bourbon

count your trumps

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Count Your Trumps

1 1/2 oz Bourbon [Split Rock Distilling]
3/4 oz Amaretto [Disaronno]
3/4 oz Campari

Stir with ice, strain into a ice filled rocks glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

It’s nice when you have the support of those around you when taking on new endeavors. When I started Mr. Muddle, my family were some of my first fans (obviously). But it’s grown into more of an actual appreciation on their part, which is clear when they are happy to share some drinks with me, or even give me gifts to support my habit…err, hobby.

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Chewing (and drinking) the Fat

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Duck Dive

1 oz Duck Fat bourbon* [Old Granddad Bonded]
1 oz Apple Brandy [Short Path]
1/2 oz Ginger Liqueur [Barrow’s Intense]
Few dashes lemon ginger bitters [Hella Cocktail]

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

* Combine ~2 oz duck fat with ~8 oz bourbon in a glass jar. Let sit at room temperature for about an hour. Place in freezer for about 2 days. Then remove from freezer and discard fat cap (or save for later), and strain through coffee filter. Fat washed bourbon can be stored in the fridge for a few weeks.

For New Year’s Eve, I took my first stab at fat washing booze by infusing brown butter into bourbon.  It was super easy and, more importantly, delicious, particularly in an Old Fashioned.  I also did some cooking that night, including a sous-vide duck breast.  After searing it off to crisp up the skin, there was a fair amount of duck fat leftover.  Armed with my new fat washing experience, I poured it into some bourbon. Continue reading →

Two for Turkey Day

Adam (aka Mr. Muddle)3 Comments

cran_thyme

Family Thyme

1 oz Kina L’Aero D’Or [Tempus Fugit]*
1 oz Rainwater Madeira [Broadbent]
1/2 oz Cranberry Thyme Syrup
Stir with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with cranberries and thyme sprig. Optional: top with splash of prosecco or club soda
* If you don’t have Kina, Lillet, Cocchi Americano, or even a good dry vermouth will do in a pinch

Loosen the Belt

1 1/2 oz Bourbon [Woodford Reserve]
1 oz Amaro Meletti
1/2 oz Coffe Liqueur [Boston Harbor Distilling]

Stir with ice, strain into an ice filled rocks glass.

It’s almost time for my most favorite holiday of the year.  I love Thanksgiving cuz it’s all about excess – lots of food, lots of football, lots of family.  And yeah, a fair bit of drinking in there too.  Last year’s Cornucopia Spritz was a low ABV aperitif style cocktail to get you ready for the meal but keeps you from saying anything embarrassing during it.  This year I’ve got another light cocktail for the afternoon, but this time I’m throwing in a nice digestif style drink to help you out once the plates are cleared. Continue reading →

In Case you Missed It…

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For all of you who follow my blog, it’s very much appreciated.  However, this isn’t the only place you can get your Mr. Muddle fix.  Over on instagram, you can find more spur of the moment creations, drinks that are part of a larger Instagram events, and other assorted cocktail centric musings.  They don’t always make it back to the blog.  Fear not though, in this week’s post I’ll highlight some of my favorites you may have missed. Continue reading →

Cinco de Derby

Adam (aka Mr. Muddle)2 Comments

Guest post alert!!  I’m pulling double duty today as I have a guest post over at the Garnish blog (run by my fellow Boston cocktail blogger, Katie).  And as teaser, it’s Star Wars themed. We now return to our regularly scheduled program.

Julerita

1 oz Bourbon [Woodford Reserve]
1 oz Reposado Tequila [Espolon]
1/2 oz Hot Honey Syrup*
1/4 oz Etrog Liqueur [Sukkah Hill Spirits]
1/4 oz Lime Juice
Few sprigs of Mint

Combine mint and honey syrup in a mixing glass.  Muddle gently.  Add remaining ingredients.  Shake with ice, strain into a julep cup filled with crushed ice (or an ice filled rocks glass).  Top with more crushed ice and garnish with a mint sprig.

*if you don’t have hot honey syrup, regular honey syrup or simple syrup with a few dashes of hot sauce works too

I was struggling what to write about today.  It’s Cinco de Mayo, so a margarita of some sort is the obvious choice.  But it’s also the Kentucky Derby this weekend and Mint Juleps are in the air.  After much deliberation, I realized the answer was right in front of me.  It’s mashup time! Continue reading →

Location Location Location

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The Great Room

3/4 oz White Rum [Smoky Quartz Distillery]
3/4 oz Bourbon [Woodford Reserve]
3/4 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz Lime Juice
Few Dashes Angostura bitters

Shake with ice, strain into an ice filled rocks glass.  Garnish with lime twist.

Two weekends ago I was at my friend’s house in New Hampshire.  These are always enjoyable trips, with lots of friends and friends of friends hanging out in an idyllic setting. On the way up we stopped at a NH state liquor store.  For those that don’t know, NH has these state run liquor stores that are the size of grocery stores.  since this is the “Live Free or Die” state, there are no taxes on anything which means some pretty good prices.  I walked out with a bottle of white rum from Smoky Quartz Distillery. Continue reading →

Better Know a Classic: Algonquin Cocktail

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Algonquin Cocktail

1 1/2 Whiskey (rye is traditional, here I used bourbon) [Woodford Reserve]
3/4 oz Dry Vermouth [Dolin]
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice

Combine ingredients, shake with ice.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with charred pineapple wedge

Well here we are, the final installment of my Bar Starter Kit series.  In the previous posts, we covered a gin and orange liqueur via the Pegu Club, and a few other supporting players (Aperol, maraschino liqueur and sweet vermouth) in the Cherrycano.  Now we turn to bourbon and dry vermouth to bring it all home.  And just like we started this whole thing with the Pegu Club, I’m going to focus on a classic once again – the Algonquin Cocktail. Continue reading →

A Year in Drinks

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2016 is officially behind us, so let’s take a peak in the rear view mirror and hand out some some awards (the Muddlees?  Still working on that one).  On to the winners.

Top Three Most Viewed Posts
#3 – It’s Pronounced Yah-grr (featuring the Jagroni) – Negroni variation with Becherovka
#2 – Build a Better Bar Part 1: Poppin’ Bottles (featuring the Training Wheels) – A great intro to Aperol

And the most viewed post is…
#1 – The Ol’ Switcheroo (featuring the Half Windsor Knot) – This one actually makes me Continue reading →

Stir, Yes Stir!

Adam (aka Mr. Muddle)1 Comment

Kentucky Sergeant

2 oz Bourbon <Woodford Reserve>
3/4 oz Benedictine
1/4 oz St. Germain
Few dashes Peach Bitters * <Fee Bros.>

Stir with ice, strain into an ice filled rocks glass

* When I first made this drink, I didn’t use any bitters.  However, I’ve come to realize most bitters work pretty well with it, so use whatever you have on hand.  Or use none at all.

News flash: I love brown spirits.  You can give me all the whiskies, and I’ll be just fine.  And don’t stop there.  Cognacs and brandies are always welcome in my home.  Maybe that’s why I love Benedictine so much.  Combine this liqueur with any brown base spirit, and you’re almost guaranteed a delicious drink. Continue reading →

“Cocktail” Would Get You Some Points

Adam (aka Mr. Muddle)5 Comments

Triple Word Score

2 oz Bourbon <Woodford Reserve>
1/2 oz Port <Dow’s Finest Reserve>
1/2 Maraschino Liqueur  <Luxardo>
Few dashes Angostura Bitters

Combine ingredients in glass, stir with ice.  Strain into chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with cherries.

This week marks the one year anniversary of Mr. Muddle. When I started this thing, I set one goal for myself – to post once a week without fail for the first year. Little did I know that achieving that (exceeding it actually, thanks to MxMo) would introduce me to a wonderful community of cocktail minded bloggers and instagrammers. It’s great to have so many different perspectives to learn from, and a big thank you to everyone who has read, commented, taste tested and even copy edited over the last year. Continue reading →