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Copperworks Distilling Company – Seattle

While down at the pier in Seattle we stopped by Copperworks Distilling Company for a quick tasting. Copperworks is an urban distillery offering a Washington Malt Vodka, Small Batch Gin, Cask Finished Gin and finally... a Single Malt Whiskey. Their Single Malt Whiskey is aged 33 months and surprisingly, it doesn't taste it. I would have assumed it was aged 4 years or more. It's smooth, has aromas of fresh leather and spices and a finish of tea and light citrus.

All of the stills are in plain site of the tasting room and at this time, tours are $15. I recommend doing the tasting of all 4 spirits for $10 (free if you buy a bottle).

The tasting turned me off at first since I'm not a huge vodka fan and normally can't stand gin but the Cask Finished Gin was actually awesome! The botanicals weren't overwhelming like cleaning products and it was really smooth going down.

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Signature Lounge – Chicago

Located on the 96th floor of the John Hancock Tower the views are awesome and the drinks are poured. When touring Chicago, it's an easy choice to make... Do the observation deck for $23 on the 94th floor or... Get a drink on the 96th floor for a couple dollars less. I mean come on! Is there even a reason why you would wait?

For the bar, there was a decent selection of bourbons, whiskeys and those other liquors we don't talk about. The cocktail menu was good but didn't stand out. The service was fast but not overly friendly. Let's face it... they know they have you for the view.

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Navy Strength – Seattle

A funky Seattle bar offering tropical drinks with a classical tiki flare and modern tiki explorations. I love when I get to do 2 things I like at the same time. I whiskeys and bourbon. The taste, the warm hug, the feel, everything about it. I also love the laid back tiki culture with it's sweet drinks that are great for daytime pleasure. These 2 worlds don't normally merge together but here, at Navy Strength in Seattle, they do. Along with the typical tiki rum drinks, Navy Strength also offers up several whiskey tiki cocktails that were awesome!

Navy Strength Cocktail: A mysteriously silky Old Fashioned with Bourbon, cognac, rum, roasted tropical fruit and bitters. Butuan City Soundrack: a bourbon slowjam that'll make you sing. Mango, toasted rice and kalamansi harmonize. Bellyflop Slushie: Maker's Mark slushie with tropical fruit, spicy ginger and fresh lemon. Toasted Coconut Old Fashioned: bourbon, toasty coconut sizz, bitters and lime oil.

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Peach Simple Syrup

Craving and Old Fashioned but wanting it to be a little more summery? Well... You're in luck! Peach Simple Syrup is here to help. If you're like me, simple syrup, although really easy, was something I shied away from for years. Once I really tried it I was like "Damn! What have I been missing out on and why haven't I tried this? Simple is in the damn name!" Once you start making it next step is to try other things. For this one, we're doing peach!

First, rinse and cut up 3-4 peaches, depending on how "Peachy" you want it. Put the peaches in a pot with 2 cups of water, 1 cup of brown sugar and 4-5 allspice berries. Bring it all to a boil and then let simmer for 15-25 minutes. When finished, mush the peaches up to get all of the juice out, strain and store in the fridge. It will last 2-3 weeks. I like to leave mine a little pulpy but that's a personal taste.

Now for the extra fun... Take the soft, sugary peaches and throw them over some ice cream t…

Peach Infused Bourbon Recipe

It's summertime and that mean's fresh peaches that this sentence means that I now have "Peaches" from the Presidents of the Unites States of America ringing inside my head. But I digress... Peaches means it's time to go down to the farmers market for a visit to the Peach Truck where a version of this recipe originally appeared.

Now that we have the delicious, yummy peaches it's time to slice them up and throw them into a jar with some other ingredient. I normally use 4-5 peaches per batch, it all just depends on how peachy you want it.

From there it's time for the sugar, I like to use brown sugar. Sure... you can use regular white sugar but it just doesn't blend as nicely in my opinion. then throw in a couple of star anise and 4-5 all spice berries. I then like to top it off with a little bit of honey.

next up... After trying several different versions, I like to use a nice a bottle of Buffalo Trace bourbon. Not too expensive so that you …

Chocolate Sazerac

I don't know which came first, falling in love with New Orleans or the Sazerac. Actually... I think it was at the same time. A Sazerac, to me, is a simple drink that is so easy to mess up but when it's right... Mmmmmm Mmmmm! When I thought about a chocolate one, well... why? Why mess with a perfect drink? Well, it's because we can and it worked out nicely. Don't worry, it's still bone forward, not a sweet martini. One large deviation I made from a traditional Sazerac recipe is that I didn't use the sugar cube, instead, the sweetness comes from switching out Rye Whiskey with Bourbon and Ballotin Chocolate Whiskey. I found that using the sugar cube made it too sweet. So... here's the recipe: Chill an Old-Fashioned or Coupe Cocktail Glass (Your choice depending on how fancy you want to feel) that has been rinsed with Absinthe or Herbsaint. You can also use a dropper at the end of the recipe if you like. In another glass full of ice, pour 2.5 ounces of bourbon and 1 ounce …

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