NEGRONI RECIPE WITH STANDARD DRY GIN

In its birthplace — Italy — the Negroni is an apéritif, a before-dinner drink. Here, we drink it before, during and after dinner. It's just that good. Italy always has the best ideas!

The Negroni is bitter, but balanced. Elegant, but unfussy. A fantastic go-to drink. And, the recipe is easy to memorize — the proportions are 1:1:1. 

Cardinal Spirits bar manager Logan Hunter shows us how to make a classic Negroni:

NEGRONI

1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Cardinal Spirits Standard Dry Gin
Orange peel

1. Add Campari, sweet vermouth and gin to a tall glass with ice, then stir.
2. Strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube.
3. Squeeze an orange peel over the cocktail to release the oil, then twist the peel and use as garnish.

Want more cocktail recipes? You got it. Find all of our recipes right here. 

CARDINAL IN THE WILD: MALIBU GRILL

Get to know the places that serve and sell Cardinal Spirits.

Cocktails at Malibu made with Cardinal Spirits (L to R): Pimm's Cup No. 106, Cardinal Club, Cardinal Smash.

VITALS >>  Malibu Grill, on the Square in downtown Bloomington. Restaurant, full bar, patio. 

THE SCENE >>  Calling this place an institution makes it sound too stuffy, but it is an indispensable Bloomington classic. The bar turns out solid cocktails from a knowledgeable crew — on the menu, you'll find well-made, unfussy classics plus bartenders' creations. To some, it's a sports bar. To others, it's where deals are done. Simply put: It's the kind of place that always feels right.

CARDINAL SIGHTINGS >>  Three cocktails made with Cardinal Spirits are on the menu. There's the tall and frosty Pimm's Cup No. 106, with American Gin, Pimm's, lemon, cucumber, mint and ginger beer. Then there's the elegant Cardinal Club, with American Gin, orange curaçao, lime and bitters. And, the refreshing Cardinal Smash, with vodka, muddled fruit, mint and lemon.

POPULARITY CONTEST >>  Aside from the classic cocktails on the menu, the most popular drink at Malibu is the Pimm's Cup with Cardinal Spirits Vodka, says Emmie O'Connor, the lead bartender at Malibu. "It's a really light, refreshing, patio kind of drink. It won't weight you down the way a Manhattan would," she says. 

TRY SOMETHING NEW >>  Tired of the same old, same old? Give the snappy Niko Suave a shot. This tequila-lime juice-vanilla liqueur cocktail was inspired by a tequila daiquiri that Emmie had once in Cleveland. 

THE EMMIE WAY >>  "The way my brain works when it comes to cocktails, is I start with something classic — a margarita build or Manhattan build — and keep twisting it until it's something different," Emmie says.

SECRET WEAPON >>  Fresh ingredients from the bottom up, including fruit juices and simple syrups. "Juice, juice juice. I can't tell you how many limes and lemons I've juiced. It's a labor of love," Emmie says.

PRECIOUS CARGO >>  Malibu is the kind of bar where a coupe glass is filled to the tippy-top and gets delivered without losing a drop. We could all benefit from this bartenders' trick: Do not look at the drink while you're moving it. "I don't know why it works, but it does," Emmie says.

INSTAGRAM THIS >>  The Pimm's Cup with Cardinal Spirits Vodka (above) is ready for its close up. A tall, vibrant cocktail with a lush mint sprig and a stripey straw. Adorbs.

BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE >>  Seat D4. It's the last seat on the short side of the bar, right next to the wall. You can see everything from here, Emmie says, including a full view of the bartenders doing their thing. Also, booth 33: It's the last booth before the kitchen, and a favorite of Malibu regulars.

THE OFF-MENU ORDER >>  The Deantini — it's Grey Goose vodka on the rocks with two blue cheese-stuffed olives and a lemon twist. The martini was named after Dean Kleinschmidt, a Malibu regular for years and years, and a former head athletic trainer for Indiana University's football team.  

SO SPECIAL >>   Monday: $5 Moscow Mules. Tuesday: $12 select bottles of wine. Wednesday: Half-price martinis. Thursday: $5 bartender's choice. Sunday: $5 Bloody Marys and mimosas.

OFF DUTY >>  What does Malibu's head bartender drink when she leaves work? A glass of red wine or a dark spirit on the rocks, Emmie says. 

TRY THIS AT HOME: BRAMBLE COCKTAIL RECIPES

Did you grab a bottle of Bramble, our newest spirit, over the weekend? Flavored with local black raspberries, blackberries and hibiscus, this vodka is a summer essential. It goes great with so many flavors, from green tea to ginger, and it plays well with gin and our coffee liqueur, too. The best part is that you don't need a ton of ingredients to make cocktails with it. Try these easy Bramble cocktail ideas:

BRAMBLE MARTINI

2.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Bramble Vodka
1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
Blackberries, for garnish

1. Add vodka and lemon juice to shaker with ice. 
2. Shake vigorously and strain into a coupe. Garnish with a blackberry.

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BRAMBLE ICED TEA

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Bramble Vodka
4 ounces iced tea

Combine Bramble and iced tea in a glass with ice. Garnish with a big mint sprig and lemon wedge. 

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BERRY BRAMBLER

2.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Bramble Vodka
1/2 ounce Cardinal Spirits Songbird Craft Coffee Liqueur
1 dash orange bitters

1. Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. 
2. Shake vigorously, then strain into a coupe glass. 

CAFE A L'ORANGE COCKTAIL RECIPE

Our amazing Cafe a L'orange cocktail is deceptively simple. Just coffee liqueur, vodka, ice and an orange peel. The magic is the oil in the orange peel, not the juice. Give the peel a squeeze to release the oil, the wipe the peel around the rim of the glass. Watch Logan Hunter and learn. 

CAFE A L'ORANGE

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Songbird Coffee Liqueur
1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Vodka
Orange peel

1.  Combine coffee liqueur and vodka in a shaker with ice.
2. Shake vigorously, then strain into an ice-filled glass.
3. Squeeze an orange peel above the drink to release orange oil. Wipe the peel around the edge of the glass and use for garnish.  

Big Red Whiskey Day

How great is it to be these Big Red Liquors customers? Big Red invited 40 of its top whiskey fans to make a custom bourbon from scratch at Cardinal Spirits. Here's what happened at the distillery on Whiskey Day:

This has got you thinking, right? If you're interested in making a custom spirit, we should talk. Email: hello at cardinalspirits dot com.

SUMMER DRINKING: 5 new cocktails at Cardinal

Our summer menu is loaded with Cardinal favorites plus five new cocktails crafted by our outstanding bar crew: Logan Hunter, Chris Resnick, Andrew Wind, Baylee Pruitt and Jake Cifuentes.

There's a little bit of everything: tart, sweet, herbal, bitter. The common thread is how refreshing they all are. Perfect for taking the edge off on these dastardly hot days.

The Apothecary (pictured): Dry vermouth, our house-made Redbird Elixir, tonic and aromatic bitters. In three words: Rustic. Bitter. Balanced.

River City Ransom: Tiki Rum, vanilla-allspice syrup, lemon juice, grapefruit juice, cinnamon bitters. In three words: Citrusy. Savory. Seasonal.

Pineapple Bottom Jeans: Tiki Rum, habanero syrup, pineapple juice, lemon juice, fresh mint. In three words: Hot. Tropical. Fresh.

Uppers and Downers: Standard Dry Gin, Cobra Verde (an iced green-coffee bean drink from Hopscotch Coffee) ginger syrup, black walnut syrup. In three words: Earthy. Refreshing. Spicy.

Beso de Ginebra: Standard Dry Gin, pineapple juice, lemon juice, ginger-allspice syrup, dry vermouth. In three words: Light, Crisp. Sweet.

Piña Colada with Tiki Rum

Piña Colada 

Makes 1 cocktail

2 ounces Cardinal Spirits Tiki Rum
1.5 ounces coconut cream
1.5 ounces pineapple juice

1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice.
2. Shake, then pour into a tall glass.

TRY THIS AT HOME: COCKTAILS WITH GRILLED FRUIT

Summer meals are all the about the grill. While you're at it, why not throw some fruit on there to use in cocktails? The heat intensifies the sweetness and adds that tell-tale summertime char that brings new flavors to classic drinks.

Midwestern Aloha

Pineapple is one of the easiest fruits to grill because it stands up to heat well. Long spears rest on the grill with ease, and allow for some sweet burn lines.

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Tiki Rum
2 tablespoons grilled pineapple
Juice from 1/2 of a lime
5 to 7 mint leaves
Seltzer

1. Muddle mint leaves and lime juice in a shaker. Add grilled pineapple and muddle until mashed.
2. Add rum and ice to the shaker. Shake for about 30 seconds, then strain into an ice-filled glass. Top with seltzer, a grilled pineapple spear, and mint.

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Fuzzy Julep

Drink No. 2 begged for peaches. I used charcoal rather than open fire for this drink. After about 8 minutes of facedown time on the grill, the peach halves were soft and lightly charred.

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits White Oak Whiskey
1 slice fire-­roasted peach, peeled
1 teaspoon honey
1 fat lemon wedge
5 to 7 mint leaves

1. In the bottom of a shaker, muddle mint and lemon juice until fragrant.
2. Add peach and honey, and mash thoroughly.
3. Add whiskey and shake, shake, shake.
4. Strain over crushed ice and garnish with a slice of grilled peach and mint.

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Ageless Fashioned

With whiskey so young, this riff on an Old Fashioned is anything but old. First, I hollowed out an orange. With the guts out of the way, it's the perfect vessel for a quick simple syrup. I poured about 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar and 1/4 cup water in the orange shell, and placed it on the grill alongside some halved bing cherries. Once again, I utilized the heat of charcoal for this drink, rather than a fire. After 10 minutes, the orange-infused simple syrup will fizzle and steam to let you know it is ready to go. The cherries need about 30 seconds of heat.

1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits White Oak Whiskey
2 teaspoons orange-­infused simple syrup
2 dashes bitters
1 fire-­roasted cherry for garnish

1. Measure whiskey, followed by simple syrup and finally bitters into an old-fashioned glass. Stir lightly and add 2-­3 large cubes of ice.
2. Float 1/2 of a cherry and a swizzle of orange rind from the simple syrup cup on top.

THE SOURCE: SUGAR CREEK MALT CO.

How local is your local beer? What about your local whiskey? Maybe it was produced nearby — but did its ingredients come from near, or far? Probably far. But Sugar Creek Malt Co., a malthouse in Lebanon, Indiana, is starting to change that. 

Sugar Creek malts grains that were grown within 200 miles for use in beer and whiskey. Owner Caleb Michalke is reviving a part of the "drink local" movement that has been dead in Indiana since Prohibition.

Cardinal Spirits was Sugar Creek's first distillery customer. Sugar Creek supplies malted barley for our White Oak Whiskey, which is unaged. That malt is cooked, fermented and distilled on-site at the distillery, resulting in one of the most easy-drinking and flavorful unaged whiskeys we've ever tasted.

Let's learn more about Sugar Creek from Caleb:

CARDINAL: What happens at a malthouse, anyway?

CALEB: We bring in barley, wheat and rye, and whatever grain a brewer or distiller needs. We get it wet, let it germinate, dry it and toast it to get different flavors in the end product. Grain coming straight out of the field is just starch, so we have to germinate it to produce enzymes that break down into sugars. 

Where does the grain that you malt come from?

We're trying to keep all the grain this year within a 200-mile radius of the malthouse, which is in Lebanon, Indiana. Then we can really monitor what's going on and know how it's grown, and we're not trucking grain in from Montana or Canada. We've made relationships with a handful of farmers who are wanting to try something different. A lot of the farmers I have growing for me are doing 10 or 20 acres, and some are doing 50 acres.

How did you get into malting?

I grew up on a farm just a mile away from where the malthouse is now. I went to college for agriculture, and wanted to do developmental agriculture, going into third world countries. I tried to do that for a little while, but I really couldn't find a steady income.

I wanted to get into the brewing /distilling industry but didn't want to open a brewery — I wanted to stay on the ag side of it. Nobody was really doing this.

All the barley research and breeding has been done for North Dakota, Montana and Canada so there really hasn't been any barley breeding in Indiana.

Now that we're up and going, we have 11 farmers growing for us and now there's a market for barley to be grown again (in the Midwest). 

What's your family's farm like?

It's a hog and grain operation. We've always grown corn and soybeans. We really did not do small grains until last year when we experimented with barley. It's a new venture for everyone.

What's the advantage of malting on a small scale?

If you get a bag of grain from me, I can tell you exactly what farm it came from. When you get it from North Dakota, it's from many farms all mixed in. We're doing 2-ton batches. When I was up in Canada (to take a malting course), we were doing 200-ton batches. We are very small. Just like with craft brewing and distilling, we can play around with different flavors. 

What can you tell us about the barley for Cardinal's White Oak Whiskey?

It's a six-row barley — Thoroughbred is the name, bred from a French and US variety. It was grown in Kentucky, then malted here. 

Cardinal is going to be getting some rye soon. The rye we have this year was grown on my family farm. It's called Aroostook, and it's an heirloom variety from the New England area with a spicy rye flavor. We're really excited about getting that out into some beer and rye whiskey.

What's next for you?

We're planning on doing a Kickstarter to build a smokehouse. I think that's going to be a really unique feature. We've got all kinds of wood — pear, peach, apple, pecan and lilac — and we're going to do a whole line of custom-smoked batches. At the same time we're building a roasting drum that'll let us do chocolate malt to make porters and stouts.

I'm hoping to get to a million pounds of malt — I'd like to sell that in a year. That'll allow us to supply a lot of breweries with a year-round local beer, instead of just doing a harvest beer.  

MOSCOW MULE MONDAY AT C3

Mules on mules on mules.

Mondays are a little easier to muddle through when you know that Moscow Mules are $5 on Mondays at C3 bar in Bloomington.

C3 offers three mules on Mondays — two of them with Cardinal Vodka:

1. Georgia mule. Cardinal Vodka and ginger beer, plus a zingy peach puree spiced with cayenne, cinnamon and local honey. 

2. Classic mule. Vodka, ginger beer and lime.

3. A new, special mule every Monday with Cardinal Vodka. A spiced pear mule sparked this whole Moscow Mule Monday madness at C3, and since then, there's been new variations weekly with ancho-chile liqueur, Earl Grey tea-infused vodka and more. C3 has also done a farmhouse mule with muddled cherry tomato and basil, and a strawberry mule made with mezcal. 

"Moscow Mules are so versatile," says Nick Matio, C3's bar manager. "It's the Mr. Potato Head of cocktails." 

And Nick composes them masterfully at C3, an upscale take on a neighborhood bar inside Bloomington's Renwick community. It's a comfortable place to get interesting craft cocktails and tasty small plates — and fun, new mules every Monday.