Aquavit Cocktails – Wild Wood
I basically, kept some elements of the modern classic Norwegian Wood cocktail from Jeffrey Morgenthaler, but twisted them slightly. Obviously, the resulting drink tastes quite different from the original.
Year: 2026
Unbottled – Weninger Blaufraenkisch Kalkofen
I do have a week spot for Blaufraenkisch. This Austrian red wine is deeply rooted in our family’s history. Naturally, when I get the chance to buy an aged bottle, I just cannot resist. In this case, this is a late release from Franz Weninger from the Kalkofen vineyard.
The Bell – Fortaleza Still Strength Tequila
It is not so easy to find a good high-quality tequila here in Germany. Luckily, I got my hands on a bottle of Fortaleza Still Strength Tequila. This also seemed like the perfect base spirit for a White Agavoni recipe I had written down a long time ago.
One Bottle One Drink – Norwegian Wood
Before I was preparing the article on the Linie Paloma, I was made aware that it was a long time since I last featured aquavit on the blog. To change that, I mixed up Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s Norwegian Wood.
Unbottled – Wagner Stempel Sylvaner Reserve
Finally, I am continuing with my German wine region series. Today we visit Rhine Hesse and enjoy a Sylvaner from Wagner Stempel. Some say that Rhine Hesse makes the better Silvaners compared to Franconia. Well, we will see about that and I also have a cliché pairing with asparagus for you.
Kind of Anesthetic – Engel Szechuan Pepper
We stay a little while longer with the rather interesting Szechuan eau de vie from Manuel Engel. I knew instantly that I had to create a Penicillin variation using it. Then I heard the Villagers’ song ‘Fool’ with the line ‘[…] kind of anaesthetic for the journey’ and I instantly knew how to call the […]
Vallecito – Del Maguey Vida Puebla
Since a few years there is another Vida bottling from Del Maguey. I had to chance to compare both neat and in cocktails. Apart from that, I came up with a spiced Margarita variation using Piment d’Espelette liqueur.
Spirited News 03/2026 – Laphroaig 12 Years
I have to face it, my first love when it comes to spirits were whiskies. There is just no hiding the fact. This is why, I will try to feature a bit more of them on the blog. A new bottling which I could not stay away from was the Laphroaig 12 Years.
Naked & Famous – Del Maguey Vida
Sam Ross’ the ‘Naked & Famous’ probably is one of the most famous Mezcal cocktails out there. It has been a long time since I mixed the last one, so I had to change that. However, I replaced two bottles with slight variations of the original ingredients.
Coal Black Mattie – Cascahuín Añejo
I thought of moving ‘Agave Month’ to May to give me a bit more wiggle room, after Dry January and ‘Tropical Month’. Nevertheless, I will post a few agave-based recipes now and then some more in May. As a start, I am featuring the Cascahuín Añejo Tequila.