cointreau

Cocktail Advent 22: Cali Midnight

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As dark as a long winter’s night, this stunner would probably work slightly warmed, too!

Image via Caliche Rum

Image via Caliche Rum

Cali Midnight

  • 1 1/2 oz Caliche Rum
  • 3/4 oz Port Wine
  • 1/2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 oz Triple Sec
  • Cinnamon stick for garnish

 

Only, do yourself a favor and buy a bottle of Cointreau instead of using Triple Sec. Your taste buds will thank you!

I’d say (since they didn’t) stir this up. Either increase it to pitcher proportions over ice or put it in a slow-cooker on low or warm and serve as mulled wine.

***This recipe was submitted by a representative of Caliche Rum. I am not affiliated with the brand nor have I received any compensation for this post, not even review samples. As always, we encourage responsible refreshment and the use of a Designated Driver. No drunken monkeys, please!***

Cocktail Advent 1: The Cosmopolitan Pilgrim

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To start off our Cocktail Advent, here’s a recipe that uses up a Thanksgiving leftover: cranberry sauce!

Now, it might sound odd, sure, but if you’ve ever used a syrup or preserve in your cocktail this isn’t all that different. Made your own cranberry sauce with, say, some orange zest and cinnamon? It could totally work! So will the canned/jarred stuff, just give it a whirl!

The Cosmopolitan Pilgrim

In a shaker combine:

  • 1.5 parts American Harvest
  • 2 scoops of leftover cranberry sauce
  • 3/4 parts fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 part orange liqueur

Add ice and shake well, strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

This recipe was sent in by a representative of American Harvest, which is a vodka distilled in Idaho and certified organic. Never tried it, so can’t speak to how good it is or how it compares to others. Have you tried it? Let me know what you think!

I have an issue with cocktail authors who use “parts” along with some other nebulous measurement (in this case “scoops”), leaving the entire recipe up to anyone’s guess as to how much of anything to use! I would suggest a part is an ounce, and I’d suggest a barspoon or teaspoon as the scoop measurement.

And if I have to tell you to use Cointreau over something like Triple Sec you need to read more of my cocktail archives!

Cheers!

***I have absolutely no affiliation with American Harvest Organic Spirit and was not compensated for posting this recipe, not even with samples for review. As always, we support responsible refreshment and the use of the Designated Driver. No drunk monkeys, please!***

AlcoHOLidays | Maple Syrup Saturday | Maple Break

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the Maple Break cocktail

the Maple Break cocktail

Consider this my apology to maple syrup.

Why would I need to apologize to maple syrup? Well, the truth of the matter is that I’ve never really been all that fond of it. So when I was going over my list of holidays this coming week–and there were plenty to choose from*–it would have been perfectly in character for  me to skip over Maple Syrup Saturday (March 23,2013) and move onto something more to my personal taste.

And yet choose it I did, because I’ve come to respect maple syrup, even if it’s still not my favorite flavor.

You see, back in November I had to give up my beloved honey and agave nectars as part of going Low-FODMAP. I haven’t stooped so low as to add it to my tea over granulated sugar, but when I came down with a horrible sore throat the other week I did consider it. Briefly.

No, I’ve come to appreciate maple sugar not just for it’s glucose to fructose ratio but for its ability to flavor soups and other savory fare that honey or agave would have otherwise done. When mixed with other ingredients its harsh, bitter edges are blunted, making it much more palatable than on its own. In fact, when I was contemplating today’s cocktail I was struck by how much maple syrup reminds me of coffee liqueur.

Between coffee and maple syrup on it’s own, I was definitely thinking in the realm of breakfast, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to throw a little orange in there, too!

Maple Break

1.5 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Cachaça
3/4 oz Maple Syrup
1/4 oz Cointreau

Combine all ingredients over ice in the bottom of a mixing glass. Shake until you’re nice and wide awake, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass of your choice. Garnish with a strip of orange zest or two.

I chose the Brazilian rum mostly to be different, but the subtlety of the spirit really does this particular cocktail justice. It’s sweet, as you would expect, but not overly strong. You do, however, get the essence of the maple syrup in both the nose and the finished flavor of the cocktail. I think this would be an amazing brunch cocktail to serve alongside the usual Mimosa and Bloody Mary.

Throughout New England, now that it’s spring as the sap has begun to rise, maples will be tapped for the rich, sweet syrup that so many love. I may not consider myself in the ‘love’ column just yet, but with a cocktail like this I’m getting there.

Cheers!

——————–

*Coming up this week, just to name a few, are Passover (3/25-4/2), the Hindu New Year (3/22), and Greek Independence Day (3/25).

AlcoHOLidays | National Margarita Day | The Choco-Rita

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The Choco-Rita Cocktail

The history of the margarita is hotly debated. Sometime in the 1930s or 40s someone concocted it, but whether it was a Texas socialite or one of the two south-of-the-border bartenders that claim the honor, it remains a wonderful drink for warm days.

The basic margarita consists of tequila–usually silver, though I prefer gold, lime juice, and orange liqueur. Do not–I repeat, do not–let me catch you using sour mix or triple sec in a margarita; that’s just rude. If you want a sweeter margarita to pair with the salted rim, add a bit of sugar syrup to your shaker but leave the sour mix on the shelf. And you know how I feel about triple sec. Just don’t go there.

In case you haven’t caught on, today, February 22nd, is National Margarita Day and we’re very happy to celebrate that here at Casa de Sips!

Of course, as much as I love a good, classic, Margarita on the rocks with salt, paired with some rich and spicy Mexican food, I also like to mix things up a bit and play with the classics.

Which is why I’m offering you this alternative to the classic:

The Choco-Rita

1 oz Orange Juice
3/4 oz Anejo Tequila
3/4 oz Chocolate Vodka
1/4 oz Orange Liqueur
cocoa powder and/or crushed cacao nibs for garnish

Rim a shallow cocktail glass (margarita-style or coupe) with cocoa powder or some crushed cacao nibs. Combine all ingredients in a shaker glass half full of ice. Shake until frosty and strain into the prepared glass. Sprinkle with remaining cacao nibs if you used them.

This cocktail is a meeting between a traditional margarita and those chocolate oranges you see at the holidays, the ones you get to smash on the table to break into segments.  As usual in one of my cocktails, neither the orange, nor the chocolate, nor that unmistakable tequila flavor overpower any of the other ingredients. Instead, each sip is a little different and your tongue will pick up hints of the chocolate and orange midst the warmth of the tequila.

You can use a blanco or silver tequila if you insist, but I do encourage you to try a golden tequila for that added depth of flavor. For my version of this I used Partida Anejo Tequila, Van Gogh Rich Dark Chocolate Vodka (which I’ll be sharing more about next Tuesday), and–of course!–Cointreau liqueur. In a pinch you could use a premium unflavored vodka and a bit of chocolate liqueur, but it won’t quite be the same.

It’s Friday and National Margarita Day, what are you drinking tonight?

AlcoHOLidays | Valentine’s Day | Loving Cup

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jwalker_lovingcupcocktail

Ah, yes, Valentine’s Day…

Thought by many to be a wonderful day of expressing our love for others in various public and private ways. Thought by others to be a trumped-up excuse by the candy and card manufacturers to bilk out a little more money between the Christmas holidays and Easter. I’ll never forget the time my economics professor held up the start of class because he had to go on a tirade about how silly it was that the depth of his love for his girlfriend was decided by what he did or did not do on a single day of the year.

I’ve always been of the mind that days like Valentine’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries and the like are all wonderful for reminding us to show people how glad we are they’re in our lives. Yes, it’s fabulous if we do it the other 364 days of the year, but we’re human, we get busy and preoccupied and maybe we forget to show our feelings as often as we intended.

Obviously, I’m pro-Valentine’s Day.

And for those who blame major corporations for trumping up the Feast of Saint Valentine (and I’m not saying it’s not incredibly commercial these days), giving cards, candies and flowers on February 14th goes back to the 1400s–well before Ye Olde Hallmarke Shoppe ever opened.

So, whether you go “all out” with the flowers delivered to the office, a candlelight dinner at a corner table for 2, maybe something sparkly or shiny, or prefer a more laid-back approach (picnic in the living room or backyard, depending on the weather, a favorite movie and avoiding the crowds, and a handwritten note of affection are all grand ways to mark the day), if you’d like a creative drink to serve your sweetie, try this on for size.

Loving Cup

1 oz Vanilla Vodka
1 oz Cranberry Juice
1/2 oz Grenadine
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/4 oz Goldschlager
splash of Rosewater

Combine all ingredients over ice and shake like your heart is on fire. Strain into a chilled, sugar-rimmed cocktail glass and garnish with a heart-shaped marshmallow.

The Loving Cup takes an old stand-by, the Cosmopolitan, and adds a little more sweetness, some spice, and a subtle perfume–all the things I think a perfect Valentine’s Day should contain.

Cheers!