Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

You just found out there are some guests on their way to your place, so you’re thinking about what to serve them when they arrive 😲! Don’t panic, we’ve all been there. So today I’ll show you five easy drinks made with FIOL Prosecco, along with some food you can serve alongside them.

For this, I asked for the help of Alen, a friend and chef who runs Mandl Food & Bar here in Maribor with his girlfriend. Mandl is one of our favorite spots in town 🤩, so after today I’m confident you’ll have the skills to make your guests say wow–even if you’re starting with just a cold bottle of prosecco and a bag of chips. Learn how here: https://youtu.be/kS2A72peqmg . Cheers 🥂!

1 week ago | [YT] | 104

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Honey is one of my favorite cocktail ingredients, because of how unique it is 🍯! From rich and floral, to even smokey and earthy, the flavor of honey can change depending on where the bees live, what they collect, and even the season. When it comes to cocktails, this gives you the option to add more depth to your cordials, or even make for a better flavor pairing in a classic Bee’s Knees.

If you have the option, the best way to learn more is to talk to your local beekeepers, but you can also find great online resources covering many types of honey and their flavor 😉. As a fun fact, here in Slovenia beekeeping is a tradition dating back generations, even leaving poems and writings about beekeeping dating back to the 18th century.

Do you have a favorite type of honey? Let me know down in the comments 👇. Until next time, cheers!

1 week ago | [YT] | 99

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

We’ve turned a donut into an Old Fashioned, and a brownie into Manhattan, and as part of our Rum & Chocolate Masterclass, today we’re transforming a chocolate chip cookie into a cocktail that tastes just as good while looking even better 🍪😋. To make it we’ll need to infuse Diplomatico rum with brown butter, make some Cacao Liqueur, and bake some chocolate cookies, but the end result is worth it. Check out the process in full here: https://youtu.be/AN4-pHYBK2M 😎. Now, it’s Cocktail Time!

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 140

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Orgeat is a cocktail ingredient that has been around for many decades 😋. From making Japanese Cocktails to Mai Tais, there is nothing like a good orgeat… but what if you could make it even better?

What’s great about orgeat is that you can think of it as a template to create a syrup out of other types of nuts, grains, or seeds. After all, almonds are great, but have you tried making it with pistachios or cocoa nibs 🤔? These are a great way to add some variation to your classic cocktails.

As an added tip, if you are in a rush or if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on ingredients, you can buy any nut milk or milk alternative to make your orgeat within just a few minutes. Just add in sugar, as well as some xanthan gum for stabilizing and gum arabic for texture, and you’re good to go 😎. Until next time, cheers!

3 weeks ago | [YT] | 115

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Making Drambuie at home can be a lot more difficult than you think 🤔. Not only has its recipe been kept a secret for over 3 centuries, but there’s a special type of honey that you need to know about to recreate its rich, herbal, smoky, and slightly earthy flavor. To find out more about it I even reached out a bartender familiar with the legend of Drambuie, so if you also want to learn about what he told me about this honeyed Scottish liqueur, check out my latest episode here: https://youtu.be/S1Vt1tQJczE 🍯. Are you a fan of Drambuie? Let me know down in the comments. Cheers!

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 94

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Balance is the secret to a great cocktail, and fortunately it’s the secret to a great mocktail too 🤩! From having good flavor complexity and depth, to adding the right amount of sweet and sour/bitter, you already have what it takes to step into the world of non-alcoholic drinks… except for one thing: compensating for flavor!

Alcohol is a great flavor extractor and carrier, which is why the flavor of a whiskey or rum will stick around for minutes after drinking it, and why it’s used as a base for infusions. So when making mocktails, it’s important to keep in mind to pack in a lot more flavor if we want to create a great drink 🤔.

If you’re using a non-alcoholic spirit or liqueur as a base, the easiest thing you can do is add more of it to the recipe than you would when making a regular cocktail ⚖️. For all other drinks, try to replace ingredients without flavor like regular soda or simple syrup for DIY sodas and cordials to create more opportunities for flavor. Once you get a feel for it, it’ll be as easy as balancing cocktails, so experiment and taste some mocktails, and you’ll be ready to serve any guests and give them a great experience. Cheers!

1 month ago | [YT] | 76

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Cacao Orgeat and Ruby Chocolate Liqueur are the secret to elevate the classic Mai Tai to the next level–and today I’ll show you how to make them 🤩. This cocktail is part 3 of my Chocolate & Rum series, made in collaboration with Diplomatico and their Artisans of Rum program, which helps you discover new ways to combine exceptional rum with what some cultures have called the food of the gods. Learn more here https://youtu.be/1bxoWiQ2AQY and if you have a favorite recipe that combines rum and chocolate, feel free to share it down in the comments 👇. Cheers!

1 month ago | [YT] | 106

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Do you want to join a community of over one thousand Friends of Cocktails, and stay up to date with my latest masterclasses, cocktail tips, and more? Then join my Instagram channel here: www.instagram.com/channel/AbYwflnRschj-lW2/?igsh=M… 🤩. There you can also share your thoughts in polls and Q&As, as well as your own recipes, mixology advice, and tricks with other talented bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts. So click on the link and don’t miss out on exciting cocktail news. I’ll see you there 😉, cheers!

1 month ago | [YT] | 58

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

It’s the release of Cocktail 2: It’s Cocktail Time 🍿! This time around, I’m continuing Brian Flanagan’s dream of creating a world-class cocktail bar, by remaking the drinks that made him popular, but in the style of modern mixology. We’ll cover the Blended Daiquiri, the Cuba Libre, and of course, the Red Eye–a drink we’ll remake without the aspirin and full egg, of course. I’ll even bring some flair bartending into the mix, and who knows, you might see this episode on the big screen soon: https://youtu.be/2nftRe3tjLQ 😉. Now, it’s Cocktail Time!

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1 month ago | [YT] | 134

Cocktail Time with Kevin Kos

Do you want to drink a great cocktail, but you’re not sure what to make 🤔? Give the Shakerato a try! This is a category of cocktails that you can make with only one ingredient, or two if you count saline solution… it’s Cocktail Time, after all.

To make a Shakerato, just grab a bottle of your favorite liqueur and add it to a chilled shaker along with saline solution and plenty of ice 🧊. Then shake it up to chill, aerate, and dilute the cocktail before straining it into a chilled glass. You can drink it as is or express the oils from a citrus peel on top, but whichever way you choose to enjoy it, the Shakerato is a simple and delicious drink that you’ll want to make again.

Traditional Shakeratos are made with amaros, which pack a lot of flavor and bitterness, so shaking them up helps you pick up more of their subtle notes, but this is just a rule of thumb 🤩. Try an amaretto or a limoncello Shakerato as dessert, or a coffee liqueur Shakerato for the coffee notes of an espresso martini without all the caffeine, and you’ll thank yourself later. Cheers!

1 month ago | [YT] | 97