• 2 ounces Elijah Craig Small Batch bourbon
• 1 teaspoon Demerara Gum Syrup (this page)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 dash Bitter Truth aromatic bitters
• Garnish: 1 orange twist and 1 lemon twist

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a double Old-Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Express the orange twist over the drink, then
gently rub it around the rim of the glass and place it into the drink. Express the lemon twist over the drink, then place it into the drink.

In cocktail parlance, the term perfect refers to a drink that contains equal parts sweet and dry vermouth. Sounds easy enough, but splitting modifiers is tricky, especially in a Manhattan. If you use the wrong combination of vermouths, one (or both) will fight with the whiskey for attention. But in this recipe, the crispness of the dry vermouth, reinforced by the lemon twist garnish, results in a lighter, brighter Manhattan.

• Lime wedge
• Kosher salt, for rimming
• 1¾ ounces blanco tequila
• ¼ ounce Giffard Crème de Pamplemousse
• ¼ ounce fresh lime juice
• 4 ounces cold Homemade Grapefruit Soda
• Garnish: 1 grapefruit wedge

Rub the lime wedge along the upper ½ inch of a Highball glass, halfway around the circumference, then roll the wet portion in the salt. Pour in the tequila, Pamplemousse, and lime juices, then add 3 ice cubes. Stir for 3 seconds. Add the soda and stir once. Garnish with the grapefruit wedge.

• 1 oz tequila
• 0.75 oz Aperol
• 0.5 oz simple
• 0.75 oz lime
• 0.5 fresh grapefruit juice

• Shake and then strain and garnish with grapefruit slice

• 300 grams demerara sugar
• 18 grams gum arabic
• 150 grams filtered water

• Fill a large basin with water and place an immersion circulator inside. Set the circulator to 145°F.
• Combine the demerara sugar and gum arabic in a blender and process for 30 seconds. With the blender running, slowly add the water and continue to process until all the dry ingredients have dissolved, about 2 minutes.
• Pour the mixture into a sealable, heatproof plastic bag. Seal the bag almost completely, then remove as much air as possible by dipping the bag (other than the unsealed portion) in the water. Finish sealing the bag, then remove it from the water.
• When the water has reached 145°F, place the sealed bag in the basin and cook for 2 hours.
• Place the bag in an ice bath and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to a storage container and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 2 weeks.

• makes 6 servings
• 1 ripe pineapple (about 11/2 lb [680 g])
• 2 serrano chiles, plus 1, thinly sliced, for garnish (optional)
• 1 cup [240 ml] gin
• 1/2 cup [100 g] sugar
• 11/2 cups [360 ml] chilled water

Twist and then cut off the top of the pineapple, and cut off the stem end (discard both). Holding the pineapple in a vertical position, with a sharp knife, cut off the prickly skin with long, downward strokes. Using a small paring knife, remove any eyes (the brown hard, spiny spots). Cut 1 lb [455 g] of the pineapple into rough chunks and transfer to a blender. (Store any leftover pineapple, covered, in the refrigerator for another use.) Pulse the pineapple until puréed and transfer to a clean 1 qt [960 ml] glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Slit open the 2 whole serrano chiles lengthwise and add them to the pineapple. Pour in the gin and add the sugar. Seal the jar and shake a few times to dissolve the sugar. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 days to allow the alcohol to extract the flavors. When ready to enjoy, line a strainer with three or four layers of cheesecloth and dampen them. Set the strainer over another jar or a large measuring cup and strain the pineapple-serrano-gin concentrate, squeezing the cheesecloth to release any liquid still trapped in the pulp. To serve, fill six tall glasses with ice. Pour 1/2 cup [120 ml] of the concentrate into each glass, top with 1/4 cup [60 ml] of the chilled water, and stir. Garnish with a few slices of serrano chile. (Store any unused concentrate in a jar, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.)

Puréeing the pineapple before it’s added to the gin helps extract the fruit’s tropical flavors and also its gorgeous bright-yellow pigments. Because I don’t want this drink to be peppery hot, I simply slit open the serrano chiles lengthwise and allow them to steep in the gin along with the fruit, rather than puréeing the chiles with the pineapple. The result is a very subtle hit of chile with each sip. Because gin is prepared by infusing alcohol with juniper berries and a variety of spices (which varies by manufacturer), play around with different brands to find the one that works best for you.

• 2 oz tequila – I like Casamigos Blanco for my margaritas, but Espalon is good for cocktails as well and really affordable.
• 1/2 oz freshly squeezed orange juice – I usually use 1/4 of an orange
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice – I usually use 1 medium-sized lime
• 1 jalapeno, sliced (to taste)
• 1/4 – 1/2 oz agave nectar or sweetener of your choice
• Salt for the rim – I like Tajin, or none at all
• Lime wedges
• Ice

If you like salt on the rim, do this step first. Rub a lime wedge around the top of your glass and dip it in salt. Chile lime salt or Tajin compliments a spicy margarita very well. If you’re looking to go easy on the salt you can skip this step entirely or just do half of the rim.

To make the cocktail: muddle jalapeno slices and lime in a cocktail shaker. Adjust the amount of jalapeno depending on your spice preference – I like mine extra spicy so I always use at least 1/2 of a jalapeno. Go easy to start, you can always add more! Add agave, orange juice, and tequila. Shake and strain over ice – garnish with a lime wedge and jalapeno slices.

You can easily adjust this recipe for different margarita variations by adding different fruit juices to the mix or muddling fresh fruit in place of the jalapenos. Some ideas: fresh watermelon, mango, passionfruit, raspberries. The possibilities are endless!

• 30ml orange juice, from concentrate (see note)
• 30ml vodka
• 20ml lemon juice
• 15ml jaggery reduction
• 4 dashes of orange bitters
• Ice cubes
• Orange peel twist, to garnish

1.Put the orange juice, vodka, lemon juice, jaggery reduction and orange bitters into a cocktail shaker. 2.Top up with lots of ice and shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds. 3.Strain into a martini glass and garnish with an orange peel twist. Note: It is important to use orange juice from concentrate to ensure the right balance of sugar.

Coarse (Kosher) salt 1 lime 1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) 100% agave blanco tequila 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) guanabana pulp (the Goya brand is sold frozen in most Mexican groceries) 3/4 ounce (1 ½ tablespoons) fresh-squeezed lime juice 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) Combier or other clear orange liqueur ¼ ounce (1/2 tablespoon) agave syrup—or a little more for a slightly less tangy drink

Spread the salt on a small plate, moisten the rim of a 6-ounce martini or coupe glass with the lime wedge, and upend the glass onto the salt to crust the rim.

In a cocktail shaker, combine the tequila, guanabana pulp, lime juice, orange liqueur, agave syrup and ice. Cover and shake vigorously until frothy and cold; tiny ice crystals will appear in the drink after about 15 seconds of shaking. Strain into the salt-crusted glass and serve immediately.