CRAFTPACK, VOL. 17

No happy hour, no cold beer at grocery stores, and no booze sales on Sunday: Indiana absolutely made this list of 8 States With The Strangest Alcohol Laws.

Cardinal Spirits' first anniversary celebration is this weekend. Punch, cakes, free t-shirts, free tours ... RSVP here. (Also, how crazy is it that our building used to look like this.)

Have any of you tried Elvis Presley Coconut Water Vodka? Which is a real thing.

A fun video tour of our neighborhood, called McDoel Gardens — and hey, that's us at 1:05!

PepsiCo is opening a restaurant in NYC that will offer an artisanal menu with dishes inspired by the kola nut. It's sodas will be served, of course, but Pepsi says it'll also have a "cocktail curator" on staff. 

SERRANO DAIQUIRI RECIPE

A classic daiquiri couldn't be simpler: It's just rum, lime and sugar. You know the daiquiri. You love the daiquiri. Now it's time to have some fun with the daiquiri.

Adding a few slices of serrano pepper into the shaker zaps this cocktail with some satisfying heat. It warms you without being warm itself, you know? You could tame it down with just one or two slices of pepper if you'd like.

SERRANO DAIQUIRI

By Jake Cifuentes of Cardinal Spirits

2 ounces Cardinal Spirits Tiki Rum
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
3 slices serrano pepper

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice, and shake vigorously. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a slice of serrano pepper.

#WHISKEYMYWAY: WEEK 4 ROUNDUP

Week 4 of Age Your Own Whiskey — a big, boozy group project that meets on the Internet — is behind us. 

If you're playing along at home, you might be wondering: How many more weeks until the whiskey is ready? We're thinking that you'll see good color and flavor around Week 5, so you are in the home stretch! But, you can go longer, stop early, taste along the way .... it's #whiskeymyway, after all, so it's completely up to you.

Age Your Own Whiskey works like this: a bunch of you dropped an oak stave into a bottle of our unaged White Oak Whiskey on the day after Christmas. Once a week, you post a photo of the bottle on social media and tag it #whiskeymyway so that we can all see each other's progress.

Just starting to age yours now? You're not too late - start posting!

Here's how some of your #whiskeymyway bottles are looking after Week 4:

Instagram: @mrgoober03

Instagram: @cardinalspirits

Twitter: @Doc_Boc

Twitter: @JamesJpault75

Twitter: @FoodEvansville

Snap your Week 5 photo this Saturday, Jan. 30, post it and tag it #whiskeymyway. And let everyone know...

1. Have you tasted it? What's the flavor like so far?
2. Are you changing conditions at all?  (Varying the temperature? Agitating it? Adding another stave?)
3. How's the color?  

We'll post another roundup next week!

CRAFTPACK, VOL. 16

One genius trick that will change your cocktail game. 

To jigger or to pour? Which side of the debate are you on?

Uh, pivot much? Under Armor founder is opening a distillery.

Because it feels like winter is juuuust getting started: 8 hot chocolate recipes (some are boozy)

A few sneak peaks at tonight's amazing cocktail-pairing dinner at the distillery: here, here and here. 

BEHIND THE BAR: SCOTT LOWE OF BLUEBEARD

Bartenders hear our stories all the time. So let's hear theirs for a change. This is Behind the Bar: interviews with bartenders over a drink (or two).
— by Kajal Singh
 

This week, we're chatting with Scott Lowe, the bar manager of Bluebeard, the excellent restaurant and bar in the Fletcher Place neighborhood on the southeast edge of downtown Indianapolis. Named after Kurt Vonnegut novel, Bluebeard is one of the wonderful Indianapolis establishments that serve Cardinal Spirits. 
 

What drinks on your menu are made with Cardinal Spirits, and what are the stories behind the names?

27 Mutual Friends (Cardinal Spirits Vodka, Cardinal Spirits Songbird Craft Coffee Liqueur, crème de cacao, mole bitters) is a play on social media. My girlfriend and I realized that we had 27 mutual friends on Facebook and we thought it would be fun name for a cocktail. Social media is prevalent these days and I think people really identify with it. 

Don’t be so Bonal (Cardinal Vodka, Bonal, house-hopped strawberry soda) is a play on the word banal. Hopped Gin and Tonic (Cardinal Spirits American Gin, Bittermens hopped grapefruit bitters, Fentimans Tonic) is a twist on the classic cocktail with hopped bitters. 

How long have you been in Indy? And how long at Bluebeard?

Sixteen years in Indianapolis. As of this coming April, I’ve been bartending for about 28 years. I was at Ball & Biscuit (on Mass Ave. in Indy) before Bluebeard. Before that I was bartending in Broad Ripple.

If you could have a drink with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

Anthony Bourdain. I ran into him in New Orleans a couple of years ago, he just seems like an interesting guy to get a drink with. I’m a whiskey guy, so I would definitely be drinking rye whiskey. 

What’s your best advice for people who want the drinks they make at home to taste as good as the ones they order at a bar?

Honestly, just use fresh ingredients. Make your own stuff at home; it’s so easy to do now. You can make your own simple syrups. It may take some time, but they last a long time and it makes all the difference.

Do you remember the time you had your very first cocktail?

I was in Florida and it was just after graduation from high school. I worked on a charter fishing boat in Fort Walton and there was a place called Suds and Cinema. I was watching "Rocky Horror" with my aunt at Suds and Cinema and I had my first scotch and soda. It was so horrible. I literally spit it out. That was my first grownup cocktail. I was 18 years old.

So if you walked into Cardinal right now, what would you order?

I’m a big fan of the American Gin, so I would probably do a gin-based cocktail. The vodka is good too but I really love the botanicals in the American Gin. ... It’s awesome that we can make great spirits here in Indiana. Not just great beer, but great spirits!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Be honest. Be straightforward, look them in the eye and don’t fuck them over. 

What makes Cardinal Spirits different than the other craft distilleries around?

That’s pretty easy. Cardinal Spirits figured it out. Cardinal Spirits isn’t pretentious and is very straightforward; they’re not trying to split the atom. Everything Cardinal Spirits makes is solid, they’re not trying to be something they’re not. Everybody that I’ve run into that works at Cardinal Spirits is very straightforward. They’re just cool people. You know? Cardinal Spirits is kind of like Bloomington in that sense: very approachable and laid back.

(Editor's note: Aw, thanks, Scott!)

#WHISKEYMYWAY: WEEK 3 ROUNDUP

Week 3 of Age Your Own Whiskey — a big, boozy group project that meets on the Internet — is behind us. 

Age Your Own Whiskey works like this: a bunch of you dropped an oak stave into a bottle of our unaged White Oak Whiskey on the day after Christmas. Once a week, you post a photo of the bottle on social media and tag it #whiskeymyway so that we can all see each other's progress. We're thinking that you'll see good color and flavor around Week 5, but you can go longer, stop early, taste along the way .... it's #whiskeymyway, after all. Just starting to age yours now? You're not too late - start posting.

Here's how some of your #whiskeymyway bottles are looking after Week 3:

Twitter: @mifinke1986

Twitter: @FoodEvansville

Twitter: @JamesJpault75

Twitter: @BeanPizza

Instagram: @mrgoober03

Instagram: @_jenny.luna_

Snap your Week 4 photo this Saturday, Jan. 23, post it and tag it #whiskeymyway. And let everyone know...

1. Have you tasted it? What's the flavor like so far?
2. Are you changing conditions at all?  (Varying the temperature? Agitating it? Adding another stave?)
3. How's the color?  

We'll post another roundup next week!

MENU FOR DINNER AT THE DISTILLERY

Photo by Natasha Komodo of Femography

Cardinal Spirits and Plated Table, a farm-to-table caterer, are collaborating on the best dinner party of 2016. It's a bold claim, since we're not even 20 days in. But, we said it and we're not taking it back. We guarantee that Dinner at the Distillery on Jan. 25 will be a memorable evening: Four courses featuring fantastic local produce and meats, each paired with a cocktail that was crafted to complement the food. The setting: long tables, low lights, an intimate gathering in the back of the distillery among the still and barrels.

There are exactly eight seats left at the table, so buy your ticket today. 

Here's the full menu for the evening:

DINNER AT THE DISTILLERY, JAN. 25
Cocktails by Logan Hunter of Cardinal Spirits
Food by Kelsey Smith of Plated Table

FIRST COURSE
COCKTAIL
Bramble 75: This fizzy little number is the perfect starter, made with our Bramble Black Raspberry Vodka, lemon juice and bubbles.
DISH
Herbed ricotta on homemade nut and seed crackers topped with glazed baby carrots and brown-butter beets, plus arugula micro greens.

SECOND COURSE
COCKTAIL
Smoked Apple: Our American Gin, infused with three varieties of apples and cranberries, plus our Flora liqueur and a smoke tincture. 
DISH
Butternut squash and apple soup topped with sour cream, candied bacon and chives.
Vegetarian version served without bacon. 

THIRD COURSE
COCKTAIL
Truffle Barley Old Fashioned: A classic Old Fashioned with an earthy twist in the form of truffle-vanilla tincture.
DISH
Prosciutto-wrapped pork loin stuffed with kale, porcini mushrooms, ground pork, and brandy, roasted on a bed of apples.
Vegetarian dish: Four-mushroom risotto with riesling, thyme, and finished with a spritz of gin. Topped with a lion’s mane mushroom steak and garlic micro greens.

FOURTH COURSE
COCKTAIL
Espresso Martini: Without the riffraff. No cream or extra sugar. Our Vodka, Songbird Craft Coffee Liqueur and Bramble Black Raspberry Vodka. 
DISH
Flourless chocolate cake made with Songbird Craft Coffee Liqueur. Served with a side of whipped cream and homemade raspberry jam.

WET BANDITS COCKTAIL RECIPE

This cocktail made with our Standard Dry Gin blends fresh ingredients — blackberry and sage — with comforting winter flavors — honey and cinnamon. And the color couldn't be prettier.

WET BANDITS

By Baylee Pruitt of Cardinal Spirits

2 blackberries
Sage leaf
1/2 oz. honey syrup (recipe below)
2 oz. Cardinal Spirits Standard Dry Gin
3/4 oz. lemon juice
2 dashes cinnamon bitters

Add blackberries, sage leaf and honey syrup to a shaker. Muddle to release juices from berries. Add ice to the shaker, then add gin, lemon juice and bitters. Shake vigorously, then double strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a sage leaf. 

To make honey syrup: Add 1 cup water and 1 cup honey to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir to dissolve. Heat for 5 minutes. Cool completely before using. 

#WHISKEYMYWAY: WEEK 2 ROUNDUP

If you bought or received one of our Age Your Own Whiskey kits over the holidays, then you know that this is one big group project.

The instructions were to drop the oak stave into the bottle on the day after Christmas, then post a photo of it once a week after that on social media and tag it #whiskeymyway so that we could all see each other's progress. We're thinking that you'll see good color and flavor around Week 5, but you can go longer, stop early, taste along the way .... it's #whiskeymyway, after all.

Here's how some of your bottles are looking after Week 2:

Instagram: @mrgoober03

Instagram: @diffuser_city

Instagram: @liquid81

Twitter: @EverHopefulWhit

Twitter: @JamesJpault75

Twitter: @FreshAir381

Twitter: @Doc_Boc

Twitter: @FoodEvansville

Twitter: @MattCarlton

Snap your Week 3 photo this Saturday, Jan. 23, post it and tag it #whiskeymyway. And let everyone know...

1. Have you tasted it? What's the flavor like so far?
2. Are you changing conditions at all?  (Varying the temperature? Agitating it? Adding another stave?)
3. How's the color?  

We'll post another roundup next week!

BEHIND THE BAR: JAKE CIFUENTES

Bartenders hear our stories all the time. So let's hear theirs for a change. This is Behind the Bar: interviews with bartenders over a drink (or two). The series starts with Cardinal's own barman Jake Cifuentes. 
— by Kajal Singh

What spirit should people drink more of?
Definitely the White Oak Whiskey (from Cardinal). Whiskey drinkers get a little scared away by the unaged aspect and the fact that it’s clear. But it’s good on its own.
 
What’s your favorite cocktail at Cardinal Spirits?
My favorite drink to make is the Cardinal Sling. But I’m a coffee guy, so my favorite to drink is the Café a l’Orange.
 
What’s your story?
I’ve been bartending for about eight months. I’m a good friend of Cardinal’s general manager (Logan Hunter) and he used to be the head bartender at Uptown. I got drinks from him and watched him bartend for about two and a half years. He’s the one that really got me into bartending.
  
What made you want to join Cardinal?
I liked that it was doing something that isn’t really being done right now. I really liked the vibe. The people that were involved and started it up, seemed really nice and very genuine. And wanted to make a good product and do business the right way, so it’s something I wanted to be a part of.

What’s your magical hangover cure?
My magical hangover cure is bananas and bacon. I love bacon. Works every time.
 
What was your first cocktail?
I didn’t drink until after I finished college. So, I feel like I appreciate spirits a little more. But, my first cocktail was one of Logan’s specialties at the last bar he worked at. It’s called The Smoked Libertine. It’s whiskey based. There are a lot of nuances to it. My favorite part is that he dropped an eighth of an ounce of scotch in it and lined the glass with it. Scotch gave it this heat, this smoky flavor.
 
Where's your favorite place to drink, besides Cardinal?
It’s a toss up between Uptown and The Bishop. Which is really funny because they are both very different. I like Uptown because it’s quieter, so I can write. But then sometimes, I like to go to the Bishop because it’s loud all around me – yet I feel like I have a little bubble around me so I can do my own thing.
 
What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve received?
Well, one of my best friends is the quasi Buddhist literary guy. He would always tell me: “Unlearn everything that you’ve learned, so that you can learn that you know nothing.” So basically, don’t get caught up in your own prideful bullshit. My best piece of advice to give is to realize that nothing is as bad as it seems.
 
If you could do anything besides bartending, what would that be?
International aid. Long term, that’s what I plan on doing. I’m not sure exactly what I want to do related to international aid, that’s what I am trying to figure out. I have Latin American heritage, so I’d like to work down there. Meet people who are doing work and see what it’s like and what I’d like. I know there’s water, education, hygiene, policy, social justice and all that. I know I want to help. I haven’t really figured out a medium for that yet.

Would you ever write a book?
Maybe. I’ve actually been working on a screenplay for about four years. I’m a big fan of well-executed romantic comedies, like Elizabethtown. I’ve always thought we have all these movies coming out in Hollywood that are about love and people finding the one. If we’re lucky, we all have that experience once. But for 99.9% of the population, it takes a couple times to get there. Those stories never get told. 

My screenplay is about this guy going through a breakup and coming to realize his own agency. I’ve done it in my life and I know other people do it too; they put so much into a relationship, their identity is that other person. So when that’s gone, they don’t have anything left. So it’s sort of that process of realization. The symbol that I use throughout the screenplay is writing. The main character is a writer, but he is so devastated that he can’t write. He realizes that he is wasting all this time on an idea and construction that he built up in his head. It’s kind of him walking through that process. In the end, he isn’t doing what he loves and wasting all of this time on a construct. I was walking through the same thing at the time I started writing the screenplay.
 
If you had to have a drink with anybody dead or alive, who would it be?
Oh man, that’s tough. Probably Che Guevara.