The Honoré Palmer

This isn’t the first time you’ve seen me adding in some fresh brewed tea to a cocktail, and that’s for good reason. Particularly in this case, the flavors of the green tea crave a little acid and some sweetness and the ensuing balance is the ultimate refresher.

So here we are, at the official kick off to the summer, Memorial Day Weekend, and you better believe it’s going to be full of drinking. I’ll be down in AC for a fellow Nobler’s bachelor party weekend and I’ll probably need some of the antioxidants from this drink to keep me going (see my packing list above). But regardless of your weekend plans, this green tea cocktail acts as a perfect compliment to the Bertha Palmer. Having a bourbon centric black tea blend to pair with this lighter, sweeter green tea mix will ensure everyone at the party has something to enjoy. Even better, this base recipe is a delicious non-alcoholic homemade “soda” for those that don’t drink (do these people exist?) and, maybe more appropriately, for the kids in the crew. Bertha would have happily served this one to her first son Honoré. See that, I even got all family friendly on you here at the Nobler! Enjoy the weekend!

The Honoré Palmer:

6 oz Green Tea Base

2 oz Lemon or Citrus Vodka

2 oz Seltzer to finish

1 Lime wedge

In a large glass filled with ice add all of the ingredients and serve with a lime wedge for garnish!

Green Tea Base Recipe:

4 Green Tea Bags

32 oz Boiling Water

5 tbsp of Honey

1 Lime

In a mason jar, pour the boiling water over the green tea bags and the honey. Let steep until cool and remove the tea bags. Add the juice of one lime and keep refrigerated for use.

The Bertha Palmer

One of my favorite spots to enjoy a bourbon, is the Ninth Ward in the East Village. The New Orleans inspired bar has a ridiculous outdoor patio which I can only imagine will be packed day after day now that spring has sprung. One of their signature cocktails is the Laura Palmer, which is simple and delicious. Sweet tea vodka and lemon juice: you can literally drink a million of these (I think we’ve only ever made it to 4) but please be sure you stand up slowly.

Well I’d like to now introduce you to Bertha. Bertha, born in Louisville, Kentucky, knows that while vodka may get the job done, bourbon is where it’s at. Seriously, I plan on drinking these all spring/summer. Kicking it all off last night, I paired it with some spicy and refreshing fish tacos. So damn good!

The Bertha Palmer

2/3 cup unsweetened tea

1 tbsp honey

Juice of half a lemon

2 oz bourbon

In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice and honey to create your lemon syrup. In a tall glass with ice, add the bourbon, tea, and lemon syrup and stir to combine. Garnish with a lemon and proceed to feel great.

Juice Bar Blends as “The Remedy”

Last night, we had the pleasure to bring the Juice Bar Blends to the AFA for Jason Mraz’s Instagram / CanvasPop fan contest gallery show. The winning imagery was showcased via CanvasPop’s amazing transformation and Jason was on site to chat, mingle, and overwhelm a few of his biggest fans. Our mission? Provide some ridiculously delicious social lubricant…

Our two fresh juices were huge hits. We pride ourselves in developing fantastic flavors from fruits and vegetables that will pair fantastically with alcohol. The carrot, ginger, and cardamom is one of my new favorites. The color is wild! And why not work on your eye sight while you get a little tipsy. Acting as it’s compliment (after all we were in an art gallery), the vibrant green “elixir” (as one of our biggest fans has dubbed it), our cucumber cilantro and lime cocktail, continues to be a huge success. I’m always a bit shocked as so many people seem to be turned off from cilantro, but I’m going to have to make some back up of this guy next time. It just flies off the bar!

But I think what I am most proud of, is the connection we are making with our drinkers. In a city where “interesting” or “fancy” too often equates to the number of male models on staff, or the amount of ingredients in your cocktails, or even worse the number of “miniature” food items in your repertoire, we are clearly not emerging from that mold. The dialogue and energy that has surrounded our events is as much a part of our brand, as the drinks we serve. For fuck’s sake, you can’t take yourself that seriously serving food and drink. And I think the reaction has spoken for itself. Thanks to all involved with last night’s event and for the opportunity to connect over some delicious Juice Bar Blends!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Nobler Experiment

Extractions

The idea of flavored liquor often brings back memories of a gag-reflex induced by a cherry vodka shot or  even worse, the cloying sweetness of a mango rum cocktail. Luckily those vivid memories have been efficiently replaced over the last few years with infusions…

“Infused” liquors to be enjoyed on their own or mixed in cocktails are not a recent phenomenon. Throughout history, extracting the flavors of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices in alcohol was commonplace. Some of the most popular spirits continue to be made in this way. However, the “home” or “small batch” infusion process that has begun to re-invigorate this practice in bars and gatherings around the world has made for some pretty exciting stuff (I don’t think ancient civilizations were sipping on pork infused liquors…)

But while infusion sounds really cool, this process should really be dubbed what it is…an extraction. As discussed before at the nobler, flavor components are made of small molecules. Take this tomato and black pepper vodka I made last year for my version of a straight up bloody mary. The flavor molecules from the ingredients are literally extracted by the alcohol. This same concept is used for all sorts of extraction methods because of how “easily” molecules dissolve in alcohols. For this reason, when purity matters, it’s a perfect process for an infinite number of creative opportunities.

Honestly, this is a no brainer to start trying at home. Use anything you like (fruits tend to impart the quickest and most obvious flavoring) and I promise you, you will never buy a flavored vodka again.