I really hope you had fun with this, because I'd much rather do episode about my *favorite* drinks than about the worst drinks. And if you love this show, please consider my Patreon bit.ly/H2DPatreon Patreon: bit.ly/H2DPatreon Viski: viski.com/discount/HOWTODRINK15 Twitch: bit.ly/2VsOi3d H2D2: bit.ly/YTH2D2 twitter: bit.ly/H2DTwit instagram: bit.ly/H2dIG Blog: bit.ly/H2DBlog Patreon: bit.ly/H2DPatreon Gear: amzn.to/2LeQCbW Top 5 three ingredient drinks: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VOyg2LzNiOA.htmlsi=Jt-EQ6D7s99Hz927 The best drinks I've ever made: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SFV02OAnels.htmlsi=th8iQgNcx8vsl88y The 10 best gaming drinks: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F5x3bZPQVwY.htmlsi=6-SsznIORV0SDaMP
Greg please make a video about the Martinez! You should try it with Ransom Old Tom this time, it's amazing and I think you will love it! Also, maybe a video about the Brooklyn and the ever elusive Amer Picon!
Love the show, Greg. Began experimenting with making mixed drinks after I started watching your channel over 5 years ago. Have absolutely loved the Caipirinha since you made it in a previous episode however long ago. One night, a friend and I decided to try something with the random liquors he had left in his cabinet (it was slim pickings, unfortunately), but I think we came up with something of a desert cocktail, and was wondering what your thoughts would be. It's called a Chocolate Covered Cherry. 2 oz. spiced rum, 1 oz creme de cocoa, and 0.5 oz cherry brandy, stirred over ice. Far from my favorite drink (that would be something of a Kentucky mule or something similar), but wasn't terrible. I feel like it's missing something, though.
I'm sure that clickbait-y stuff works, and a man's got to make his money, but it is still sad, because the straightforward content on this channel is good!
"Why cant i be this creative?" Asks the man who got me into making cocktails by being super creative and making some amazing drinks. You ARE that creative man.
Same. I've always liked Greg's treble/bass vocabulary for describing flavors, but "Bach chord that makes 'em give money to the Church" is particularly descriptive :p
It made me think of Leonard Cohen. 'I heard there was a secret drink, that Greg had made and it made him sing, but you don't really care for cocktails, do you?'
Same! His music-based descriptions have always really resonated with me and made a lot of sense! He one time kinda got flustered or embarrassed saying he felt pretentious for talking that way, but I wanted to say through the screen "I love those metaphors and I think they're apt and thoughtful and not pretentious at all!"
This channel is so underrated. Every adult would benefit by following you, seeing as so many buy premixed cocktails, smash wine or beer or spirits with no flavor, and overall just have no taste in alcohol orher than getting buzzed/drunk (hopefully only occasionally but probably not).
I was with my in laws and they asked me if I wanted any of the rum "cocktail" they had to drink. It was electric blue and came in a bucket. I politely declined.
The original orgeat was made with oats I believe anyways, so that would not be too far off. Make it easy and buy some plain oatmilk or other alternative and use that instead of the blended almonds.
I loved watching Greg enjoy his drinks and share these with us. Would honestly love to see some kind of episode where you explore new-aged cocktails. Like the Drinks from the 70s episode but with all the newest drinks and cocktails that have emerged from the 2010s onward
The slow motion shot of half the lime pieces missing the tin as Greg says “Put ALL of that in the tin” 😂. I just love all of those close up slo mo’s of splashy spills all around the tin or glass as he adds ingredients.
“The kind of chord that makes you give the money to the church” Damn Greg, if I were half as evocative with the imagery in my writing as you are with your tasting notes, I’d be a best selling novelist. I think you’ve finally convinced me, I’m joining the patreon
I love videos like this, where you eloquently describe the cocktails you love and why you love them. Your description of the improved whiskey cocktail made me want one immediately.
I've gotten into making cocktails because of you, thank you so much for helping me appreciate drinks i'd otherwise discarded as "not my thing" before now
I think it speaks a lot to how cool these videos are to watch that I do not drink, and likely will never, and absolutely love these videos. I just think this stuff is super cool and interesting! Keep it up 🧡
@@danielwisehart5460 I mix the base drink minus the bitters, top the glass with the carbonated water, give that a light stir, then add the dashes of bitters.
I love hearing about drinks you love, it’s influenced me to try them because I relate to a lot of your flavor preferences. I thank you for introducing me to the Halekulani, for one. Excited to try these ones, too!
Greg, if you like caipirinha, I HIGHLY recommend Macunaíma, it's an absolute treasure of a drink: 60ml cachaça, 15ml lime juice, 15ml fernet (most recipes ask for the fernet branca, but I like the dark fernet better) and 15ml simple. Trust me!
The rusty anchor was so easy to make, my parents guzzle drambuie and their friends, they were over in France for a holiday and they took a bottle with them but realised they had no shot glasses so they went for an egg cup, so whenever they would come round now they would say "you want an oeuff?" (egg in french). Besides from that, i made the rust anchor whilst watching this and Greg youve blown it out of the water and i can agree with the cheese cake finish, hats off to you !!!
The description of the improved whiskey, particularly from 7:25 onwards, is so chaotic and magical, I'm gonna have to come back and watch it again and again
I saw the upload, went to the end of my garden to my Home Bar and began crafting… what a way to celebrate a 22nd birthday! Loved the channel for ages and will continue to drink and celebrate with you and many other viewers! Keep up the content 🎉🥂
Love watching videos where you show such joy with what you make. Alcohol isn't for me but I am grateful for finding such a wonderful channel with someone so passionate. Keep up the excellent work.
Thanks for the vid. A story for you: I joined the Marines at 18 in '93 and my knowledge of alcohol came from the e-club, where you could get anything you wanted, as long as you wanted jack and budweiser. I never was much a fan. I am now 50 and someone bought me a bottle of macallan. I realized there is more to alcohol, so I went looking for more info and found your channel. After watching this vid, I ordered what I needed for the Rusty Anchor (seemed easiest). Man, that is good. You have made a new fan, and now I am looking to try some more real drinks. Now I am looking to buy a shaker and some other basic bits (i'll check out your store first). I just wanted to thank you for making such fun videos.
I’ve seen some very big names in the bar world disparage the practice as pointless, personally I don’t trust my perception enough without a blind test to say for sure one way or the other
Improved whiskey cocktail is my fav! Hard to find places (at least in my neck of the woods) that know what it is, and I rarely feel like going through the trouble of explaining it.
I've been terribly sick going on a week now, and I'm desperately searching for anything to take my mind off how I feel. And I gotta say, right now the thing that's doing it for me is the tiny little purple bow on what is probably the thiccest decanter I have ever seen in my life. I don't know who put that ribbon on your bottle Greg, but I'm extremely grateful to them for making me smile. Great episode by the way!
Hey man, been following you for a long time and I’ve gone through A LOT crap since following you. Divorce, re-married, miscarriage, having a kid, two job changes including departing out of the Marine Corps. I put your podcasts on and old episodes on all the time. You’ve aided in a lot of troubles in my life through helping me get more addicted to alcohol and I’ll tell you that even in my cirrhosis that will inevitably arrive, I will continue to watch with unwavering loyalty and pride. I do hope you read this, even with a little satire but also much truth my good friend. Thank you and good day.
I made an improved whiskey cocktail with Bulleit bourbon and Elamakule Tiki Bitters because my bar was looking pretty empty and man, what a surprise that was! Absolutely delicious.
The vids I enjoy the most are you sharing something interesting, either cocktails or ingredients making, and then you creating theme cocktails. I'm finding the bad cocktails ones harder and harder to watch!
The Mai Tai is really incredible. I can’t remember if you’ve tried barrel aging on the channel, but I tried it with some Wray and Nephew (after aging some bourbon in the barrel first) and let me tell you it makes an incredible Mai Tai. I’m sure it’s not actually close to the 17 year, but the aging took off so much of the sharpness of Wray and Nephew and left it with some beautiful caramel notes!
Re: El Presidente The “White Rum” being called for isn’t unaged. Rums like Havana Club 3, Plantation 3-star, Hamilton White ‘Stache, Don Q Cristal etc. are all aged. They don’t have to be “brash” tasting either. A lot of low aged, filtered rums are absolutely delicious. Try for example Ten to One white, Diplomatico Planas or Real McCoy 3: all super tasty (and aged!)
Honestly Plantation 3 star is my go-to for white rum. Yes, others are good and arguably better, but I just like it and I think it would work great in that drink
@@billfurlow3608 My go-top spec is 2 oz "rum", 1 oz of dry vermouth, .5 oz curacao, barspoon grenadine. That already puts forth a pretty sweet drink. That's what I like. Alternately, and even better, is using Comoz Vermouth de Chambery Blanc which has a sweetness somewhere between standard dry and blanc. When I use the Comoz I do a scant pour on the curacao to adjust.
@@billfurlow3608 supposedly it's more like the vermouth that was used in the original drink. You can read about it by Googling "Dolin Comoz Haus Alpenz"
I was introduced to your channel through some of the cyberpunk videos. I then started watching some of your back catalogue, and made a couple of the drinks you showcased. My first Mai Tai took my breath away. I've been hooked ever since. And yes, an improved whisky cocktail is as mind-blowingly good as you describe.
Coincidentally, your favorite drinks happen to be some of my favorite episodes. The Caipirinha is definitely one of my favorite cocktails and loved by everyone that I make it for. Thanks!
Your cocktails always positively impress my local bartender, and i'm happy to bring something new around my small town's quite resurrecting from staleness drinking habits. When my dad was young, the main attraction was wine and derived spirits, as i'm from tuscany, between Montecucco and Morellino areas. Rum that people going to cuba for holidays tasted and, sometimes, bring back home, was also quite renown. As of now, local bartenders and the whole alchool panorama changed dramaticly, i had for example a bottle of gin from the firm Castelgreve, that usually makes Chianti that was a real treat. i'm so glad that things have been refined to this levels with cocktails, and the culture of low budget drinks is dying, or at least acknowledged to be lame. i wouldn't even consider it fair for college's nights, have some decency already!
Love this channel. Frankly, underrated. Have a request. Would love to see an episode with original cocktails that YOU created. Would be great to see 1) a wheated bourbon cocktail, 2) an Anejo tequila cocktail and 3) a molasses rum (e.g., Foursquare) cocktail. Again, thank you. Great content.
Greg, first of all I wanna say thank you. You’re my favorite content creator on the internet and the reason I’ve gotten so invested in mixology. Thank you so much!
So, I've enjoyed playing around with liquors mixed in with sodas and whatnot, but the first time I _really_ started playing around with making proper cocktails was after I watched you talk about the improved whiskey cocktail in your video where you talked about "if you like X, try Y" and... you sent me down a rabbit hole. I may still not have the best arrangement to play with mixology to my heart's content, but you FINALLY got me to get a bar tool set, with a mixing glass, shaker, strainers, etc., and I've fallen in love with not only the improved whiskey cocktail, but also the classic recipe mai tai, and a few others. Now, with my improved whiskey cocktail, I do need to get a proper bottle of rye whiskey to see how that does with it, but I really have been enjoying it with a whiskey out of Portland, Oregon, which is a Canadian whiskey that is finished in rye and corn whiskey casks. On top of that, I've found that I like a fair bit more absinthe than just a rinse or a spritz in the glass, but instead use a bar spoon of absinthe in the mix full stop. It was surprising for me, since I have never really liked licorice, but after a while of drinking it, I actually gave licorice another go, and found that I enjoy it now! I blame you. Also, I recently got to try a caipirinha at a Brazilian churrascaria called Fogo de Chao, which just opened up a location in my area, and while I wasn't upset with the much fruitier one that I ordered for myself, I think I would definitely get their more original one next time, after trying some of my dad's. And, of course, the Mai Tai... definitely have fallen in love with that one. Doesn't need all of the extra fruit juice, it is just... beautiful all on its own. I guess I'll really need to look into making myself an El Presidente at some point... my main challenge has been that I don't really have the fridge capacity to keep a bottle of vermouth or anything like that in the fridge. Especially if the fridge side is going to end up freezing it, the way it does with almost anything else that is all of the way in the back. I should also try out your Rusty Nail... I'm actually a big fan of gin, particularly enjoying the herbal notes in it. Heck, I've loved gin ever since I made my first "classic recipe" gimlet. That one was from when I'd read Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye, where Philip Marlowe is told the proper way to make one, with just half Rose's lime juice and half gin, and that's it. I've been a fan ever since XD
I'll repeat what many ppl are saying: I don't give a damn about complex cocktails and I never make anything I see here myself but I just love watching you have fun and talk about stuff. You seem like a great person to hang out with haha all the best
I loved this video! The worst drinks can be funny but I enjoy people having a good time more. The best drinks teach me so much about what i can do to make up some great stuff for my family and friends.
As a Brazilian, I was always told growing up that a caipirinha must be made with granulated sugar. The reason is it helps bring out just that much more of the lime essential oils. In addition, getting that nice little sugar crunch in there can be quite nice. :)
I usually use granulated sugar for the caipirinha and not syrup. I like the fact it slowly dissolves more over time and ends up being sweeter then when you start. I haven't used Novo Fogo yet but I've used leblon which I like a good amount. Aside for caipirinhas, I always love a good mai tai a bit different than the spec written in the Smuggler's Cove book.
I *love* gin, and I have really appreciated your many years of cocktail advice helping me find more ways to serve it to my friends! Just a couple days ago, I got to make several really easy gin drinks using your old fashioned formula principle - they went down a treat! We put away half a bottle of gin real easy, and all thanks to what I learned from your channel! (Also total side note, can't wait for Midnight Local to come back, I love the podcast!)
Paper Plane is what got me into cocktails, and is still my absolute favorite. So simple, yet so grownup, so balanced, and so crushable, yet so boozy. It is the perfect drink to me.
I actually have never had a Mai Tai before, so I went to the store this morning and now I have one and it is glorious. Thanks, Greg! Also, seeing you so jazzed about these drinks was great!
Im freaking ouuuuttt!!! Caipirinha made it to the list! 🤩Well... Brazil is waiting for you and your family buddy. too many fun places and... distilleries to visit
The El Presidente. The drink that, because of you, I was introduced to and is probably my favorite cocktail and the one that my family and friends love for me to make for them. I adjusted mine to be 2 oz Applteon Estate, 1 Oz Dolin Blanco Vermouth, 1 Oz Dry Curacao or Cointreau, and 1/4 Oz Grenadine. Finished and garnished with the expressed orange peel. The grenadine gives it a beautiful orange color that looks fantastic in a coupe. Just... beautiful. Love that drink.
The improved whiskey cocktail was the drink that sent me down the rabbit hole. I caught an earlier version, from the history of the old fashioned video. I made it for a few friends and they were astounded. Now I have hundreds of bottles.
Loved this video. It's true, improved whisky cocktail, updating my old fashioned really helped me fall in love with drink making. Caiphirinias are also the best lazy summer cocktail.
I first came across the Presidente in the Wondrich book and there the recipe is more like an inverted manhattan spec (2oz vermouth: 1oz rum) with only a barspoon of the curaçao...I think I will like yours better! Can't wait to try it. Thank you!
"One of them chords that makes you give money to the church" is among my favorite ways ive ever heard music described, and it wasnt even to describe music
So glad Greg gets to make some good drinks! The bad drink videos are amusing for sure, but it is so nice to see him make and drink things he loves so much!
The caipirinha was my first legal drink; my parents took me to a brazilian restaurant on my 21st birthday. It was an absolute joy to start my adult with with this drink, to say the least.
I love that your first pick is the presidente. I discovered it independent of the channel but it's a go to for me with Diplomatico and homemade Curacao.
I love hearing about Greg's favorite drinks. I've learned so much from these videos and I'm always excited to learn a new skill. It's thanks to Greg that my friend's favorite drink is a last word
An El Presidente is also a defensive drill where the shooter looks over his shoulder, identifies three evenly spaced targets, pivots to face them, draws and engages each target with two rounds, left to right, then reloads and engages each target with two rounds right to left, before scanning for threats and holstering the weapon. This is meant to be a inclusive test of many individual skills.
To be fair, the casual ads are fine. Like Viski. They're just part of the episode, no special attention, and yet we know it because you mention it often. Also good to see you enjoying your drinks in an episode once in a while.
Greg has so much more energy than the bad drink episodes. I feel like he needs to bring this energy when someone asks for like a French 75 with pepto instead of sugar or whatever :P
I loved this episode! So nice to see you enjoying yourself. I will say that an agricole rum can work really well in a mai tai! I love an even split of Rhum JM Blanc and Smith+Cross. The grassiness of the agricole plays well with the orgeat, and is counter played with the fogo from the S+C. Worth a try, if you haven't!
Improved whiskey cocktail is one of my standard go-tos. I often make it as a built drink with a block ice. I keep a small dropper bottle of absinthe and one dropper full is probably about a 1/4 oz, anyway, it's about perfect for me. I'd wager I get more than you get with the spritz. I just spin the glass at an angle and drop a bead around the top that drips down and put what's left on the ice cube. I also keep a dropper bottle of saline solution, though that gets less use. And I'd probably do it for bitters if I got a large bottle. And as I'm typing this I STILL pour a giant marishcino bottle into a barspoon or 1/4oz measure even though 80% of my drinks use 1/4oz or less, so I think I'm going to get my box of droppers down and add a maraschino one (though it's more viscous than a spirit or saline, so it might not be ideal). TLDR: dropper bottles are great for when you make a lot of improved whiskey cocktails. (Edit: I sometimes use a small drop of orange bitters when I'm out of lemon, and I sometimes use a cherry garnish and replace some of the marachino liquor with the masarchino syrup if I want it sweeter and simpler)
Cheers for the great picks and for getting me into cocktails. I’m a little surprised the Queen’s Park Swizzle didn’t make the list with how much you’ve talked it up before. More for me at least.
Nice to see that the caipirinha keeps making onto these lists! I personally drank 4 of them last Saturday 😂 Would like to suggest once again a caipirinha matrix with fruits (lime, strawberry, orange, passionfruit...) vs spirits (cachaça, vodka, whisky, rum and even wine). Just be sure to bring the spit bucket!
Monkeypod Kitchen in Hawaii makes the best Mai Tai I've ever had. I don't have the exact measurements for the recipe but it calls for silver and dark rums (Koloa is a good choice here), lime juice, homemade macadamia nut orgeat, orange curacao, and a honey-lilikoi (passion fruit) foam. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and it really is the perfect drink. It's potent yet sweet and the lilikoi foam adds a tanginess that balances it out, well, perfectly. I spent many nights out on their lanai, listening to the waves roll in on Waikiki beach while some island guitar played in the background. I'd love to see him make it, I'm sure he'd love this version.
Sitting here having firmly slotted an improved whiskey cocktail as my favorite drink for the past 3 years. Audibly gasped when he forgot the Absinthe 😂
