The Spirit World

Exhausted and grimy, a cream colored label flashed in front of my eyes. In the lobby of the Hotel Monteleone, a gentleman by the name of Brandon Bach was kind enough to give me a bottle of something I had never seen before. He didn’t tell me much about it other than it was bourbon…he didn’t have to.

After opening the bottle and allowing my nose to grab a waft I was wrapped up by more things than I could count. The only words I could manage to get out were, “thank you so much.”

After meeting up with Brandon later that evening at the bartender’s breakfast “by chance,” I explained what I do and he encouraged me to try all of their spirits, which include not only bourbon, but also rum and tequila.

These aren’t just regular base spirits though, folks. The bourbon is infused with figs, cinnamon, and vanilla bean. Their Virgin Island rum is married with lemon peel, orange, and ginger. Finally, their tequila is blended with mango, lime, and Hawaiian pineapple. You can check out their website at www.infusionique.com and/or shoot Brandon an email at brandon@infusionique.com (tell him I sent ya).

Of course, I made a little ditty to go along with the bourbon, that goes a little something like this:

Satan’s Mediator

2 oz of Diabolique Bourbon

1/4 oz of Marie Brizard Apry

1/4 oz of Tia Maria

2 dashes of Regan’s Orange Bitters

1/2 oz of fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp of amber honey (dark)

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with 3 warmed coffee beans.

Photography by Emily W. Kincke.