apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Here at The Kitchn, we've posted before about the international "Slow Food" movement: using quality local ingredients from growers and suppliers with fair, sustainable practices. But what about applying these grassroots, anti-fast-food principles to mixing drinks?

Cool slabs of watermelon and cucumber. Fiery slivers of hot pepper. Dark dollops of sour tamarind. Bright dashes of orange juice and muddled cilantro. These are some of the unexpected flavors and textures featured in the cocktails I sampled at the New York, New Indian restaurant, Tabla, this week.

The best part? Each deliciously different drink was simple enough to make at home.

Last summer I spotted Melissa Clark’s ultra-simple and delicious-sounding recipe for homemade maraschino cherries in the food section of The New York Times, and was intrigued. I made a mental note of it - and promptly forgot.

Then, the other night, while out for cocktails, a friend mentioned she’d made her own maraschinos. But the conversation soon bobbed and wove in a different direction (we were at PDT, and there were taxidermied animals everywhere!). The cherries got left behind. The next day, I emailed for the recipe. It turned out to be Melissa Clark’s: “It is super easy,” my friend wrote back. “And they get better with age - if they last more than a couple of months. Sour cherries are only in season for another couple weeks, so get on it!”

Yikes.

Half the fun of cocktails is all the fascinating lore behind them. Here’s a roundup of some of our favorite cocktail names - and the colorful stories they bring to the table with them:

A certain South American cocktail has been taking North America by storm. And suddenly a whole new market for a once little-known spirit has sprung up.

The cocktail? The Caipirinha.

The spirit? Cachaça.

Infused syrups. Muddled fruit. Zippy garnishes. Stylish glassware. Why should drinks made with a shot of the hard stuff have all the fun?

Move over, Shirley Temple. “Soft” cocktails are growing up.

We’re hosting a small gathering of friends and family for Independence Day this year, and have been busily browsing through some of our favorite cocktail books for inspiration.

Here are four of our personal top picks for Fourth-of-July-themed drinks:

Over the past few months here at The Kitchn, there’s been a lot of talk of “cooking by feel” - of bypassing the comfortable authority cookbooks often seem to offer, and taking a more creative and intuitive to approach to preparing meals. But what about applying this freestyle, seat-of-the-pants technique to mixing drinks?

Over the weekend, I did just that.

Citrusy and spicy, with a honeyed texture and the golden color of a summer sunset, Lillet Blanc is the perfect pre-dinner patio drink for a lazy June day.

With the mercury tickling the top of the thermometer this week, today at Straight Up, it's All About Ice.

All ice cubes are not created equal. And while you might not know it, these little frozen blocks do much more for a cocktail than simply chill it. For the full scoop on ice, read on…

The rose garden is coming to the glass.

Rose water. Rose syrup. Hendrick's cucumber and rose-infused gin. Sweetly ephemeral, with a hint of loamy darkness, these velvety blooms are lending their gentle essence to cocktails this summer.

A tart, cool thirst-quencher that merges the rich warmth of rum with the zippy tang of lime, the Daiquiri is the perfect cocktail to put even the most office cubicle-weary of us in an island mood.

But sadly this sultry, storied favorite of both JFK and Ernest Hemingway is well on its way to becoming an endangered species: The Daiquiri needs your help.

I’ve always loved shiso’s distinctive peppery-bright flavor. While the softly furred, frill-edged leaves have the texture, piquancy, and slight sweetness of fresh mint, their complex flavor also brings to mind the savory pungency of basil with gentle undertones of sultry cumin. This is an herb with personality - and potential.

Cool and crisp, with a citrusy, herbaceous tang, served over tinkling cubes of ice, Pimm’s Cup is the quintessential British summer drink. Although this tall refresher is most famously enjoyed by spectators at Wimbledon and at cricket matches and sailing regattas, it will be forever tied to gardening for me.