Well, the first round of the Magnificent Bastard Cocktail Competition is underway. Looking through the entries got me thinking about all of the great liquors and liqueurs that are being used and how underused they often are in real life. We always see gin, vodka, and rum as the main base in cocktails. But liquors like scotch, whiskey, cachaca, cognac and absinthe, if mixed with the right liqueurs, can be great options as well.
Take a look through the entries in the Magnificent Bastard competition and you’ll see what I’m talking about. There is scotch everywhere; there are vermouths and ginger liqueurs; there are elderflower cocktails and green chartruese. It is these options that make cocktails so unique and so complex. Who would have thought that combining black licorice flavored absinthe with dry gin, sweet elderflower liqueur, and aged bitters could provide you with the ideal concoction?
You’ll see more liqueuer reviews on this site in the future and I’ll try to give you more ways to use them in you everyday drinking. They are, after all, what make cocktails so great. Right now, I’m drinking Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueuer, so expect a review on that soon.
And one more thing, my cocktail has made it through to the next round! I’ll let you guess which one is mine for now…
