By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Publish-Gazette
PITTSBURGH — Thiago Leite has a easy philosophy in the case of making cocktails, and it applies whether or not you’re internet hosting a elaborate ceremonial dinner for buddies or just curling up on the sofa for a quiet night time along with your associate and Netflix.
“Make what you like,” he says.
Think about the Caipiroska he was stirring collectively on a check run for Fairmont Pittsburgh’s vacation cocktail lessons.
Leite, who’s each the Downtown lodge’s banquet director and restaurant supervisor, was born within the U.S., however he spent each summer season of his childhood in Brazil along with his household. The nationwide drink there may be the Caipirinha, a candy and tangy cocktail made with contemporary lime, sugar and cachaca, a vegetal distilled spirit constituted of contemporary sugarcane juice.
Like most bartenders, Leite is a fan of vodka, a “sponge” spirit that readily takes on the flavors of no matter it’s blended with. On today, he was tweaking the long-established recipe through the use of Absolut Elyx as a substitute of cachaca, and brown sugar instead of the superfine cane sugar that historically sweetens the drink.
Identified for its refreshing high quality, this twist on a Caipirinha may seem to be an odd selection in Pittsburgh in December. However bear in mind Leite’s No. 1 rule about following your bliss.
“Christmas is hot in Brazil. We’re in sandals and flip-flops,” he defined as he muddled wedges of lime and slices of orange with what appeared to be heaps of the caramel-colored sugar in a rocks glass.
Right here, it’s scorching chocolate and scorching toddies, however there all the pieces is iced.”
After a style check, you, too, must agree it’s scrumptious.
A second cocktail that includes whiskey felt a little bit bit extra like Christmas.
Referred to as the Bashful Boulevardier, the spirit-forward drink is also called a whiskey-based Negroni as a result of it consists of Campari, a bitter bright-red Italian aperitif. Right here, wealthy cherry syrup provides a candy and tangy twist and a splash of raspberry-flavored Chambord lends a particular luxe, vacation really feel.
“It’s what we call a conversation drink,” defined Leite.
A Aperol Spritz as The Fairmont Lodge provides a demo class of how one can make 3 vacation cocktails on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, at The Fairmont Lodge in downtown Pittsburgh. (Pittsburgh Publish-Gazette/Pittsburgh Publish-Gazette/TNS)
That’s, a sipping cocktail that encourages social interplay whereas it’s loved over time as a substitute of rapidly gulped down.
A Prohibition-era drink typically made with rye whiskey, the Boulevardier can be an ideal “freezer door” cocktail that makes entertaining a breeze, he added, as a result of it may be made upfront in massive batches. You may scale up the recipe to serve eight, 10 and even 12 individuals, relying on the dimensions of your visitor record.
That is the second 12 months for the lodge’s vacation cocktail lessons. Relying on the day, every will characteristic one in all 4 spirits — vodka, gin, whiskey or tequila.
“Since it’s a cocktail class, you’ll learn to pour from the bottle,” Leite stated.
Attendees additionally will get instruction on mixing elements, flavors and botanicals, and take a look at their hand at elementary strategies like shaking, stirring and muddling.
Aromatics used to taste drinks additionally can be addressed “since you remember things through smell more than anything,” he stated.
One instance: cinnamon sticks which might be scorched flippantly on one finish with a lighter and added to espresso martinis within the Fairmont’s upscale bar fl.2. (They promote greater than 1,000 a month.)
When you’ve acquired the recipes down pat, Leite will supply ideas for organising a house bar so you’ll be able to create your favourite cocktail every time the temper strikes. They embrace:
—You’ll want to have the basics: whiskey, vodka, gin, rum and tequila.
—Have the precise instruments on the prepared, together with a very good shaker for mixing cocktails. He recommends both a two-piece Boston shaker (a metallic tin and a mixing glass) or a three-piece cobbler shaker that includes a metallic container, a lid with built-in strainer and a cap.
—A muddler to softly mash and blend elements like fruit and sugar. The chrome steel ones used on the lodge have a “tenderizer” head to raised crush herbs and fruits.
—A protracted-handled spoon for stirring cocktails with spirits, liqueurs and vermouth (like a martini, Outdated Original or Manhattan). Stirring chills and dilutes a cocktail with out introducing air bubbles.
—A jigger to exactly measure elements. A double-sided, 1 ounce over 2 ounce measuring vessel permits you to keep consistency and high quality in each drink.
—Love cocktails that comprise contemporary juice, cream, milk or egg whites? A strainer is crucial for straining out ice and different stable elements in shaken cocktails.
—No bar is full and not using a corkscrew for opening wine bottles and a few spirits.
—Mixers together with bitters (Angostura is taken into account the usual), tonic water, soda and ginger beer.
—Lastly, a number of glassware — highball and lowball glasses for blended drinks, martini and coupe glasses for cocktails, and wine and champagne glasses for celebrating particular events.
Under, we share the recipes for Leite’s cocktails, together with two others that can be served this vacation season at two native eating places, Downtown’s Ritual Home and Shorty’s Pins x Pints on the North Shore.
Blissful holidays!
Caipiroska
A Caipi Vodka will get blended round as The Fairmont Lodge provides a demo class of how one can make 3 vacation cocktails on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, at The Fairmont Lodge in downtown Pittsburgh. (Justin Guido/Pittsburgh Publish-Gazette/TNS)
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Christmastime is scorching in Brazil, so vacation celebrations normally characteristic iced cocktails as a substitute of scorching toddies. This refreshing cocktail from the Fairmont Pittsburgh is a vodka-based twist on the Caipirinha, a traditional Brazilian cocktail made with cachaca, sugar and lime.
You can also make it sweeter or extra tart, relying on the quantity of brown sugar.
1/2 lime, minimize into wedges
1 slice orange
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 ounces vodka
Dried lime slice, for garnish
Place lime wedges in a sturdy glass, similar to a rocks glass, or a cocktail shaker. Add orange slice and sugar, and utilizing a muddler, gently crush them collectively to launch the juice and important oils from the rind. (However watch out to not over-muddle the rind, which might make the drink bitter.)
Pour vodka into the glass or shaker with the muddled lime combination.
Fill the glass with crushed ice. If utilizing a shaker, add ice and shake properly to relax and dilute the combination.
Pour all contents (liquid, lime items and ice) into an old school or rocks glass full of ice.
Garnish with dried lime slice and serve instantly.
Serves 1.
— Thiago Leite, Fairmont Pittsburgh
Bashful Boulevardier
A Bashful Boulevardier as The Fairmont Lodge provides a demo class of how one can make 3 vacation cocktails on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, at The Fairmont Lodge in downtown Pittsburgh. (Justin Guido/Pittsburgh Publish-Gazette/TNS)
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2 ounces whiskey
1/2 ounce Luxardo cherry syrup
1/2 ounce Chambord
1 ounce Campari
3 dashes bitters
Add whiskey, cherry syrup, Chambord, Campari and bitters right into a mixing glass.
Fill the glass with ice and stir till the combination is properly chilled and silky.
Pressure right into a rocks glass over a big ice dice to maintain the drink chilly with out diluting too rapidly.
End with a Luxardo cherry or a delicate twist of orange peel for a refined fragrant elevate.
Serves 1.
— Thiago Leite, Fairmont Pittsburgh
Nutella Espresso Martini
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This candy and creamy martini can double as a dessert. It consists of Kahlua and Buttershots, a butterscotch-flavored schnapps.
1 scoop Nutella
1 ounce espresso, cooled
1 ounce vodka
1 ounce Kahlua espresso liqueur
1/2 ounce Buttershots
Add 1 beneficiant scoop of Nutella to your shaker.
Add espresso, then give it a fast stir to assist the Nutella mix easily.
Pour in vodka, Kahlua and Buttershots.
Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously till the combination is chilled and velvety.
Pressure right into a martini glass for a clear, shiny end.
Garnish with a light-weight drizzle of Nutella or a couple of espresso beans for a sublime contact. You can also line the rim of the martini glass with Nutella and roll in crushed nuts or cookies.
Makes 1 cocktail.
— Thiago Leite, Fairmont Pittsburgh
Shorty’s Gingerbread Smash
This festive cocktail is Shorty’s Pins x Pints’ riff on a traditional Outdated Original. It brings collectively the nice and cozy spice of gingerbread cookies and the smoothness of whiskey in a cocktail that’s excellent for the vacation season.
To make easy syrup, mix equal elements sugar and water in a medium saucepan over medium warmth. Convey to a boil, stirring, till sugar has dissolved, then permit to chill. Retailer within the fridge for as much as 1 month.
2 ounces Hen Canine Gingerbread Whiskey
1 ounce easy syrup
2 dashes orange bitters
Sliced lemon, for muddling
Orange rind, for garnish
Mix whiskey, easy syrup and bitters right into a mixing glass.
Add a lemon wedge, and muddle.
Add ice, and stir for 14 rotations, till the dilution is at desired consistency.
Pressure right into a glass full of contemporary ice.
Rub the rim of the cocktail glass with an orange rind to precise it, then drop into the glass.
Serves 1.
— Shorty’s Pins x Pints, North Shore
Ritual Home Vacation Seashore Margarita
Margaritas are one of the vital widespread and recognizable cocktails. This one from Ritual Home, Downtown, will get the vacation remedy with coconut milk and a cinnamon-brown sugar syrup. It’s finest served in a rocks glass.
1 1/2 ounces tequila blanco
1 ounce coconut milk
1 ounce cinnamon brown sugar vanilla syrup
3/4 ounce lime juice
1/4 ounce Cointreau
3-4 dashes orange bitters
Mix tequila, coconut milk, syrup, lime juice, Cointreau and bitters in a cocktail shaker and shake arduous.
Pressure right into a glass over ice. Garnish with cinnamon stick and contemporary grated nutmeg.
Serves 1.
— Ritual Home, Downtown
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