Mulled Cider

We originally created this mulled cider recipe as a component to our Hard Cider Sangria. Frankly though, this cider is good on its own. Served hot or cold, non alcoholic or with a bump of some apple brandy or your favorite whiskey, this cider is sure to please. We urge you to use fresh spices for this. Toss away the fake cinnamon stick that has been hanging out in your cabinet for the last 10 years and a the minimum purchase fresh at the grocery store. Here at The Hedonistic Bar we are big fans of our local olive oil and spice vendor,The Olive Branch Oil and Spice Company. 

Mulled Cider

5 cups Pressed Apple Cider

4 Cinnamon Sticks

1 Star Anise

1 Teaspoon Cloves

1 Teaspoon Whole Allspice Berries

1 Bourbon Vanilla Bean

Combine all ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes or until fragrant. Enjoy cider warm as a great non-alcoholic drink, add you favorite bourbon for a great warm cocktail, or chill and use as an refreshing beverage or ingredient in other cocktails.

Thanksgiving Day Cocktail

Now is the time of year that we gather together with friends and family to give thanks. One thing we all most certainly should be thankful for is good booze. Here at The Hedonistic Bar, we created an easy to make cocktail to serve with the Thanksgiving meal or to just enjoy on its own this time of year. A riff on a classic sangria, this one switches out the wine for cider and includes fall spices.


Hard Cider Sangria
4 Cups Apples thinly sliced
4 Navel Oranges Quartered & Thinly Sliced
5 Cups Mulled Cider Chilled
1/2 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Cup Apple Brandy
1/2 Cup Cruzan Blackstrap Rum
88 Ounces Apple Ginger Hard Cider


Combine apples, oranges, mulled cider, lemon juice, brandy, and rum.  Refrigerate overnight.  Add hard cider and serve over ice.

Ginger Syrup

Making your own ginger syrup is simple and easy to do at home and mixes great in cocktails. Whether you are just making a whisky and ginger, or something more elaborate such as the Ballyhaunis Highball, fresh ginger syrup with elevate the flavors in a way not possible with bottled sodas and syrups.

Ginger Syrup

10 oz. fresh ginger peeled and chopped

2 cups simple syrup 

2 cups water

To make ginger syrup, combine ginger peeled and chopped and simple syrup in a blender. Starting with low speed blend ginger and syrup being careful not to completely liquefy the ginger or your syrup will have too much sediment. Combine contents of blender water in a saucepan and simmer until that added water evaporates. Strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth. Refrigerate in a sealed container.

Photo Courtesy norecipies.com

Ballyhaunis Highball

This week we bring you one of the most popular cocktails from our recent nuptials. This cocktail can hardly be compared to the Jameson and Ginger coming out of the soda gun at your local watering hole. This cocktail combines fresh ingredients with great Irish whiskey to make a delicious and easy to drink cocktail.

Ballyhaunis Highball

1.75 oz. 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey

.75 oz. ginger syrup

.75 oz. fresh lemon juice

2 basil leaves

2 oz. seltzer

1 eyedropper Bittercube Jamaican #1 Bitters

Combine all ingredients except seltzer in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake lightly. Stain into a collins glass with ice. Garnish with basil leaves and a lemon slice.

Hey, where did my whiskey go?

Many folks think making whiskey is pretty simple, distill some mash into a high proof spirit and throw it in some barrels to age. This is the basic idea, however,the distiller does not realize a 100% yield on what is put into the barrel for aging. There is loss of spirit that occurs as the whiskey ages.

Some is lost due to evaporation, this is known at The Angel's Share. This shrinkage ranges anywhere from 1% to 2% of total volume per year up to as much as 10% to 15%. The amount of evaporation depends primarily on the storage conditions of the barrel. To a lesser extent the moisture and permeability of the barrel, proof of the spirit, barrel capacity and how full the barrel is filled. Approximately 100 million bottles of whiskey are lost to The Angel's Share every year worldwide.

Photo Courtesy Malt Whisky Trail

A smaller percentage of whiskey is lost to what is known as The Devil's Cut. This term refers to the whiskey that is absorbed by the wood. This loss usually accounts for a 2% to 3% loss during the aging of the whiskey. Recently, Jim Beam has developed a process to recover some of the whiskey that is absorbed by the barrel and are marketing it under the name Jim Beam Devil's Cut.

All this disappearing booze sounds like a bad thing, but it really is what makes whiskey the tasty treat that we all enjoy. As the whiskey expands and contracts into the wood is picks up flavor compounds from the wood. The porosity of the barrel is what allows outside environmental factors to flavor the contents inside. One of great example of this environmental flavoring is Speyside Scotches. The salty sea air imparts a definite salty, iodine, briny flavor.

Just remember, once the spirit is put into a bottle you can't blame your diminishing whiskey on Angle's Share or Devil's Cut, you'll have to take that one up with the hedonists at your household.

Photo Courtesy of Devil's Cut Edinburgh, UK

Autumn of Love

For week two of our wedding cocktails we bring you a twist on a  Manhattan. The addition of sour french cherry tincture adds depth of flavor to this classic.

Autumn of Love

1 oz. Bullet Rye

1 oz. Cocchi Vermouth di Torino

.75 oz. Cocchi Americano

1 dropper Bittercube Orange Bitters

Stir ingredients in a mixing glass until well chilled. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with brandied cheery and orange peel expressed (then discarded) and cherry tincture.

If you are unable to obtain a cherry tincture you can leave it out. You still will have a pretty tasty cocktail, just a slightly different flavor profile.