5 classic cocktails to mix at home with spirit essences
A handful of classic cocktails will cover most nights, and if you're making your own spirits from essences you can do all of these with a few small bottles and a neutral spirit. These are the 5 I'd learn first, and none of them needs anything fancier than a shaker and some ice.
One thing worth knowing before you start, because it trips people up. Mixing an essence into a neutral spirit you've bought isn't distilling and doesn't need a licence. Distilling that base spirit yourself does, though, and it's an excise manufacturer licence from the ATO even if you never sell a drop.
1. A mojito
A mojito is white rum and fresh lime with mint, a little sugar and soda water, and the Still Spirits White Rum essence on a neutral spirit is the base. Muddle the mint and lime with the sugar in the glass first. Then the rum goes in, about 45ml, with ice and soda over the top.
2. An espresso martini
You need vodka and a shot of fresh espresso with a coffee liqueur, shaken hard with ice so you get the foam on top. A clean vodka essence does the job for the spirit, and the coffee liqueur is easy to make from a liqueur essence too.
3. A butterscotch and cream shot
Butterscotch schnapps goes in the bottom of a shot glass, and Irish cream is poured gently over the back of a spoon so it sits on top. The Still Spirits Butterscotch Schnapps essence makes the bottom layer.
4. Dark rum and ginger beer
Pour about 45ml of dark rum over ice and top it with a good spicy ginger beer and a squeeze of lime. A proper dark rum essence matters here, because the drink is only as deep as the rum you put in it.
5. A nutty Russian
This is a White Russian with a hazelnut liqueur in it, so it's vodka and coffee liqueur with a splash of hazelnut over ice, then cream floated on top. The Still Spirits Hazelnut essence makes the nutty part.
Getting the essences right
Each essence has its dose printed on the bottle, and a liqueur essence's label also tells you whether it wants a liqueur base with it. Give everything a day or two to settle after mixing before you judge it.
Shop related products
- Still Spirits White Rum 50ML. For the mojito.
- Still Spirits Butterscotch Schnapps 50ML. For the layered shot.
- Still Spirits Top Shelf Jamaican Dark Rum Essence 50ml. For the rum and ginger beer.
- Still Spirits Hazelnut 50ML. For the nutty Russian.
- Edwards Essences Irish Cream Essence. For the top of the shot.
Did you know we also keep the Still Spirits Coffee Maria and Irish Cream liqueur essences in the shop, along with 1125ml spirit bottles. They're not on the website, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's on the shelf.
- A quick lime and triple sec cocktail you can make at home
- Still Spirits Jamaican Dark Rum essence, how to use it
- Still Spirits Butterscotch Schnapps essence, what it does
If you're not sure where to start, Brewhilder will help you pick, or have a look through the homebrew range.
I can make all 5, though the layered shot and I are still working on our relationship.
Candeece
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