Author: Matthew Arkin

A “cocktail” is technically a drink made of three main components:  a spirit, something sour and/or bitter and something sweet. Even though we don’t recognize alcoholic drinks as “cocktails” before the mid-1800s or so, it doesn’t mean that people weren’t drinking alcoholic mixtures with various sweet and bitter ingredients back then. Before the birth of the “formal” cocktail, there were plenty of very popular alcoholic drink concoctions that incorporated everything from milk to cider to mulled wine as their base.

What’s considered to be the first ever cocktail? Most historians agree that it was the Sazerac, which is a blend of whisky, absinthe, bitters, and sugar. The drink was supposedly created in New Orleans in the mid-1800s and remains a popular request at bars to this day. Before the golden age of cocktails, however, there were lots of drinks from the 1800s and earlier that were part of the everyday drinking scene in America. Many of these beverages have been somewhat forgotten over time. Here are a few intriguing ones that have been obscured by history.

Cobblers

Cobblers, which are wine-based cocktails served with crushed ice, reached the height of their popularity around 1830, when the Sherry Cobbler was the most popular drink in the United States. The invention and commercial distribution of the straw at this time contributed to the drink’s quick rise in popularity.

Today, you can still find various versions of the Cobbler on bar menus around America. In many places, the Cobbler is even making a comeback, as drinkers increasingly prefer lighter-style cocktails with lower alcohol.

The late 1800s also gave us drink styles such as “syllabub,” “smash,” “sling,” “pony,” “toddy” and “nightcap.” Most bartenders today will likely know how to do a smash, sling, or toddy. But a syllabub? Probably not.

Syllabubs

The Syllabub has actually been around for 500 years, but it remains relatively unknown today. Unlike other popular drinks from the 18th and 19th centuries, such as punch and wassail, the syllabub (as a beverage) seems to have plummeted in popularity before the American cocktail made its debut. Much like its better-known cousin, the posset, the syllabub eventually evolved from a drink into a popular dessert.

The classic syllabub recipe has evolved quite a bit over the course of the last 500 years. Generally speaking,  a syllabub features a base of white wine or hard cider, frothed or “whipt” with cream (or milk), egg white, and sugar and flavored with a rich variety of herbs, citrus, and spices.  Wine or spirit variations often included sherry, Madeira, ale, brandy, cognac, and red wine.

It’s quite likely that you won’t find a syllabub on most American cocktail menus these days, but there is one notable place that features the drink. The Fountain Inn in Washington, D.C., serves up 17th- and 18th-century tipples and includes on its menu a syllabub made from a recipe first created in the late 1600s.

Possets
 
Like its cousin the syllabub, possets are typically served as holiday drinks—similar to eggnog and Glogg. As a kind of hybrid beverage, possets wind up tasting something like a mulled beer eggnog.
 
Possets were originally popular British hot drinks made of milk curdled with wine or ale, and often spiced, with all manner of spices and herbs, such a cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and mace. Because of their prominent herbal and spice components, possets were often prescribed as a remedy for all kinds of afflictions.

The original posset, as a drink, eventually faded into obscurity, but the name was revived in the 19th century for a pudding-like dessert made with cream, sugar, and citrus.
 
Here’s a posset recipe that features the classic ingredients in their more original form—as a warm drink. Note: This preparation requires a slow cooker, an InstaPot, or something similar for best results.
 
Posset Cocktail (Serves 12)
This is the classic recipe. If you want to cut back on the anise, clove, and juniper components found in the Strega, you can substitute Batch 22 in whole or in part.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup mace
• 15 allspice berries
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon, freshly grated
• 16 oz. heavy cream
• 4 large eggs
• 6 oz. sugar
• 24 oz. India pale ale
• 8 oz. porter
• 3 oz. Strega liqueur (or aquavit)
• 1 oz. allspice dram
• 1 oz. Velvet Falernum
• Garnish: grated nutmeg

Directions
Combine the mace, allspice berries, cloves, and cinnamon on top of a square of cheesecloth, and use kitchen twine to tie it tightly into a spice sachet.

Turn a slow cooker on high. Add the cream and eggs and whisk until fully incorporated. When the mixture is warm, whisk in the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the pale ale, porter, Strega (aquavit), allspice dram, Velvet Falernum, and the spice sachet. Cook on high for 2 hours, until the mixture forms a cooked layer of egg and curd on top. Turn temperature down to warm until you’re ready to serve.

To serve, whisk into fine curds, then spoon into coffee mugs. Grate fresh nutmeg for garnish.

Flips

One of the most popular drinks for American colonists was called a flip. A favorite of George Washington’s, the flip was commonly made of mulled ale as a base to which rum or brandy was added, along with eggs, and molasses. That mixture was then stirred to a warm, caramelized froth with a hot poker.

There are many variations of the flip that became popular in the 1800s, including the sherry flip, the less boozy alternative to eggnog.
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The flip is a versatile format for many different spirits, including sherry, brandy, cognac, whiskey, and bourbon. Here’s a recipe for a bourbon flip that makes a light, creamy cocktail with a satisfying boozy finish. Note: A classic flip contains raw whole egg (as does a classic eggnog).
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Boozy Bourbon Flip

Ingredients

• 2 oz. good bourbon (we love Fierce & Kind)
• 1 oz. simple syrup (see note for homemade)
• 1 large egg
• 3 to 4 ice cubes
• freshly grated (or ground) nutmeg for garnish

Directions

• In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine the bourbon, simple syrup, and egg. Shake vigorously (about 1-2 minutes) to chill and create a good foam and body with the egg. Strain into a coupe or champagne glass and top with freshly grated nutmeg. Serve immediately.

NOTE: For simple syrup, combine equal parts water and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a low simmer and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature before using.

Every day, there seems to be a new celebrity-endorsed or celebrity-founded alcohol brand launching into the market. Among Hollywood celebrities, it almost feels like having an alcohol brand in your name is a coveted form of bragging rights; a status symbol—even among other celebs. Of course, celebrities have endorsed products since, well, pretty much since products have existed, but it feels like the celebrity-tied alcohol (especially tequila) phenomenon has really skyrocketed in the past decade. Our guess is that we have Sammy Hagar (Cabo Wabo) and George Clooney (Casamigos) to thank for that.

In August of 2021, Esquire magazine did a roundup and a rating of 63 celebrity-branded spirits. When they did a similar roundup three years previous, there were only 37 such brands. Since the 2021 piece, another 44 have debuted, a list of which we’ll include here as well.

In looking over the group of brands, a few striking facts emerge:

Of the original 63 brands listed, 22 were bourbon/whiskey (35%), 17 were tequila/mezcal (27%), 13 were vodka (20%), and 11 (18%) were other (gin, rum, cognac, etc.)

Only 4 of those original 63 brands were actually founded by—or branded by—women: Prospero Tequila (Rita Ora), Vera Wang Chopin Vodka (Vera Wang), SkinnyGirl Vodka (Bethenny Frankel), King St. Vodka (Kate Hudson). Since this list came out, a whole slew of woman-owned brands have launched (a total of 12 more), including the Betty Buzz brand of RTD cocktails, which is headed by Blake Lively, Renais Gin from Emma Watson, and a line of Margarita Cocktails founded by acting trio Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rosario Dawson.

The central question in the Esquire piece centered around whether celebrity-endorsed bottles are actually any good. In an effort to answer that question, the editors rated each of the brands on their quality alone. This is some of what they found:

The 10 best-tasting brands (scoring 9-7 on a 10-point scale) according to Esquire (in descending order):

• Sweetens Cove Bourbon (Peyton Manning and Andy Roddick)
• Lagavulin Single Malt, Nick Offerman Edition
• Codigo Tequila (George Strait)
• Wild Turkey Longbranch Bourbon (Matthew McConaughey)
• Blackened American Whiskey (Metallica)
• Heaven’s Door Whiskey (Bob Dylan)
• Singai 63 (Steven Soderbergh)
• Aviation Gin (Ryan Reynolds)
• Cincoro Tequila (Michael Jordan)
• SelvaRey Rum (Bruno Mars)

The 10 worst-tasting brands (scoring 4-2), in ascending order: 

• Beach Whiskey (Billy Bush)
• New Amsterdam Pink Whitney Vodka (Ryan Whitney/Paul Bissonnette)
• Backstage Southern Whiskey (Darius Rucker)
• Old Camp Peach Pecan Whiskey (Florida Georgia Line)
• Blue Chair Bay Rum (Kenny Chesney)
• BSB Brown Sugar Bourbon (Jamie Foxx)
• Chipper Jones’ Sweet Tea Moonshine (Chipper Jones)
• Bespoken Spirits Bourbon (Derek Jeter)
• Woodson Whiskey (Charles Woodson)
• Skinnygirl Vodka (Bethenny Frankel)

Since the Esquire roundup was done, another 44 brands have entered the fray. They have changed the overall mix of categories in significant ways, mostly by giving the “others category” a bigger relative share of representation and increasing the overall footprint of female-owned brands from approximately 6% of the total to approximately 15%. Of the 107 total brands, 32 were bourbon/whiskey (30%), 29 were tequila/mezcal (27%), 20 were vodka (19%), and 26 (24%) were other (gin, rum, cognac, etc.). 

Here are the 44 newest celebrity brands to emerge since 2021:

• Pantalones Tequila (Matthew McConoughey)
• Virginia Black Whiskey (Drake)
• Effen Vodka (50 Cent)
• Conjure Vodka (Ludacris)
• Crossfire Hurricane Rum (Rolling Stones)
• Mezcalum Mezcal (Erin Lichy)
• Fraser and Thompson Whiskey (Michael Bublé)
• Vosa Spirits (Kate Upton)
• Holistic Spirits Company (Woody Harrelson and Amy Holmwood)
• Volley Tequila Seltzer (Alex Morgan)
• Sweet Grass Vodka (Jeremy Renner)
• Delola RTD Spritzes (Jennifer Lopez)
• Steph Curry (Gentleman’s Cut Bourbon)
• Renais Gin (Emma Watson)
• Sunny Vodka (Anastasia Karanikolaou)
• Mercer + Prince Whisky (A$AP Rocky)
• Kickstand Cocktails (J.J. Watt and Kealia and T.J. Watt)
• Brothers Osborne (WhistlePig Whiskey)
• Nocheluna Sotol (Lenny Kravitz)
• Liev Schreiber (Slainte Irish Whiskey)
• Miles Teller (Long Drink RTD Cocktails)
• Margalicious Margarita (Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rosario Dawson)
• Old Fashioned by John Cena (John Cena)
• JAJA Tequila (The Chainsmokers)
• Silverbelly Whiskey (Alan Jackson)
• Redmont Vodka (Charles Barkley)
• Ashbourne Craft Spirits (Sarah Jessica Parker)
• Gran Coramino Tequila (Kevin Hart)
• Flecha Azul Tequila (Mark Wahlberg)
• American Highway Reserve Bourbon (Brad Paisley)
• Ten to One Rum (Ciara)
• Casa Del Sol Tequila (Eva Longoria)
• Calirosa Tequila (Adam Levine & Behati Prinsloo)
• Edinburgh Gin (Phoebe Waller-Bridge)
• Black Irish Cream Liqueur (Mariah Carey)
• Wolf Moon Bourbon (Jason Aldean)
• Dos Primos Tequila (Thomas Rhett)
• Villa One Tequila (Nick Jonas)
• Casa Dragones Tequila (Ryan Seacrest)
• Bad Ass Premium Vodka (Dennis Rodman)
• Lo-Cal Tequila (Colin Jost)
• Black Label Japanese Whisky (Steven Segal)
• Coconut Rum (Tik Tik Star Dixie D’Amelio)

One thing becomes clear when you survey this long list of brands: Celebrity endorsements and celebrity tie-ins can help sell bottles and make a company successful, but only if the liquid inside the bottle is good. No matter how much star power and marketing money you bring to a promotion, nothing will substitute for good old quality. We’ll drink to that.

We at Downtime Cocktails are always looking to develop great new recipes using aquavit as the base, and we often look to some of our country’s most talented bartenders for inspiration.

Recently, while searching the cocktail menus of America’s most notable watering holes, we came across a number of truly intriguing aquavit-centric recipes that we thought we’d share with you. We’re very encouraged, by the way, that with every year that goes by, there seem to be more and more menus that include at least one delicious-sounding aquavit concoction. You’ll note that there are two recipes here from Death & Co., which is no accident. They have been on the forefront of creating aquavit-based cocktails for many years now—way ahead of the crowd.

Fault Line
From Shannon Tebay, Death & Co., New York City
Bartender Shannon Tebay recalls her inspiration for this cocktail recipe. She remembers musing, ‘What would a carrot Negroni look like?’ The aquavit base, as she says, “seasons everything with caraway” and is complemented by artichoke-flavored Cynar as well as a small measure of Reisetbauer carrot eau de vie.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces aquavit
• 1 ounce vermouth, preferably Cocchi di Torino
• 3/4 ounce Cynar
• 1 teaspoon carrot eau de vie, (we love Reisetbauer)
• Garnish: orange twist

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a double rocks glass over ice and stir well.
2. Garnish with an orange twist 

Nordic Honey Punch
From Alex Andersen, Cure, New Orleans
Clarified milk punches are all the rage with bartenders these days, so here’s a tasty aquavit-based milk punch for you to make and share with friends.
Serves 5

Ingredients

• 8 ounces aquavit
• 4 ounces bianco vermouth (we love Dolin Blanc)
• 2 ounces Gran Classico
• 2 ounces honey/agave syrup (2:1)
• 2 ounces lemon juice
• 8 ounces whole milk
• Garnish: dill sprig

Directions

1. Combine the honey syrup, Gran Classico, and vermouth in a pitcher and whisk until the honey is incorporated.
2. Pour the milk into a pan and bring to a boil.
3. Turn off the stove and immediately add the lemon juice and stir. Let sit for five minutes, then add the aquavit.
4. Strain through a cheesecloth into the pitcher with the vermouth mixture, then strain the entire mixture again.
5. Double line a large coffee filter and strain the remaining liquid again.
6. Bottle and serve in a rocks glass over ice.
7. Garnish with a dill sprig.

 
Southern Nights
From Alex Jump, Death & Co., Denver
Evidently, bartender Alex Jump started this recipe with the idea of creating a cocktail that tasted like carrot cake, but none of her attempts yielded anything satisfying.  She did, however, wind up with a delicious dessert-like concoction that consists of aquavit, Cognac, peanut-infused oloroso sherry, lemon, and mascarpone, which is topped with crushed ice and peanut brittle. Say what?

Ingredients

• 3/4 ounce aquavit
• 3/4 ounce Cognac, (we love Pierre Ferrand Ambre)
• 3/4 ounce peanut-infused oloroso sherry (see prep note)
• 1/2 ounce cane syrup (2:1, cane sugar:water)
• 1/4 ounce lemon juice
• 1 barspoon mascarpone
• Garnish: peanut brittle

 
Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin and shake with ice.
2. Fine strain into a double Old-Fashioned glass and top with crushed ice.
3. Garnish with peanut brittle.

 
Prep Note:
Peanut-Infused Oloroso Sherry:

Ingredients

• 180 grams raw peanuts
• 1 750mL-bottle oloroso sherry

Directions

• Gently toast the peanuts until they are golden. Cool and place in a vacuum bag with the sherry. Seal the bag tightly and store in the refrigerator overnight. Strain through a coffee filter lined strainer (a chinois or cone-shape strainer is best) and rebottle. Store in the refrigerator.

Hideaway Honey
From Erick Castro, Raised by Wolves/Gilly’s, San Diego
Erick Castro is the force behind some of San Diego’s most notable and popular cocktail bars, including Polite Provisions, Noble Experiment, Raised by Wolves, and—most recently—Gilly’s. This uniquely delicious cocktail marries aquavit with yogurt, which makes for a sweet, creamy, and citrusy drink that’s super refreshing.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces barrel-aged aquavit
• 1/2 ounce yellow Chartreuse
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce honey syrup (1:1, honey:syrup)
• 1/2 ounce Indian yogurt
• club soda, to top
• Garnish: edible flowers (optional)

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin and shake.
2. Strain into a Collins glass over ice and top with club soda.
3. Garnish with edible flowers, such as nasturtium or edible pansies.

The Rorschach Test
From Patrick Smith, The Violet Hour, Chicago
This cocktail balances savory aquavit with a few sweet-tart fruit elements—Amer Picon (an orange and gentian bitter), lemon and grenadine—all made sparkling and bubbly by a generous topping of pale ale.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounce aquavit
• 1 ounce Amer Picon
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice
• 3/4 ounce grenadine
• 2-3 ounces light pale ale
• Garnish: rolled orange peel on a skewer

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients (except beer) in a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Shake lightly and pour, ice included, into a hurricane glass.
3. Top with beer.
4. Garnish with rolled up, skewered orange peel.

As you can see from these recipes, mixologists are incorporating aquavit with a wide variety of other ingredients. Sherry, yogurt, pale ale, and Cynar—the possibilities seem almost limitless. We hope these recipes will inspire you to create some exciting new cocktails at home and to look for the more adventurous cocncoctions when you’re out at your favorite bars.

As you may or may not know, bartenders and folks in the hospitality industry have evolved their own unique lexicon, one that serves numerous functions. Primarily, a terminology unique to an industry helps to create a useful shorthand for all those involved—it’s a quick and easy ways to convey information or requests in an environment that’s often fast-paced, frenetic, and rushed. “86 that,” means cancel the order. “Burn the ice,” means melt the ice because something has fallen into it (often glass). A “drain pour” is a drink that’s just too bad to serve or finish.

A unique vocabulary also enables colleagues behind the bar to communicate in a kind of secret language that’s not commonly understood by the general public. It’s a stealthy way for bartenders, waiters, and other service staff to let each other know about problem patrons, or issues to be aware of. If you’re referred to as a “fruit bat,” for example, it’s probably because you’re eating the fruit at the bar that’s intended for the garnishes. (This is frowned upon, by the way.)

Last May, we did a newsletter with a round up of our favorite bartender terms, but since then, we’ve come across a bunch more. Of course, we want to share them with you.
 

50/50 shot: A shot featuring two ingredients measured in equal parts. One of the most common 50/50s often involves Fernet-Branca and another spirit mixed together.

Amaroulette: Originated at the Fifty Fifty Gin Club in Cincinnati, this term is used by guests when they want the bartender to pick what brand of amaro they’ll drink as a shot.

“Are you mad at me?” At Accomplice Bar in Los Angeles, a bartender might pose this question to a colleague when they’re in the weeds. “We ask each other this when we know no one is mad at us,” explains beverage director Ramsey Musk, “just to lighten the mood.”

Barbacking: Traditionally used to describe the entry-level position of assisting the bartender on duty, the phrase “barback for me,” when requested during a shift, is an ask for another bartender to discreetly get a guest’s name.

Bartender’s handshake: A shot ordered (or offered) to identify (or acknowledge) a fellow bartender. Whereas Fernet-Branca was once the go-to bartender’s handshake, it’s now common to send Chartreuse, Jeppson’s Malört, and even Angostura bitters. (Our dream? One day, Batch 22 becomes the classic bartender’s handshake.)

Blip: Also known as a “cheeky,” “little guy” or “shorty,” this refers to small or mini shots that staff members share together or with guests, sometimes during a “staff meeting” (see below). 

Boomerang: This is when a bartender sends a cocktail to another bar or bartender, typically through a trusted intermediary who also works in the industry, as a gift or sign of camaraderie. At establishments like DrinkWell in Austin, Texas, the term serves a second purpose: “We also use this when R&D’ing cocktails to denote the drinks on the menu that are going to be popular with our industry friends. E.g., ‘Oh, this is a solid boomerang drink,’” explains owner Jessica Sanders.

Burn the ice: This is a term used when faucet water must be continuously run over cocktail ice to melt the leftover supply at the end of the night (or when broken glass falls in the ice well). Many eco-conscious bars eschew this practice as unnecessarily wasteful, so many bars have evolved various alternatives for disposing of leftover ice, such as using it to water plants or clean select bar areas.

Cheater bottle: An unlabeled, standard-size bottle that fits easily into a bar well, into which the contents of an oddly shaped spirits bottle are transferred to expedite and simplify service. 

Civilians: Guests who do not work in the hospitality industry.

Close-looping: The practice of using ingredients in their entirety to create a zero-waste drink.

Club Sandwich: This is another form of a bartender’s handshake; the Club Sandwich is the combination of a beer and a shot (also known as a boilermaker).

Dirty dump: The practice of pouring a shaken drink from the cocktail shaker into the glass without straining it. The technique changes the texture of the drink and sometimes the flavor, if, for instance, muddled fruit is part of the recipe.

Down: When a drink is served in a rocks glass with no ice, like a Sazerac.

(Joining the) Empty Bottle Club: When a guest gets the last pour of a special or rare bottle, an act generally documented with a picture of the bottle lying on its side.

Flash-blend: When a cocktail is blended using a flash blender (sometimes known as a stand-up mixer, spindle blender, or Hamilton Beach) for a few seconds with a small amount of crushed ice. This aerates the drink while chilling it quickly and is especially effective for tropical cocktails.

Fruit bat: A guest who eats the pieces of fruit on the bar that are intended for garnishing.

Fuzzy: At Nightmoves in Brooklyn, the bartender explains that a drink is “fuzzy” when it is “pushed out of a small home-brew keg with CO2 and kept under pressure so [it has] a light effervescence but [isn’t] force-carbonated.”

Garbage: Muddled fruit, herbs or other ingredients that remain in the bottom of a glass or shaker tin.

Gaudy: A “gaudy” cocktail is one presented (often on social media) with over-the-top elements, such as dry-ice smoke and various tall and bulky decorative items.

Grab Rangoon: The term is used at Nine Bar in Chicago to describe a person who is “overly or inappropriately touchy or grabby.”

Layback: The act of bending backwards, or “laying back,” while someone else pours a shot straight from a bottle into the first person’s mouth.

Shampoo: Code for a splash of Champagne added to a cocktail.

Shifty: A liqueur, spirit or mixed drink consumed as a bar team, before, after or during a shift. Also called a “shift drink,” “onesies” or “cheeky.” At bars where alcohol consumption is no longer allowed during a shift, the “shifty” might be a shot of espresso, alcohol-free spirit or another beverage.

Sloppy steak: Nine Bar co-owner Lily Wang says the staff at her bar use this term for a person who is “sloppy drunk or wasted.”

Snaquiri, or Snaq: An amuse-bouche cocktail given to friends or special guests upon arrival at the bar. Originally two full-sized Daiquiris, bars now also serve a smaller (often shot-size) Daiquiri as a more approachable version.

Spaggled:  “Spaggle,” or “spaggled,” is a “crude interpretation of Sbagliato,” says Josh Lindley of Bartender Atlas (referring to the Negroni Sbagliato). “‘Spaggling’ is adding sparkling wine to an already finished cocktail.

Spiritfree: In 2017, Julia Momosé, owner of Kumiko in Chicago, released a written manifesto in which she advocated for the use of the term “spiritfree” in place of the more ubiquitous “mocktail” to give drinks made without alcohol the same respect and power as their alcohol-bearing counterparts. As the movement has grown, other terms, such as “alcohol-free,” “no-ABV” and “zero-proof,” have also become common, while “mocktail” has even begun to be reclaimed by some.

Sprotini: Shorthand for an Espresso Martini, “Sprotini” is “a great example of a use of shorthand becoming the new and ubiquitous word for a thing,” says Yacht Club owner Mary Allison Wright, where the term originated.

Staff meeting: When a bar team takes a small shot together before, during or after a shift. Variations include “family meal,” “safety meeting,” “guild meetings,” “snack time” and “staff bonding,” among others. When Daiquiris are the drink in question, the phrase “Daiquiri Time Out” or DTO, is often called. Some bars have more specific code names: for example, “Uncle Ray is in Town” is code for J. Wray & Nephew rum shots at Drastic Measures near Kansas City.

Superjuice: An alternative to fresh citrus juice, superjuice is a combination of citrus peels and acid powder plus water, all of which is blended and fine-strained, then combined with fresh juice squeezed from the peeled fruit. Many bartenders make superjuice to close the loop on waste and increase the yield of their citrus.

Training wheels, or wheels: The staff at Yacht Club, explains that bartenders refer to “training wheels” to describe the act of taking a “back,” or a piece of fruit, with a shot to make it easier to drink.

Water bombs: These are glasses of water chugged by the staff (usually together) to stay hydrated during a shift.

Whip shake: A very short and fast shake with a small amount of crushed or pebble ice. A whip shake quickly chills the drink without adding too much dilution while also maximizing froth.

The world of mixology and cocktail culture is always rapidly changing. New ingredients, preparations, and techniques, as well as new priorities for sourcing and presentation all drive a constant evolution in the alcoholic beverage space.

Some “trends” endure longer than others. Although the mezcal craze has seemed to finally come to an end, mezcal ruled the most influential bars and cocktail restaurants for many years. “Artisan” gin has also apparently plateaued. Espresso martinis are still going strong, but have been for a while now. Surely, their time is limited.

2023 saw a number of interesting new cocktail trends emerge, many of which are likely to endure through 2024. Here’s a quick rundown of the cocktail trends we think are likely to be with us for a while longer:

Personalized cocktail ice: Crystal clear ice has been a thing for quite sometime now, but “customized” cubes have more recently become all the rage. Logos, messages, images; the ice cube has become a tiny canvas for all sorts of personal expression and creativity.  Want an image of your pug floating in your Negroni? There’s a website for that.

Savory cocktails: Obviously, savory cocktails have been around for as long as there have been cocktails, but 2023 saw notable growth in their popularity. As more and more drinkers move away from sweet, sugary concoctions and drift toward spirit-forward cocktails that highlight the flavors of the liquor, savory cocktails have really come into their own. Parmesan martinis, Caprese martinis, mushroom martinis; they’re all just a small sampling of the new appreciation for complex, subtle, and sophisticated flavor combinations.

Garnish minimalism: For a while, over-the-top garnishes were de rigeur in the fancy bars and lounges (think fancy cut fruit and fronds of all shapes and sizes). But, as concerns over food waste and eco-consciousness have grown, bartenders have moved toward a more minimalist approach to garnishes. Single peels of citrus, an olive, a dehydrated lemon or lime wheel, a sprinkle of herb; these are now the preferred accompaniments to even the most creative drinks.

Agave alternatives: With intrigue and interest in mezcal waning, alternative forms of agave-based spirits and agave-adjacent spirits have gained in popularity. Most notable are sotol (a desert-based, non-agave plant made from a varietal called desert spoon that produces an herbaceous and grassy tequila-like liquor) and bacanora (a fruity agave-based spirit made in Sonora, Mexico from wild-grown agave pacifica). If you’re game to try these spirits, we recommend a bottle of Oro de Coyame (about $20) for sotol, and Sunora bacanora (about $40).

Shrubs: Skyrocketing prices for citrus have motivated hospitality professionals to seek out other forms of mixer ingredients. One of the most popular has been the shrub, which is typically a vinegar and fruit concoction that adds acidity and fruit to a cocktail recipe. Shrubs have been around for thousands of years (the Romans used them to preserve fruits and other ingredients) but today bartenders are finding that shrubs can take cocktails in bold and exciting new directions.
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Milk punches: Smoked milk and clarified milk punches have begun to appear on cocktail menus all over the world, especially the most innovative and cutting-edge establishments in New York, Mexico City, Toronto, and London. You can clarify almost any liquid, but the alchemy of clarifying milk is based on a simple chemistry. When you add alcohol to milk, it causes it to curdle, which separates the solids from the liquid, leaving behind a clear cocktail ingredient. Clarified milk is being used in countless cocktail recipes, mixed with everything from Earl Grey to lemon to citrus juices of all kinds.
 
Fat Washes: Bacon washes have been a thing for a few years now, but that trend seems to be growing and evolving into something much more complex and wide ranging. In 2024, expect to see an increasing number of bartenders using more unconventional cocktail ingredients such as coconut oil, goose fat, and sesame oil to fat-wash their drinks. This technique enables the world’s best bars to add a savory, umami layer to the cocktails they create, which heightens the complex flavor profiles in their drinks.

Fluffy cocktails: Traditionally, getting a cocktail to be “fluffy” required the use of egg white; notably shaking egg white into a drink to create creaminess, froth, and mouthfeel. Today, there are many alternatives available to aid in the fluffing of a cocktail, most notable among them is aquafaba (liquid from a can a can of white beans) and all the variations of aquafaba and egg white powder available on the market.

Recently, mixologists have turn to a newer technique to achieve fluffiness: aeration of ingredients. The appeal of a “fluffy” cocktail is really two-fold: by aerating a key ingredient (often citrus) the aroma is heightened and the mouthfeel it imparts is made smoother and more umami-like. Look for an increased presence of fluffy cocktails on the menus of your favorite serious cocktail purveyors as we move through 2024. Here’s a fluffy cocktail recipe to get you started at home:

Fluffy Batch Garibaldi

• Ingredients

• 2 oz. Batch 22
• 1 oz. Campari
• 1 oz. Simple syrup
• 6 ozs. Fresh squeezed blood orange juice
• Directions
  • In a highball glass with ice, combine the Batch, Campari, and simple syrup by mixing well. Aerate the orange juice in a high-sided container, using a milk frother or similar small device. Aerate for 1 minute or so, until juice becomes foamy and frothy. Pour slowly into the highball glass and stir gently. Garnish with an orange slice.

They love us in New York City.

Last week, Matthew and Bruce returned from an extended stay in Manhattan, during which time they executed a key part of their East Coast strategy: Get Batch 22 into the hands (and lips) of as many folks as possible. Of course, there’s still plenty of work to be done in The Big Apple (it is, after all, a city of 7.6 million with a metro area of more than 19 million) but we felt really good about the inroads we were able to make in such a relatively short time.

Coming from SoCal, it felt a little strange to us that the bartenders, beverage managers, restaurant owners, and publicans were noticeably more open to learning about our product—it did help that aquavit in general seems much more widely known and used in New York bars than it is on the West Coast. “New York City is a bar town.” That’s how one long-time resident explained the contrast. And we definitely saw that. Many of the establishments we visited had at least one bottle of aquavit behind the bar, and many had aquavit cocktails on their menu. Patrons in NYC not only have sophisticated palates, they are eager and willing to experience new and exciting cocktails that use interesting and under-appreciated ingredients. And NYC bartenders seem more willing to bring creative, palate-expanding combinations to their guests.

The core mission of our trip centered around our burgeoning relationship with one of New York City’s most celebrated publicans. Danny McDonald, owner and creator of some of the city’s most-popular and most-awarded bars (Swift Hibernian Lounge, Puck Fair, Ulysses’ Folkhouse, Harry’s, and Pier A Harbor House. He’s also part owner in other iconic venues, including Dead Rabbit, which has been named Best Bar in the World by 50bestbars.com and is consistently in the top tier on this list every year) also happens to be a big Batch fan. While we were there, Danny introduced Batch 22 to his key bar personnel at various locations, and also had a hand in developing some new Batch-centric cocktail ideas for upcoming menus.

Other aspects of our visit were equally rewarding. In little more than a week, we were able to bring Batch to more than 20 accounts—a curated mix of restaurants, bars, and retail locations—and we started discussions with two potential regional distributors. The bars and restaurants were scattered far and wide around the island: Maison Pickle on the Upper West Side, 2nd Floor and Essen on the Upper East Side. West Bank Cafe, Bea, Mamazul, Virgil’s, Carmine’s, and Katharine Meets Toni in Midtown. Downtown included stops at Up & Up, Russ & Daughters, Ulyssses, and a wonderful new Southern/Asian fusion spot on Cornelia Street called Figure Eight, where the very talented bartender whipped up two inspired cocktails that showcased Batch brilliantly. One afternoon even took us out to Williamsburg in Brooklyn (acknowledged by many NYC natives as “the place” with the coolest bar scene) where we brought Batch 22 to Silver Light Tavern, We Have Company, and Gertie’s (a brunch place with a sister resto, Gertrude’s, both of which have two aquavit cocktails already on the menu!) where we wowed GM Emily with the possibilities of bringing Batch into the fold.

How many of NYC’s 19 million people did we reach on this trip? Not exactly clear. But it was a start. The enthusiasm and receptivity we saw while we were there was not only uplifting and energizing, it inspired us to build upon this foundation as we expand our reach throughout the East Coast. Stay tuned.

Each year we like to do a quick rundown of the Best Bars in the World—accolades bestowed by the website TheWorld’s50Best.com. It’s always interesting to see, not only where these bars are located, but also what they are serving.
 
Because bars are so integral to what we do, we also like to take an opportunity to celebrate their important role in the beverage industry and to highlight (and salute) what are considered to be some of the best bars in business these days.

A quick survey of the 50 bars included on the Best List also provides a glimpse of which cities are on the front lines of cocktail innovation. This year, New York City is overshadowed by London and Barcelona. NYC has 3 bars on the list, but London has a total of 5 bars in the Top 50 (2 in the Top 10) and Barcelona has 2 bars in the Top 5. Mexico City makes a nice showing with 4 bars, and Buenos Aires rivals the Big Apple with a total of 3. Conspicuously absent from the list? That would be Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. As a SoCal company, we collectively hang our heads in shame for that one.

Of particular note is #10 on the list: Himkok in Oslo, Norway. It seems they have captured the world’s attention by using aquavit in a myriad of exciting and novel ways. Called “Norway’s Most Experimental Bar” by Punch magazine, the sustainable-focused bar has made it their mission to bring the flavors of Norway to the high-concept culinary and cocktail scene.

Here’s a quick roundup of the Top 10 Best Bars on the list:

1. Sips (Barcelona)
Also named Best Bar in Europe, Sips has been lauded for its serious dedication to cocktail creativity. The Primordial is a blend of 12-year Scotch, Ruby Port, and pera nashi (Asian pear) that’s served in a metal cast of two cupped hands instead of a traditional glass. Their Daiquiri Heliodora is produced by hand-cranked machine that delivers grapefruit shaved ice that’s flavored with sherry, rum, and lime.
 
2. Double Chicken Please (New York City)
In addition to being ranked #2 on Best Bars in the World, Double Chicken Please also snagged the highly coveted Best Bar in North America designation. Their cocktail menu is named by numbers, with #4 (Shochu, lemongrass, gentian, plum green tea) and #7 (gin, seaweed, kaffir lime, elderflower) as creative standouts.
 
3. Handshake Speakeasy (Mexico City)
The bar director at Handshake is a big fan of molecular mixology who loves to create cocktails that appear classic but reveal unexpected flavors, aromas, and textures. His Matcha Yuzu cocktail resembles a highball, but the first sip delivers a surprisingly enticing blend of whiskey, matcha, yuzu, vanilla, and whey.
 
4. Paradiso (Barcelona)
Voted Best Bar in the World in 2022, Paradiso remains in the top echelon of great cocktail establishments. Impeccable design and some fun, novel touches (patrons enter through a pastrami shop refrigerator) make Paradiso truly unique. Also cutting edge are the cocktails themselves; Their drink called On Fire is one of their entries in a series called Evolution of Humankind. It’s a milk punch featuring bourbon, oloroso sherry, tahini, sweet potato, and smoked milk that employs a laser that creates a flame, which in turn smokes the Jerez sherry.
 
5. Connaught Bar (London)
The city of London has a long tradition of hosting great bars in great hotels, and Connaught is now part of that tradition. Focusing on elevated cocktails and elegant hospitality, Connaught features lux serving vessels and beautifully designed decor to deliver its innovative menu. One standout drink, called Icebreaker, is a blend of rum, pisco, sherry, peanut butter, fermented banana, verjus, and bitters.
 
6. Little Red Door (Paris)
This bar is all about sustainable bar practices and farm-to-glass cocktails. Farmers and producers are given center stage here, and the cocktails–Melon, Apple, Holy Basil and Olive–are meant to highlight simple, straightforward ingredients. 
 
7. Licoreria Limatour (Mexico City)
Widely credited for igniting the contemporary cocktail scene in Mexico City when it opened in 2011, Licoreria Limatour is still a major force in the city’s beverage identity. Famous for their Fluffy Paloma (aerated citrus) and Margarita Al Pastor (a blend of pineapple, lime, tequila, and serrano-infused agave that mimics the flavors of a street taco), this bar also utilizes native Oaxacan ingredients in many of its offerings.
 
8. Tayer + Elementary (London)
This bar made the list for its innovation and unique preparation techniques, which continue to influence the younger generation of bartenders in the U.K. They feature somewhat classic cocktails, such as a martini, but utilize seasonal and lesser-known ingredients to make them exceptional.
 
9. Alquimico (Cartagena)
The folks at 50 Best Bars characterize this Colombian jewel as a bar with a “highly progressive cocktail list that showcases Colombia’s biodiversity.” Situated in a renovated Colonial mansion in the capital city, Alquimico calls itself a farm-to-bar concept that casts the spotlight on many regional and native ingredients, local distillers and indigenous spirits, and unique mixers, such as pine extract and numerous citrus cordial varieties.
 
10. Himkok (Oslo)
Here’s our choice for Best Bar in the World. Why? They produce and feature their own housemade aquavit. In fact, Himkok means “homecooked” and also “moonshine,” and so nearly everything at this bar is made on site. They even make and cut their own ice. They have aquavit on tap, with barrels of aquavit maturing at the bar. And their cocktail menu, which features aquavit more than most other bars, also incorporates local ingredients such as cloudberries, sea buckthorn, and birch sap. Himkok has also garnered a reputation for cutting edge aquavit creations, such as cocktails infused with a Norwegian brown cheese simple syrup and one with truffle seaweed.
 
We’ll do our rundown of the Top 50 Best Bars in North America in an upcoming newsletter. Meanwhile, if you plan to be in any of the cities listed here, make sure you leave an evening open for a visit to one of these incredible establishments.

Happy New Year!

2023 was an excellent year for Batch 22 and Downtime Cocktails. We made great progress in expanding our sales outlets—among many new accounts, we got onto the shelves at Total Wine & More throughout California and became available through Drizly, the nation’s largest e-commerce alcohol retailer.

We also made substantial progress in our ongoing projects to partner with Delta Airlines and Viking Cruises. We still have a way to go on both fronts, but discussions are looking positive. (These things, as you may imagine, take time.)

2023 also marked a notable achievement from a distribution standpoint: Batch 22 officially became available in two more states. Earlier in the year, we set up distribution in New York and New Jersey, although, thus far, we are primarily focusing on the New York market.
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A major factor in aiding this expansion was the inclusion of Batch 22 on the cocktail menu at Swift Hibernian Lounge in downtown Manhattan (34 E. 4th St.). Once named “The Absolute Best Pub in New York” by New York magazine, inclusion at this venue is a major coup for us. It didn’t take long for owner Danny McDonald to taste Batch and give it the green light; Matthew sat down to pour for him one evening and, by the time they got up (4 hours later) Danny said he’d put Batch on the menu as soon as it was available.

Winning over Danny McDonald is no easy feat. He’s generally regarded as one of America’s top culinary business owners and one of New York City’s best-known restaurateurs. He is the owner and designer of many of the city’s most successful restaurants and pubs, including Swift Hibernian Lounge, Puck Fair, Ulysses’ Folkhouse, and most recently Pier A Harbor House. He’s also part owner in other iconic venues, including Dead Rabbit, named Best Bar in the World by 50 Best Bars in 2016 and consistently listed in the Top 50 (it’s #44 this year). This is the kind of company we like to keep!

We’ll be making a pilgrimage to New York City in a few weeks, during which time we’ll discuss additional venues with Danny and follow up on a number of other accounts that said they wanted Batch as soon as it became available.

More reporting on that when we return.

One of the most significant sales milestones for Batch 22 in 2023 was securing Total Wine & More as a new account. Initially accepted into 32 California locations, we immediately gained major access to markets from San Diego to Sacramento.

The benefits of being on the shelves at Total Wine are many, but so are the responsibilities. With that kind of broad distribution, we are obligated to work hard at supporting our end of the deal. That means promoting Batch 22 in each of those locations and doing everything in our power to make sure bottles are moving off the shelves.

One of the best ways to promote Batch 22 and move product is to visit each store and to host customer demos. Recently, we road-tripped from San Diego/Los Angeles up north to the Bay Area, where we stopped into seven locations. We introduced ourselves to managers, provided samples for staff education, put our shelf talkers in place, and—at three locations—did three-hour demos for customers.

Customer demos with spirits at Total Wine present something of a unique challenge to folks who make aquavit (or any other “hard alcohol”). That’s because Total Wine has not yet secured the licensing to do “wet demos” in California. That’s right. If you want to give a customer a sense of your spirit, all you can do is spray a bit of it into a cup with an atomizer and offer a sniff. And yes, that’s a challenge.

Needless to say, the atomizer procedure leaves a lot to be desired, but it does still manage to sway a good many people. More than you’d think. Even with offering just a spray of Batch 22, we managed to sell through the inventory on each store’s shelf and delivered another 2 cases to each location. If we had been able to pour our usual 1/4-ounce pours (as we do at most events) we’re convinced our numbers would have at least been tripled. But such is the challenge of working within the California liquor-control system.
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More than anything else, our success rate proved the enduring appeal of Batch 22. Just about all of the people we met had never heard of aquavit, much less tasted it. And most of the ones who had previous experience didn’t have a very good impression of it. Given all that—and the fact the Batch is a flavor most folks haven’t ever tasted—our sales numbers made us quite proud.

We have to take the opportunity here to also praise Total Wine & More as an organization. Not only are the stores exceptionally efficient and well run, they are admirably customer focused and very effective at helping customers find what they want. The company’s interactions with us (and we assume with vendors in general) have been very respectful and supportive—as a whole, Total Wine is remarkably easy to do business with.

We look forward to building our relationship with Total Wine as we plan our expansion into other regions. With more than 260 locations around the United States, there’s plenty of work still to be done!

We will be doing customer demos at a number of Los Angeles and San Diego locations between now and the end of the month. Go to our website for specifics on stores locations and hours. 

Here we are, steeped in the season of entertaining and socializing. It’s been a busy year for us, growing accounts, doing events, getting the word out to the world that Batch 22 is the next big thing. We’ve also spent a lot of time deep in the throes of R&D (somebody’s gotta do it!), coming up with fun and delicious ways to use our unique elixir in creative cocktails.
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If you’ve visited our website recently, you may have noticed that we’ve re-designed our recipes section to be more visually appealing and also searchable. We’ve added a ton of new recipes; dozens, actually. We now have more than 60 cocktail recipes up on the site, with another dozen or so in development.

The recipes range from simple two-or-three ingredient cocktails to more elaborate recipes that involve infused syrups and specialty spirits. Our hope is that, no matter what your tastes or mixological skills, you’ll find at least a few recipes that will suit your needs. 

We’d like to pose to you—our faithful followers—a little challenge: Go to the new recipes section and get acquainted with the variety of recipes we’ve posted. Then, choose 12 recipes to make at home, take pictures of each, and send them to us (bruce@downtimecocktails.com). If you do, we’ll send you a bottle of Batch 22 as your reward.

Just as a reminder, Batch 22 is so versatile it mixes beautifully with almost anything. Here’s a partial list of mixers and a partial list of common alcohols that we have found to be excellent companions in a Batch 22 cocktail:

MIXERS:

• Tonic water
• Bitter lemon
• Grapefruit soda
• Tomato juice
• Cranberry juice
• Lemon juice
• Lime juice
• Pear juice
• Spiced cider
• Bloody Mary mix
• Club soda
• Simple syrup
• Honey syrup
• Agave syrup
• Lavender syrup
• Rose syrup

ALCOHOLS

• Campari
• Lillet
• Cocchi Americano
• Red or white wine
• Maraschino liqueur
• Elderflower liqueur
• Cointreau
• Aperol
• Amaro
• Sweet vermouth
• Dry vermouth
• Orgeat (Almond)
• Kahlua
• Frangelico
• Prosecco/Champagne

If you’d rather play with your own ideas, we’d also love to add one of your recipes to our collection. Send us a recipe and a photo of an original Batch 22 cocktail you’ve devised and, if we agree it’s delicious, we’ll send you a bottle of Batch 22 as an acknowledgment that you are a true cocktail genius.

Here’s hoping this Holiday Season will inspire you to be creative, to explore new flavors, and to relish the time we have to share the things we love with friends and family. Cheers! Now get shaking!