Essential Bar Accessories

Any artisan or craftsperson will tell you that you can’t create great things without the proper tools. When it comes to making great cocktails, it’s as important as ever to be equipped with the items that will best help you achieve your cocktail vision. The most essential bar accessories are relatively simple to find and…

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America’s Hyper-Local Cocktails

Whenever you travel, it’s always a good idea to focus as much as possible on experiencing the local styles, sights, and flavors. Learning about local customs, eating foods made with local ingredients, and drinking beverages that are either made locally or enjoyed specifically in that location, often make for the most satisfying, eye-opening, and palate-enriching…

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Hollywood’s Iconic Cocktails

“Sex and the City” created a Cosmo craze. Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and his “Mad Men” colleagues single-handedly brought the “cool” back to old standards from the 50s and 60s, like the Whisky Sour, the Vodka Gimlet, the Manhattan, and—of course—the Old Fashioned. In the recent Netflix hit, “The Queen’s Gambit,” Beth (Anya Taylor-Joy) and…

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Best Bars in America

Bars are great places. And we don’t just say that because we’re in the spirits business. We say it because bars perform a wide range of important functions in our society. They’re places where people meet new friends, socialize with old friends, exchange views, and generally feel connected to the world. Bars are also places…

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Cocktail Trends Past & Future

We at Downtime Cocktails are always on the lookout for new inspiration, innovation, and ingenuity when it comes to creating cocktail recipes with Batch 22. Part of that process involves looking at what people are drinking these days—what they like for ingredients, preparations, and presentations, and what they are likely to favor in the future.  …

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Making Distilled Spirits

When we’re out pouring Batch 22 for the public at events, the most common question we’re asked is, “What is it?” We usually reply with the following description: “It’s a neutral grain spirit infused with botanicals, spices, and citrus.” For some folks, this is a satisfying answer, but for many, it still begs more description.…

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Pairing Aquavit with Food

In the United States, aquavit is relatively unknown. In Europe, aquavit is not only fairly well established, but it’s also pretty popular. In America, however, most people have never heard of aquavit, and even fewer have ever tasted it. That’s fine with us. Our special spin on traditional aquavit is actually quite different from the…

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