Cherry Vodka

Vodka is an European clear distilled alcoholic drink that has been one of the most popular drinks across the world .

You'll find it to be the most popular spirit in drink making because of it's neutral taste and absence of flavour and colour.

Vodka often replaces Gin in many traditional cocktails

Vodka is known to be good for the heart, and if consumed in moderation, can prove to be good for cardiovascular health

Note that these days there are flavoured Vodka available in the market too, and some cocktails do make use of them.

Bourbon Whiskey

American's don't need to be lectured on Bourbon, but still, let's put it in record like all other spirits. A Bourbon in American spirit is a barrel-aged distilled liquor made primarily from corn. The name might have been derived from the French Bourbon dynasty, or from Bourbon County in Kentucky, or Bourbon Street in New Orleans, both named after the French Dynasty.

Technically, most whiskey made in America are legally classified as Bourbon, although Bourbon is in spirit a Southern Whiskey with special connection to Kentucky. Note than although Tennessee Whiskey is classified as Bourbon, Tennessee distilleries do not prefer their whiskey to be unique and referred to as Tennessee Whiskey only.

Distilling came to Kentucky in the late 18rth Century with the Scots, Scot-Irish and other settlers including English, Welsh, German and French, and they brought with them their distilling techniques and ageing processes in charred oak barrels. The charring is what gives the Bourbon the brownish colour and distinctive taste.

To be a legal Bourbon, a whiskey has to meet the following criteria

Produced in the United States and Territories (Puerto Rico) and the District of Columbia
Made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn
Aged in new, charred oak containers
Distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume)
Entered into the container for aging at no more than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume)
Bottled (like other whiskeys) at 80 proof or more (40% alcohol by volume)

Punt E Mes Red Vermouth

Vermouth the French for German Wermut, Wormwood in English, is an aromatic fortified Wine, flavoured with various botanicals like roots, barks, flowers, herbs, seeds and spices.

Although traditionally Vermouth was used for medicinal purposes, it has been also served as an apéritif in its modern avatar. The modern Vermouth first appeared in and around the 18th Century in Turin. By the late 19th Century it became very popular with bartenders as a key ingredient in cocktail mixology.

Martini, Manhattan, Rob Roy and Negroni were a few cocktails that Vermouth grew in popularity with. But later during the 20th Century, Vermouth slowly lost its glory and Dry Martinis and extra Dry Martinis with little or no Vermouth gained over the original Martini. Modern Martinis usually have a splash of Vermouth to add that herbacious texture to it.

Historically, there have been two Vermouth types, Dry and Sweet, but with demand variations have come up now. that include extra-dry white, sweet white, red, amber and rose.

Vermouth is produced by adding proprietory mixture of aromatic botanicals to a base wine or a base wine plus spirit or spirit only, which is usually redistilled before adding it to a base of neutral grape wine or unfermented wine must ( freshly pressed grapes and the juice ). After the wine is aromatised and fortified. it is sweetened and the end product is a Vermouth.

Dry Vermouth is what makes the character of the original Martini, and a Dry Vermouth has less sugar and is more herbacious but less spicier than Sweet Vermouth.

Triple Sec

Triple-Sec is an Orange flavoured liqueur from France. It is made by macerating sun dried orange peel in alcohol for a day or more before a three step distillation. Triple Sec has a 15% to 40% ABV.

The Triple Sec name refers to the process of distillation. Sec in French means dry or distilled and triple refers to the triple distillation process.

It's been a popular liqueur for more than 150 years, the Dutch East India Company created orange liqueurs by steeping orange peels in alcohol from the island of Curaçao and called it Curaçao liquor, and unlike Triple Sec, the Dutch added spices and herbs to the orange and Curaçao comes in a variety of colours such as clear, orange or blue. Blue Curaçao being the most used of them, in cocktails. Triple Sec is made from neutral spirits and the Orange peel used is harvested from oranges that have the skin still green, so that the essential oils are still in the skin and has not been absorbed into the flesh. This gives Triple Sec the intense flavour.

Lemon Juice

Lemon Juice being rich in Vitamin C is an excellent remedy for sore throat and aids in digestion and controls blood sugar, and also promoted weight loss. It is used for various culinary and non-culinary purposes all over the world. Lemon juice is known to reduce or even reverse the effects of excessive alcohol consumption and intoxication.
In drink mixing, fresh lemon juice brings a tangy zing to so many classic drinks and in fact, it's the most used ingredient in drink mixing other than the liquors of course.

Lemonade

This sweetened lemon flavoured beverage is an eternal popular throughout the world and there are varieties of homemade lemonades found everywhere. In North Africa and South Asia, cloudy lemonade dominates, be sure if your cocktail requires a clear lemonade or a cloudy one, which is indication of fruit pulp presence in the mix.