Beauty Parlor

A yellow citrus fruit. The peel is often used as a garnish while the juice incorporated into the drink for a tart flavor profile (citric acid).

A distilled, highly alcoholic (45-75% ABV), anise-flavored beverage derived from botanicals like wormwood, green anise, fennel, hyssop, melissa and other herbs. Technically a spirit, as it is not bottled with sugar. The green fairy.

A class of bitters that a broadly made from aromatic herbs, spices, fruits and botanicals. This includes Peychuad and Angostura bitters. You can make these at home. There are plenty of recipes online for various bitters, a good book source is 'Bitters' by Brad Parsons. The only down side is they generally require hard-ish to source ingredients.

A gentian-base aromatic bitters similar to Angostura but with a lighter body, sweeter taste and more floral aroma. A common component of the Sazerac.

A syrup made from dissolving granulated sugar (sucrose) in water. Regular simple is made by combining 1:1 sugar:water by mass, rich simple is 2:1 sugar:water by mass although only 1.5 times as sweet as regular. We always use 1:1 syrup unless otherwise noted in the recipe itself.

Crème de Cacao White is a clear liqueur with a milk chocolate flavor, underpinned by faint vanilla and apricot tones.

Produced at the traditional sugarcane farms and distilleries of Jamaica, these molasses-based rums are beloved for their funky notes of tropical fruit. These can be bottled as a blend of pot and column-still rums (e.g., Appleton Signature) or as 100% pot still (e.g., Smith & Cross). Many recipes specifically call for Smith & Cross, which is elevated in both ABV and funky flavors. These rums are usually aged between 5 and 12 years, often in the tropical climate of Jamaica.

A brandy produced in the wine-region surrounding Cognac, France. Cognac must be twice distilled and aged for at least two years in French oak.

A primarily after-dinner spirit made from distilling wine. Generally containing 35-60% ABV and generally aged in wooden casks. Cognac is a famous example of a brandy (produced in the Cognac region of France).