At the Winter Fancy Food Show this past January one of the booths that caught my eye was Barsmith and all of the cool retro-looking bartenders in black and white on their labels for all of their mixers, garnishes, syrups and dehydrated citrus. I tried a few while learning a bit more about their products and was given some samples to take home to review. Though they make dozens of products this article highlights my reviews of three mixers: Orange Bitters Old Fashioned, Hot Honey Old Fashioned, and Espresso Martini. I also have a review of their Dehydrated Chile Lime Slices.
Reviews
Orange Bitters Old Fashioned
I love bitters in an Old Fashioned: Angostura, Orange, and Old Fashioned bitters. But this Orange Bitters Old Fashioned flavor replaces all those single bitters – as I get tons of spice and the citrus all together. The drink has a nice spicy after taste that lingers on the palate. And if you like a slice of orange or orange peel in your Old Fashioned you will love this cocktail mixer.
Hot Honey Old Fashioned
Apparently Hot Honey is the latest hot flavor trend. I only knew it before as a topping for pizza. But when I tried a tiny bit of the drink at the food show I knew it was going to be a winner. I’ve since made the Hot Honey Old Fashioned for friends, only needing one ounce of the mixer to two to three ounces of whisky, and it’s been a huge hit. Looking forward to sharing it with more friends, especially paired with a pizza topped with a hot honey drizzle. It is both sweet and hot, and with a long lasting flavor too.
Espresso Martini
Another Barsmith Mixer that the company is proud of is the popular Espresso Martini predominantly made with sugar, natural flavors, and coffee extract. On the nose and taste there was a lot of chocolate, besides the coffee, which was very pleasant. I wished I had put some creamy foam on top, which would have been a nice presentation. But the flavor was so yummy on its own my husband thought it would be good hot, while I thought it might be cool to add in Irish whiskey instead of vodka for a riff on a hot (or cold) Irish coffee.
Dehydrated Chile Lime Slices
I’d always been disappointed that dehydrated citrus slices don’t rehydrate in a cocktail – but it’s just not meant to be. So, when I learned about these lime slices that are topped with chile spices, I wondered what that would add to a drink. I tried my sample in a margarita, rubbing off the rough side of the lime – where the spices had been applied by hand – and not only did it add to the flavor, the tiny flakes of the chile spices also looked very cool floating on the cocktail next to the lime.
From Barsmith.com
Barsmith produces a line of high-quality and affordable bar mixes using the finest ingredients, containing no GMOs, artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. Barsmith began in 2014 as a challenge. Our friends and now colleagues—who are leading bartenders in Austin, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee—found no commercial products could provide the taste and perfect combination of ingredients as the compounds, bitters, tonics, and syrups they used and made nightly. So, with their help and expertise, we set out to create them. We are extremely proud to present the result: Barsmith’s lineup of bartender-grade mixers.
Crafted by expert bartenders, Barsmith’s bar essentials, brines, mixes, and syrups make for perfect classic and modern cocktails. Our products are made with the finest ingredients at exacting proportions, providing distinguished flavors for truly exceptional cocktails.
Barsmith is rooted in Austin, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee. In these two wonderful cities, we are inspired by a cocktail revival alongside great food and music…
Read more on their website: https://www.barsmithmix.com/
@BarsmithMix on Instagram
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in the first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Proof Awards, Cellarmasters, LA Wine Competition, Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
