This is one of the best cocktails in our pile.
The Cloudbreak
February 7, 2026
mixology cloudbreak, cocktail, cocktail recipe, cocktails, friday saturday sunday, mixology 1 Comment
The Catoctin Creek Pizza Club
August 22, 2025
cooking baker bob, catoctin breek, catoctin creek, cocktail recipe, industry sour, larry, pizza, scott and becky Leave a comment
The n’th in a multi-year series. Baker Bob (aka Larry Kilbourne) and Scott Harris create some excellent pies and talk about the world. We always start with a batch of excellent cocktails.
This time featuring a lesson in Chinese toasts (“empty cup”) replete with rewards.
Meanwhile baker bob checks in on his double gluten dough.
We made 5 pies. Delicious.
Becky’s injury kept her parked on the main floor.
Scott was jealous, so he injured himself to keep up.
Larry made a new friend.
We ended the night with an industry sour
Equal parts: fernet, simple syrup (1:1), green chartreuse, lime. Such an excellent nightcap.
Lets Make Eggnog
December 20, 2021
cooking, mixology baltimore eggnog, cocktail, cocktail recipe, cocktails, cyn, derek brown, eggnog, fresh eggs 2 Comments
Fresh eggnog is really good come solstice time. I’ve made a number of batches over the years, but this recipe is my favorite. This came from an article by Derek Brown of DC bartending fame. Apparently it is called “Baltimore Eggnog.”
Testing the eggnog before the guests arrive
Ingredients
2 dozen fresh eggs from the girls, separated
1 750-mL bottle VSOP cognac
16 ounces Mt Gay Eclipse
1.5 pounds powdered sugar
3 quarts (96 ounces) whole milk, chilled
1 quart (32 ounces) heavy cream, chilled
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until light and lemon-colored.While continuing to beat, add the cognac, rum, sugar, milk, heavy cream and salt.
24 fresh yolks from the girls in the palace (absolutely fresh eggs from free range hens make a very big difference)
All ingredients but the whites mixed with an electric mixer
2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and nutmeg until they form stiff peaks.
3. Fold the whites into the yolk mixture.Serve in punch cups.
The final product in cyn’s punch bowl chilling in the fridge
Will keep, tightly sealed and refrigerated, for up to one month.
Take a sunset walk while the eggnog sets
Decorate the tree, and do some dancing.
Marco. BOILO!
December 13, 2018
cooking, fire, party, who knows boilo, cocktail recipe, extremely local product, solstice, solstice fire 4 Comments
This is how a tradition is born. First a seemingly innocuous cocktail article. Then edition one. Then fun. And here we go down the slippery slope to BOILO.
Step 0. Gather ingredients.
The makings of BOILO
What is that fancy ass ginger beer doing in there? And mace from Grenada?! Yeesh.
Step 1. Combine and boil down for 30 minutes or so.
Boil the BOILO
Step 2. What are we missing?
No really, what are we missing??!
Step 3. Eureka.
Step 4. Let the BOILO steep overnight (or 5 hours, whichever is longer)
Final product steeps
Now we are ready for the solstice! Yes we are.
Burn, baby, burn. Solstice fire 2017.
The Great 2017 Amer Picon Experiment
January 5, 2017
mixology, who knows amer picon, cocktail, cocktail recipe, demerara sugar, gentian, infusion, moonshine, Neroli-Petitgrain, quina, white dog Leave a comment
Because of the Liberal, that’s why. It all started as a hack of Torani Amer and Regan’s Orange bitters #6. But that was before Amer Picon from France. Now there is always Amer Picon in the house, a band called the Bitter Liberals, and a house cocktail.
Then came a Thanksgiving, Christa, and talk of Neroli-Petitgrain oranges growing in East Tennessee.
So yes, Amer Picon. Lets make it. Using ultra local super hot white dog. Lets make it.
December 15
https://twitter.com/noplasticshower/status/809576359056015361
December 19
Amer Picon experiment. Peel oranges. pic.twitter.com/ldrIoZAAro
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) December 20, 2016
Amer Picon experiment. Infuse peels and blossoms in 165 white dog. pic.twitter.com/oOw8rvDtyw
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) December 20, 2016
Amer Picon experiment. Carmelize the juice of 23 petitgrain neroli oranges from @xamcclellan. pic.twitter.com/j8kHIQCyYs
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) December 20, 2016
SOLSTICE
Amer Picon experiment. Backup leaf infusion in 165 white dog. (may need this for more bitter) pic.twitter.com/XY2YKxKin1
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) December 20, 2016
Christmas Eve
Amer picon experiment. Three ingredients status. Some time to go. @xamcclellan pic.twitter.com/tuXhDZm8T2
— noplasticshower (@noplasticshower) December 25, 2016
And then the big day: January 5, 2017
The final ingredient mix
Orange peel infusion jar
Straining the peel infusion with a coffee filter
Measuring the proof
A drop from 165 to 110
*** 110 proof orange peel infusion
Straining the orange leaf infusion
*** Orange leaf infusion
Caramelized orange juice with brown sugar and butter
*** Caramelized orange juice
Gentian
*** Gentian
Quina
*** Quina
Very close but needs some sugar, so simple syrup of demerara.
Demarara
Blend, taste, adjust, work. (Two half batches combined was our methodology.)
Notes and the final recipe.
Proof is in the Liberal.
A Liberal with homemade Amer Picon
Success!
Pineapple + Jalapeño = Yowza
July 31, 2016
farm, food, mixology cocktail recipe, margerita, pineapple Leave a comment
Somehow an actual pineapple grew here in Virginia. It came due today.
Ripe Pineapple
Around here, when you get ripe you may well end up in a cocktail.
Put the lime in the pineapple
Pineapple + jalapeño mergerita
2 oz liquified mix of 1/2 jalapeño and a tiny cored pineapple
2 oz fresh lime juice
4 oz blue agave tequila
2 t blue agave syrup
Stir down. Strain into cocktail glass.
YOWZA, that jalapeño is hot
What to do with an Unripe Watermellon
July 28, 2013
farm, mixology cocktail recipe, ginger beer, green watermellon flip, mixology, tea cloth, thonk, unripe watermellon, watermellon Leave a comment
All gardeners know the hazards of not waiting long enough to pick the first watermellon of the season. It’s big. It looks great. It feels right. It makes the right “thonk” when you thump it.
But no. It’s still white inside when you cut into it! Horrors. And just when the tomatoes are going haywire too!
Somebody else had an unripe watermellon too. Looks like this.
Here’s what to do.
Cut out the meat of the mellon and strain it through a tea cloth yielding fresh watermellon juice. Chill that.
The Green Watermellon Flip (a cocktail)
3 cups (or so) watermellon juice
3 oz gin
juice of 1 lime
Combine the first three ingredients over ice in a bar cup. Stir down.
Pour into a highball with huge cubes. Add 1.5 oz of super hot Ginger Beer to flip it.
bacon:bourbon::peanut butter:chocolate
February 15, 2013
mixology, who knows bacon, cocktail recipe, mixology Leave a comment
The Reece’s Peanut Butter cup of cocktail creation.
See http://noplasticshowers.com/2013/02/15/everybody-loves-bacon/
