Basil + Balm Mojito Recipe

Have you ever used lemon balm in a cocktail? This herb is in the mint family, but it's definitely lemon-y and a stellar aromatic addition to drinks.

This week, we're infusing vodka with lemon balm and basil for a Basil + Balm Mojito, which has this fresh-picked, garden vibe. Can't get your hands on lemon balm? Try lemon thyme, lemon basil or lemongrass instead.  

We'll be making the refreshing, fizzy Basil + Balm Mojito at Mother Hubbard's Cupboard's fifth annual Garden Gala this Saturday. The fundraiser benefits the food pantry, an incredible place that provides free, fresh food and education to low-income folks in Bloomington. The pantry is set up like a small grocery store, and is stocked with seasonal produce, often from the pantry's own community gardens, plus dairy, meat and dry goods. Workshops and classes teach people how to cook, can, garden, bake and more, and there's even a library of kitchen tools and equipment that people can borrow.

Tickets for the Garden Gala are still available, and we hope to see you there! 

BASIL + BALM MOJITO

Makes 1 cocktail 

1 1/2 ounces Cardinal Vodka infused with basil and lemon balm (recipe follows)
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Tonic water
Sprig of lemon balm or basil, for garnish
Lime, for garnish

1. Add the infused vodka, lime juice and simple syrup to a glass with ice. 
2. Top with tonic water and garnish with lemon balm or basil, and lime.

BASIL AND LEMON BALM VODKA

1 big sprig of lemon balm
1 big sprig of basil
1 bottle Cardinal Spirits Vodka

Add lemon balm and basil to the vodka. Infuse at room temperature for three to five days.
 

How to choose between our gins

Now that we distill two gins, you might be asking yourself tough questions, like, "Which gin is for me?" We created this flowchart to help you pick between our American Gin, a floral and citrusy spirit, and our Standard Dry Gin, a London-style spirit which gets its flavor from juniper berries.

3 things to do for dad on Father's Day

How to celebrate your dad, your kids' dad, your grandpa, your uncle who is like your dad,
or any great dad that you know.

 

1. Make him a proper gin martini.

Proper martinis are made with gin, not vodka, and they're stirred, not shaken. We didn't make the rules, but we do make the gin. Two gins, in fact! American Gin, a modern gin with lavender and citrus — and starting Saturday, we'll also have a Standard Dry Gin, which has that classic juniper character. 

Speaking of which ... (now we're totally commandeering our #1 thing to do for dad with #1.1) ... if you're looking for something cool to do together, bring him to the Cardinal Spirits Standard Dry Gin release, happening this Saturday and Sunday at the distillery. He will love it, you will love it, and there's a special deal on bottles. It's what we like to call a win-win-win. Through this weekend, buy one bottle of any spirit at the distillery, and get 25 percent off any second bottle. One for him, one for you.

OK, back to the real #1. 

Proper Gin Martini

Makes 1 cocktail

3/4 ounce dry vermouth
2 1/4 ounces Cardinal Spirits' American Gin or Standard Dry Gin
Green olive, for garnish

1. Chill a cocktail glass ahead of time by filling it with ice or sticking it in the fridge.
2. Add dry vermouth and gin to a mixing glass. Fill glass with ice. 
3. Stir for 30 rotations to chill. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an olive.

2. Cook him an amazing piece of fish. 

The entire Internet is telling you to cook a steak for Father's Day, but we know a lot of dads who are avoiding red meat. Find a fish recipe that has an interesting preparation and intriguing flavor, and the dish will feel just as special.

A few of our favorites:

Salmon en Papillote from A Couple Cooks

Snapper Escabeche with Chiles, Garlic and Oregano from Bon Appetit

Whole Fish Roasted in Salt from the Splendid Table

3. Tell him how you feel. 

Send a text, mail a card, write an email or say it to him in person. Be funny or serious, but either way, be genuine. If you can't find the words, start with "I love you" and "thank you" and maybe "my favorite memory of us is..." and go from there. 

For a little inspiration:

How Do You Thank Your Parents?

New Yorker Father's Day Cartoon collection

Excerpts from kids' entries in a Father of the Year essay contest

24 Wonderful Things to Thank Your Dad For

#nailedit: Rose from Oliver Winery

We're on a mission to drink all the good drinks. Let's get going.

We can't survive on spirits alone, so occasionally we drink other things.

Right now, that thing is pink drink. Summer water. You know, rosé.

We can't get enough of the tremendously drinkable Chambourcin Rosé from Oliver Winery in Bloomington, made with chambourcin grapes grown in Oliver's vineyards right here in southern Indiana. Everything about this rosé is really lovely, from its color to its flavor. Dry, but not too dry, fresh, bright and lush, and darker than most others. And affordable! 

It's perfect for day drinking and mighty fine with a cheese and meat board. Lately, evenings have been looking something like this:

You could even use it to mix up fun cocktails like a Rose Spritzer. 

Rosé from France and Oregon seems to get all the love, so we're excited that this top-notch one is made right in our backyard. 

A quick primer on the pink stuff: it's made from red-wine grapes, not a blend of red and white. When the grapes are pressed, the juice and skins mingle just briefly. Because most of a wine's color comes from the skin, the juice ends up pink instead of red. 

Oliver Winery's Chambourcin Rose is fermented in stainless steel tanks. Photo from Oliver Winery.

At Oliver, those grapes are Chambourcin, a French hybrid that also yields a dry red wine for Oliver.

Winemaker Bill Oliver, the president of Oliver Winery, says the chambourcin vines that were planted more than a decade ago at the vineyard have produced seven or eight vintages of rosé, and up to 600 cases annually.

"The inspiration for this came from a leaner, austere rosé made in Oregon," he says. "It's light and berry-like. It's one of my favorite wines."

Ours too, Bill. Ours too. Now, excuse us while we figure out how to make the water dispenser on our refrigerator door flow with that rosé.

Oliver Winery's Chambourcin Rose is made with grapes grown at Oliver Winery's vineyard outside of Bloomington. Photo from Oliver Winery.

Photo from Oliver Winery.

Mint + Coffee cocktail for the weekend

If you've got a forest of mint growing in your backyard right now, you're probably looking for any excuse to use those sprigs. Cardinal bartender Andrew Wind is here to help. Here's his recipe for a refreshing summer drink that calls for a bunch of mint leaves ... you'll love this tasty, unexpected combo of mint, vanilla, coffee liqueur and coffee this weekend. Bottles of our Songbird Coffee Liqueur are sold at the distillery for $25.
 

Up and Attem
 

Makes 1 cocktail

10-12 mint leaves
 2 oz. Songbird coffee liqueur
1/4 oz. vanilla simple syrup (recipe below)
Espresso/cold brew/coffee, to taste

Add mint, coffee liqueur and vanilla simple syrup to shaker and muddle until mint leaves are slightly crushed.

Add ice and shake.

Strain into glass over ice.

Add cold espresso, cold brew, coffee of your choice!

Garnish with fresh mint

Vanilla Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 vanilla bean

Add sugar and water to a pot.

Split vanilla bean down middle, scrape out seeds, add to pot.

Heat mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar begins to dissolve and mixture comes to boil, about 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and store in glass jar.

3 important questions for Andrew:

What do you like about mint?
It is so versatile. It can freshen up any meal or drink so easily.

Why should someone make this cocktail at home?
It takes no time at all and it is the perfect morning pick-me-up. It's summertime — who says you can't add a little booze in the morning?

If you could be any superhero...
Can I be a villain? Then I'd be Dr. Mischief... you know exactly what you're getting...

Our Rum Diary

Last week we gave you a peek at something bubbling away in our test still...

That's rum, folks! It'll be one of our upcoming bottled spirits for release this summer. Our goal is to make a rum that is great for cocktails but also for sipping on its own. We're leaning toward a Jamaican-style rum with tropical flavors, and we've gotten plenty of direction from our #tikituesday masterminds Chris Resnick and Baylee Pruitt.

Much of the flavor of rum comes from the yeast, so we're spending a lot of time getting that right. Our tiny test still has been running like mad, one gallon of experimental rum at a time.

(Any name suggestions for our test still? Still the One?)

Each test batch produces 50 milliliters of rum — that's 1.7 ounces, or about what you'd use to make a tiki drink. It's veeeery small batch rum at this point.

We started experimenting with five or six foundations, from molasses to cane juice, and now we're playing around with eight yeasts. Yeast wrangler Matt Bochman, a professor at Indiana University, is helping out with that.

We're getting close! 

#foundmyspirit at Cardinal Spirits

Earlier this year, when snow was still covering the ground, we had a party.

We invited all of our friends - the chemist, the fire eater, the pioneer, the ringmaster, the artist - and more. It was a discreet event, but when a wanderer walked in from the cold, our bartender couldn't turn him away. 

This is what happened when he took a drink...

The Wanderer found his spirit with Cardinal Spirits. 

Have you found yours? 

We're picking 10 of you to win a free t-shirt and $38 gift certificate to the distillery tasting room.

It just takes a couple minutes:

1. Share this post using the tag #foundmyspirit: http://crdnl.club/foundmyspirit

2. Snap a photo of yourself with either a bottle or a drink of Cardinal Spirits and tag it #foundmyspirit.

At the end of June we'll pick 10 winners (of this contest - you're already a winner in our eyes).

The Source: Clutch Fabrication

From our bar stools to our cocktail ingredients, everything at Cardinal Spirits has a story.
Eventually, we'll tell you all of them.

The bar stools at Cardinal Spirits.

People always want to know where we got our bar stools.

The right question to ask isn't where. It's who.

Our striking stools were made by Josh Smith, a metal fabricator here in Bloomington. 

Josh is the owner of Clutch Fabrication and Design, and he explains his work like this: "I make things that don’t exist." For Cardinal, that meant 16 bar stools, benches, a bike rack and hand rails for the front steps.

Clutch and Cardinal share a love for clean, modern design and things that are made well by hand. Oh, and efficiency. One day we'd be casually sketching hand rails on a scrap of paper, and, like magic, the rails would appear the next day. In the months before we opened, Josh's red truck pulling up to the distillery was a reason to get excited — it meant something amazing had arrived.

We stopped by Josh's workshop to, um, talk shop:

Josh owns a lot of hammers. This is one of them.

CARDINAL: How did the design for the stools at Cardinal come about?

JOSH: There’s a designer who made a hand juicer, and I’ve always loved it. The legs of the barstools came from the style of legs on the juicer. I just always thought they were awesome and it popped into my head for these stools.

Brian (my mentor) taught me to do three drawings when you’re trying to sell a product. You’ve got the Yugo, the Cadillac and the Mercedes. You are aiming for the Cadillac in the middle, but you give the client three choices and hope they pick the one you like. Cardinal picked the one I liked. 

It was the first big furniture run that I had done. It’s reflective of what my capabilities have become as a shop. I like everything about them.

They’re incredibly heavy. How much do they weigh?

I would say at least 30 pounds. They’re not going anywhere. Maybe 50 pounds, I don’t really know.

Bench frames at Cardinal, by Clutch

Triangle marker by Clutch.

Cardinal bike racks and hand rails by Clutch.

What was the first project that you were really proud of?

That always changes because my style changes. 

I built my cake stand for my wedding. It was a three-tiered square cake stand and it had this curved pieces of steel in the back. I was just moving it the other day and I was like, man, these welds are terrible. Now I could build it 10 times nicer. 

My mom still has the log bench I built her when I was 8 years old. So I bet I was pretty proud of that when I was 8. 

Josh is making a bike rack for The Back Door bar.

What are you working on right now?

A really simple bike rack for The Back Door (a Bloomington bar). It’s nothing fancy, but instead of just going out and buying one, they were nice enough to contact me to do it. 

And then a big project that stems from the Cardinal bar stools is a big U-shaped desk with overhead cabinets, filing cabinets and slab wood. It’s going to be pretty wild when it’s done. Scratch built, designed in-house. (The client) just wanted a big crazy desk. It’s like 9-foot-by-9-foot. The piece of walnut wood for one side is seven feet long and three inches thick with live edges on both sides. 

Overhead cabinets for a desk in progress.

How did you get into this kind of work?

I’ve been building stuff all my life, but it came in my early 20s when I got into motorcycles. I starting building stuff for those, all the way up to frames, and then it just snowballed from there.

About three and half years ago is when I quit my normal job — my normal job back then was a piercer at a tattoo shop here in town —  and started doing this full time.

"This is my baby," Josh says of his anvil from the 1800s. 

Clutch employee Nick Brown.

Josh works on a bike rack.

What’s your favorite kind of project?

Furniture, usually. 

So, have you made a lot of furniture for your own house? 

No, the only things I have in my house that I made are a set of bookcases I built when I was 18. I don’t have anything else in my house that I built. It doesn’t pay my bills. I think about it all the time — I’m going to do this or that — and then I never do. 

Did you inherit your handiness?

My dad taught me that I could do pretty much anything with just about anything. I took my dad’s style and made it modern. He’s a “get it done” kind of guy. He’s done some pretty crazy stuff. He’ll turn three-wheelers into four-wheelers and four-wheelers into side-by-sides and crazy contraptions.

What’s the craziest request you’ve gotten from a client?

A bar built out of a truck. That idea came from Dave, the owner of Atlas (a Bloomington bar). We’ve been friends for a long time, and he’s always coming up with wild ideas.

It’s in the bar, but it’s not done. One of these days we’ll get to it. It’s a 1957 Chevy Apache and Dave got it off of Craigslist.

It’s only the cab. I took the entire inside out and left the shell. We left the outside completely the way it was, with old patina paint. When it’s done, the roof and the windshield and the hood will open with a cable hoist in the ceiling on a big hinge in the back. It has a three-tap kegerator and it will have ice bins — basically a fully functioning bar. 

Meanwhile, back at the lab...

Any idea what's bubbling away in our teeny tiny test still? We're working like crazy on this spirit that we hope to launch in a month or so, and it's going to make our Tiki Tuesday fans veeeery happy... 

City guide: Fort Wayne

We live in an amazing place called the Midwest. It's full of great places to drink.
This series explores cities through their drinking culture, craft breweries, and craft distilleries. 

                                                        JK O'Donnell's. Photo from Visit Fort Wayne.

For a city of its size, Fort Wayne, has the kind of bar scene we’d expect from a much larger spot. In reality, it’s much more Indy than, say, Plano, Tex. But instead of the same old drafts and tired mixed drinks that those on the right and left coasts might expect from the Midwest, new alehouses and martini bars are popping up in neighborhoods around town, from Lakeside to downtown, and they’re bringing with them the kind of cool atmosphere that’s perfect for a date night, happy hour, or midweek dinner with the family.

Here are some of the best drinking spots in Fort Wayne:

Photo from Visit Fort Wayne

Best for finding a favorite: JK O’Donnell’s

121 W. Wayne St. | The web | Facebook 

An Irish pub with a menu that includes Scotch eggs, lamb pasties and bangers and mash, JK O’Donnell’s is known for its beer and liquor menu. If you’re in the mood to try it all or find a new favorite, this is your stop — and the flights are your best pick. Try one of the three beer flights, or the whiskey, bourbon, or scotch flight. Ranging in price from $6 to $16, these taste-tests are one of the best values you’ll find in town.

Order: The scotch flight for some peaty goodness, which includes 12-year Cardhu, 10-year Springbank, and 10-year Ardbeg

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For the Bourbon Sprawl cocktail at Old Crown, bourbon is infused with house-made chai syrup, giving this drink a spot-on spiced kick. Photo by Jaclyn Garver.

Dinner at Old Crown: The vegetarian bibimbap, a Korean dish of sautéed veggies with a fried egg on top. Photo by Jaclyn Garver. 

Best for old-school cocktails: Old Crown Coffee Roasters

3417 N. Anthony Blvd. | The web | Facebook

Don’t let the “coffee roasters” portion of Old Crown Coffee Roasters fool you. Yes, Old Crown serves up some of Fort Wayne’s best coffee, but it also has a full bar and specializes in the kind of menu you’d expect to find at Don Draper’s third place, full of retro cocktails like gin rickeys, Manhattans, and Old Fashioneds.

Stop by Thursday to Saturday evening for the weekly high-end dinner menu with Fort Wayne prices. Recent dishes include housemade Tuscan sausage & capellini, vegetarian korma, and grilled 10-ounce NY strip.

Order: The light and creamy ramos fizz 

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Dash-In. Photos from Visit Fort Wayne.

The hipster hotspot: Dash-In

814 S. Calhoun St. |  The web | Facebook 

Great for a lunch date or a late night drink, Dash-In is a seat-yourself kind of place, and customer art-for-sale covers the walls. One visit, you might see stained glass birds perched above the doors and the next, there’s a painting of a neon frog wearing a monocle and top hat.

When it comes to a beer list, Dash-In has major bragging rights: It was one of the first spots in Fort Wayne to offer craft beer, and diners get options that rotate through the bar’s 23 taps.

If you need to eat, get a gourmet grilled cheese, but don’t be in a hurry. This is a spot for lingering and enjoying your fare. 

Order:  Check out the beer duos, like the Red Velvet: one part Framboise and one part Guinness

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                          Acme Bar & Grill. Photo from Visit Fort Wayne.

Recreate Cheers: Acme Bar & Grill

1105 E. State Blvd. | Facebook 

Acme Bar & Grill closed down a few years back for renovations. As the biggest Fort Wayne staple on the list, the Acme was certainly missed. But when it reopened, regulars couldn’t believe the upgrades. 

Once something of a dive, Acme is now a bar where you shouldn’t feel uncomfortable bringing your kid. The servers have worked there since the beginning of time, and if you’ve been going just as long, they’ll remember your order. If you need some food with your drink, go with the pizza. It’s all about that crust—crispy without being too thin.

Order: While Acme is popular for its beer list, the seasonal cocktail list always has some winners. This season, try the Dreamsicle-esque Orange Float.

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Spend a little, drink a lot: East State Bar & Grill

1210 E. State Blvd.

How much of a hole-in-the-wall is East State Bar & Grill? It doesn’t have a website or a Facebook page.

The bar is dark, the jukebox is loud and the drinks are strong. Very strong. Exceedingly, ridiculously strong. And occasionally served in plastic cups.

And sometimes, that is just right.

Order: Something simple, like a whiskey and Coke.

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Trion Tavern. Photo from Trion.

Trion Tavern

503 Broadway St., New Haven | The web | Facebook

If you’re looking to drink in the Fort, don’t knock driving 15 minutes out of your way to hit up Trion Tavern in New Haven, which boasts 53 taps and dozens of bottles.

It has that sort of brass rail, belly-up-to-the-bar kind of feel. The space is long and narrow, so it’s not too tough to get the bartender’s attention for a refill. The staff is extra friendly and knowledgable. Not sure what to get? Your server will help. Torn between two beers? Ask your server. Want to build a flight of the best IPAs or American wheats? The server’s got your back. And the food menu is huge. Go with the Trion Nachos or the Pig Sandwich.

Order: It is tough to choose from 53+ beers ... but Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale is always a solid choice.

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The Deck. Photo from Visit Fort Wayne

Best for outside drinking: The Deck

305 E. Superior St. | The web | Facebook

Despite the fact that Fort Wayne is on three rivers, choices for riverside drinking and dining are sparse. 

Which is exactly where The Deck comes in. Relatively new to the Fort Wayne scene, The Deck is just across the parking lot from its sister restaurant, Don Hall’s Gas House. The two share a kitchen, providing for The Deck’s truncated but tasty menu; go with the fish tacos or filet sliders.

The cocktail menu isn’t vast, but it’s well-loved, in part because the drinks are good and in part because they’re served in giant mason jars.

Yes, the spot is only open during warm months, but that makes it even more a staple of a proper Fort Wayne summer.

Order: Vodka fans swear by the raspberry lemonade.

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More City Scout guides: Louisville