At Last Again! - A winter classic

Wow, it's been a long time. Hard to make time for extra curricular activities when working full time and taking 2 classes...but I digress, this isn't about me, it's about you and your need for a delicious winter beverage. I bring to you a classic, prepared Northern Minnesota Style. In other parts of the country this is made with any ol' whisky and prepared as a shot, but in Northern Minnesota this is a sipping drink and the whisky of choice comes from the land to the north. This is the recipe from the father of one of my friends. They're from Bemidji, which is about as close to Canada as you can get without actually crossing a border.

The Duck Fart
You'll need 8 oz. each of:
Kahlua
Merry's Irish Cream
and Canadian whisky such as Canadian Mist

Mixing instructions:

In a large pitcher, combine all ingredients.
Prepare 6 low tumblers by adding a small amount of ice to each.
Pour the elixer in to the glasses and sip whilst sitting by the fireplace basking in the glow of the holiday season. Or slam em down one after the other if you're family is being particularly obnoxious.

Quintessential

Sorry I've been gone so long, I've discovered the best Gin on the planet and have been overindulging rather a lot lately. I love this stuff. Mr. Booze brought a bottle home to sample. I started with my standard G&T. Much to my surprise my G&T did not taste like others in the past. It was phenomenal! Since all other things were equal, I quickly deduced that it was the Gin which had improved my G&T so significantly.
To prove my theorem, I prepared an extra-dry martini thusly:

The Quintessential Martini
3 oz. Q Gin

Add ice to stemmed cocktail glass and set aside to chill.
Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Add gin to cocktail shaker and swirl ever so gently, till outside of shaker is frosty.
Empty ice from cocktail glass and strain contents of shaker into cocktail glass.
Serve with Citrus stuffed Olive.

Sip and repeat.

Lo and behold it was as if I'd never tasted Gin before. There are floral notes that most gins lack, and it's amazingly smooth. Yes, on it's own, just chilled down, this makes the best martini I've ever had. Period.
Now go get some. Lemon olives are also a wonderful accompaniment.

Midsummer's Cocktail

This is from the Three Olives website, again they call it a Martini, but we know better.
A warning to the gentle reader, these are very tasty and light which could lead quite easily to excessive consumption before you know it.

Perhaps that's the source of the name, just a few of these and you may find yourself dancing nekkid under the Midsummer's moon. I used a bit more lime juice and that produced just the right balance between sweet and tart.

This is now in the top of my list of aperitifs. You could use less lime juice & a sugar rimmed glass for a slightly sweeter dessert version.

Midsummer's Cocktail
3 oz. Three Olives Orange Vodka
1 oz. Grand Marinier
1/4 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

Add ice to stemmed cocktail glass and set aside to chill.
Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker and shake well, till outside of shaker is frosty.
Empty ice from cocktail glass and strain contents of shaker into cocktail glass.
Serve with a twist of orange.

What flavor Martini are you?

Ok, we all know what they really mean is 'What flavor cocktail are you?' but we won't hold their obvious error against them. This is my result:

You Are a Chocolate Martini

You're an elegant drunk, who only likes the best bars and the most expensive drinks. A bit of a cheapskate, you're likely to mooch ten dollar drinks off both friends and strangers. You should never: Drink and dash. You're gonna get caught leaving someone with the tab! Your ideal party: A posh celebrity party you crash, with an open bar. Your drinking soulmates: those with a Classic Martini personality Your drinking rivals: those with a Blueberry Martini personality

What Flavor Martini Are You?

The Tuaca Cocktail

This is a lovely little libation by way of the fabulous Liquore Italiano, Tuaca. A hint of vanilla, some lovely fruit and it's all good. Maybe too good, these are quite easy to drink.

Tuaca Cocktail
2 oz. Shakers Rye Vodka
2 oz. Tuaca
1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

Add ice to cocktail glass and set aside to chill.
Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker and shake well, till outside of shaker is frosty.
Empty ice from cocktail glass and strain contents of shaker into cocktail glass.
Serve with a twist of orange.

Between the Sheets

An oldie but a goodie. Another 1920's recipe recently regaining favor amongst the well heeled drinker. We tested with both Grand Marnier and Cointreau and were amazed at how different the taste was. The Grand Marnier is smoother, mellower. The Cointreau is decidedly more 'orangey'. I prefer the Grand Marnier, but you may like the extra fruity kick with the Cointreau.

Between the Sheets
2 oz. Jean Duree VSOP Cognac
1 oz. Rondiaz White Rum
1 oz. Grand Marnier or Cointreau
1 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Add ice to rocks glass til half-full or fill cocktail glass with ice.
Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker and shake well, till outside of shaker is frosty.
Strain into rocks glass or empty ice from cocktail glass and strain into cocktail glass.
Serve with a twist of lemon.

The Ecstasy Cocktail

Well, drink menus tend to call this a Martini. However, you and I know that a true Martini has the following ingredients only:
Plain Gin or Vodka shaken over ice, a wisp of dry Vermouth and a garnish of olive, all served in a cocktail glass. Granted you can have a dirty martini by adding olive juice to the aforementioned items, and there are a few, very few, other acceptable variations.
However this has gotten out of hand and people seem to have decided that anything served in a stemmed cocktail glass is a Martini. I'm personally out to stem that tide of incorrectness and will henceforth refuse to use the term Martini unless specifically referring to the actual drink.

That said...here's a lovely purple cocktail made with Three Olives Grape Vodka. "Grape vodka?" you ask quizzically. "Trust me." I say reassuredly. "It's quite tasty."


The Ecstasy
(This is listed on the Three Olives website as the Barney, but in the recipe book as the Ecstasy, presumably they've realized it's bad form to name a cocktail after a beloved children's character, though...what about the Scooby Snack? Nevermind.)
2 oz. Three Olives Grape Vodka
1/2 oz. Blue Curacao
1/2 oz. grenadine
Splash of soda water

Fill cocktail glass with ice and set aside to chill.
Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Add Three Olives Grape Vodka, Blue Curacao and grenadine, shake well.
Empty ice from cocktail glass.
Strain shaker contents into chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange slice.

A personal suggestion...just add a splash each of the Blue Curacao and grenadine, too much makes the drink too dark to appreciate the beautiful purple color. Also...add a dash of lemon juice to cut the sweetness.

Pink Drinks

At special request for a friend hosting a Bachelorette party I bring you some recipes for Pink Drinks. I've not tried all these myself, but they all sound good:

Bacardi Pink
4 oz. Bacardi® Limon rum
8 oz. pink lemonade

Fill Collins glass, or other tall narrow glass half-full with ice cubes.
Pour rum and lemonade straight into glass.
Stir with a straw, and serve.

Pink Lady Punch
1 qt. bottle 100 proof Stoli vodka
2 small jars red maraschino cherries
2 cups pineapple juice
2 cups grapefruit juice
2 cups Mountain Dew soda
sloe gin

2 days before: Drain cherries, reserve liquid for punch. Put cherries in a large jar, pour vodka over cherries, cover and refridgerate for 2 days.
In punch bowl or other large container:
Pour in vodka and cherries.
Add all ingredients except sloe gin, add cherry juice as desired to sweeten.
Serve over ice cubes in a hurricane style glass topped with a splash of sloe gin.
Garnish with cherries.

Tequila Refresca
1 oz. Patron tequila, white or gold
Dash Campari
6 oz. grapefruit soda,(recommended: Fresca)
Small wedge fresh pineapple, grapefruit, and lime

Fill a goblet or rocks glass with ice cubes.
Add the tequila and a dash of Campari to give the drink a slight blush and balance the sweetness of the soda.
Top off with the grapefruit soda.
Skewer the fruit and stir into the cocktail.

Serve with a plate of wedged pineapple, a small bowl of your favorite chili powder, and coarse salt, for dipping.


Meloncello
Yellow or pink cocktail sugar or sanding sugar (sold at specialty stores), optional
1 cup cubed seedless watermelon
3 1/2 oz. Limoncello di Capri
1 oz. Bacardi Limon or light rum
Splash club soda
Lemon wedge

Dip the rim of the rocks glass first in a tiny bit of water and then in the sugar, if desired, and put in the freezer.
Puree the watermelon cubes in a blender until juicy.
Fill the prepped glass with ice.
Add the watermelon juice/puree, limoncello and rum.
Top off with enough club soda to give the drink a light bubble.
Garnish with the lemon wedge.


Pink Lady
1 1/2 oz. chilled Olifant gin
1/2 oz. Chambord
1/2 cup chilled cranberry juice
1 tablespoon lightly beaten egg white (optional, but makes the drink nice and foamy)

Fill a cocktail glass with ice and set aside.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
Add gin, Chambord, cranberry juice and egg white to shaker and shake the drink vigorously.
Empty ice from cocktail glass.
Strain it into a chilled cocktail glass.


Pink Cotton Candy
1 oz. Ketel One vodka
1 oz. Disaronno almond liquor
pink lemonade

Fill a collins glass or other tall, narrow glass with ice.
Pour all ingredients into glass, stir, and serve.


Pink Jacket
2 oz. Ketel One Citroen vodka
1 oz. triple sec or orange curacao
1 dash grenadine syrup

Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Gin Drinks

Well I had a bunch of Gin and a bunch of lemons and limes on hand so I did a little comparison between the Gin Fizz, the Tom Collins and the Gin Rickey. All serve their purposes, I have a certain fondness for the Rickey, simply because I prefer limes to lemons.

The Gin Fizz
2 oz. gin (I used Tanqueray No. Ten for all of these)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. superfine sugar (according to Alton Brown, no need to buy superfine sugar, just put regular sugar in a coffee grinder for a few seconds, same result)
club soda

Fill highball glass 1/2 full of ice.
Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Add gin, lemon juice and powdered sugar to cocktail shaker and shake vigorously.
Strain into a highball glass, top off with soda water, stir, and serve.
Garnish w/ a nice twist of lemon peel.


The Tom Collins, simplified.
Actually pretty much the same as the Fizz, different prep method, slightly less soda.
2 oz. gin
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp. superfine sugar
3 oz. club soda
1 maraschino cherry
1 slice orange

Fill a Collins glass (or other tall, narrow glass) half-filled with ice cubes.
Add the gin, lemon juice, and sugar to glass.
Stir well.
Add the club soda.
Stir again, lightly, and garnish with the cherry and the orange slice.


The Gin Rickey
2 oz. gin
juice of 1/2 lime
soda water
1 lime wedge

Fill highball glass 1/2 full with ice.
Add the juice of lime and gin into the glass.
Top off glass with carbonated water and stir.
Add the wedge of lime and serve.

ummm, yeah, had a bit of a headache this am. 6 oz of gin will do that I guess.

The Sidecar

This is a variation on the White Lady recipe, with cognac replacing the gin. Supposedly named 'The Sidecar' in honor of the Russian and French officers lounging in Paris after the war (that'd be WWI) whose preferred method of travel was said sidecar. The military types were noted fans of this particular libation. The Sidecar was reportedly developed at Harry's Bar in Paris.


2 oz. Martell VSOP Cognac (VS will also work, no need to break out the XO for a mixed drink)
1 oz. Grand Marinier
1 oz. Lemon Juice

Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker, shake gently.
Strain the elixer into a lowball or small tumbler. Add some cracked ice and enjoy.

Now, we mixed up a couple of these after a particularly long night, and they're quite refreshing and very drinkable. I'm still not sure whether I like this or the lady better...more testing is required.

The Daiquiri

Pure simple goodness. Those frozen things aren't really Daiquiris at all and shouldn't be referred to as such. Now, some may balk at the use of a non-brand rum. However I've done a taste test, and I have pretty sensitive taste buds. I cannot tell the difference between Bacardi and Rondiaz white runs. Now, if we're talking a premium aged rum, that's an entirely different story and there are significant differences in taste and quality between brands. For a basic white rum to be used in mixed drinks, save your money and use it where it actually matters.

2 oz. Rondiaz white rum
fresh squeezed juice of 1/2 lime (really, don't use that bottled stuff)
1 tsp. super fine sugar.

Fill cocktail glass with ice and set aside to chill.
Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Add all ingredients and shake vigorously. (necessary to help dissolve sugar)
Empty ice from cocktail glass.
Strain liquid from shaker into glass and serve.
No garnish necessary.

(see hint in yesterday's post about getting the most juice from a lemon, works equally well with a lime)

The White Lady

I don't know why it's called that. Theitaliantaste.com states that this was invented in the 1920s at Ciro's Club in London by a bartender whose name was Harry McAlone in honour of a mysterious white lady. Other sources claim it to be from 1910. Some sources refer to it as the 'Delilah'. One author suggested the name was a ruse, a counter to the wallop this little drink actually has. Possible. After two I was certainly ready for bed...maybe we should rename it the Lindsay Lohan.

Anyhow, this recipe has been around a good long time and with good reason. It's a damn tasty drink.

1.5 oz. Plymouth Gin
1.5 oz. Grand Marinier (or Cointreau)
1.5 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Fill cocktail glass with ice and set aside to chill.
Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker, shake gently.
Dump ice out of cocktail glass.
Strain the elixer into the now ice-cold cocktail glass and garnish with a strip of lemon peel.

(hint: To get the most juice out of a fresh lemon, bring it to room temperature or microwave on high power for 30 seconds and roll it under your palm against a hard surface before squeezing.)

(note: the quantities can be increased for any number of drinks, just remember to add equal portions of Gin, Grand Marinier and Lemon Juice)

Kurosawa Sake

Today's discovery (ok, it was last night's discovery, but I try not to drink and post)
Kurosawa Sake

We had this at a local Japanese restaurant, Saji-Ya. The review of that experience is here.

Of course we bought it because it's named after one of the greatest Film directors of all time. Nice that it turned out to be really tasty. This sake was lovely and light, nice rich aromas of caramel and chocolate, but not sweet, not bone dry either, well balanced. I'll be seeking it out since the company Mr. Booze works for doesn't carry any Sake.

If you see it on a menu somewhere, I'd recommend you give it a try.

The 'official' description from the brewing company:
In the Japanese art and tradition of sake, the KIMOTO brewing process is rare. Few sake breweries are able to provide the meticulous hand brewing steps required of the KIMOTO title. This smooth, dry sake will enhance any cuisine, any occasion. Countless years of tradition are captured in every bottle and every distinctive taste of Kurosawa Jun-Mai Kimoto.

Laetitia NV Brut Rose

Today I bring you one of my favorite sparkling wines.

Laetitia Vinyard's Non-Vintage Brut Rosé


Not only is this a fantastic example of Méthode Champenoise, it's inexpensive! This is definitely a wine that can make any day seem more special.

I know what you're thinking, this is not a true champagne. You're right. But then again, we don't live in France and can't afford true champagne on a daily basis. If we did live in France I would drink a bottle of Baudot Père & Fils Champagne every day, maybe two on Saturdays just because I lived in France and I could. However, that greatest of bubblies is unattainable here in the cultural hinterlands, unless you have very gracious friends in France that will drive to the tiny village of Mailly-Champagne, buy several cases of Baudot's magical elixer and then pay the exorbitant costs to ship them to you. So, lacking in French Trust-Fund Baby friends as I am, I have had to explore the world of sparkling wine to find something palatable made a bit closer to home.

When in California a few years back for a family wedding, my mum and I had the great fortune to stumble upon the Laetitia Vineyard. Seems that Laetitia was also the name of my mum's favorite hotel on her recent trip to Italy so she insisted we go in. Serendipity at it's best. We discovered to our dismay that they didn't currently have any distributors in our home state of MN and purchased several bottles to try to weather the long days ahead before we could return to CA to puchase more.

Imagine my glee just a short year later when Mr. Booze brought home a bottle of a new sparkling wine that his company would be distributing! Yes! My beloved Laetitia! So, like the diva I deign to be, I now have a bottle of a fantastic bubbly in my fridge at all times and seek out any occasion to consume it.

Mr. Booze is also a huge fan of this wine. I wonder what some of his more, ahem, down-to-earth clients would think if they knew one of his favorite beverages was pink and bubbly.

The Wintini

In honor of my fabulous friend Winnie's birthday I bring you her signature cocktail creation, the Wintini!

one shot (2 oz.) Absolut Mandarin or Smirnoff Orange Twist vodka
one shot (2 oz.) Malibu or Kingston Coconut Rum
half shot (1 oz.) Midori or Gionelli Melon liqueur
splash of pineapple juice

Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Add all ingredients and shake.
Srain into a martini glass, it's all good!
(I'd say you could even add a little lime zest for a garnish)

Nummy AND green! :D

The Southern Gentleman

Today I have a very special creation for you.

The Southern Gentleman.

The recipe:
2 oz. Gentleman Jack
1 oz. 100 proof Southern Comfort
dash Angostura Bitters
1 long stemmed maraschino cherry

Fill cocktail shaker with ice.
Pour Gentleman Jack and Southern Comfort over ice.
Shake GENTLY or stir. (You do not want to bruise the alcohol or the silkiness will be gone)
Strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass, sprinkle with a dash or two of Angostura Bitters and garnish with cherry.

I must warn you, this drink is as smooth and silky as a true southern gentleman. If you don't pay attention you'll be nekkid and that cherry will be gone before you know it.

The French Horn

Finally the first post.
Today's featured drink is the French Horn.

2 oz. vodka (I prefer Shakers Rye)
3/4 oz. Chambord® raspberry liqueur
1/2 oz. lemon juice

Add ingredients to glass filled with ice.
Stir and strain into a cordial or cocktail glass.
Garnish with a speared cherry, and serve.

It's a lovely aperitif, particularly in these warm summer months.
The tartness of the lemon balances the sweetness of the Chambord perfectly.
Rating: A