The Naked Ape

The most common fruit juice used in cocktails. This citrus juice is about 6% acid; pure citric acid. Lemon juice should be used the day it is squeezed, some like it freshly squeezed and others like it a few hours old.

A concentrated syrup made from sugar water and cinnamon bark. You can make this yourself by adding a few cinnamon sticks to your simple syrup making process. We always use 1:1 syrup unless otherwise noted in the recipe itself.

A sweet and rich banana flavored liqueur. You can make it yourself! Here is a recipe from Serious Eats: Combine 2 peeled and sliced bananas with 1 1/2 cups rum in a sealable glass jar. Let steep for 3 days. Strain the fruit out and filter through cheesecloth. Press the bananas down to extract liquid. Heat 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar until the sugar dissolves, add the syrup to the mixture. Seal and shake, then let rest for 1 day. Enjoy!

These rich rums get their dark color from added caramel, not necessarily aging. Flavors are caramel and brown-sugar forward. Common examples are Meyers's and Coruba (Jamaican) or Gosling's Black Seal (Bermuda). A key ingredient in many classic tiki-era cocktails.

A high proof, usually 151, (>57.5 ABV) unaged or lightly aged rum. Compared to the funkier Jamaican variety, brands like Bacardi and Don Q offer cleaner, more alcohol-forward expressions. This rum is usually reserved for mixed drinks and adds a punch to many cocktails.

A concentrated aromatic bitters made in Trinidad from water, ethanol, gentian and other herbs and spices; used in many classic cocktails like the Manhattan.