Trader Shan's

Trader Shan's A home based tiki bar serving up tropical as well as traditional cocktails...but no Bud Light

When in Philly, or at least the airport, have some local Fish House Punch and take your picture with Rocky Balboa. It’s...
05/23/2026

When in Philly, or at least the airport, have some local Fish House Punch and take your picture with Rocky Balboa. It’s just Rum, Cognac, Sherry, Peach, and Lemon but it’s pretty tasty.

Some friends of mine were talking with someone who unironically drinks Moxie soda (yes, she is from Maine) and they chal...
05/17/2026

Some friends of mine were talking with someone who unironically drinks Moxie soda (yes, she is from Maine) and they challenged me to make a cocktail that incorporated both Moxie soda and Malört but also required a foam. Challenge accepted!

The Chicago Choke Artist
* 1.5 oz. Rye whiskey
* .5 oz. Cynar (artichoke) liqueur
* 4 oz. Moxie soda
* Barrel aged Malört foam

Stir all ingredient except foam in a mixing glass then strain over a large cube. Mix 2 ounces of Malört with 6 ounces of half and half in a ISI whipper. Charge with one cartridge and then use to apply foam to top of the cocktail.

If I’m being honest it’s not too shabby. Definitely on the bitter side from the Cynar and the Moxie. I’d maybe up the Malört in the foam a bit as it didn’t bring much to the equation in this iteration.

Time to taste and compare some Bourbon finished in Sauternes casks. Sauternes is a sweet dessert wine where the grapes ...
05/03/2026

Time to taste and compare some Bourbon finished in Sauternes casks. Sauternes is a sweet dessert wine where the grapes are allowed to be infected with the fungus Botrytis cinerea aka “The Noble Rot” and the flavors intensify. I know it sounds gross but it’s an amazing wine if you ever get to try it after dinner. I get more of the sweetness with the Woodinville and some spiciness from the Penelope but both are delicious.

It’s Kentucky Derby day and that means Mint Juleps of course. Let’s go horses!
05/02/2026

It’s Kentucky Derby day and that means Mint Juleps of course. Let’s go horses!

Stop 2 of 2 brought me from Cambridge to Southie for Shore Leave. Great tiki inspired/adiacent cocktails from the signat...
03/17/2026

Stop 2 of 2 brought me from Cambridge to Southie for Shore Leave. Great tiki inspired/adiacent cocktails from the signature Shore Leave to the sweet potato flavors of the Moons Over My Yammie to the off-menu Third Wave Swizzle with Gin and coffee liqueur, and a small sample of Privateer’s single malt whiskey of which they only made 302 bottles…so I’ll probably never have it again. Sasha was an amazing bartender and great to chat with tonight.

My flight back to JAX was cancelled so I needed to hit up some of the tiki places that have opened up since the last tim...
03/17/2026

My flight back to JAX was cancelled so I needed to hit up some of the tiki places that have opened up since the last time I was here. Stop 1 of 2 was and it didn’t disappoint. I had the Private Cask Mai Tai, Here Kitty Kitty, and the Somerville Sling along with a PuPu Platter that will be great for breakfast leftovers.

Live free or die…for a liquor store on either side of the highway with their own dedicated exits.
03/15/2026

Live free or die…for a liquor store on either side of the highway with their own dedicated exits.

A modified Black Manhattan in search of a name.A good friend of mine brought back the new Amaro from the Sazerac House i...
02/12/2026

A modified Black Manhattan in search of a name.

A good friend of mine brought back the new Amaro from the Sazerac House in New Orleans. They recently released six different liqueurs (Amaro, Apertivo, Elderflower, Curaçao, Coffee, and Triple Sec) at their museum. I swapped out Averna for their Amaro in a Black Manhattan. I kept it all Sazerac components with the whiskey and the bitters as well. If , , and want to send me some samples to make other cocktails I’d love that. 😀

* 2 oz. Sazerac 100 proof Rye Whiskey
* 1 oz. Sazerac House of Cocktails Amaro
* 3 dashes Peychaud’s barrel-aged bitters

Stir all ingredients with ice then strain into a chilled coupe glass. No garnish here but could easily add some Luxardo cherries or an orange peel.

The Benecio del ToroI honestly don’t know where I found this cocktail recipe but I had it written down and had been want...
02/12/2026

The Benecio del Toro

I honestly don’t know where I found this cocktail recipe but I had it written down and had been wanting to try it out. I like it but I don’t love it. Even though I used Chichicapa, which I find to be a “lighter” Mezcal, it overpowers the Meletti and Yellow Chartreuse. All I really get is Mezcal and lime.

* 1.5 oz. Mezcal
* .75 oz. Yellow Chartreuse
* .75 oz. Lime
* .5 oz. Meletti
* Barspoon of Laphroaig

Shake all ingredients with ice then strain into a chilled Coupe glass. No garnish.

Cut & Dry / Girl Scout Samoas. Ok so these are the Caramel Delites version which aren’t even supposed to be available ...
02/10/2026

Cut & Dry / Girl Scout Samoas. Ok so these are the Caramel Delites version which aren’t even supposed to be available in our area but they are close enough for government work. The Cut & Dry coconut rum is like a liquid Samoa cookie to me. You should try it out.

The S.S. Politician used to be on the menu at Disney’s Boathouse in Orlando. You can still ask for it and they should b...
02/08/2026

The S.S. Politician used to be on the menu at Disney’s Boathouse in Orlando. You can still ask for it and they should be able to make it if they have Montenegro at the bar. I had it a few weeks back when there. It’s a simple riff on a Manhattan replacing the Sweet Vermouth with the Montenegro and swapping in cherry bitters versus orange/Angostura.

The story behind the ship was that it ran aground in the Hebrides Islands with a cargo of Scotch whisky. The locals were able to salvage a good amount of the cargo but were later prosecuted for having not paid the duty on the whisky.

I want to remember the menu saying they used Jack Daniel’s Sinatra but a picture I found online just says JD Single Barrel. I tried it with two different bottles of JD. One at 65% and the other at 47% ABV. I also mixed up the bitters and used tart cherry and saffron in one versus spiced cherry in the other. Personally I preferred the lower proof version but both were very tasty. It would be interesting to see what sort of rare amaro that would use instead of Montenegro with a drink like this one.

* 2 oz. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel
* 1 oz. Amaro Montenegro
* 4 dashes of Cherry bitters
* Luxardo cherries for garnish

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Ponte Vedra, FL
32081

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