Author: The Tipsy Nerd

Black-Eyed Susan

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Even with my preference for rum, I still like to branch out and try different things. The Black-Eyed Susan is both tasty and visually appealing.

2.0 oz Bourbon Whiskey
0.5 oz orange Liqueur
0.5 Raspberry Liqueur
1.0 oz Lemon Juice
1.0 oz Orange Juice
0.5 oz Lime Juice

In a cocktail glass, add the Raspberry Liqueur. Add the other ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice, and shake. Carefully pour the mixed ingredients into the cocktail glass. The raspberry liqueur is the ‘black eye’ in the middle of the flower.

Fitzwell

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I went back down the list for a cocktail that I had previously made and had enjoyed enough to tag it as “make again”. The Fitzwell came up on the list. A sweet rum-based cocktail, that isn’t terribly strong.

0.5 oz Coconut Rum
0.5 oz Spiced Rum
0.5 oz Creme de Banana
2.0 oz Pineapple Juice
2.0 oz Orange Juice

Place all ingredients into a shaker, and shake. Strain into a cocktail glass and enjoy.

Bamboo Screwdriver

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The Bamboo Screwdriver is a rum variant on the classic vodka cocktail. The addition of bitters tones it down from being too sweet or tart.

1.0 oz Dark Rum
1.0 oz Orange Juice
1.0 oz Orange Liqueur
0.25 oz Lime Juice
4 dashes Angostura bitters

Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a glass over ice.

Website: Reddit.com

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Reddit, for those unfamiliar with it, is a collection of forums, called subreddits. There are subreddits on almost anything imaginable. Unsurprisingly, these include topics on cocktails, liquor, and most anything else. Let’s stick to the alcohol, shall we?

Cocktails: https://www.reddit.com/r/cocktails/

Alcohol: https://www.reddit.com/r/alcohol/

Rum: https://www.reddit.com/r/rum/

Bourbon: https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/
Whiskey: https://www.reddit.com/r/whiskey/
Scotch: https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotch/

Tequila: https://www.reddit.com/r/tequila/

And, if you must,
Gin: https://www.reddit.com/r/gin/

Pieces of Eight

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This is another great passion fruit cocktail. It is tart and sweet. Surprisingly, given the amount of passion fruit syrup, not too sweet.

1.5 oz Light Rum
1.5 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
0.75 oz Lime Juice
0.75 oz Lemon Juice (one variation calls for 1.5 oz to offset the sweetness of the passion fruit syrup)

Add crushed ice and all ingredients to a shaker and shake. Pour unstrained into a cocktail glass. Alternatively, place 1/2 cup of ice in a blender with the ingredients and blend for 5 seconds.

Passion Fruit Syrup

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Ripe passion fruit is circular, has a wrinkled leathery skin, and contains a juicy, pulpy flesh with small black seeds. Passion fruit syrup can be made from the juice along with sugar, and is both tart and sweet. It is used in some well known cocktails such as the Hurricane and Trader Vic Grog.

Awesome Drinks has a recipe for Passion Fruit Daiquiri this is one of my favorite cocktails.

When I started looking for passion fruit syrup, I found the Possmei brand at an attractive price. It is, however, a 5.5 POUND jug of the stuff. I bought it anyway. Don’t judge me.

Anyway, it is tasty stuff. I actually like to occasionally mix it with Sprite (and with no alcohol). It yields a sweet, but very tropical drink.

Larceny Bourbon

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Larceny

The clever label with the old style key and keyhole are a good match for the Larceny name. You can find the backstory repeated ad infinitum on every other website.

Larceny is a “wheated” bourbon, where wheat replaces rye as the second grain after corn. This tends to make for a less “spicy” and sweeter tasting bourbon. Wheated bourbons include Maker’s Mark, Weller, and the well known, if over-hyped Pappy Van Winkle.

Larceny is a very divisive bourbon. Some people absolutely hate it, but I think that for a bourbon with a shelf price in mid $20 range (for a 750ml), it is pretty good. I originally tasted this from a 50ml “collar” (a free miniature attached to a different bottle). I recall liking it compared to Maker’s Mark.

As always, I waited for a chance to catch this on sale. Sure enough, NC ABC runs sales on the 750ml or the 1.75l every other month it seems.

When revisiting Larceny, I again enjoyed it. It is sweet, given both the corn and wheat. Occasionally I taste cherry, a hint of oak, and a subtle cinnamon. At other times, I don’t get the cherry, and the oak comes across more as a tobacco. This goes more to my unsophisticated palate than to what’s in the bottle.

Proof: 92 (46% ABV)

Price: $24 for 750ml (on-sale, NC ABC)

Buy again: Yes

Fireball Cinnamon Whisky

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I like candy as much as most overgrown kids, but this may be taking it a bit too far. Think Atomic Fireballs in an unholy alliance with whiskey. The taste is very reminiscent of Goldschlager, which I had taken a sip of many years ago.

No.

I bought it out of curiosity, and now my curiosity has been satisfied. I believe I will find myself less curious in the future!

Proof: 66 (33% ABV)

Price: $1 for 50ml

Buy again: No

St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur

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It turns out the delicate white flowers of the Elderberry plant produce a fine little liqueur when steeped in a base spirit, and with the addition of sugar. The taste is fruity and has been described as “peach, meets lychee, meets pineapple”.

St. Germaine is the top shelf Elderflower liqueur, with a decorative bottle to match, and at $35 for 750ml, I left it on the top shelf. I did, however, find St. Elder on sale, at a lower altitude. The reviews indicated that the two products were virtually the same.

It is sweet, and I have sipped it over ice.  I’ve only tried it one cocktail so far, and wasn’t a fan of the apple juice heavy drink, so the verdict is out on using it as mixer.

Proof: 40 (20% ABV)

Paid: $17 (on sale) for 750ml
(for those doing the math, that is half the price of St. Germaine)

Buy again: Probably (if I can find some cocktails that work well with it)

Fabrizia Limoncello

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I first tried Pallini Limoncello, and being a fan of Lemonheads candy, I liked it. Fabrizia has an aroma more of lemon, than of lemon candy. There is less difference in the taste. Pallini feels thicker and sweeter than Fabrizia, but sipping them side-by-side gives a very similar experience. Speaking of which, for small amounts, I can actually sip limoncello.

Proof: 54 (27% ABV)

Paid: $16 (on sale) for 750ml

Buy again: Probably