For 8 months I’ve been working on a project called Shelf to Shaker. Bringing any creative project to life takes real effort, but a lack of deadlines on my end helped the project meander along.

A few months ago I recommitted and when it was far enough along, I emailed an acquaintance at a national retailer to gauge their interest. To my surprise, they responded, “This is great. Can I setup a meeting with the decision makers?” A deadline was created. I tweaked designs, out of date voiceovers were re-recorded, and tech integrations were tested.

So how did the meeting go?

I was not presented with a multi-year contract and bags of money💰, but I did learn some valuable things.

1. I built Shelf to Shaker on a freestanding platform so there was something tangible I could experiment with and people could use. As I heard the retailer talk through it on the call, since they already had a website, brand aesthetic, etc. they wanted people to remain on their site, not another one. So, if we ever move forward, the content would live on their site.

2. While they liked most of the content, subjects like vermouth, amari, gin, and other areas where people are often confused or just overlook, is where some saw a real gap. While many of their stores have a bourbon or tequila expert, other areas can essentially be a knowledge vacuum.

3. It is zero fun to have your stuff poked and passed on. I wish they’d have said yes, but I give myself props for landing the meeting and hopefully using what I learned to make improvements.

All this aside, Shelf to Shaker is live and can be accessed for free. Use it, share it, tell yours friends, and I’d love it if you’d tell me what you think.

Chris

Now, a question about food. Have you ever made burgers, tacos, or pizza at home that weren’t about to win you an awards but were still delicious? Cocktails should be the same. Rather than worrying about them tasting perfect or being camera-ready, the goal is to get started making them and sharing them because that is what they’re all about. You get to quickly learn a delightful and delicious craft and be able to share them with others.

After six-plus years of teaching people how to make drinks, I’ve come to believe there are two moments of friction that keep people from making them and I’ve been working to address this. They are:

At the liquor store it is easy among a sea of products to be left wondering what is all of this and what do I need to buy?

At home: after the metaphorical liquor store buzz fades, you’re left wondering how to use what you bought. Where do I find a good (and uncomplicated) recipe? Why does it taste good sometimes and not others?

I’ve been pretty quiet because I wanted to figure out what might be useful rather than just make noise. Beginning at the liquor store, is there a way I can be with you “in spirit” 😉 in the aisle?

And if I was there, what advice would I share and more importantly, what mistakes would I help you avoid and distractions would I tell you to tune out? Put simply: the answer to a great cocktail does not lie in the perfect vodka, bourbon, or tequila, but in buying good enough ingredients and preparing them well with other quality ingredients. Buying a flashy or popular bottle isn’t wrong, but it is not your salvation.

So, I’ve been working on a project called Shelf to Shaker. I start by creating shelf talkers that don’t proclaim “this is the best tequila”, but rather help you understand what’s important when it comes to something like tequila, vermouth, bourbon, or bitters.

Let’s be realistic too about asking for help. There are moments when I am overwhelmed, let’s use a museum as an example, where I’m so confused that I’m embarrassed or don’t know what to ask. Much like how Google is the non-judgey friend that you ask questions to, the goal of these tools is to help you answer basic questions you’re afraid to ask or don’t know to ask.

The shelf talker conveys a bit of knowledge and the QR code is if you want to learn even more at the store or at home.

They are designed to use simple language, videos, visuals, and there is an even an option for me to read it to you 🤜 🤛 and explain why something like fresh citrus or shaking makes a difference.

The goal is to make cocktails easier by removing the friction that keeps home bartenders like you from pulling the trigger on making a cocktail tonight.

Feel free to peruse the content, but here is my request, if you know a retail store manager / owner, send this their way. I’m open to feedback, but would love it if they find them useful for them to hang them up. Important: they are free.

The cocktail you make tonight for someone doesn't need to be perfect, it just needs to happen.

Find everything at ShelftoShaker.com.

I've started a new monthly email newsletter will not be on Substack aimed at bartenders and liquor store employees called “Three Drinks In...” If that sounds like you, someone you know, or like something you’re interested in regardless, you can subscribe here.

I plan to publish the first couple on Substack.

Three drinks in...

Honest notes from the barstool

Hey there, I’m Chris.

I run Decoding Cocktails, which teaches the foundations of mixology and I also rep some great brands as their ambassador.

What I love most though is learning and sharing. I hope this short monthly dispatch gives bartenders and liquor store teams something fun or useful to think about.

If any of this sparks a thought or disagreement, I’d love to hear it.

Chris

P.s. if you think of someone who’d enjoy this, please share it. 😊

Something fun I’ve recently tasted:

• Commendatori @ O+O Pizza (STL): a delicious take on the whiskey & coke with vanilla-infused bourbon and a bitter Italian soda.

• Pho King Gimlet @ Fox & Pearl (KC): sage-infused gin, five spice syrup, lime, sesame oil. Has a great flavor arc where everything plays nicely together.

Something I’ve experienced:

While at a retail store in Kansas City, I learned they do not allow shelf talkers with ratings. While I am proud when a brand I rep receives a 90+ or a gold rating, plenty of research shows that many tasting competitions don’t live up to scrutiny. A judge’s taste buds are “cooked”, their mind wanders, or they’re hit by “performance order bias” in which people are more strict at first and then ease up. I’m not anti ratings, I just found their stance interesting.

Something I’ve listened to:

I’ve recently heard two people from different fields, tech entrepreneur Jason Fried, and brand creator Steve Grasse, whose work includes creating Hendrick’s Gin and Sailor Jerry Rum, discuss why they don’t study their competition and believe it is a bad idea.

Jason says many tech products feel the same because everyone is copying each other. Grasse says the same is true in spirits. Both avoid this and instead look for inspiration in places like nature, history, and other fields. To be unique, avoid studying what everyone else is. This can help you avoid trying to “build a better mousetrap.”

Something I’ve been thinking about:

Running a bar or restaurant is not easy and I support efficiencies that help staff and management, but I’ve noticed one that can seem to irk some people. When at a bar or nice restaurant, being handed a tablet to pay instead of a receipt not only at times interrupts the intimacy with its glowing screen and a server waiting to get it back, but the gratuity buttons can feel presumptuous.

I’ve been with people who are happy they don’t have to do math, but others eye-roll when the listed options are 20%, 25%, and 30%. I don’t think of my friends or myself as cheap, but some people get flustered when the tablet puts them on the spot.

Get the next newsletter by subscribing.

See you next month,

Chris

Dr. is the author of The Cocktail Parlor: How Women Brought the Cocktail Home. This book helped me think about cocktails and entertaining more holistically. Clubs, bars, hotels, and restaurants may be where many drinks originally came to life, but women are the ones responsible for bringing them into the home.

The book has a nice forward by , who Dr. Nicola says encouraged her to write the book, after she showcased to him how many women are overlooked in the history of cocktails.

Fun fact: the first-ever cocktail party was hosted by Miss Clara Bell Walsh in 1917 in my city of St. Louis. Doesn’t she look like a real party animal?

If you want to buy the book, you can find it via the pic below.

Which got me thinking, this bottle wasn’t not selling because it was bad. It was “stuck” on the shelves because no one knew what to do with it.

This isn’t a budget problem. It’s a customer confidence problem.

In a sea of bottles, I imagine many customers skip thing they can’t quickly understand.

• "Is this a gimmick?"

• "How would I use it?"

• "Will I regret this?"

Blackberry brandy, crème de cassis, bitter amari, sherry. I’d argue these don’t move slowly because they’re bad, but because they’re unfamiliar.

The Fix? Education. Not Discounts.

After tasting the brandy, I began experimenting with it how many bartenders would, I dropped it into a classic sour, with fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and the brandy.

The resulting drink was delicious.

And if we took it one small step further, topping it with soda and a sprig of mint, we’d have a blackberry mojito riff that is perfect dockside or poolside.

That’s the kind of story a store’s customers need to hear before they start slashing prices.

Teach a customer, move a bottle

When customers understand what they’re buying and how to use it, they’re far more likely to say yes.

Try:

• A quick shelf talker that compares it to something familiar

• A recipe card with two easy uses

• A QR code to a short video

• Product bundles that remove guesswork of what they need

Bonus: your staff will become savvier by being around these educational engagements.

Why I built Shelf-Side Mixology

After working with thousands of everyday drinkers, I have one broad conclusion:
Many people are eager, but don’t even know the basics like when to shake versus stir.

Shelf-Side Mixology helps retailers:

• Think like cocktail educators

• Equip customers with confidence

• Sell more without leaning on discounts

Each month you get:

• Fresh shelf talkers, recipes, and pairing ideas

• Optional training assets for staff

• A better way to make products move

Want to see how it works?

Let’s talk about how Shelf-Side Mixology could help your store sell more — bottle by bottle.
📧 info@DecodingCocktails.com

When I first started experimenting with cocktails, I was lucky in a way. I knew a few bartenders I could ask questions, and frequented a boutique liquor store (h/t Intoxicology) where the staff was able to field most questions I threw at them. That kind of help in a retail store was and still is rare.

The Knowledge Gap

In most liquor stores, even fairly basic questions can feel like a stretch:

“What’s the difference between Old Tom and London Dry gin?”
“What is maraschino liqueur, and how should I use it?”
“Does shaking a margarita really matter?”

Having products on your shelves and not knowing what they are and how to use them is like asking a butcher how they’d prepare a cut of meat and getting a shrug in return.

The irony is, store shelves are more full than ever. But the ability to talk through those products often feels like it’s gone the other way.

Why is this Triple Sec $8 and that one $38?
If I don’t like sweet cocktails, can’t I just leave out the sweeteners altogether?

Curiosity is Everywhere — Confidence is Not

Having taught thousands of people about cocktails, I can say with confidence: most drinkers are curious, but unsure. Many have a desire to learn, but don’t know who to ask and are often afraid of looking dumb. And in that uncertainty, a lot of great bottles go unused — or are never bought in the first place.

Retailers often see themselves as vendors. But in a world of:

• Rapid delivery

• Overwhelming selection

• and rock-bottom pricing from big-box giants...

...education is one of the last defensible advantages.

And for the record, trying to win on price is a dangerous race to the bottom.

The Liquor Store Meets the Bartender

After five years of running Decoding Cocktails, I’ve come to believe that one of the highest-leverage ways to help people drink better is what I felt from the start. By working to educate and support the places consumers shop.

Not to promote brands, but to teach:

• How to make a great Bee’s Knees

• How to avoid a martini that tastes like firewater

• How to understand the value of that $35 liqueur bottle

It’s not about telling people what to buy, it’s about showing them how to use it.

A New Tool for a Changing Landscape

Which brings me to what’s next:

Shelf-Side Mixology is launching soon.

It’s a retail-focused education tool designed to help liquor stores and markets stand out by turning product knowledge into real customer confidence. Much like the chef Samin Nosrat conveyed in her wonderful book Salt Fat, Acid Heat, the reality of cooking is that you don’t have to know everything, but rather understand a few principles. The same is true with cocktails, grasping a handful of base recipes, techniques, and ingredients imparts the important conversational knowledge that can make a liquor store a place where people don’t just buy products, but learn and grow.

If you have questions, comments, or know someone in retail who’s open to new ideas, I’d love to hear from you. Have them contact me or forward this to someone who might be interested.

Let’s help people not just buy bottles, but actually enjoy them.

Colin Asare-Appiah (Instagram) is the trade director of multicultural and LGBTQ advocacy at Bacardi and the co-founder of the AJABU Festival (Instagram, website), a platform for the African hospitality industry.

See highlights from the first year below.

After roughly 18 years with William Grant & Sons in a wide array of positions, including Global Head of Brand Ambassadors, Charlotte Voisey is now serving in the newly created role of Executive Director for Tales of the Cocktail.

Having been to Tales three times, and preparing for my fourth, it was a delight to chat with Charlotte. Her enthusiasm for the organization and its work psyched me up for this year’s week-long adventure in the beautiful city of New Orleans.

Enjoy this conversation.

It’s called The 5-Minute Bartender.

Here’s how it works:
You get one short, focused lesson per day—delivered by text. It aims to be 5 minutes or less.
By the end of the week, you’ve made real progress on a key cocktail topic (like Martinis, Sours, or Old Fashioneds).

We cover:

• What goes into the drink, what it is, and why

• How to make it right (not just “good enough”)

• How to riff confidently

• How to talk about it with guests

• And how to avoid the classic rookie mistakes
  

No jargon. No lectures. Just clear, useful knowledge—one text at a time.

I spent years piecing this stuff together the hard way—reading books, bombing cocktails, learning from generous peers. But I never had a clear path.
That’s what I’m offering now: a clear roadmap to help you grow.

Whether you’re new behind the bar or trying to level up, this gives you structure, momentum, and confidence.

"If you get 1% better each day for one year, you'll end up 37 times better", James Clear
This is how you become the kind of bartender who gets better every shift.

Want to try it?
I’ll send you Week One for free. Just reply or message me with “5-Minute.”

Let’s make the road to better bartending clear, easier, and a lot more fun.

Chris

I would argue the same is true for alcohol and cocktails today.

Guests are curious. They’re asking what makes mezcal smoky or why their cocktail has Chartreuse in it. They’re overwhelmed by choice at the liquor store, and they want someone they trust to point them toward what’s good—and why it’s good.

That can be your bar.

Here’s the thing:

Anyone can in theory buy a bottle of delicious tequila and make a decent cocktail because there are plenty of good recipes out there. What bars then need to lean on to set themselves apart is the experience you build around it.

You don’t need to be giving lectures when you’re four-deep at the well.
But if your team inhabits an ethos of education—
a culture of curiosity, storytelling, and pride in what’s being poured—
that will shape the guest experience.

Bars that educate:

• Build trust and loyalty

• Justify higher menu prices

• Turn casual guests into regulars

• Attract more curious, spend-happy drinkers

• Create a deeper sense of staff purpose

• Have a small differentiator between other bars where the staff can make good drinks, but aren’t as conversant about them.

Ways to start small:

• Add one educational line to every drink description.

• Give your team a 2-minute story behind one spirit or modifier a week.

• Start menu meetings with a “what we’re excited about this week”.

• Let your staff taste what they’re talking about.

As I was mulling this piece, a person told me about one of their recent Trader Joe’s visits and said, “You know what I love about Trader Joe’s? How excited the staff often is about something I’ve bought. That’s all I’m looking for. A little validation that I did a good job.” If Trader Joe’s can do this in a strip mall with dried mango and canned dolmas, your team can do it with killer cocktails and bottles with soul.

Need some help with education at your bar? Respond to this or reach out via email.

“Developing the right regulars is huge for making more money.
If you have social people that spend money and interact with others, that’s a gold mine.
You're never going to be slow.
Developing skills with cocktails is great, but developing this skill is going to make you more money.”

Chris’s point reframes the bartender’s role. Great bartenders aren’t just technicians. They’re connectors. Regulars become your unofficial coworkers, champions—and yes, your income stream. They tip well, bring friends, visit on slow nights, and help keep the vibe alive.

Why Regulars Matter

Revenue Stability
A loyal regular’s lifetime financial value shouldn’t be underestimated.

Word of Mouth
Regulars are evangelists. They bring people in and talk you up.

Emotional Support
When it’s slow or tough, they remind you why you love this work.

A Real-Time Feedback Loop
If you build trust, they’ll tell you what’s working—and when something feels off.

How to Cultivate Regulars

Here are a few practical, low-effort moves that build real loyalty:

Learn and use their name. Remember their drink.
People don’t always remember what you said—but they remember how you made them feel. Nothing feels better than being known.

Ask about their day.
Knowing what they care about keeps them coming back.

Offer small upgrades or perks unprompted.
“This one’s on me.”
“Want to try something new I’m working on?”
Tiny gestures = huge loyalty.

Share a little of yourself.
No need to overshare—but talking about your weekend plans or hobbies turns you into a person, not just the bartender.

Invite them into the culture.
“You’ve got to come next Thursday—it’s my favorite night here.”
“We’re rolling out a new menu. I’d love your feedback.”
Let them feel like insiders.

Final Thought

A business owner I admire once said companies should spend three times the effort strengthening ties with existing customers as they do chasing new ones. In the hospitality world, this means regulars.

Over time, you’ll find your own style and rhythm. But the key is starting.

Have a great tactic for building regulars—or want to brainstorm ideas?
info@decodingcocktails.com | 314-971-6136

p.s. if you’re in the St. Louis area and run a bar or restaurant check out my new initiative “Toasting the House”, which celebrates the roll of bars in our community.

Matt Foster (Instagram) is the founder of Sol Luna | Coffee Whiskey (website, Instagram). With a background as a barista, bartender, and the 2019 winner of the Coffee in Good Spirits Competition, Matt says you should think of Sol Luna as a blend of aged bourbon and fresh cold brew that is barista tested and bartender approved.

There are already plenty of coffee flavored products out there, so why did Matt create this one? As he puts it, many, but not all of the coffee flavored products out there strike him as one where the actual coffee flavor was an afterthought. Matt wanted to bring you a deeply nuanced and drier coffee liqueur that accentuates the bourbon upfront and coffee on the back end.

Back in November, I was invited to take part in an entrepreneur-centric event in my city called STL Startup Week.

I knew I’d talk about how I ended up running a cocktail business and what all that entails, but it also felt important to cover how hard and emotionally draining it is. To that end, I felt it was important to talk about the “fuel” I’ve found that sustains me when the going gets tough.

When we start a business, I think it’s also important to ask, “Why am I even doing this?” Is this for money, fame, because I feel pressure, because I want to, or something else? For the toll it takes, I worry about people making the decisions for reasons that are about money, fame, or impressing others.

We’re at a time in history when entrepreneurship is being lionized. It’s hard and perhaps admirable. But, I also believe that running a company is not a more ennobled path. It is simply a path. We need to be honest with ourselves because life is too short to be doing things for others.

In the talk, I mention a Google Doc with links, quotes, etc. You can access it here.

If you want to watch the talk instead👇.

It’s also available here on Youtube.

Zack Abbott is the co-founder and the inventor of the proprietary technology behind ZBiotics. This product is built upon the idea that we have been attempting to tackle those rough mornings after drinking alcohol incorrectly for decades, if not longer. Long-standing research shows that neither dehydration nor electrolyte imbalance is what causes that next-day misery. 😲

Getting into the science, when the body begins to break down alcohol, one of the bi-products that is created is called “acetaldehyde”. This is highly toxic. As I understand it, the liver is great at managing acetaldehyde, but not all of it makes it to the liver. Some of it lingers in your gut, where it is not broken down well, gets absorbed into the body, and wreaks havoc many of us are familiar with. Zack and his team have worked to create a product that helps your gut do a better job at breaking down the acetaldehyde in your cut called, “pre-alcohol”.

They’re not here to claim they have a magical cure-all, but a growing number of customers are swearing that it is making their next mornings much better, if not completely better. I have tried it on a couple of occasions when I’ve had some drinks and feel that the following days were great.

Aside from the alcohol space, Zack and his team are working to reclaim the term GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) as one that can be a good thing. On every bottle, you’ll find “Proudly GMO” written. Zack talks about this in the episode. Read more from them here.

• These can be partially or fully prepared hours or days in advance.

• Spritzes are ideal before a big meal to whet the appetite.

• We’ll cover after-dinner drinks that help you recover from a feast.

• We’ll walk through two suitable classics. The Cosmopolitan is perfect because of its cranberry essence, and the Manhattan is a customizable boozy bev based on whiskey-to-vermouth ratios.

When you sign up, you’ll receive a list of ingredients. During class, we’ll cover how to batch them and any other questions you have.

The class is $19.

In addition to the ingredient and prep sheets, you’ll receive a copy of the recorded class to reference later or you can tune in at another time if you can’t make it.

Buy your ticket

Let me know if you have questions.

Chris

The holiday promotion

Having operated this business for several years, each holiday season the same handful of dates are in high demand. Since I can’t be in two places at once, I decided to create an incentive to lean on other dates. When you book a class of 7 or more on Sunday - Wednesday, you get a discount.

• 7-10 people: 10% off

• 11-16 people: 15% off

• 17+: 20% off

You can respond to this email with questions or to book a class.

A quick history of punch

One of the preeminent sources on the history of spirits and cocktails is historian David Wondrich. He traces the origins of punch—the ancestor of the modern cocktail—back to a communal bowl often containing alcohol, citrus, sugar, water, and spices. The first known recipe is from 1638.

Punch gained prominence during the era of British maritime dominance when sailors were allotted a certain amount of beer or wine during voyages. Upon running out, they sought alternatives. When they were in the eastern hemisphere, they leaned on citrus and sugar, exotic items at the time, along with spirits to dilute spirits and mimic wine as best they could. Its popularity among sailors soared and upon their return to England, punch began gaining traction. As sugar production began to boom in the Caribbean, courtesy of slave labor, punch began to proliferate as an affordable and tasty libation.

The drink

Despite heavy historical realities, punch is delicious and is great for a party. For today’s drink, I borrowed a recipe from the now-closed Bar Agricole. It calls for an aged Rhum Agricole, so I grabbed Rhum Clément’s Select Barrel. Furthering the idea that many punches are lower-proof, instead of two ounces of spirit, it calls for one plus 3/4 of an ounce of fruity Beaujolais red wine. It marries those with a little lemon juice and syrup to create a juicy and spicy cocktail.

I ended up tweaking the recipe just a touch. Bar Agricole used a rich gum arabic syrup, which I didn’t have so I used a rich 2:1 syrup. While the drink was delicious, it tasted a little thin. To remedy this, I remembered that tea was sometimes used in punches for spice and body. I grabbed Joseph Cartron’s Noir Fumé, a lapsang souchong black tea liqueur. Adding a 1/4 to 1/2 ounce, lengthened the flavor and pulled back on the sweetness a bit. Noir Fumé is delicious, but if you don’t feel like buying a bottle, I imagine a dash or two of citrus bitters would help.

Recipe + video

• 1 ounce Aged Rhum Agricole (Clément Select Barrel)

• 3/4 oz Beaujolais red wine

• 1/2 oz fresh lemon

• 1/4 oz rich 2:1 simple syrup

• 1/4 - 1/2 oz Joseph Cartron Noir Fumé

Give the ingredients a short hard shake and serve over fresh ice.

Wanna batch this for a holiday party?

I used Batch Calc to scale it up. In a perfect world, if I was batching this for a party, here is how I’d prepare it for a party.

1. Two to four hours before the party: Measure out everything and combine it into an empty 750 ml or liter bottle.

2. Chill everything: your punch bowl, the combined ingredients, etc.

3. Right before people arrive: Give the cocktail a good shake in the bottle to aerate it, pour it into the punch bowl, and add plenty of ice. Everything is already cold so an abundance of ice will help keep it cold but not melt too quickly.

4. Serve and delight your guests.

Alexandre Gabriel (Instagram) is the owner of Maison Ferrand, which produces products like Citadelle Gin, Ferrand Cognac, and Planteray Rum (formerly Plantation Rum). Several years ago, among many conversations about rum, Alexandre realized that no one could tell him with great clarity about the rules and history of Navy Rum.

He decided to get to the bottom of things and commissioned the author and enthusiast to get to the bottom of things. Matt spent time in England researching things and not only began to uncover important details but also met a gentleman named Michael Fogg, who ended up providing a world of information they came to rely upon.

This year at Tales of the Cocktail, Matt and Alexandre hosted an event to announce the release of an entire book on Navy Rum, 300 Years of Royal Navy Rum and its Techniques. It has two different sections. In one, Matt showcases the history of Navy Rum and in the other, Alexandre lays out the 7 pillars of producing it. I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy for my conversation with Alexandre, but it appears the book still has not been released. You can sign up on Matt’s website to be notified when it is released.

To honor Michael’s contributions to the research, Alexandre named the rum “Mister Fogg Navy Rum”, as Michael has since passed away.

A well-received addition to the drinks I’m serving up in classes and at tastings this fall is the apricot old fashioned. Like last week’s post about the Rum and Banana Old Fashioned, this one uses the same template but substitutes Apricot and Bourbon.

A primer on liqueurs and sugar

Before we get into the drink, a quick aside about liqueurs since they’re a term that not everyone can readily define. At its most basic, a liqueur is an alcohol that has been flavored and sweetened, but its sweetness can vary notably. The European Economic Community states that European liqueurs, the one I’m using in this recipe is from France, must have 100 grams of sugar per liter, and the sweeter style, known as “creme”, must have 200 grams of sugar per liter. Something I recently learned is that “creme” does not mean dairy cream, instead it connotes a level of consistency and quality.

Since sugar gets beat up pretty badly these days, I want to break down the sugar contents of liqueurs to get an idea of how much is in a typical cocktail to alleviate concerns. 

• Standard European liqueur: 100 grams of sugar per liter is 3 grams per ounce

• European creme liqueur: 200 grams per liter is 6 grams per ounce

• Coca-Cola has 39 grams in a 12-ounce can. About 3.25 grams per ounce

• Useful fact: 1 gram of sugar = 4 calories

To wrap my head around this, I weighed 3 grams of sugar, which fits in a half teaspoon. The recipe for this drink calls for a half ounce of liqueur, meaning a quarter teaspoon of sugar.

The drink

Apricots are harvested throughout the summer, and their bright sweet, and tart flavors with mild spice notes spoke to the mood of fall for me.

To the above conversation about styles of liqueurs, since this apricot liqueur is not a rich creme, I found that a quarter ounce of rich (2:1 sugar to water) turbinado syrup helped balance the drink. If it was a creme, the sugar content alone might have been enough sweetness. Or, if it was a creme and it made the Apricot flavor too intense, my next step might have been to try a quarter ounce of the liqueur and a quarter ounce of syrup. Remember, if the cocktail turns out too sweet for you, a dash of bitters will help tamp down the sweetness.

Recipe and video

• 2 ounces Bourbon

• 1/2 ounce Joseph Cartron Abricot (👈 that’s how the French🇫🇷 spell it) liqueur

• 1/4 ounce of rich 2:1 turbinado syrup

• 1-2 dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters

• Garnish: expressed lemon peel