I like to think of this cocktail as a chocolate cherry Boulevardier or, perhaps closer, a Kentucky Royale but with fresh cherries instead of Cherry Heering. Basically it was something I tossed together the other night when I was goofing around with my Templeton Rye and my Cinzano Rosso trying to come up with a new cocktail. At the last minute I added some orange elements with a drop of orange bitters and an orange twist because I wanted a bit of citrus hitting my nose with the chocolate and cherries.
Damn, it was good for something I just tossed together. I had three and I was one happy little boozer. I also had with my Kentucky Derby - Triple Crown Cocktail for this year. Win, win.
Now, if only my pick for this year's Run for the Roses can also win.
The
DERBY ROYALE
COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 Oz. Templeton Rye
6 Frozen Dark Sweet Organic Cherries
1/2 Oz. Cinzano Rosso Vermouth
1 Teaspoon Caffè Borghetti Coffee Liqueur
1 Teaspoon Bordeaux Cherry Syrup
2 Dashes Chocolate Bitters
1 Dash Angostura Orange Bitters
1 Tablespoon Pasteurized Egg White
Garnish: Bordeaux Maraschino Cherry, Orange Twist
Tools: Blender, Cocktail Shaker
Glass: Coupe
DIRECTIONS
Chill the glass.
Toss the ingredients into your blender and whip until volume triples and the drink is nice and foamy. (This is my cheaters version of dry shaking.)
Transfer this to an ice filled cocktail shaker, shake until chilled then strain onto the chilled coupe.
Express the orange peel over the top, add the cherry and serve.
Bailey, of course, did his cocktail wingman duty and tested it out for me:
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Tea infused gin is a hot trend at the moment. I happen to have a huge collection of fun and exotic teas so I tried a few out for tea infused gins this week. One for my Wild Hibiscus Gin & Tonic, one for my Butterfly Pea Flower and Elderflower Gin & Tonic and another, at the last minute, using some mint green tea.
That was a great last minute addition, the mint flavored green tea went wonderfully with the gin I chose, Daffy's Gin, which has strong mint and lemon notes and, with the use of lemon in place of the typical G&T lime, I ended up with a bright and thirst-quenching drink.
There's something about tea and gin and tonic, it's so perfectly British. It's also a great cocktail combination.
The
MINT GREEN TEA
GIN & TONIC
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 Oz. Mint Green Tea Infused Daffy's Gin*
1 Oz. Lemon Creme Honey Syrup**
Juice of 1 Fresh Lemon
Fever-Tree Tonic Water
Ice
Garnish: Mint Sprig, Lemon Wedge
Tools: Metal Strainer, Stir Stick
Glass: Double Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONS
Preparation:
* An hour or more before serving your cocktails add one tea bag of Mint Green Tea for every one and a half ounces of gin and allow to infuse. Strain and set aside for the cocktails.
** Make the Lemon Créme Honey Syrup by mixing 2 tablespoons of hot water with 2 tablespoons of Honey Ridge Farms Honey Créme Lemon.
For each Cocktail:
Add the mint green tea infused gin to a highball glass filled with ice. Squeeze in the lemon wedges, then drop the wedges in the drink. Add the Lemon Créme Honey Syrup and stir. Top off with the tonuc, stir again, garnish and serve.
National Gin & Tonic Day is April 9th.
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While making a hibiscus tea infused gin for my Wild Hibiscus Gin & Tonic I also spied my butterfly pea flower tea in the cupboard and decided to add that to my tea infused gin session. Butterfly pea flowers are one of nature's few naturally blue foods. They're also a little magic because when you add something acidic to blue pea flower teas or essences, they will turn purple in front of your eyes. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity for a color changing gin and tonic.
I also decided to add a bit of elderflower liqueur to amp up the elderflower floral notes of the Hendrick's Gin and to complement the pea flower, then I used a light lavender honey simple syrup to sweeten the drink. The final cocktail was a gorgeous, deep blue violet/violet cocktail that tasted like a floral, lightly alcoholic lemonade. It was amazingly refreshing and tasted like spring.
BUTTERFLY PEA FLOWER
& ELDERFLOWER
GIN & TONIC
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 Oz. Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Infused Hendrick's Gin (Instructions Below*)
1/2 Oz. St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur
Lavender Honey Syrup (Recipe below**) to Taste
1 Fresh Lime, Quartered
Fever Tree Tonic Water
Ice
Garnish: Lime Wedge
Tools: Metal Strainer, Bar Spoon
Glass: Highball
DIRECTIONS
* Preparation: An hour or two before serving your cocktails add one tea bag of Wild Hibiscus Butterfly Pea Flower Tea for every one and a half ounces of gin and allow to infuse, the longer the infusion, the stronger the flavor. Strain and set aside for the cocktails.
** Prepare the Lavender Honey Simple Syrup by combining 2 tablespoons of hot water with 2 tablespoons of Honey Ridge Farms Honey Creme Lavender then set aside to cool.
For each Cocktail:
Add the pea flower tea infused gin, the lavender honey syrup and the elderflower liqueur to a highball glass filled with ice. Top off with tonic water and stir. Slowly squeeze then drop in the lime quarters, the drink will turn from bright blue to deep purple just as you serve it.
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Tea infused gin is a thing lately and, for Gin & Tonic Day (April 9th), I went a little wild with one of my favorite teas and did a Wild Hibiscus Tea infused gin. It was easy to infuse the gin, only took a few hours and I got a fragrant, rich, red colored hibiscus gin for my G&T which I finished off with Wild Hibiscus Rose Syrup and a wild hibiscus garnish.
It was a gorgeous, deep magenta cocktail with a tart, citrus and floral taste from the hibiscus rose syrup and fresh limes. Pretty as heck and a great way to bling up a classic gin and tonic, if I do say so myself.
The
WILD HIBISCUS
GIN & TONIC
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 Oz. Wild Hibiscus Tea Infused Gin*
Wild Hibiscus Rose Syrup to Taste
(Use the syrup the hibiscus flowers are packed in!)
Fresh Lime Juice to Taste
Fever-Tree Tonic Water
Ice
Garnish: Wild Hibiscus Flower, Lime Wedge
Tools: Metal Strainer, Stir Stick
Glass: Double Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONS
* Preparation: An hour or two before serving your cocktails add one tea bag of Wild Hibiscus Tea for every one and a half ounces of gin and allow to infuse. Strain and set aside for the cocktails.
For each Cocktail:
Add the wild hibiscus infused gin to a chilled glass filled with ice. Squeeze in lime wedges to taste, then drop the limes in the drink. Add Wild Hibiscus Rose Syrup to taste, stir then top off with the Fever Tree Tonic Water. Garnish with a wild hibiscus flower and serve.
National, International and/or World Gin and Tonic Day is April 9th.
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Today is #SoylentGreenDay.
Yes, there IS a Soylent Green #Cocktail.NOT my recipe ... I'd have enough sense not to put cream in this combination!
No, this is not an #AprilFools joke!
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Spring is grapefruit season here in Tucson and my neighbors are always generous with their harvest. Sometimes a little too generous* and I have to find ways to use all the beautiful citrus I'm gifted with. My answer is usually to head over to the bar, grab the juicer and serve those free grapefruit right back to my neighbors at happy hour.
When I only have one or two grapefruit I'll serve up my Pink Grapefruit Martini, but when I'm blessed with a multitude of grapefruit to take advantage of then a party and a tall drink is called for. A classic Paloma, a Greyhound or a Salty Dog are all good solutions to using up grapefruit gifted by the dozen. The Paloma is made with tequila, the Greyhound was originally made with gin and I was in more of a vodka mood so I went with an adaptation of both the Greyhound and Salty Dog. As a nod to spring I added a little floral twist to the classic recipes.
Whenever you have fresh grapefruit, you need to make this cocktail. It's comparatively light in alcohol, healthy and very refreshing when temperatures and thirsts are high.
The
ELDERFLOWER
SALTY DOG
INGREDIENTS
1 Oz. Vodka
1/2 Oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liquor
8 Oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice
4 Tbsp. Grapefruit Lemon Honey Syrup**
Ice
Rim: 1 Part Kosher Salt to 2 Parts Demerara Sugar
Garnish: Long Grapefruit Peel, Grapefruit Wedge
Tools: Vegetable Peeler, Cocktail Shaker
Glass: Pint Glass
DIRECTIONS
Peel the entire skin of one grapefruit and set aside.
Cut 2 grapefruit in half. Slice off one wedge and set aside. Juice the remainder of the grapefruit.
Rim your glass with grapefruit juice then dip in the salt and sugar, press the grapefruit twist against the inside of the glass, fill glass with ice then chill the glass in freezer.
** Blend one ounce of warmed grapefruit juice with two tablespoons of Honey Ridge Farms Lemon Créme Honey and add this to the cocktail shaker.
Fill shaker with ice then add the vodka, elderflower liqueur and fresh grapefruit juice.
Shake until chilled, strain into the glass, garnish with the grapefruit wedge, add a straw and serve.
* I usually tell people I don't like grapefruit, but the truth is grapefruit doesn't like me. I actually love fresh grapefruit, but it can be very hard on my stomach unless it's very sweet and even then I always add a pinch of salt and extra sweeteners to ease the tartness. Canned grapefruit is always too acidic and never passes my doorstep so don't ever drop in at happy hour for a Salty Dog or Greyhound*** when grapefruit aren't in season.
*** What's the difference between a Salty Dog and a Greyhound?
The Greyhound, originally a gin cocktail, not vodka, is simply either of those spirits mixed with grapefruit juice. The Salty Dog just adds a salt rim.
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I love revisiting my past cocktail recipes. With National Black Forest Cake Day being March 28th I thought it might be time to have a new take on my original Black Forest Cake Martini. Back in those days I was big into all the flavored vodkas, these days I'm exploring whiskies and decided it was time for a bourbon Black Forest Cake in a glass.
Think of a creamy Chocolate Manhattan or a maybe Fancy Free Cocktail but with Kirsch instead of Maraschino liqueur, creme de cacao added and the bitters changed to chocolate instead of orange. Before I added the creme de cacao it reminded me a bit of Cherry Bounce, a Colonial cocktail of cherries and sugar fermented in brandy or whiskey. Not a bad thing at all.
Adding the creme de cacao is an even better thing.
TheBLACK FORESTCAKETAIL
INGREDIENTS2 Oz. Bourbon1/4 Oz. Kirsch3/4 Oz. Creme De Cacao2 Dashes Chocolate Bitters
Float: 1 Oz. Lightly Whipped Heavy Cream
Garnish: Luxardo Cherries, Cherry Bitters
Tools: Cocktail shaker
Glass: Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONSChill glass in the freezer.Shake ingredients with ice until chilled then strain into ice filled glass.Top with lightly whipped creamDo not stir, it will gently settle into the cocktail by itself.Tap a few drops of Cherry Bitters on top.Garnish and serve.
National Black Forest Cake Day is March 28th.
VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:
Updated 3-2021
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