The inspiration for this one sparked from a locally crafted krupnik style liqueur with heavy notes of cloves and honey 🍯. A quick taste reminded me of clove candy from my youth which then lead to candied apple at winter carnivals that had candy coating spiced cinnamon and clove. So tinkered with an old fashion template. Quite happy with the results. Bright apple cinnamon, clove aroma with the sip shifting into the baked apple 🍎, with hints of wood chip smoke, honey 🍯, baking spices and a spicy finish lead by clove and cinnamon lingering because of the spicy bitters. As the ice melts the apple becomes even more present. The evolution mimics the candied apple as one tended to get more candy early and more apple as it is consumed. Since the liqueur would be almost impossible to find make honey 🍯 syrup (3:1) and let whole cloves infuse until the clove is almost dominant. For the apple ice sphere a simpler way is pouring 2 oz (60ml) of apple juice in a glass and freezing it. No need to fiddle with a mold. Hope yous try this and let me know. Pommes Carnaval 2.5 oz (75ml) Apple Brandy ⅓ oz (10ml) Cinnamon Syrup ⅓ oz (10ml) Honey Clove Syrup 3 drops Salt Solution 1 drop Spicy Bitters 2 dashes Smoked Apple Bitters Apple Juice Ice Sphere

As many of you might have guessed, I love making interesting drinks with difficult ingredients. For my pallette, Frangelico is one of those difficult ingredients: I find it easily takes over or completely blends into the background. In this cocktail, the Frangelico plays an important role while avoiding overpowering the other flavors. 30ml Jamaican Rum 15ml Rich syrup (2 sugar to 1 water) 15ml Lime Juice 15ml Frangelico 15ml Pomegranate Liqueur (Pama) 1 dash Angostura bitters (optional)

I seldom visit here these days due to various other things keeping me busy; however, I have a simple twist on a White Negroni that I want to share: 30ml Floral Gin 30ml Dry Vermouth 15ml Salers (or Suze) 15ml Velvet Falernum

This is in response to the Disaronno challenge by @Woody Kane : 30 ml Bombay Sapphire Gin 30 ml Lemon Juice 20 ml Disaronno 20 ml Green Chartreuse 20 ml Simple Syrup

Here is my cocktail for the special Negroni week menu we are doing at my establishment. 1.25 oz smoked sun dried tomato Aviation gin .75 oz Campari .25 oz Amaro Braulio .75 oz Bonal 3 drops tomato leaf oil (2 cups chopped tomato leaf in 1 cup nice olive oil, puréed and strained) For the gin I infused 20 grams smoked sun dried tomato (dry packed) for every 4 oz of gin. I let it sit for 24 hours and squeezed as much gin out of the tomatoes as I could when straining.