got really excited!

Bonus: as a part of this campaign, I have been given a couple of recipes from one of my fave bartenders, none other than Sother Teague from Amor y Amargo! If Sother endorsed Jägermeister, then I most definitely wanted to give it a try!

Jägermeister

Jägermeister, a fantastic combination of herbs and spices.

If we’re going to make recipes with Jägermeister, then we should start by treating it like we should treat any good Amaro/Aperitif/Digestif and break down the flavors.

Tasting Notes:

  • Nose: Ginger, Licorice, Spices, Anise, Root Beer, Citrus,
  • Tongue: Mint, Cinnamon, Clove, Cardamom, Honey, spices, earthy, robust
  • Finish: long and wide, full bodied

Exciting right? Totally totally exciting! Let’s dive into some recipes!

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We’ll start with one of Sother’s Recipes, Precision Timepiece. This recipe feels like a Negroni variant, albeit one full of flavour and spices.

Precision Timepiece

Combine ingredients over ice and stir. Strain into double Rocks glass with ice. Express Orange peel and garnish.

Bonus: if you add a little Club Soda, you suddenly have spirited “Root Beer”.

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For the next recipe, you’re going to want to keep that bottle of Aperol handy but also get some Strawberries cause what says spring like Strawberries? (The answer is: nothing)

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To the Jäger and Aperol we add Chartreuse Jaune which has a mille-fleurs + honey aroma and is magical in spring cocktails.

Little Red Jacket

  • 1 1/2 oz Jägermeister
  • 1/2 oz Aperol
  • 1/4 oz Chartreuse Jaune
  • 1/2 oz Lemon Juice
  • 2 Strawberries
  • Club Soda
  • Garnish: 1 Strawberry, Lemon Wheel, Rosemary sprig

Muddle Strawberries and Lemon juice in tin. Add Jägermeister, Aperol, Chartreuse and ice. Shake and double strain into Collins glass over ice. Top with Club Soda and garnish with Strawberry, Lemon Wheel and Rosemary sprig. Sensational.

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And now it’s time for perhaps the most exciting formula yet: Jägermeister + Aged Rum = spiced Rum. I mean, why isn’t everyone all over this? I don’t have any Spiced Rum in My Home Bar but by combining these two together, I NOW HAVE SPICED RUM.

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Again, we’ll start with a recipe from Sother Teague cause this recipe is BRILLIANT.

German Vacation

  • 1 oz Jägermeister
  • 1 oz Flor de Caña Aged Rum
  • 3/4 oz Ginger Syrup*
  • 3/4 oz Orgeat
  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice (Lime Juice works really well too)
  • Garnish: Heavy dashes of Peychaud’s bitters. I added the Hollowed out Lime half, Maraschino Cherries and Sail. Really, as long as you add the Peychaud’s, use whatever garnishes you want! (Candied Ginger would be amazing btw)

Combine ingredients over ice and short shake. Strain into Collins or Tiki Glass over Cracked or Crushed ice. “Paint” the top of the drink with Peychaud’s bitters and garnish as you please.

Ginger-Syrup

*Ginger Syrup – Combine 1 cup of Sugar (Demerara or Turbinado), 1 cup of water and 1 cup of roughly chopped Ginger root in a Saucepan. Heat on low until just before liquids start to boil, then remove from heat. Cover and let sit for around 8-9 hours. Strain into jar and refrigerate. **If you are going to keep this syrup for several weeks, add around 1 oz aged Molasses Rum (like Flor de Caña) to syrup to preserve. Will make approx 2 cups of Ginger Syrup.

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The Pineapple Spear Bunny Ears are back again!

For the last Spring Cocktail with Jägermeister,  I’ve got a total West Indian Tiki cocktail for y’all!

Gamekeeper’s Grog

  • 1 oz Jägermeister
  • 1 oz Denizen Aged White Rum
  • 1/2 oz Smith & Cross Navy Strength Jamaica Rum
  • 1/2 oz Lime Juice
  • 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
  • 1/4 oz Cinnamon Bark Syrup
  • Garnish: Hollowed out Lime half, Grapefruit peel Rose, Maraschino Cherry, Pineapple Spear Bunny Ears

Combine ingredients over ice and shake. Strain into double Rocks glass and garnish.

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Wasn’t that totally delicious? Yes, it totally was! Don’t worry, this isn’t the end of my relationship Jägermeister as a cocktail ingredient. I’ll keep posting recipes as I come up with them.

Note: I cannot emphasize how thrilling of a discovery it was that Jägermeister + Aged Rum = spiced rum. YAAAAAAAAS Kween!

Thanks to M Booth for including me in this exciting campaign and sending the bottles of Jägermeister, Aperol, Amaro Montenegro and Dale Degroff’s Pimento Bitters!