This past weekend we finally made it to the Astoria Flea. It is conveniently located on 36th Street in front of Kaufman Astoria Studios, a mere 3 blocks south of our AWS digs.  In addition to some fun art, photography, clothes and antiques, there are also a number of great food and beverage purveyors. We’ve heard great things about ICE & VICE and have been dying to try their ice cream but they were sold out Better luck this next weekend, I suppose. Making our way through the hordes of food stands, we stumbled across the deliciousness that is Drink More Good. We picked up a bottle of their Cassia Kream Syrup , which is a mixture of cassia, kola nut, vanilla and lavender.  It will be great for adding to our SodaStream creations at home but even better to add as a syrup to our favorite cocktail recipes to kick it up a notch. I was so excited to experiment with it that I could hardly wait to get it open when we arrived home. A quick note about Cassia and Cinnamon. I was not sure what Cassia was so I did some searching on yon internets to help educate me. What I found is that Cassia is a type of Cinnamon. In fact, it’s a less expensive and more pungent cinnamon than Ceylon cinnamon, a cinnamon preferred in the food world for it’s sweeter, more delicate and complex flavors. These two major types of cinnamon are the most common types of cinnamon used in food preparation. Ceylon cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka and is also known as “true cinnamon.” However, Ceylon cinnamon is NOT the predominant cinnamon sold in the US. What you would typically find at your local grocery store is Cassia cinnamon. Cassia is native to Burma and also grown in China and Vietnam. Cassia is slightly darker in color compared to Ceylon. While both Cassia and Ceylon are derived from the inner bark of trees, there is a big difference in taste.  Consider yourselves enlightened! I felt like this syrup would lend itself well to the flavors you’d find in a tiki drink, but with a bourbon-focused twist. It turned out rich and refreshing and I think it will remain one of my favorites for the hot summer days to come. Hope you enjoy it and have a fantastic weekend! Cassia Later 2 oz Bourbon 1 oz Cassia Kream Syrup 1/2 a Lime (juiced) 1 bar spoon Allspice Dram 1/4 cup sliced Pineapple (fresh, not canned)   Muddle pineapple with lime juice in the bottom of a cocktail shaker or glass, add remaining ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a tiki mug filled with crushed ice. Garnish with pineapple leaves and a bit of freshly grated nutmeg.

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