holy city handcraft | RECIPES

Cocktails, Rye, Whiskey, Cognac Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Rye, Whiskey, Cognac Miguel Buencamino

Freezer Door Carajillo Old Fashioned

This one sits right at the intersection of whiskey, Cognac, and coffee. Inspired by the classic Spanish Carajillo, this Old Fashioned–style riff leans warm, rich, and just slightly sweet, making it perfect for batching and keeping on hand in the freezer.

Built with rye for structure, Cognac for roundness, and a split of coffee liqueur and Licor 43 for depth and subtle vanilla, this is the kind of cocktail that works just as well after dinner as it does late at night.

Batch it once, forget about it, and pour when needed.

Cheers, y'all!

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Cocktails, Vodka, Gin Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Vodka, Gin Miguel Buencamino

Spruce Tip Vesper Martini

The perfect serving for the perfect seasonal cocktail #ad21+

A Vesper is already a bold, spirit-forward martini but together with my friends at @WeberRanchVodka, I wanted to give you a seasonal rendition with a slightly different edge thanks to its agave base, which brings a subtle sweetness and soft herbal note that works especially well with dry vermouth and citrus.

A flask is the way to go here, the addition of spruce tips and juniper comes through in place of the traditional gin and really let’s the earthy notes in #WeberRanch shine with the bonus of adding that cozy holiday feeling around this time of year. It’s a great make-ahead option when you want a martini that pours clean and consistent every time.

As an added bonus, this cocktail can pull double duty, make sure to check out Jordan’s (@highproofpreacher) version for a lighter, crisp rendition by adding a few simple ingredients!

Cheers, y’all!

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Cocktails, Vodka Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Vodka Miguel Buencamino

Flasked Spruce Tip Vesper Martini

The perfect serving for the perfect seasonal cocktail #ad21+

A Vesper is already a bold, spirit-forward martini but together with my friends at WeberRanchVodka, I wanted to give you a seasonal rendition with a slightly different edge thanks to its agave base, which brings a subtle sweetness and soft herbal note that works especially well with dry vermouth and citrus.

A flask is the way to go here, the addition of spruce tips and juniper comes through in place of the traditional gin and really let’s the earthy notes in #WeberRanch shine with the bonus of adding that cozy holiday feeling around this time of year. It’s a great make-ahead option when you want a martini that pours clean and consistent every time.

As an added bonus, this cocktail can pull double duty, make sure to check out Jordan’s (@highproofpreacher) version for a lighter, crisp rendition by adding a few simple ingredients!

Cheers, y’all!

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Cocktails, Rye, Whiskey Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Rye, Whiskey Miguel Buencamino

Flasked Spiced Pear Boulevardier

Some cocktails are better when they're ready before you need them.

This Flasked Spiced Pear Boulevardier is built for two. Perfect for a cozy date night in or passing it around the firepit with friends as the air starts to cool. WhistlePig 10 Year Rye is the backbone here, bringing bold spice, oak, and a touch of sweetness that plays perfectly with spiced pear and rich sweet vermouth. It's a balanced, rye forward fall sipper that only gets better once it's batched and rested.

Want the full recipe and batching details? Comment FLASK and I'll send it your way.

Cheers, y'all!

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Cocktails, Bourbon Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Bourbon Miguel Buencamino

Freezer Door Maple Old Fashioned V2

Why make one when you can share twelve?

Together with my friends at @fourrosesbourbon, we’re making a cocktail to share this holiday season. Smooth, rich, and perfect for holiday hosting — this Freezer Door Maple Old Fashioned is your set-and-forget version of a classic.

Four Roses Small Batch bourbon gives you warmth and the vanilla notes, maple syrup adds seasonal sweetness, walnut bitters bring depth, and a touch of water pre-dilutes it so it pours perfectly straight from the freezer. This one is built for easy entertaining and sharing.

If you want the full recipe, comment MAPLE and I’ll send it straight to your inbox.

Cheers, y’all!

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Cocktails, Rum Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Rum Miguel Buencamino

Banana-Cue Old Fashioned

What if we made this iconic Filipino street food into a cocktail?

Together with my friends at @tanduayrum, I’ve taken one of my favorite Filipino street foods and found a way to make it into a cocktail. Banana-cue is an iconic Filipino dish made with Saba bananas, that are fried with dark brown sugar to form a crispy, caramel coating. The piping hot caramelized bananas are then skewered with bamboo and eaten to-go. It’s a sweet, savory snack that I figured would be fitting with Tanduay Gold Rum - an iconic Filipino rum thats been around so long that my dad used to drink it back in the Philippines when he was my age :D

This is one of the best cocktails I’ve made this year, and the secret (besides the rum) is the Saba banana oleo saccharum, if you want the recipe sent to your inbox, comment ‘OLEO’ and I’ll send it over in the form of a recipe card so you can save it to your camera roll.

Cheers y’all!

#ad21#TanduayPartner

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Cocktails, Rum Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Rum Miguel Buencamino

Mulled Cider Rum Fashioned

Warm, spiced, and spirit-forward — the Mulled Cider Rum Fashioned brings cozy holiday vibes to a timeless classic. Aged rum and pimento dram provide depth and warmth, while the spiced cider syrup and orange bitters tie it together with a fragrant seasonal twist. Cheers, y'all!

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Cocktails, Rum Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Rum Miguel Buencamino

Banana Nut Negroni No. 2

Hey babe, wake up… its Negroni Week…

We’re kicking off this week with arguably one of the best Negroni recipes I’ve ever made… and you can thank my wife for it. Negronis are all about balance, but sometimes balance means dessert in a glass because my wife’s banana bread is the inspo for this recipe. The Banana Nut Negroni takes the bitter-sweet classic and layers on notes of banana, oloroso sherry for toasty backbone, and hazelnut + black walnut bitters to tie it all together.

Seriously considering batching this one for the freezer this week.

Cheers, y’all!

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Cocktails, Tequila Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Tequila Miguel Buencamino

Wisconsin Margarita

Today we’re going to answer the age old question: WILL IT WISCONSIN??

On this week’s episode, we’re going to try to ‘Wisconsin’ the iconic MARGARITA. What does it mean to Wisconsin something? It means adding fruit, some sort of soda and muddling the hell out of it to make a cocktail with some sort of base spirit.

The good news is, it works. I figured it would since this is pretty much how you make a caipirinha with cachaca. Yes I know this is pretty much a ‘smash’ type cocktail, but isn’t that what a Wisconsin Old Fashioned is anyway? ;)

Cheers y’all!

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Cocktails, Brandy Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Brandy Miguel Buencamino

Wisconsin Old Fashioned (Take 2)

Ok, apparently I’ve been making this the wrong way? 😒

Wisconsin Old Fashioned… I don’t think I know of any other classic cocktail thats so heavily disputed by an entire region. I’ve been drinking old fashioned’s for a while now and always have preferred them… the old fashioned way (ps. This is how the drink got its name - spirit, bitters, sugar + water). But the last time I made the Wisconsin OF, Wisconsinites slid into the comments section asking telling me I still did it wrong. In their defense, apparently it’s made with brandy and not bourbon (which was apparently the case for the OG old fashioned).

So lets do this the right way, feel free to throw the hate down below, I’m bracing for impact :)

Cheers y’all.

“As soon as the holiday theme was mentioned, I knew I had to make an old fashioned riff of my favorite holiday side, sweet potato casserole. I chose Old Forester 1910 because the heavy char on the cask used for secondary aging imparts the perfect flavor profile for this riff: sweet caramel and toffee notes, smokey vanilla that’s reminiscent of toasted marshmallow, and well integrated baking spices.”

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Cocktails, Gin, Vermouth Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Gin, Vermouth Miguel Buencamino

Martini Service

Elevate your at-home martini game 🍸

A martini service is my favorite way to serve up a martini for 2. It lets everyone pick and choose their own variation and everyone leaves happy. Feel free to scale this recipe into a bigger batch since this would be great as a freezer door martini as well.

Cheers y’all

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Cocktails, Whiskey Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Whiskey Miguel Buencamino

Strawberry Black Manhattan

Let’s put that strawberry syrup to good use! 🍓

Amaro and strawberries are a flavor combo you need to try. The balance of sweet, bitter and fruity is always incredible. I used Cardamaro for this recipe but feel free to use an Amari of your choice. You can’t go wrong.

Cheers y’all.

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Cocktails, Tequila Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Tequila Miguel Buencamino

Jaffa Kick

Have you ever had a Jaffa Cake?

It’s no secret that orange and chocolate go really well together so when I saw this recipe in nicholas.hamilton’s newly released book, “Sipsy Doozy.” I knew I had to try it. Just happened to be great timing with it being #WorldCocktailDay and all. I’m happy to report that it’s as delicious as it sounds. Huge congrats to Nick for his new book, you can grab it over on his page/bio!

Cheers y’all.

Excerpt from the book and origin story of the cocktail:
“This spicy chocolate orange in liquid form tickles the throat as it soothes the tongue with cocoa-coated citrus. This concoction was invented by my followers and me on a TikTok livestream, a result of brainstorming drink ideas with the viewers in the comments. Once the drink was made, a clever commenter said it must taste like a Jaffa Cake, a popular orange-chocolate biscuit (cookie) from England.

Deciding that that name didnt fully encapsulate the spiciness and savoriness of the cocktail, it was renamed the Jaffa Kick.”

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Cocktails, Beer Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Beer Miguel Buencamino

Spaghett

The easiest summer cocktail you can make…

I know the Spaghett has been around for a while but it really is such a great spring/summer cocktail. The best part is it’s only 3 ingredients and it’s absolutely crushable.

Cheers y’all

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Cocktails, Gin Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Gin Miguel Buencamino

Parmesan Negroni

It worked on an Espresso Martini right?

I typically put a dash of saline in my Negronis or even some olive brine (for a Venetian Negroni) but adding that Parmesan infusion to the vermouth provides a savory, cheesy, funky salinity you can only get from parmesan and it worked perfectly in this cocktail.

#AprilFools obviously 😉

BUT there are way better ways to do this and the good news is, my pal, Kaitlyn (likeablecocktails) already did the hard work for us and made this incredible recipe so that all the flavors and textures work. I gotta say, this was delicious. It still gets that parmesan funk in the Negroni without overpowering it.

Sorry in advance to those Italians offended by this monstrosity.

PARMESAN NEGRONI
via likeablecocktails

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Cocktails, Rum Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Rum Miguel Buencamino

Zombie

Hey at least I can admit when I f**k up, right?

In an effort to do a bit more research, I want to share the incredible history behind an iconic tiki cocktail: the zombie. Created by Don the Beachcomber (and NOT Trader Vic — thanks to everyone who pointed that out). This classic tiki cocktail is as full of history as it is rum. I hope y’all found this video as informative as I did.

Now… who wants to know the recipe to Don’s Mix? Should I make a zombie in the next video? Comment below.

Cheers y’all.

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Cocktails, Tequila Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Tequila Miguel Buencamino

Ultra Negroni

Who doesn’t love adding a bit more locality to their cocktail ingredients? I’m excited to finally announce a new series with my friends at herradurateq! In this series I’ll be showcasing some of Charleston’s finest mixologists to create recipes featuring Herradura Ultra Añejo and utilizing ingredients local and unique to the Lowcountry. First up is my friend, and huge agave spirit advocate: Morgan Hurley (mixpoursurf) who used a local ingredient found in his own backyard.

“My inspiration for the cocktail comes from the Tequila itself. The Herradura Ultra Anejo is incredibly smooth with a touch of sweetness from the Agave. Bringing in Dry Vermouth and French Gentian Liqueur added some herbal elements as well as some floral notes to the cocktail. Tying it all in was the orange bitters and Corazon bitters adding a layer of depth and spice. Bringing in a touch of Agave Nectar infused with Pecans from my backyard brought the Agave notes back to the front of the cocktail and complemented the toasted oak from the barrel aging.

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Cocktails, Whiskey, Rye, Scotch Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Whiskey, Rye, Scotch Miguel Buencamino

Up the Chimney

🎅🏻🎄 MERRY CHRISTMAS! I’ve been wanting to smoke a Holiday themed cocktail for a while now and I think I found the perfect vessel for it. I saw this at target and immediately thought it was for smoking my cocktails… is that weird? Anyone know what this is really for? …either way it doesn’t matter because this drink ended up being delicious.

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Cocktails, Bourbon, Whiskey Miguel Buencamino Cocktails, Bourbon, Whiskey Miguel Buencamino

Winter Julep

A julep in December? Yes please.

We’re making a drink before we head to a holiday party. Who says a julep is only a spring cocktail, this one combines the traditional with some winter elements to make a fun, refreshing and seasonal variation on a classic.

We’re getting a little dressed up for this one too, so make sure to stay till the end to see how I can transform this casual/cozy combination to something that is a bit more elevated and easy to pull off.

Happy holidays! Cheers y’all.

#EDSFTG#vineyardvines

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