The bees are so friendly and happy! I love having them in the garden! They buzz around all day working hard and then they sleep at night and when you open the hive, the honey smells like cinnamon!

We will have honey in September! In the meantime, we still have honey from the people who gave us the bees!

I used the honey to make three cocktails this weekend! Here they are!

1) Ginger Bee

Ingredients for Two Cocktails
6 oz Pyrat XO Reserve Rum
1/2 oz honey
1 oz Cointreau
Ten leaves Cinnamon Basil plus two sprigs of flowers for garnish
1-2 oz candied ginger chunks plus two chunks for garnish

Instructions
Add honey, ginger and basil to shaker with ice and muddle well
Add rum and cointreau, shake
Pour into two chilled cocktail glasses, add basil sprigs and ginger

2) Bee Leg Fizz

(This is a variation on a Bootleg Fizz, but with bees! And de-highballed!)

Ingredients for Two Cocktails

6 oz Greylock Gin
Juice from one Meyer Lemon
1/4 cup chopped lavender plus two sprigs lavender for garnish
1/2 oz honey
1/2 oz lavender syrup
1/4 cup stiffly whipped egg whites

Instructions
Add honey, syrup, lemon juice, and lavender to shaker with ice, muddle
Add gin and egg white, shake like crazy
Pour into two chilled cocktail glasses, garnish with lavender sprigs.

3) Spicy Bee

Ingredients for 2 drinks
6 oz Dogfish Head Jin
1/4 cup fresh chopped mint, plus two sprigs for garnish
1/2 oz honey
1/2 oz dry vermouth
6 rings oil-packed deep fried hot peppers, plus 2 for garnish

Instructions
Add mint, honey, and peppers to shaker with ice and muddle
Add gin and vermouth, shake
Pour into chilled cocktail glasses, add mint and pepper garnish

A few months ago, my old high school friends Jo and Amy (Yeah, I should have been named Meg or Beth) emailed me to ask if I wanted to judge a bolognese cookoff between the two of them and Jo’s dad, Ian.

I said sure, as long as my mom could judge, too (my parents are friends with Jo’s parents, even though they didn’t actually become friends until after we graduated from high school). My mom, in turn, invited everyone up to the house in Connecticut.

The bolognese cookoff quickly became a mini-event. Jo’s husband Erik and I are both amateur bartenders and decided to each make an Italian-themed cocktail for the event. I also made dessert, and my mother made homemade pasta dough, which Jo’s dad, Ian, turned into delicious homemade noodles.

Sadly, Amy was sick and couldn’t make it, even though she was the only one encouraging smack talk via email. But she did send her sauce along to try.

Ian won the cookoff, but of course his sauce is the only one I didn’t take pictures of actually on the noodles.

First come cocktails, then come pics.

1) Erik’s Artichoke-Cherry Punch

This is totally my first ever guest cocktail! Erik uses slightly different measurements than I do so I am keeping his drink according to his own recipe:

Ingredients for 1 cocktail:
1 wedge blood orange or regular orange for garnish
2/3 jigger Cynar
1/2 jigger Maraschino
1/4 jigger Grappa
5-6 oz unsweetened fresh lemonade
ice

Instructions:
Mix Cynar, Maraschino, & Grappa in highball glass over ice
Add lemonade
Add orange wedge

Erik is also looking for suggestions for a better name than “Artichoke-Cherry Punch” if you have one you would like to recommend.

2) Hibiscus Negroni

Ingredients for 2 cocktails:
4 oz gin (I used Bombay Sapphire)
2 oz red vermouth (I used Punt E Mes)
2 oz Campari
2 oz hibiscus syrup*
2 canned hibiscus blossoms
2 slices of orange

Instructions
Mix all ingredients but hibiscus blossoms in a pitcher over ice
Place hibiscus blossoms in the bottom of two chilled old fashioned glasses
Add liquor
Garnish with orange

Next, massive massive photos of delicious food! Click on the cut to see!

1)Fairy Time

Ingredients for two drinks
6 oz D H Krahn gin
1/2 oz absinthe
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/4 cup fresh thyme
1/4 oz dry vermouth
1 Meyer Lemon

Instructions
Reserve 2 half-moon slices of lemon
Put lemon juice, syrup, and thyme in shaker with ice, muddle until thyme is bruised
Add gin & absinthe, shake
Coat 2 chilled cocktail glasses with vermouth, pour out excess
Strain contents of shaker into glasses
Add lemon to garnish

2) Scarborough Fair

Ingredients for 2 cocktails

6 oz Miller’s Gin
1 oz Acacia Honey
1 oz Lavender Syrup
1 oz Dry Vermouth
1 Meyer Lemon
2 tbs cup fresh parsley plus two sprigs
2 tbs cup fresh sage
2 tbs cup fresh rosemary
2 tbs cup fresh thyme
1/4 oz St Germain

Instructions
Reserve 2 half-moon slices of lemon
Cut remainder of lemon into wedges
Put fresh herbs, honey, syrup, and lemon wedges in shaker with ice and muddle until herbs are bruised
Add gin & vermouth, shake
Coat 2 chilled cocktail glasses with St Germain, discard excess
Pour contents of shaker into glasses, garnish with lemon and parsley

3)Strawberry-Chili Margarita

Ingredients for 2 drinks
7 oz tequila
2 oz cointreau
2 limes
5 medium-large strawberries
1 chili pepper, or 2 halves of 2 different chili peppers
Margarita salt (1 Tbs salt, 1 Tbs sugar, 1 sprinkle chili pepper)

Instructions:
Slice pepper into rings. Set aside some rings for garnish.
Set aside 2 half moon slices of lime for garnish
Put remaining peppers in tequila over ice, let sit 5 minutes
Cut up 3 strawberries into small chunks, add to tequila and peppers and stir well
Add cointreau & lime juice, stir well
Rim 2 chilled cocktail glasses with margarita salt
Strain contents of pitcher into glasses, add strawberries, lime slices, and pepper slices for garnish.

And now, DESSERT!

Rhubarb Bread Pudding (Thanks, shinyredtype with homemade Rhubarb Ice Cream with Cream

Ingredients for Bread Pudding
4 cups plain white rolls or bread cut into cubes
2 cups chopped fresh rhubarb boiled in 1 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar until syrupy
1 1/2 cups chopped raw rhubarb
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Layer a 2″ deep 8×8 pan with bread
Add 1 Tbs butter in pieces
Sprinkle 2 Tbs brown sugar
Add rhubarb and cooked rhubarb evenly
Mix the eggs, milk, remaining brown sugar and vanilla and pour on top
Add remaining bread to top
Let soak for 1 hour
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes

Ingredients for Ice Cream
3 stalks rhubarb boiled with 1 cup water and 1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup 2/3 light cream
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions
Chill cooked rhubarb mixture
Put rhubarb mixture in food processor and process until smooth
Add cream
Whip eggs to stiff peaks
Fold eggs gently into cream & rhubarb mixture
Add to ice cream maker and follow ice cream maker instructions.

Yum!

1) Tarragon Sazerac

This isn’t an especially unique drink, because it’s just a slight twist on the original, but my mom wanted Sazeracs for Mother’s Day.

Ingredients for 2 cocktails
7 oz rye
1/4 oz absinthe or Pernod
3/4 oz tarragon syrup*
2 sprigs tarragon
6 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Instructions
Add rye and syrup to a pitcher with ice and stir
Coat two chilled old fashioned glasses with absinthe, discard remaining absinthe.
Pour contents of pitcher into glasses, add bitters and sprigs of tarragon

*Tarragon syrup: made with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup fresh tarragon sprigs.

3) Rosemary’s Green

Ingredients for two cocktails
6oz Dogfish Head Jin
1 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 oz Chili-Rhubarb Syrup
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup fresh rosemary sprigs plus two whole sprigs
1/4 oz cointreau or other orange liqueur
2 lemon slices
4 dashes Fee Brothers’ Rhubarb Bitters

Instructions
Chill two martini glasses
Add syrup, rosemary, and lemon juice to shaker with ice and muddle until rosemary is well-bruised.
Add gin and vermouth, shake
Coat glasses with Cointreau, pour out remainder
Strain into glasses, add bitters, rosemary sprigs and lemon

This drink might sound like it has too many ingredients, but it was really good. It was also one of those ones that got better the longer it sat.

3) Busy Bee

Ingredients for two cocktails:
6 oz Hurricane Rum
4 Tbs Acacia Honey
1/4 cup fresh curly leaf basil plus 2 large whole leaves
1 Meyer Lemon
4 droppers Urban Moonshine Citrus Bitters

Instructions
Chill two martini glasses
Reserve two half-moons of lemon for garnish
Add honey, lemon juice, and basil to shaker with ice and muddle
Add Rum, shake
Strain into glasses, add bitters, basil leaves, and lemon slices

And now it is time for Ice Cream!

Rosemary-Honey Ice Cream

Ingredients for 1 quart of ice cream
10 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 2/3 cups light cream
3 egg whites
5 Tbs Acacia Honey
1 Tb Rosemary-infused olive oil
3 Tbs white sugar

Instructions
Take rosemary leaves off tough twigs
Add rosemary to food processor to chop
Add honey, sugar and olive oil to food processor and process until ingredients become a paste
Add cream to food processor and blend
Whip egg whites in mixer until they form soft peaks
Add cream mixture to mixer, mix gently just until egg whites are folded in
Put mixture into ice cream freezer, follow your ice cream freezer’s instructions

This is possibly the best-textured ice cream I have ever made, ever!

1) Rhubarb Capirinha

Ingredients for 2 cocktails
6 oz cachaça
2 oz rhubarb syrup*
1 stalk rhubarb
1 Tb sugar
1 lime
Ice

Instructions
Fill 2 rocks glasses with ice
Cut rhubarb into 2 4-5″ pieces
Roll rhubarb in sugar and set aside
Cut lime into eighths and put in pitcher.
Add rhubarb syrup and muddle.
Add cachaca
Pour contents of pitcher over ice, including lime pieces
Add 1 piece rhubarb to each drink.

2) Spruce Juice

Ingredients for 2 cocktails
6 oz Rogue Spruce Gin
6 strawberries
2 oz Acacia Honey
1 small Kirby cucumber, trimmed but not peeled, or about 4″ of another larger cucumber
1/4 oz Absinthe or Pernod

Instructions
Put ice in two martini glasses to chill
Set aside 2 slices of cucumber and 2 strawberries
Cut remaining cucumber and strawberries to a 1/2″ dice
Put honey, cucumber, and strawberries in shaker and muddle
Add ice to shaker
Add gin to shaker, shake
Remove ice from glasses
Coat each glass with Pernod, pour out excess
Pour contents of shaker into glasses, garnish with strawberry and cucumber

3) French Mojito

Ingredients for 2 cocktails
6 oz white/silver rum
1 Meyer Lemon
1 oz lavender syrup
1 cup fresh mint sprigs, plus 4 sprigs
Club Soda

Instructions
Put ice in two highball or rocks glasses to chill
Cut lemon in eighths, put in pitcher
Roughly crush mint and add to pitcher
Add lavender syrup
Muddle contents of pitcher
Add rum and stir
Remove ice from glasses
Add mixture to glasses, including lemon pieces
Top off with soda
Add mint to garnish

4) Rhubarb Manhattan

Ingredients for 2 cocktails
6 oz bourbon
2 oz sweet vermouth
2 oz rhubarb syrup
4 dashes Fee Brothers’ Rhubarb Bitters
2 4-5″ pieces of rhubarb

Instructions
Add ice to martini glasses to chill
Put ice in shaker
Add all ingredients but rhubarb to shaker and shake
Remove ice from glasses and pour
Add rhubarb to garnish

*We have a lot of rhubarb growing in the garden, so I made a lot of rhubarb syrup.

Ingredients
2 stalks rhubarb
1 cup sugar
3/4 cups water

Instructions
Chop rhubarb into 1/2″ pieces
Boil water with sugar in a small saucepan until sugar is dissolved
Add rhubarb and turn to medium heat
Cook, stirring intermittently, until rhubarb has softened and “melted” and consistency is syrupy
Pass through strainer to remove stringy bits

Enjoy, everybody!

Ingredients for 2 drinks
6 oz Kentucky Bourbon (I used Rip Van Winkle)
1 oz rhubarb syrup
1 oz blackberry syrup
1 cup fresh mint sprigs plus 4 mint sprigs
8 whole fresh blackberries

Instructions
Add ice to two julep cups or rocks glasses
Put ice in mason jar
Add mint and syrups to jar, muddle
Add bourbon, close jar and shake
Take ice out of glasses, pour
Add mint sprigs and whole blackberries for garnish

In the meantime, I thought I would do a throwback and just post a nice, classic mint julep recipe for those of you who are curious.

When I started making mint juleps, I used a traditional recipe I found online. You can see the “official” mint julep recipe here.

But since then, I’ve learned more about bartending and have developed personal tastes and preferences and rules like “don’t add water to good bourbon.” So here’s the recipe I’ve been using the past couple of years:

Ingredients for 2 cocktails
6 oz bourbon
1 cup whole fresh mint sprigs, with 4 mint sprigs reserved
2 oz brown sugar simple syrup (or plain white sugar simple syrup)

Instructions
Add ice to two julep cups or regular rocks glasses if, like me, you don’t own julep cups
Put ice in a mason jar
Add all the other ingredients to the mason jar
Close the mason jar and shake.
Remove ice from glasses, strain contents of mason jar into glasses

Why a mason jar and not a shaker? Well, two years ago, we were visiting my godfather’s parents on Derby Day. They’re like grandparents to me, awesome awesome people. Anyway, I told my parents we needed to run if we were going to get bourbon on time. My Nana took out her bourbon bottle and poured what was left in it into a mason jar– which was just enough for two drinks. So I mixed the drinks in the jar. It was amazing, ridiculously old bourbon, and that’s what the picture you see in this post is from.

In other news, we went to the garden center today. We got two new fig trees– one died over the winter. We also got two grapevines, some hops plants so we can make wet hops beer, and a heck of a lot of herbs. I’m most excited about the chamomile, and yes, I am going to be making chamomile syrup. We also got Mexican coriander, because they didn’t have any Vietnamese coriander, which was disappointing. We’ll see how that goes. Also some excellent lemon thyme and really strong apple mint, tarragon and lavender.

My dad also go a burn permit so the yard smells deliciously smoky. Of course, the town fire alarm just went off, and he’s convinced that the neighbors called him in for burning twigs in the fire pit.

So my mother and I had an impromptu little gin tasting. Here are all our gins arranged geographically!

The gins in question are:
Greylock , from Berkshire Mountain Distillers, Great Barrington, MA
Gale Force, from Triple 8 Distillers, Nantucket, MA
Seneca Drums, from Finger Lakes Distillers, Burdett, NY
Bluecoat American Dry, from Philadelphia Distilling, Philadelphia, PA
Jin, from Dogfish Head Brewers, Rehoboth, DE
Death’s Door, from Death’s Door Spirirs, Washington Island, WI
Desert Juniper, from Bendistillery, Bend, OR
Rogue Spruce, from Rogue Ales, Newport, OR
DH Krahn, from DH Krahn Spirits, Mountain View, CA

My mother and I tasted 1/4 oz tastings of each gin in the order listed above. Here are our findings!

1) Greylock

I remember remarking on the distinctiveness of this gin the first time I opened the bottle. It has a sweet, light floral scent. The flavor is very crisp and clean, and has notes of orange blossom, anise, and black pepper. The flavor is also very mild and floral. This was my mother’s second favorite over all.

2) Gale Force

This gin immediately had a sharp, antiseptic scent. It had a very strong, sharp flavor with a lot of bay in it and tasted rather medicinal. I’ve mixed with this before and found ways to cut the sharpness and complement the bay flavor, but just on tasting, it wasn’t very pleasant.

I need to end this comment with two disclaimers: 1) this was the only one of the nine gins that we don’t think we will buy again. However, 2) Triple 8 also makes Hurricane Rum, which I love, so while this wasn’t my favorite, I still have high hopes for their other products.

3) Seneca Drums

I’m not joking: this gin smells like a margarita. The scent is more like a tequila than a gin, and has very strong lime notes. However, the flavor is completely different from the scent: it has a sweet flavor with a lot of coriander and celery. It’s extremely smooth and our take was that this would make a great negroni.

4) Blue Coat

Blue Coat is labeled as an American Dry, and it wears this label for a reason: of all the gins we tasted, it’s the closest to a classic London Dry. It is incredibly balanced, with light juniper notes and light pepper, but nothing particular overwhelming. Overall, it has a very clean, crisp flavor that hits the front of the mouth moreso than any other gin we tasted.

5) Jin

Jin has a very sweet scent that is almost reminiscent of rum. It has a nutty, buttery sweetness, too, that is not characteristic of rum. If you’re not a gin drinker and haven’t liked many gins you’ve tasted, this is one I would recommend you try. It has a light licorice note as well. This gin probably had the most unique flavor of all the gins we tried.

6) Death’s Door

This gin had the lightest bouquet of all the gins we tasted up till this point. Because it has almost no nose, when you taste it, the flavor is a bit of a pow! It has a strong anisey flavor, lots of liquorice and heavy juniper in it. My mother thought this would be great with orange.

7) Desert Juniper

this gin had a slightly medicinal scent, but there was almost none of that in the flavor. The flavor was, as the name suggests, predominantly junipery– but the flavor was also very smooth. My mother and I thought this would make an excellent dirty martini or bacon martini.

8) Rogue Spruce

This was my mother’s favorite of all the gins we tried. The smell is very piney, exactly as one would expect from a gin with “spruce” in its name. It has a nice cucumbery flavor up front, with notes of fennel, dill, and celery seed and a strong taste of peppermint. great classic botanicals but with a unique twist.

9) DH Krahn

Like Jin, I would highly recommend this one for people who aren’t normally fond of gin. It has a sweet scent with some cucumber and celery notes, and my mother detected some lime. The flavor is very flowery, light and sweet with notes of honey and violets. I thought this gin would make an excellent and more sophisticated replacement for vodka in many vodka drinks.

I made a drink today to commemorate Paul Revere’s Ride. The base liquor is from Massachusetts, where the ride took place, and the other ingredients are from three of its bordering states– all places that fought in the American Revolution.

Ingredients for two cocktails
5 oz Greylock Gin (MA)
1/2 oz Eau de Vie de Pomme from Warwick Valley Distillery (NY) (It is acceptable to use Laird’s Applejack as an alternative as it comes from NJ)
1/2 oz homemade maple syrup (CT)
4 droppersful Urban Moonshine Citrus Bitters (VT)

Instructions
Chlll two martini glasses
Add ice to shaker
Add ingredients, swirl with wooden spoon, then shake
Pour & serve!

I also made a variant of this for my dad with 1 oz gin, 1/4 oz apple brandy, 1/2 oz maple syrup, and 1 dropper bitters on the rocks in a highball glass with soda to top it off.

trouserminnow

Technically, a Manhattan mixed with scotch is called a Rob Roy, but this is sort of a twist on both, so it demanded a new name.

Ingredients for 2 cocktails

4 oz Scotch (I used Aberlour a’bunadh, which is aged in bourbon barrels)
4 oz Pomegranate Sour Cherry juice (I used Smart Juice Organic 100% Juice)
1 oz Lime Simple Syrup (you can use Rose’s Lime Juice instead if you are lazy)
4 dashes Fee Brothers Rhubarb Bitters
Ice

Instructions
Fill shaker with ice
Pour all ingredients into a shaker and shake
Serve in chilled Martini glasses

(This one is simple)