Bubbly Negroni *Deluxe*

One of the best perks of being a drinksblogger is that you get to know many other drinksbloggers all around the world. One of those pretty famous bloggers is Natalie Migliarini. Together with her partner-in-crime James Stevenson she wrote a very nice book “Beautiful Booze”, packed with recipes to try at home. 

Tonight I’m re-shaking one of the recipes from that book. It’s a festive take on the iconic Italian classic. I may have done this before by adding Prosecco to Belroy’s bottled Negroni, but this time by using only ‘Limited Edition’ ingredients, we make this a very exclusive and festive drink. It was awesome !!!

Bubbly Negroni *Deluxe* 

Ingredients
30 ml Hennessy Cognac Very Special Limited Edition 
30 ml Campari Cask Tales (Barrel aged)
30 ml Gonzalez Byass La Copa Reserva (sweet vermouth)
90 ml Vilarnau Limited Edition Cava Extra Sec

Method
Combine the cognac, Campari and vermouth in a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir for half a minute to chill and combine the ingredients. Strain into a festive Champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with an orange twist. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Maker's Mark

Tonight it’s Christmas Eve and this is also the final day of our “Xmas Gifts Parade”.
Of course in the next days, weeks and hopefully years we’ll keep on serving you more delicious cocktails and spirits. 

It’s winter, it’s Christmas and even my bottles are wearing sweaters against the cold. You might think such a sweater is pretty useless, unless you have a very small dog or your daughter still plays with Barbie dolls. And yes, it’s a collector’s item. 

In this season, Bourbon and blood orange go very well together. Let’s take that as a start for a very tasty cocktail. Maker’s Mark is a bit sweeter than most bourbons, because they use 70% corn in their mash, which is considerably more than the obligatory 51%... and no wheat. They use corn, red winter rye and barley.

The name of my cocktail refers to a famous movie 😉 

I also want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Hope you can enjoy some good food and delicious drinks with your family. 

Blood oranges mean mortal danger

Ingredients
50 ml Maker’s Mark Bourbon
20 ml Gonzalez Byass La Copa Reserva Vermouth
15 ml Cointreau Blood Orange
20 ml Blood Orange juice

Method
Add all ingredients to a shaker with enough ice. Shake for 15 seconds and strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with cocktail cherries. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

 

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Graham's Port Six Grapes

Next up in our series “Xmas Gifts Parade” is a beautiful love story between Italy and Porto. Our cocktail is an Italian-style aperitivo, but with a base of red port wine by Graham's Port. 

A very tasty and refreshing recipe created by Ran Van Ongevalle, award winning bartender and owner of Bar Ran in Bruges. 

Port Garibaldi

Ingredients
60 ml Six Grapes Port
15 ml Lemon juice
15 ml Campari
120 ml Fresh orange juice

Method
When a cocktail contains fruit juices, you need to shake it. Add everything to your shaker, with just one single icecube and shake hard to develop a bit of foam. Strain in a highball glass with fresh ice and garnish with a nice wedge of orange. I was out of oranges, so I used a wedge of pink grapefruit. 

Tip: Want to make a serious difference with your Garibaldi? Start by adding some air to your juices by mixing them up in your blender. Trust me, the result is stunning. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Ron La Progresiva 13

A while ago we mixed some drinks with Black Tears, a Cuban spiced rum. Today I’m sipping a relative of this rum, Ron La Progresiva 13. This rum is hand-crafted by Bodega Vigia’s women rum maestros. 

It’s an elegant dry rum, which can easily compare to a fine cognac or rare whisky.
We’re going for a Cuban-Spanish twist on the Old Fashioned.

Vigia Old Fashioned

Ingredients
50 ml Ron La Progresiva 13
15 ml Gonzalez Byass Nectar (Pedro Ximenez sherry)
15 ml Gonzalez Byass Viña AB (Amontillado Sherry)
1 dash Bleeding Heart Calamansi bitters (alternative could be grapefruit bitters)

Method
You can either stir this drink straight in the tumbler, or stir first in a mixing glass and strain into the tumbler. Make sure you got a nice block of ice in your tumbler. Garnish with an amarena cherry. 

Tip: Serve with a piece of dark chocolate !

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Vilarnau Limited Edition Cava

Christmas is just a few days away, so let’s get to the more festive drinks. When thinking about cocktails for these holidays, you absolutely need to consider bubbly cocktails made with Champagne, Crémant, Cava or Prosecco. There is a whole range of very tasty recipes from the classic “Champagne Cocktail” (with brandy and sugar) to the modern classic, the Negroni Sbagliato. 

Today I’m going for another pretty classic recipe : The Poinsettia. You could say it’s something like a crossover between a Champagne cocktail and a Cosmopolitan. The name refers to the Poinsettia flower (“Kerstster” or “Christmas Star” in dutch), which is commonly associated with Christmas. So it’s absolutely perfect for our “Xmas Gifts Parade”.

For the bubbly we picked Vilarnau Limited Edition Cava (Extra Sec). Since my wife happens to be diabetic, we always go for Extra Sec, Extra Brut or Brut Nature, so this is absolutely perfect. This wine is produced from a blend of Macabeo, Parellada and Subirat grapes. Lots of fruity aromas, you can still smell the grapes. 

In most recipes they use a bit more of the cranberry juice, but I wanted a dry result with a fruity aroma. This recipe gave me the exact result I wanted. 

Poinsettia

Ingredients
15 ml Cointreau
60 ml Cranberry juice
Vilarnau Limited Edition Cava (Extra Sec)

Method
Add the Cointreau and Cranberry juice to a chilled Champagne glass. Stir to blend. Top with sparkling wine. Add a cocktail cherry. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Hendrick's Gin

Up to 20 years ago the Gin & Tonic was an outdated drink, mostly made with Gordon’s and Schweppes, garnished with a wedge of lemon. And then came Hendrick’s...

Hendrick’s Gin is distilled by Willian Grant & Sons at the Girvan Distillery in Scotland. Yes, indeed… whisky distillers. And I don’t know why, but every single time I taste a gin distilled by a whisky producer, I think to myself “Yes, those guys really know how to do it”. In this case it was actually a girl who created this gin, Lesley Gracie. Hendrick’s rocked the world by serving its premium gin with a slice of cucumber. Never done before. Everyone was amazed by the added value of the cucumber, which created a fantastic perfume in combination with the spirit. Other gin producers starting to add other garnishes, botanicals and herbs. The rest is history. The gin hype was launched. And until now, Hendrick’s is still one of the most popular gins around.

Hendrick‘s G&T

Ingredients
5 cl Hendrick’s Gin
15 cl Premium tonic
+ You really need a cucumber 

Method
A Gin and tonic is the easiest cocktail to make. Add both to a glass with icecubes and you’re done. The trick here is to add enough cucumber to your glass to get this great effect. 

If you are going to use round slices, add 3 of them to your glass. I went a bit crazy and cut ‘tongues’ of cucumber (long slices) and made them stick to the inside of the glasses. Don’t worry about them, the icecubes will hold them in place. Cheers !

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Leonce Vermouth

In the past we already reviewed Sorgin and a bit later the yellow edition. From the same house, we now got a nice bottle of vermouth. Leonce Extra Dry Vermouth has a base of fortified sauvignon blanc. In this range they also have a red vermouth and even a Malbec based vermouth.

After the succesful launch of their gins, Sabine en François Lurton started working on this new range of premium vermouths. Each bottle stands for one of the favourite cepages of François : Sauvignon Blanc Gascogne (France), Maury Le Roussillon (France) and Malbec de Chacayes (Argentina). 

How can I mix up this vermouth in a cocktail, which really highlights the vermouth instead of other spirits? Let’s do a “Reverse Dry Martini”.

Reverse Dry Martini

Ingredients
50 ml Leonce Extra Dry Vermouth
20 ml Sorgin Barrel Aged
1 dash Orange bitters

Method
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir for 15 seconds and strain in a pre-chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
No olive, you want to highlight the taste of the grapes in this one. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Fonseca Porto

Fortified wine aperitifs like vermouth and sherry always add tons of flavour and texture to your cocktail. The spirit I have used least for this until now is probably Port wine. Let’s see if we can do something nice with this great bottle of Fonseca Porto Bin N°27. This is a rich, vibrant, intense, fruity and full bodied port. 

Since this is a port wine with a very intense fruity nose and a smooth texture with lots of tannins, we can absolutely use it for tasty combinations. You can pair it with chocolate, fruit, cheese or desserts. We are looking for a bolder combination in this Manhattan variation.  

Bar Drake Manhattan

Ingredients
60 ml Woodford Reserve Bourbon
30 ml Fonseca Bin 27 Port
1 bs Maple Syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters

Method
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir for 15 seconds and strain in a pre-chilled coupe. Garnish with cocktail cherries. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : The London N°1

One of the bottles I received for this “Xmas Gifts Parade” was The London N°1. A nice bottle of gin I’ve tasted before and which is in my personal opinion really good. But what could I do with it, what could make it stand out a bit in this series?

Suddenly I was thinking of a fancy style of Bloody Mary. Can you make a Bloody Mary with Gin instead of vodka? Of course you can. Actually vodka might be the worst choice of spirit for this kind of drink because compared to other spirits like Gin or Tequila, it lacks flavour. A Gin Bloody Mary is called a Red Snapper and is a slightly bolder style of Bloody Mary, packed with flavour. 

Why don’t we make Bloody Mary’s more often? You need to run around between the kitchen and the bar to collect all the ingredients… and you also need a piece of celery for decoration. Yes, mainly for decoration because it hardly adds to the drink and you certainly won’t eat it. We almost never have fresh celery, when we need it we have chopped celery in the freezer. 

Let’s go for a smoother and more elegant Aperitif-style Red Snapper, served in a balloon glass that’s normally used for a gin & tonic. Instead of average tomato juice or Clamato we are using Mary V, the spiced tomato juice created by The Jane’s Chef, Nick Bril.  

Fancy Red Snapper

Ingredients
50 ml Gin
1 small bottle of Mary V spiced tomato
10 ml lemon juice
10 ml Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes Tabasco (or more, adjust to your taste)
A good pinch of black pepper
A good pinch of celery salt

Method
The traditional way to prepare this cocktail is by adding everything to one half of a Boston shaker and then throw it a couple of times between both halves of the shaker. One of the halves filled with ice and covered by a strainer. 

If that sound too much circus for you, just use your shaker, but don’t shake it too hard, you really need to get some oxygen in your drink. Strain in your balloon glass (filled with ice cubes) and just add a twist of lemon, after you gave the border of the glass a quick rinse with a part of lemon. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations. 

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Lambay Whiskey

It seems that the bottles which appear in liqueur stores this Christmas period are not average at all. What to think of this one: Lambay Whiskey, a triple distilled Irish whiskey, soft and smooth… but also finished in cognac casks. A full-bodied spirit with notes of malt, flora, almonds and pepper. 

Cocktail? For me this really screams for an Old Fashioned or Sazerac style of drink. Let’s go for the first option in a recipe that let’s the cask speak for itself. This cocktail is smooth as a silk sheet with soft herbal notes. 

The Old Barrel

Ingredients
60 ml Lambay Whiskey (cognac finish)
15 ml Benedictine
15 ml Gonzalez Byass AB (Amontillado sherry)
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Method
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir for 15 seconds and strain in a tumbler with a big rock of ice. Garnish with a cocktail cherry. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Bombay Sapphire B-75 Bubble Punch

Due to the COVID19-situation, this will probably be the weirdest Christmas of our lifetime. Normal Christmas parties are not allowed, the best we get in Belgium are small gatherings outside in the garden, with a maximum of four adults. Let’s do have these moments and make them count !!! 

For these small gatherings, why not make a delicious ‘old school’ Christmas punch? It will get the tastebuds going and always looks good. For one of these moments I threw together this B-75 bowl. 

No special moments planned? Why not make the bowl anyway… fill up a carafe with half of it and go surprise your neighbours. That’s what I did while making the photos for this article 😉 

Keep it safe this Christmas, but do raise your glass to long lasting friendships and good health. 

B-75 Bubble Punch
(Serves a bubble of 4 people… or even more !!!)

Ingredients
40 cl Bombay Sapphire Gin
15 cl Meli Honey
15 cl Lemon juice
1 bottle of Martini Brut (sparkling wine)
40 cl Chaudfontaine Water

Method
Start by filling your bowl or carafe with ice cubes. Add the gin, honey, lemon, sparkling wine and water. Give it a few stirs and garnish with lemon- and orange wheels. 

Tip
I dissolved the honey in the lemon juice and then added it to the bowl… works a bit smoother 😉 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Thanks to Bacardi-Martini Belgium and Pravda Pressroom for the support !!!

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Douglas Laing Old Particular Blair Athol

This blog is about cocktails and spirits. Some days I really enjoy a good cocktail packed with flavours, other days I want to discover all those hidden tones in a dram of good quality spirit. During this edition of “Xmas Gifts Parade”, I’ll also present a few very special bottles. 

Today I’m enjoying a dram from one of those exclusive bottles. A Douglas Laing Old Particular bottling of a Blair Athol sherry butt. For this range Douglas Laing bottles at a high alcohol strength, without chill-filtering or added colouring. This is as close as most people get to sampling whisky straight from a cask in the distillery warehouse. 

This is a very exclusive Blair Athol bottling for a group of five Belgian dealers : Prima Vinum, Dram 242, Jurgen’s Whiskyhuis, Wine 4 You and De Straffe Hoek. The barrel was hand-selected by these dealers. You’ll have to visit one of their liqueur stores if you want to get your hands on one of the 636 bottles.  

This whisky is aged for 11 years, distilled March 2009 and bottled in august 2020 on natural cask strength, 62,1%. 

What to expect? A fresh and lively whisky with green fruits, buttery pastry and creamy honey. Oh yes, it's a pretty strong dram, so you might want to add some ice or a drop of water to really get a good taste of this whisky. When you enjoyed the flavours, maybe create a fantastic Old Fashioned with it. Yes, I have tried and it was really delicious !!!

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Johnnie Walker and Oogst van Eden

The iconic brand of Johnnie Walker celebrates its 200th birthday with a few exclusive bottles and new designs. The new Red, Black and Gold bottles are real eyecatchers in any bar, available at your local liqueur store right now. For this unusual holiday season, Johnnie Walker asked me if there was anyone I would like to thank for inspiring me in the past year. Since 2020 was indeed a very special year, struggling through two lockdown periods, I didn’t have to think very long to select someone who really touched me with his professional story. 

Philip Reynders is the Chef of ‘Oogst van Eden’, a small bistro a mile down my street. For me this butcher’s son really fits the ‘Keep Walking’ mantra of Johnnie Walker, pushing boundaries. Philip and his wife Hilde had this fantastic idea to support the ‘short chain’, creating their “Fier op Hier” menu (Translates as ‘Proud on Local”) with a maximum of local products. They select ingredients from local farmers and create very tasty dishes around these products. From aperitif until dessert, the whole menu is a tribute to the local producers of our town, Beringen. And this is of course also a very nice way to support local farmers through this COVID19 period. 

I’m happy to nominate Philip, to receive a bottle of Johnnie Walker 200y Limited Edition Gold. Yesterday I passed by the restaurant and delivered the gift, corona-proof of course. Enjoy a good dram and keep on working with that great idea. 

Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve is a luxurious and smooth whisky, bursting with honey, dark fruit and vanilla flavours. It’s a blend of Speyside and Highland whiskies, with just a few notes of the West Coast. You can enjoy it neat or with a few ice cubes. Adding a splash of apple juice can add a pleasant freshness. The mellow sweetness is also the perfect base for a classic cocktail recipes like the Old Fashioned or Whisky Sour. But for this occasion, I’d like to enjoy it in a very refreshing longdrink, which could also be a good aperitif during the holidays.

Johnnie Lemon

Ingredients
50 ml Johnnie Walker 200y Limited Edition Gold
150 ml Franklin & Sons Lemon Tonic
7 ml Simple Syrup
1 dash Grapefruit bitters

Method
Build in a highball glass with icecubes. Give it a quick stir. Garnish with a fresh piece of lemon and a twist of lemon. 

Oogst van Eden, Korspelsesteenweg 197, 3581 Beverlo

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : BarBasille cocktails

When you give someone a present, you want it to display your appreciation. You want a gift to be good quality and you want it to show class and elegance. When you give someone a premium bottle of whisky, you know that it looks good, it’s a quality product and it has lots of class.

During this COVID18-period lots of bars started with delivery-boxes of premium cocktails. Most of them seal the liquid in plastic bags, which of course don’t look very sexy. If I would want to give someone a few cocktails as a Christmas present, I really want the gift-package to look cool too. 

That’s when I saw the very classy boxes of BarBasille Quality Cocktails. They look extremely good and they have a range of boxes with different mixes of cocktails. Pricing between 42,50 and 52,50 € for boxes of 5 cocktails. 

In my box I had a Singapore Sling, Mai-Tai, Bramble, Long Island Iced Tea and Negroni. In a separate package I also received a delicious Martinez, which you can see in the glass on the photo. It’s prettier to have the full pack next to the cocktail on the photo 😉. You also get a small booklet with information about the drinks.  

Just serve the cocktails (over ice if needed) in a cocktail glass, add a garnish of your choice and enjoy. You found a couple of favorite cocktails? You can also order them by the bottle. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Xmas Gifts Parade 2020 : Hennessy Cognac

Saint Nicolas is back on his boat and on his way to Spain… that's our cue to start the annual Christmas series on Double Strainger. Because it’s the first year we switched to English, we had to change the name and slightly adapt the concept. Starting today we’ll share lots of tasty gift ideas under the new name “Xmas Gifts Parade”. And we selected a real beauty to start: Hennessy Cognac. 

Each year Hennessy invites an artist to decorate a bottle for the Christmas holidays. This year, the celebrated artist Faith XLVII explores the alchemy of the artistic process in a unique global art collaboration for the Hennessy Very Special Limited Edition. 

For the 10th annual Hennessy Very Special Limited Edition, the Maison Hennessy is proud to announce its collaboration with the street-turned-studio artist Faith XLVII. 

In 2020, the Hennessy Very Special Limited Edition by Faith XLVII opens an exciting new chapter in the Maison’s tradition of fostering partnerships with artists who are part of a global movement. In extending its platform to committed, visionary talents who strive to affect positive change on a community level, Hennessy reinforces its commitment to supporting emerging artists.

As the guest artist for the 10th annual Hennessy Very Special Limited Edition, Faith XLVII is the first female voice to join the Limited Editions series, a formidable artistic lineage that features internationally acclaimed talents such as Felipe Pantone, Vhils, JonOne, Shepard Fairey, Os Gemeos, Futura and Kaws.

With this artistic inspired cognac I mixed up a slightly adapted version of the classic Sazerac. Artists and Absinthe seem to be a good match, or not ? 

The result was absolutely delicious, I liked it so much that I actually made it again the next day 😉 

Hennessy Sazerac

Ingredients
4 cl Hennessy Cognac Very Special Limited Edition
2 cl Bulleit Rye whiskey
3 dashes Peychauds bitters
10 ml simple syrup
Absinthe (for the rinse)

Method
Add a splash of Absinthe to your tumbler and swirl it around. Don’t discard it, this stuff is too good to throw away 😉 
Add the rest of the ingredients to a large mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir for 20 seconds and strain in the tumbler. Add a big block of ice and garnish with lemon. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.