Liquor Cabinet Roulette

Your first experience with a cocktail is looking at it. Whether you’re at home or in a cocktail bar, there’s nothing like a vivid, colorful drink to catch your eye. Over the last few years,blue drinkshave been all over cocktail menus thanks totasty blue Curaçaothat’s a huge upgrade from earlier versions.

Walk into anymodern cocktail barand you’ve got a good chance of seeing a drink with cucumber on the menu. And for good reason. Light and vegetal, totally distinctive, cucumber is an ideal companion to numerous spirits.

When you hear the word “liqueur,” you’re likely to think of something fruity, or perhaps a little floral: either way, flavors on the sweeter end of the spectrum. But as with everything in the cocktail world, there are exceptions. And theCelery Root Herbal LiqueurfromChicago-based producer Apologue is one of the most interesting liqueurs we’ve come across in ages.

We’ve long sung the virtues ofapplejackas a夏天的精神. But we’ve discovered something lighter, a little lower-proof, and just as flavorful that we’ll be using incocktailsfor months to come—Pommeau.

We live in an era of the liqueur.

It’s indisputable thatbeer cocktailsare having a moment. But even as we appreciate the more creative beer-toppedlibationsout there, let’s take a step back to honor the true O.G. of beer cocktails—theMichelada.