The Revelator

• 2 oz blanco tequila
• 1 oz california juice company georgia peach soda or izze sparkling peach
• ¾ oz fresh red bell pepper juice
• ⅓ oz pineapple gum syrup
• ¼ oz fresh lime juice
• 3-4 dashes scrappy’s lime bitters

assemble in an ice-filled shaker, stir, & strain into a chilled cocktail glass. add a twist of lime peel.

The Yardsale

• 2½ oz añejo tequila
• ½ oz sweet vermouth
• ½ oz dry vermouth
• ¼ oz fresh lime juice
• ¼ oz honey syrup (1:1 > water:honey)
• orange bitters

assemble in an ice-filled shaker, stir, & strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The Nelly

the nelly

yesterday was a nice one in SF. sunny, clear, just warm enough (~66F) to not upset my polar bear-like need for cold & wind. perfect.

i came home thirsty and started thinking about summer drinks & fresh, seasonal fruit (after an earlier phone conversation with the wife, who pleaded with me to “please start thinking about some lower-calorie cocktails”). honestly, a part of me cringes at the thought of the limitations involved in creating calorie conscious cocktails, but the rest of me was up for her challenge.

the nelly turns out to contain around 250 calories, if you’re counting.

shrubs, in case you’ve been living in an undersea volcano for the last couple years, seem to be ‘the new black’ of the cocktail world.

i’ve been messing around with a few lately (currently on my counter are lemon-basil, watermelon-cilantro, and strawberry-basil-serrano chili); i bring up shrubs as the second variation of the nelly is my first official cocktail made using a shrub syrup. both recipes are a great balance of sweet, tangy/acidic and fruity, and i could drink them all summer long. so, without further ado…

Nelly #1

• 2 oz reposado tequila (i recommend corralejo or casa noble)
• 1 oz hangar one chipotle vodka
• 4 medium sized strawberries, muddled
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• ¾ orgeat syrup
• splash of aperol
• fee’s peach bitters

you’ll need the following bar tools:

• cocktail muddler (i highly recommend the oxo)
• a small steel tea strainer (again; oxo ftw)

quarter the strawberries and drop them into a pint glass. add the one ounce of vodka and muddle the bejesus out of it. strain into an ice-filled shaker, making sure to gently press all of the liquid from the strawberry pulp. add the tequila and the rest of the ingredients. stir, pour into a chilled low martini or lowball glass, garnish with a strawberry wedge and serve.

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Nelly #2

• 2 oz reposado tequila
• 1 oz strawberry-basil-chili shrub (if interested, leave a reply and i’ll tell you how i prepared it)
• 4 medium sized strawberries, muddled
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• ¾ orgeat syrup
• fee’s peach bitters

same prep as #1. happy summer muddling.