Shaker & Spoon, a DIY cocktail subscription box, has released the spoilers for their May 2025 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 Suddenly Sparkling Box!
Still or sparkling? That’s not just a question about plain old water anymore! For cocktail lovers, there comes a time—whether it’s a lively brunch or an elegant nightcap—where flat simply won’t do. And there’s one solid way to ensure that those brilliant bubbles are swirling up right from the base ingredient itself: sparkling wine!
The story of sparkling wine began when much less was understood about fermentation. Once an undesirable natural reaction in certain wines from the Middle Ages to eighteenth-century France, all that effervescence eventually came to a head—a lightbulb moment for the more intrepid vintners of the time, who set out to harness those bitty beads of pearls into a truly special end goal.
And not without consequence! Early on, special masks were worn by cellar staffers to protect from what could be an exploding-bottle chain reaction. While the flavor formula was on its way to being perfected, more attention was clearly needed to develop sturdier glass bottles to contain the delicious volatility.
With literal shelf stability no longer a concern today, we can sit back and (safely) enjoy the entire sensory experience. Carbonation’s not just smart business, it’s also a beautifully churning flavor and aroma delivery system. When it comes to sparkling wine, you don’t go to it, it comes to you! A tickly greeting of the olfactories causes your palate to impatiently anticipate the lovely fizz-ified flavors to come.
Given the untold number of toasts that’ve been performed throughout history, sparkling wine can obviously stand on its own. However, it can also be utilized as a base for lovely and enlightening cocktail recipes. Especially when paired (in two of the box’s drinks) with the zesty citrus sensations of orange liqueur, or served as a spritzy non-alcoholic alternative thanks to our friends at Lyre’s, whose Classico you’ll be sampling!
Ready your glasses for raising, as the Suddenly Sparkling Box will share a taste of the classiest classic that there is—with cocktails truly in a class of their own! Subscribe now (while supplies last!) to get yours—it’s slated to ship the week of May 5th.
Here’s a sneak peek:
Bubbles be poppin’, and same goes for the flavors in this dainty delight with a slight devilish side. There’s a hint to be found in the name of Zach Patterson’s Pink Peppercorn Potion, revealing exactly which spunky blushing beauties you’ll detect in its flavorful syrup, alongside strawberries and a foundation of jasmine white peach tea. A fruity and floral medley of such flavors would suit many a spirit, especially with lemon juice and creole bitters in support. None, however, can contend with the flood of fizz that sparkling wine delivers, which keeps this cocktail alive and in motion all night long!
Zach Patterson is an award-winning bartender whose signature drinks appear on menus worldwide. He co-owns and operates Melrose Umbrella Co. on Los Angeles’s famed Melrose Ave, which was named LA Weekly’s “Best Modern Cocktail Bar” in 2014 and featured by Imbibe Magazine in their Top 50 Beautiful Bar Designs list in 2016.
Sother Teague has pulled the pin and is winding up to toss a challenge to conventions when it comes to sparkling wine cocktails. The grenade in question is the many-seeded fruit from which it derives its name: the pomegranate. Well-known to the bar world as the base of grenadine, it’s long-proven to be a sensational syrup starrer. Sother’s updated version in his War & Roses brings grapefruit into the fold for a touch of offsetting bitterness, a peace sign of a combination that creates cocktail harmony with Combier Liqueur d’Orange (the original triple sec!) and sparkling wine. And don’t forget the hibiscus salt on the rim of the collins—a cheeky declaration of love, if there ever was one!
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, and created Driftwood Bitters and Garden Party Bitters. Catch up on all the Sother favorites in the S&S catalog, including The Weekender, Ash and Elm, Dragon Tears, and Fruitcake Weather.
Welcome to Château de Fleurs, a cocktail you’d think had generations of esteemed history behind it to achieve such awe-inspiring color, aroma, and flavor. The heads of household in this fluted or on-the-rocks presentation—aside from creator Caer Maiko—are sparkling wine and chamomile-infused Combier Liqueur d’Orange, a whimsical welcome committee to the nth degree. And you’ll soon meet the rest: hibiscus flower syrup, hops tincture, super lemon juice, and an aromatic grapefruit oil spritz. Are we touring the grounds or in the clouds? It’s hard to tell in such a complete bubbly, fruity, and floral fantasy!
Having returned to her SoCal roots, Caer can now be found managing the iconic Los Angeles gastropub Father’s Office. She is also the co-creator of Daijoubu Pop Up: Super Asian Cocktails, a traveling cocktail experience that pushes culinary boundaries in cocktails by incorporating surprising, unusual, and authentic Asian flavors while creating a space for Asian people in front of and behind the bar. She was also a top-4 finalist (!!!) for US Bartender of the Year at the 2023 Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s Spirited Awards and has been a veteran S&S alum with many great cocktails to her credit, including the peppy and pink Miami Sound Machine.
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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