Craft cocktails rely on more than premium spirits. While a quality liquor serves as the backbone of a good cocktail, what’s added elevates a drink from ordinary to sublime. The right mixers bring depth, aroma, and complexity, as well as ensure consistent flavor pour after pour. With a well-thought-out lineup of mixers at hand, bartenders can showcase their creativity and mixology innovations—and boost the quality of any bar program.
The Real Dill Original Bloody Mary Mix
When The Real Dill was founded in 2018, it wasn’t making Bloody Mary mixes but pickles! The brand transitioned into the cocktail mixer market after realizing the leftover cucumber-infused water from the pickling process made an excellent Bloody Mary base.
The Real Dill takes a chef-driven approach to crafting its Bloody Mary mixers. Its vegan and gluten-free Original Bloody Mary Mix was recently named by Food & Wine as the best overall Bloody Mary mix, beating out classics like Tabasco and Zing Zang. The Original is bursting with fresh cucumber, dill, garlic, and a kick of habanero flavor that delivers a perfectly balanced Bloody Mary, ready to enjoy with no extra tweaks needed.
The Real Dill Original Bloody Mary Mix makes an unbeatable Bloody Mary, of course, but there are dozens of other cocktails that can be crafted with the delicious mix. Check out The Real Dill’s recipe for a classic Bloody Maria, which swaps out vodka for tequila. Olé!
The Real Dill Bloody Maria Recipe
1 ½ oz. Reposado Tequila
½ oz. Fresh Lime Juice
8 oz. The Real Dill Original Bloody Mary Mix
- Rim glass with lime and Chile powder.
- Fill glass with ice, add all ingredients, and stir.
- Garnish with lime and jalapeno.
Giffard
When it comes to high-quality mixers, Giffard—founded an astonishing 140 years ago!—is one of the most respected names in the industry. In 1885, Emile Giffard, a pharmacist in Angers, France, began experimenting with a white mint liqueur that quickly became a popular summertime digestif. The brand expanded from there, adding crème de fruits, liqueurs, guignolets, and syrups. Giffard is still a family-run business, with the fifth generation at the helm.
Giffard is renowned for its use of top-quality ingredients, traditional methods, and its commitment to constantly improving and innovating its recipes. The brand offers bartenders and mixologists a vast array of liqueurs and syrups in a vast array of flavors to craft new and inventive cocktails.
November Sour
1 oz. Calvados
0.5 oz. Giffard Crème de Châtaigne (Chestnut)
0.3 Lemon Juice
1 oz. Apple Juice
0.5 oz. Aquafaba
- Pour ingredients into a shaker and shake vigorously.
- Add ice and shake again.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Garnish with meringue.
East Imperial Tonic Waters
Many tonic waters on the market today tend to be overly sweet and sharply acidic. However, New Zealand-based East Imperial Tonic Water’s traditional approach includes crafting small batches by hand, following a recipe from 1903, for the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The brand carefully selects the finest naturally sourced fruits, botanicals, and spices to combine with natural quinine and pure spring water for a truly exceptional flavor and unparalleled quality.
Yuzu Vodka/Gin and Tonic
Elevate a simple vodka and tonic and classic gin and tonic with any of East Imperial’s world-class tonic waters, like the Yuzu Tonic Water!
Boozy Botanicals
Looking for a local mixer? Check out Kansas City–based Boozy Botanicals! Founder Cheryl Bisbee makes every one of her unique small-batch mixers from carefully selected ingredients sourced from area shops, businesses, and farmers. Each Boozy Botanicals flavor is expertly crafted to enhance the depth, aroma, and balance of any cocktail and is a go-to choice for both home and professional bartenders.
Boozy Botanicals Old Fashioned
2 oz. Bourbon, Brandy, or Añejo Tequila
0.25 oz. Boozy Botanical Syrup of Your Choice!
2 Dashes of Angostura Bitters
- Stir ingredients together in a mixing glass with ice.
- Strain into rocks glass over large ice sphere.
Scrappy’s Bitters
Bitters are one of the many “final touches” in a craft bartender’s repertoire, and one of the best brands on the market today is Seattle’s Scrappy’s Bitters. Bartender Miles Thomas started the brand in 2008 after experimenting and researching his own recipes between shifts at some of the city’s top restaurants. Every batch of Scrappy’s Bitters is crafted by hand with only real fruit, herbs, and botanicals, and Thomas’s thorough understanding of the complexities of bitters is evident in every flavor. Just a dash or two of Scrappy’s Bitters can transform even the simplest cocktail from a must-try flavor to a memorable experience!
Lusty Lady
2 oz. Gin
0.5 oz. Lime Juice
0.5 oz. Simple Syrup
Splash of Cranberry Juice
1 Egg White
2-3 Dashes of Scrappy’s Lavendar Bitters
- Shake until frothy.
- Garnish with brandied cherries.
