WINTERFELL BOURBON APPLE TARRAGON SMASH

“We’ve been flaying our enemies for a thousand years. The flayed man is on our banners!” ~ Ramsey Bolton
The battle for Winterfell begins with the "Battle of the Bastards" episode this Sunday. When you have a battle in the Land of Ice and Fire, where the weapons are pretty much up close and personal, there's going to be a lot of smashing going on so I thought a smash style cocktail would be fairly appropriate. (If you're not too sure what a smash style cocktail, buy my book The Zen of Cocktails, you'll find the definition in the Categories Schmategories chapter.)
I also like the idea of a Smash cocktail because I dearly want to see Jon Snow and his Wildling army defeat and smash the living hell out of Ramsay Bolton. It's time for one less bastard in Westeros ... and it had better be Ramsey.

Jon Snow (good bastard) Ramsey Bolton (bad bastard)

Since this is for Winterfell I decided that, despite it being summer, a more winter-ish fruit and herb would be appropriate for this cocktail. However, since it is summer, it also had to be cool and refreshing which a Smash, with its mound of crushed ice, definitely is.

WINTERFELL SMASH The Wolves Will Come Again
INGREDIENTS: 3 Ounces Bourbon 2 Tablespoons Sauteed Apples (recipe below) 1 - 2 Tablespoons Tarragon Apple Butter Syrup (recipe below) 1-1/2 Teaspoons Tarragon Vinegar Club Soda Ice Cubes Crushed Ice
Garnish: Apple wedges, Dusting Dried Tarragon
Tools: Muddler, Cocktail shaker
Glass: Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONS: Muddle the sauteed apples, apple tarragon butter syrup and tarragon vinegar in the bottom of the cocktail shaker. Add the ice cubes to your cocktail shaker, pour in the bourbon and shake until chilled. Pour into a chilled old fashioned glass, pile in the crushed ice, top off with a splash of soda. Add your apple garnish, a few extra sauteed apples, a dusting of some dried tarragon leaves and serve.
SAUTEED APPLES & TARRAGON APPLE BUTTER SYRUP This recipe creates both the sauteed apples and the Tarragon Apple Butter Syrup.
For each cocktail saute half a cubed red delicious apple in 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, a splash of bourbon and 1/2 teaspoon of dried tarragon. Cook on medium until the apples are softened and the sauce has reached a syrup consistency. Cool to room temperature before adding to your cocktail.
“My father told me big men fall just as quick as little ones, if you put a sword through their hearts.” ~ Jon Snow

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The HISTORY of the MARTINI

HISTORY OF THE MARTINI
There is an aura of mystery that surrounds the birth of the Martini. I suppose that is fitting for a drink that has become associated with the likes of James Bond, movie spy extraordinaire, as well as other notables such as Frank Sinatra, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Alfred Hitchcock, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill.
Some say the martini originated in a saloon in the late 1800's in Martinez, California. There is a "Martinez" recipe in a bartending book from 1887 (The Bon Vivant's Companion by Jerry Thomas - but with a Maraschino cherry instead of an olive and a dash of orange bitters instead of a lemon twist. Some claim the name "martini" came from the Martini and Henry rifle used by the British army in the late 1800s - supposedly because both had "a strong kick". The first official mention of the word Martini appears in the New and Improved Illustrated Bartending Manual in 1888.
The martini was considered THE cocktail in the days of Prohibition - probably because of the "bathtub gin" of the era. It gained great popularity and élan during the days of the "Rat Pack" and fell into oblivion during the health conscious days of the 70s and 80s. The resurgence of the martini in today's chi chi bistros is due in part to the return of glamour and sophistication and the development of "designer" martinis that have little in common with the original drink.

EVOLUTION OF THE MARTINI

Possibly the first true modern martini was concocted around 1911 at the Knickerbocker Hotel of New York by Martini de Arma di Taggia, who was head bartender at the time. He combined 1 part London Gin, 1 part Noilly Prat Vermouth and orange bitters, chilled over ice and then strained into a chilled glass. No one is really sure where today's popular olive garnish came from - I like to think it was a hungry customer who decided to grab an olive or two and tossed one in the mouth and one in the drink for later - but with those orange bitters in the recipe above I'd garnish that with some kind of citrus.
Often referred to as the "Silver Bullet" (because of this quote by William Emerson, Jr.: "and when that first martini hits the liver like a silver bullet, there is a sigh of contentment that can be heard in Dubuque"), the current recipe for a classic martini is five parts gin to one part vermouth. A Dry Martin reduces the vermouth, depending on the taste preferences, from just a splash to simply coating the inside of the glass. It is said the Winston Churchill's idea of a dry martini was to look at the bottle of vermouth from across the room! The Classic Martini is most often served with an olive as garnish, but the vintage version is served with a twist of lemon rind.
Current tastes prefer vodka instead of gin, though purists claim this is not a classic martini but a Vodkatini or a Kangaroo. In most upscale cocktail lounges these days you will find what I call "designer martinis" in a variety of recipes from the ground breaking Appletini to the downright decadence of dessert martinis like my Chocolate Martini. For the glamorati of today if you serve it in a martini glass it's a martini. Fine by me, because it was the elegant and sophisticated martini glass that really began my own martini obsession.

INTERESTING MARTINI FACTS

"Shaken, Not Stirred", the movie version of 007's supposedly favorite way to have his martini mixed, would not give you a classic "Martini" but a "Bradford" where a cocktail of gin and vermouth is shaken then poured into a martini glass not strained so that small shards of ice float in it.
Though this oft repeated pop culture phrase has been the culprit of many a badly abused classic martini, it is not through any fault of the impeccable Mr. Bond, James Bond. In the books our favorite spy is actually ordering a "Vesper" (named after a Bond Girl) and not a martini.
Shaking the martini as opposed to stirring is said to "bruise" the gin, thereby sharpening it's taste and many argue this dulls the taste of the vermouth - possibly another way to create a "dry" martini.  Either way, a Gin Martini is best stirred, not shaken and a Vodka Martini is best shaken, strained and served ice cold - like revenge.
For you health nuts, here's an interesting fact: A shaken martini is more healthy for you. Evidently, shaking the martini produces significantly higher antioxidant properties than a stirred one.

National Martini Day is June 17th.

The History of the Martini Glass

My recipe forTHE GIN MARTINI

Updated 9-2021 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

CUCUMBER COCKTAILS

I love cucumbers. They're cool, refreshing, healthy and crisply delicious. They're also perfect for cocktails, as an ingredient and a garnish.

With summer upon us, nothing is as refreshing at the end of hot day as enjoying a nice cocktail infused with fresh cucumbers. I've done it a lot, as you can see below.
CUCUMBER COCKTAILS: BASIL CUCUMBER MARTINI COOL AS A CUCUMBER MARTINI CUCUMBER MARTINI CUCUMBER CILANTRO MARTINI CUCUMBER INFUSED GIN and TONIC MELON CUCUMBER MARTINI MIND YOUR Ps & Qs MOJITO MINT GINCUMBER COCKTAIL COOLER PAN GALACTIC GARGLE BLASTER THYME CUCUMBER MARTINI
National  Cucumber Day is June 14th.
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RED VELVET CUPCAKE MARTINI COCKTAIL RECIPE

Red Velvet cake is a very popular Southern dessert (remember the Red Velvet Armadillo Groom's Cake in Steele Magnolias?) and it is, technically, a chocolate cake recipe where the red coloring comes from added food coloring. However, the original recipes used cocoa that was not "Dutch Processed" and the natural red coloring of the cocoa powder, reacting to the acid of the vinegar and buttermilk, would have been more pronounced, possibly this was the source for the name "Red Velvet". 
During World War II and the food rationing bakers often used boiled beets to enhance the color of their cakes and this would have given the cake a very rich, deep red color as well.
Most recipes these days use food coloring, and I have done the same in my martini recipe simply because there is no liqueur I like with the deep red color that would have enhanced the true Red Velvet Cake flavor of this martini and I'm not overly fond of beet juice. (Big Understatement!)
Of course, no respectable Red Velvet Cake these days is complete without the requisite cream cheese frosting so I have used this as part of my garnish and rimming ingredient.

THERED VELVETCUPCAKEMARTINIBetter than a poke in the eye with a stick.Much better than beet juice.

INGREDIENTS

1 Oz. Cake Vodka

1 Oz. Dark Crème de Cacao

1 Oz. Half & Half

5 Drops Red Food Coloring

Garnish

Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cake Crumbs

DIRECTIONS

Pipe cream cheese frosting on the glass rim then dip into cake crumbs, chill in freezer.

Shake ingredients with ice, pour into your rimmed glass and serve.

VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

Here's an easy little tip for piping on the cream cheese without piping bags & tips: Grab yourself a small baggie, spoon in softened cream cheese frosting, cut a tiny little tip off the corner and simply pipe it on the rim of your glass in a wiggly line.
Updated 9-2025PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

KINGSLAYER Game Of Thrones Tiki Cocktail

"They called him the Lion of Lannister to his face and whispered "Kingslayer" behind his back."

  Poor, beleaguered Jaime Lannister. Sent away by his son, the King, enmeshed in a seige he wanted no part of and still fighting despite his loss of limb.    Poor, sexy, incestuous Jaime (that King? Jaime's son with sister Cersei), king slayer, Stark crippler, brother of our much beloved dwarf, Tyrion, the Imp. What is it about this conflicted bad guy that we just love so much? Poor guy needs a break, a vacay and a cocktail so let's give him one.   Because you may not be able to fight as well one handed, but you can always drink well one handed.  

    The KINGSLAYER A Game of Thrones Tiki Cocktail   INGREDIENTS: 3 Oz. Diplomatico Rum 1/2 Oz. Amontillado Sherry 2-1/2 Oz. Pineapple Juice 1 Oz. Lime Juice 1/2 Oz. Small Hands Organic Orgeat Syrup 1 Oz. Bordeaux Maraschino Cherry Syrup 2 Dashes Angostura Orange Bitters Cracked Ice   Garnish: Bordeaux Maraschino Cherry, Edible Orchid, Cocktail Umbrella   Glass: Collins   Tools: Cocktail Shaker   DIRECTIONS: Pour all the ingredients except the Maraschino cherry juice in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until chilled.  Add the cracked ice to the glass. Strain drink over the ice, garnish and just as you serve add in the Maraschino juice.       P.S.  Who else wants to see Jamie hook up with Brienne?    "People have been swinging at me for years and they always seem to miss." ~ Jaime Lannister  

  ALL MY GAME OF THRONES COCKTAILS   Updated 7-2018 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY  

HOMEMADE GIN RECIPE

First, let me say that when you are making homemade gin, you are most likely making a compound gin not a distilled gin. You can read more about the difference between the two here at Serious Eats. I like to be honest and call mine "gin flavored vodka" because that's exactly what it is.  In point of fact, all gin is basically flavored vodka, but you can read more about that from Jeffrey Morgenthaler.

Second, let me say that this whole experiment started with some left over rosemary infused vodka made for my Rosemary Lemon Drop Martini. After I had made my martini I had a considerable amount of the rosemary infused vodka leftover and, when I went to put it in the refrigerator, my eyes fell on some of the spices I keep in magnetic metal tins on the fridge door. One of these was filled with juniper berries, another with cardamom, both of which are often aromatics used in flavouring gins.
It wasn't much of a leap from there to the idea of homemade gin, though, truthfully, I was just thinking of adding some more flavors to the rosemary infused vodka for another cocktail recipe. At some point while adding the juniper berries, cardamom, some lemon peel and orange peel, I realized I had the makings of a gin flavored vodka.
Et voila, homemade gin!
The Martini Diva's Basic GIN RECIPE:
INGREDIENTS: 1 Cup 100 Proof Vodka 1 Cup 80 Proof Vodka 1 Tablespoon Juniper Berries 1/2 Teaspoon Coriander Seeds 4 Cardamom Pods 1 Teaspoon Dried Lemon Peel 1 Small Sprig Rosemary 1/4 Teaspoon Dried Lavender
TOOLS: Infusion jar or bottle, cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer
DIRECTIONS: Add the vodka and juniper berries together in a sealable infusion bottle. Allow this to infuse for a full week. Next day add the coriander, lemon peel and lavender and give this another day to infuse.  The next day add the cardamom and rosemary and let this get happy for 12 hours. Strain out the flavoring ingredients and bottle up.  If you want a clearer gin, run it through a Brita water filter a few times. Note: I do not crush my pods as I want a more subtle infusion from these ingredients. Any seeds or pods that you want more flavor from, feel free to hit them up with a little mortar and pestle action. Your homemade gin should last for up to a year, but I seriously doubt if you will have it around that long.
Of course, you can always just buy a gin kit:

The thing about making your own gin is you can try different flavoring elements, as well as using different infusion times for those elements to subtly adjust the flavor of your homemade gin. Different types of gin work with different types of cocktails, so I hope to try using some other floral elements, like chamomile, or maybe even some cucumber peels and maybe dried orange peel instead of lemon and adjusting the amount of the spices. I might also add an herb or two like basil or cilantro.
Now, try out your new Homemade Gin in some of my GIN COCKTAILS
World Gin Day is June 11th. National Gin Day is November 7th

Updated 6-2018
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BOURBON CHERRY PIE SMASH COCKTAIL

Ever since I made my Crepes Suzette Cocktail with the Orange Butter Simple Syrup, I have been wanting to put butter in another cocktail. There was something about the creaminess and that little bit of salt in the butter that just rocked that cocktail. Yesterday, after a particularly teeth gnashing day of working on my newest coloring book, I decided it was time to take a break and make myself a cocktail.
I went to the kitchen and there sat my dish of butter. So I went for butter simple syrup cocktail number two. I didn't have any plan, no special occasion was on the horizon so I hadn't been shopping for any specific ingredients. I just grazed the bar and fridge for what looked good to me in the moment.
I love it when no plan comes together.

BOURBON CHERRY PIE SMASH with A Cinnamon Maraschino Butter Syrup
INGREDIENTS: 2 Oz. Blanton's Bourbon 1/2 Cup Fresh (or frozen) Dark Cherries 1 Fresh Egg White (or 2 Tablespoons Pasteurized Egg White) 1/2 Oz. Lemon Juice 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon Maraschino Butter Simple Syrup (Recipe below) Large Ice Cube Ice
Garnish: 1 Sugared Pie, Pre-baked Pie Crust Square, 2 Luxardo Maraschino Cherries, 2 Dashes Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry Bitters
Tools: Blender, Cocktail shaker
Glass: Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONS: Prepare the Cinnamon Maraschino Butter Simple Syrup and set aside to cool. Chill your glass in the freezer. Add all the ingredients except the ice to a blender and blend on high for one full minute. (This is my cheater's approach to dry shaking.) Add this mixture to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled. Pour, do not strain, over the large ice cube in the old-fashioned glass. Tap on the cherry bitters, garnish with the pie crust square, a few Luxardo Maraschino Cherries and serve.
CINNAMON MARASCHINO BUTTER SIMPLE SYRUP
1/2 Stick Salted Butter 1 Stick of Cinnamon Juice & Zest of 1 Large Lemon 2 Tablespoons Demerrara Sugar 1 Tablespoon Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
Melt the butter in a small sauté pan. Grate the lemon zest over the butter then squeeze in the juice of the lemon. Add the sugar and the cinnamon then cook over medium high heat just until the syrup thickens, about a minute. Watch carefully,  this can burn quickly. Stir in the Luxardo. Set aside for your cocktail and allow to cool a bit.
Cherry Pie Day is February 20th AND ... Twin Peaks Day is February 24th!

Updated 2-2025 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY