The MARTINI DIVA

20100730

PINK FLAMINGO MARTINI

It's summer, it's hot and all I can think of is a vacation near lots of water. If you want to find water just follow a colony of Flamingos because that's where they live! (Or you can also just park yourself at the pool in the Flamingo Hotel in Vegas. . . . .)

Today's martini is the PINK FLAMINGO MARTINI inspired by that beautiful pink water bird with the long neck and legs. Make a beeline for a flamingo colony and you'll be cooling your feet in water and sipping this flamingo inspired pink martini alongside hundreds, maybe thousands of these lovely creatures. (Unless you decided to opt for Vegas - then you'll be sipping your martini around a bunch of hung over gamblers who are hanging at the pool because they lost all their money!)

Why are flamingo's pink? Because their diet is rich in alpha and beta carotene, consisting mostly of diatoms, seeds, blue-green algae, crustaceans, and mollusks. Why is The Pink Flamingo Martini Pink? Because of the Grenadine.
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Updated 10-2016
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20100729

The Original LEMON DROP MARTINI Cocktail Recipe

The Lemon Drop cocktail was born at Henry Africa's in 1970. In amongst the ferns and maturing hippie population of San Francisco, the elder statesman of the designer martinis emerged tart and sweet and deliciously dangerous. It was an exciting new cocktail for exciting new times and I happily participated.

This recipe is the closest to the drink I remember from Henry Africa's. Forget all the claims that citrus vodka is traditional or "required" because CITRUS VODKAS DID NOT EXIST IN 1970! Flavored vodkas and their like were decades - and at least 1 hipster grandchild away - from existence when the original LEMON DROP made its debut in The City By The Bay. I personally watched* as the bartenders poured in the Smirnoff and triple sec, added simple syrup with a barspoon and I saw the fresh lemon juice being squeezed into the cocktail shaker. And, by the way, it was not called a Martini, just a Lemon Drop, because back then a martini was gin and vermouth.

This is the Lemon Drop I remember enjoying 50 years ago at Henry Africa's (minus the candied lemon rind which I added just because I like candied lemon rind.)

LEMON DROP MARTINI Cocktail Recipe with Ingredients and Instructions

The original
LEMON DROP

(MARTINI)

INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 Oz. Vodka
1/2 Oz. Triple Sec
2 Tsp. Simple Syrup
1 Oz. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

Garnish: Sugar rim, Candied Lemon, Cocktail Cherry

Tools: Cocktail Shaker

Glass: Cocktail (Martini)

DIRECTIONS
Rub the rim of the glass with a lemon wedge then sip into sugar.
Chill the glass in the freezer.
Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until well chilled.
Strain into the chilled glass, garnish and serve.

VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

* Yes, I am that old. Carding was not as stringent back in those days, I was 19 in 1970 and I was bar hopping every weekend with no problem.

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20100726

Non Alcoholic Cotton Candy Martini Recipe

I received a request from Ellen yesterday on how to make a non-alcoholic Cotton Candy Martini. She had read my post "How To Make Non-Alcoholic Martinis" but wanted more specific instructions on how to convert the Cotton Candy Martini.

Ellen, try this recipe for a

NON ALCOHOLIC COTTON CANDY MARTINI

2-1/2 Ounces Raspberry Flavored Soda or Pop
1/2 Ounce Raspberry Flavored Syrup
(the kind you find in a coffee bar - Torani and DaVinci are 2 well known brands)
A splash of Grenadine
The Cotton Candy or the Cotton Candy Jelly Bellies for Garnish

Chill your glass as usual but combine the liquid ingredients in a pitcher with some ice and STIR instead of shake then pour into your martini glass and garnish.

Here's a few additional tips and hints:

If you are making both alcoholic and non-alcoholic martinis at a gathering garnish them differently so people will know which is which.
You can change the flavorings of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic Cotton Candy Martinis by simply changing the flavors of the sodas, syrups and liquors - replace the raspberry flavored ingredients with cherry or berry or orange, etc., then leave out the Grenadine and use a different colored sugar syrup. Torani and DaVinci both come in a multitude of flavors and colors!
Soda pop, ginger ale and club soda are good replacements for the effervescense of Champagne or sparkling wines and many of these come in fruit flavors that can replace the fruit flavored vodkas and rums.

Ellen, I hope this helps. Let me know how it works out!

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COTTON CANDY COCKTAIL
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Updated 8-2016

20100725

The Très Chic Martini ends our World Martini Tour in Paris!

DAY 7 - The Final Day of THE WORLD MARTINI TOUR

Get My Recipe for The

Très Chic Martini!

My Très Chic Martini is entirely French, from the Champagne and the Chambord (a French raspberry liqueur) to the Crème de Cassis (a black currant flavored liqueur first produced by French monks as a cure for snakebite) and the French crystal martini glass it should be served in!

You’ll note I do not say “French Champagne.” That is because if the bottle says Champagne it can only be from the Champagne region of France. Anything else, by law, is simply a sparkling wine made in the “Méthode Champenoise.”

The Très Chic Martini is a lovely color of pink, a very fashionable color of pink, perfect for any haute couture runway and gorgeous in a lovely French Baccarat crystal martini glass – C’est Très Chic for the City of Lights, Non?

If this doesn't bring back memories of the Arc de Triomphe, The Seine, La Tour Eiffel and shopping for French shoes what will? Hopefully it will also bring back some memories of that Parisian hottie you met at the Louvre.

Remember Paris is the city of Love and Romance so share the Très Chic Martini with someone you love tonight.
Il n'y a qu'un bonheur dans la vie, c'est d'aimer et d'être aimé.
(There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.)

Stop by the World Martini Cocktail Review for a visit to the Bar Fleurs in Paris - not only a très chic martini lounge but also a flower shop!

Thank you for joining Fabio and myself on the Inaugural World Martini Tour!

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20100724

Imperial Coffee Martini on Day Six of The World Martini Tour

The drink I most associate with Vienna is coffee. I had the best coffee there I’ve ever had (with the one exception of Jamaican Blue Mountain), so I have created a coffee martini for the Imperial Martini. Honestly, the coffees I enjoyed in that city were fit for a king! I probably would have put on 50 pounds from all the Melanges and Mazagrans I drank if it hadn’t been for all the walking I did to get to them!

This Imperial Martini is inspired from the Mazagrans which are a cold version of a Flaker (coffee, rum and whipped cream). Now I get to remember Vienna with a martini!

I had a lot of sausages too – there are little snack bars all over call "Würstelstand" where you can get an authentic “Frankfurter (aka the Wiener Wurstel) or a variety of hot sausages to munch on.

Oh come on, you didn’t really want a sausage martini did you?? Get My Recipe for the IMPERIAL COFFEE MARTINI

Drop by The World Martini Cocktail Review for Today's Martini Bar!

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Stop by The Martini Diva™ Boutique for fun Martini Art, Tees & Gifts for All Occasions Follow me on Twitter as PopArtDiva
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20100723

World Martini Tour - Day Five - Art Nouveau Chocolate Martini for Brussels!

Updated November 2015

ART NOUVEAU CHOCOLATE MARTINI - Brussels, Day Five

The country of Belgium is famous for it’s exquisite chocolates and, therefore, my Brussels Martini recipe is – of course! - a Belgian chocolate cocktail! One of the most well known brands of chocolate and chocolate liqueur, Godiva, is made in Belgium so this recipe features that brand. An interesting historical fact about Godiva - it was founded in Brussels and named after the famous Lady Godiva whose legendary ride through the streets sans clothing saved her subjects from an unfair tax burden!

I’ll bet you thought I was going to give you a Brussels Sprout Martini, didn’t you??? Yes, Brussels sprouts, at least the modern day versions, were cultivated in Brussels, most probably from ones brought there by the Romans, and date back at least 400 years. . . . but you don't really want to drink Brussels sprouts do you? Chocolate - especially Belgian chocolate - is much better, right? But I will tell you that Brussels sprouts can be nice as a garnish in a savory martini - they look like little mini cabbages on a martini pick, try plopping one in that classic gin martini you're having tonight instead of an olive!

Another food we’re all familiar with had it’s origins in Belgium as well – French Fries! Nope, not French – so in all fairness the next time you drive up to a Mickey D’s or a Burger King you should order a large order of Brussels Fries! Belgium is also well know for it’s tapestries and lace, as well as some pretty darn good beer!

The city of Brussels, founded over a millennium ago, boasts the wonderful Grand Place marketplace and the remarkable Atomium, a structure of nine steel spheres connected by tubes which contain escalators that will take you to the top of the structure.

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20100722

World Martini Tour - Day Four: The Queimada Martini for Barcelona

GAUDI QUEIMADA MARTINI - BARCELONA, Day Four
Queimada is a traditional flaming historical drink of Spain that has roots in Celtic legends of witches and spirits. It is most often prepared outside and is entrenched in ceremony and ancient traditions. You can view the traditional style preparation of the recipe for this Flaming Galician Punch at Bonappetit – though they call for grappa instead of the traditional Spanish Orujo.

The GAUDI QUEMADA MARTINI is a blend of the cosmopolitan world of today's Barcelona and the antiquity of ancient Spain – it takes the historic drink above and turns it into a modern designer martini!

Get My Recipe for The
GAUDI QUEIMADA MARTINI

Discover The Dry Martini Bar in Barcelona @ The World Martini Cocktail Review.

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