There are times when I just want a margarita but without the alcohol ...or even the feelings from the alcohol as, let’s face it, seem to intensify as we get older. Something that would be great for a weeknight, during the day on the weekend in between errands, or just to simply enjoy for the taste because Margaritas are just freaking delicious!

Falernum is a must have ingredient for any tiki enthusiast. It hails from Barbados and has been used in cocktails since at least the 1800s. Just by using a tiny bit, Falernum offers depth and just an almost imperceptible spice that really balances out the sometimes cloyingly sweet and overly boozy tiki cocktails. There is no real definitive recipe for Falernum, but each recipe I’ve seen calls for over proof rum, sugar, lime, almond and clove.

When tomatoes are out of season, I like to use cape gooseberries in my caprese salad. Cape gooseberries or golden berries as they’re also known, are a relative of the tomato, but are more closely related to a tomatillo. They have an amazing sweet and tart flavor that is a mix between sweet and savory. They kind of taste like a cherry tomato mixed with mango. They were the main inspiration to my caprese-ish cocktail that combines gooseberry shrub, basil, gin and burrata to make a mighty fine cocktail.

I am always looking for ways to produce less waste when cooking or crafting drinks. An ongoing goal of mine is to become more sustainable and find ways to waste less. Since I only ever use fresh juice when making cocktails, I almost always have leftover rinds and juice that I can’t always find a purpose for. One of my favorite ways to utilize old fruit and juice is to make either a shrub or a cordial.

This might be a polarizing opinion, but I just love floral flavors. I don’t get the soapy vibe that a lot of people often associate with rose water and other floral flavors. I mean have you ever tried candied violets?! They’re incredible! I came up with this recipe for lavender liqueur when developing my Rusty Nail riff - The Manicured Nail. The floral notes blended beautifully with the Drambuie and really highlighted the floral notes of the scotch itself.

Boozy, smoky and floral? Delicate florals are not typically commingled with boozy stirred cocktails, but the lavender in this cocktail really breathes new life into the Rusty Nail. The subtle smoke from the earl grey tea add an air of sophistication and the grapefruit oil gives just a hint of bitterness and accentuates the floral character of the Drambuie and lavender liqueur. It makes a wonderfully elegant night cap. One of my favorite scotch cocktails has to be a rusty nail - which has sadly fallen out of fashion.

Orgeat is an almond syrup typically used in tiki style drinks, most notably in the Mai tai. You can buy this in the store, but it’s never as good as homemade, and the ones that are are quite expensive. It’s really simple to make and you only need 2 ingredients aside from water. There are several ways to go about making orgeat, but this is by far the easiest and least time-consuming way. I only use almonds, sugar and water to make my orgeat, you can add orange blossom water or rose water, as well as almond extract, but those ingredients are optional.

I know its officially summer when I start to see fresh picked berries at the farmers market. The star of the season for me are these beautiful, tiny Tristar Strawberries. For their size, they pack the most intense strawberry flavor. I always want to bottle up that bright, sweet flavor so I can enjoy a bit of summer anytime of the year.

Though classic meringues are made with egg whites, they can also be made with aquafaba- aka the liquid left over from cooking dried chickpeas. It’s also the liquid found in cans of chickpeas. It behaves much like egg whites when whipped up with sugar and a bit of acid.