The sweet potato casserole… OLD FASHIONED? Yep, she did it.

Next up on the #FestiveOldFashioned series with @oldforester is the wonderful Jessica Ford (@queenofcoupes) with a riff on the Old Fashioned using one of my favorite sides during any holiday dinner, the sweet potato casserole. Check out her details below.

“As soon as the holiday theme was mentioned, I knew I had to make an old fashioned riff of my favorite holiday side, sweet potato casserole. I chose Old Forester 1910 because the heavy char on the cask used for secondary aging imparts the perfect flavor profile for this riff: sweet caramel and toffee notes, smokey vanilla that’s reminiscent of toasted marshmallow, and well integrated baking spices.”

Ok, apparently I’ve been making this the wrong way? 😒

Wisconsin Old Fashioned… I don’t think I know of any other classic cocktail thats so heavily disputed by an entire region. I’ve been drinking old fashioned’s for a while now and always have preferred them… the old fashioned way (ps. This is how the drink got its name - spirit, bitters, sugar + water). But the last time I made the Wisconsin OF, Wisconsinites slid into the comments section asking telling me I still did it wrong. In their defense, apparently it’s made with brandy and not bourbon (which was apparently the case for the OG old fashioned).

So lets do this the right way, feel free to throw the hate down below, I’m bracing for impact :)

Cheers y’all.

“As soon as the holiday theme was mentioned, I knew I had to make an old fashioned riff of my favorite holiday side, sweet potato casserole. I chose Old Forester 1910 because the heavy char on the cask used for secondary aging imparts the perfect flavor profile for this riff: sweet caramel and toffee notes, smokey vanilla that’s reminiscent of toasted marshmallow, and well integrated baking spices.”

Elevate your at-home martini game 🍸

A martini service is my favorite way to serve up a martini for 2. It lets everyone pick and choose their own variation and everyone leaves happy. Feel free to scale this recipe into a bigger batch since this would be great as a freezer door martini as well.

Cheers y’all

Let’s put that strawberry syrup to good use! 🍓

Amaro and strawberries are a flavor combo you need to try. The balance of sweet, bitter and fruity is always incredible. I used Cardamaro for this recipe but feel free to use an Amari of your choice. You can’t go wrong.

Cheers y’all.

If you add olive brine, does it automatically make it dirty? 🫒

For #WorldPalomaDay, we’re doing exactly that and it’s absolutely wonderful.

Check out the recipe below, cheers y’all.

Have you ever had a Jaffa Cake?

It’s no secret that orange and chocolate go really well together so when I saw this recipe in @nicholas.hamilton’s newly released book, “Sipsy Doozy.” I knew I had to try it. Just happened to be great timing with it being #WorldCocktailDay and all. I’m happy to report that it’s as delicious as it sounds. Huge congrats to Nick for his new book, you can grab it over on his page/bio!

Cheers y’all.

Excerpt from the book and origin story of the cocktail:
“This spicy chocolate orange in liquid form tickles the throat as it soothes the tongue with cocoa-coated citrus. This concoction was invented by my followers and me on a TikTok livestream, a result of brainstorming drink ideas with the viewers in the comments. Once the drink was made, a clever commenter said it must taste like a Jaffa Cake, a popular orange-chocolate biscuit (cookie) from England.

Deciding that that name didnt fully encapsulate the spiciness and savoriness of the cocktail, it was renamed the Jaffa Kick.”

The easiest summer cocktail you can make…

I know the Spaghett has been around for a while but it really is such a great spring/summer cocktail. The best part is it’s only 3 ingredients and it’s absolutely crushable.

Cheers y’all

Throwing it back to this zesty shot with my friends at @hennessy.

If you haven’t already - make sure to check out my IG stories and get a sneak peek at this year’s limited edition bottle of VSOP in collaboration with @refikanadol - there’s a couple goodies in there that I’m excited to play around with! Let me know what y’all think.

Looking for another smokey cocktail? Traditionally made with Scotch, this one uses @corsairdistillery Triple Smoke Whiskey, @cocktailcrate GingerBee and Meyer lemons.

Another labor of love 🌽🇵🇭

You know what they say about corn… it has the juice. This is an homage to one of my favorite Filipino street desserts, maís con yelo. I developed this recipe for a Kamayan dinner with my friends at @kulturacharleston, @kaya.orlando and @naks.nyc for @chswineandfood this year. It turned out to be one of my favorite cocktails I’ve ever made just because it brought me back to my childhood in the Philippines.

Hope y’all enjoy this as much as I did making it.

Cheers y’all.

It worked on an Espresso Martini right?

I typically put a dash of saline in my Negronis or even some olive brine (for a Venetian Negroni) but adding that Parmesan infusion to the vermouth provides a savory, cheesy, funky salinity you can only get from parmesan and it worked perfectly in this cocktail.

#AprilFools obviously 😉

BUT there are way better ways to do this and the good news is, my pal, Kaitlyn (@likeablecocktails) already did the hard work for us and made this incredible recipe so that all the flavors and textures work. I gotta say, this was delicious. It still gets that parmesan funk in the Negroni without overpowering it.

Sorry in advance to those Italians offended by this monstrosity.
—
PARMESAN NEGRONI
via @likeablecocktails

This was a labor of love 🇵🇭🫰🏽

In my ongoing quest to make my childhood Filipino desserts into a cocktail, may I present the Buko Pandan — a coconut/pandan clarified daiquiri variation topped with an ube-coconut foam. This was a love letter to my childhood growing up in the Philippines and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to share it with those who attended this Kamayan for @chswineandfood.

Note that the ube foam was a little trickier than I first intended, I wanted to make the foam float about the cocktail but had a hard time doing so without coagulation of the foam (since it was mostly dairy). Luckily, @kevin_kos and @jfdesfosses came to the rescue in the form of super foam which I incorporated into the iSi and it worked like a charm.

This was a fun (but labor intensive) drink to make so I included a single serving version below if you don’t feel like making 9L for your next event (unless you do, in which case, I included that batch recipe as well).

Big thanks to my friends at @campari_southcarolina for graciously donating product for this event!

Cheers y’all.

Just a wee-Guinness for this St. Patrick’s Day 🍀

2-INGREDIENT COCKTAIL REVIEW | EP. 3 | BABY GUINNESS 🍀

I already had a feeling that I’d like this one. It’s literally coffee and cream so you can’t go wrong. It’s a bit on the sweet side so I’d maybe add some Irish whiskey to this if I made it into a full cocktail. I’d also probably whip shake the Irish cream too to put on top. Also, don’t skimp on the coffee liqueur, Mr. Black is a staple at my bar and always recommend going with that, Creme de Moka by tempusfugit or Espresso Liqueur by @luxardousa.

Check out my review above and let me know what I should make next!

It’s like an Irish Coffee, but not.🍀☕️ This enhanced version of the classic is still very easy to make and only takes a few more ingredients to execute. Chicory and coffee have always been a match made in heaven but together with an eight year old Irish Whisky like thequietmanwhiskey it just brings it to a whole other level. The notes of sweet vanilla and oak that is imparted from the barrel is on full display in this version of Irish coffee, only to be accentuated with a salted caramel foam to balance out the bitterness from the coffee.

Now cheers, and #HappyStPatricksDay.

Sick of boring ole mint juleps? This one is for you.

If you haven’t had Chartreuse vegetal elixir before, you need to find a bottle. It has all the herbaciousness of Chartreuse without the sweetness. It works really well in a julep and really complements the mint and bourbon, y’all gotta try it out.

Big thanks to @jameswitty for hooking me up with my first bottle! 🙏🏽

Hey at least I can admit when I f**k up, right?

In an effort to do a bit more research, I want to share the incredible history behind an iconic tiki cocktail: the zombie. Created by Don the Beachcomber (and NOT Trader Vic — thanks to everyone who pointed that out). This classic tiki cocktail is as full of history as it is rum. I hope y’all found this video as informative as I did.

Now… who wants to know the recipe to Don’s Mix? Should I make a zombie in the next video? Comment below.

Cheers y’all.

Spring has sprung, so lets celebrate with a delicious and floral spring themed cocktail with my friends over at @bentlyheritagedistillery.

I’ve partnered with @sourceonevodka to produce an easy sipping cocktail created with a local ingredient to pair with their small batch, single estate vodka. I landed with an Earl Grey syrup from Charleston Tea Plantation and combined it with delicate but floral ingredients to create a well balanced cocktail perfect for any spring day. Check out the recipe below!

Who doesn’t love adding a bit more locality to their cocktail ingredients? I’m excited to finally announce a new series with my friends at @herradurateq! In this series I’ll be showcasing some of Charleston’s finest mixologists to create recipes featuring Herradura Ultra Añejo and utilizing ingredients local and unique to the Lowcountry. First up is my friend, and huge agave spirit advocate: Morgan Hurley (@mixpoursurf) who used a local ingredient found in his own backyard.

“My inspiration for the cocktail comes from the Tequila itself. The Herradura Ultra Anejo is incredibly smooth with a touch of sweetness from the Agave. Bringing in Dry Vermouth and French Gentian Liqueur added some herbal elements as well as some floral notes to the cocktail. Tying it all in was the orange bitters and Corazon bitters adding a layer of depth and spice. Bringing in a touch of Agave Nectar infused with Pecans from my backyard brought the Agave notes back to the front of the cocktail and complemented the toasted oak from the barrel aging.

A smokey, coffee-forward tequila cocktail… say less.

The recipe was created by my dude Dalton Bedard (@intent_to_imbibe) at @eattheordinary here in Charleston, SC. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Dalton placed in the Top 5 US Bartenders for @worldclassus in 2024. But good news y’all, he’s back at in 2025 as a finalist for the East Coast and we’re all pulling for him to take it all home this year.