Just wanted to write a quick post saying Happy Bastille Day to all mes amis Francais! Bonne Fête Nationale! I’ll be toasting with the fabulous Le Rosé des Acolytes, an aged 50/50 Grenache & Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé. Salut!
Sage + Gin Name Contest: The Wise Sailor
SAAAAAAAAAAAAGE. This cocktail is fully inspired by some Sage I got at the Farmer’s Market. A friend of mine is obsessed with Gin + Sage cocktails, so when I got this lil bunch of supremely delicious herbes, I thought about what she might like to drink.
I posted a photo of the pretty pretty Sage on Instagram and asked people if they had any Sage cocktail recipes they wanted to share. People shared some fabulous ideas but the one that stood out to me the most was when @booksandbitters said Pineapple and Sage went well together.
HELL YES! So true, so magnificent!
So, then I remembered the greatest infusion of all time, Pineapple infused Plymouth Gin, and the rest of the drink just came together. I wanted the Sage to be complemented by Salers Aperitif and Lemon Juice was a perfect fit.
Lastly, we’ve got the name. Since I asked Instagram for Sage cocktail recipes, I thought that Instagram should name the cocktail. The only stipulation I gave was that the word “Wise” should be in the name. (A play on the another meaning for the word Sage in English) The winning name of the cocktail is by @cmyk3000 who used the word “Wise” and a play on Salers with the word “Sailor”.
The Wise Sailor
- 2 oz Pineapple infused Plymouth Gin
- robust 1/4 oz Salers Aperitif (slightly more than 1/4 oz)
- 1/2 oz Lemon Juice
- 3/4 oz Simple Syrup
- 5 Sage leaves
- Garnish: Sage sprig
Combine Sage leaves, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup and muddle. Add Pineapple Plymouth Gin, Salers, and Ice. Shake and strain into double Rocks glass over ice. Spank the Sage sprig and garnish.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Sage + Gin name contest! Cheers y’all!
4th of July Daiquiri Party: Blue Daiquiri No. 2
The 4th of July Daiquiri Party is in full swing on Instagram! If you want to submit a photo and recipe, use the hashtag #4thofJulyDaiquiriParty!
Today’s Daiquiri is a Blue take on the classic Daiquiri No. 2 from the famous La Floridita Bar in Cuba. I love this Daiquiri, it’s supremely bright and refreshing with nice Orange flavours. I’m literally just subbing the Blue Curaçao for clear Curaçao, so there isn’t much variation here. The blue colour does make me want to get on a plane and go to a tropical island though!
Blue Daiquiri No. 2
- 2 oz Denizen Aged White Rum
- Barspoon Senior Blue Curaçao
- 3/4 oz fresh Lime Juice
- 1/2 oz Simple Syrup
- Barspoon fresh Orange Juice
- Garnish: Orange wedge
Combine ingredients over ice and shake like a rocket! Strain into chilled coupe. Garnish with Orange wedge.
Cheers to all of us on this 4th of July Holiday weekend!
4th of July Daiquiri Party: Leggo My Mango
The 4th of July Daiquiri Party is totally raging on Instagram! It’s a rager y’all! If you have a Daiquiri that you’d like to post, use the hashtag #4thOfJulyDaiquiriParty.
Yesterday, I got a surprise package in the mail with a fabulous bottle of Patrón Citrónge Mango Liqueur in it! This liqueur is sweetly fragrant with notes of Mango, Citrus and even Peach. In the mouth it has a nice viscosity and is bursting with delicious Mango flavor. Supreme.
It was such perfect timing for the Daiquiri party too! The delicious flavours of the Patrón Citrónge Mango Liqueur led me to think about having Salt as a garnish. Other than that, it’s in the standard Daiquiri format.
Leggo My Mango
- 1/2 oz Patrón Citrónge Mango Liqueur
- 2 oz Denizen Aged White Rum
- 1/2 oz Simple Syrup
- 3/4 oz Lime Juice
- Garnish: Pink Salt
Combine ingredients over ice and shake with a mad fury! Rim 1/2 of the Coupe with Pink Salt. Strain drink into coupe.
Cheers! Happy 4th America!
Thanks to M Booth for the Patrón Citrónge Mango Liqueur!
4th of July Daiquiri Party
Happy 4th of July Weekend to everyone! I’ve been thinking about what I really want to drink/serve at my 4th of July party and honestly, I just want a Daiquiri! Daiquiri Prrrrrrrrrty!
If you want to join in the fun on Instagram and Twitter, use the hashtag #4thOfJulyDaiquiriParty.
That being said, “I just want a Daiquiri” means so many things to me, and there are many variations one can make by adding one or two ingredients to the Rum + Lime Juice + Sweetness formula. I mean, just by switching out the Rum itself or changing from refined sugar to turbinado sugar can have a profound effect on the flavours of the drink.
First, let’s start with the basics. Flor de Caña 7 Year is my all time fave aged molasses Rum. It is viscous as hell, creamy, with caramel smoothness for DAYYYYYYYS. It will make the best damn Daiquiri you’ve ever had. No lie.
Flor de Caña 7 Year Aged Rum Daiquiri
- 2 oz Flor de Caña 7 Year Rum
- 1 oz Lime Juice
- 3/4 oz Demerara Sugar Simple Syrup (1:1)
- Garnish: Lime Wheel
Combine ingredients over ice and shake. Strain into coupe and garnish with Lime Wheel.
Now that we’ve got a nice basic Daiquiri down, we can get a little more creative. For this one, we’re going to use a funky Rum from Jamaica that has been aged in the UK: Smith & Cross Navy Strength Rum. Our sweetners are going to get more complex with the addition of Falernum and some of my patented (I wish! Soon!) DD Mix. The spice set will come from the funkiness of the Smith & Cross, DD Mix, and one dropper of Bittermen’s Elemakule Tiki Bitters. Highly recommend these bitter’s y’all!
DP Daiquiri
- 1 1/2 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum
- 1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
- 1/4 oz DD Mix
- 1 oz Lime Juice
- 1 dropper Bittermen’s Elemakule Tiki Bitters
- Garnish: hollowed out Lime half*
In tin combine ingredients over ice and short shake. Pour entire contents of shaker into mason jar. Garnish with one of the Lime halves you used when you juiced the Lime.
For this next one we’re going to go to the books and use a totally fabulous recipe from the 1970’s, Don’s Special Daiquiri. This variation was created to commemorate Don the Beachcomber and use his 1934 Daiquiri recipe while adding a couple of modifiers. I altered the recipe a tad because I felt it needed to be a bit more tart.
Don’s Special Daiquiri
- 1 oz Jamaican Rum (Smith & Cross)
- 3/4 oz Aged White Rum (Denizen Aged Rum)
- 3/4 oz Lime Juice
- 1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
- 1/2 oz Honey Syrup
- Garnish: Maraschino Cherry
Combine ingredients over ice and shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with Maraschino Cherry.
Lastly, we’re going to use three different Spirits in a Daiquiri that I named after my family. It uses two kinds of Rum and one of my all time favourite infusions, Pineapple Plymouth Gin.
DeLuna Daiquiri
- 1 1/2 oz Denizen White Rum
- 1/2 oz Flor de Caña 7 Rum
- 1/4 oz Pineapple infused Plymouth Gin
- 1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
- 1/4 oz Cinnamon Bark Syrup
- 1 oz Lime Juice
- Garnish: Pineapple Chunks
Combine ingredients in over ice and shake. Strain into coupe. Garnish with Pineapple.
Well, that’s it for this roundup. If you’re looking for more recipes, you could always try Or-zah Gabor or a classic Hemingway Daiquiri. Happy Independence Day USA!
RTV & Tonic
Happy July! Let the quest for low octane, fizzy Cocktails continue!
Remember that Rose Tea Vodka we made awhile back for the unbelievably complicated Flower Flower cocktail? If you still have any left (hard to believe, I know), I’ve got a really fabulous summery Vodka & Tonic for you!
Hello pretty Mint leaf, how fragrant are thy scents!
This is a very easy drink to make, my only encouragement is that you get the best Tonic you can possibly find. I highly recommend Fever-Tree Tonic Water or Tomr’s Tonic Syrup. You really don’t want an overly sugary Tonic for this recipe or the drink will be too sweet.
RTV & Tonic
- 1 1/2 oz Rose Tea infused Tito’s Vodka
- 1/4 oz St-Germain
- Fever-Tree Naturally Light Tonic Water
- Garnish: Lemon slices and a Mint leaf
Combine Rose Tea Vodka, St-G, and around 1 oz of Tonic Water. Gently stir for just a few seconds so everything is swimming together in harmony. Pour into a Collins glass over Ice. Garnish with Lemon slices and Mint. Top up with more Tonic Water.
Bonus: if you have the Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon, it makes an incredible substitution for Tonic in this drink!
Summery Cheers to you all!
The Pineapple Plymouth Gin is back!
Just whipped up a fresh batch of Pineapple infused Plymouth Gin! Seriously though, “whipped up” might be stretching the truth a bit. This is literally the easiest recipe ever:
- Cut up a Pineapple. If it isn’t fresh, it isn’t going to work. No canned fruit allowed!
- Throw some of the Pineapple in a jar.
- Add some Plymouth Gin. You want to get about equal parts of each ingredient by volume.
- Let it sit for a few days, shaking several times per day.
- Taste it. Does it need more Pineapple? Add more Pineapple.
- When it tastes magnificently, Strain and keep it in the fridge.
I use this one in lots of Tropical cocktails such as:
- Captain Corcoran
- DeLuna Daiquiri
- Fernandez Punch
- and the one which put this particular infusion on the map, my version of Police and Thieves.
Happy infusing to you all!
Seasoned Traveler
After a chilly few days in New York City, and many, many Pride parties celebrating our collective gay victory, I feel it’s time for a stirred drink. To me, this cocktail represents a small respite from the collective hot-weather-shaken-citrusy-cocktails which will dominate every bar menu until September. Let us breathe deeply, take a moment, and let the thick luscious viscosity and complex flavours take us away.
Let us all become Seasoned Travelers.
This maginificent drink features several of my favourite things all at once: Fino Sherry, Bonal Aperitif, Flor de Caña 7 Year and Giffard Banane. Enjoy this one whenever you have a moment to spare.
Seasoned Traveler
- 1 1/2 oz Flor de Caña 7 Year
- 3/4 oz Bonal Aperitif
- 1/2 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil
- 1/2 oz Inocente Fino Sherry
- Garnish: Luxardo Maraschino Cherry
Combine ingredients over ice and give it a long, loving stir. Strain into coupe, garnish with Cherry.
Santé mes amis!
DD’s Shrunken Skull
As y’all probably know, I occasionally participate in Tiki Challenges on Instagram which are either put on by El_Nova_1 or another SoCal Tiki fanatic. Maybe it’s cause I love Tiki so much or maybe cause it makes me feel connected to California, either way, I love these recipes!
This week’s challenge is for a Shrunken Skull, a simple and brilliant Tiki cockail.
Shrunken Skull (Recipe from the 1950s)
- 1 oz Puerto Rican Rum
- 1 oz Demerara Rum
- 1 oz Lime Juice
- 1 oz Grenadine
Combine ingredients and shake over ice. Dirty pour into Skull mug. Garnishes are up to you. Flames are encouraged.
Well, as we all know, I only have so much space in my tiny apartment and therefore only keep so many rums. I had to make some substitutions but happily with substitutions come creativity, and so my Shrunken Skull is a little outside of the box. Still damn tasty though.
I decided to add the DD Mix because I wanted a little more depth and spice in my Shrunken Skull. I also don’t have any 151 Rum to flame with but I do have some fabulously fragrant Lemongrass & Ginger infused 151 Vodka. It works perfectly and makes the greatest smelling flame ever!
DD’s Shrunken Skull
- 1 oz Angostura Rum 7 Year
- 1 oz Denizen Aged White Rum
- 1 oz Lime Juice
- 3/4 oz Grenadine Syrup
- 1/4 oz DD Mix
- Garnish: hallowed out Lime Half with flaming Lemongrass & Ginger infused 151 Vodka.
Combine ingredients with loads of ice and shake. Dirty pour into double Rocks glass. Pour Lemongrass & Ginger infused 151 Vodka into Lime half and set on top of ice in glass. Strike a match and light that shit up.
Tiki Cheers to all y’all. If you wanna participate in the challenge on Instagram, the hashtag is #ShrunkenSkullChallenge2015.
Cheers to Marriage Equality!
Today, the Supreme Court of the United States voted 5-4 in favor of nationwide Marriage Equality! I for one am supremely happy! For all of us celebrating on this glorious day! Cheers!
Home Bar Girl 