The STINGER Martini - A Hollywood "Cocktale"

Most likely derived from a popular pre-Prohibition drink called The Judge* (two parts brandy, one part crème de menthe and simple syrup), The Stinger is a "duo" cocktail.  A duo is a drink that contains only a liqueur and a spirit, with the liqueur acting as a cocktail sweetener. (FYI: If a creamy element is added a cocktail is a "trio".)

The Stinger is a classic cocktail with some fun Hollywood history. In the 1957 film Kiss Them For Me, Cary Grant and Jayne Mansfield were drinking them. Grant seemed to have enjoyed the Stinger because he also enjoyed one in the film The Bishop's Wife.

The Vodka Stinger even has starring role in a song line, "...Another chance to disapprove, another brilliant zinger. Another reason not to move, another Vodka Stinger!" from the Sondheim song Ladies Who Lunch.
This cocktail calls for a good brandy, feel free to go all out with a high end Cognac. There's no place for cheap hooch to hide in this simple duo.

TheSTINGERCocktail
INGREDIENTS1-3/4 Oz Brandy2/3 Oz White Crème de Menthe
DIRECTIONSPour ingredients over ice in an old fashioned glass. Stir to chill and serve. 
Voiceover Video with Ingredients and Directions:

VARIATIONSA Vodka Stinger replaces the brandy with vodka.If you keep the brandy and replace the white creme de menthe with green creme de menthe you get a Green Hornet.
* according to Jerry Sullivan's 1930 The Drinks of Yesteryear: A Mixology.
Updated 3-2022 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

KIR ROYALE - History and Recipe of a Classic Cocktail

The

KIR ROYALE

Cocktail

INGREDIENTS

5 Oz. Chilled Champagne

1/4 Oz. Creme de Cassis

DIRECTIONS

Into a chilled Champagne flute add the Creme de Cassis, top off with Chilled Champagne and garnish with frozen or fresh black currants and an optional lemon twist.

HISTORY

The Kir Royale is a champagne version of a cocktail called Blanc-Cassis, a white wine and blackcurrant liqueur cocktail. The classic version Kir Royale is simply champagne with a splash of Creme de Cassis, a black current liqueur, though there are now many variations out there for the adventurous palate. I've often done this with Chambord in place of the Creme de Cassis.
Some recipes call for 4 parts champagne to 1 part Creme de Cassis though the original recipe calls for simply a splash of the Cassis.

This Recipe featured in

COLOR YOUR COCKTAILS COLORING BOOK. 

Canon Felix Kir, mayor of Dijon in Burgundy France from 1945 to 1965 is often credited as the creator of the Kir Royale, it's said Kir used the Creme de Cassis to sweeten the local low quality war time wines to make them more palatable thus "inventing" the combination of wine and cassis or "un kir". However, a wine based version, a blanc-cassis, was already in existence and called Vin blanc cassis de Dijon by Lejay-Legoute.
In a way Canon Kir did create the "Kir Royale" because it was named after him! During his tenure as mayor, Kir served the drink up as a promotion of the local region to visiting guests. As a result of this and his war efforts in the French Resistance, Kir was honored by Lejay-Legoute when they named their premixed black currant liqueur "un kir" (the original name of Creme de Cassis) after him. When champagne was used instead of wine it became a "Kir Royale".

Now you can enjoy your Kir Royale and share a little history too!
Updated 1-13-2021 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

The GIN FIZZ MARTINI - A Classic Fizz Sour gets a Makeover

Part of the Fizz family of sours, the Gin Fizz is often confused with a Tom Collins because both are almost the same cocktail.

There are a couple of differences between the two, a Tom Collins is made with "Old Tom Gin", a sweetened gin similar to Genever and is properly served in a ten ounce glass as opposed to an eight ounce glass for the Gin Fizz. Though hard to find Old Tom Gin is currently being produced by Hayman's.

Of course, you don't have to worry about that with my Gin Fizz Martini because I'm totally messing with the recipe by reducing the soda to just a splash so the cocktail will fit in a martini glass!

Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

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THE GIMLET Cocktail Recipe

The Gimlet is a martini with Rose's Lime Cordial instead of vermouth. It's that simple. While you might find a few recipes out there that include some simple syrup that is not a true Gimlet. A Vodka Gimlet replaces the gin with vodka.

The Gimlet is a cocktail recipe straight out of the high seas. Once upon a time lime juice was used as a preventative for scurvy but aboard British Naval ships storing limes was cumbersome and they didn't last over long voyages. When Rose's was created in 1867 as a way of preserving lime juice it was adopted by British Naval surgeon and Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Gimlette and served to sailors in their Daily Rum Tot and to the officers with an equal measure of Navy strength (114 proof) gin. Eventually the gin version was named after its creator and the Gimlet was born.

Generally I prefer fresh lime juice with the addition of simple syrup to Rose's in any of my cocktails, but according to the Holy Grail of Cocktail Books, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930 by Harry Craddock the recipe is what it is.

Additionally, according to the character Terry Lennox in Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye (who turned the Gimlet into a popular mid-century modern cocktail of Mad Men* and bored housewives),
"a real gimlet is half gin and half Rose's lime juice and nothing else."
He's got a point, changing the Rose's to fresh lime gives this cocktail an entirely different flavor as Rose's has it's own unique taste. So, again, it is what it is.

The GIMLET
INGREDIENTS 1 Part Plymouth** Gin 1 Part Rose's Lime Cordial
DIRECTIONS Fill a cocktail pitcher with ice,  add ingredients, stir briskly then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lime slice.
VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

* AMCs MAD MEN lists the Vodka Gimlet as one of their classic 1960s cocktails.

** I believe the stronger, earthier botanicals in the drier Plymouth Gin can hold its own with the Rose's but a London Dry Gin is also acceptable. 
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Updated 11-2021 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

BLUE MARTINI - New Martini Art from PopArtDiva

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BLUE MARTINI
Blue Martini is the second in a series of Color Martinis that I've started. Earlier this month I finished Pink Martini and I'm going through the color scale starting with my favorite colors! I love turquoise and blues so Blue Martini was a natural for the second in the series.

You may question the blue cherries but I swear they exist - I bought a bottle of Blue Maraschino Cherries in the cocktail section of a local store:

Of course, I would have colored them blue anyway - I did, after all, give you pink olives in my Pink Martini, didn't I!

I'm keeping these simple - just the martini, the garnish and a few little sparkles of martini coming out of the glass. I plan to do a minimum in the series of four but hope to do eight - maybe a purple, a yellow, a green, a red and maybe a black and white one. I always work in series for licensing purposes - licensees like to do multiple product lines and they like options. Plus everyone has a favorite color so it works for my Martini Diva Boutique products as well.

I love stars so that was my pattern on this one. I used polka dots on the Pink Martini and maybe I'll do hearts on a red one which would be perfect for Valentine's Day.

Be sure to stop by The Martini Diva Boutique and check out the Blue Martini on Posters, T-shirts, Cups, Aprons, Customizable Business Cards, Note Cards and even some cool sneakers!
They're perfect for your Happy Hour or as gifts for that cocktail loving friend.

Cheers!  
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Crème Brûlée Martini

Hi! Thanks for stopping by! I've been doing a little housekeeping (since I've been posting recipes here for over 10 years it was time, right?) and this recipe has moved to it's own little home:

The Crème Brûlée Martini

This is a truly impressive martini to serve to your friends - the martini itself delivers the wonderful Crème Brûlée flavors but it's the beautiful caramel garnish that turns this from good to great so click on over and get the full recipe and instructions!

Updated November 2015
 

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National Talk Like a Pirate Day MARTINIS (Grog!)

AHOY ME MATEYS SEPTEMBER 19th is
NATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY!

and in the spirit of the freedom of the high seas and grand larceny, feel free to pilfer me best grog recipes for ye and yer crew!

Avast, ye bilge rats, of course they're made with RUMM! No self respectin' pirate would be drinkin' much else on this here holiday, would they now?
PIRATE GROGS & RUM COCKTAILS

Ye must visit the official website for Talk Like A Pirate Day so ye can speak proper Buccaneer tongue or ye'll be walkin' the plank before ye can teach yer parrot to swear!

BTW, me darlin', you've a lovely cutlass thar - or are ye just happy to see me?

I HEART CAP'N JACK:

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BLT Martini - A Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Inspired Cocktail

No, I'm not kidding - Would I steer you wrong?
It's a Tomato Vodka Bloody Mary garnished with BACON.
The BLT MARTINI
INGREDIENTS 2 Oz. Tomato Vodka 2 Oz. Bloody Mary Mix (Homemade preferable) 1 Tsp. Celery Salt 1 Tsp. Garlic Salt Ice
Garnish: Rim glass with kosher salt, add a bacon and cheese stuffed olive and a baby romaine lettuce leave.
DIRECTIONS Combine the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and shake until chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish and serve.   If you really want to amp up the bacon then replace the tomato vodka with bacon vodka!
I have the recipe for Bacon Infused Vodka here.

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BLT Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Martini Recipe Card
Please Drink Responsibly Updated November 2016

THE LEMON COSMOPOLITAN MARTINI

The LEMON COSMOPOLITAN

Here's a nice lemon twist on a classic Cosmopolitan. The lemon replaces the lime citrus element and becomes an even stronger flavor profile by using a lemon infused vodka.

I like using the Cointreau in place of the Triple Sec because it has a stronger orange flavor which I really like with the cranberry and it has a more complex flavor than the less expensive Triple Sec.

According to the IBA (International Bartender's Association) a classic Cosmopolitan does use a citrus or lemon vodka, but I like that extra citrus kick.

Enjoy!
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Updated 8-2016

LEMON GRAPEFRUIT MARTINI

Download the full sized 5x3 recipe card here under the "L"s

I made some wonderful grapefruit infused vodka and was enjoying my Pink Grapefruit Martinis several days in a row - until I ran out of fresh grapefruit juice! I did have some fresh lemons so I just substituted fresh squeezed lemon juice for the pink grapefruit juice, muddled in some fresh basil leaves and - bingo! - another wonderful way to enjoy my grapefruit vodka. Until I ran out of that.

Feel free to leave out the lemon basil leaves if you don't have any or try fresh mint instead!

Cheers!


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LEMON BASIL MARTINI - Herb Martini meets Lemon Martini

Get the Recipe for my
LEMON BASIL MARTINI

I enjoy experimenting with adding fresh herbs to my martinis and one of my favorite herbs is lemon basil. I use it on chicken, fish and a myriad of other food recipes and often with fresh lemon juice or lemon zest so this Lemon Basil Martini was the next step.

It's refreshing and the lemon basil adds a little more complexity to a Lemon Martini. It's wonderful to serve this before a meal that has also used lemon and basil.

Try it out next time you get some nice fresh lemons and enjoy!

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New Martini Art! Who Needs Happy Pills When You Can Have MARTINIS?

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Who Needs HAPPY PILLS When You Can Have
MARTINIS?
Available on Posters, T-shirts, Customizable Business Cards, Aprons, Caps & other gifts & goodies at The Martini Diva Boutique

My latest martini illustration is a little bit of humor aimed at all those Happy Pill commercials out there - they drive me nuts, pardon the pun. I don't adhere to the philosophy that pills can solve all of life's problems. Of course, Martinis can't either and I don't advocate the use of alcohol as an anti-depressant or an escape from life. But I also don't think popping a pill is always the answer either.

I do however believe that treating yourself to a little "Martini Moment" every once in a while and sharing the ritual of a cocktail or two with friends to celebrate life's achievements is a healthy activity and a lovely way to elevate your lifestyle - and your cocktail of choice can easily be a non-alcoholic Mocktail! As for me, I would prefer a martini and a quiet moment of enjoyment and reflection on the day to popping a pill any day!

Who needs Happy Pills When You Can Have a MARTINI is my humorous little illustration on today's current trend of trading a bottle of happy pills for yesterday's 2 martini lunch or 3 martini cocktail hour. A little Mad Man - Sixties philosophy versus New Millenium philosophy. Let's face it - neither happy pills or martinis are the answer to an unhappy life. . . but at least martinis had some style.

I have a personal philosophy about drinking that I have adhered to for decades:
I never drink when I'm angry.
I never drink when I'm sad.
I never drink and drive.

Do follow your doctor's advice whatever your persuasion, and never, ever mix both pills and alcohol - it's dangerous, even deadly and this is not a great lifestyle choice! You can't live a happy life if you're not here anymore.

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BEFORE IT WAS GIN - Genever and The Dutch Trade Winds Martini

Before it was Gin it was Genever! Genever (also spelled Jenever and Genievre, pronounced jen-E-fer) is the predecessor of Gin. Made from a blend of grains including malted barley, brewed into beer, distilled into malt wine, then kicked up with juniper berries and other botanicals and distilled for a third time. Also known as Holland Gin, this liquor is served by the Dutch in small aperitif glasses - filled right up to the rim so you must sip it first without ever touching the glass. You'll find a several references to Holland Gin in Jerry Thomas' Bartender's Guide - now you know just what he was talking about! Here's a classic cocktail using Genever: Dutch Trade Winds Martini 2 oz Dutch Genever Gin 1/2 oz Curacao Orange Liqueur 1/2 oz Lemon Juice 1 tsp Simple Syrup Orange Twist Chill your martini glass in the freezer. Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well then pour into your chilled martini glass. Garnish with an orange twist and serve. Follow me on Twitter as PopArtDiva Follow me on Twitter as TheMartiniDiva Friend me on Facebook PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY & DRIVE RESPONSIBLY

PINK MARTINI - New Martini Art from The Martini Diva!

Image ©2010 by PopArtDiva.Com. All Rights Reserved.
No permission is given to copy, share, distribute, reproduce, post or print without written authorization.

PINK MARTINI

I have wanted to do a series of simple colored martinis for ages and this week I took time out from building the main website for TheMartiniDiva.Com to do one! (Yes, TheMartiniDiva.Com is expanding in a big way - launch date in less than a month, stay tuned!)

I started with the Pink Martini because I wanted a new graphic for my Pink Themed Martinis and Pink Tiny Foods. Pink Martini Parties are all the rage and I had done this series of pink drinks and appetizers a few years ago to throw a Pink Party for a good friend who had just completed her chemotherapy for breast cancer.

(You can look forward to Pink Martinis and Pink Party Food all next week now!)

I've had this thing lately for polka dots. I'm not really sure why but it might be a retro thing. I used them as a pattern inside the martini glass then added a fun heart topped martini pick. I hadn't planned to put in a garnish but the martini pick just looked silly without something on it so I put in an olive and turned it pink - how fun is a pink olive?. Then I thought it looked lonely (and who ever asks for just one olive in their martini?) so I added a second pink olive. I love the pink olives.

I tipped the glass to indicate a little movement and added some fun little pale pink bubbles flowing out of the glass. Done!

Throw a Pink Martini Party for your gal pals! Come back next week for all the Pink Martini and Pink Appetizers, customize some of my Pink Martini Invitations, Envelopes & Postage, get them all personalized Pink Martini Tees, wear some fun Pink Martini sneakers and a cap to match, put together some fun gift bags with my Pink Martini Totes, Get some Pink Martini Cups, Aprons or even Skateboards for party prizes! Heck, put a Pink Martini Pet Tee on your dog or cat too! Check out all my Pink Martini Goodies below:

PINK MARTINI
is available for licensing
and you can get it on
Fully Customizable Posters, T-shirts, Invitations, Aprons, Sneakers, Business Cards, Greeting - Post Cards, Postage, Cups and other gear at The Martini Diva Boutique.

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BLACK FOREST CAKE MARTINI - Cake Martinis for Dessert

Buy the full sized 5x3 recipe card for the  BLACK FOREST CAKE MARTINI HERE

This cake martini is all about the chocolate and the cherries, just like Black Forest Cake. I happen to adore both chocolate and cherries and one of my favorite cakes is Black Forest so this martini is a labor of love.

I used crumbs from a chocolate cupcake to rim my glass and it was fun but you can also use some finely shaved dark chocolate if you don't happen to have a chocolate cupcake around.

I happened to have a few cupcakes so I mixed up a little extra of the martini, poked some holes in the cupcake and slowly poured some Black Forest Cake Martini onto my plain, dry little chocolate cupcake then pumped a little cherry pie filling in the center of the cupcake and frosted it with a dark chocolate ganache, topping it off with a Maraschino cherry. It rocked and now I have a great little cupcake recipe as well as a great cake martini recipe!

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WEDDING CAKE MARTINI - A Cocktail for Nuptials

Download the full sized 5x3 recipe card in print quality here

THE WEDDING CAKE MARTINI

It's amazing how much this martini tastes like a wedding cake. It's very sweet - which makes it a perfect dessert martini - but I added the cranberry juice to add a little tartness and also give it a nice pinkish color. You can leave that out if you'd like and, if you float a little heavy cream on top it adds the creaminess of frosting.

You can find the Edible White Glitter on Amazon for the rimmer and if you're planning to serve this martini to your wedding guests, ask either your florist or your dressmaker for some of the same ribbon or lace from your bridal bouquets or wedding wardrobe and tie that around the stems for a nice touch. Think about some lovely edible white flowers that you could float on top of the martini too (your baker could also use these on your wedding cake!)

Need great wedding invitations, postage, envelopes, bachelor/bachelorette tees you can customize to suit your theme? Check out hundreds of wonderful designs at Zazzle.

Previous Cake Martinis:
Yellow Cake Martini

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