Must Mix: Cocktails Using Natural Ingredients
By Chilled Magazine
Sip smarter in 2016 with these recipes by top mixologists.
With 2016 in full swing, here’s a variety of craft cocktail recipes to help you imbibe smarter and wiser this year. Embrace the “new year, new you” motto by incorporating natural ingredients like aloe, ginger, matcha tea, pomegranate and acai into your next happy hour.
Here are some unique options to help shake up your drinking routine this year, without compromising on taste or forgoing group gatherings. These recipes will come in handy, whether you’re visiting some of the nation’s top craft saloons, experimenting at home with ingredients already in your kitchen cabinet, or ordering premium on-demand cocktail delivery packages for home entertaining.
Cooler than a Cucumber
Created by Mixologist Justin Lavenue (North American Winner of the 2015 Bombay Sapphire Most Imaginative Bartender Competition)
Available at Roosevelt Room in Austin, TX
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz. Bombay Sapphire Gin
- 1 oz. Cucumber juice
- 1/2 oz Aloe juice
- 1/2 oz. Grapefruit juice
- 1/2 oz. Texas Tarragon syrup
- 2 oz. Prosecco
Preparation: Build ingredients over Crushed ice a 12 oz. Collins glass, Stir well to incorporate ingredients, Garnish with a Tarragon leaf, Cucumber slice and serve with a straw.
Big Green Bloody
Created by Head Bartender Dave Danger
Available at Kimoto Rooftop (the first Japanese Beer Garden in Brooklyn, NY)
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Caliche Rum (Premium Puerto Rican, Aged White Rum)
- 4 oz. Bloody Mix*
- 1 oz. Acai Syrup**
Preparation: Serve in large rocks glass or collins glass. Garnish with banana chip or fried plantain chip.
*Bloody Mix (in Quart Container)
Ingredients:
- 15 oz. Tomatillo Juice (4:1 Water to Paste)
- 10 oz. Green Tomato Juice (4:1 Water to Paste)
- 1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
- 1 1/2 oz. Hot Sauce
- 1 tsp. Garlic Puree
- 3 tbsp. Fresh Grated Horseradish
- 1 1/2 tbsp. Celery Salt (If You Are Concerned About Sodium, Substitute Ground Celery Seed)
- 1 1/2 tbsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Preparation: Mix all ingredients in a quart sized container.
**Acai Syrup (in Quart Container)
Ingredients:
- 16 oz. Acai juice
- 16 oz. Sugar (for Healthier Option, Use Sugar Substitute)
- 1 tsp. Orange Blossom Water
Preparation: Heat Acai juice and sugar in small pot until sugar dissolves (do not boil). Remove from heat and add orange blossom water.
Apple Cider Light & Shifty
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Caliche Rum (Premium Puerto Rican, Aged White Rum)
- 2 oz. Apple Cider (1/2 Pressed Apple)
- 2 oz. Be Mixed Zero-Calorie & Sugar Free “Margarita” Cocktail Mixer
- 3 slices Muddled Fresh Ginger
- dash Ground Cinnamon
- pinch of Salt
Preparation: Shake all ingredients over ice until well chilled. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Garnish with apple wedge.
The Oracle
Created by Mixologist Ran Duan (2014 North American Winner of the Bombay Sapphire Most Imaginative Bartender Competition)
Available at The Baldwin Bar at The Sichuan Garden in Boston
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Bombay Sapphire Gin
- 1/2 oz. Falernum
- 1/2 oz. St-Germain French Elderflower Liqueur
- 3 dashes Absinthe
- 10 drops Citric Acid Solution
- Ylang-Ylang Essential Oil (Helps Combat Depression)*
- Fog
Preparation: Pour cocktail ounces mixed in base chamber of cruet. In other side of cruet, add 2-3 drops of Ylang ylang oil, dry ice, and water.
*Ylang-Ylang essential oil side is only used for aroma and not to drink
Pomegranate Rum Punch
Great for winter gatherings
Ingredients:
- 4 cups Pomegranate Juice
- 1 cups Lemon Juice
- 1/4 cup Honey Syrup (1:1 Water to Honey)
- 1 750 ml Bottle Caliche Rum
- 1 cup Fresh Berries, Pomegranate Seeds
- Lemon Wheels, for Garnish
- Ice, for Serving
Preparation: Combine the pomegranate juice, lemonade and rum in a large punch bowl and stir well to incorporate. When ready to serve, add large ice cubes to float, stir well and then chill for at least 15 minutes. Garnish with the berries and lemon wheels. Serve over ice in punch or rocks glasses.
Tranquility
Created by Head Bartender Dave Danger
Available at Kimoto Rooftop in Brooklyn, NY
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 oz. lemongrass & Vietnamese Black Peppercorn Infused Bombay Sapphire East Gin
- 1/2 oz. Kings Ginger Liqueur
- 1/2 oz. Lemon Juice
- 1/4 oz. Lavender Honey
- 1 barspoon Vida Mezcal
- 1/4 barspoon Matcha Tea (Even the Slightest Bit Too Much Will Ruin the Drink)
Preparation: Shake hard, serve in rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with wheatgrass tuft.
Banana Miso
Created by Mixologist Tyson Buhler (Death & Co.)
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Banana-Miso Caliche Rum (Premium Puerto Rican, Aged White Rum)*
- 1 oz. Lime
- 1/2 Turmeric Syrup**
- 1/4 Barrows Intense Ginger liqueur
*Banana-Miso Caliche Rum
Ingredients:
- 1 750 ml Rum
- 3 Bananas
- 1 tbsp. White Miso Paste
Preparation: Blend on high then strain. (Normal straining would take far too long and leave you with cloudy, clumpy mess so we use a machine called a centrifuge that separates the rum from the solid and leaves a crystal clear product.)
*Turmeric Syrup
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp.
- liter of H20
Preparation: Blend, strain, then add 2 parts cane sugar.
C.B. Connection No.1
Created by Mixologist Shinya Yamao (Piora)
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz. Caliche Rum (Premium Puerto Rican, Aged White Rum)
- 2/3 oz. Barrows Intense Ginger Liqueur
- 1/2 oz. Green Chartreuse
- splash Yuzu Juice
- 1 dash Orange Bitters
- 5pc Basil Leaves
- Fill with Tonic
Preparation: Add basil leaf and green chartreuse in a shaker, and muddle. Add all other ingredients (except tonic). Add ice into shaker and shake. Double strain into highball glass with ice. Top with tonic water. Basil leaf as garnish.
The Green Dream
Exclusive 2016 cocktail available for order from Instapour.com
Created by Instapour Mixologist Warren Hode
(Yields Approx: 6 drinks)
Ingredients:
- Tangerine
- Green Tea
- Caliche Rum
Garnish: Dried Jasmine Flower