High-Proof Preacher

 

 
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highproof, Portland, High Proof Preacher

My name is Jordan Hughes. I am a food & beverage photographer and writer from Portland, OR.

I've grown up in the Pacific Northwest my whole life and I have no plans to ever leave. Since starting "High-Proof Preacher" I've gotten to work with some amazing spirit brands and distilleries. I have a passion for the craft spirits scene here in Portland but love connecting and partnering with different brands around the world whenever I have the opportunity.

I hope I can be a resource to "home bartenders" everywhere, as well as an asset to craft spirit companies that are trying to up their digital content & social media game!

 

Connect with me on Instagram

Empress Gin & Tonic 🔮 I’ve had a lot of these the last few days while visiting Victoria BC and I’m not mad about it. . In case you missed all the IG stories from this week, @empressgin1908 is infused with a blend of tea and butterfly pea blossoms which gives it a beautiful and natural indigo color. When citrus and tonic is added to the gin it magically changes colors to a soft purple-pink. . It’s visually stunning yes, but how is the gin itself? . Let me tell you, this stuff is good juice 👌🏼 It’s made from 8 different botanicals: juniper, rose, coriander seed, grapefruit peel, ginger root, cinnamon bark and the @fairmontempress tea blend. It’s approachable (not overly juniper-y), citrus-forward and mixes really well in a variety of cocktails. . It was truly an honor to spend time with the good people of @vicdistillers and @empressgin1908 this week! Hearing the stories and seeing the process behind a product always gives me a deeper appreciation for a brand 💜 . #highproofpreacher
Pretty insane trip with @empressgin1908 the last few days. Loved getting to tour @vicdistillers and hang with @distillerpete, then get whisked off on the most epic whale watching adventure of my life 🐋 . Victoria BC is worth the hype. . Can’t complain about the peeps either; seriously such a rad crew to travel with! A lot of us knew each other already or just via social media, so it’s been a blast to hang👇🏼 . @garnish_girl @raelpetit @apartment_bartender @colljeffers @peachestopearls @bob_peters . #highproofpreacher #empress1908gin #livecolourfully
Lived in Portland my whole life but never made the short trip up to Canada until today 🇨🇦 I’ll be hanging in Victoria BC for the better half of this week with some talented cocktail nerd friends 🤓 Thank you to @empressgin1908 for getting me up here; looking forward to the boozy adventures ahead! . 📸: @apartment_bartender . #highproofpreacher
Well @feastportland, you’ve been lovely! . I know I brag about my city a lot, but truly so thankful and proud to call Portland home. Just so much talent and creativity here, I don’t even know where to begin! . Some definite highlights from the weekend: meeting @msfrankyfranky and learning about all things @pineau_academy 👌🏼 All the “Drink Tank” panels were incredibly fascinating and I’m excited to share more from those soon. Overall, the @feastportland crew absolutely killed it and put together a fantastic weekend of the best food and drink in the country. . Tomorrow I’m heading out on my first ever trip to Canada 🇨🇦 so keep an eye out for more cocktail adventures. In the meantime, here’s a photo of my dude @morenozackary making magic at @ravenandrosepdx ✨ . #highproofpreacher
Big news: it’s the first time I’ve actually gone through a whole bottle of dry vermouth at home before having to throw it out 😆 And I have all these low-ABV cocktail experiments to thank for that! . Here’s a super refreshing and easy recipe by the famed Alex Day of @proprietorsllc 👌🏼 I made this for a few friends and they didn’t believe that there was actually alcohol in it. There isn’t much proof to it but it’s an especially enjoyable beverage for these last few warm days left in the season. . Sunny Day Real Estate . 2 oz @vermouthdolin dry vermouth ¾ oz raspberry simple syrup ½ oz @aperolusa ½ oz lemon juice Soda water . Add all ingredients (except soda water) into a cocktail shaker and short shake with ice. Strain into a Collins glass and top with ice and soda water. Garnish with lemon. . Recipe 📗: @apday . #highproofpreacher
Not sure if being a “cocktail photographer” is a real job, but I sure enjoy doing it 📸 One of the best parts is regularly meeting great people doing some really cool things. . The good folks at @newdealpdx are partnering with Melaney of @publicprovisions to create a cocktail for @feastportland. They had me meet up with Melaney to take some promotional photos and it ended up also being a great time hanging out and talking life. In addition to running @publicprovisions, an upscale beverage service for special events, she runs an amazing bar called @mirandapdx with her partner Malia. Oh and they’re also making wine and developing their own wine label 🍷 Basically, what does she not do?! . Definitely inspired by Melaney’s creativity and fun-loving approach to hospitality. If you’re around @feastportland this weekend, be sure to find her serving up this delicious cocktail with @newdealpdx pear brandy👌🏼 . #highproofpreacher
You guys, I promise I eat too... it’s not just cocktails all the time over here 🥗🥖🦀🥒🍽 . This week I’m looking forward to my first ever @feastportland, an amazing food and beverage festival celebrating the culture and creativity around America’s food revolution. Apparently @thrillist calls it “the best food festival in the country” so my expectations are high! I’ll be going hard at a lot of the events on Thursday through Saturday, so keep an eye out for the highlights 📸 . Anyone else participating this year? Let me know if you’ll be around 🥂 . #highproofpreacher
Thanks for all the creative suggestions on how to use these Celery Shishito bitters from @honestjohnbittersco. Seriously so many great ideas; most of them involving agave which I fully support 🙌🏼 . What I ended up making was a simple margarita variant with some funky-earthy flavors going on. I split the base with tequila and sotol, which is a super weird agave-ish spirit to make things extra interesting. Then the Celery Shishito bitters brought a perfect savory element to the drink 👌🏼 . If you want to mess around with these limited edition bitters yourself, go back a few posts in my feed and enter the giveaway 👉🏼 There is still a little over 24 hours to enter! . 1 ½ oz blanco tequila ¾ oz Sotol (I used @sotolcoyotemx Durango) 1 oz fresh lime juice 4-5 dashes of @honestjohnbittersco Celery Shishito bitters 1 tsp agave nectar Pinch of salt . Combine and shake with ice. Strain over fresh ice in a salt rimmed glass ✌🏼 . #highproofpreacher
Been shooting some new @thewaltercollective content lately 📸 Such a blast getting to go around to different bars, meet talented bartenders, take photos of them in action and of course sample their creations 🍸 All for a brand that I genuinely really admire and hugely appreciate. It’s a rough gig! 😉 . Thank you to @joelevardier and the @irvingstkitchen crew for letting me hang the other day and for being super accommodating 🤙🏼 . #highproofpreacher
Okay just because I’ve been messing around with lower-ABV cocktails doesn’t mean I still can’t enjoy a good ol’ fashioned Painkiller 💀🍹🏝 . For those who have never had one, you should probably just up and make one tonight. It’s basically a boozier Piña Colada that’s traditionally made with Pusser’s Rum. At some fine establishments you might see the numbers 2, 3 or 4 after the name on the menu, indicating the strength 😵 So hey, be careful out there! . If you want to make one, just grab the recipe off @vinepair [link in bio] ✌🏼 . #highproofpreacher
✨GIVEAWAY BELOW✨ . Bitters are an important element in crafting cocktails. A little can go a longgg way and often times just a few dashes can be the difference between a decent cocktail and an amazing cocktail. . However, not all bitters are created equal. A lot of bitters you’ll find at your average liquor store are made from glycerin and don't stand up well to being mixed with quality spirits. That’s why I’ve been a fan of @honestjohnbittersco, which are ALWAYS made with a pure spirits-based, glycerin-free foundation, with all-organic ingredients. I’ve been using a variety of their bitters in a lot of my recent cocktails so let me tell you, they’re the real deal. . They’re a quality brand worth trying out... and now you can! I’m partnering up with @honestjohnbittersco by giving away some of their new ✨limited edition✨ bitters to TWO lucky winners. These bitters aren’t even released to the public yet and when they finally are, they will only be available in very limited quantities. . THE PRIZE: ▪️ 4oz bottle of @honestjohnbittersco Lavender bitters ▪️ 4oz bottle of @honestjohnbittersco Celery Shishito bitters [2 winners will each receive *both* types of bitters!] . TO ENTER: ▪️ Like this post. ▪️ Follow @highproofpreacher & @honestjohnbittersco. ▪️ Comment with what cocktail you’d want to make with these bitters AND tag two friends who’d drink it! . Entry closes this Saturday, 8/08 at 10pm PST, both winners will be randomly chosen and announced the following day via my IG story. Good luck! . #Sponsored by @honestjohnbittersco. Must be 21 or over and have a US Shipping address. This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with, Instagram.

 

 

I run my own creative business full-time

 
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