Spicy Roasted Chickpeas
Picnic Recipes Galore
Corner-Store Party Food on the Fly
9 Chili Recipes, Bison to Vegan
How to Choose the Best Strawberries
Sausage Recipes of the Month
If you’ve come this far, you’re a bona fide cocktail hobbyist. You appreciate the hand-crafted, nuanced concoctions you’ve had at the country’s best bars, and want to replicate these drinks at home. We’re not talking margaritas anymore, but rather Red Chile–Guava Margaritas with Chile-Infused Tequila and cayenne-spiked salt edging.
In Level 3, the ultimate pimped bar, we give you suggestions for more unusual liquors and mixers that top bar chefs around the country are using right now. You’ll be able to make cutting-edge drinks and obscure favorites. You’ll also get instructions for creating your own pickled vegetables and dried fruit for garnishes, homemade infused liquors and simple syrups, and fancier bar snacks.
Anise-flavored liqueur, such as Herbsaint, pastis, or Pernod Ricard
Apéritif, such as Amer Picon, Dubonnet, Lillet, or Torani Amer
Fortified dessert wines like port, Madeira, muscat, or Sauternes
Homemade infused alcohols (see below)
Unusual bitters, such as Fee Brothers, Peychaud’s, or Regan’s Orange Bitters
Special ingredients and unusual alcohols: Bénédictine for Artillery Punch, Cachaça for Caipirinha, Galliano for Harvey Wallbanger, Gosling’s Black Seal rum for Dark ’n’ Stormy, Luxardo maraschino liqueur for Aviation Cocktail, Milk vodka for the Quaker Shaker, orange flower water for Ramos Gin Fizz, Pimm’s No.1 for Pimm’s Cup, Velvet Falernum for Full Moon Punch, Licor Cuarenta y Tres, Mezcal, Nocino, Pisco, Unicum, Zubrowka
Sugar cubes
Decanters for wine and liquors
Food dehydrator for making edible dried-fruit garnishes
High-end cocktail shaker, such as this Bauhaus reproduction
High-end ice bucket like this one from Moss
Personalized napkins or coasters from ForYourParty.com
Soda siphon
A Wine Saver for preserving open bottles
Whole milk
Fresh eggs
Homemade pickled garnishes: Pickled Jalapeños
Homemade salts to rim the glass of your margaritas: Cayenne Salt, Cumin Salt
Home-dehydrated fruit. Try a slice of dried strawberry in a glass of Champagne.
Infused simple syrups: Bay Leaf Syrup, Blackberry Syrup, Ginger Syrup, Lavender-Thyme Syrup, Mint Syrup
Infusing alcohol with herbs, fruit, and spices is an easy way to gain major points with your guests. Here are a few of our favorites:
Bourbon infused with a vanilla bean to make a vanilla Mint JulepGinger-Infused Vodka to go in our Clear Ginger
Cosmopolitan
Spicy Chile-Infused Tequila for our Red Chile–Guava Margarita
Spiced Rum
Oat and Honey Vodka
If you want to go all out, try these recipes for some great snacks—courtesy of our favorite watering holes.
Arancini with Tomato and Mozzarella from Cafe 2 at MoMA
Bacalao Croquetas from Nacional 27
Montaditos with Boquerones and Olive Relish from César
Here are more recipes, adapted from some of our favorite chefs:
Wok-Charred Edamame with Spicy Miso and Ginger, by chef Chris Santos from The Stanton Social
To make the sauce, combine 1 cup each miso and sake with 1 teaspoon each fish sauce, five-spice powder, and hoisin sauce. Whisk to combine. Then add 1 tablespoon Sriracha and 3 teaspoons ginger juice. Season to taste with soy sauce and add a little sambal for spiciness if desired. Pour some grapeseed oil into an extremely hot wok or sauté pan. Add 1 cup of shell-on edamame per person and cook until lightly charred. Add 2 tablespoons water to help steam and cook the edamame. Once the water has evaporated, add enough sauce to coat the edamame. Cook until slightly reduced. (The final product will be saucy.)
Chorizo-Stuffed Dates, by chef Joshua Perkins from The Globe
Buy some high-quality fresh chorizo and some medjool dates. Remove the pits from the dates and fill them with chorizo. Wrap each date with smoked bacon, and sear the bacon-wrapped dates on all sides in a hot skillet until crisp, about 15 minutes, and serve.
Piquillo Peppers with Avocado Goat Cheese, from Ciudad
In a food processor, pulse together 4 ounces of soft goat cheese with the flesh of 4 ripe avocados, the juice of a lemon or lime, a few dashes of Tabasco, and some salt and pepper. Drain a jar of piquillo peppers and pat dry with paper towels. Place the goat cheese mixture into a piping bag or Ziploc bag with one corner cut off. Stuff the peppers by filling each with the goat cheese–avocado mixture and serve.
Triple Sec!!! I love this in almost any combo. It's wonderfully versatile.
http://www.spooninandforkin.com/
you ought to be careful when putting speed pourers on any even remotely sweet-- (even SoCo, especially liquers)-- bugs, ants, whatever--will find it-- no matter how clean your place is--best to put the regular cap back on after the party
Whether you are serving business, first or private jet, always have something for the non-drinker. It could be sodas, it could be coffees, it could be fruit juice. Better yet, it could be a non-alcoholic beverage that would appeal to the drinker as much to the non-drinker. But the needs of the non-drinker should never be overlooked!
I always use speed pourers, even at home, because it gives me an accurate an uniform way to measure liquor and create the right proportions for the same tasty drink time after time. It also looks cool while you're doing it. If you have a problem with fruit flies, then you need to call an exterminator. Or, you could put those little white paper cone cups over the bottle tops like the bars do....+READ
I always use speed pourers, even at home, because it gives me an accurate an uniform way to measure liquor and create the right proportions for the same tasty drink time after time. It also looks cool while you're doing it. If you have a problem with fruit flies, then you need to call an exterminator. Or, you could put those little white paper cone cups over the bottle tops like the bars do. Generally they only get into the really sugary stuff though.-COLLAPSE
A gin rickey has no sugar (poppycock and balderdash!) only lime, gin, and soda water.
am i missing something-- they list milk vodka, but no bottle of scotch, or other national whiskey varietal except bourbon on any of the "3 tiers"???
I don't use speed pourers at home, but I do have portion-control pourers that I use for my monthly wine club. They dispense a nice even 2-oz pour, which makes it easy and fast for me to pour out a bottle and make sure that all 12 of us get a proper taste. I use the Posi-Pour brand, very handy.
maybe I have a speedrack at home
Sommelier,
I agree with you. I don't use speed pourers at home, or at work. My point was more about leaving vermouth out more than the speed pourers.
Fafner: No one should be using speed pourers at home. Take the time to open the bottle. Two seconds is too much to spend to do it right? Bugs just love the sweet smell of booze, and speed pourers will let them. (OK... you can get speed pourers with caps, but what's the difference, then? You still have to take off the cap, right? The old style pourers with the hinged stainless flap often stick and...+READ
Fafner: No one should be using speed pourers at home. Take the time to open the bottle. Two seconds is too much to spend to do it right? Bugs just love the sweet smell of booze, and speed pourers will let them. (OK... you can get speed pourers with caps, but what's the difference, then? You still have to take off the cap, right? The old style pourers with the hinged stainless flap often stick and let in the bugs.)
A good bar doesn't use speed pourers for anything on the shelves, anyway: only for the bottles in the speedrack.-COLLAPSE
I'm really excited. I already qualify for business class. Now I'll make a shopping list.
It should be pointed out that any fortified wine like vermouth or punt e mes should be stored in the refrigerator and not on your bar. A opened bottle of vermouth will go bad at room temperature in a few weeks. One with a speed pourer left on will go bad in a few days.
That's nice that you prefer a Gimlet with fresh lime. I agree that it is a tastier drink. But without the Rose's Lime, it isn't a Gimlet anymore. Depending on what you use to sweeten, it either becomes a Gin Rickey (if you use sugar) or a Kamikaze (if you use orange liqueur).