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Why we're not just another drink recipe site

LiquorAndDrink.com is the result of years of bartending, entertaining, travel, and just general mixology: tweaking drink recipes until they're balanced, flavorful, and as true as possible to the original recipe. When I was bartending professionally (and many times since then), I encountered many Corporate Kitchen Drinks...that is drinks that come out of a restaurant chain's bureaucracy (or sometimes the marketing department). These drinks are designed to appeal to the broadest cross-section of people - not too strong, too sour, too hard to make, too fresh, too warm, too hot, or too complex. In some cases they are designed for pure marketing - to sell a particular booze or highlight a particular glass. They don't require "strange" ingredients like bitters, fresh fruit, or rums that don't have a big fruit on the bottle.

Sure it looks pretty,
but what does it taste like?

You've seen these drinks. When the bartender or waiter tells you about "our" Hurricane or "our own take" on the Mai Tai, you know its coming...a crack your teeth sweet mess that may look rather pretty but tastes like multiple waves of corn syrup and Crystal Light.

The lineup

• Southern Comfort Hurricane Yeah - we'll take the rum out and replace it with Southern Comfort - that way we'll sell more Southern Comfort instead of making good Hurricanes.
• Caipirinha's without the work My pulse goes up when I see a bottle of Cachaca behind a bar. I think I'm in luck until I order a Caipirinha and the bartender serves me Cachaca on ice with a lime. Or sometimes they'll cut up a lime, throw it in the glass, pour in a lot of simple syrup, mull, add ice and Cachaca. It is usually swimming with simple syrup - why mull syrup? Abrading the skin of the lime with sugar crystals releases the oil in the skin. This is what gives a Caipirinha its enchanting aroma.
• The New Old Fashioned Sometimes bourbon and a cherry. Sometimes they have an orange wheel, too. Bitters? Good luck. Whether they put sugar in it is a 50/50 proposition. And, oh sorry, you did want that topped with 5 ounces of club soda, right?
• Raspberry Mojito Or the Pineapple Mojito, the Strawberry Mojito, the Guava Mojito... How about a Mojito Mojito?
• "Our" Mai Tai Orgeat Syrup? Ha ha ha!! Good aged rum? Forget it.
• Not so neat Tequila What happened to the word neat? Did it get kicked out of the English language? I have ordered good Tequila neat and gotten 1) Tequila on the rocks, 2) Tequila strained over ice, 3) a Margarita. That was for one drink order. The fourth try I finally got what I wanted.

Now don't get me wrong. I think innovation and variety are fine. But I think these days we often see variety at the expense of innovation coupled with mediocre ingredients, bad techniques, and a general ignorance of where the drink came from and why it is built the way it is.

If you look, you can find bars and restaurants that still practice the art of mixology. It can be hard to find them, especially if you live in the suburbs or in a rural area. So if you can't find good drinks, maybe you should make them yourself. That's what this website is about - bringing back the art, the fun, and the enjoyment of mixing good drinks.

Back to basics

Here you will find drink recipes that are true to their origins. These recipes come as close as possible to how they were made 20, 50, or 100 years ago (sometimes with slight changes due to general changes in taste over time). You will find additional notes on preparation and the history of many of these drinks. The ingredient amounts are listed precisely, and the instructions are concise and consistently worded. You will also find additional information such as the drink's proof, strength, temperature, category, etc.

This site also provides comprehensive information about the liquor and mixers that make up the drink recipes. You can use these pages to research liquors, liqueurs, mixers, and flavorings. You can find reviews, flavor profiles, and brand information.

Use the browse and search functions to zero in on the drink or ingredient you're interested in.

I hope you find LiquorAndDrink.com useful and interesting. We'll be adding more content over time, so check back for new recipes, ingredients, reviews, and more. And don't be afraid to tweak the recipes on this site to your taste - after all - you're the one that's drinking them.

Cheers!

Last updated 5/19/2007 1:57 PM