Given how popular smoked cheese is, it's surprising more people don't try smoking cheese at home. With a dedicated cheese smoking kit, it couldn't be easier.

The Perfect Cheeseboard

Putting together the perfect cheeseboard, you have to cater for all possible tastes. There'll be soft cheeses and hard cheeses, strong cheeses and mild cheeses, and there will always be at least one smoked cheese. Everyone loves smoked cheese. They're often the first to be finished, but imagine how good it would be if instead of saying 'I'm sorry, that's the last,' you could say, 'Finish it up, I'll smoke some more!'

Smoking Cheese at Home

With a dedicated cheese smoking kit, like the Foghat Smoking Cloche Set, you can easily smoke a piece of cheese - or anything else, including charcuterie - in a few minutes. It will also impress your guests and definitely give them something to talk about. Kits like these come with a chopping or serving board, so you could smoke the entire cheeseboard in one go, if you wanted to try it.

Smoking cheese at home is also going to give you better results. You may not realize it, but the smoked cheese you buy at the store isn't smoked at all. It is infused either with liquid smoke or even a smoke flavoring, to get those results. When you smoke cheese at home you're using natural wood to provide the smoky flavor that people love.

How to Smoke Cheese at Home

Cheese smoking kits work by providing you with a blown-glass cover that fits snugly over the board. A hole in the top of the glass cover allows you to insert a holder with a metal mesh tray in it. Into this you put some flavored smoking fuel, like wood chips or wood shavings, and then you smoke the fuel with a regular kitchen torch. If you already have a torch you can buy the components without a torch, or if you're getting a cheese smoking kit as a gift for someone you can buy the whole kit and caboodle, including the butane.

When you heat the fuel, the smoke swirls down into the glass cover allowing the cheese(s) to soak up the smoky aroma. By using different fuels with different cheeses you can produce original smoked cheeses that you wouldn't find in even the best deli or cheese store.

Which Cheeses to Smoke at Home

The advantage of smoking cheese at home is that you can try any cheese: you're not limited to what you can find in the store. Everyone's tastes are different, and by experimenting you can discover what works best for you. Just as some people love really peaty Scottish whiskies, while others hate them, you can decide what degree of smokiness works best for you. You might find one minute of smoking is enough for you, or you might want to smoke the cheese to the last dying ember.

Do keep a record of the different combinations of type of cheese, type of smoking fuel, and length of smoking time. After all, when you achieve perfection, you want to be able to replicate it.

As to which cheeses to smoke at home, start with fairly plain and inexpensive hard cheeses, like cheddar, gouda, Monterey Jack, or Pepper Jack. Even the plainest (and cheapest) of cheddars can be transformed when it's infused with smoke. Hard cheeses can stand longer smoking times. Depending on the cheese and how you cut it, the smoke may not permeate all the way to the center, giving you a great combination of smokiness and natural flavor. Once you start to master the technique of smoking cheeses at home, you can move on to try more expensive varieties.

Smoking Soft Cheeses at Home

By their very nature, soft cheeses will soak up more smoke than hard cheeses, and for that reason you'll want to start with a shorter smoking time. Doesn't the very thought of a Smoked Brie make your mouth water, though?

Couldn't I Just Smoke Cheese on the BBQ?

Yes, you can, though softer cheeses can make a heck of a mess. It's far better to cold smoke them direct on the cheeseboard or other wooden platter.

What Flavors Can You Use to Smoke Cheese?

To start with, play safe and use the types of flavor that cheesemakers use to smoke their cheeses with: apple, cherry, maple, and nutty flavors. Later you can move on and get more experimental, using flavors such as mesquite, bourbon, or sherry. The best woods are usually those that come from fruit or nut trees.

Two Final Tips on Smoking Cheese at Home

1) If you can, let the cheese rest for up to three days after smoking. Wrap it in cheese paper and keep it in the fridge. That way the smoke has more chance to permeate the cheese. Take it out and let it get to room temperature before serving.

2) If you're preparing a cheeseboard, cut some cheeses in half and only smoke half of each one. That way you can compare the taste of the smoked and unsmoked versions. Also, guests still have a wide choice whether they like or dislike smoked cheeses. 

by Mike Gerrard

There are several ways to make a Smoky Negroni including using a smoked gin, smoked ice cubes, or smoking the Negroni with a dedicated cocktail smoking kit.

The Negroni is one of the best smoked cocktails, and it's good to know how to make a Smoky Negroni. It's easy to do, and producing a smoky take on one of the world's most popular cocktails will surprise your guests. You'd better be prepared to make seconds, though.

What Is a Negroni?

A Negroni is an Italian cocktail that was probably first made in Florence in 1919 at the request of the grandly-named French General Pascal Olivier Count de Negroni. It's a simple cocktail recipe to remember: one part gin, one part sweet red vermouth, and one part Campari. Garnish it with a slice of orange peel and you're done. It's one of those cocktails that, if a guest asks you for one, you don't need to go to the bookshelves or the internet to look up the recipe. You just need to be sure to have the ingredients on hand. But how do you make a Smoky Negroni?

Buying Smoked Gin

One way to make a Smoky Negroni is to use a smoked gin instead of your regular gin. Normally a London Dry Gin with its strong juniper flavors works best in a Negroni. Because a Negroni does only have three ingredients, changing any one of them can make a big difference to the overall result. It may take a few experiments till you perfect making your Smoky Negroni.

In the USA, The New York Craft Spirits Distillery makes ESP Smoked Gin using Applewood- smoked juniper berries, which should add several layers of flavor to your standard Negroni. In the UK you can find a Smoked Rosemary Gin made by That Boutique-y Gin Company, which should also work well.

Smoke Your Own Gin

As there aren't too many smoked gins on the market, it will be easier and cheaper to try smoking your own gin. One advantage here is that you can use the same recipe and gin as you do for a standard Negroni, but you're simply adding smoke to the gin rather than altering the recipe by using a different gin with a different flavor profile.

You can smoke your own gin by using a dedicated cocktail smoking kit. Although these are intended for smoking the finished cocktail, they can also be used for smoking pure spirits. Put several measures of your regular London Dry Gin in a glass and smoke the gin before making the Negroni. Try using the Whiskey Barrel Oak Smoking Fuel. A Negroni already has a lot of flavors swirling around in there, so a simpler smoking fuel will be better.

If you're the kind of person who's a bit of a control freak then you might even want to go the whole hog and make your own gin from scratch. After all, gin is simply flavored vodka, which is the kind of remark you make if you want to annoy a gin distiller. It's true, though. Gin starts off as a neutral spirit, i.e. vodka, and the botanicals including juniper are then infused into it. You can achieve the same results by using an inexpensive Gin Essence which, for a few dollars, allows you to turn vodka into gin. It isn't cheating as many gin distillers simply buy in their cheap neutral spirit (they don't like to call it vodka, but it is) and add their botanicals. You can then smoke the gin, as above.

Use a Cocktail Smoking Kit

Alternatively you can make your Negroni absolutely as normal, and simply smoke the end result with the smoking kit. Again, try starting with a lighter smoking fuel like the Whiskey Barrel Oak Smoking Fuel, before experimenting with anything stronger.

Use Smoked Ice Cubes

Another way to turn a Negroni into a Smoky Negroni is to use smoked ice cubes. This way the smoky flavor slowly builds up as the ice cubes melt, and when it gets to the level you think is perfect you can take the smoky ice cubes out and replace them with regular ones.

How do you smoke ice cubes? For this you'll need the Foghat Smoking Cloche Set, which gives you a bigger surface area to smoke than the cocktail smoker does. Place a tray of ice cubes on the cutting board, and use the smallest ice cubes that you have. Smoke the ice cubes until they melt, and then refreeze them. You'll get better results if you smoke ice cubes rather than smoke an ice cube tray filled with water, as the smoke molecules stick to the ice more easily than they would penetrate the water.

You needn't limit this to Negronis, of course. If you keep a tray of smoked ice cubes in the freezer, you can use them with any whiskey cocktail, or a Margarita, to gradually create a smoky version of the cocktail as you drink it.

Use Smoked Cocktail Glasses

If you want to go for broke with the smoking, you can also use the Foghat Smoking Cloche Set to smoke your cocktail glasses just before you make your Negronis. Combine this with smoked ice cubes and a regular Negroni cocktail, and you also have a Smoky Negroni. Use a smoked gin as well and you'll have an Ultra Smoky Negroni. That may be going a little too far, but at least you now know how to make a Smoky Negroni several different ways.

by Mike Gerrard

Charcuterie is a French word for cooked meats usually served as an appetizer with cheeses and the tastes can be enhanced by smoking the meats and cheeses first.

Meaning of the Word 'Charcuterie'

The word charcuterie derives from two separate French words, chair, meaning flesh, and cuit, which means cooked. It's been around since at least the 15th century, and the word was originally chaircuiterie, but it's changed slightly over the years. It was a way of preserving meats before the days of refrigeration.

Back then a charcuterie usually meant a pork butcher's shop, as well as the cooked meats that you could buy there. The person who sold the meat was a charcutier. Pork was the main meat that was widely sold because beef was an expensive treat, and chickens were something that many peasants kept for themselves for both eggs and meat.

What is Charcuterie Today?

The most common cooked meats from the pig are ham, sausages, and bacon, although if serving or ordering a charcuterie it can also include patés and terrines, and these days it won't be confined to pork meat. You'll probably find things like chicken paté and cheeses served alongside the meats on a plate of charcuterie.

Charcuterie Around the World

Although the idea of charcuterie originated in France, the notion has spread around the world and has been adapted into different cultures. In France's neighbor, Italy, it has become antipasto or antipasti, both meaning 'before the pasta'. Antipasto is the singular, referring to the whole plate, and antipasti is the plural, meaning the dishes on the plate. As well as cooked meats, in Italy it's likely to include things like olives, sardines, anchovies, cheeses, and vegetables.

In the UK the meal has adapted into a ploughman's lunch, which is a movable feast. It will include cold meats but also cheeses, pies, a slice or two of bread, pickles, boiled eggs, salad, or any combination of these, along with appropriate condiments like mustard. The original idea was that it was whatever a farm worker like a ploughman could put in his bag and eat easily with his hands at lunchtime.

In the USA the dish is referred to as either charcuterie or just a simple meat and cheese plate, served with bread or crackers and condiments like mustard. You should also include some fruit and vegetables, for vegetarian and vegan guests.

What to Drink with Charcuterie

As charcuterie originated in France, the majority of people would have drunk the local wine. It's traditional to pair red wine with meats, and a merlot or pinot noir would certainly go well. However, charcuterie is very adaptable and because of the salty nature of some of the dishes, you can also try a crisp white wine or even a sparkling wine, like prosecco.

In the UK it's traditional to drink beer with your ploughman's lunch, as that's what workers would have drunk. It was common then for people, even children, to drink weak beer rather than water, as it was less likely to be contaminated. In the USA you can drink beer or wine, or anything else.

How to Serve Charcuterie

Charcuterie is a dish meant for sharing, so you'll need a large serving board to make sure there's enough for everyone. You can serve charcuterie up as individual dishes for people if you like, and these can look good, but it's much more fun to give people a small empty plate and for everyone to dip in and share from the main board.

You can use a plain and simple cheese board for your charcuterie, but if you enjoy entertaining or want to impress someone special, then use a special serving board. You can find wine-themed charcuterie boards, plain charcuterie boards, or even bourbon-themed boards. Yes, you can serve bourbon with charcuterie. A sweeter wheaty bourbon is the perfect match for salty hams and bacon. If you can casually mention that you made your own wheated bourbon, so much the better!

Two Great Ways to Improve Your Charcuterie Board

There are two more ways you can make your charcuterie stand out from the crowd, apart from only using the best of ingredients, of course. The first way is visual: the presentation. When you bring your board to the table you want your guests to say: 'Oh, that looks good!' To find some inspiration look at how other people have done it on somewhere like Pinterest.

The second way to improve your charcuterie board will have your guests asking for it next time they come, and that is by smoking some of the meats and cheeses. Who doesn't like smoked hams or smoked cheeses? And what could be more fun than to smoke your own using something like this Foghat Smoking Cloche Set?

The Foghat actually comes with a charcuterie board, which tells you what it's designed to do. With one of these devices, the sky's the limit with what you can do to improve the meats and cheeses you serve. You don't want to overdo it and smoke everything in sight, but put  a couple of smoked cheeses and a couple of smoked meats on your board and you'll probably find they're the first to get finished.

The great thing about this is that you can do it ahead of time, and also you're only limited in what you can do by your imagination. Suppose, for example, you do have some bourbon-loving friends coming over for dinner, and you want to serve some shots of bourbon or a bourbon cocktail with your charcuterie. What better than to smoke some salami or Swiss cheese with some Bourbon Resurrection Smoking Fuel? Try taking a plain cheese like cheddar or mozzarella and give it the treatment with something like Sweet Texas Mesquite Smoking Fuel. Or make your own Hickory Smoked Cheddar.

So now you know not only what charcuterie is, but how to take your own charcuterie board to the next level.

by Mike Gerrard

The best smoked cocktails can be made in various ways, with a smoky whiskey or mezcal instead of a non-smoky spirit or by using a universal cocktail smoking kit.

Any answer to  the question of what are the best smoky cocktails will inevitably focus on whiskey-based cocktail recipes. Many of them have a smokiness about them already, but by switching to a peaty Islay Scottish whisky, for example, or by using a smoky spirit like mezcal, the lovely smoky aroma and flavor can be ramped up a notch, the way many people like it.

Other non-whiskey cocktails can also benefit by being given the smoky treatment, as we found recently with the Smoky Margarita. You can smoke this up either by using mezcal instead of tequila, or by sticking with tequila and using a cocktail smoking kit. You can also try smoking rum cocktails. There are a few smoky rums around, like Mount Gay's The Peat Smoke Expression, which is finished in peated whisky casks from Scotland, though at around $250 a bottle it's not something you want to risk experimenting with. There are cheaper and safer ways.

What Are the Best Smoky Cocktails?

The best smoky cocktails are undoubtedly the classic whiskey cocktails, like the Old Fashioned, the Manhattan, the Whiskey Sour, the Sazerac, and the Mint Julep. In each case, take the classic recipe and either substitute a peated smoky Scottish whisky for the standard whisky, or get out your Cocktail Smoking Kit.

The kit is usually the better option. Changing the whiskey in the recipe also makes other flavor changes to the end result, whereas the smoking kit uses the traditional recipe and simply infuses smoke into it, so you genuinely get a smoky version of the cocktail. However, you should also think beyond the whiskey cocktails, to really appreciate the effect that smoking cocktails can have.

How to Make a Smoky Martini

You might think it's going to be trickier to turn a classic Gin Martini into a smoky cocktail, but it isn't. To adapt the recipe, look for a smoky gin. There are one or two around, including ESP Smoked Gin from a distillery in New York.

By far the best way is to infuse the gin with smoke, and this is where a Cocktail Smoking Kit really comes into its own, both for financial and flavor reasons. A smoked gin might cost you $40 or so, and when it's gone, it's gone. If you get a taste for a Smoky Martini, it makes more sense to invest $70 in your own kit and use it with a London Dry Gin and some inexpensive Vermouth Oak Roast Smoking Fuel or Old Towne Gin Smoking Fuel. Both are designed with gin cocktails in mind.

Take your classic Gin Martini recipe of six parts gin to one part dry vermouth. Make enough for at least two cocktails and put the mixture not into a cocktail glass but into a tall glass. Take your cocktail glasses and either put them in the freezer or fill them with ice water and put them in the fridge while you smoke the cocktail.

Put the shavings in the smoker and put the smoker over the tall glass. Smoke the shavings for about three minutes and then remove the smoker, stir the martini to really get the smoky flavor infused into the gin. Pour the Smoky Martinis into the chilled glasses and enjoy.

How to Make a Smoky Negroni

To make a Smoky Negroni you have the same options as for a Smoky Martini - you either use a smoked gin or you use a cocktail smoking kit. The kit is again the better choice for the same reasons, but in this case perhaps use the Whiskey Barrel Oak Smoking Fuel.  With its vermouth, campari, and orange-peel garnish, the Negroni already has a lot going on in it flavor-wise so a simpler smoking fuel will be better.

by Mike Gerrard

To make a Smoky Manhattan whiskey cocktail you can try using a smoky whiskey, like a peaty whisky from Islay in Scotland, or use a Foghat Cocktail Smoker.

The Manhattan is one of the world's classic whiskey cocktails, with an interesting if uncertain history [insert link] behind it. It's a drink that's been around for over 150 years, so it's clearly here to stay. When you've tried a few slight variations on the classic recipe (bourbon instead of rye whiskey, say), you might want to take the recipe to the next level and try to make a Smoky Manhattan.

How to Make a Smoky Manhattan the Easy Way

There may be a classic recipe for the Manhattan (5 cl rye, 2 cl sweet red vermouth, dash of Angostura bitters) but there's no classic recipe for the Smoky Manhattan as it can be made in several different ways.

One way to make a Smoky Manhattan is quite easy. Instead of rye whiskey, use a smoky whiskey. And the easiest way to do that is choose a whisky from the island of Islay in Scotland, whose distilleries are noted for their smoky and peaty aromas and flavors. You're spoiled for choice. Try Bruichladdich, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Caol Ila, or an Ardbeg - the Ardbeg Wee Beastie is one we really enjoyed recently.

If you're not a fan of peaty scotches, then you could perhaps try a 50/50 mix of scotch and bourbon to tone down the smoky nature of the Manhattan. It's also a good way to slowly acquire a taste for peaty drinks, as these are, after all, amongst some of the greatest whiskies made. It's a shame to miss out on enjoying them because you've taken one sip of a really peaty whisky and didn't like it. It can be an acquired taste but it's a taste well worth acquiring.

Making a Smoky Manhattan Another Way

There are other ways to adapt the basic recipe to provide you with a smoky cocktail. You could add a dash of paprika or chipotle powder for that smoky taste - but don't go wild! If you look around online you can also find chipotle bitters, which you could use instead of the Angostura bitters.

Then, although it's no longer strictly a Manhattan, you could substitute the smoky Mexican spirit mezcal for the rye whiskey. You'd have something you might call a Mexihattan.

The Best Way to Make a Smoky Manhattan

One final way to make a Smoky Manhattan is arguably the most authentic way, as you still use the original classic recipe. None of your nit-picking friends can argue and say, 'Well it's not really a Manhattan.

Take the original recipe given above, and scale it up for however many drinks you want to make. Put all the ingredients in one suitably-sized glass, and mix them thoroughly. Use a Foghat Cocktail Smoker to infuse the Manhattan with smoke. Try the Whiskey Barrel Oak Smoking Fuel, or go for broke and use the Peat Bog Fog for a truly smoky result.

Let the glass rest for three minutes. Swirl the cocktail around again with a cocktail spoon to thoroughly mix the ingredients, including the smoke. Pour over ice in a cocktail glass or a lowball glass. Savor the aromas and sip. Now that's the best way to make a Smoky Manhattan!

by Mike Gerrard

Can you make Peach Moonshine from scratch, and if so then how do you do it and what is the best and easiest way to make Peach Moonshine?

If you want to make peach moonshine from scratch then you certainly can. Well, almost from scratch as if you want to make your own moonshine you should first read our post on Is It Legal to Make Whiskey at Home? [insert link] The same laws apply to making moonshine at home, or any other kind of spirit.

What Is Moonshine? 

Firstly, what is moonshine anyway? It isn't just an American term for hooch made in the backwoods of Appalachia. Countries all around the world have their equivalent of alcohol that's been distilled at home using local ingredients.

Making moonshine is usually illegal, though this doesn't stop it happening widely, particularly in traditionally poor rural areas. In the past, even if legal alcohol was available, not everyone could afford to buy it, so it's only natural some people would try their hand at making their own. After all, the skills of distilling have been around for a few thousand years.

In Ireland, as one well-known example, they call it poteen (pronounced pocheen) and it's often made from potatoes, the country's most widely-grown crop. In Greece they call it raki or tsipouro, and it's made from what's left of the grapes after the winemakers have finished with them. In the USA it's called moonshine and often made from corn.

What Is Peach Moonshine?

If peaches are grown widely, as they are in parts of the USA and Southern Europe, for example, then you can make moonshine from them. They provide their own sugar, to help the fermentation process. In the USA it's called peach moonshine while in other countries it might be called peach brandy or peach schnapps.

The main concern is a financial one. Peaches usually fetch a high price, so it's more profitable for the grower to sell them than to make moonshine from them. However, there will always be some peaches that are imperfect, so why throw them out when you can make perfectly good liquor from them?

Peach Moonshine Recipes

There are numerous recipes online for making peach moonshine, and they don't all involve using a peach brandy or peach schnapps as the base spirit. Some use white spirit, some blend white spirit with peach juice.

Some recipes use a grain alcohol called Everclear, produced by Luxco, and available at differing strengths according to your needs: 60%, 75.5%, 94.5% and 95% ABC (120, 151, 189 and 190 proof). It's potent stuff but remember that if you make a spirit that's too strong for you, you can always dilute it later with pure filtered water down to your preferred strength. After all, that's what distillers do unless they're making a cask strength spirit.

The Best Way to Make Peach Moonshine from Scratch

Some of the recipes for peach moonshine are quite complicated and involve tracking down several ingredients and then following complex instructions. You also often have to wait several days for the peach moonshine to be ready. The quickest, easiest and best way to make peach moonshine from scratch is with a Moonshine Magic moonshine making kit.

The Moonshine Making Kit is perfectly legal as you have to provide the base spirit. The kits come with a reusable 1-liter ceramic moonshine jar, and the essence for making three distinct moonshine flavors, including peach. The Peach Essence includes natural extracts, essences, and oils, and some caramel color of the kind often used by distilleries to add a little color to whiskies, rums, and other spirits. (They don't usually shout about it, but they do it.)

For the spirits, you can use Everclear or an inexpensive plain vodka. Costco sells vodka that is both cheap and better-than-average bottom-shelf vodka. Later (the moonshine jar is endlessly re-usable) you can experiment and try a corn or rye-based whiskey or bourbon. Only use small amounts of this at first, and you may want to mix it with some vodka initially, so as not to overpower the peach flavor, which is after all what you're looking for. This is by far the best and quickest way to make peach moonshine from scratch.

by Mike Gerrard

There are several ways of making a smoky margarita, like using mezcal instead of tequila, or you can put on a show and use the Foghat Cocktail Smoker.

Several weeks ago we enjoyed a smoky margarita without having to make it. It was a cocktail in a can and was so delicious my wife said: 'We have to learn how to make these.'

How to Make a Smoky Margarita the Easy Way

Looking online, there were lots of recipes for making smoky margaritas, some easier than others. The easiest way of all is simply to use mezcal instead of tequila. Most mezcals are naturally smoky, because of the way they're made.

What is Mezcal?

Mezcal is a spirit made from agave plants in certain areas of Mexico. Technically tequila is a mezcal as it's made from the blue agave, but it has its own specific rules. Mezcals are made from any agave apart from the blue agave. With tequila, the agave hearts, known as piņas, are baked in an oven. With mezcal, they are smoked in a pit in the ground, hence the smoky flavor, although not all mezcals are heavily smoky.

My Easy Smoky Margarita Cocktail Recipe

(Makes 4 glasses)

6 oz mezcal

3 oz triple sec

3 oz lime juice (reduced to 2 oz if using fresh key lime juice)

4 cups ice cubes

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until mushy (to use a technical term). If your mezcal is very smoky, you might want to try equal parts of mezcal and tequila to tone it down a little.

Other Ways to Make a Smoky Margarita

If you don't have any mezcal in hand (and it is harder to come by than tequila) then there are several other ways to make a smoky margarita. With the above basic margarita recipe you could add half a teaspoon of smoked paprika to the blend. You can also mix some paprika with some salt and rim the glass with it, too, for a showier look than salt alone.

Another option, instead of paprika, is to finely chop 2-3 slices of jalapeno and blend that into the mix. Be careful, though, till you know just how hot your jalapenos are. They also add spice as well as a slightly smoky flavor. Instead of the paprika or the jalapeno, you could instead add no more than a quarter teaspoon of chipotle powder to the cocktail. Chipotle is, of course, smoked jalapeno so you get both heat and smoke in your margarita.

How to Make a Smoky Margarita the Fun Way

After a few experiments, we forgot our Smoky Margarita phase and went back to our usual lazy pre-dinner standbys, like Gin and Tonics or Vodka and OJ. Then the Foghat Cocktail Smoker kit arrived.

The obvious first choice to try to make a smoky drink was with a Scottish whisky. I took a Speyburn 10-year-old from Speyside, partly because the bottle was almost gone and there was just enough for a couple of not-so-wee drams, and partly because the whisky was only slightly smoky. The Foghat worked its magic and did something on a par with turning water into wine - it turned a Speyside whisky into more of a peaty whisky from Islay.

Then I had that lightbulb moment - of course, smoky margaritas! I made a fresh batch of our regular margaritas, using the recipe above (but with tequila, of course). I put some fresh wood chips into the Foghat. These were the Whiskey Barrel Oak ones, but I figured they would work just as well. And boy, did they work!

The margaritas were just as good as the ones made with mezcal, and just as good as the canned cocktails that kicked the whole thing off in the first place. It also had me wondering if I could smoke tequila and make my own mezcal? That's for another time, but thanks to the Foghat I can't wait to show friends how to make a Smoky Margarita.

by Mike Gerrard

The history of the Manhattan cocktail goes back to 19th century Manhattan and here's the story of the Manhattan, who invented it, and a classic cocktail recipe.

The history of the Manhattan cocktail can certainly be traced back to New York's Manhattan in the late 19th century, but the exact details are not known for sure.

Was the Manhattan Invented at The Manhattan Club?

The Manhattan Club in New York, which is still going strong as a 4-star hotel, claims that the Manhattan cocktail was invented there. It was first created, they say, in 1874 for a banquet being held there by Jennie Jerome to honor the politician, Samuel J. Tilden.

Tilden was Governor of New York and went on to run as the Democratic candidate in the 1876 presidential election. He became the first candidate to win the popular vote but lose the election. That 1876 election had all the drama, and more, of recent US elections.

1874 was also the year that Jennie Jerome, who was born in Brooklyn, married Lord Randolph Churchill of Great Britain, and became Lady Randolph Churchill. According to one biography, Jerome was already pregnant with their first child at the time of their marriage. That child was named Winston, and went on to become the British Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, who led the country through World War II.

However, there's one problem with this story. On the date the banquet was held, Lady Churchill was in either England or France, but certainly not in New York.

When Was the Manhattan Cocktail Invented?

The Manhattan was definitely around by the early 1880s as it was first mentioned by name in a New York newspaper in 1882. In 1884 two versions of the cocktail recipe were included in a book by O.H.Byron called The Modern Bartender's Guide. From then on, the Manhattan was a regular in books of cocktail recipes.

Who Invented the Manhattan Cocktail?

Another account explaining the history of the Manhattan cocktail comes from a bartender, William F. Mulhall. Mulhall worked at the Hoffman House, a famous hotel that used to stand on Broadway and 25th Street. He began working there in the early 1880s and around that time he said that the Manhattan was invented in the 1860s by a bartender named Black, who worked at a nearby bar on Broadway.

The History of the Manhattan Cocktail

To sum up, all we really know about the history of the Manhattan cocktail is that it probably was created somewhere in Manhattan around the 1860s-1870s.

Manhattan Cocktail Recipe

The standard Manhattan cocktail recipe includes just three ingredients: whiskey, vermouth, and bitters. In the late 19th century the whiskey of choice was rye, and the recipe recommended today by the International Bartenders Association still specifies rye:

Ingredients

5 cl Rye whiskey

2 cl Sweet red vermouth

Dash Angostura bitters

Method

Stir over ice, strain into a chilled glass, garnish with a cherry or lemon slice, and serve in a cocktail glass or over ice in a lowball glass.

Even though there are only three ingredients, this still allows for some variations on the classic recipe. If you like bourbon, use bourbon. During Prohibition, Canadian whisky became the spirit used as it was easier to get hold of. You can also try different kinds of vermouth or bitters. You could try using both sweet vermouth and dry vermouth in the same drink, instead of the standard sweet vermouth.

You can also use brandy to turn it into a Brandy Manhattan, or use moonshine to make a Blonde Manhattan. If you use Scotch whisky instead of American rye, then you've made a Rob Roy. However you make it, though, you now at least know the history of the Manhattan cocktail.

by Mike Gerrard

Curing Your Barrel

First rinse the inside of the barrel by filling and emptying 2 or 3 times to remove any wood debris. Prior to use, your barrel must be filled with water for approximately 3 to 5 days. This will allow the oak to expand and retain liquid. (the barrel may leak until cured) After this initial curing period, place the barrel on the holder in a dry area. Liquid will continue to slowly drain through the wood for the following 3 to 7 days. Keep the barrel filled during this time. When the barrel stops draining, empty the contents and rinse again. You are now ready to fill with your spirits.

Filling with Spirits

When filling your barrel with spirits, fill the barrel completely removing all air. Place the cork in tightly. Air inside the barrel can spoil the aging process.

Reconditioning Your Barrel

In preparation for reusing your barrel after the initial use, the barrel may need to be reconditioned. This should always be done when aging wine. Fill your barrel with a cleaning solution such as Soda ash or Barolkleen (454g of Barolkleen per 5 gallons of water) and let it soak in the barrel for 2 to 3 days. This solution will remove excessive tannins.

For additional info on cleaning your barrel see our Barrel Cleaning Kit.

Storage

Barrels should be stored in a cool place and away from sunlight. This will protect both the exterior of the barrel and the aging spirits inside. In time liquid will be absorbed by the barrel or evaporate, generally about 5% over 2 years, this is called the "Angels' Share". Dry climates or heated homes tend to cause more evaporation.

Maintaining your Barrel

Over time the exterior of your barrel will show wear. Lightly sand your barrel with a fine sandpaper. Wipe off any debris with a clean cloth, and apply a coat of water based varnish on the outside of the barrel.

Barrels left without liquid will dry quickly and no longer hold liquid without leaking. If this occurs, begin the curing / reconditioning process again.

How to clean your barrel:

Mix 4 oz of Barolkleen with 1.25 gallons of hot water. Soak for 3 days rolling the barrel regularly. Drain and flush 3 times with hot water. Allow barrel to drain for at least 1 hour.

Remove the spigot. Light the sulfur strip and submerge in the barrel through the bung hole. Do not drop the lit sulfur strip into the barrel.

Mix 1oz citric acid with 2 gallons of water. Pour the solution into the barrel and swish it around for 5 minutes. Empty the barrel.

Rinse and empty the barrel 3 times with hot water, each time briskly shaking the barrel. Allow the barrel to drain for 3 hours before filling.

What are the oak barrels made from?

Our barrels are made from premium quality American White Oak. The staves are air dried for two years and all barrels have a medium char.

Are glues or nails used to make the barrel?

No, our barrels are all hand crafted with no use of glues or nails.

How should the barrel be stored?

Barrels are best stored in a cool damp environment such as a wine cellar. This will keep the exterior from drying out and minimize evaporation.  

How many times can I use my barrel?

With proper care, you can use your barrel for 8 to 10 years. Following the cleaning and re-charing instructions will insure a long life for your product and be sure to not let your barrel dry out.

I left my barrel dry for an extended time. Now it leaks... what do I do?

In many cases just re-cure the barrel. If it continues leaking, submerge the barrel in water for a couple of days. After it's been submerged, dry the exterior with a towel and fill it with water to see if it continues to leak. If so, find the leak and apply barrel wax to the hole... If you can't stop the leaking... cut in half and use as a planter!