I don't do a lot of wine cocktails. Most of the time I prefer to enjoy my wine as the vintner intended, but I do occasionally enjoy a sangria or a wine cooler. When I came across this interesting bottle of Chocolate Shop Red Wine I impulsively grabbed it off the shelf. I'd enjoyed Deco Chocolate Port when I lived in Sonoma County and thought I'd give this wine a try.
I loved it! It was similar to the port, was a little less chocolate forward, less sweet with a lighter body. It's exactly the kind of dessert wine I would serve with chocolate strawberries or chocolate truffles or anything with chocolate. I might even pair it with a savory dish like cocoa and coffee rubbed rib eyes.
Of course being me, I had to add stuff to it to make a cocktail. What I ended up with was a remarkable chocolate raspberry sangria.
I think I've died and gone to heaven.
The
LOVE NOTION #9
Chocolate Raspberry Valentine Sangria
INGREDIENTS:
5 Oz. Chocolate Shop Red Wine, Chilled
1/2 Oz. Raspberry Vodka
1/3 C. Fresh Raspberries
2 Tbsp. Raspberry Syrup
1 Tbsp. Chocolate Syrup
2 Drops Fee Brothers Aztec Bitters
Garnish
Chocolate Heart Candies
(I found adorable white & dark chocolate hearts from Ghirardelli)
1/2 C. White Chocolate, Chopped
1/2 C. Dark Chocolate, Chopped
Special Tools: Pastry brush, Old Fashioned glass, metal strainer.
DIRECTIONS:
Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or microwave then paint the rims of your glasses from the top to a quarter of the way down the glass. Attach a chocolate heart candy to each rim with an extra dab of chocolate, holding gently in place until it stays. Place your glass in the refrigerator to set up the chocolate.
Puree the raspberries with the Chocolate Shop Red Wine, raspberry vodka, chocolate and raspberry syrups and bitters in a blender.
Strain this into an ice filled cocktail shaker (to remove the raspberry seeds) and shake until chilled.
Pour into your garnished glass and enjoy for a romantic finish to your Valentine dinner.
Makes two full cocktails.
Some chocolate dipped cookies, chocolate covered marshmallows, sugar, chocolate dipped pretzels or nuts go really nice with this cocktail.
Tip1: Use up the rest of the melted chocolate by dipping the pretzels or nuts in it to serve with your cocktail.
Tip 2: Reduce any of the sangria leftovers to a syrup and pour over ice cream! If you have any, that is, and you probably won't.
Updated 2-14-2025
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This Valentine themed cocktail is my romantic riff on a classic Tom Collins, a drink with long lived respectability and an interesting history. It's also a cocktail close to my heart, being one of the first alcoholic drinks I ever experienced.
Though a classic Collins uses club soda or seltzer, I've gone with lemon lime soda in order to balance the tartness and touch of bitterness the hibiscus syrup and tea bring to the drink. The hibiscus rose syrup replaces the standard simple syrup usually employed in a Collins cocktail and plays well with the floral qualities of the gin.
Collins' are in the sub family of Fizzes which belong to the Sour family of drinks and usually consist of a base alcohol, an acid in the form of a citrus, typically lemon or lime, and a sweetener such as the simple syrup or sugar, topped off with a fizzy soda. Sometimes there is an addition of bitters.
Thanks to a recent box of goodies from the Wild Hibiscus Company, I decided to take some liberties with my Valentine version of a Tom Collins by inserting additional flavors, but I've stayed true to the basic formula (spirit, sour, sweet, fizz) and ratios. The tea was an unusual of addition of a bitters element, not strictly traditional, but it pumped up the hibiscus. It also looks very Pretty in Pink floating down through the drink, perfect for Valentine's Day!
The
HIBISCUS HEART FIZZ
INGREDIENTS
1.5 Oz. Gin
Lemon Lime Soda
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Juice of 1 Orange
1/4 Oz. Wild Hibiscus Rose Syrup
1 Bag Wild Hibiscus Tea
Garnish
Wild Hibiscus Flower
Lime Wedge
Long Orange Spiral Twist
Tools: Cocktail shaker, Channel Knife, Tom Collins glass, cocktail pick.
DIRECTIONS
Steep the Wild Hibuscus tea for 10 minutes. Allow this to cool.
Cut the orange spiral twist out of the orange rind using your channel knife.
Cut your lime wedge.
Rinse a hibiscus flower then gently dry with a paper towel.
Insert the lime wedge into the hibiscus flower, gently insert onto a cocktail pick. Set these garnishes aside.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add the gin, orange juice and Wild Hibiscus Syrup, shake until chilled and strain into your glass.
Top off glass to 3/4 full with the lemon lime soda.
Set the lime and hibiscus flower garnish across your glass.
Drape on the orange spiral twist in a fun way, add a straw.
In front of your guest, gently pour the Wild Hibiscus Tea over the surface of your Sparkling Hibiscus Cooler.
Do not stir, you want the ombré effect of the tea slowly sinking down through the drink.
The goodies from Wild Hibiscus Company.
The nice thing about this drink is, like a Collins, it can be made with gin or vodka, it just depends on your preference. The gin works well with the floral qualities of the hibiscus, but if you like things a little more subtle and less herbal use the vodka.
Tip: After cutting my orange spiral I wrapped it around a straw and stuck it in the freezer for about ten minutes. This helps it keep the spiral shape when constructing the cocktail.
Here's hoping Valentine's Day brings you Hearts, Flowers and Spirits.
Updated 2-2019
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Two of my favorite flavored vodkas are strawberry and raspberry. I have a sweet tooth and I like Dessert Martinis so I use both of these a lot. Combine them and you get a really nice berry flavored vodka, exactly what I did here.
BERRY VALENTINE SHOT
INGREDIENTS:
1 Oz. Strawberry Vodka
1 Oz. Raspberry Vodka
Drunken Cherries
Melted White Chocolate
Valentine Colored Heart Sprinkles
DIRECTIONS:
First you have to make your Drunken Cherries, which is easy but you need to give them a few hours to get drunk! Just add some dried cherries to one of the flavored (or plain) vodkas and let them soak up all the boozy goodness.
Next you melt the white chocolate then dip the rim of your two ounce shot glass or shooter into the white chocolate and then into the Valentine sprinkles.
Add the raspberry and strawberry vodkas to a cocktail shaker full of ice, shake until chilled then strain into your shot glass.
Slide several of the Drunken Cherries onto a cocktail pick, drop that into your Berry Valentine Shot and serve.
Updated 2-2018
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Chocolate and cherries make up a lovely couple when it comes to Valentine cocktails. I have quite a supply of flavored vodkas and this was a perfect opportunity to pair a couple of them for Valentine's Day.
This is a pretty easy shooter and a delicious one, if a bit dangerous, so don't go overboard. P.S., it's even better if you use my Homemade Maraschino Cherries instead of those chemical laden sugar bombs you find in the store. If you want, you can add a little bit of the Maraschino liqueur from the cherries do your shot for a little color and extra flavor boost!
The
CHOCOLATE CHERRY
Valentine Shot
INGREDIENTS:
1 Oz. Cherry Vodka
1-1/2 Oz. Chocolate Vodka
Maraschino Cherry
Pearl Cake Gems
DIRECTIONS:
Dip the rim a cordial in either the cherry or the chocolate vodka then into the pearl cake gems. Chill glass in the freezer.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice then pour in the cherry vodka and the chocolate vodka. Shake until chilled, strain into your glass and enjoy.
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One of the I.B.A. official cocktails, the Pisco Sour is a South American cocktail touted by both Chile and Peru as their national drink. Both countries also claim ownership of it's creation, however, most facts point to the cocktail being invented sometime between 1915 and 1924 by American bartender Victor Vaughn Morris at Morris' Bar in Lima, Peru.
Morris' original recipe has never been found but most likely it was akin to a basic sour that employed Pisco as the base. Later versions would refine this into something closer to the I.B.A. recipe for this cocktail:
1.5 Oz. Pisco
1 Oz. Lemon Juice
3/4 Oz. Simple Syrup
1 Egg White
Shaken with ice then strain into an Old Fashioned glass and garnish with a few drops of Angostura Bitters.
Peru's version uses Peruvian pisco Key lime juice, syrup, ice, egg white, and Angostura bitters. The Chilean version uses Chilean Pisco, Pica lime but excludes the bitters and the egg white.
My version heads a little towards Hawaii.
PINEAPPLE
PISCO SOUR
INGREDIENTS:
1.5 Oz. Pisco
2 Oz. Fresh Pineapple Juice
1 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice
1 Oz. Pasteurized Egg White
1/2 Oz. Agave Syrup
2 Drops Angostura Orange Bitters
Garnish: Pineapple Chunk and
Lime Slice
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker WITHOUT ice and (dry) shake vigorously for 15 seconds to emulsify the egg white. Add a cup of ice then shake vigorously again for another 15 to 20 seconds. Strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass, express the lime slice over the cocktail, drop in then tap an extra drop of bitters onto the foamy cap and slip the garnish in and enjoy.
The first Saturday of February is National Pisco Sour Day.
Updated 2-2021
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Back in my youth I was a big fan of SweetTart candies. I still like the combination of tart and sweet but, as an adult, I like it better in a cocktail. Those flavors were the inspiration for this fun Valentine's Day shooter.
SWEET-TART
Valentine Shot
INGREDIENTS:
1 Oz. Pomegranate Vodka
1/4 Oz. Lemon Juice
Splash of Grenadine*
Pink and White Sprinkles
Lemon Twist
DIRECTIONS:
Dip the rim of a cordial glass into some Grenadine then into the sprinkles.
Add the pomegranate vodka and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled. Pour into your glass, float the Grenadine and drop in the lemon twist.
*I use my own Homemade Grenadine (Pomegranate Syrup) instead of the bottled varieties because it's not loaded with chemicals or corn syrup and it actually tastes like pomegranate. Try my recipe and see if you don't agree, it's also great on ice cream and pancakes!
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I have a thing for margaritas, especially fruit margaritas because it gives me another way to add fruit to my diet. Yeah, you caught me, that's boloney [sic], I just like margaritas. If you do too, today's your lucky day. I have a great one for you.
For some reason I have not posted up a Pomegranate Margarita recipe which is odd because I make them a lot at this time of year because pomegranates are in season. In addition to pomegranate juice, this recipe makes use of my Homemade Pomegranate Syrup, which is more familiarly known in cocktail circles as Grenadine.
There is nothing similar whatsoever between my homemade syrup and those commercial syrups you find in most bars. Mine actually tastes like pomegranate and makes a superb flavor replacement for agave nectar or simple syrup in this cocktail. It also gives you a way to infuse pomegranate into cocktails out of season. Plus it's a rich, deep red color making it perfect for a deep red Pomegranate Valentine drink!
POMEGRANATEMARGARITA
Dressed Up for Valentine's Day
INGREDIENTS:
2 Oz. 1800 Reposado Tequila*
1/2 Oz. Grand Marnier
2 Oz. Fresh Pomegranate Juice
1 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice
1/2 Oz. Homemade Grenadine (Pomegranate) Syrup
Garnish: Wild Hibiscus Salt Flakes for Rim
Heart Gummy Candies
Lime Slice
DIRECTIONS:
Dip your glass in some of the pomegranate syrup then into the Wild Hibiscus Salt Flakes. Mine were kindly sent to me by Wild Hibiscus Flower Company. This gives you a sweet, tart and salty rim that works well with this cocktail.
Add the 1800 Tequila Reposado, Grand Marnier, lime juice and pomegranate syrup to a cocktail shaker or pitcher, stir. Fill your glass with ice and pour in the pomegranate margarita.
If you're doing a Valentine version. Slide a couple of heart gummies onto a cocktail pick and serve. (Interestingly, the tart, sweet gummies pair well with this tart, sweet cocktail.) If you're serving this any other day of the year, just toss a few pomegranate arils on top of the cocktail. Yes, you can add some to the Valentine version too.
WHEN I SAY FRESH, I MEAN FRESH:
I'd like to insert a little rant here about bottled lemon and lime juices or "lime cordials". I hate them. They taste awful and will make your cocktail taste the same. It only takes a couple of seconds to slice a lime or lemon and squeeze out the juice and it makes a world of difference to your cocktail! Take the time!The "cordials" also add sweeteners, mostly corn syrup. You can sweeten your cocktail with nectars, honey, reduced fruit juices or homemade fruit syrups like I did here.
There's no reason you can't have the best cocktail possible, if you're willing to put in a bit more effort and use fresh, quality ingredients. And you can do it year round. Buy the fruits on sale, juice up and freeze in ice cube trays and bag up for future cocktails, almost as good as fresh and still way beyond bottled. You can even freeze the zest! Okay, got that off my chest. I feel better, though my nice, fresh Pomegranate Margarita probably had something to do with that too....
Go enjoy your lovely, FRESH, Valentine themed Pomegranate Margarita, I'm a few ahead of you but I couldn't wait.
*QUICK REVIEW OF CUERVO 1800 TEQUILA
The 1800 Reposado from Cuervo is a mid quality tequila made completely from blue agave which gives it a leg up on Cuervo Gold. Definitely not a sipping tequila, but it blends quite nicely with tart fruit juices like the pomegranate, pineapple or grapefruit. I tend to use Blanco for milder fruits like cherry, blueberry, peach or orange. The 1800 tequilas (Blanco, Reposado, Anejo) are my go-to bar tequilas, well priced for a 100% blue agave at around $25, and the bottles are kinda cool with corked glass stoppers that give them a nice decanter look.
Updated 2-2021
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