distilling 101

Join us for a little history lesson about how distilled liquor came to be. By definition a distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables. This excludes undistilled fermented beverages such as beer, wine, and cider.

The term hard liquor is used in North America to distinguish distilled beverages from undistilled ones (implicitly weaker).

In modern distillation, except for the invention of the continuous still in the 19th century, the basic process of distillation has not changed since the 8th century. There have been many changes in the methods used to prepare organic material for the still, and the ways the distilled beverage is finished and marketed. Knowledge of the principles of sanitation and access to standardised yeast strains have improved the quality of the base ingredient; larger, more efficient stills produce more product per square foot and reduce waste; ingredients such as corn, rice, and potatoes have been called into service as inexpensive replacements for traditional grains and fruit. For tequila, the blue agave plant is used. Chemists have discovered the scientific principles behind aging, and have devised ways to accelerate aging without introducing harsh flavors. Modern filters have allowed distillers to remove unwanted residue and produce smoother finished products. Most of all, marketing has developed a worldwide market for distilled beverages among populations that previously did not drink spirits.

Now that you have some understanding of the distillation process, it's time to get mixing. We have a ton of great recipes here and on our www.facebook.com/lybations page to enjoy.

Cheers!

Curaçaos - Don't be affraid

We wanted to change things up a bit and introduce a different color palette to your mixology repertoire. We aren't usually drawn to the bluish frou-frou drinks that arrive with lots of fruit and an umbrella on vacation, however the Blue Ice is a tasty and easy to make lybation. Here's the scoop on Blue Curaçao Liqueur.

Curaçaos history - It's flavoured with the dried peel of the laraha citrus fruit, grown on the island of Curaçao. A non-native plant similar to an orange, the laraha developed from the sweet Valencia orange transplanted by Spanish explorers. The nutrient-poor soil and arid climate of Curaçao proved unsuitable to Valencia cultivation, resulting in small bitter fruit on the trees. But the aromatic peel maintained much of the essence of the Valencia varietal, and the trees were eventually bred into the current laraha cultivar.

Curaçaos flavour - The liqueur has an orange-like flavour with varying degrees of bitterness.

Blue Ice:

• 2 oz vodka
• .5 oz Blue Curaçao Liqueur
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice

Shake all ingredients in a shaker half-filled with ice. Pour in a cocktail glass or in a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with a slice of dried Pineapple.

Cheers!

Happy Margarita Day!

What you will need for this Watermelon Margarita:

• 3 oz quality tequila blanco
• 2 oz St Germain
• 2 oz watermelon juice
• 1 oz lime juice
• 1 oz simple syrup
• chipotle salt for rim (see our chipotle salt post for recipe)
• basil leaf for garnish 

Cut up some seedless watermelon. Liquefy in a blender until you have about 16 oz (for multiple cocktails). Add the watermelon juice and remaining ingredients over ice and shake in a cocktail shaker. Taste and add simple syrup if watermelon is not sweet enough. Serve in a bucket or margarita glass with a chipotle salted rim. Garnish with a slice of watermelon and basil leaf. Cheers!

cold & unfiltered sake

Sake is essentially a rice based alcoholic beverage made from rice that is unpalatable but makes a perfect alcoholic concoction. Nigorizake or Nigori is cold unfiltered sake and is making its way to drink menus everywhere. The white cloudy appearance of unfiltered sake is unfermented rice solids floating around inside. It has a creamier and more robust flavor. It is served cold and did you know...sake served hot is typically low quality or old. 

margarita for dessert? Yes.

So maybe at your next gathering you want to change it up and eat your Margarita instead of drink it. This lime sorbet with tequila is a game changer for your menu.

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
• 2 pints lime sorbet
• 1 oz St Germain Elderflower liqueur
• 1/2 cup Tequila Añejo

Preparation:

Rub the lime wedges around the rims of 8 stemmed glasses. Place the sugar on a small plate. Turn each glass upside down and dip the rims in the sugar to coat.

Place 2 scoops of sorbet in each glass and pour 1 tablespoon of tequila, preferably Tequila Añejo, and 1 teaspoon of St. Germain over the top of each. Serve with a spoon.

Cheers!