Letting you into pre-gaming sessions in hotel suites of everyone from Yara Shahidi and Naomi Campbell to Lily Collins and Common (to name a few); raiding the homes (and closets) of the most sartorially blessed and downright ~cool~; traveling to exotic locales by way of our most nomadic friends’ iPhone lenses... Giving you a peek into the cool shit cool people do is the highlight of our 9-to-5. And partying just like Rihanna and Adele at the post-Grammy Awards parties definitely falls right into our area of expertise. So when Evan Charest, Patina Restaurant Group mixologist—ever wonder what celebs eat at awards shows? yeah, Patina Group feeds ’em too—invited us to the Official Grammy After-Party to celebrate with Beyoncé-inspired cocktails and tasty one-bite desserts, you can imagine what our answer was. And because we never want the party to end, Charest showed us how to make the cocktails ourselves, too.
Photo: Jakob Layman
Becky’s Lemonade
Inspired by Beyonce’s Lemonade
Photo courtesy of Patina Restaurant GroupIngredients:
2-3 blackberries
handful fresh mint
.75 oz simple syrup (1:1)
.75 oz lemon juice
1 ½ oz Lot 40 Rye Whiskey
soda water
mint sprig for garnish
Directions:
1. Add blackberries and mint in a shaker tin and muddle.
2. Add the whiskey, simple syrup, and lemon.
3. Shake with ice, and pour everything into an old-fashioned glass.
4. Top with ice, and top the drink with soda water and garnish.
Photo: Jakob Layman
Love in the Dark
Inspired by Adele’s 25
Photo courtesy of Patina Restaurant GroupIngredients:
2 oz Plymouth Gin
.75 oz lemon juice
.75 oz lavender syrup*
1 tbsp activated charcoal
1 egg white
edible flower for garnish
Directions:
1. Dry-shake (no ice) egg whites, then add all other ingredients and dry-shake again.
2. Add ice and shake a third time, and double-strain over a large coupe or martini glass.
3. Garnish with an edible flower.
*Recipe for Lavender Syrup
Ingredients:
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp dried lavender blossoms
Directions:
1. Bring ingredients to a boil in a saucepan, stirring so that the sugar dissolves.
2. Reduce heat and continue stirring until all the sugar has dissolved.
3. Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes.
4. Remove lavender blossoms and allow syrup to cool. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.
Live a Little
Inspired by Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
Photo courtesy of Patina Restaurant GroupIngredients:
6–7 fresh mint leaves
1 tbsp jalapeño syrup*
2 oz Reposado tequila
mint sprig for garnish
Directions:
1. Combine the mint leaves, jalapeño syrup, and tequila in a julep tin.
2. Using a bar spoon, crush the mint to release its essence into the liquid.
3. Fill the glass with crushed ice.
4. Gently press the spoon into the ice, shaking it to incorporate the tequila-syrup mixture.
5. Garnish.
*Recipe for Jalapeño Syrup
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 jalapeño
Directions:
1. Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Stir until sugar dissolves.
3. Add sliced jalapeño, bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low.
4. Cook for 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Cover and let steep for 10 minutes.
6. Strain syrup and cool completely.
7. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.
Strength and Guidance
Inspired by Drake’s Views
Photo courtesy of Patina Restaurant GroupIngredients:
2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey
2 dashes Angostura bitters
.5 oz apple-spiced syrup*
orange peel for garnish
Directions:
1. In a glass, add the syrup, bitters, and orange peel.
2. Use a muddler to gently press the orange peel to release the citrus oils.
3. Add the whiskey and stir. Add ice cubes and stir again.
*Recipe for Apple-Spiced Syrup
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups apple juice
⅛ tsp apple pie spice
Directions:
1. Bring sugar, apple juice, and apple pie spice to a boil in a saucepan.
2. Cook until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
3. Once cool, store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated.