Lemon is a pretty classic cocktail flavor. It's the top citrus used in sours, the most ubiquitous cocktail garnish in it's many forms and it has been adding a tart zing to alcoholic beverages since time immemorial. You cannot have a well stocked bar without fresh lemons. From simply tossing a splash of vodka into a glass of lemonade to infusing your own Lemoncello (Limoncello is trademarked) (recipe below), lemons are the hardest working citrus fruit in any bartender's handbook.
The ancient Egyptians believed that eating or drinking lemons would provide an effective protection against a variety of poisons, and today's knowledge of the health benefits of lemons confirms this. Lemons are known to have antibacterial, antiviral, and immune-boosting powers. So adding some lemon juice, zest or even just a nice twist to a cocktail is always a good idea!
Below is a list of my cocktails that feature lemon as their main flavor. If I listed all the cocktails that used it as the sour element or cocktails that used it as a garnish alone the post would never end! Check back occasionally, I'm always adding more!
Sweet and almost movie horror green, the Grasshopper is one of the first cocktails many folks try. Why? Because it tastes like a chocolate mint. Hugely popular in the late fifties and early sixties, the Grasshopper is said to be the brainchild of Philip Guichet at his restaurant Tujague's (a landmark bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana), created for a cocktail competition sometime around 1919.
A decidedly sweet dessert style drink, the Grasshopper deserves a comeback, if only for the fun of its almost neon color. Besides, there's nothing wrong with trading that after dinner mint in for a fun, vintage after dinner chocolate mint cocktail occasionally.
Tujague's still serves Grasshoppers, though now with a float of brandy on top. If you're ever in New Orleans you should stop in and order one. I went another route with a few drops of Scrappy's Chocolate Bitters to help cut through the deadly sweetness and reinforce the chocolate a bit.
The
GRASSHOPPER
INGREDIENTS:
1 Oz. Green Crème de Menthe
(+ 2 Tablespoons for rimming)
1 Oz. White Crème de Cacao
1 Oz. Heavy Cream
Dash of Chocolate Bitters
GARNISH: 1 Chocolate Mint Sprig, Crushed Cacao Nibs
TOOLS:Cocktail Shaker, Mini Food Processor or Blender, 2 Small Plates
DIRECTIONS:
Chop the cacao nibs in the food processor or blender.
Fill one plate with the 2 tablespoons of green crème de menthe and the other with the crushed cacao nibs then dip the rim of your glass into the liqueur then roll glass rim in the cacao nibs.
Chill the glass in the freezer.
Fill your cocktail shaker with ice, add the green crème de menthe, the white crème de cacao and the cream.
Shake until chilled then strain into the chilled glass then tap on a few drops of chocolate bitters.
Float the chocolate mint sprig on top and enjoy!
VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:
Note: Some folks use ice cream in place of the cream, I find this puts the cocktail way over the top in sweetness and it is not what the original recipe calls for.
Thanks to Fernet Branca I'm celebrating National Chocolate Milkshake Day with a very special ice cream milkshake cocktail. I happen to be a big fan of chocolate shakes, I've loved them since I was a kid and still do, but these days my adult palate really appreciates a shake that's not pure sugar, one that incorporates other tastes for a full range of flavor. A little bitter and a dash of salt can really make a sweet shake sing. This is where the Fernet comes in.
Hailing from the Bay Area, I'm a fan of amaros*, in particular Fernet Branca. A Fernet and Coke was my GoTo cocktail for years and is still a trusted standby. Fernet is a bitter digestivo liqueur originally created for medicinal purposes by Bernadino Branca in Milan in 1845. The liqueur is made from a blend of spices, herbs and roots including myrrh, peppermint oil, chamomile, cardamom, and saffron, which are soaked in alcohol, spun in a centrifuge and allowed to settle for a month before being filtered. The Fernet is then aged in Slovenian oak barrels for a year. The final step is to add sugar.
Fernet is often called a licorice liqueur but I personally find it a deeper taste experience. I get a whiff of chocolate just before I sip, then the bitter citrus chimes in and finally the saffron and licorice hit my palate. It definitely has that anise flavor but not aggressively, at least for me.
Although I do drink Fernet as a digestivo, I find it particularly appealing as a bitter component to tamp down what might otherwise be overly sweet cocktails. It works much like the application of bitters in that manner but, unlike bitters, brings some additional alcohol, volume and its distinct flavor profile to the party.
That's the approach I've used for this adult chocolate milkshake.
The
FERNET MOCHA FRAPPÉ SHAKE
INGREDIENTS:
1 Oz. Fernet-Branca
2 Oz. Dark Creme de Cacao (+ 2 Tablespoons for rim)
TOOLS: Two small plates, Blender, Pint or Collins glass, Long spoon, Straw
GARNISH: 1 Large piece of an ice cream waffle cone, crushed waffle cone and mini chocolate chips for the rim, extra chocolate chips for topping, Bordeaux Maraschino cherry, chocolate bitters.
DIRECTIONS:
Fill one small plate with the two tablespoons of creme de cacao and one with the crushed waffle cone and mini chocolate chips mixture.
Dip the rim of your glass in the liqueur and then into the cone mixture.
Chill the glass in the freezer.
Add the Fernet-Branca, espresso powder, milk, salt, creme de cacao and then the ice cream to your blender and blend until just smooth and creamy. Don't over blend.
Pour into your chilled, rimmed glass, mound on the espresso whipped cream and top off with a few drops of the chocolate bitters.
Add the piece of waffle cone then slide the Bordeau Maraschino cherry inside the cone.
Slide in a couple of biodegradable straws and serve with an ice cream spoon.
ESPRESSO WHIPPED CREAM
1 C. Ice Cold Whipping Cream
4 Tsp. Light Brown Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 Tsp. Instant Espresso Powder
Whip in a chilled stainless steel bowl with chilled beaters in your hand mixer until your whipped cream reaches soft peak. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours.
My thanks to Fernet Branca for supplying me with their lovely liqueur and the Whole Foods gift card for supplies so I could create this yummy, boozy shake for Chocolate Milkshake Day.
Cheers, M'Dears!
* Amaro, Italian for "bitter", is an herbal liqueur that considered an after-dinner digestif.
The UPS guy came a knocking and delivered unto me five, count them, FIVE pints of booze ice cream recently! Three flavors of Frozen Pints Craft Beer Ice Cream and two flavors of Ice Cream Bar liquor ice cream, sitting snugly in their little cooler looking all frosty and tempting. @FrozenPints and I had connected on Twitter and they volunteered (when their production caught up with demand) to send me some samples to taste and to use to create some fun cocktails. That was a few weeks ago and I had completely forgotten they were coming, then - BINGO - a booze and ice cream lovers dream!
The five pints arrived perfectly frozen, packed in their own cooler with dry ice. They were still frozen, not a sign of melting anywhere. And I live in Tucson and it's summer! Plus the handled cooler they came packed in is a cool little dividend. Sadly, I had to put them away, hard as it was, because I wanted time to give them a real taste test and to work out some recipes and, at that particular moment, I was immersed in Daiquiri week recipes.
BUT, naturally, first I grabbed a spoon and immediately tasted each one, even though it was only 10 a.m. I'm no fool, and who can resist boozy ice cream? I really could have polished a whole pint off then and there, but, sadly, I had to tuck them in the freezer. Man, that was hard. Yeah, okay, I kept sneaking back for little spoonfuls.
So, a few days later there I was with the (somewhat depleted) Frozen Pints and Ice Cream Bar goodies lined up in front of me and five dishes and spoons at hand ready to give serious attention to each flavor. Can I just say, I love my job?
REVIEW OF FROZEN PINTS & ICE CREAM BAR ICE CREAMS:
Ice Cream Bar BOURBON BUTTER PECAN
I made Homemade Toasted Walnut Infused Maple Bourbon and used up my entire first batch pouring it on ice cream so I immediately dug into this one! The first taste you get is the bourbon, which is what you want in bourbon ice cream, but then it mellows as the ice cream melts and the vanilla comes in and kisses your palate. The last burst of flavor is from the chunks of toasted pecans which combine their slight bitterness with the sweetness from the caramel for a really pleasant finish. Best use? Pour in 1 shot of good bourbon, half a shot of cold espresso and a scoop of this into a cocktail shaker with a few ice cubes, shake hard, strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a dusting of espresso powder.
Ice Cream Bar WHITE RUSSIAN
Tastes like a really cold, really creamy White Russian. Best use? Grab a spoon.
Frozen Pints MALTED MILK CHOCOLATE STOUT
Tastes just like a chocolate malt then surprises you with the stout at the end. The malt is at the forefront, nice and creamy and sweet then the sweetness drops down with a little chocolate sliding in, then - bam! - that stout grabs your attention. It's sort of a roller coaster of tastes as you go from one spoonful to the next. Kind of fun. Best Use? Savor with a crisp chocolate wafer cookie or go full tilt boogie and do my Malted Milk Beer Float.
Frozen Pints BROWN ALE CHIP
This is the one I'd keep in the fridge all the time. Interestingly enough, I don't like chocolate chip ice creams, the chips are too large and they're so cold from the ice cream you don't get the full richness of the chocolate. Someone over at Frozen Pints is smart, they made the chips small so as the ice cream melted the chocolate started to melt and you got that dark chocolate hit on your tongue. The brown ale here was a nice tang at the end. Best use? Served up as my Chocolate Chip Beer Float!
Frozen Pints PEACH LAMBIC
Right off I wasn't in love, probably because I tasted this right after the White Russian Ice Cream, but on my second go 'round I felt like I was eating a very fresh peach sherbet with a twist of bitterness from the Belgian lambic that complemented the sweetness of the peaches and left a little zing on my tongue. Turns out this ended up my favorite of all, especially after adding Raspberry Ale and turning it into a Peach Melba Beer Ice Cream Float. Seriously, one of the best floats ever! Best use? That Peach Melba Float!
Overall I was really impressed with these alcoholic ice creams. Because of the alcohol they never freeze as solid as regular ice cream which is good because ice cream should never be eaten that cold. This means you can dig right in and fully experience the flavors. Interesting enough, they don't seem to melt any faster than non-alcoholic ice cream. The texture is creamy, smooth with no noticeable ice crystals and they're not whipped full of air for volume and, as a result, don't turn to foam in the mouth. (Cheap aerated ice creams are a particular pet peeve of mine.)
I'm not a huge beer drinker and if you would have told me a month ago I'd be not only creating but really enjoying beer ice cream and beer floats I would have looked at you crossways. But I'm a convert. You really can teach an old dog new tricks, especially if you use beer ice cream as a treat! As for the Bourbon and White Russian Ice Creams, all I can say is I'm glad these can't be found at my corner market (yet) or I'd probably end up pulling my fat pants out of storage.
(This is not a monitarily compensated post. I got free ice cream samples and I'm not complaining!)
The whole inspiration is from Auguste Escoffier's famous Peach Melba. This is a classic dessert made with peaches, raspberries and vanilla ice cream which Escoffier created for the famous Australian opera singer Nellie Melba. Once I tasted the Peach Lambic Ice Cream I knew exactly where I was going with it.
Even if you're not a beer lover you'll love this glass full of peach and raspberry ice cream treat.
What do you do with some Frozen Pints Craft Beer Ice Cream and a bottle of Hanger 24 Chocolate Porter? You make Chocolate Porter Beer Float Shots!
Frozen Pints sent me several varieties of their Craft Beer Ice Cream, among them was their Brown Ale Chip and their Malted Milk Chocolate Stout and, since beer floats are kind of a thing lately I bought a bottle of Hanger 24 Chocolate Porter and made a duo of Beer Float Shots.
And before you cringe, try them! I'm not a real beer fan and I loved them both! The Chocolate Chip was my favorite of the two, but I'm really fond of malt balls so that one went down pretty easy too.
Both are really simple, simply delicious and easy to make. The ingredients for each are below and the directions are just below that.
TOOLS: Shooter glasses (or a pint glass for full size float), Melon Baller (or an ice cream scoop for full size ones.)
DIRECTIONS for BOTH:
Fill your shooter (or pint glass) HALF full with the Chocolate Porter, pouring down the side of the glass to keep the head minimal.
Allow the head to settle for a minute then scoop 2 balls of ice cream with the melon baller (shooter) or the ice cream scoop (full size).
Sprinkle on the garnish and enjoy!
If you're looking for an unusual dessert these would be a perfect surprise for guests. Serve them up with some chocolate chip cookies or brownies and you have an easy, unusual adult treat.
I was sent samples from Fernet Branca and Frozen Pints/The Ice Cream Bar and while concocting recipes with both accidentally discovered they worked together like a dream. I put together some beer floats with some chocolate stout for the ice cream post and then, because I still had most of the gynourmous bottle of chocolate stout left, decided to grab the Fernet Branca and a bottle of Sailor Jerry spiced Rum. Hey, I couldn't let that 22 ounce bottle of chocolate stout go to waste, could I?
What I ended up with tasted amazingly like a very boozy chocolate root beer float at the start. It began fairly sweet with a hit of bitter at the sides of the palate but if you added more of the chocolate stout as you drink, which I did, it got more mellow and changed character. The ice cream slowly melts as you add more stout and you end up with a creamy, foam topped chocolate licorice tinged cocktail. You also get to enjoy it longer and appreciate the change from sweet to somewhat bitter as you drink.
Add the Fernet, Rum and Crème de Cacao to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until well chilled.
Strain into your chilled glass.
Top off with chocolate stout, gently slide in a big scoop of the ice cream, sprinkle with dark chocolate chips, slide in a straw and ENJOY!
Why do I drop the ice cream in last? Because if you put the ice cream in first it will form ice crystals on the outer layer as the warmer liquids come in contact with it and it will also foam more and create nasty air pockets that make your drink experience less pleasant.
