CARROT CAKE COCKTAIL - Part Deux

A few years ago I had some carrot juice and I decided to do a Carrot Cake Martini. I enjoyed it so much I decided it was time to take another whack at it again with some different ingredients.
Why Carrot?     First: I had a new juicer and a bunch of fresh organic carrots. Also I was sent this totally adorable glass Carrot Swizzle Stick from The Swizzle Stick Shop (along with a whole box full of others!) and had to use it.

Second: Carrots are healthy, sweet and taste good. Since Medieval times, carrots have been added to cakes to sweeten them and add moisture. Carrot cake became a popular recipe during World War II when sugar was being rationed. Also sometimes referred to as Passion Cake, carrot cake is now one of the most popular cakes, along with Red Velvet and Chocolate.
Third: Carrots are high in fiber and beta-carotene but VERY high in sugar, which is why this drink is surprisingly sweet. The dark, spicy rum brings it's unique spices and adds the vanilla essence, the touch of Scrappy's Cardamom Bitters add an additional baker's spicy touch. Topping the whole cake experience off is the spiced honey sweetened cream cheese frosting rim with crushed walnuts and the orange slice and baby carrot for garnish.
Don't Run Like A Rabbit!
Don't wrinkle your little bunny nose at carrot juice in a cocktail and go hopping off in fear ... this is so good it could probably turn Bugs Bunny into a boozer!
THE
CARROT CAKE
COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS: 2 Oz. Spiced Dark Rum
4 Oz. Fresh Carrot Juice
1 Oz. Fresh Orange Juice
1 Egg White (or 2 Tbsp. Pasteurized)
3 Drops Scrappy's Cardamom Cocktail Bitters
1 Tablespoon + 1 Tsp Honey Ridge Farms Honey Créme Spiced
2 Tsp. Hot Water
Club Soda
Ice
Garnish: Cream Cheese,
Crushed Walnuts, Orange Wheel. Baby Carrot, Fun Carrot Swizzle Stick, Straw
Tools: Baggie, Blender, Cocktail Shaker
Glass: Pint or Highball
DIRECTIONS: Mix the teaspoon of spiced honey with the cream cheese. Put the cream cheese mixture in a small sandwich baggie, squeeze the cream cheese to the corner, clip a very small hole in the corner then pipe this on the rim. Dip into your crushed walnuts then chill the glass in the freezer.
Add the water to the remaining spiced honey in a small microwave container and nuke for about 20 seconds, set aside to cool.
Add the rum, carrot juice, orange juice and egg white to a blender and blend for 30 seconds to emulsify the ingredients and create the foam. (Or you can dry shake in your cocktail shaker.)
Fill the cocktail shaker with ice, add the cooled spiced honey creme, transfer the drink from the blender and shake until the cocktail shaker frosts over.
Strain into your glass, top off with club soda, tap the bitters on top, add a straw and swizzle stick, garnish and serve.
Yes, the spicy, sweet cream cheese and walnut rim is mostly for show, but it's really good - like a sweet cheese ball rolled in nuts - and you'll find that people will probably stick a finger in it and lick it off while they drink the cocktail.
Updated 4-2019 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

Blue Chocolate BUNNY TINI Easter Cocktail

THE

BLUE CHOCOLATE

BUNNY MARTINI

INGREDIENTS:

1 Oz. Whipped Cream Vodka

1 Oz. Chocolate Liqueur

1/2 Oz. Coffee Liqueur

2 Oz. Half & Half

Garnish: Chocolate Dipped Blue Bunny Peep,

Chocolate Magic Shell

Tools: Cocktail Shaker

Glass: Cocktail (Martini)

DIRECTIONS:

Chill the martini glass for 10 minutes then dip into

the Chocolate magic shell syrup. Immediately attach

the Chocolate Blue Bunny & return to freezer. Add a

cup of ice to a cocktail shaker, pour in the whipped cream vodka,

chocolate liqueur, coffee liqueur and half & half and shake

until well chilled.  Pour into your chilled glass, serve.

Bet you won't start with the ears on this bunny . . . . 

Updated 4-2019 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

IRISH COFFEE MARTINI - An Irish Whiskey and Espresso Cocktail

    What would St. Patrick's Day be without a classic Irish Coffee (Caife Gaelach)? Absolutely nothing! So, I have adapted that wonderful and historical beverage here as a cold version for your St. Patrick's Day happy hour pleasure. If you prefer your Irish Coffee hot simply used hot coffee in place of the cold espresso and serve it up in a mug.
This Irish Coffee Martini is a lovely adaptation of one of my favorite cocktails of all time. I lived in the Bay Area for several decades and was lucky enough to have enjoyed the original, hot version of Irish Coffee many times at The Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco - where the original owner, Jack Koeppler, made this cocktail famous!
There's a fascinating history behind Irish Coffee at The Buena Vista's website - yes, that lovely pub is still there at Hyde and Beach on Fisherman's Wharf and I encourage you to drop in and enjoy one of their famous Irish Coffees if you're ever in San Francisco!
The IRISH COFFEE Martini
INGREDIENTS: 1 Oz. Irish Whiskey
1 Tsp. Sugar
1 Oz.Chilled Espresso
1 Oz. Heavy Cream
Whipped Cream
Garnish: Whipped Cream, Green Sprinkles, Shaved Chocolate Curls
Tools: Cocktail Shaker
Glass: Cocktail (Martini)
DIRECTIONS
Chill your martini glass in the freezer.  Pour the sugar and whiskey into your martini shaker before the ice, mix well to dissolve the sugar, then add about 1 cup of ice cubes, the chilled espresso and the heavy cream and shake until your shaker frosts over. Pour this into your chilled martini glass, top off with your green whipped cream, add your sprinkles and chocolate curls, then serve.
Prefer yours hot? Authentic Irish Coffee
National Irish Coffee Day is celebrated every January 25th.
A good friend is like a four leaf clover,
hard to find and lucky to have! ~ Olde Irish Saying
Updated 1-2019 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

The ABSINTHE MINDED LEPRECHAUN, A Gin, Basil & Mint Fizz Cocktail

I have a thing for Ramos Fizzes. I love them. I've said that before, but it bears repeating because this is my St Patrick's Day riff on two New Orleans classics, the Ramos Fizz and the Absinthe Frappé. It's really more of a Fizz than a Frappé and there's no orange flower water in the recipe, which kind of defines a Ramos. They were my inspiration because if there's ever a city for celebrating St. Patricks Day, outside of NYC, it's The Big Easy.

I played a LOT fast and loose with the ingredients, well sorta. Just remember I'm not calling this any kind of Ramos or a Frappé and those aren't very Irish names anyway.

TheABSINTHE MINDEDLEPRECHAUNFizz
INGREDIENTS:1-1/2 Oz. Gin1/4 Oz. Absinthe1 Oz. Lemon Juice1 Tbsp. Basil Mint Syrup*1 Oz. of Half & HalfPasteurized Egg White1 Oz. Club SodaIce
Garnish: Fresh Basil and Mint Leaves 
Tools: Blender, Cocktail shaker 
Glass: Collins
DIRECTIONS:Chill your glass.Add all the ingredients except the soda and ice to a blender (yes, this is a dry shake cheat) and blend for 25 -30 seconds.Add the ice to the cocktail shaker, transfer the drink from the blender and shake for 30 seconds more to chill.Pour into your Collins glass SIMULTANEOUSLY with the soda.Garnish, add a straw and serve.
*Here's a great recipe for Basil Mint Syrup.  I cut it in half and used equal amounts sugar and water for a slightly thicker syrup.
Voiceover Video with Ingredients & Directions:

CAUTION: Have too many and your cat might sneak a sip while you're busy doing other things ...

Updated 3-2022 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

The ENCHANTED FAERIE - A Gin & Absinthe Cocktail

Tales of woodland fairies are rampant in Ireland so when I decided to do a green cocktail for St. Patrick's Day the liqueur that came to mind was absinthe. Often referred to as the Green Fairy, Absinthe is an herbal liqueur with a strong presence of licorice flavor and it goes very well with a nice botanical gin and fresh lemons. It makes a pretty soft green cocktail as well. Exactly the color of fairies wings.

This is a decidedly herbal drink, with lovely lemon notes, a touch of woodsy floral from the lavender and a soft sweetness from Honey Ridge Farm's Honey Créme Lemon, and it's beautiful as well.

The

ENCHANTED FAERIE

Cocktail

INGREDIENTS:

2 Oz. Hendrick's Gin

1/4 Oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

1/4 Oz. Lime Juice

1/4 Oz. Pernod Absinthe

1-1/2 Tbsp. Honey Lemon Creme Syrup*

2 Tablespoons Pasteurized Egg White

2 Dashes Scrappy's Lavender Bitters

Ice

Garnish: Lemon Twist, Lime Twist

Tools: Cocktail Shaker

Glass: Coupe

DIRECTIONS:

*Prepare the Honey Créme Lemon Syrup by combining a tablespoon of water with a tablespoon of Honey Ridge Farms Honey Créme Lemon. (Trust me, you WANT this honey!) Nuke this for 15 seconds and let cool.

Chill your glass in the freezer.

Add the gin, lemon juice, lime juice, lemon honey syrup, absinthe and egg white to a cocktail shaker. Cover and vigorously dry shake the ingredients for 30 seconds to a minute to emulsify and build the foam.

Add the ice to your cocktail shaker then shake vigorously again until chilled.

(You can cheat here and use a blender to dry shake, then transfer to an ice filled cocktail shaker to chill.)

Strain into the chilled glass, tap on the lavender bitters, express the lemon twist over the top, garnish and serve.

Voiceover Video with Ingredients & Instructions:

Watch out for cat enchantment, cats are mesmerized by fairies!

Updated 3-17-2022

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The LUCKY CHARM - A Spinach and Cucumber Cocktail

The big cocktail challenge for Saint Patrick's Day is creating a naturally green cocktail. Without using the artificially colored green liqueurs like green creme de menthe, Midori or apple puckers you have to think outside the box a little bit. So I went with what is naturally green in nature, green vegetables and fruits. Then I added booze!
Not only is this cocktail green, it's refreshingly delicious and healthy!
The LUCKY CHARM Cocktail
INGREDIENTS: 1-1/2 Oz. Crystal Head Vodka  1 Oz. Spinach Juice 2 Oz Cucumber Juice 1 - 2 Tbsp. Honey Créme Lavender Syrup 2 Tsp. Fresh Lime Juice 2 Dashes Frape & Sons Arugula Bitters Ice
Garnish: Cucumber peels, Lime wheel, Spinach leaf
Tools: Juicer, Cocktail shaker, Strainer
Glass: Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONS: Juice 5 ounces of spinach to get an ounce of spinach juice. Juice 1/2 a small unpeeled cucumber to get 4 ounces of cucumber juice. Prepare the Honey Créme Lavender Syrup by warming 1 heaping tablespoon of Honey Ridge Farms Honey Créme Lavender Syrup with 1 tablespoon of water for 15 to 20 seconds in the microwave, let cool. Fill the cocktail shaker with ice then add the vodka, spinach juice, cucumber juice, lavender honey syrup and arugula bitters. Shake until chilled then strain into an ice filled glass, garnish and serve.
Tips: I didn't bother to clean the juicer after doing the spinach because I wanted all that green color. Besides the two juices were going to be mixed together in a few seconds anyway. I live out in the country so I take the pulp from the juicer that's left over and I feed it to the bunnies outside. They love it.
By the way, Bailey is turning into a very respectable happy hour wing man:

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BLACKBERRY MOJITO COCKTAIL RECIPE

What do you do when you have fresh blackberries you need to use? Yeah, eating them is good, making a blackberry mojito is better.
BLACKBERRY MOJITO
INGREDIENTS : 2 Oz. Gubba Silver Rum 12 Blackberries  12 Large Spearmint Leaves 1 Tbsp. Honey Creme Lemon Syrup* 1 Lime, Quartered Club Soda Crushed Ice
Garnish: Mint Leaves, Fresh Blackberries, Lime Quarters
Tools: Muddler, Straw
Glass: Collins or Pint
DIRECTIONS: Place the blackberry, 4 lime quarters and the lemon honey cream syrup in the bottom of the glass and muddle to release the juices. Add the mint leaves and give them a light muddle, do press too hard or you'll release the bitterness of the herb. Fill the glass with crushed ice, add the rum then top off with soda. Garnish and serve with a straw.
* Honey Créme Lemon Syrup: Thin 1 tablespoon of Honey Ridge Farms Honey Créme Lemon with hot tap water until you get a syrup consistency. 

Updated 4-2025
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