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Light My Fire!

Social Hour Cocktails
Harvest Whiskey Sour
13 yr. Whisky (George Dickel Tennessee)
20% ABV
250 ml and serves 3, so remember that and share
Brooklyn, NY
Cocktail makers and shakers: Julie Reiner & Tom Macy

Amber apple cider. Sniffing apples & cider, cinnamon, maple with a little vanilla butter cream frosting, cardamon, and a whisky spark.  Sipping and all of the scents are in the taste along with a lemon zesty twist. Calls for striking a match, setting the fireplace ablaze and cozying up because it tastes even better off someone else’s lips.💋 Baby you can light my fire!

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: don’t even open the bag

This can is Social Hour Cocktails’ 1st limited release, so I recommend grabbing a 4-pack as soon as you find them, or you might miss out. They also suggest make it hot or on the rocks, and if you want to dress it up just add some apple slices, orange peel, rosemary sprig, or toasted marshmallows. O.K. I say ick to the marshmallows and opt for a side of crispy bacon…it’s so much more sexy!

#cocktails #cocktailsofinstagram #spirits #bitters #whiskey #whisky #wine #vino #vin #葡萄酒 #ワイン #cheezit #worldbyglass #Brooklyn #NY #pairswithcheezits #winetasting #winestagram #cannedcocktails @georgedickel @socialhourcocktails @docwineshop @docwinebar @cheezit

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Delightful “Date” Night

Wandering Barman
Swipe Right
Old Fashioned made with bourbon whiskey, dates, aromatic orange bitters, filtered water
32% ABV
Ridgewood, NY
Mixmasters/founders: Julian Mohamed, Roxane Mollicchi, and Darren Grenia

Orangey amber on the rocks, and don’t forget to shake it well before you crack that cap and pour. Immediately scents of smooth bourbon, orange zest, and date sweetness with a spark of tropical spice. Just like it says on the bottle it’s all there in the taste…Lovely date filled sweet that balances so well with the light peppery burn of the bourbon and orange bitters. Perfect close to my long day.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: just don’t!

I’ve been on a date and fig kick lately so this bottle was so perfect for me. As I’ve said in the past, I have a soft spot for locally premade cocktails and especially Wanerding Barman’s because they definitely do a better job than I could. So very easy to drink so pick up 2 or make that 4 bottles if you’re sharing. Just make sure you don’t over do it and find your fingers doing a buzzy swipe in the wrong direction. You know how things always look better with cocktail googles. 🥃

#wine #cocktails #cocktailsofinstagram #spirits #worldbyglass  #pairswithcheezits #ridgewood #Brooklyn #newyork #wanderingbarman #oldfahioned #maple #bourbon #whiskey #bitters #cheezit @docwineshop @docwinebar @wanderingbarman @cheezits

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Recipes Run In The Family

Social Hour Cocktails
Prizefighter
Ragtime Rye Whiskey, Massenez Crème de Pêche, Faccia Brutto Fernet Pianta
11.5% ABV
Brooklyn, NY
Cocktail makers and shakers: Julie Reiner & Tom Macy

Pineapple gold with a good thick white head at first pour which leads to vibrant scents of whiskey, herbal bitters, a little Ricola, and a pineapple and peach smash. First crisp sip and my tastebuds are greeted by whiskey with a mellow butterscotch, pear, lovely white peaches, a little dried pineapple, a tiny cola, mild bitters and a shake of white pepper that balances everything. This is damn good! Oh and I have this one on the rocks, but hey if you’re lacking a glass just kick it back straight from the can. Heading to a family holiday party? Stash a few of these in your bag…especially if it’s a full on “Griswold” happening (Squirrel!!!!).

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: it really doesn’t do much and that’s a good thing

This is my second cocktail from Social Hour Cocktails and yeah, they totally brought their “A game”. The more of these canned goodies I try, I think I may have to branch out from the usual Cheez snack and take it up a notch. From what I’m reading, the Macy family was all in for their “Social Hours”. Tom’s father even created the perfect snacks to pair (John Wm. Macy’s Cheese Sticks). He whipped up the recipe in the 70s in CA before making his way to NYC and baking them from his EV walk-up apartment. Looks like delicious, fun, and portable creations run in the Macy family.

#cocktails #cocktailsofinstagram #spirits #bitters #Aperitivo #holidayparty #wine #vino #vin #葡萄酒 #ワイン #cheezit @worldbyglass #Brooklyn #NY #pairswithcheezits #winetasting #winestagram #RagtimeRye #facciabrutto #JohnWmMacys @socialhourcocktails @docwineshop @docwinebar @cheezit

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I Love Spirited Surprises!

Golden Moon Distillery
Golden Moon Gin
45% ABV
Golden, CO (A little Golden city trivia, this is where Jolly Ranchers were born!)
Founder, CEO, and master distiller: Stephen Gould

Nice clear pour. Nose tingling juniper berries are followed by mint, lavender, coriander, and a breeze of wild flowers. This baby is very fragrant. In fact when I was binge watching with my S.O. this past week and he was sipping away (I had my fave glass of cava), I was so impressed with how the scents flew through the room. Ooh…my mouth is vibrating in a good way. Fabulous tastes of juniper, a few pine needles, mint, lavender, fresh ground coriander, rosemary, thyme, and anise at the back of my tongue along with a smidge of candy cane. Do we see a holiday theme going lately? It’s explosions of all the flavors at once. I recommend to chill well and serve neat. Don’t mess it up by covering it up in a cocktail.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: As would be said on “Wayne’s World”: HURL!

This bottle was quite a surprise gift, and it blew past all expectations. As y’all know, I love when people work with what they have local, and Golden Moon sources as much as they can in Colorado, and they also give back to the earth post distilling by recycling the waste back into compost. Kind of like their own little “Circle of Life”. Also if you want some cocktail cues from the master (Stephen Gould) check out his videos on “The Distiller’s Basement”.

#Gin #distillery #cocktails #cocktailsofinstagram #spirits #bitters #wine #vino #vin #葡萄酒 #ワイン #cheezit @worldbyglass #Golden #Colorado #CO #pairswithcheezits #winetasting #winestagram @goldenmoondistillery @cheezit

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What We Sip in the Shadows

Social Hour Cocktails
Strawberry Rhubarb Spritz
Faccia Brutto Aperitivo bitters, strawberry rhubarb cordial, and white wine
8.7% ABV
Brooklyn, NY
Cocktail makers and shakers: Julie Reiner & Tom Macy

Shining pale strawberry cocktail blush. Pour on the rocks. Nose tickling strawberries, rhubarb, and herbal aromatic bitters. Here goes the sip and it’s sweet at first and full of berries and rhubarb pie filling, then out pops herby bitters in the back, orange peel, and a small bite of red Twizzlers. Fresh, crisp and a fun party you can take on the go, or just kick back at home and binge watch “What We Do in the Shadows”.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: blerg ack

Y’all know I’ve had a soft spot for these pre-made cocktails during the lockdown, and now I can’t give them up. Julie Reiner & Tom Macy both come from lauded bartending and bar owning backgrounds and took a huge and smart leap into the canned cocktails market in the summer of 2020. They want what you have at home to be as good as what they’d concoct for you in person. It’s also pretty special that they work with New York products, like this spritz’s Brooklyn born “Faccia Brutto aperitivo”. Cheers to supporting local!

#cocktails #cocktailsofinstagram #spirits #bitters #Aperitivo #wine #vino #vin #葡萄酒 #ワイン #cheezit @worldbyglass #Brooklyn #NY #pairswithcheezits #winetasting #winestagram #FacciaBrutto @socialhourcocktails @docwineshop @docwinebar @cheezit

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Have Cocktail, Ready to Travel

Dry Fly Distilling
Bloody Mary
“On The Fly”
Made with Dry Fly Vodka and an exclusive blend of spices from Spiceology
8% ABV
Spokane, WA
Founder and Fly-Fisher: Don Poffenroth

Rich tomato with a touch of brown from all the floating spice specks and served on the rocks. Exactly what you want to smell on a Saturday. There’s tangy tomato, hot pepper/sauce, horseradish, and celery salt. It’s a taste explosion! Sweet and tangy tomatoes, hot peppers that grow and grow, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce or something that tastes like it, a little garlic salt and celery salt. I can’t believe this came out of a can, and it is portable. You can crack this baby anywhere. So, my favorite Bloody Mary was made at People’s Republik in Cambridge, MA by Paul. It was like drinking a very hot garden. This makes a darn good stand in since People’s is no more. Wow, seriously my lips are plumping and there’s a good burn in my throat. Why do I only have one can, rats!

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: they are made for each other! Brings out more heat!

As it says on Dry Fly’s site, they are farm to bottle. They work with locally sourced products such as with their wheat vodka in this little can, which is grown locally. It also looks like they are expanding and on the move to downtown Spokane in an old newspaper printing facility. All I’m finding is from January 2021, so I’m not sure where they are at this point of the build out, but it sounds like not only will they have a larger place, but also add some jobs while doing it. Now, that’s fab news.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @dryflydistilling @spiceology @cheezits #wine #cheezit #winestagram #instawine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits cocktails #cocktailsofinstagram #spirits #vodka #bloodymary #Spokane #WA #onthefly #craftspirits #smallbatch #flyfishing

 

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Maplelicious Design

Wandering Barman
Boomerang
Old Fashioned made with bourbon whiskey and bitters
Tree Juice maple syrup, hickory smoke concentrate, aromatic orange bitters
30% ABV
Ridgewood, NY
Mixmasters/founders: Julian Mohamed, Roxane Mollicchi, and Darren Grenia

Bourbon brown with yellow highlights that was shaken and poured on the rocks. Last night was a little chilly so this Boomerang fit the bill (and came back and whacked me in the head this morning). Scents of gingerbread made me think of Christmas happy scents of cinnamon, orange zest, brown sugar/maple syrup (where’s the flapjacks?), panettone, smoke and pepper. Tastes like all the scents with more pepper and smoke, some coconut, that good ol bourbon, more maple syrup, and a little orange mixed with Ricola. You’re going to find this hard to believe but it wasn’t till my teen years that I knew what maple syrup tasted like. We always had pure cane syrup in our house. My parents went on a trip to Canada and came back with these delicious maple syrup candies, and I was in total wonderment in what I had been missing out on all those years. Why had my parents been holding out on me?

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Brings out more holiday spices. Where’s the fireplace and stockings hung with care?

Thank you Wandering Barman for reaching out and letting me know who does your amazing labels. Team has an amazing diverse portfolio from Pfizer, Alina, The Bronx Museum, and it looks like there will be something upcoming with the WNBA. They are a must to check out. If y’all (Team) see this, you seriously rock. Congrats to all your great work!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @wanderingbarman @team_studio @yourssincerelybk @cheezits #cheezit #wine #cocktails #cocktailsofinstagram #spirits #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #ridgewood #Brooklyn #newyork #wanderingbarman #oldfahioned #maple #bourbon #bitters

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Chipotle Redeemed

Wandering Barman
Miss Casanova
Hibiscus orange chipotle daiquiri with rum
19% ABV
Ridgewood, NY
Mixmasters/founders: Julian Mohamed, Roxane Mollicchi, and Darren Grenia

Cranberry color and reminds me of Hawaiian Punch Fruit Juicy Red. I will never forget my trip to Sea World as a small child and dining at one of the restaurants where one of the few things I could drink was that signature Fruit Juicy Red in a tall skinny glass filled with ice. Goodness knows how much my parents had to pay for that (it was scorching I had at least 8)…definitely more than this mixed drink. Shake, crack open, pour and smells just like the label says hibiscus, orange, and chipotle; but with the addition of lime. It’s like a fruity Jolly Rancher with peppers. Woof, first swig and there’s the fruit smoke bomb. Again hibiscus, orange, chipotle, and cranberry, lemon, and lime. That Jolly Rancher is back but the heat keeps growing. Ok you guys have redeemed chipotle for me since I got so sick of it from Bobby Flay. I used to run in the other direction. He killed blue corn for me for a while too. Do you know what this would go good with…fried cheese curds at Sugarburg. I can’t wait till they reopen. I also can’t wait till I can sit at a bar, sip a drink and play cribbage again and chew the fat with my friends. I know we’re getting there, and I’m counting the minutes.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: brings out more heat!

Yeah, I know this is becoming a thing. I’m hooked on Wandering Barman and am slowly working my way through the list. Even though the bars and restaurants are opening back up more and more, I’m not going to lie…having these easy access perfect pours are a bright spot on special evenings. One of these days as it gets warmer, I’ll find my way over to their “proof of concept”, Yours Sincerely cocktail laboratory. Their happy hours look fab at $5. BTW am still wondering who designed these labels. If anyone knows, please let me know. Very inventive across the whole line. I really want to tag them because they really deserve credit, and this is not my last Wandering Barman.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @wanderingbarman @sugarburgbk @yourssincerelybk @cheezits #cheezit #wine #cocktails #daiquiri #cocktailsofinstagram #spirits #rum #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #MissCasanova #ridgewood #Brooklyn #newyork #wanderingbarman

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A Good Slow Burn

Wandering Barman
FOMO
Sling made with vodka
20% ABV
Ridgewood, NY
Mixmasters/founders: Julian Mohamed, Roxane Mollicchi, and Darren Grenia

This is one dark oro cocktail. So many scents! There’s turmeric, hot pepper, pineapple, sweetness like sugar cane (if you grew up in the south you know what I mean, and chewing it fresh), a little apples, maybe coriander. It’s an inviting tropical encounter. Shaking it around in the ice and then kicking a little back and there’s a turmeric/pineapple hot and sweet/sour mix. The hot pepper lingering in the back grows and grows and slow burns and then keeps firing back. Oh, here comes one more…a very light candied apple. This is just so deliciously fragrant, and I could totally use this recipe to soak chicken in before slow cooking. Yeah, this is going to be a repeat order for me.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: cough makes the heat explode cough cough…water please

This is my second from Wandering Barman, and I’m impressed. Like I said in my previous post, I had questioned cocktails in bottles. So used to sitting at the bar, and having them mixed by people I knew at my local, which I miss. Well, FOMO is a great stunt double at home, the only thing you’re missing out on is the conversation. I think it’s time to pull out the fancy glasses, Skype a few friends, and have a virtual happy hour. Cheers!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @wanderingbarman @cheezits #cheezit #wine #cocktails #cocktailsofinstagram #spirits #bitters #vodka #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #fomo #ridgewood #Brooklyn #newyork #wanderingbarman

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Frogs and Fernet

Letherbee Distillers
Fernet
35% ABV
Chicago, Illinois
Over 20 botanicals
Distiller: Brenton Engel (and team)

Medium coffee color with no milk color or some of that black smoked tea that I drink that everyone complains about. Poured and served neat and what a pow, zing, bam, to my nose. Insanely herbal but greatly welcome. There’s pine, dried orange peels, parsnips, rhubarb, cloves, spearmint, eucalyptus, and Christmas incense. Ok so let’s see what this swirl of scents taste like. It’s every bit of all of the above and more. A total wake up call with that starts with a bang, but then goes smooth and healing. You can sip this all night on it’s own or come up with a fun cocktail on your own, or if you have a hangover (last night was New Year’s Eve, ya know) then this may help.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: No, no, no, no, NO!

In just 13 years, Brenton Engel went from being a moonshiner playing in Pool of Frogs to now where he has an internationally distributed and highly praised distillery. While he was still bartending he was tinkering with those first batches and tuning botanical recipes until he got it just right. He drifted from moonshine, to what has now grown into their whole line of Original Label Gin, Barrel­-Aged Absinthe, Autumnal & Vernal Gins, Bësk, and Fernet. Letherbee (Let them be!) has also given back to the community. Back in March they temporarily paused their gin production to make hand sanitizer. Now that’s a good hearted thing to do.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @letherbee @cheezits #cheezit #wine #winestagram #instawine #Fernet #spirits #botanicals #liqueur #spiritsofinstagram #gin #absinthe #distillery #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #Chicago #Illinois