Shaker & Spoon, a DIY cocktail subscription box, has released the spoilers for their July 2023 box! Shaker & Spoon Cocktail Club is a monthly cocktail mixers, recipes, tools, and ingredients subscription box!
DEAL: Save 15% off on 1 & 3 month subscriptions! Use coupon code HELLO15. Cannot be combined with any other deal, only for first-time subscribers.
The theme is Pisco Inferno!
Getting hot enough for ya?! The dog days of summer sure do have a way of bringing out the languor in all of us, and it’s enough to make you want to buy your AC a thank-you gift for getting you through another long afternoon. But there’s more than one way to enjoy some cool refreshment in a heat wave, and if you’re filling out a top five of icy cocktail favorites that help cut through the rising temperatures, chances are there’s a spirit that’s not on your list.
The big boom for pisco—perennially forecasted but never quite materializing—might actually now be on the horizon. The numbers are on the up over the last few years as people’s tastes have veered more global—and how could they not, with one taste of such unblemished beauty.
The conditions on the coast of Peru are just right for grapes, which led to wine-making operations in the 1500s that quickly split focus with aguardientes, or distilled fruit liquors. Over time, eight varietals—four wine grapes and four aromatic—became the officially designated pool from which pisco makers could select. The dry climate and steady temps of Peru’s west coast have a host of historic vineyards sitting pretty with their crop, and what separates a young wine and pisco is so few steps with absolutely no additives at any time. Right at the point of the juice’s fermentation, it moves to a pot still to be distilled to the desired proof. From there it’s barely aged in nonreactive vessels and then bottled.
One reason that popularity might continue to surge is this priority the traditional process places on the pure expression of the grape. But you know what else is going to help pisco fever to take hold? Cocktails! There are a few longtime favorites that keep it a staple on shelves, but the potential for a clear spirit with a shimmeringly smooth and subtle fruity backbone can be so much more.
And you can get to know it a lot better in next month’s scorching-hot Pisco Inferno Box—bound to be a certified-platinum smash hit! Subscribe now through June 30th (while supplies last!) to get yours—it’s slated to ship the week of July 3rd.
Here’s a sneak peek:
When we say “pisco,” you (will likely) say “sour!” In an unusual twist, it’s always been this classic cocktail—created in Peru circa 1920 by an American expat—that somehow has stronger name recognition than its indispensable spirit. There have been tweaks to the formula along the way, but the standard sour ratio has been the best PR push for pisco by far.
Sother Teague, ever the tasteful tinkerer, has some additional flavors in mind that pair excellently with the great subtle grapeness of the base. Without a Country treats pisco to the familiar velvety froth of egg white (with a suggestion for a vegan alternative), and then, as the name suggests, grabs some items from the global pantry, such as almondy island-spiced falernum syrup, Som pineapple Szechuan pepper cordial, and creole bitters. Being a wanderer never tasted so wonderful!Sother is the
beverage director at New York’s Amor y Amargo and host of The Speakeasy on Heritage Radio Network. In 2018, he was honored with Wine Enthusiast’s Mixologist of the Year Award, and he has authored two books, I’m Just Here for the Drinks and Let’s Get Blitzen. He’s the creator of Driftwood Bitters and Garden Party Bitters, and his bar and restaurant company, Overthrow Hospitality, is fast becoming a pioneer in the vegan hospitality sector. Catch up on all the Sother favorites in the S&S catalog, including Ash and Elm, Rye-napple Express, The Weekender, Dragon Tears, and Slippery Slopes.
Thanks to Lima-born Enrique Sanchez, the traditional “purple month” celebration honoring the patron saint of Peruvians can now be tapped into year-round. The masses await you to join in spirit by stirring up this cocktail featuring a beverage that’s enjoyed around the clock in the country: chicha morada.
A boldly hued brew of purple corn, fruit peels, and spices, it has a mellow taste, often likened to mulled wine with its subtly dry tannic edge. However, it’s but one ingredient in the Mes Morado cocktail, which links it up with a veritable parade of pisco, pineapple gum syrup, and a touch of complex and bitter Underberg digestif, served up quite stately in a Nick & Nora glass.
Making the move to California at age 21, Enrique began working as a bartender in 2004, which quickly inspired him to become a full-fledged mixologist. Several venues throughout the Golden State were to follow, along with recognition as one of San Francisco’s top bartenders by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Bar Stars in 2010. These days, he works around the Bay Area opening and training for multiple bar concepts and can also be found bartending at ABV, which secured a spot on North America’s 50 Best Bars list.
The incredible unoaked lightness of pisco grants some space to play with accompaniments that add richness and depth in the old fashioned cocktail format—something Chris Hannah, the 2022 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards US Bartender of the Year, was eager to do with his Barranco.
Fig was chosen as the star of the syrup to ably pitch in those warming qualities. But special mention must be paid to its dashing brand of bitters—Bitter Queens Caribbean Spice—which shoots off various pops of flavor fireworks corresponding to each part of its tropical, citrusy, floral, and spiced bouquet, a sensation extended for even longer in time thanks to the undiluting power of a coconut water ice cube!
Chris has bartended in the French Quarter for more than 19 years, and for 14 of those, he ran Arnaud’s French 75 Bar, which won the James Beard Award for outstanding bar program in 2017. He now oversees the bar program at Jewel of the South, which won Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s Best U.S. Restaurant Bar in 2022.
Each month you’ll get 3 unique recipes by top bartenders + everything you need to make 12 drinks (4 from each recipe) other than the liquor—syrups, bitters, mixers, garnishes & more. You’ll be exposed to new flavors & combos, and look at your liquor cabinet in a whole new way. Subscribe today & be your own bartender + the tastemaker in your circle!
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