step away from the cosmo...

Hey gorgeous Cosmo drinkers,
it's time to try something new. Don't worry we still have some cranberry and a lovely reddish pink hue. Together we can do this :)

ginger, lime, cranberries, tito's vodka, amaretto

• grate fresh ginger (enough to cover the bottom of your pint glass)

• microwave some fresh cranberries for a second or 2, until you hear a little "pop" (this will change the flavor for the better & make muddling easier)
• fill shaker with ice
• add in 1 oz of amaretto
• 1 oz tito's handmade vodka
• dash of lime juice
• if you like sweeter drinks add a touch of honey
  

Shake and strain over ice. Garnish with some cranberries.
cheers!

sage & tangerine margarita

photo credit anbanet.com


Margaritas may not scream winter, but they do bellow PARTY!!

so, let's cut out the manufacturers and become our own best friend with a 'healthier margarita' served for 1 or 4 (pitcher style)
tangerines, sage, cointreau, lime, tequila

• press tangerine juice from about 6 tangerines. you may dabble with other types of winter citrus if you'd like, grapefruit, blood orange all are perfectly delicious. I'd pair grapefruit with mint though, and the blood orange with some lavender...but I'm a crazy bird.
  

• slap the sage against your palm to release the aromatic properties
• muddle up the sage with half of a pressed tangerine in a shaker- keep the rind (skin) on. You don't really need the juicy pulp- it's the rind that will release the oils and make the muddling worth it.
  
• put ice in the shaker
• add 1/2 oz of cointreau
• 2 oz of tequila
• squeeze 2 lime wedges on top
• strain and pour into a snifter full of ice
  
• garnish with a tangerine wedge & a sage leaf
  

If making this in pitcher form, press about 15 tangerines, muddle up a handful of sage, add 8-10 oz of tequila (or more)
and 2 oz of cointreau


The best part about this margarita is that you are cutting out the packaging and excess sugars in manufactured products. You pressed the juice, you muddled the sage, and now you get to reap the sweet rewards of this too good to be true margarita!

a play on the champagne cocktail (it's actually really good!)

hi beautiful drinkie people

did you hear? i's goings to be on the news.

this will be my 2nd venture, well 3rd if you count the time i answered phones at the newington children's hospital telethon in 5th grade. I met Al Terzi!! (well, you only know who that is if you are a connecti-cutian.

any hoo! it's a healthy cocktail segment and the drinks are by me.

a normal fancy lady will cheers & toast (with eye contact) with a traditional champagne cocktail, champagne, sugar cube, bitters & a cherry. But a savvy, local healthy fancy lady will shun the white sugar.

Behold a white sugar- cube- free champagne cocktail.

What you need:
honey, a tangerine wedge, Aperol & champagne or prosecco.

• grab some local honey and put a dollop in the bottom of a champagne class

• take the Aperol and add about a 1/2 ounce

(what is Aperol you ask? (specifically it's an apertif made to stimulate digestion) & it's basically another brand of Campari (now owned by the same italians who own Campari), like coke & pepsi, Aperol is the pepsi- I like it better, for no reason- other than it's a smidge sweeter)

• squeeze a tangerine wedge and leave it on the bottom or take it away- your choice.

• stir the honey, aperol and tangerine all together & fill the flute with your champagne/prosecco of choice. I've been using Lamarca.

* why is honey better you ask? well, it's unrefined made by bees (which = god & not human hands, god trumps human hands, always, always always).

* there is sugar in Aperol so this isn't a sugar free recipe
it's a healthier version with citrus instead of an over processed marachino cherry.

tangerine dream

tangerine! the able to be rhymed orange hued fruit!


Press some tangerines (about 10)

• 2 0z tangerine

• 1 oz vanilla vodka

• squeeze a fresh lime wedge

• shake & strain in a martini glass.

• garnish with a mint leaf

if you want to use regular vodka and don't have a crush on vanilla like I do, toss in a dabble of maraschino liquer it's sooooo goood.


so easy.

hot buttered rum!

yes! judging by my avocado consumption I love fatty fats. I believe that you can eat & drink as much natural fats as you please. It's the industrialization and human paws that really ruin fat consumption into making you fat . so behold: the fattiest fat person's dream come true of the fattiest fat person drink! Hot buttered Rum. Yum yum.

I plan to buy all of my pants a size larger from now on while I prepare to consume this drink every night until 2011. Upon my first sip, I wanted to put on a mu mu or hospital gown- crawl into bed & sip this from a stainless steel straw. It's that good. And like most really good things it's really really simple!

I make this in pitcher form serves 4 large portions or 8 normal (for "oh just this once!" people portions).

You will need:

• European styled butter (let it soften)

• dark rum

• dark brown sugar cane

• hot water

• sea salt

Fill your pitcher with hot water. Leave about 2" on the top.
Take a half cup give or take a bit of dark brown sugar.
Stir it all around until it really mixes. It should be a really nice chestnut brown color. Ironically the same color as my hair so if you know me- picture that. If you don't. Sorry.

Get some of that nice European high fat styled butter. The fresher the better. The fattier the better. soften it outside of the refrigerator and cut off about an inch & a half an inch slab (just do it!).

Place that slab of definitive deliciousness and plop it on top of the sugar & water.

Let it all melt and mix into one another. Taste it. Wow. right?
You have 2 choices now- You can do the rum'ing case by case basis or you can rum it up at once.

I've been using goslings dark rum- but any dark rum will do.

4 seconds a person. So, if you are serving for 4 Take the rum (hopefully pour spouted) & pour for 16 seconds. It's nice to let this sit over night. In or out of the refrigerator either is fine.

As far as presentation goes: Pour the drink into snifters. If you have an espresso machine with a steamer steam it up to a nice froth. If you don't you may heat it up over the stove.
Some people like to put a pat of butter atop and sprinkle on some vanilla, nutmeg or other wintery spice.

The only other ingredient I like to add is a pinch of sea salt. I've been using pink coarse sea salt.

Hey hey hey!

averna black manhattan for all you black friday psycho paths

averna!
an apertif that gained popularity about 3 years ago. Hi! we're late to the party :)

rinds of citrus, roots & herbs all soak in alcohol and natural caramel is added in the end to create averna!
Those clever Italians! adore adore adore them & their booze making ways.

• 2 oz rye

• 1 oz averna

• dash of angostora

• dash of orange bitters (or get crazy with your additional aromatic bitter choice!)

• shake and strain into a martini glass.

This is WAY better than shopping with a bunch of over weight crazies!

I prefer a real bing cherry but you may use a maraschino if you please

apple cider side car

photo cred mymodernmet.com
apple cider side car
apple cider side car
apple cider side car
say that 5 x!

even if you can't- it's goood.

• 1 0z cognac (or brandy)

• 1 oz fresh pressed lemon

• .5 cointreau or gran marnier if you're rich!

• .5-1.0z apple cider

shake and strain over ice.
You may serve this warmed if you wish.
sugar the rim if you please or garnish it with an orange or apple twirl.

normally it'd be equal parts lemon and cointreau but the cider kicks off the sweetness abit.

Try it with some infused ciders if you really want to impress your friend's tongues.

cider+vanilla+rum= swoon

cider cider cider! cider! cider.
cider.

cider.
cider!! it's good.
sigh
derr
side
her

cider is better later in the season. The first apples of fall don't cider as well as the later ones. tis true.

fancy up your cider by infusing it with vanilla & keffir lime leaves over low heat- it is crazy good. take that fancy upgraded cider pour it in a shaker and add 2oz of dark rum. goslings will do-Or go to Guatamala on a trip and bring back that xo stuff, but you may want to sip on that solo..

(ofcourse you may drink this hot if that's more your style)

any hoot. cider with vanilla bean, keffir lime leaves & dark rum is sweet martini mouth loving.
garnish it with an orange because lemon and lime just won't do.

• 1 0z cider

• 2-3 0z dark rum

shake & strain in martini glass

an ode to orangina

Refresh!
You know how missy elliot or whomever will yell out REMIX at the beginning of her songs?
no, well, that's ok.
I like to yell in my brain DETOX at the beginning of a hangover. viva la missy elliot.

this drink has inspired many hangovers of mine in the past & it is very refreshing!
it reminds me of when I realized that not only was orangina not just for scruffy, rail thin, European men on bicycles- but it was also for me! but it's also SUPER refreshing!

you may use vanilla or vodka regularis

prepare this drink over ice in a pint glass or a tumbler. i vote for the pint glass,

• 2 0z vodka

• splash of good oj

• or fresh pressed oranges (come on you are WORTH it)

• splash or 2 of soda water or ginger ale if your guts ache.

yum! drink it with a straw & have more than one!

and don't suggest that you just mix vodka with actual orangina it's not the same- and it has nothing to to with concocting :)

pisco sour for chile!

With Chile in the news let's drink the controversial drink the pisco sour.
The people of Chile & Peru have been battling over who has the right to produce this white muscat grape based brandy of sorts...and even though Peru has the region actually named Pisco on their map- today it is Chile! Chi, Chi chi- Le le le

and did you also know that it is illegal to import Chile concocted pisco into Peru? escandalo!
So, basically the brandy (because that's what pisco really is), is made in two regions, one is in Chile & the other in Peru..and thems is fighting words.

may 15th is pisco sour day in Chile!

• 2-3 oz pisco

• 1 pressed lemon

• tablespoon of egg white

• drop of bitters *save for last (atop to look like a little brown dot)
  

shake and strain. I think it looks best in a rocks glass- no ice.
but you could martini or champagne glass it up
makes about 3

like chai a latte

Chai tea, makes me want to puke. I know i"m alone. in this * sad face.

But, chai liqueur on the other hand does not. One of life's mysterious I guess.

I like it as a sipper in a tumbler. You know, fall, winter...snuggle up...fireplace...log cabin...everyone smells like bengay, etc...

• 1 oz chai liqueur

• 2 oz vanilla vodka (sobieski will do!)

• 1 spoon full of pumpkin spice or pumpkin butter

shake the h-e double hockey sticks out if it.

dump it all in a snifter if you're fancy.

a variation of a favorite ginger martini....

photo credit cuchicuchi.cc
so, i've been thinking. Should I change the name of this rambling man blog to "what should I do with all of this vodka?" because clearly I love making drinks with vodka. It's the ultimate understated spirit...

This next drink is a take on a fave of mine from cuchi cuchi in cambridge ma. my fave restaurant aesthetically, drink-fantastically, and food-artistically

• Grate some ginger into the bottom of a pint glass (enough to cover the bottom)

• toss in a handful of cranberries, dried, dehydrated, fresh, however!

• muddle with some simple syrup (I've been making my simple syrups with raw sugar cane and or brown sugar crystals)

• .5 amaretto

• 2 oz vodka (sobieski for the cheap)

• .5 fresh lemon or lime whatever your taste. For this I prefer lemon.

shake with ice
rim the martini glass with sugar crystals. some sugar in the raw will work perfect!
strain into a martini glass.

Yum! who needs dinner with this one.

The Bond Martini aka the Vesper

photo credit: imaginativeuniversal.com

This drink has been coming up alot lately. A friend was telling me how her husband is obsessed with this boozy drink with a touch lillet- but couldn't remember what was in it. And then one afternoon at work my fellow tendress whips it out as a drink special.

The Bond is basically a Vesper martini. It originally was with kina lillet but that doesn't exist at present. So, a great take would be

• 3 parts gin

• 1 part vodka

• a touch of lillet

1954 Casino Royale style.

You may also add a touch of bitters if you'd like. Garnish with a lemon twist.

pomegranate maraschino world

photo credit:free-stainedglasspatterns.com


You hear pomegranate and you think sweet. Or! if you are me (and a total nerder geek genius) You think of Demeter & Persephene and the myth of 6 months of winter and summer...or whatever..

The maraschino liquer is where this cocktail gets a life.

• 1 oz thatchers pomegranate

• .5 oz maraschino

• .5 lime juice

• .5 cranberry juice

• 1 oz vodka

I used sobieski. This drink is awesome. Fill the bottom of the martini glass with pomegranate seeds and go read a book about greek mythology while you are at it!

I am the brett favre of the restaurant industry!

Yes, I am. I have been donning an apron, dansko mary janes, a pressed white/black/plaid shirt, ponytail, you name it since 1995. First foray? retirement home as a dietary aide (fancy speak for waitress) I can not believe that they gave my 16 year old fine bodied self the power to read strict diet and medical secret lingo& serve the food accordingly to dying people. Next up, Steamers bus girl. One of those Ct mooring restaurants where most of the patrons arrive by sea rather than car. I think the next one was Amherst Brewing Company as a door man with a sprained ankle and eventually as a server. Northampton Brewing Company was next, Chowder Pot Restaurant followed, & then I started to get FANCY! Guilford Tavern, Che Tango, La Luna, Grafton Street in Boston, The Tavern in the Square (hands down worst ever!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahaha) Omni Parker House, 2 days @ the Marriot, Plough & Stars (special fave!) & now for my grand finale! well, I can't tell you but once I retire again I will be sure to! It is however, one amazing place for sure!!!!

After each job I swear off the industry & retire... but like a moth to a flame (or an ex boyfriend to my bed :O) I return.

:))

it's fun to recap on a super nostalgic almost fall day :)

So, let's have a drink in Brett Favre's honor.

This was a college slummin' favorite of mine. We used to call it 'sip & get naked', but from now on- I will call it: The Brett Favre

• 2 cans of busch beer

• 1 pint of vodka (get a handle so you can make a few batches)

• 1 or 2 canisters of frozen pink lemonade

put it all in a pitcher and stir it around with a wooden spoon.

pour in a glass. ahhhhh, to be young.

hot dram! ho here we go again!

pimento dram! So complex. There's anise, nutmeg, cinnamon, all of these fabulous fall tastes & aromas. But it is the pimento = dried all spice berries that really give unto the depth of this bottle.

It reminds me of a holiday themed bottle of bitters...but more! SO complex.

You may play around with dram. Throw it in a side car, throw it in a shaker with some lime, bourbon, triple sec & simple syrup..You only need the tiniest bit.

I put a little drop in a glass of red wine with an orange slice & pretend I'm at a holiday mulled wine party.

blood orange side car

The side car is an understated favorite of mine. From the early 1920's it was originally made with brandy, lime juice & cointreau. Variations include cognanc, bourbons, there is even a version with rum & vodka.

Thatchers Blood Orange is amazing stuff and it screams to me side car variation!

I use bourbon instead of brandy but plan to switch back to the brandy once winter returns.

Bourbon blood orange side car

• 1oz makers mark

• 1 fresh pressed lemon

• 1 oz thatchers blood orange

• splash of cointreau

shake & strain into martini glass. You may sugar the rim if you'd like.

You can have alot of fun with this. Switching out the lemon for lime, cointreau for gran marnier...It's like a rubik's cube of drinks.

banana man

Here's a crazy discovery: if you muddle grapefruit segments with prickly pears & add Gin with a dash of grenadine

Your drink will taste like bananas.

I do

• 2 oz gin (plymouth)

• a heap of already muddled grapefruit & prickly pears

• toss in a shaker with ice

• add a dash of grenadine

shake and pour on some ice
top with soda water.

So, I don't know if you are privy to the conspiracy that the bananas that we enjoy regularly are all dying from a tree illness...or something- but here is a way to recreate it in your cocktail pre- end of the world.

Anthony on RIPE

Not too long ago I was behind my bar on a Sunday afternoon when these two guys came in for lunch. As they sat at my bar I noticed them noticing me (no not that way!) They noticed me making drinks with house made sour mix, and bloody Mary mix. They also watched me squeezing fresh lemon and lime in other cocktails and then introduced themselves. We discussed all things bar, and the importance of fresh ingredients. Come to find out it was Mike and Ryan the founders of Ripe Fresh cocktail mixers at freshbev llc. They explained the new product they were beginning to market and how it wasn’t being used in restaurants as of yet. The focus being on FRESH, Fresh Fruits squeezed at peak ripeness, 100% Organic Agave nectar for sweetening, Reverse osmosis filtered water, made to order in small batches and delivered cold right out of the flash pasteurization into the bottle.

A bit skeptical, I set up an appointment for them to come in and sample me on the product. A few evenings later we were at my bar tasting what I have to say is in fact the absolute best cocktail mixers ever. Ripe Fresh Sour Mix, Ripe Fresh Agave Margarita, Ripe Fresh Bloody Mary, and a little prototype that is bar far my favorite; Passion fruit, Honey, Cinnamon, and Red pepper.
The freshness was evident immediately, the natural flavors and sweeteners perfectly balanced. The only thing that was different was that I wasn’t cutting and squeezing fresh citrus into my drinks myself. It was already done for me as I made cocktails and tasted them side by side; I even tried their mixes in a few of my signature drinks. They made all of them even better and then inspired me to create even more!

The beauty of this product again is the FRESHNESS it allows not only great mixability with cocktails but cross mixing of their products with each other to further create even more cocktails and non alcoholic drinks.
So, I guess we can say I was sold on the product and brought it in. I’ve incorporated it into many specialty drinks on my menu, some were directly inspired from that evenings tasting and made on the spot.
The more I worked with Ripe the more I came up with and the more I was able to enhance many classics as well. That said I asked Mike and Ryan If I could write this. The response was yes and warranted a visit to the production facility.

I went to their warehouse/factory in Wallingford CT to see just how this process was done. Upon entering I was introduced not only to an amazing citrus aroma wafting everywhere, but fresh cases of san marziano(sp?) tomatoes stacked to the ceiling, and by god the largest vat of the best Agave nectar I have ever tasted. We talked a bit about Rums, cane sugar and other agave’s and flavor profiles of each as this day they were designing a new Mojito mixer.
My next journey was into a cooler filled with fresh citrus fruits and out another door into the production room.. One word, well two… COLD and Spotless. I was introduced to the machinery that would squeeze, extract, pasteurize and bottle. And then I had the pleasure in watching a case of what were the sweetest and juiciest limes I have ever tasted put into a basket on top of this automated citrus press and reduced to 4 liters of lime juice in about a minute.
I witnessed the process first hand and can definitely say it doesn’t get any more passionate, professional, or perfect. No additives, no preservatives, micro biotic properties as my wife calls it. I just call it perfect. The perfect sour mix, the perfect Margarita mix, and one of the best and most interesting bloody Mary mixes I have ever tasted. I have heard rumor of and apple ginger and experienced and got to assist in the first batch of Mojito made with fresh squeezed lime and fresh mint steeped in agave. Could this be the end of muddling as we know it? Perhaps.
All in all this is an amazing product and just what us cocktail enthusiasts need in this day and age as we are all searching our farmers markets for the next great fresh flavor to add to our cocktails. Perhaps this is why Whole foods carries them. If you don’t have one near you or the freshness isn’t in your area yet, check out Drinkripe.com click here and tell them Anthony sent you

Things to do with RIPE Fresh SOUR:
Plumbiscus:
1 ½ oz Pearl Plum vodka
½ oz Ripe Fresh Sour Mix
¾ oz Domain de Canton
3 bar spoons Hibiscus syrup
Shake ingredients over ice and strain over an edible hibiscus flower in a chilled martini/cocktail glass

Collins #209:
2 oz 209 small batch gin (the lemon notes match perfectly with the Ripe lemons used in the mixer)
1 oz Ripe Fresh Sour Mix
1 Bar spoon Fresh cracked black pepper
Shake ingredients over ice strain into an ice filed Collins/highball glass and top with soda water

Strawberry Sling:
Muddle two fresh strawberries in 1 oz Ripe Fresh Sour Mix
Top with 2 oz Cruzan Vanilla Rum
Shake over ice and strain into a chilled rocks glass
Garnish with a fresh strawberry




Bluesberry lemonade:
1 ½ oz Pearl Blueberry Vodka
3 oz Ripe Fresh Sour Mix
Shake over ice and strain into a Ice filled Highball glass
Add one tsp blue ciraco on top for effect. If in season toss in a few fresh blueberries.
Pacific Melon:
1 ½ oz Smirnoff melon vodka
½ oz Midori Melon liquor
1 oz Ripe Fresh Sour Mix
1 oz Orange Juice
Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass, garnish with orange

Sapphire Seveche:
Muddle a fresh bunch of cilantro (6-8 sprig tops) in about 1 oz Ripe Fresh Sour Mix
2 oz Bombay Sapphire (as this was designed for and around the botanicals in Bombay Sapphire I do not recommend substituting any other gin)
Shake over ice
Strain into an ice filled highball glass and top with Ginger ale

Frozen Strawberry Shortcake:
Ok, so someone gave my wife a bottle of this new whipped cream flavored vodka over the summer and the question arose. What do we do with it? Well nothing helps like living with a healthy eaters summertime stash in the fridge and a bartender who keeps a bottle or two of Ripe on hand.
A handful of fresh washed Strawberries diced.
1 oz Ripe Fresh sour Mix
2 oz Whipped Cream Vodka
Put all in an ice filled Blender and pulse till smooth.
Garnish with Whipped cream and a fresh Strawberry

And there is oh so much more you can do with this product. It even stands alone, add some water and offer the kids healthy lemonade. Add it to some seltzer water for a refreshing summer cooler. Its not just for cocktails!
Next up..
Ripe Fresh Agave Margarita:

zen green tea drinks

photo credit thenibbler.com
have you noticed i'm like the laura ingals wilder of cocktail concocting? I like to remove the middle man and make my own ingredients. And yes, I regularly fantasize about living off the land, teddy Kacynski shack and all...etc...but I digress. This pioneer spirit is juxtaposed with a whole lot of class & circumstance b/c I also like tea & rituals. Love tea, & rituals. Coffee and rituals too, if that consists of reading the paper & drinking too much coffee.

There was a lot of tea & sweet tea stir on the scene about 3 years ago and still is. I bought some 'Matcha' (powdered green tea) a few months ago for a hairbrained scheme of making green tea icecream & sorbet- but quickly decided that I should just mix it up with some vodka & make the ice cream another time.

Matcha isn't that expensive but isn't exactly cheap. You can get about 1oz for 8.99 and that's pretty middle range stuff. So, in other words you get what you pay for.
I mix up 1 teaspoon or small handed pinch of matcha with 16oz of water. Really really really mix it up, so no clumps! I throw about half of that mix in my shaker with a splash of ginger infused simple syrup. I then throw in some citron vodka (or regular) 8 second pour or 2 full shots-or just about any flavor according to your taste add fresh pressed lemon juice from one single lemon.

Shake it up and you have 2 martinis. It's so good that it feels like you are doing something fabulous for your skin, guts, and overall longevity.
Well, you actually have 4 because you have another 8 oz of green tea water to do it all over again :)

There are so many options to fancy this up. You can do mint syrup, lavender, orange pressed juice, throw in any thing. It's a good drink. And it works well in pitcher form. Healthy fancy lady, pitchers.

*i'm not a cream drinker but there is a whole new world to be explored with those options....

let's make limoncello

photo credit locallemons.com
Makeshift Limoncello

I like lidded mason jars.

recipe yields a little more than quart:

• 12 clean organic lemons.

• 2 .5 cups of Grain Alcohol, grain alcohol is highly flammable, btw.

• 4 Cups granulated organic sugar or sugar in the raw or dabble with alternative routes....stevia, agave etc...honey??

• 4 Cups tap water

with a sharp peeler get rid of the rind, or use your hands. Try to remove most of the white (pith) as much as you can. zest zest zest. the white makes it bitter...

Put the peel in a lidded jar and pour the grain alcohol over the peels. Cover the jar and put it somewhere where you will be reminded to shake it a few times a day. for 2 weeks or more. The longer the better :)
Once you notice that the mixture has permeated the lemon peels- add the sugar and water to a small pot and bring it to a boil.
re: Simple syrup. allow it to cool. and then strain the lemon peeled alcohol mix over a medium sized bowl. Then keep the peels on the strainer and pour the simple syrup over the peels into the same bowl. push the peels with a wooden spoon or muddler and get out all the juice you can. If you'd like to keep the peels for candy or baking projects go for it. But keep in mind they are full of booze.

whisk the newly formed limoncello and sweeten it with more simple syrup if you'd like. You also get crazy with lavender or basil simple syrups and add a bit of that. But this is a recipe for Simple Limoncello, so start pure.
Pour it all into a jar and seal closed & label. If you are impatient you may chug it now, but I recommend you wait a week or so- as the flavor unfolds. Once it's to your liking Throw that pretty jar in the freezer and impress your friends with your renegade limoncello making ways!

or don't tell a sole and drink it all alone...your call ;) but make sure you do it after dinner because it is a Digestive...

209 gin from napa valley

In a world when medicinal & nostalgic packaging seems to be all the rage! Enter 209 Gin.

In a world when fragrant floral gins appear to be all the rage! Enter 209 Gin.

In a world when small batches of US made products appear to be all the rage! Enter 209 Gin.

In a world where the number 9 is the best number on earth! Enter 209 Gin, (well maybe that's just me:)

209 Gin is a lovely little cantina of a delightfully classic- yet orange peely, bergamonty (yes that's a word), cassia, selectively botanical: California made gin. With beginnings dated back to 1870's 209 is back with a flourishing revival! Named from the 'original distillery 209', discovered in the form of faded words on the back of a barn. An added treat of 209 is that you can go to distillery 209 in san francisco to learn more & drink more of this very necessary addition, to the gin world.

honeydew whiskey lemon press (for Other a)

I don't drink brown. Well, I used to. But I am not allowed to write on here why I don't anymore. If you would like to hear the full story in written form as to why I don't drink brown world send a self addressed stamped envelope to po box 4041 madison, ct. And maybe if you play your (whatever sized) cards right. I will tell you a tale.

Any ways. I decided to go for the brown.
This will work with bourbon if that is more your style.

• muddle up some honey dew, enough to cover the bottom of a pint glass.

• .5 gran marnier (i have a story about that stuff too)

• 1.5 irishmans whiskey (or whatever you fancy)

• .5 fresh pressed lemon juice

• shake and strain over ice.

this will not make a brown drinker out of me. But it most certainly tried.

yellow watermelon spearmint world

large handful of yellow watermelon muddle with 4-5 sprigs of spearmint.

• 1.5oz buddha's hand citron vodka or sobieski cytron vodka

• splash of lime

• shake & strain

• serve over SHAVED ICE

YUM

grenache, not necessarily a cocktail but you can drink it...

Anthony introduced me to the wonderful world of Las Rocas aka: Charlize Theron in Cher's clothing" a true word for word review of this amazing 6.99 wine. It's label is comic sans font, which everyone knows kills an angel every time it is used- so avert your eyes and drink it up.

it's so good.

shockingly good.

you've got air mail!

photo credit yakima air terminal

who doesn't like a good theme?

the Air Mail is a classic cocktail. it involves golden rum, honey, fresh orange juice, fresh lime & is topped with champagne. The count goes a little like this:

• 1.5 oz golden rum dissolved with 1-2 spoons of runny honey

• .5 fresh oj

• .5 fresh lime

• top with champagne

You could make a honey simple syrup but there is something really fun and farmer's daughter about stirring the honey with the rum for each drink.
To make a honey simple syrup take honey and dilute it with hot water. 3 parts honey to 1 part water.

My favorite cocktail in the world: The Aqueduct

Green St Grill in Cambridge, Ma, Thank you!
you introduced me to my favorite classic cocktail of them all: the aqueduct.
The sears wishbook of cocktail menus. Any 'drinkie' (drinker version of foodie?)
needs to cozy up to the window banquet and get to reading, drinking, reading & drinking. Alphabetized and thorough. It's my favorite drink list in zee world...


behold:

• 1.5 oz Vodka

• .25 oz Curacao

• .25oz Apricot Brandy

• .5 oz Lime Juice

Shake and Strain into chilled martini class

maraschino

straw covered bottles rule. Luxardo is a very important bottle for your ever growing liquor cabinet. It is taken from sour cherries and sits for 2 years in wooden vats. The Aviation cocktail cannot take flight without this bottle of booze. The distillery has been around since 1821. The actual recipe dates back to the 1600's in what is now Croatia- those crazy monks! Known then as Rosolj.

Introducing the best little cocktail blog's voice of reason (& recipe) Anthony

Anthony DeSerio is at heart just a modest guy who really really likes cocktails and the spirits that they’re made of and the history behind them both including how both are made and by whom.
Anthony began his career behind the stick about 16 years ago with nothing but a copy of Gary Regan’s Bartenders Bible and the idea of how cool it would be to work behind a bar. His first job was a part time on call banquet bartender for a well known Connecticut based company. A few weeks after starting he was moved into the restaurants service bar. A few weeks after that they let him turn around and interact with customers. After an embarrassing discussion with the owner in front of a bar full of patrons on one Saturday evening he stood his ground on how to properly make old fashioned vs. a Manhattan and was promoted to bar manager (Obviously winning said argument) where co owner and front of house man Jim would teach him about wine and spirits. Most importantly disregarding costs for trial and error of new drinks and products.
He stayed with this company for a decade working and honing his skills alongside and mentored by Kim Snow, a James Beard award winning chef, baker, chocolatier, all in one. It was here he would frequent the kitchen and pick her brain about how flavors mixed and melded with each other. It was here her learned he term “Balance.” And with balance came the creation of some pretty damn good drinks and his first official cocktail menu and his first recognition by a spirit brand (Mount Gay Rum). And that’s all it took, he was hooked, quit his full time job as a railroad mechanic and became a career bartender.
Over the past few years since the retirement of the Snows he has gone on to consult and manage for two other employers and has planted his new roots with the Coastal Gourmet Group where he started as a bartender and now is the Operations Manager of Aspen Restaurant and bar consultant for their newest venture Latitude 41.
Never stopping learning tasting and creating Anthony now modestly boasts certification from Bar Smarts Wired via Pernod Ricard and some of the best cocktail guru’s and historians in the states.
Anthony holds certification as a Beam Global Spirits ambassador for knowledge of: Effen Vodka, Cruzan Rum, Courvoisier, Hornitos Tequila, Knob Creek, just to name a few. He has recently been invited to consult in the Beam Global Bartender’s lounge.
A fan of Gin He Is a two time Connecticut finalist In Bombay Sapphire/GQ magazine’s search for the most inspired bartender of the year ’09, ’10. Bombay Sapphire has also given him membership in a new chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild, CT.
Anthony to this day is still toting around that same copy of Gary Regan’s Bartenders Bible, now with a nicely worn cover and soft yellowed pages. His Favorite accreditation Came last year when Gary, now Gaz Regan published one of Anthony’s cocktails in his newest publication, The Bartenders Gin Compendium.
He has no idea what is next or what is in store, he just knows he will continue teaching, tinkering, and thirsting everything drinkable!

slummin' (pachanga style) Kalimotxo

close your eyes if you really really love red wine.
or leave them open if you're a swinger...when it comes to your drinks.

Introducing: The Kalimotxo
red wine and coke
I was first introduced to this drink back in 2002, an Argentinian boss of mine would enjoy this drink after work. Gross! I thought. But then I tried it. Wow! refreshing and energizing. a medieval times red bull if you will. He also introduced me to fernet- which he also drank with coke. Those caffeine & chimichuri loving Argentinians!
I later saw that the same drink was called a toadstool or mushroom (houba) in the czech republic, a 'Catemba' in south africa, 'jote' in chile (black vulture), 'bambus' in former Yugoslav republics,and in less creative jurisdictions 'rioja libre' a red wine moniker'ed take on cuba libre (rum & coke) and that it really wasn't all that innovative since it's basically a shandy but with wine and caffeinated soda instead of gingerale. But what it lacks in innovation it makes up for in good!

Most people do it 50 50 wine & coke. I do it with a splash of diet coke, cause i'm reckless & skinny :)

But whatever your pour or percentage it's something you must try!

* i call it the 'pachanga' because it is the dance that the son suggests to johnny in Dirty Dancing for the grand finale show, it's irrelevant and perfect for when you forget how to say or spell kalimotxo :)

**also, i have heard of a dangerous liberty taken with orange soda, called the pitilin gorri, same drink but sans coke & with orange soda instead. sounds crazy and dangerous enough to work....you can thank the Spaniards (basque region specifically for this all of these variations!!!).

seems to have started around the 70's along with many other scandalous concoctions- including yours truly!

Anthony loves Thatchers too!

Thatchers:

About six months ago I was introduced to this product when they only had three flavors, eldeflower, Cucumber, and Three Chili. I love the organic aspect and the made in USA part almost as much as I love the subtle flavors and mix-ablility.

The cucumber upon first taste practically screamed "Put me in some Hendricks gin NOW!!!" So I did with just a drop of rosewater. With that "my Scottish valentine" was born and being served over the bar.

The elderflower was put in my hands next. This was about two weeks before St. Germain hit my market. Sweet and floral with out the anise/galiano finish in the St germain, this elixir is all about the elderflower and nothing else. I whipped up a batch of lavender simple syrup, added in some G'vine Florasion Gin, and a dash of hibiscus syrup and your mouth is lovingly coated in the french garden that is G'lafleaur. Just thinking about this makes me want to up the counts, add in some raspberry sorbet and ginger ale for a ladies afternoon punch!


As for the three chili... I did not use gin this time... Instead I felt the flavor profile would first make a nice addition to a margarita with some anejo tequila. Then went completely outside the box by adding this to a chocolate martini made with of all things, vanilla rum, a tad of a dash siracha mixed 1/1 chocolate syrup and the end result was a rich chocolate dessert martini with some nice peppery heat!

recipes to follow!

rose is a cotton headed ninny muggins...

i'm sorry, that was rude. But I've been having a major problem with the clientele at my current place of work. "Do you have Roses?" they ask with a glass of pinot grigio in their right pandora braceleted hand....

"no, all of our juices are fresh pressed"
scowl.

scowl.

resentment.
"oh, i'll stick with the pinot grigio then..."

Ladies! Classy ladies! cross the bridge of freshness and let's all pretend it's medieval times and drink our cocktails (mead?) with fresh juices. Don't get mad at me Rose. You were great, we had a lot of fun and you're a great girl. But you are artificial and the pendulum has swung. Yes, Rose's is quite loosely a lime cordial and the story goes that a true gimlet is with Roses, and vodka or gin....established in the late late 1800's in hopes to ward of scurvy...
but it sounds like branding to me, and branding my friends has gone the way of passe...

try it. you might like it. get back to the basics....

an ode to thatchers....

Dear Thatchers Organic Artisan liquer...let me count the ways I love you,

I love you in BLUEBERRY
I love you in TRES CHILES
I love you in POMEGRANITE
I love you in CHOCOLATE
I love you in CUCUMBER
I love you in ELDERFLOWER
I love you in CHIPOLTE
and I am hearing that I will love you soon in YUMBERRY? COFFEHOUSE & BLOOD ORANGE! can't wait!
am I forgetting any one?
click here for goods

The packaging, the product, the conscience: A+
Or are you a Hampshire college student and don't rely or require grades?

Made in Michigan. Michigan? Yes, Michigan. temperance, michigan...road trip! just kidding..The manifesto is proud, simple and timelessly-modern in it's genuine mission of good, quality organic, small batches of artisan liqueur goodness...

I'm a sucker for a story, a family, a cleanly packaged product. So, thatchers, I love you and I will never tire of you!

2 of my favorite Thatcher influenced concoctions for summer!


TRES CHILES spritzer

(over ice)

• 1 oz thatchers tres chiles

• 2 vodka

• splash of lime

• splash or more of soda water

slice up some green chile peppers and garnish with that!
so! refreshing.

Vanilla Blueberry Martini

• 2 oz vanilla vodka (sobieski is what I've been using)

• muddle up some blueberries with thatchers BLUEBERRY

• about 1 & 1/2 oz to a handful of berries.

• cut the sweetness with a hearty splash of fresh lime juice

• shake like crazy and strain into a chilled martini glass

garnish with blueberries & enjoy.

St. Germain

If you aren't already a fan of St. Germain you, much like the rabbit in Alice in wonderland- are very very very very late (to what i'm not exactly sure)!

The bottle reminds me of an embellished, Victorian, somehow wealthy, former vagabond's bedpost. Grand, detailed, angular,frilly & at times seemingly frivolous...
We've been drinking this stuff for years now. Dumping it in champagne, muddling it with blackberries. Mixing it with vodka, fresh lime, & splashing on some soda.

It's an elderflower blossom- french liqueur and each bottle is numbered and each elderflower hand picked. There's a romance to this bottle and the aromatic whiffs within that is incomparable thus far. It's very french. click here for story
Oh, those french! so reliable in their enabling of my romanticizing ways...' the inventors of the 'je ne sais quoi'


It's not pear, not passion fruit, it's elderflower and it's whimsy and floral and good. A definite must have in any liquer cabinet!

My favorite st. germain drink(but the possibilities are endlesss)

• 1 oz st germain

• 2 oz vodka (citrus would even work)

• 1 oz fresh lime

shake and strain over ice
top with soda water.

garnish with lemon

You're turning violet, Violet!

creme de violette is a beauty of a bottle. If you like purple, which consider me GUILTY as CHARGED.
Once considered quite the rarity in the states, discontinued in the 60's it made it's way back last 2007 from Austria. It's a vaguely brandy- based -aromatic floral dream.

I'm a sucker for a violet. My grandmother had an african violet shop in stony creek ct. something that was quite a big deal back in the 50's. Woman business owners+ exotic plants= escandalo!
but, I digress.
The drink to showcase this gorgeous pour- had to be a martini, with fresh lemon, simple syrup, creme de violette & gin. It worked beautifully with vodka as well. But the violet and the fresh lemon really sang out for some ice cold gin. I used my most recent fave, Hayman's Old Tom Gin and it worked like a dream.

A beautiful color, grey bluey violet and an even more sweet and refreshing cocktail.

• 2 oz gin

• 1/2 violette liquor

• 1/2 oz simple syrup

• 1 oz fresh pressed lemon

shake and strain into chilled martini glass. garnish with mint or twist.

Anthony weighs in on violette & the AVIATION cocktail ( a true classic)

photo credit Jimmy Nichol amazing photographer amazing blog click here
Violette:

(When I saw this post and read the recipe something was vaguely familiar and yet spot on! One sign I notice that makes an up and coming expert (mixologist/bartender/bar chef whatever term floats your canoe) is when given a vast array of spirits somehow one comes up with a classic cocktail without knowing it. You knew what would meld well with what)

Yes, creme de violette was out of our hands for a few decades. However close to the amazing cocktail listed in the "you're turning violet post" is of the most famous to have in anyone's recipe book: The Aviation cocktail, a favorite of all in the cocktail culture. This beauty of a lavender colored libation dates back to World War I when bartender of the Hotel Wallick in New York, Hugo Ensslin published the recipe in his 1916 book "Recipes for mixed drinks". The lavender would later be removed by re-known mixologist Harry Craddock in his "Savoy cocktail book" in 1930 as lavender was difficult to get a hold of, and replaced it with maraschino liquor.

Aviation cocktail #1 (1916):

1.5 ounces gin
.5 ounces maraschino liquor
.5 ounces creme de violette
.5 ounces lemon juice

Shake over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Aviation cocktail #2:

2 parts gin
1 part lemon juice
1 tsp maraschino liquor

Again, shake over ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Now, with the creme de violette back on our bars we can reconstruct the original, named after its sky blue color and the aviators who flew it. Also we can look forward to what else Tracee will be inspired to do with it!

Cheers!

"chrow a banana in it" Block Island Mudslides!!

This idyllic slice of heaven is Block Island also known as New Shoreham Rhode Island.

The official drink of Block Island is the MUDSLIDE. It is disputed as to who concocts the best.




The Oar is a major contender. Equal parts Kalhua, Baileys & Vodka are dumped into a full blender
of ice and gyrated. The results impeccable and you can't beat the view.

The other reigning champ: Trader Vic's is housed at the Champlin's resort & marina. There is even a little roof top, or more appropriately titled 'deck top' bar. They throw a banana in their mudslide and the delicious concoction churns and spurns all day.

If you ask me: they both win. It's like apples and oranges, sans/ with banana.

The real question is: How did mudslides become the official drink?

Here is Anthony with MUDSLIDE 101
When looking at the mudslide, quite the international concoction I must say with spirits from three different countries, Western europe vodka, Irish Cream liquor, and Kahlua coffee liquor made from arabica beans that must mature for at least seven years from Mexico. Kahlua being one of the key components here in the drink gives us an Idea as to when this was created.
Most of us in the cocktail culture know we are dealing with a post prohibition cocktail as vodka did not gain popularity till the late 40's and early 50's. Once kahlua became popular it was being mixed with vodka in the black russian. This most likely having come about with kahlua's introduction to the united states around 1965 when it was awarded the most popular coffee liquor in america. Why not mix it with the most popular alcohol at the time.. Vodka. and we have a mudslide sans irish cream.
Now why block Island and the oar bar? Perhaps with vodka again being the most popular spirit, and 1965 launches the most popular coffee liquor, all in the same year the oar bar opens it's doors? I think we are close to an answer!

Someone there added baileys and a blender. Whomever that was is probably as mysterious as the banana!

Prickly Pears are Perfect for muddling!

Today I was lucky enough to be given a beautiful glass vase of prickly pears. Pealed off the soft "prickly" skin (not really prickly at all, more cartoon dinosaury' if anything). threw the guts (seeds and meat) into the glass muddled it up with a splash of lime and proceeded to add some gin. Haymans Old Tom Gin to be specific. Shake it and strain into a martini glass.

YUM!
I know the first inclination is prickly pear margarita's. But I love pairing sweet & the more tart fruits with gin. It just works on these hotter than a devil's armpit days!

For the record:
one prickly pear
one splash of lime
4 sec pour of gin (or more! if you're "thirsty")

shaken and strain into chilled martini glass.

garnish with a lime and prickly pear gut open face sandwich.
sphered lime with a little chunk of prickly pear atop, slice it through the martini glass.
for fun stats about click here Haymans OLD tom Gin, prickly pears & why they should get married!

Family Owned, been around forever, a botanical gin (think fragrant) all gins contain juniper so fragrant gins take it all a step further with orange peels, corriander, cucumber world etc...
here is an amazing link to click here gin world
Prickly Pear
Cactus. fruit. Yummy. "Some" believe it lowers bad cholesterol.

Everyone knows that cactus= cowboy and who doesn't want to be a cowboy?
So, drinking gin, which= brittish people and pairing it with cowboys is a beautiful representation in a cocktail glass of the beginnings of America.

who doesn't want to be a viking?

Color me inappropriate but vikingfjord vodka is cheap and drinkable. You can get a handle for about 20 bucks and it goes well with infusions & whatever else you have up your sleeve.

seriously. they had me at viking____

How to Infuse

I think that a lot of people hear words like infuse, simple syrup, muddle and feel inferior or uncertain of knowing how to do it.

Luckily I am pretty self absorbed and well equipped with delusions of grandeur so, I try anything at least once!

Infusing is just like steeping. You steep tea right? So it's taking your previously boiled or boiling simple syrup and adding a little vanilla bean, cinnamon, mint, basil, blueberry...whatever you love and letting it sit for a bit. Thats it. It can be a few hours or a few days.

The same is true for those bacon infused booze bottles you see and hear about. Let the vodka and cooked bacon hang out for a bit. A few days is good. Then freeze it. The fat from the bacon will rise and freeze on top- scrape that off and you're done!

Fancy words need not be scary.

*be careful when infusing with rosemary though! it's super strong and pungent and only needs like A DAY. Anything more feels poisonous.

xoxo

How to make simple syrup: the real way and the cheater way!

It's simple syrup. Contrary to Greenland & Iceland conspiracy. It's easy to make.
The deal is that when boiled the sugar becomes sweeter. SCIENCE. The glucose & fructose, essentially break up when boiled in water and the result is the sweetest sugar water ever. EVERR
Boil water add sugar, boil for a while. Until you can stick a spoon in it and the sugar water falls off like syrup would.

Let it cool..

The end.

Did the jerk who works before your shift leave you high and "dry" with no simple syrup for the night. This is highly illegal but only usable in desperate instances.
Take boiled tea water from the coffee machine and fill a mug with sugar cubes or sugar in the raw. It's not the real deal. But once you let it dissolve and cool you can make it work.

It's the simple syrup equivalent of McDonalds. souless.

what i'm making at work

I'm lucky enough to work at a restaurant where I get to make WHATEVER I please once behind the bar sinks. I even work with an owner who will offer me, kumquats, yellow watermelon (yes yellow!) and just told me the other day he wanted to buy me some acai juice. I mean, pinch me mama! this can't be true! 3 bartending jobs ago I worked for 2 captains of flair (yes they worked for Fridays at one time) who made me do pour tests on the regular. And now? I'm muddling yellow watermelons with vodka from distilleries I've never even heard of? Life is sweet! But, I swear! this is my last restaurant job. EVER>

Yesterday, the kind owner presented me with a gorgeous kaffir lime & vanilla simple syrup. I muddled up some strawberries and splashed in some vanilla sobieski vodka. Filled the tumbler with some freshly shaved ice (learn now of my love affair of shaved ice, or forever hold your peace!) And we all immediately passed out from pleasure. It was THAT GOOD.

So! how do you do this at home?
I'll tell you.

• Muddle up a normal person -sized- handful (i have very small hands) of strawberries.

• Dump about 1oz of the keffir lime and vanilla bean simple syrup into a pint glass.

• Pour 2 oz o vanilla vodka on top of that and shake it like it's your cardio for the day! *Remember it's 4 seconds for every ounce, so an 8 sec pour if you're not measuring!

• Pour it over shaved ICE. garnish with a lime.

SERIOUSLY.