Black Queen

A carbonated wine usually from natural fermentation, but increasingly via carbon dioxide injection.

A gin that contains no sweetening agents; usually around 40% ABV. Try Monkey 47.

An Italian amaro made with saffron, anise, clove, gentian, orange peel and violet; 32% ABV.

A quinine-laced Moscato wine base aperitif produced in Italy. It is a variety of Americano wine that uses gentian root as the primary ingredient.

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 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.

A sweetened liqueur made from cherries. You can make it yourself! Here is a recipe from Serious Eats: Lightly muddle 6 cups of pitted Bing cherries, pour away the juice and reserve for later. Add 1 cup of brandy, 1/2 cup of vodka and 1 cinnamon stick to the muddled cherries. Seal and shake the jar. Let steep for one week, shaking every few days. Combine the reserved cherries juice, with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water, heat until sugar dissolves. Add the syrup to the mix, then let steep for an additional 5 days. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth. Re-bottle and enjoy!

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).

In cocktails, cherries are sweetened in a brine, like maraschino cherries (marr-ə-SKEE-noh) or in brandy, like brandied cherries. They are usually used as a garnish, muddled into the cocktail, or used simple for their sweetened brine.