The Knockturnal’s August Cocktail And Spirits Roundup

We have one solid month left of the summer, and there isn’t a better time to go out and enjoy the warm weather.  And if you are looking to celebrate the rest of summer with a boozy drink, we have some recipes below that will help you make the most of the summertime.

Tequila

To start the tequila section of the roundup, we wanted to highlight a new product that has hit the market that we absolutely love.  After nearly a century of offering high-quality natural sweeteners, In The Raw is tapping into the culinary delight that is ‘spicy sweet’ with the launch of Organic Hot Agave. 

In The Raw’s Organic Hot Agave is the perfect addition to your tequila cocktails, pizza slices, or chicken and waffles. Jalapeño peppers and chili bring the heat to 100% raw blue agave nectar, delivering a spicy-sweet flavor with just the right amount of kick to have everyone asking for seconds.

The product is available on Amazon and retails at just $4.99 so spice lovers can enjoy this premium product at an affordable price.

And one cocktail we used this for is a spicy margarita cocktail which you can find below:

Spicy Margarita

Ingredients:

• 5 oz lime juice
• 5oz 818 Tequila Blanco
• 5 tbs Hot Agave In The Raw
• 2 dashes bitters
• 5 oz Club Soda
• 3 sprigs of Cilantro

Method: Squeeze lime juice into a mixer and add in the tequila and agave.  Add sprigs of cilantro and a splash of bitters into the mixer as well.  Add ice into the mixer and shake.  Rim the glass with salt or Tajin and strain the drink from the mixer into the glass.  Top with club soda.

Mood Up Spritz

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. Próspero Reposado
• 1 oz. Hibiscus tea
• .6 oz. Raspberry syrup
• Top with Blood Orange Bitters Kefir Water

Method:  Pour each ingredient into a wine glass, with each ingredient building on the next. Stir drink two times and then garnish with two slices of blood orange, a sprig of rosemary, and a raspberry.

Rum

The Burrell Daiquiri

Ingredients:

• 2oz Equiano Original
• 1oz Fresh Lime Juice
• 5oz Agave Nectar
• 3 Dashes of Orange Bitters

Method: Pour all ingredients into a shaker with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain in a chilled cocktail glass. Serve straight up; without ice in a tall cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Shaddocks Daiquiri

Ingredients:

• 2oz Equiano Light
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• ½ oz grapefruit juice
• ½ oz simple syrup

Method:  Combine rum, lime juice, and sugar syrup in a cocktail shaker.  Shake vigorously with ice and pour into a coupe or martini glass.  Garnish with grapefruit peel

Gin

Minke Gin Sour

Ingredients:

• 2 oz MinkeIrish Gin
• 1 oz lemon juice
• .5 oz sugar syrup
• 1 oz egg white
• Lemon wedge for decoration

Method: Add all ingredients with ice to a shaker. Shake hard. Double strain into a glass. Garnish with shaved lemon and serve.

NOLET’S Silver Gin + Soda

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz. NOLET’S Silver Gin
• 4 oz. Club Soda, Seltzer, or Sparkling Mineral Water
• Lemon Peel

Method:  Pour NOLET’S Silver Gin into an ice-filled gin balloon glass and top with Soda. Stir well.

Express oil then garnish with a swath of lemon peel.

NOLET’S Silver Botanical Daisy

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. NOLET’S Silver Gin
• 0.5 oz. Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit & Rose
• 1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1 Tbsp. Maraschino Syrup
• Club Soda

Method:  Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add NOLET’S Silver, Ketel One Botanical Grapefruit & Rose, lemon, and syrup. Shake and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with soda water. Garnish with 2 Maraschino cherries.

NOLET’S Silver Botanical Garden

Ingredients:

• NOLET’S Silver
• Elderflower Liqueur
• Lemon Juice
• Simple Syrup
• Club Soda

Method:  Fill the shaker with ice. Add NOLET’S Silver, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Shake and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with edible flowers.

Whiskey 

To kick off this section, we are excited to share that the whisky brand Mercer + Prince debuts its first-ever campaign, “Carefully Crafted” which features its founder A$AP Rocky.

Whisky lovers and A$AP Rocky fans alike can now find Mercer + Prince in Boston, MA, and Jackson, MS. This brings the total to 11 states where you can test out the whisky brand in-person. It can also be found in stores in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York, Detroit, Washington DC, Connecticut, and Maryland.

Mercer + Prince debuted in March 2022 and set out to redefine the spirits industry through the lens of its founder by intersecting art and culture with his first liquor brand. The bottle’s design was originally a napkin sketch from A$AP Rocky which turned into reality. Its functional yet sleek design features two cups on both ends which allows anyone drinking it to pour a drink for themselves and a friend. The whisky is created by distilling Canadian and Japanese whisky and then aging in American White Oak barrels. Its taste is approachable and easy to drink, especially for those who are starting to explore the category.

Slane Cold Brew

Ingredients:

• 1 part Slane Irish Whiskey
• ⅔ part Maple Syrup
• Top with Cold Brew Coffee
• 3 Coffee Beans (garnish)

Glassware: Highball

Garnish: 3 Coffee Beans

Method: Build all ingredients over ice and stir.  

Canned Cocktails

Novo Fogo Organic Cachaça recently announced that they have completely redesigned and reformulated their popular line of award-winning Brazilian canned cocktails, offering consumers a fresh way to experience their carbonated twist on Brazil’s national cocktail, the Caipirinha. Novo Fogo Brazilian Organic Cocktails come in three tropical flavors and are USDA-certified organic.

Novo Fogo’s Brazilian Organic Cocktails highlight three traditional Brazilian flavors – Lime, Passion Fruit, and Mango – that complement the base spirit of Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça, beloved by bartenders across the globe. The 100% natural ingredients have been reformulated to create a cocktail that is now certified organic by the USDA, a first for any cachaça-based RTD and a big win for Mother Earth. This breakthrough now makes Novo Fogo’s entire product line USDA-certified organic.

Novo Fogo Brazilian Organic Cocktails feature new recipes that are full-flavored and not too sweet, each at 9% ABV with 150 calories and 12 grams of carbohydrates per serving.

Sammy’s Beach Bar Cocktail Co.’s top-shelf sparkling rum cocktails are tasty and portable. Pack ‘em in your cooler for a day at the lake, the beach, a round of golf, or any backyard BBQ. Steeped with island flavor from Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum, they’re available in four delicious flavors: Tangerine Dream, Pineapple Splash, Island Pop, and Cherry Kola Chill. Each is made with all-natural ingredients and under five grams of sugar and 130 calories per can. Locate a store that carries Sammy’s Beach Bar Cocktails through the link here.

Luxury cognac brand founded by Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, D’USSÉ curated an exclusive, limited-edition summer cocktail kit in celebration of Sol Blume.  The kit had everything you need to make the classic “D’USSÉ Lemonade” cocktail recipe – the easy to make fan favorite for old and new cognac drinkers alike and D’USSÉ’s hero cocktail traveling to each festival across the nation. The kit also had some special, custom designed collectibles from D’USSÉ to celebrate musical milestones this year and the 2023 festival season. The custom kit is a part of the limited release available only for the summer season this year.