Hi guys! How y’allz doin’? Guess what? Something happened last weekend…I went away and didn’t have to work! I know you might be like “um, so what bitch? U better work for the money” and I totally hear ya, but dudes, I haven’t had taken a break, not a single day off in a bit over 5 weeks and my brain was borderline useless. Taking a break put me back in track and I feel like I came out of a dark cave, so refreshed! Crazy how you can forget to actually book time off for oneself, right?

Side note: I just noticed how dusty that table was haha, oh well, we rented the cabin we stayed at and I ain’t gonna clean, cuz, laziness.

While I was away, I had (a few too many) cocktails with friends and, of course, I didn’t miss the chance of experimenting a bit with what we had a hand; preserved lemon syrup, tequila, spiced apple syrup, soda, whiskey…Oh right, did I forget to mention all of us are gay? Hence the “what we had a hand” list includes fancy syrups and (not pictured) smokey flaked sea salt haha.

I still have to play around with the flavour combos and recipes, but I wanted to share with you both ideas and see how you like them.

Cocktail Testing: Tequila & Preserved Lemon Syrup, Whiskey, & Spiced Apples

Tequila, Preserved Lemon Syrup, and Mint
This one kinda sounds weird because of the preserved lemon part but it’s actually really good. It’s definitely a savoury cocktail, and now that I think of it, it’s very very similar to a margarita in that there’s citrus and salty. This one is more sip-able though and looks super pretty with the mint and all.

If you wanna give it a try, here’s my initial (not finalized) recipe:
– 2 tablespoons preserved lemon syrup (we used this one, but I am going to make my own at home).
– 1 shot silver tequila
– 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
– Pinch of salt
– Fresh mint to garnish

Shake all ingredients with ice, pour in glass, garnish with mint.

Whiskey, Spiced Apple Syrup, Club Soda
This is a winter-y cocktail gone full-on summer. The spices and whiskey give it that super nice rich taste but the club soda and ice cut through it and make it a pool-side sipper. I think this was my favourite out of the two. I also used a pre-made syrup but I am planning to do my own at home with different spices. Here’s the recipe for you to experiment:

– 1 shot whiskey
– 2 tablespoons spiced apple syrup (I used this one)
– 2 tablespoon lemon juice
– 1 tablespoon honey
– Splash of club soda
– Sliced apples as garnish

First, dissolve the honey in the lemon juice, add a teeny splash of water if needed (no more than 1 tablespoon of water). Set side. Grab a glass full of ice, pour the whiskey in, spiced apple syrup, and the lemon and honey mix. Swirl for a few seconds to mix. Top with a splash of club soda and garnish with apples.

Let me know if you guys try them out!