Common Ground Spirits July Blog 2023

Greetings Friends!

It’s been an action-packed summer so far celebrating Pronhorn’s 1-year anniversary in Georgia, sharing gin and stories at the Black Food & Wine Experience, and sampling our gin at bottle shops all around the Bay Area. Read on for the details, be sure to get your tickets for the upcoming Asante Wine & Spirits Festival in Georgia, and take some inspiration from Tory’s bi-annual family cocktail competition (the winner muddled up a Common Ground Spirits twist on a muddled mango cocktail, and you’ll find the recipe below!).

Cheers to a great summer!

Pronghorn’s 1-Year Anniversary Black Tie Gala

Julian and Tory dressed up in their black tie finest to attend Pronghorn’s 1-year anniversary party in Georgia, where they met Pronghorn’s CEO, Jen Mari, and enjoyed Common Ground Spirits gin fizz cocktails at the bar. If you haven’t heard of Pronghorn, their mission is to “diversify the spirits industry by investing in Black executives and entrepreneurs in a sustainable and scalable way by 2023.”

We are thrilled to be a part of the Pronghorn family, and love the work they do to support and promote Black entrepreneurs in the spirits industry!

Chef Mimi’s Black Food & Wine Festival 

Chef Mimi pulled off another spectacular black-owned brand event this June, featuring food, spirits, wine, and beer, all from black owners, chefs, mixologists, and more. We had a blast at the San Francisco Ferry Building sampling everything from artisanal chocolates to bite-sized appetizers as we shared our gin with a great group of Bay Area foodies. If you haven’t been to one of these events, we can’t recommend them enough! Keep your eyes on Chef Mimi and her spectacular events and join us next time for a party you won’t forget!

Join Us August 5th at the Asante Wine & Spirits Festival!

We can’t wait to bring our gin back to Georgia in early August for the Asante Wine & Spirits Festival! This event highlights Black beverage entrepreneurs from all over the country, and it’s going to be a blast. Get your tickets here and come hang out with us!  

Introducing Janéa, Our First Single Cask, Barrel-Aged Gin!

It was Tory’s sister, Janéa, who suggested we barrel age our gins, and we were so inspired we immediately found a beautiful 5-year-old Navy strength rum barrel, filled it with our basil and elderflower gin (Gin Recipe 01), and left it to age for a year. The resulting golden spirit is delicate, with butterscotch on the nose and vanilla caramel notes on the palate which subtly compliment the herbaceous undertones of the gin. We named it Janéa in honor of Tory’s sister, and we’ll let you know the moment it hits bottle shop shelves! 

Summer Mango Madness Cocktail

Twice a year, Tory’s family and friends gather for a cocktail competition to see who can shake up the most inspiring, delicious libation with Common Ground Spirits gin! This summer, Tory’s friend Rachelle came in first with her Common Ground twist on the Summer Mango Madness cocktail. It’s zippy, fruity, and entirely refreshing. Mix up a batch and let us know what you think!

Serves 1

Ingredients

2 oz brown sugar lemonade

2 oz Common Ground Spirits Gin Recipe 02 (black currant and thyme)

½  fresh mango 

Pinch of tajín blend seasoning, plus extra for rim on cocktail glass 

1 oz fresh lime juice 

1 oz Rose’s sweetened lime juice

2 oz brown sugar lemonade 

1 oz agave syrup

4-5 cubes of ice or 1 large cube

LaCroix blackberry sparkling soda water

Sliced dragon fruit for garnish

Instructions

1. Make the brown sugar lemonade by dissolving 1 c brown sugar in 1 c hot water. Add this simple syrup to 2 c fresh lemon juice and 1 c water. 
2. In a large cocktail shaker, muddle the fresh mango and tajin.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the shaker with the muddled mango, top with ice, and shake well until very cold.
4. Run a used lime wedge over one half of the serving glass and dip the moistened rim in tajín seasoning.
5. Fill the serving glass with ice or one large cube, strain the cocktail into the glass, top with LaCroix blackberry sparkling soda water and garnish with a slice of dragonfruit.