Forbidden Dance

A syrup made from the flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla. you can make it yourself by adding vanilla extract or fresh vanilla pods to simple syrup. We always use 1:1 syrup unless otherwise noted in the recipe itself.

An alcoholic falernum syrup liqueur with ABV between 11-35 ABV; we chose the most common 11%. Falernum is mainly used in tropical drinks but can also be drank by itself. It usually has flavors of almond, ginger, cloves, vanilla, allspice and lime.

The second most common juice used in cocktails. This citrus juice is about 6% acid; 4% from citric and 2% from malic, with small amounts of succinic acid (this is what gives it a little bloody taste). Lime juice should be used the day it is squeezed, some like it freshly squeezed and others like it a few hours old.

A tropical fruit, used in many tropical cocktails for its sweet flavor and yellow color. You can either juice a real pineapple, buy pineapple canned in juice (not syrup) or buy pineapple juice in a container.

A sweet syrup made from almonds, sugar, and rose water or orange flower water. Sometimes other nut derived syrups are referred to as orgeat. You can make this yourself! There's a few recipes, this one if from liquid Intelligence. Combine 660g very hot water with 200g nuts of your choice (almonds are traditional). Blend together at high speed, then strain through a fine strainer or cheescloth. Add salt if you'd like. Then combine 500g nut milk with 500g sugar, blend to combine. If the emulsion breaks, use a stick blender to quickly recombine (or shake hard before using). If you're up for it, add 1.75g Ticaloid 210s and 0.2g xanthan gum to stablize the emulsion. If you can't find Ticaloid, use a mixture of gum arabic and xanthan gum in a ratio of 9:1. This recipe doesn't use rose or orange flower water, if you'd like you can add small teaspoon of either.

A variety of sherry characterized by being darker than fino but lighter than oloroso. It starts as a fino, fortified to approximately 13.5% alcohol with a cap of flor yeast limiting its exposure to the air, however becomes an amontillado when the flor fails to develop adequately or is killed by additional fortification. Without the layer of flor, amontillado must then be fortified to approximately 17.5% alcohol to slow oxidation. The drink is slowly exposed to oxygen through porous American or Canadian oak casks, gaining a darker colour and richer flavour. It is named after the Montilla region of Spanin where it originated in the 18th century, however the name is also used commercially as a simple measure of color to label any sherry lying between a fino and an oloroso.

Also called Jenever, Dutch gin or Holland gin, this is the oldest type of gin and is still made in the Netherlands, France and Germany. It is mild flavored gin with slight juniper flavor and aroma. usually bottled around 30-35% ABV.

Also called akvavit this 'water of life; is a flavored spirit that is mostly produced in Scandinavia, since the 15th century. It is a grain or potato spirit base, and can be flavored with many herbs and spices. EU laws dictate it must be mostly flavored by caraway or dill. A common brand of caraway aquavit is Linie. You can actually make this yourself (or something very similar) here is a recipe from the book 'Akvavit' by Rasmus Risum-Urth: Toast in a pan: 2g cardamom, 8g pine nuts, 10g caraway, 1.5g cinnamon bark, 0.5g star anise, 2g pink peppercorns. Add spices to 500ml of vodka and sous vide for 2 hours at 60C (or just let steep for a week). Strain off solids and add 1.5L gin.

Aromatic plants used in cocktails as a garnish or muddled into the liquor to add a light fresh taste. Common in the Mint Julep.

The seed from an evergreen tree, used as a grated garnish in many cocktails. A must for egg-nog and egg-nog like drinks. In sufficent amounts it gives a numbing sensation.