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922 South Morton Street
Bloomington, IN, 47403
United States
812-202-6789
Cardinal Spirits is a craft distillery in Bloomington, Indiana that specializes in producing extraordinary spirits from local ingredients.
The Drop is your source for all things craft.
Links that make you go Hmmm.
If you dig signature cocktails or have a penchant for punch, then you'll love our Holiday Spirits + Cocktails for a Crowd class this Wednesday. (Free bottle of your favorite Cardinal spirit for signing up!)
Speaking of entertaining: it's fun to peruse these vintage punch bowls from the legendary (and local) Indiana Glass company. And - another pretty punch set.
20 fall wines under $20 is a handy list!
We can’t get enough of this cocktail during fall and winter. It’s just right for colder months: Naturally warming, and holiday-ish without being holiday-ish, you know what we mean? The star spirit is Nocino, a green walnut liqueur that we release every November.
If you want to know more about how we made this special liqueur, it's all right here, from walnut to bottle.
Makes 1 cocktail
1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Nocino
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce demerara syrup
1/4 ounce sweet vermouth
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake all ingredients well with ice, then strain into a coupe glass.
Milk Punch is one of those cocktails with a name that is not helping its image. A punch, made of milk? Hmmm.
"Oh, I'll try just a sip of yours," you'll say cautiously to a friend. "I don't think I could finish a whole one."
But then you sip this creamy, dreamy, frothy little concoction and it becomes immediately clear that you could finish a whole one ... maybe a few whole ones, actually.
A classic milk punch is brandy or bourbon, milk, sugar and vanilla, shaken until ice cold.
Our rum-based version, created by Cardinal bartender Chris Resnick, is one of the best twists on a milk punch that we've ever had. It calls for a splash of Nocino, the smooth, earthy green-walnut liqueur that we are releasing this Saturday. (Join us, won't you? Free samples, special cocktails, bottle sales.) Even though this cocktails is steps away from a milkshake, the nocino adds a kind of warmth that you'll love.
By Chris Resnick
Makes 1 cocktail
1.5 ounce Cardinal Spirits Tiki Rum
3/4 ounce Cardinal Spirits Nocino
1 ounce heavy cream
large spoonful of apple preserves
Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice, then strain into a glass with ice.
Nocino, our newest spirit arriving this Saturday, is definitely delicious all on its own. It is, after all, a digestif, meant to be sipped neat after a meal. But Nocino is fun to play around with in cocktails, too— it can be that subtle twist that makes a drink memorable.
Take the Manhattan. You've had dozens of them. But have you had one with Nocino? The warm, earthy notes of Nocino are right at home in this classic cocktail, adding a lusciousness that makes this drink appeal to even those who wouldn't normally order a Manhattan.
It's a perfect signature cocktail for your annual holiday dinner with friends — say, Friendsgiving? Nocino will be available by the bottle at the distillery only starting Saturday.
By Chris Resnick
Makes 1 cocktail
1.5 oz Cardinal Spirits White Oak Whiskey
3/4 oz Cardinal Spirits Nocino
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
dash of bitters
Stir gently with ice, then strain into a cold glass.
A digestif, or a spirit that is sipped after dinner, is a ritual that we can get on board with this time of year — just a little pour of something special that warms you from head to toe.
Our newest spirit, nocino, is exactly that.
Nocino is a traditional Italian liqueur made with green, unripe walnuts. For our version, we harvested walnuts right here in Indiana, then combined them with our vodka and spices, and let that steep for months. The result: A luscious, mellow, earthy elixir that has this wonderful, naturally warming quality. It's meant for this time of year.
A 375ml bottle is $25, and with the holidays coming up, it makes the perfect host gift: It's local, unusual and easy to drink. So, one for you, and one to share, perhaps?
As far as we can tell, this is the first Indiana amaro (a.k.a. an Italian after-dinner drink). You can sip our nocino neat, mix it into cocktails or pour it over ice cream.
This is a special spirit for us. It all started with this walnut tree and its bounty:
The tree belongs to Cardinal Spirits co-founder Adam Quirk's uncle- and aunt-in-law, Walt and Barb Schroeder, of Fort Wayne. Walt's walnut trees are volunteer seedlings from his own aunt and uncle in Ohio. Walt remembers the young trees were about a pencil's width and 2 feet tall when he planted them. Fast forward many years, to Adam and his wife, Jessica, and some of their family, loading several baskets with green walnuts from this big, plentiful tree.
Nocino is something that many Italians would traditionally make from scratch to have on hand for family and friends. Cardinal Spirits co-founder Rick Dietz researched those family recipes and translated them from Italian. The instructions offered great tid-bits, surely from some knowledgable Nonnas, on when to harvest the walnuts (on June 24, the Feast of St. John the Baptist), how long to age them (many recipes say at least 40 days, but one said exactly 48), what to add in (cinnamon, cloves and lemon peel are common) and agitation techniques (stir the walnuts for two minutes at a time, every few days, with a dedicated wooden spoon).
We made our nocino the old-fashioned way. We quartered the walnuts, then submerged them in vodka along with spices, and left to steep for months. Over time, the mixture got darker and darker.
Last week, we took a trip to Burton's Maplewood Farm in Medora, Ind., to get the last ingredient for our nocino — maple syrup. Burton's syrup is legendary, and it's the perfect foil to bitterness from the walnuts.
Now all that's left to do is fire up the bottling line and fill, fill, fill. We can't wait for you to try our newest spirit starting Saturday!
Links that make you go Hmmm.
Cool Material gave our exclusive whiskey glasses a little love last week.
How 14 common cocktails got their names.
Brew your coffee with vinegar. Um, whatnow?
A kitschy, dive bar-ish take on the Mexican bulldog. Yay or nay?
Spilling secrets: Did you catch our video on how we make our Songbird Craft Coffee Liqueur?
Cardinal bartender Stella Snyder shows us how to make a classic gin cocktail called the Clover Club. It's tart, a touch sweet, a lovely rosy color with a foamy cap — what's not to love?
A note on your shaking technique: cocktails like this one that call for egg white are usually shaken in two steps. The first is a so-called dry shake without ice — this emulsifies the egg white. Then, add ice and shake a second time, which chills and properly dilutes the drink. Cheers!
1.5 ounces Cardinal Spirits Standard Dry Gin
Egg white
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1/2 ounce raspberry simple syrup (recipe follows)
Add all ingredients to a shaker without ice, and shake vigorously to emulsify the egg with the other ingredients. Add ice to the shaker and shake a second time. Strain into a coupe glass.
To make the raspberry simple syrup: Combine 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 1 pint raspberries (small package) in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes; let cool, then strain before using.
We've got a spectacular crew here at Cardinal Spirits, and we'd like to introduce you to everybody one by one. Today, meet Michelle, one of our wonderful servers.
MICHELLE GOTTSCHLICH
HOMETOWN
Portage, Ind.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIVED IN BLOOMINGTON
7 years
BEST PART ABOUT LIVING HERE?
A lot of lively and creative people live here--there's always something to get into; a show, an art opening, a film at the cinema, food, food, booze, food. It's also very walkable!
FAVORITE THING TO DRINK
Negronis and coconut flavored La Croix (not together)
GO-TO DRINK AT CARDINAL
Every cocktail by Baylee
TELL US SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT YOU.
I had a book of poetry published last spring!
ANY HIDDEN TALENTS?
Up to this point, I've never broken a bone, had a nosebleed, or been in a traffic accident besides falling off my bike
FIRST JOB/WORST JOB
First job was working at a IMAX movie theater when I was 15. Worst job was life guarding.
READ ANYTHING GOOD LATELY?
I'm currently reading Madness, Rack, and Honey. It's a book of lectures by the poet Mary Ruefle.
FAVORITE CEREAL
Honey Bunches of Oats
IF YOU COULD HAVE A DRINK WITH ANYONE…
Probably my maternal great grandmother Vanetta (who could drink like a sailor, I've heard)
IN THE THE FUTURE…
Married folks will have increasing trouble with hyphenating already hyphenated last names. It will eventually be more popular to use the maternal last name. Also, down with the patriarchy <3
FIND MICHELLE
On Instagram @chellesbells11 | On Facebook
MEET MORE OF OUR FLOCK:
Our Songbird Craft Coffee Liqueur is nothing short of magical. If you've had a sip — either straight, or in a cocktail — you've probably noticed how much it tastes like coffee. Which gets you thinking: How's this spirit made, anyway?
Watch as we make a batch from start to finish.
Then come to the distillery, where you can try a sample or a cocktail make with our coffee liqueur. You can also buy a bottle at the distillery, or at retailers across the state.
Video by Anna Powell Teeter
OUR MOST POPULAR COFFEE LIQUEUR COCKTAIL RECIPES:
Links that make you go Hmmm.
A roundup of new cocktail books, including a scratch-and-sniff book about whiskey, to put on your holiday wish list.
A couple of coffee reads for your Monday morning: Peet's, which bought Stumptown recently, acquired Intelligentsia last week, plus: the future of fancy iced coffee.
What do you think about these upgrades to shameful cocktail orders of our youth?
Well, fizzy fruit is our new favorite garnish.
MORE CRAFTPACK:
VOL. 1 | VOL. 2 | VOL. 3 | VOL. 4 | VOL. 5 | VOL. 6 | VOL. 7
