It’s no secret that we enjoy a good solid drink around the outpost. Any given day you can find a peaty 18 year scotch, a small batch bourbon, an office staple, Peroni, and on occassion a solid 30 year Rum (Mount Gay, please). As a fashion company that offers exclusive, small batch shirts, we deemed it necessary to offer our friends an exclusive, small batch, handcrafted cocktail. When the idea became more of a pervasive everyday thought, we turned to a good friend of Imperial Black, and the best damn bartender we now, Mr. Bob Peters. Thanks to Bob, we know have a handcrafted cocktail that’s suited for an afternoon libation with the lads at the US Outpost.

Bob was generous enough to lend us not only his time, but also his thoughts, inspiration and recipe behind the Imperial Black beverage. The bit below is straight from the creator himself. If you happen to craft this beverage on  your own, share the photo with both Bob and ourselves. Tag us on any social channel using @ImperialBlack, and Bob, @Bob_Peters (Instagram) and @BobTheBartender (On Twitter), and if you dare, share using our hashtag: #SartorialTravel. We hope to see a few of these across the globe in a matter of weeks…it’s that exquisite.    

Imperial Black perfect shirt mens luxury lifestyle

From the Bar of Bob Peters:

The inspiration for this drink was the men’s clothing line. The quality and the craftsmanship, the attention to detail and the willingness to go to the end of the earth to find amazing products, in my case ingredients, to share with gentlemen that are like minded. The end result is worth the effort that goes into the process.

Unfortunately, It would be hard to order this cocktail in your average bar. It would be almost impossible to find a bar that carries a Black Dragon Pearl tea infused simple syrup. That being said you would have better luck ordering this cocktail in a craft cocktail bar but that’s still not 100% guarantee. Its more likely that the bar would have some sort of other tea syrup so you can get close but not exact. I would first ask the bartender if they had any nice tea infused simple syrup. If the answer is yes, then you are in there! Next just list the recipe for them.

The following ingredients were chosen because of their fine quality, interesting and unexpected flavors, and for their far reaching origins from around the globe. Much like the shirts that the lads from Imperial Black are offering.

The recipe:

Muddle one small lemon wedge 
1.5oz Bulleit Rye 
.5oz Queen Charlotte’s Reserve Carolina Rum
.75oz Black Dragon Pearl simple syrup
.5oz Drambuie
Shake/strain/pour
Garnish with lemon zest wrapped blackberry

The glass it’s served in and why I prefer this cocktail to be served in a coupe glass which allows for a big beautiful canvas so the beautiful color and the unbelievable aroma to be taken in. A gentleman should always looks nice, especially when sitting at the bar.

Bar Items needed to make the drink at home, which may require a couple unusual tools for the normal house. You need a muddler but you can use the back of a wooden spoon if you are in a pinch. You will also need a cocktail shaker with a strainer built into it, if not then you will need a Hawthorne strainer.

 The Imperial Black Signature Cocktail is a perfect Gentleman’s cocktail because it’s strong, interesting, refined, well “traveled,” and has a great story.

Imperial Black perfect shirt mens luxury lifestyle

As always, drink as a gentleman should, responsibly.