Cocktails for Spring!

The sun is shining and we’re all getting eager to start hosting dinner parties in our yards, take the boats out on the lake, and enjoy evenings on the patio, with a refreshing drink in hand of course. Our liquor team put together a couple new fruity, summery cocktails with spirits we’re obsessed with here in the shop. These spins on classic cocktails are sure to wow your guests and make your summer evenings a little more exciting.

PASSION FRUIT MARGARITA

The Margarita is probably one of the most beloved cocktails and for good reason. This riff brings in a tropical twist that makes this cocktail even more refreshing! Tres Agaves Blanco tequila is very citrus forward and helps to lift the other flavors while still providing some peppery bite to round out the cocktail! 

  • 2oz Tres Agaves Blanco Tequila
  • 1oz Chinola Passion Fruit Liqueur
  • 1oz Lime Juice
  • 0.5oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao

Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well chilled. Serve over ice in a rocks glass or strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a lime twist or lime wheel.

LAKESIDE ELIXIR

Our take on a classic daiquiri

The Daiquiri is an easy, classic cocktail, and the addition of the Chinola passion fruit liqueur takes it to the next level. The bright, slightly tart flavor of the Chinola pairs incredibly well with the rum and lime to create a new twist on a summer favorite! 

  • 2oz White Rum
  • 1oz Chinola Passion fruit Liqueur
  • 0.75oz Lime Juice
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a lime wheel.

PINEAPPLE MAI TAI

How do you take a cocktail that screams “summer” and make it even more summer-y? Add in some pineapple! Plantation Pineapple Rum is a fantastic addition that take this cocktail in a new direction! Served up on crushed ice, nothing beats this one on a hot day! 

  • 1.5oz Plantation Pineapple Rum
  • 0.75oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao
  • 0.75oz Lime Juice
  • 0.5oz Orgeat

 Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake briefly. Strain into a rocks glass with crushed ice and float an additional 0.5oz of pineapple rum on top. Garnish with a lime wheel.

The Bridge Between

Spring has…sort of Sprung?

written by Jake

This time of year in Minnesota is always interesting. The doldrums of winter still lurk around every corner; snow on the ground; below freezing temperatures; the ever looming threat of a late winter snowstorm. But, the signs of spring are starting to show their face. This weekend we’re seeing temperatures in the mid 40s…that’s nearly shorts weather! For those of you who are looking to make yourself a cocktail, this time of year can be even more confusing. Do you make something warm and wintery like an old fashioned or a hot toddy? Or do you go with something more summery like an aperol spritz or a daiquiri? With that dilemma in mind, we got to work coming up with something that could be a bridge between those two feelings, not quite all the way wintery or summery. This riff on a Paper Plane is sure to warm you up while still being refreshing! Here it is:

 

The Bridge Between

0.75oz Rye Whiskey Pick your favorite rye here, but we love Rittenhouse rye for cocktails. The higher proof holds up well in cocktails, and the warm notes of clove and cinnamon work wonders in this drink.

0.75oz Aperol This classic bitter orange aperitif has more sweetness than Campari, while still providing enough bitterness to balance this drink. Negroni Sixteen liqueur is another great option!

0.75oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram This liqueur brings waves of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper. It pairs beautifully with the rye and gives this drink a lot of complexity.

0.75oz Lemon Juice The acidity from the lemon will help round out the sweetness of the other ingredients and provide much needed balance.

Add all your ingredients to a shaker and shake with ice until well chilled. Strain or fine strain into a chilled glass (a coupe or Nick & Nora work great) and garnish with an orange or lemon twist.

The rye and allspice dram provide the warm, wintery spice notes that make so many winter cocktails great. The Aperol and lemon juice help brighten the flavors and balance the drink. The result is a wonderfully complex cocktail that is as refreshing on a sunny day as it is warming on a cold one, perfect for a Minnesota spring!



Meet Our Beer Buyer!

How did you end up working at France 44?

After leaving my Job at a local wine distributor, I wanted to get back into the retail side of the industry. France44 was the only store on my list. That was over 16yr ago....

Bill Nosan

How many businesses have mysteriously burned down shortly after you were employed at them?

Two businesses that I absolutely loved working for burnt down after I left. I have solid alibis for both incidents.

Bill Nosan

Word on the street is that you drink other things than beer...? Is that allowed? And what's you current go-to non-beer drink?

I'm a sucker for a great Gin & Tonic, anything from Ridge Vineyards, South Africa Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. Also, I'll fight anyone who doesn't think Griottine Cherries are the absolute most important item in a great Manhattan.

Bill Nosan

As the beer buyer, you have seen the rise (and sometimes fall) of many beer trends. What beer trend are you most excited about?

We take a lot of pride in curating a great selection of beer in the department. That means we say no a lot more than we say yes. Obviously, we can't ignore the big trends, but I don't go chasing the smaller ones. If those smaller trends are going to work, they'll happen organically and not because we force them. Plus, trends tend to produce products we really don't get that excited about. Just give us well made classic styles!

Bill Nosan

We've heard you live in a mysterious land call St. Paul. What's one of your favorite restaurants there?

Meritage is our splurge restaurant. El Burrito Mercado, Punch, Parlour and Pajarito are some of our neighborhood hang-outs.

Bill Nosan

We heard you love to cook. What's the best thing you have cooked recently?

Last week I made griddle grilled Nordic salmon with Cajun corn cakes and sauteed green beans. Pretty happy with the end result. Basically, a big plate of comfort. I just started reading The Food Lab and The Wok--both written by Kenji Lopez-Alt. I Love his style of writing and it helps get through his textbook-sized books. Also my love of beef and pork have led me to blindly follow anything that Bradley Robinson of Chuds BBQ does with the grill/smoker.

Bill Nosan

What's your desert island beer?

It would have to be a craft Pilsner. Or a Czech Pilsner.....or maybe a German Pilsner. And of course, Champagne. I try never to be too far away from a good bottle of bubbles.

Bill Nosan

Daiquiris For Days

written by Jake

Rum, lime juice, sugar. That’s all it takes to make one of the most classic cocktails of all time. Invented right around the start of the 20th century in a town of the same name in Cuba, the Daiquiri is the perfect drink for a hot, humid day. Legend has it that the drinks inventor, Stockton Cox, invented it when he ran out of gin but didn’t want to serve his guests straight rum. The addition of lime juice and sugar helped to smooth out the flavors of the rum and the rest is history. Now while the Daiquiri is ideal for hot weather, there’s certainly no reason that this delicious beverage can’t be enjoyed anytime of the year, even in a Minnesota winter. While the original recipe (which we’ll share below) is delicious on its own, a couple of simple tweaks can turn this drink into a complex, winter cocktail. Enjoy!

THE ORIGINAL DAIQUIRI

  • 2oz White Rum – Any white rum that you enjoy will do, but we like Plantation 3 Star for its complexity and price point.
  • 1oz Fresh Lime Juice –  Fresh citrus juices are always the first choice but the bottled stuff will still make a good drink.
  • 0.75oz Simple Syrup – Traditionally a Demerara syrup is used (Liber & Co. make a good one), but truthfully any simple syrup will work.

Add all your ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake hard until well chilled (frost will form on the outside of your shaker, that’s a good indication that it’s been shaken enough). Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with a lime wheel.

GINGER RIFF DAIQUIRI

  • 2oz Plantation Dark Rum – Once again, any dark rum you enjoy will do, but Plantation Dark Rum is excellent and is a great price.
  • 0.75oz Fresh Lime Juice – See above.
  • 0.25oz Liber & Co Ginger Syrup – Ginger syrup will add both sweetness, as well as spice.
  • 0.5oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram – This liqueur is a favorite of F44 employees. With notes of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper, this is what’s going to transform this drink into a winter classic. We recommend starting on the lower end of the measurement and increasing the amount from there if you want more of the Allspice flavor.
  • 4 dashes Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters 

As above, add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake hard. Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with a lime wheel, or, if you’re feeling fancy, express the oils from a grapefruit peel over the top of the drink. 

Low-Alcohol Cocktail Recipe

With dry January coming to a close, we thought now might be an appropriate time to ease everyone back into the harder stuff with a low ABV cocktail: the spritz. Generally, cocktails sit anywhere around 20 to 30 percent alcohol, but spritz style cocktails are much lower in alcohol, with ABV being right around five percent. The most famous of these types of cocktails is the Aperol spritz, a refreshing libation that’s particularly good on a hot summer’s day here in the Twin Cities. So, if it’s a good summer drink, why are we discussing it now, in the dead of winter? Well, by simply swapping out the Aperol with one of our favorite aperitifs, Bonal, you transform the bright and citrusy summer cocktail into something with rich flavors of ginger, baking spice, and bittersweet notes. Add a splash of elderflower tonic and slice of grapefruit, and you have a delicious low ABV drink, perfect for the winter. With all that being said, here it is, the Bonal Spritz:

  • 3oz Bonal Aperitif: Bonal is an aperitif that uses gentian root, cinchona bark (where quinine is derived from), and a blend of herbs that gives it its distinct bittersweet flavor.
  • 1 Bottle of Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic: Fever Tree Elderflower tonic is floral and lightly sweet, while still having that distinct quinine flavor that tonic is known for. We think it’s an excellent pairing with Bonal.

Fill a large wine glass with ice, add your Bonal, top with the tonic, stir lightly, garnish with a half slice of grapefruit, and enjoy!

This drink, if mixed according to the above directions, will have an ABV of 4.9% (don’t worry, we did the math so you don’t have to), so feel free to have two! The depth of flavors in the Bonal are lifted and enhanced by the sweet, floral notes from the tonic, while the grapefruit garnish adds a pop of color and beautiful bittersweet aromas that only make this cocktail even better. The result is a fantastic winter variation of a classic summer drink that we hope you’ll enjoy as much as we do!

Our Maker’s Mark Private Select Barrel has arrived!

by Tom

The wait is finally over: we have received our Maker’s Mark Private Select Barrel! Maker’s Mark has one of the most interesting single barrel programs ever where you can customize a ring of staves that are dipped into the barrel for a finishing time period of nine weeks. A few years ago we landed on the perfect blend of staves for our palates. With the addition of ten staves with five different staves to choose from, there are a daunting 1,001 different possible combinations.

The Staves to Choose From

The five staves made specifically by the Independent Stave Company to choose from are the following:

  • Baked American Pure 2- the only American Oak in the bunch, giving it brown sugar, vanilla and spice.
  • Seared French Cuvee- This stave is ridge-cut and seared with infrared heat, this stave gives off toasty caramel.
  • Maker’s 46- the classic. This stave gives off dried fruit and caramelized spice.
  • Roasted French Mocha- toasted on high heat in a convection oven, giving off big maple, chocolate, and toasty char.
  • Toasted French Spice- toasted on both high heat and low heat giving off smoke and cinnamon spice.

 

The F44 Private Select Single Barrel

As you can tell, we had a long and arduous task ahead of us. Blending up different combinations of staves to see what we liked best, I mean twist our arms, right? We quickly realized Maker’s Cask Strength is nowhere as sweet as classic Maker’s Mark, so we went for a more creamy and fruity profile while also falling head over heels for the Roasted French Mocha staves. We ended up with the following:

  • 3 Baked American Pure 2 staves for Vanilla
  • 4 Roasted French Mocha for chocolate and maple
  • 1 Maker’s 46 for cherry
  • 1 Toasted French Spice
  • 1 Seared French Cuvee

Here’s the exciting wrinkle, unless you have used our beloved French Mocha Staves in a past recipe, you cannot use it use it. It was been retired and archived so you can only use it in past recipes, so this is the only place to grab this special bottle we have cooked up for you!

Bottled at 109.1 proof,  it smells like chocolate covered cherries and tastes like creamy caramel and vanilla, but why don’t you stop in and grab a bottle and see what you think?

Spooooooky Cocktails!

 

We’ve got some spoooooky cocktails for all your Halloween shenanigans!  Some might push you to try something a little more complicated, but don’t be scared!  They will be worth the work.  And some will be perfect to share with friends at your next séance or ghoul gathering.  Let those skeletons out of your closet, it’s time to party!

Violet Delights 

  • ½ oz Liber & Co grenadine
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • 2 oz Empress gin (must use for the color)
  • Fever Tree Club soda

Fill a highball glass with ice, add grenadine, lemon juice, gin, top with soda water and a cocktail cherry.

 

Kitchen Witch Smash 

Mezcal is the star this week for a spooky smoky cocktail.  This one is a little extra work but will be worth it!  For an extra witchy vibe, repeat a mantra or set some good intentions while you muddle your ingredients.  Or hex someone, we won’t tell.

  • 8 fresh blackberries, plus more for topping
  • 1-2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, plus a sprig for serving
  • Juice from half of a lemon
  • ½ oz Código Agave Nectar
  • 2 oz Lu Luna Cupreata Mezcal
  • a couple dashes of Regan’s Orange Bitters
  • Fever Tree Club Soda

In a mixing glass, add blackberries, rosemary, lemon juice and agave nectar. Muddle the ingredients together, squishing everything to release the juices.  Add ice, along with the mezcal and orange bitters.  Stir for 20 seconds and strain over ice into a mason jar. Top with club soda and garnish with fresh rosemary and blackberries.

 

 

Phantom Vehicle

By now you probably have some apple cider sitting in the fridge ready for a new spin.  Here’s a fun fall take on the classic sidecar.  If you’re feeling adventurous, try this warm during your next chilly evening by the fire.   Or if you’re feeling lazy, simply warm up the apple cider, add cognac, and top with whipped cream for an easy treat.

  • 2 oz. fresh apple cider
  • 2 oz. Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac
  • 1 oz. Cointreau
  • 1 oz. fresh lemon juice
  • Lemon peel and Griottines brandied cherries, for garnish

Add all liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker, top with ice, and shake until the shaker starts to frost and feels very cold to the touch (20 to 30 seconds).  Strain into a coupe glass and top with zest and brandied cherries.

 

 

 

 

Cachaça Zombie 

Trick or treat!  What’s this new creature at your door?  It’s cachaca, a Brazilian liquor made from distilled sugarcane juice.  This cousin of rum is a little funky and earthy and makes for a great cocktail.  But don’t worry, after a few of these you’ll be the fun kind of zombie not the brain eating kind.

  • 2 oz Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça
  • 1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao
  • 1.5 – 2 oz On the Fly Tropical Cocktail Mixer
  • 1 dash Angostura or Bittercube Trinity
  • Absinthe rinse (optional but recommended)
  • lime wedge and mint sprig, for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Rinse an oversized whiskey tumbler with absinthe, add crushed ice, and pour in your strained cocktail.  Garnish with a lime wedge and mint sprig.

 

 

Spooky Sangria 

You probably still have some apple cider; we all make the same mistakes every fall, nobody is perfect.  So here’s a great recipe to share with your ghoul and goblin friends at your haunted gatherings.  Use up that cider and that dusty bottle of pinot grigio you never got to in the summer, and bring the shenanigans to the party!

  • 1 bottle pinot grigio
  • 2.5 cups apple cider
  • 1.5 cup Schweppes Club Soda
  • .75 cup Velvet Falernum liqueur
  • 3 honey crisp apples chopped
  • 3 pears chopped

Combine all ingredients in a punch bowl, stir, and chill for one hour before serving.

The France 44 Uniform: A Cocktail

by Tom

Guys, our events team has fallen in love with a cocktail. Over the past few weeks our desks upstairs have been buzzing and we felt the need to share it with you guys. Somewhere in between a Last Word, Margarita, and a Negroni, lives what we’re calling The France 44 Uniform. It can go by a different name, but you’ll have to come in and ask to find out. We have changed up the ingredients a few times to find the exact right mixture of libations that also align with business ethos. It’s easy to make and comes in four equal parts so there is no math involved in this endeavor. Definitely our end of summer cocktail, balancing summer and fall flavors, keeping things herbaceous and refreshing. Here we go: 

The France 44 Uniform

In a cocktail shaker combine:

  • 1oz Banhez Mezcal, a beautiful agave spirit made by 36 families in a co-op in Mexico with the right amount to citrus and smoke perfect for any cocktail. 
  • 1oz Vikre Herbal Liqueur, much akin to Yellow Chartreuse but cheaper, locally made in Duluth, and readily available. It is bright and herbaceous, filled with notes of Chamomile, Thyme, honey, douglas fir, and mint. It gives off incredibly complex fall vibes. 
  • 1oz Negroni Aperitivo Sixteen, our new favorite Aperol replacement. Just a pinch more rich and bitter than Aperol and locally distributed. It also has some rhubarb which we love. It’s our new go-to for spritzes and lighter style negronis.  
  • 1oz freshly squeezed lime juice, which at this time of the season, is one whole lime. 

Since this drink has fresh citrus, shaking it over ice and straining it is the best way to wake up all the flavors. While this is easily batchable for a party, it should be made the same day of the party since it has all that fresh lime juice. Or batch it early and add the lime juice later. This drink will transition you from Summer to Fall effortlessly, let us know what you think! 

France 44 Single Barrel Bourbon Picks!

by Tom

We’re Kicking off Bourbon Heritage Month Early! The two single barrel bourbons that we picked out from our recent trip out to Kentucky are here! We couldn’t be more excited to share these both with you. Check them out below. 

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Tom’s Pick: Rebel Wheated 120 Proof Single Barrel Bourbon 

We just received one of the first barrels of Rebel Single Barrel Bourbons to hit the state of Minnesota! This Single Barrel of Rebel we picked out is wheated, meaning they took out the classic spicy rye grain and replaced it with wheat as the secondary sweeter, softer grain. I’m always on the hunt for good wheated bourbon, and it’s not always easy to find. There are always two staples: Maker’s Mark and Larceny, then there are the mysterious unicorns in Weller and Van Winkle which are impossible to find. This barrel reminds me a lot of Larceny Barrel Proof, another rare bourbon we seldom get. Bottled at 120 proof, this bourbon is both bulky and silky. Bold vanilla and caramel on the nose with an extremely textured oily mouthfeel that coats the palate. The finish has a warm apple with just a hint of cinnamon baked in. With water added, the caramel tones brighten up and the oak spice finally comes through on the finish. Adding an ice cube unlocked a shocking level of complexity tying together the vanilla, oak spice, and fall apples.                                                         

When a trip down to Kentucky presents itself, you always pull the trigger. We stayed in Bardstown, a quiet town situated 41 miles south of Louisville. It’s one of the biggest hubs for bourbon in Kentucky. It’s perfect for making bourbon due to its high elevation that leads to optimal temperature fluctuation for aging and its many limestone springs used as their pure water source. If you ever hit the bourbon trail, please feel free to come in and talk to Tom to get tips and ask questions! Large bourbon hubs such as Bardstown and Frankfort are smaller towns even though Frankfort is the ironically the capital of Kentucky. We love going down to bring our customers back awesome whiskey we otherwise could not get our hands on as well as figure out the tips and tricks of the bourbon trail!                                           

This bourbon absolutely shines in a mint julep. Its caramel and vanilla come through with the crushed ice taming the high proof. 

Rebel Mint Julep:

  • 1/4oz simple syrup 
  • 2oz Rebel Single Barrel Bourbon 
  • 1 small bushel of 6-8 small mint leaves 
  • Pebbled/crushed ice 
  • Copper/metal cup (optional but does help with keeping everything ice cold.) 
  • Garnish: more fresh mint 

Instructions: combine the simple syrup and mint at the bottom of the glass and GENTLY muddle. You aren’t smashing the mint into salad, you are waking up the essential oils of the mint. Add bourbon and pack the glass with fresh ice and stir till the glass is chilled. The garnish is important, you want to slap the mint a little to get that mint going becoming more fragrant. Plus its fun. Place the mint across from your nose so it’s the first thing you smell when you go to take a sip. Enjoy! 

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Tashi's Pick: Ezra Brooks 120 Proof Single Barrel Bourbon

Tashi here to talk about our Single Barrel of Ezra Brooks! I wrote all about our trip to Kentucky back in April, which you can read here. I tried to keep our Luxrow barrels a secret and I’m sure ya’ll figured out that’s where we went based on the photos, but here we are: the big reveal! This was my first trip with France 44 and my first time on the bourbon trail.  I was pretty nervous at our tasting, even though I came prepared having just finished my WSET Level 2 Spirits Certification. It was a huge privilege to accompany Tom, and for him to agree with my Ezra Brooks pick. So this is my baby, truly Tashi’s pick.

I enjoy this single barrel the most after I’ve let it breathe for a while. This one is gonna hit ya with some rye spice immediately either way, but have some patience and you won’t regret it. On the nose I get vanilla and toffee, on the palate caramel and spice with a warm lingering finish. Once it’s opened up I akin it to fresh baked coffee cake. I think this single barrel is gonna surprise you! I hope you venture for a bottle and please let me know what you think of my pick, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Summer Whiskey Cocktail Recipes (And Our New Single Barrel!)

by Tom

Elijah Craig Rye Has Arrived… With the 11th France 44 Signature Cask Strength Single Barrel to Boot!

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Elijah Craig Rye

Heaven Hill has finally come to the Minnesota market with their brand new rye whiskey! Joining their signature Rittenhouse and Pikesville brands, the new Elijah Craig is a “low rye content” rye whiskey, with just 51% rye with a larger than normal 35% corn content. This helps balance out its herbaceous edge with sweetness around the corners. It is a rye with bourbon tendencies, bridging the gap between the two. Orange rind and fennel spice burst off the nose with a fantastic rounded finish of rounded vanilla and toffee on the finish. Yes, this is a perfect whiskey for Old Fashioneds and Manhattans, but with the weather being swelteringly hot, Let’s look to more cooling drinks such as Mint Juleps and lemonade punches! 

Elijah Craig Mint Julep 

  • 1/2oz Prohibition Simple Syrup 
  • 4 Mint leaves
  • 2 1/2oz Elijah Craig Rye Whiskey 
  • Crushed ice 

Add the simple syrup and the mint leaves to a cold glass. Gently muddle. Add the Elijah Craig Rye and the crushed ice. Stir until combined. Garnish with a sprig of mint.  Refresh yourself!

Vanlice Rye Punch 

  • 4oz Locally Made Vanlice Vanilla Essence Lemonade 
  • 2oz Elijah Craig Rye Whiskey 
  • 2 Dashes Angostura bitters 

Fill a highball glass with ice (crushed or cubes) add the lemonade and Elijah Craig Rye. Stir and finish with bitters. 

Elijah Craig Cask Strength Single Barrel

Our record-breaking eleventh Elijah Craig Single Barrel has arrived! We were lucky enough to pick out our second cask strength barrel of the year. We love to hand select single barrels whenever we get the chance, bringing the highest quality whiskey exclusively to our customers. This eight year old single barrel is filled with dark fruits of raspberry and cherry with a hearty oak back bone. It is an intense 126.7 proof uncut from the barrel and could use and ice cube or a few drops of water for it to open up. We pick out a few dozen single barrels of bourbon and rye a year, hand selecting the best we can find. Upcoming barrels include Ezra Brooks 120 Proof Bourbon, Rebel 120 Proof Wheated Bourbon, Rittenhouse Rye, Stellum Bourbon and Rye, Four Roses, and a Maker’s Mark Private selection.  

My favorite recipe for our France 44 Single Barrel Selections: 

Ingredients

  • 2oz Single Barrel Whiskey 

In a Lowball or Glencarin Glass (the perfect spirit glass) add the Elijah Craig Single Barrel and enjoy neat, with a few drops of water, or an ice cube.

Anyway you prefer, just enjoy yourself!