Speaking Easy

Do you like vodka? No? Neither do we, but it is America’s most popular spirit (accounts for approximately one-third of all spirits sales by volume), so we felt obliged to finally talk about it on the show.

Negroni Week is a week-long celebration of a great cocktail and an effort to raise money for charities around the world. Learn more about this three-part classic and the many variations.

The Mai Tai debuted in the 1940’s, as Trader Vic helped Tiki take off in the U.S. and remains one of the most popular tiki drinks. Throw on a Hawaiian shirt and mix yourself a Mai Tai cocktail.

If you are familiar with sangria, you are most likely most familiar with red wine sangria, but white wine sangria is equally good and worth discovering at home for summer cookouts and mellow Sunday drinking.

Oh, Honey! Mead, Drambuie, and other honey cocktails

Swedish Punsch may sound like the rudest Ikea™ furniture ever, but it’s actually a sweet, spicy, savory, rum-like concoction worth having on your home bar. While some of the notes, like caramel, smoke, and toffee, might make you lean towards using it in the fall and winter (which you should), Punsch is just the right ingredient for all seasons with the way it pairs with citrus and other warm weather ingredients. It’s basically a grog that is, traditionally, served warm (a good idea).

Homemade liqueurs can be an easy and inexpensive way to take your home bartending to an entirely new level. With just a few ingredients—the fresher, the better—sugar, and water, you can create ready-to-drink concoctions for your guests, or something more complex and interesting than just straight liquor for a bit more of an elaborate approach.

This episode we talk about how to integrate herbs into cocktails. Learn how to incorporate basil, mint, lemongrass, rosemary, and other herbs into your cocktails.