Revolver | A bourbon and coffee cocktail with 3 ingredients
bourbon

Revolver | An Easy Bourbon and Coffee Cocktail

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The Revolver is a bourbon and coffee cocktail made with only 3 ingredients. It's a delicious and simple way to celebrate the unique flavors of bourbon.

The Revolver is a unique cocktail made with bourbon and coffee liqueur. It was created by a famous bartender out in San Fransisco named Jon Santer around 2003. It was originally made using Bulleit Bourbon, a rye-heavy & spicy bourbon, but since the nation is on lockdown due to COVID-19, just use whatever bourbon or whiskey you’ve got.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

If you’re curious about what the difference between bourbon and whiskey is, bourbon HAS to be: 1) made in America, 2) made of at least 51% corn, and 3) stored in new charred-oak barrels without any additives. So, all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. Ya follow? There are a lot of interesting laws in place about how to properly name and create certain liquors, aren’t there?

The Revolver is a bourbon and coffee cocktail made with only 3 ingredients. It's a delicious and simple way to celebrate the unique flavors of bourbon.

I don’t have any bourbon in my bar cart at the moment but I DO have a corn whiskey. Baby Blue from Balcones is 100% corn, additive-free, aged for 6 months in oak barrels. But since it’s not stored in new or charred oak barrels, it’s not considered a bourbon. At least that’s my understanding. I eventually do want to try this recipe the way the bartender intended it to be made.

If you don’t have an old coffee liqueur in your bar cart (or maybe it’s real old… like, older than 2-3 years), I’ve got an easy and instant recipe for homemade coffee liqueur using either vodka or rum. If you are rationing your bar staples, halve or third the recipe.

The Revolver is a bourbon and coffee cocktail made with only 3 ingredients. It's a delicious and simple way to celebrate the unique flavors of bourbon.

I’m also out of orange bitters, which the recipe calls for, so I just used Angostura bitters and tried to squeeze a little extra oil from the orange rind to get a little more orange oil flav. We’re working with what we got here, Jon. Don’t hate me for having to alter your drink.

The original recipe also calls for a flamed orange peel. I followed the instructions in this video:

Here’s footage from my first-ever flamed orange peel attempt. Aside from the shoddy camera work, I did alright! I’ll admit, I was actually nervous (as evidenced by the recoil) but I survived. And with all body hair intact, too. I’d say that’s a win. Shout out to my nail polish! Death Valley Nails is a company owned by my friend out in LA. All of DVN polish is 10-free, vegan, nontoxic, cruelty-free, and hand-mixed. AND it performs better than any nail polish I ever used. Scout’s honor.

The Revolver is a bourbon and coffee cocktail made with only 3 ingredients. Jon Santer created this simple and unique cocktail. He serves his with a flamed orange peel- I suggest you do the same.

The Ingredients for a Revolver

The Ingredients I Resorted To

  • 2 oz corn whiskey (Balcones’ Baby Blue is 100% Corn so it’s gluten-free! Celiacs rejoice!)
  • 1/2 oz coffee liqueur
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • flamed orange peel

The How-To

Add bourbon, coffee liqueur, and bitters to a shaker or large glass filled with ice. Stir until very cold and blended. Strain into a Nick and Nora glass* or a coupe glass. You don’t have to flame the orange peel, but why not. I know “sheltering in place” has you anxious for some sort of entertainment and excitement.

Get a large swath of orange peel (1 inch by 2 inches). Warm the peel up by holding the flame of a match or lighter close to it. Then, carefully squeeze the peel. The oils from the peel should spray through the flame into the glass. It’ll be a small spurt of fire, nothing crazy. Rub the peel along the rim of the glass to get even more smokey orange goodness going. You can discard the peel or place it in the drink.

*A Nick and Nora glass is a small glass that looks like a mix between a wine glass and a coupe glass in my opinion. Totally adorable. They’re typically used to serve cocktails without citrus juice in them, but who’s to say you couldn’t drink chocolate milk out of one? Fun fact: these glasses get their name from the two characters in the movie The Thin Man. They sipped their cocktails out of this style of glass back in the 1930s and made the glassware popular as a result.

The Revolver is a bourbon and coffee cocktail made with only 3 ingredients. It's a delicious and simple way to celebrate the unique flavors of bourbon.
Gimlet
gin

Gimlet | A 2- or 3-Ingredient Classic Cocktail

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The Gimlet is a classic cocktail made with gin, lime juice, and sugar. It's light, crisp, and refreshing, making it the perfect spring-time drink.
Gimlet

Wow. Crazy times, right? We are experiencing something unprecedented as a country–no, as a planet– right now thanks to COVID-19. I hemmed and hawed about whether or not I should post cocktail recipes, because it all seems a little frivolous right now.

However, I’m thinking you’ve got some extra time on your hands. And since I’m assuming most people can’t go out, I’ve compiled a list of several classic cocktail recipes that have 3 ingredients you probably already have. I’ll be writing them over the next week or two. If you don’t have the right ingredients, make some modifications and call it a quarantine experiment. Everything is more fun when you call it an experiment, right?

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

The Gimlet is a classic cocktail. Traditionally, it calls for lime cordial (the most common being Rose’s Lime Juice). However, I don’t have any lime cordial and I’m not about to brave the stores for something so… unessential. So I’m improvising by using fresh lime juice and sugar. It’s definitely different than what a Gimlet usually tastes like, so make sure to give both versions a fair try once grocery stores and online-orders are bit easier to deal with. One plus side to using fresh lime juice is the extra dose of vitamin C. Extra vitamin C in a time like this sounds like a good idea to me.

The Gimlet is a classic cocktail made with gin, lime juice, and sugar. It's light, crisp, and refreshing, making it the perfect spring-time drink.

If you have citric acid chillin’ in your pantry, though, you can make this homemade lime cordial. I really want to try this in the future so if any of y’all make it, let me know how it is!

If you have some leftover rose simple syrup, honey simple syrup, matcha simple syrup, or beet simple syrup from one of my other cocktails, you could always use that in place of the traditional simple syrup in this recipe. See? So many ways to experiment while you’re stuck at home! Also– if you’ve got a kid at home with you, make them a mocktail with lime juice, sparkling water, and simple syrup. It’ll basically be a DIY Sprite, with no artificial weird stuff.

I opted to make this cocktail outside, because why not? It took me all of 45 extra seconds to carry the ingredients outside. I can’t believe it’s the first time I’ve ever mixed a drink outdoors. It definitely won’t be my last. I actually made this Gimlet while wearing my baby in a ring sling. Baby-wearing, cocktail-slinging. I am Mama, hear me roar. Or something like that.

The Gimlet is a classic cocktail made with gin, lime juice, and sugar. It's light, crisp, and refreshing, making it the perfect spring-time drink.f

The Ingredients for a Traditional Gimlet

The Ingredients for a Do-What-You-Can-With-What-You-Have Gimlet

How to Make It

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Stir until the syrup is incorporated well. Or rebel against tradition since we’re already not using lime cordial and shake the dang thing. Strain into a coupe glass or martini glass. Sip on your porch or balcony to add some vitamin D to your vitamin C.

Gin recommendations for Gimlets (or other cocktails that put gin on full display)

I only had Opihr gin on-hand (a spiced gin) and while it was still definitely good, I would recommend gins that lean more clean-tasting, like:

  • Hendricks (distilled with cucumbers, so this would be complemented in a Gimlet)
  • Bombay Sapphire
  • Prairie (certified organic & gluten-free) **This has been my go-to gin for years. I love supporting small-scale distilleries and family-run farms. I love, love, love this company. No, this isn’t a sponsored post but, uh, Prairie Organics if you’re reading… hi 🙋🏻‍♀️
  • Beefeater (has a less-pronounced juniper taste & goes nicely with citrus)
  • Koval (a kosher and organic small-batch dry gin)

I’m personally just getting into the wide, wide world of gin. Honestly, prior to starting this cocktail blog and building relationships with other cocktail bloggers, I didn’t know gins could be SO diverse and distinct. We’re all learning here together at Girl & Tonic! If you’re interested in delving into gins more, or you’re just bored at home with nothing to read because your library’s closed, The Gin Observer is informative and has a ton of gin brands and cocktail recipes to explore.

vodka

Rub of the Green | An Unexpected St. Patrick’s Day Cocktail

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A “rub of the green” is a way to usher in good luck, particularly in sports, but I think we could all use some extra luck (or maybe common sense and courtesy) in these crazy times. I know everyone has been reading post after post about COVID-19/Coronavirus, so I won’t say much about it except to say it WAS my inspiration for this cocktail, in a way. But whether you normally like to go on out St. Patrick’s Day or not, chances are most people around the world will be staying in this year.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

The Rub of the Green is a nontraditional St. Patrick's Day cocktail made with matcha simple syrup.

To be honest, I’ve only really celebrated St. Patrick’s Day once. Unless wearing green on March 17th counts, I’ve never been a bit St. Patty’s celebrator. Don’t get me wrong– I think Saint Patrick himself was, well, a saint– but the thought of drinking dyed-green beer all day makes me want to turn green. I’m not a proponent of binge drinking and I feel that’s what St. Patrick’s Day has become, or has been. Hoards of drunk people being out and about? Ehh, no thanks. Then again, I’m not a fan of sober crowds either. Is my introverted side showing?

But while St. Patrick himself is still in this conversation, check out this short 2-minute history video:

Someone who willingly went back to his captors to tell them about the forgiveness and love afforded them in Jesus? Sounds like someone to be celebrated after all. Although I’m not sure downing beers beside a bright-green river would make him feel particularly honored. Perhaps we can just try to bestow a little more kindness and love to those who are different than us. I think he’d like that a little more. If you’re intrigued by St. Patrick, here’s a more detailed history.

As I mentioned earlier, COVID-19 served as a starting board for my St. Patty’s recipe. I wanted to make a green cocktail for this holiday but I was not about to brave the crazed aisles of my local grocery store again. So, I resorted to looking through my pantry for green things. Hm… limes… tonic… OH! MATCHA POWDER… honeydew milk tea powder… cardamom… Turns out mixing honeydew milk tea powder with vodka is not very good. Maybe I’ll take that challenge on another day. BUT I was really into the matcha idea.

The Rub of the Green is a nontraditional St. Patrick's Day cocktail made with matcha simple syrup.

And thus the matcha syrup was born. You can check out the full recipe here. It is delightful and I’m excited to see what else I can make with it. It’s earthy but obviously sweet, hence the “syrup”. I’ve half a mind to use it to sweeten my iced green tea for an extra boost.

If I could go to the store, I would get some lime sparkling water to use in place of the tonic water. Tonic is a bit overbearing for such a delicate flavor like matcha. But, it was still definitely tasty.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, y’all!

The Ingredients

How to Make a Rub of the Green

Make your matcha simple syrup. Add matcha syrup, vodka, lime juice, and bitters to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake. Pour into a lowball glass filled with ice and top off with sparkling water or tonic. Garnish with mint.

The Rub of the Green is a nontraditional St. Patrick's Day cocktail made with matcha simple syrup.
Matcha simple syrup is a great way to invigorate your iced tea, sparkling water, or a cocktail.
simple syrup

Matcha Simple Syrup

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Matcha simple syrup is an excellent way to add an extra boost to your iced green tea, invigorate your sparkling water, or incorporate an earthy flavor into cocktails.

Matcha simple syrup is an excellent way to add an extra boost to your iced green tea or to incorporate an earthy flavor into cocktails. Matcha is finely ground green tea leaves. It has a ton of health benefits:

  • boosts metabolism
  • detoxifies the body
  • calms and relaxes, despite the caffeine it also possesses
  • improves concentration
  • high in antioxidants (in fact, it has over 100x more antioxidants than regular green tea!)
  • lowers cholesterol
  • has several vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, zin, magnesium, selenium, and chromium
  • is said to have cancer-fighting abilities, thanks to its high quantity of a catechin called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate)
Matcha simple syrup is an excellent way to add an extra boost to your iced green tea, invigorate your sparkling water, or incorporate an earthy flavor into cocktails.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

Now granted, I only use a little of matcha in this recipe, and its quite literally steeped in sugar. So who’s to say how much of these benefits you’ll get from the syrup. I would guess not much. BUT it will impart a beautiful earthy flavor and green tint to your cocktails. That’s benefit enough for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Not a cocktail drinker? (Hi Mom) You can add this to your iced green tea or sparkling water for an extra boost of flavor and maybe, like, one or two tiny health benefits.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder (it’s pricey but a little goes a long way, even if you’re using it for tea)
  • 1/4 cup sugar (you could use stevia, coconut sugar, or agave to make this much healthier, but the ratios will be different)
  • 1/4 cup water

How to Make Matcha Simple Syrup

Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil, or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the matcha powder. It will clump so whisk well. I whisked it as well as I could before pouring it into my ultra-mini mason jar. Then I put the lid on and shook it again. That’s what finally got the last remaining clumpies out.

I opted to make a very small batch of this so that it wouldn’t go bad before I got to use it all (I’d say 4 weeks in the fridge max). Feel free to double it!

Matcha simple syrup is an excellent way to add an extra boost to your iced green tea, invigorate your sparkling water, or incorporate an earthy flavor into cocktails.

Feeling inspired? Check out my honey syrup, rose syrup, and beet syrup recipes.

Royal Rose - Organic Simple Syrup
whiskey

Irish Mule | The Easiest Way to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

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An Irish Mule is an easy way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. This light and refreshing cocktail only has 3 ingredients: whiskey + ginger beer + lime juice.

The Irish Mule, sometimes dubbed a Dublin Mule, is another super simple cocktail. If you can make a Moscow Mule, then you can make an Irish Mule. The only thing we’ll be doing differently is swapping out the vodka for whiskey. Ideally, you would use Irish whiskey but I usually only have corn whiskey on hand. If you’re curious about the distinctions between all the different types of whiskeys (bourbon, rye whiskey, corn whiskey, etc.) read this enlightening article.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

Since I have Celiac disease, I steer clear from anything with wheat, barley, or rye. There is a lot of debate in the medical world about whether or not whiskey with gluten-containing grains is safe for consumption for individuals with Celiac. Some say the distillation process obliterates the gluten protein while others say even a trace amount is enough to cause an immune reaction. Personally, I’ve been playing it safe since I was diagnosed in 2014. Corn whiskey for me!

How amazing are these clovers? I mean, check out the size of the one in the mug–it’s bigger than a quarter! I live a bit out in the country and the back of our property is covered with clovers. In fact, they’re a favorite snack for our chickens. I *will* confess that I spent a little too much time looking for a four-leafed one. Alas, those may be as elusive as the leprechauns at the end of a rainbow.

Did you know that the reason clovers are associated with St. Patrick’s Day is because Saint Patrick used them as a means to explain the Holy Trinity? It’s a model that falls short of explaining such a complex concept, but that’s a topic for a theology blog, not a cocktail blog. 😅

While you definitely don’t have to serve this cocktail in a copper mug, using one definitely does up the experience. Check out all of these gorgeous options that are all less than $20.

If you like whiskey (not everyone does) and you like ginger beer (not everyone does), then you’ll enjoy the Irish Mule. Happy [early] St. Patrick’s Day!

An Irish Mule is an easy way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. This light and refreshing cocktail only has 3 ingredients: whiskey + ginger beer + lime juice.

The Ingredients

  • 1.5 – 2 oz whiskey (Corn whiskey keeps things 100% gluten-free, but Irish whiskey makes this drink authentically Irish. You do you, boo.)
  • 4+ oz ginger beer (this one is my favorite)
  • 1/2 lime

How to make an Irish Mule

Fill a copper mug (or a lowball glass) with ice. Pour in your whiskey and fill the rest of your mug with ginger beer. Squeeze in half a lime. Stir to mix.

Wedding Gifts Copper Mugs Moscow Mules
Copper Mugs Moscow Mules