Cocktail Confidential Vol. 8: Cinnamon + How to Save Money as a Restaurant Worker

Feb 15, 2024

“A dreamer of pictures
I run in the night
You see us together
Chasing the moonlight
My cinnamon girl”

-Neil Young, Cinnamon Girl

If you haven’t listened to the album ‘Everyone Knows This Is Nowhere’ by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, please stop reading this and go listen to it now. It isn’t on streaming services because Neil Young is a badass and actually stood by his word and took all his music off platforms that barely pay artists, but I’m sure it is on YouTube. ‘Down By The River’ has one of the greatest guitar solos of all time. Listen to it with headphones on and in stereo. Please.

I don’t really have much to say about cinnamon, other than it is underused in my opinion. Someone once told me that it was black pepper before black pepper came along and became the ying to salt’s yang. I never confirmed that, but it makes sense. I love mixing cinnamon into rum and whiskey cocktails, especially tiki drinks. It honestly isn’t the best flavor to be the main sweetener in a drink, kinda like how it is used sparingly in cooking. But combined with the right booze, citrus juices and liqueurs, it is a delicious complementary flavor.

Cinnamon is an aromatic spice that is obtained from the inner bark of several tree species in the Cinnamomum genus. It can add lovely, warm and earthy flavor to season both savory and sweet cuisines. Famously, cinnamon can be found in the Cinnabon, an unmatched sugary treat for suburban mall rats nationwide. They’re apparently in 48 countries now. Yuck.

Something kinda cool about warming spices such as cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, etc. in general is that they have a ton of essential oils that are released by heating them up a touch. Toasting cinnamon sticks in a pan over low heat until they’re aromatic before using them to cook or bake will make them have a huge POP.

Let’s get it.

What you’ll need:

Ingredients:

5 cinnamon sticks
16 oz water
16 oz Demerara sugar or sugar in the raw

Tools:

Measuring cups
Knife handle, muddler, wooden spoon, or something else to bash some cinnamon
Pot or pan that is 1 quart or larger
Whisk or something else to mix up the syrup
Strainer
A couple of quart containers or some Tupperware

Making the syrup:

Bash up your cinnamon sticks and pop them into the pot over a low heat. Move them around every 30 seconds or so and let them toast until they’re aromatic. Once your home smells like your grandmother has been baking on Thanksgiving, add your water and bring it to a simmer. Add in the sugar slowly, stirring rapidly to integrate it. Once the sugar is fully melted, remove the pot from the heat and pour into a quart container. Put a lid on it and let it sit overnight on the counter or in the fridge. The next day, strain out the cinnamon.

That’s it. You did it! You made cinnamon syrup!

Now, let’s drink.

Remember those cardamom cocktails from a few weeks back in Cocktail Confidential Vol. 6? I am going to provide new cocktail recipes for this volume, but feel free to check out recipes from that edition and substitute the cinnamon in for the cardamom syrup.

I absolutely love cinnamon with amontillado sherry together in cocktails. Amontillado sherry is from Andalusia, Spain. It is rich and oxidized, which gives it its nutty, jammy flavor. Sherry has so many rules behind it, so I am not going to dive into it here, but it has a pretty interesting history and different sherries can offer a wide range of flavors and texture to a cocktail. Sherry cobblers slap when it’s warm out.

So for this edition, let’s drink some sherry in a few cocktails my friends have made over the years!

This is cool and all, but I’ve only ever made drinks a couple times: Sherry Cobbler

This is a sherry cobbler called The Silent X that was featured on the menu at The Automatic in Cambridge, MA, developed by my old boss Jordan Runion. It features mezcal, and gets its name in reference to the x in Oaxaca. This drink is delicious and crushable year round.

1.5 oz amontillado sherry, preferably Lustau
.75 oz mezcal, preferably Del Maguey Vida
.5 oz cinnamon syrup
.25 oz agave syrup (1:1 agave syrup:water)
.5 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed
.25 oz lime juice, freshly squeezed
7 dashes orange bitters, for garnish

Add all ingredients besides the orange bitters to a cocktail tin and shake without ice. Pour into a 12 oz glass over crushed iced and gently stir. Top with more crushed ice and garnish with 7 dashes of orange bitters. Serve with a straw.

Sipping Soundtrack: Los Dug Dug’s - Smog

I have a setup at home. Give me something I can impress with: Old Fashioned

This is an awesome old fashioned riff that my friend Pat Harmon came up with. He actually uses a porcini mushroom + thyme syrup in his, but I think cinnamon will pair really well with the spirits in this cocktail. If you’re a fan of a Oaxacan Old Fashioned, you’ll love this drink. It is perfect for a colder winter night.

1 oz reposado tequila
.5 oz mezcal
.5 oz amontillado sherry, preferably Lustau
scant .5 oz cinnamon syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash Bittermen’s Hellfire Shrub

Add all ingredients into a double old fashioned glass, add ice and stir for 15 seconds. Top with a few more cubes and garnish with an expressed orange twist.

Sipping Soundtrack: Los Yetis - Nadaísmo a Go-Go

Sound the cool guy alarm, because I have a full home bar: Daiquiri

My friend Rachel Kopelman came up with this drink for the cocktail menu at Sarma in Somerville, MA, and I think it is absolutely perfect. It is exactly what a daiquiri should be - balanced, refreshing and crushable. Shoutout Rach.

.75 oz Lustau amontillado sherry
.5 oz Hamilton 151 Overproof Rum
.25 oz Privateer New England Reserve Rum
.75 oz cinnamon syrup
.75 oz lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 barspoon Giffard Banane du Bresil Liqueur

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice, shake for 15 seconds and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a grated nutmeg.

Sipping Soundtrack: Justin Hines and The Dominoes - Jezebel

I don’t feel like drinking today: Spiced Spritz

Blood oranges are in season right now, and can be found at pretty much any grocery store not called Trader Joe’s. They are less sweet than a regular orange, almost leaning into the tartness of a grapefruit.

1 oz cinnamon syrup
.5 oz cardamom syrup (See: Cocktail Confidential Vol. 6)
1 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed
.5 oz blood orange juice, freshly squeezed
4 oz soda water

Add all ingredients to a 12 oz glass with ice and enjoy!

Sipping Soundtrack: Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Listen, and Sometimes I Just Sit

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Cameron’s Guide to Making Your Hard Earned Money Work Hard For You!
(updated 2/14/23)

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?

Since I began working in restaurants, I noticed that industry workers, to put it lightly, are cavalier with their money. We work hard for it, we earn it quickly and it disappears twice as fast. It is commonplace for employers to not offer any retirement funds from which corporate America benefits. Thus, we are on our own to figure out how to save money and make it grow. Below you will find some definitions of certain investment funds and strategies that I have found helpful to improving my net worth.

A disclaimer: I am not a pro at any of this. I talk to friends about investing who know a lot more than me, but I have no formal education in any of this. I simply am passing on what I have found beneficial to me, personally, and what I believe are smart strategies for making money grow. I am not telling you to do anything below or invest in anything specific. This is simply how I spend my money and I think it makes sense, so I hope you do, too. I hate money as much as you do, but unfortunately we need it around, so it’s best to just accept that and try to make it work for us, too.

SOME STARTING IDEOLOGIES

There are very few things you’ll ever need more than $20,000 in life, especially if you have health insurance. Really, the only things I can think of that people own that cost more than $20K are cars and houses. A watch? Maybe a boat? And if you have to think about how much a boat costs, you can’t afford one anyways. So I don’t keep more than $20,000 in my savings/checking account, ever. There is an argument to be made for even less, but a rainy day fund (3-4 months of expenses) is always necessary. Remember: investments in a brokerage account are fairly liquid (meaning you can access them as cash quickly in a pinch). So are contributions to a Roth IRA and earnings/gains for certain purchases. You have access to them anytime if need be!
I spend roughly 25% of my net income on my living expenses (rent+ utilities). I think it is important to keep it around this percentage. Anything more than 35% is disadvantageous to long-term, sustainable savings. A good framework for spending is 25% on needs (housing, groceries), 25% on wants (hobbies, dining out), 25% savings and 25% investing
I use a Google Sheet to monitor my spending and budget. Every purchase I make goes in there, which may sound insane and time-consuming, but copy + paste makes life very easy. All my recurring payments are in one section, so I basically just run through my credit card statement weekly and input all my purchases. Then I analyze what I am spending money on and adjust accordingly. Takeout is expensive. So is coffee. Cook and make coffee at home and you’ll save an obscene amount of money aka make money available to invest.
My credit card is an American Express Gold Card which is beneficial for dining out and travel. I started with a Discover it to build credit, then applied for an American Express Blue Cash Everyday and now have the Gold Card which has a $250 annual fee. I justify it based on the travel and dining benefits it offers. Every purchase I make goes onto my credit card. Even if I simply had a 1% cash back card instead of my rewards card, 99% still costs less than 100%. If you know how to make it work, credit companies will give you money.
Every other week, I automatically have $500 withdrawn from my checking account and deposited into my brokerage account. This ensures that I am spending time researching the market and investing regularly.
In November 2019, February 2020 and January 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, I deposited the maximum into my Roth IRA because I had the cash on hand to do so. If this was not the case, I would actively try to set up monthly contributions of $583.33 (12*583.33=7000) to max out the yearly contribution. Sustainable, consistent deposits are a key factor in allowing your account to grow. Your money will compound over time.
I am lucky enough to be debt free, which I think is important to mention. Thank you Seton Hall University for the academic scholarship. If you have debt, make it a priority to pay it off. That shit is crippling.
They way I like to explain investing in the stock market is to make it relatable by thinking of everything you buy as an investment. Your money, when you put it into the stock market, is not longer money. You own an asset that goes up and down in value, the same way your car or house or literally anything you buy does. So when stock prices go up, you technically don’t have more money, but your assets have appreciated in value. You don’t gain or lose anything until you sell your assets. Say you had a car you owned during the microchip shortage recently. Typically, that Suburu would slowly decrease in value, but instead it went up because used car prices skyrocketed. So you sold it for a profit. You no longer have an asset (the car), but you have money. If you didn’t sell, the price would have come down recently because used cars cooled off. Same things with shares of stock, ETFs and mutual funds. They are assets that have a monetary value.

ROTH IRA

A Roth IRA is a retirement fund that allows liquidity (ability to move/spend your contributions) and is considered a secure way to sustainably grow your money over time. The best benefit of a Roth IRA is that when you turn 59.5 years old, you can access all of your profit without paying the IRS a dime. Do you realize how incredible that is? I pay the IRS almost 30 cents for every dollar I make at the moment.

Here are the main benefits, which I will be a bit redundant about below:

Your money will grow at about 7-10% annually if you invest in S&P 500 funds such as VOO or SPY. This is historically the growth we have seen from the stock market year over year
You can access your contributions at any time
You can withdraw some of your gains penalty free under certain circumstances
At age 59.5, you can take out all your money without paying the government a dime

I truly believe every single person that falls within the income bracket for this should have one and maximize their yearly contribution to it if they can afford to do so. If you start a Roth IRA in your mid-20s, contribute $7K to it annually until you’re 65 with 8% annual growth, you will have over $1.5 million dollars in this account. Your life is most likely going to be long, and even if for some reason it isn’t, it is important to prepare for it to be. The following are the rules for a Roth IRA, some of the benefits and some advice:

Roth IRA investors can invest up to $7,000/year if they make under $138,000/year. There is no minimum amount that needs to be invested.
The main benefit to a Roth IRA is that it allows for tax-free withdrawals in retirement of your gains. You’ve already paid taxes on the contributions. This saves you boatloads of money, especially if you are contributing regularly to the account.
Contributions (money paid into the account) can be withdrawn penalty free at any time, since you already paid taxes on them, and transferred back into your checking/savings account. Gains/earnings (money made on your investments) must stay in the account except for certain circumstances such as first time home purchasing (up to $10,000), paying for education or paying for unreimbursed medical expenses (those not covered by insurance). Here is a link with information on withdrawal rules and limitations. This is an important benefit because there are penalties for withdrawing funds from other retirement funds such as a 401k or a Traditional IRA
Generally, Roth IRA investors buy mutual funds, ETFs and stocks that have long-term growth potential. This is where the term “set it and forget it” comes from.
- ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, are basically a mutual fund style group of stocks that is exchanged on the stock market daily. It’s made up of a bunch of different stocks, kinda like a big old pie where a company makes up a slice. You can invest in the overall stock market or S&P 500, Russell 1000, etc, which generally are safe bets for long term, sustainable growth.
- Mutual funds are a bit more complicated and more for the long haul, and generally require a minimum initial investment of at least $1000, but typically much higher (>$3K). They’re structured similarly to ETFs and also offer reinvestment, and are actively managed, giving them a slight edge over ETFs
- When you buy “stock” in a company, you are buying a piece of that company. You basically own a very small percentage of it and the value will go up and down depending on if other people want it.
My Roth IRA, which is managed through Vanguard, includes share of Berkshire Hathaway B-Class, Apple, Proctor and Gamble and Vanguard’s all encompassing S&P 500 ETF VOO.
I have invested $37,500 in this account across these stocks over the last 6 years (Nov 2019 - present), and my current balance is $46,847, meaning my assets have increased $9,347, or a 24.9% return on my investments while still having $37,500 available for penalty free withdrawal should I need it for emergencies or big purchases! In reality, I JUST contributed $7,000 as my 2024 contribution, so the return on these investments is actually closer to 30% considering my balance last week was $7,000 less.
The biggest advantage of a savings account in a bank is that your money is insured by the FDIC so it literally cannot go away or reduce up to $250,000. When you invest in a Roth, you are putting your money into the stock market which theoretically, although extremely unlikely, could go down over an extended period of time. You are likely to see some drops in the short term (I nearly cried at one point during the height of Covid when half my money disappeared), but the market grows at about 7% annually.
$7,000 a year (the annual allowed Roth IRA contribution) breaks down to $583.83 a month which is a considerable amount of money. My strategy for this was simple: drink less and cook more. If I wanted to drink, it would be at home or at a friend's house. If I went to a bar, I didn’t have more than 2 drinks. Eliminating dining out and cooking more at home saves an obscene amount of money (I went from $1200 spent on dining out and drinking in Oct. 2020 to $140 in Jan. 2021 by tracking my spending)

BROKERAGE ACCOUNT

A brokerage account is a personal investing account for purchasing stocks, mutual funds and ETFs that are traded daily on the stock market. My strategy is simple: buy overall stock market ETFs and mutual funds that have essentially guaranteed long-term, sustainable growth. The only difference is that I put extra money I have in here and I know that my gains will be taxed in the end.

Stock prices are essentially based on supply and demand plus announcements of certain events, achievements or news from a company which in turn make them more valuable. If Apple announces new tech, the price goes up. Pfizer announces phase 3 of their coronavirus vaccine is successful, their stock price goes to the moon. Tesla makes a new battery, price goes up.
In a brokerage account, you will pay Capital Gains Tax on any investment gains that you sell for cash. Short-term Capital Gains Tax refers to the fee you pay on the gains you earn from stocks you buy and sell within a year which is the same amount as your income tax rate (probably 22%). Long-term Capital Gains Tax refers to the fee you pay on the gains you earn from stocks you sell for cash after holding them for a year or more. You are in the 15% bracket, unless they’re paying you over $441,450 and in which case, I want a raise. Remember, only the GAINS are taxed.
Quick story: I went on a bike ride with my friend Shane one day over the summer and he talked me through his investing strategy. His parents worked at the Federal Reserve for their whole careers so he kinda had an advantage with all of this stuff because they gave him proper guidance from a young age. He asked me a simple yet profound question that I still think about today: “How much time do you spend on social media every day, and could you redirect some of that to reading online resources like Yahoo! Finance which would help you make money?” The answer was obviously yes, and it completely changed my interest in investing.
Here is some stuff of what I have bought and why. Keep in mind I am very much a long term investor with no plan to sell anything soon. If you have come to find a way to be rich next year, this is the wrong place:
- Personal interest stocks:
  - Apple (AAPL) - Warren Buffet has half his money in Apple
  - Alphabet (GOOG) - AI here we come! This is Google’s parent company
  - Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) - this is Warren Buffet’s investment fund that you can invest in! It is actively managed and they don’t call him the Oracle of Omaha for no reason
  - Microsoft (MSFT) - much more than a personal computer company, they’re in every single IT system across the globe
- ETFs I am invested in:
  - Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VOO) - this is Vanguard’s overall stock market mutual fund that is meant for long term, sustainable growth. Set it and forget it!
During the COVID closures, I made some absolutely idiotic investments, listening to my dumbass self and friends who just didn’t have a clue. But we all thought we did. I have invested $69,360.55 and have an ending balance of $73,312.68, which is $3952.13 in gains, or 5.69% ROI. This is fucking terrible, considering I have had this account for 5 years. Had I just invested that money in VOO consistently every month for 5 years, I’d have like $90,000+. But instead I decided Peleton during the height of the pandemic was a good idea. Dumbass.

CREDIT CARDS

Credit cards are unfortunately a necessary evil in this life we live. They basically serve the purpose of proving to a bank that you are able to develop debt and pay it off, which will allow you to have a better credit score later in life. This is monumentally important for large purchases such as cars or houses. Below, I include some tips on how to choose a credit card:

Ask yourself the simple question “If I have access to more money than I have, do I have the self control to not spend it?” If the answer is yes, then get a credit card!
In order to build proper credit, you don’t want to spend more than 30% of your credit limit. That is the general rule of thumb. Most card companies will give you a credit limit increase if you just ask. Sometimes I would just be bored and ask American Express if they’d give me more. It ran up to $30k, which was like half my yearly salary. Insane. BUT, the percentage of it I was spending was very low, and that made me look GREAT.
Choosing a credit card comes down to what you’re looking to get out of it. There are pretty much two options:
- Cash back - a cash back card basically will give you 1% cash back on every purchase and 2-3% cash back on purchases such as groceries, restaurants, gas, hotels, etc. This type of system is typical for a first time credit card such as Discover or American Express Everyday Blue. This is your typical starter credit card. HMU if you want the AMEX blue card referral.
- Points - most credit unions offer credit cards that allow you to collect points to spend on travel and other things that can be bought through them. Points cards typically come with an annual fee but also offer a wide range of further benefits

Okay that is it. If you found any of this beneficial, I would highly recommend getting a Roth IRA started ASAP. Contribute your money, set it and forget it! If you need guidance on how to get started opening an account, please feel free to reach out to me!

FAQs

You’re talking a lot about cocktail tins and .75 oz and other stuff I’m unfamiliar with. Can you elaborate?

So in order to make these cocktails, you’ll need some basic bar tools. You can usually purchase these in a set with a cocktail shaker, a jigger (measuring tool), a barspoon for mixing, a Hawthorne strainer and a mixing glass. Jiggers typically have a 2 oz side with a 1.5 oz line, and a 1 oz side with a .5 and .75 line.

I don’t have a bunch of these cocktail tools, but this seems interesting. Where can I get all this stuff you’re talking about?

I personally would recommend checking out Cocktail Kingdom’s complete sets. They’re very high quality and beautifully crafted.

You’re talking a lot about glassware. What’s the difference between all of them and what would typically be served in them?

There are three primary cocktail glasses that every home bar should have - highball, double old fashioned and coupe.

Highball - Ever order a vodka soda close it? Jamo ginger? That is a highball glass! Tall and thin, usually 12 - 16 oz in volume.

Double Old Fashioned - The style is in the name! Old Fashioned! Other names include ‘rocks glass’, ‘tumbler’ or ‘low ball’. They’re short and sturdy and usually 10 - 12 oz in volume.

Coupe - This is a stemmed glass that has a broad, shallow bowl to sip your concoctions out of. Think martini glass but you don’t have to be scared of the physics behind drinking out of it. 6 - 8 oz in volume is the typical size.

My cocktail doesn’t seem ‘balanced’. What should I do?

Bartenders love getting into discussions about the ideal build for a classic gin gimlet or whiskey sour. Some prefer a 2:1:1 build which would mean 1.5 oz base spirit, .75 oz citrus juice and .75 oz bar syrup, while others prefer a 2:.5:.5, which would mean 2 oz base spirit, .5 oz citrus juice and .5 bar syrup. Some might even go 2:.75:.5. But the point is, people have different preferences and you can feel free to adjust. If you want more of an acidic pop, add more lemon or lime juice. If you want it a touch sweeter, add more bar syrup.

Why is there a ‘Tip Your Bartender’ button on here? Can’t you just make it a paid subscription?

Yes, technically I could. But unfortunately the minimum charge is $5 a month, and quite frankly I find that too steep. I’d like this to be accessible to everyone who wants to mix drinks at home, so I thought a ‘pay what you’d like’ system makes the most sense for this newsletter. Tips are absolutely not necessary but always appreciated!

What’re you concocting and talking about next week?

I dunno, that’s for next week. Stay tuned!