| The Alchemist

Turn up the heat

July 12, 2023 No Comments

Homemade chili syrup and liqueur add sizzle to summer cocktails

Before you get started, assemble your ingredients, including fresh peppers such as habaneros, serranoes and jalapeños. Photos by Matthew Benevoli

Just like summer, Home Bar is bringing the heat! Spicy drinks aren’t new, but have recently experienced a popularity boom, whether the heat comes from hot sauce, fresh jalapeños or spicy spirits.

We’ll be making something more dynamic and versatile than just popping jalapeños into a bottle of tequila. Chili liqueur allows for balanced, nuanced flavours, can be added or substituted into drinks, and can be as fiery as desired. Or, if you prefer, you can make a chili syrup for all your zero-proof drinks.

Home Bar, Recipes

Churchill’s Breakfast

December 7, 2022 No Comments

2 oz unpeated scotch whisky

1 oz brewed coffee

0.5 oz maple syrup

2 dashes aromatic bitters

A pinch of freshly grated cinnamon

Garnish: torched cinnamon stick

Home Bar, Recipes

Rosemary Bee’s Knees

December 6, 2022 No Comments

2 oz London Dry-style gin

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz honey syrup (see note)

1 small rosemary sprig

Garnish: charred rosemary sprig

Home Bar, Recipes

Jupiter Ascending

December 6, 2022 No Comments

Make this cocktail at home by smoking it in a decanter.

1 oz Courvoisier or other VSOP Cognac

1 oz Arbutus Distillery Birch Liqueur

0.5 oz medium sherry

1 tsp grapefruit oleo saccharum (see note)

2 drops saline solution (1:5 sea salt to warm water)

Hickory smoke

Garnish: dehydrated orange wheel

Home Bar

Smokin’

December 5, 2022 No Comments

Fire up fall’s woodsy flavour

There’s more than one way to add the autumnal aroma of smoke to cocktails. We explore your options. Matthew Benevoli photos

Fall has arrived and there’s a chill in the air, so it’s time to trade T-shirts for sweaters and cosy up with a comforting drink. Dark, boozy cocktails offering a warming feeling become our go to, and through smoking we can elevate those drinks and invoke a fireside experience.

There are many ways to smoke cocktails, using ingredients such as woods, herbs and spices, and employing anything from a lighter to culinary torches, wood planks and the handy appliance known as a smoking gun. Smoking might seem intimidating, but with the methods on the next page and some practice, you’ll soon be creating complex flavour layers in every sip.

Whichever method you choose, practice makes perfect. Have fun experimenting—just mind those fingers!

Home Bar, Recipes

Mediterranean Spritz

August 26, 2022 No Comments

This alcohol-free cocktail by Matthew Benevoli uses homemade Mediterranean Cordial.

1 oz Mediterranean Cordial

6 oz San Pellegrino or other sparkling mineral water

2 dashes aromatic bitters

Garnish: fresh basil sprig

Home Bar, Recipes

Behind the palms

August 25, 2022 No Comments

This cocktail, created by Matthew Benevoli, features homemade Strawberry Elderflower cordial.

1.5 oz reposado tequila

0.5 oz bianco vermouth

0.5 oz Strawberry Elderflower Cordial

2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

Garnish: candied pineapple

Home Bar

Cordials

August 24, 2022 No Comments

Time to be cordial (with our cocktails)

Use high-quality natural ingredients to make your own cordials. Matthew Benevoli photos

Cordials are often referred to as liqueurs or flavoured liquors; however, today we will be making the UK style of cordial, which is more akin to a concentrated syrup.

I’m sure we’ve all noticed and maybe even reached for that bottle of neon green lime cordial at the grocery store. Sure, it works “fine” in drinks like a classic Gimlet (which is simply gin and lime cordial, shaken and served in a chilled cocktail glass), but the artificial lime flavour can take away from the beautiful spirits we love.

Recipes