#TequilaSeason: Rickey Ricardo

/ Dani DeLuna / 4 Comments

Rickey-Ricardo-1

Heyyyyy, y’all! Hope everyone is having a really fabulous start to their summer! I am! I have been drinking a lot of long drinks and low proof cocktails lately cause it’s just too hot for a heavy stirred drink. Or even a heavy shaken drink, or really anything that isn’t light and airy.

Rickey-Ricardo-3

Well, this Cocktail came about when I wanted to mix a combination of a Southside Rickey and East Side Cocktail together. In other words, I wanted Cucumber and Mint at the same time but I wanted it in a Collins glass with ice and Soda Water. But then it hit me (like it usually does), “Gurrrrrrrl, this would be supreme if you used Tequila instead of Gin!” Hot damn!

Rickey-Ricardo-2

Crushing hard on this Mint bouquet.

Always keep in mind that Tequila & Cucumber are best friends, so there was literally no way this wasn’t going to be the bomb diggity. The name of the drink sort of came to me in a flash as well. “Gurrrrrrl, it’s a Rickey but it’s Tequila, so like, it should be called Rickey Ricardo!” My, my, this internal monologue is getting out of control!

Rickey Ricardo

  • 2 oz Espolón Reposado Tequila
  • 1 oz Lime Juice
  • 3/4 oz Agave Nectar
  • 3 Cucumber Wheels
  • Pinch of salt
  • Soda Water
  • Garnish: 3 scored Cucumber Wheels, Mint bouquet

Combine Lime Juice, Agave, Cucumber Wheels, Salt and muddle. Add Tequila, ice and short shake. Double strain into Collins glass over ice, garnish with scored Cucumber wheels, spank the Mint and garnish. Top with Soda Water.

Bonus: if you want to muddle some Mint into the drink, it just becomes that much more fabulous! I’d recommend 1 or 2 leaves for muddling. You want the Tequila/Cuke/Salt flavour to remain at the front, so easy on the mint.

Rickey-Ricardo-4

1000 summery Cheers to everyone! May all your #TequilaSeason dreams come true

Our Summer Martini: Melissa Martini

/ Dani DeLuna / 4 Comments

Melissa-Martini-2

As temperatures climb, I’m looking for ways to have lower and lower octane cocktails. I want deliciousness, but I want it light and fragrant y’all. It’s time to break out the Blanc Vermouth, brightest Gin you have, some tasty Absinthe, and fresh herbs for garnish.

Herb Plants

I recently took a trip down to my local plant shop and got Lemon Balm and Mint to add to the recently acquired Basil plant. If you haven’t smelled Lemon Balm before, it’s definitely Lemony but also astringent, kind of minty and herbaceous in an Anise sort of way. In otherwords, it’s perfect as a cocktail garnish.

Melissa-Martini-1

I mean, look at it this Lemon Balm! It’s a stunning leaf and so wonderfully fragrant. I highly recommend getting a plant and putting it in your garden or window sill. Lots of sun & water = happy Lemon Balm.

Melissa-Martini-3

I’m actually so into the Lemon Balm that I named the drink Melissa which is the greek name for this plant. I am of course using the Berkshire Mountain Distillery Ethereal Gin Batch 9 because it’s supremely bright, floral, fragrant, and well, it makes me feel happy. If you can get this Gin, do it!

Melissa Martini

  • 1 1/2 oz Berkshire Mountain Distillery Ethereal Gin Batch 9 (sub the brightest Gin you’ve got)
  • 1 1/2 oz Dolin Blanc (Sub Carpano Bianco)
  • rinse St. George Absinthe Verte
  • Garnish: Lemon Balm leaf

Rinse a coupe with Absinthe and chill. Combine Gin and Blanc over ice and give it a very very long stir. Dilution is key to the lightness of this Martini. Strain into rinsed coupe, spank the Lemon Balm and garnish.

Melissa-Martini-4

Cheers!

Summer Spritz with Carpano Bianco

/ Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

Carpano-Spritz-2

Y’all in just a couple of days the Earth is going to be the closest to the Sun that it will be all year and we know what that means, SUMMER IS UPON US! To celebrate this glorious occasion and kick off the Solstice parties, let’s have a Summer Spritz with Carpano Bianco! Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, which means we need to be sipping on some light, refreshing cocktails to keep the party going ’til the Sun sets.

Carpano-Spritz-1

Carpano Bianco is one of the magnificent Vermouths made by the House of Carpano in Italy. The flavor is light, fresh and complex with citrus and exotic fruit notes coming through, followed by grapey, vinous notes, and rounding out with almond and floral tones. Essentially, perfect for summer and perfect for Spritzing.

Carpano-Spritz-7

Well, are we ready to have a Solstice party? Yes? Ok!

What you need:

  • Lots of Carpano Bianco (I’d recommend at least 1 Liter)
  • San Pellegrnio Limonata and/or Pompelmo
  • All of the Citrus (yes, I mean ALLLLL of the Citrus)
  • Some adorable napkins and paper straws
  • Fun party cups
  • Sunglasses
  • Party people

Carpano-Spritz-4

Carpano-Spritz-6

Carpano-Spritz-8

Summer Spritz with Carpano Bianco

  • 2 oz Carpano Bianco
  • San Pellegrino Limonata or Pompelmo
  • Garnish: Lemon, Lime and Orange Wedges

Build in Glass: fill glass with ice, add Carpano Bianco, San Pellegrino, and gently stir. Garnish with Citrus wedges.

Carpano-Spritz-10

Summer Spritz prrrrrrty time y’all.

Carpano-Spritz-5

Sipping on this right now and it’s so wonderful. The Summer Spritz is perfect. Cheers!

If you make one (or ten) and would like to share it on Instagram or Twitter, use the hashtags #carpanospritz and #carpanobianco.

Thanks to the Baddish Group for the fabulous Carpano Bianco!

Sunburn Club

/ Dani DeLuna / 4 Comments

Sunburn-Club-3

Last Sunday, a few friends of mine and I spent the entire day shooting an Editorial on a rooftop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I’ve worked on many photoshoots before but this was my first time doing Cocktail Styling on a shoot! Yes! I was pumped!

It was a very sunny day and the EVERY INCH of the roof was painted with a reflective metallic coating of paint. We tried, oh how we tried not to get burned! Five layers of sunscreen, parasols, covering ourselves with bandanas, and standing in the shade notwithstanding, we were all pretty badly burned by the end of the day. So we poor, sad, sweat-soaked people became, #SunburnClub.

Sunburn-Club-2

After getting home, taking the coldest shower ever, and relaxing for a hot second, I made this drink. May the fabulousness of Sunburn Club shine brightly for a thousand summer days! Or at least until my burn turns into a nice tan.

Sunburn-Club-1

Sunburn Club

  • 2 oz Berkshire Mountain Distillery Ethereal Gin Batch 9
  • 1/2 oz Aperol
  • 2 1/2 oz Red Grapefruit Juice
  • 1-2 barspoons 18.21 Bitters Lavender & Sea Salt Syrup*
  • 2 dashes Regans’ Orange Bitters
  • Soda Water
  • Garnish: Grapefruit Peel Rose speared by a Blue Umbrella

Combine ingredients over ice and short shake. Strain into Collins glass over ice, add Soda Water, and garnish.

*The deal with the 1-2 barspoons of Lavender & Sea Salt Syrup is that you should add 1 barspoon and taste. If it’s sweet/salty enough, that’s all you need. If not, add 1 more but be warned, this is potent stuff!

Sunburn-Club-5

Here’s to summer! Cheers!

L.O.W. Punch on Liquor.com

/ Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

L.O.W.-Punch-2

Recently, I was asked by Liquor.com to make a recipe for their Punch of July roundup. As you can see, I went full Red, White and Blue. I also went full #TequilaSeason cause y’all know how I feel about Tequila! Check out the recipe and more pretty photos on Liquor.com’s Drinkwire!

Rhubarb Express

/ Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

Rhubarb-Express-3

Y’all! Worlds have collided, tomorrow is World Gin Day and it’s also Rhubarb Season! Mercury Retrograde be dammed or whatever, this shit is happeniiiiiiing!

Now, obvi you need to read the post about Barb’s Rhubarb Cocktail & Syrup so you can make the Syrup (and read a blog post in a Victorian Era British Lady’s voice). Once you’ve done that, it’s time to make Rhubarb Express.

Rhubarb-Express-2

You did read read the post, right? You made the Syrup, savoured the gloriousness of cooking Rhubarb and Sugar together and you’re all ready to go? Yes? Great!

Rhubarb-Express-4

I chose Hella Bitter Citrus Bitters because they are made with four different citrus peels, gentian root, and spices. In fact I would say these bitters are as crucial to Rhubarb Express as Peychaud’s is to a Sazerac. This cocktail is super tart and complex from the herbes in the bitters and vegetal Rhubarb notes, with a shimmering quality from the Lemon Juice.

Rhubarb Express

  • 1 3/4 oz Plymouth Gin (sub Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, any smooth dry Gin)
  • 1 oz Rhubarb Syrup
  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1 dash Hella Bitter Citrus Bitters
  • No Garnish

Combine ingredients over ice and shake vigorously for around 15 seconds. Strain into coupe.

Rhubarb-Express-1

Bonus: this drink is supremely awesome on the rocks with a splash of soda and a Mint sprig.

Cheers!

Barb’s Rhubarb Cocktail & Syrup

/ Dani DeLuna / 4 Comments

Barb's-Rhubarb-1

Let’s pretend that for this post I’m a 19th Century British lady named Barbara Billingsworth and I’m obsessed with Rhubarb. Therefore, read the rest of this post in a Victorian accent and with proper diction. Marvelous.

Wednesday, 10th June

Oh, I’m so excited that it’s Rhubarb season. How terribly delightful! I’m planning all sorts of ways use my Rhubarb throughout the springtime and into the summer. I can’t even begin to express my great joy and pleasure at interacting so specially with this particular plant. It is at once both tart and sweet. Both vegetal and citrine. In essence, it is divinity itself.

I’ve decided to start by making it into a syrup for which to use in Cocktails. Oh heavens, my guests shall enjoy that quite a lot, shall they not? Yes, quite. We will go ahead and start with the recipe.

Processed with VSCOcam with kk2 preset

Barb’s Rhubarb Syrup

  • 2 cups of chopped Rhubarb
  • 1 1/2 cups of Water
  • 1 cup Turbinado or Demerara sugar (or another Rich sugar)
  • 1 sauce pot
  1. Now Dear, be sure to chop your Rhubarb rather properly or it won’t cook down the way we want it to in the pot. We wouldn’t want improperly cooked Rhubarb now would we?
  2. Combine ingredients over especially low heat and simmer for just around half an hour. Please don’t let it come to a boil or the Rhubarb you may spoil.
  3. Remove from heat and cover for around three hours.
  4. Fine strain, using the sides of a spatula to press the bits of Rhubarb against the strainer, thereby leeching the maximum amount of liquid.

Processed with VSCOcam with kk1 preset

Now Dears, here’s the trick. One should have around 2 cups of liquid at this time and I had us adding 1 1/2 cups of water so we could reduce the syrup after it had been strained. You’re going to want to put the syrup back on the stove (low heat) and reduce until you have more like 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups of syrup. You will know it because it will taste properly and have a lovely viscosity.

Once you’ve got it, let the whole thing cool ’til it is at room temperature, then strain into Jar and label. An improperly labeled jar is a sin of the highest accord, except of course, not labeling at all.

Well, do you have it? Wonderful.

Rhubarb Syrup 4

Now that we’ve got this lovely Rhubarb Syrup, let’s use it in a cocktail, shall we?

Barb's-Rhubarb-3

Barb’s Rhubarb Cocktail

  • 1 1/2 oz Espolón Reposado Tequila
  • 3/4 oz Rhubarb Syrup
  • 1 oz Red Grapefruit Juice
  • 1 dash Scrappy’s Celery Bitters
  • Pinch of Salt

Combine ingredients over ice and vigorously shake. Strain into the most beautiful coupe you have. Sip whilst looking out your window or at a garden party. I would say this cocktail is on the sweeter side but complex and salty enough to keep it rather interesting.

Barb's-Rhubarb-2

Cheers to you all and I hope you’ve enjoyed these recipes!

On Holiday in the Berkshires: a Photo Essay

/ Dani DeLuna / 2 Comments

BMD-Ethereal-Gins-9-&-11

A couple of weeks ago my girlfriend and I, aka The Two Ladies™ went to the Berkshires for a short holiday. This is what we saw.

Processed with VSCOcam with kk2 preset

We stayed at the Red Lion Inn, originally built in 1773 and stuffed to the gills with antiques.

Processed with VSCOcam with lv03 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with kk1 preset

The king of the Red Lion Inn is Simon the Cat. He was sooooo snuggly.

Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset

We hiked Monument Mountain, the first quartzite mountain I’ve ever climbed.

Processed with VSCOcam with kk2 preset

The Mount Grounds

We went to Edith Wharton’s fabulous Gilded Age Mansion, The Mount.

The Mount Grounds 2

The Mount Edith Wharton Bedroom

Apparently Edith Wharton wrote every day in this bed from 6am-11am and then got up to deal with the rest of her life. YASSSS KWEEN EDITH.

Processed with VSCOcam with kk2 preset

The whole place was stunning. This place setting is to die for.

Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 preset

We ate a lot of delicious food. In fact, I would 100% say that the best New American cuisine in the USA is in the Berkshires and the best New American restaurant in the USA, nay on earth, is Prairie Whale in Great Barrington.

Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 preset

We loved the food so much that we ate there three times in five days.

Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset

Of course we got drinks at the Prairie Whale. These were both made with Berkshire Mountain Distillers Gin. On the left was Ethereal Gin Batch 11, Lavender Syrup, Lemon, Peychaud’s, Anise Hyssop garnish. On the right was Greylock Gin, Grapefruit Juice, agave, salt, lime wedge.

Prairie Whale Bloody Mary

The best Bloody Mary ever, made with Berkshire Mountain Distillers Greylock Gin.

Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 preset

Perhaps what struck me the most about Prairie Whale was that nearly everything in the restaurant came from the Prairie Whale farm or other local farmers. I know “Farm to Table” is super trondy right now but these people are doing it right! Seen above is an Anise Hyssop leaf which was grown in the garden right outside the restaurant. It was the garnish in almost every cocktail they offer because Anise Hyssop is what seasonally grows during late springtime in the Berkshires. It smells fabulous too! Like something between Anise, Mint, and Lemon Balm. Perfection.

Processed with VSCOcam with kk2 preset

We drank a lot of Rosé.

Processed with VSCOcam with kk2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with hb2 preset

And I had a Martini made with Berkshire Mountain Distillers Ethereal Gin Batch 11. Pursed lips gurrrrrrl.

Processed with VSCOcam with hb1 preset

So then of course we went to Berkshire Mountain Distillers, tasted some Gin, smelled some Gin, bought some Gin. Their Ethereal Gins are a limited time series which are reworked every year with different botanicals. They’re all incredible. I bought the Red Label and Pink Label (Batches 9 & 11) and had to force myself not to buy the one in the middle.

Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset

They also have a bottle of Rye from 1898.

Naumkeag Rose Garden

But the main thing we noticed about the Berkshires is that EVERYTHING is just right. I’ve never seen this much attention to detail, care for the earth, or sense of terroir in any place I’ve ever been to in the USA. (Yes, I’m looking at you Napa Valley!) It’s truly impressive and a totally fabulous place to go on holiday. We are actually planning to back as soon as we possibly can just to eat one more meal at Prairie Whale.

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Cheers!

All photos shot by the Two Ladies™ on iPhone 5S  & iPhone 6 and edited in VSCO Cam. 

#NegroniWeek 2015 – Negroni Blanc

/ Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

Negroni-Blanc-3

Welcome to #NegroniWeek 2015! Negroni Week is put on by Campari and Imbibe Magazine as a charity drive for bars and restaurants to participate in. You can find out all about it here.

We’ve done it! We’ve reached the end of Negroni Week! Did you have a good time? Make any good Negroni Variations? Did you totally run out of that Bottled Negroni that we made in a post from May 31st? I totally did.

Negroni-Blanc-1

If you’ve read this blog for awhile, then you know I love the Negroni Bianco in all its forms. I love sipping them on a sunny Sunday afternoon, while reading a good book, or sneaking one into the park. I love having one in place of a Martini when I want something a little less boozy and a little more flavourful. It seems only fitting that we end #NegroniWeek with this nice soothing variation.

Negroni-Blanc-4

The Negroni Blanc uses two white Vermouths instead of a Vermouth and a Gentian Liqueur (like Suze or Salers), a bit of Pernod Pastis, and one of my new favourite Gins, Berkshire Mountain Distillers Ethereal Gin Batch 11. I got this fabulous Gin whilst I was on vacation in the Berkshires a couple of weeks ago because it’s a totally awesome Modern American Gin. With notes of cinnamon & allspice in addition to the regular set of Gin botanicals and a viscosity that you can almost sink your teeth into, the BMD Ethereal Gin Batch 11 is perfect for the Negroni Blanc.

Negroni Blanc

  • 1 oz BMD Ethereal Gin Batch 11 (sub Greenhook Dry, Dorothy Parker, Hayman’s Old Tom)
  • 1 oz Dolin Blanc (sub Lillet Blanc)
  • 1 oz Carpano Dry (sub Dolin Dry)
  • 1 dash Pernod Pastis (sub Herbsaint, Pernod Absinthe)
  • Garnish: Lemon Peel

Combine ingredients over ice and stir. Strain into coupe. Express Lemon Peel and garnish.

Negroni-Blanc-2

Oh, and last night I got new vintage coupes! Beautiful eh? The wonderful people at Adaptations NY are now responsible for around half of my vintage glassware collection. Thanks y’all!

#NegroniWeek 2015 – BanaNegroni

/ Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

Bana-Negroni-2

Welcome to #NegroniWeek 2015! Negroni Week is put on by Campari and Imbibe Magazine as a charity drive for bars and restaurants to participate in. You can find out all about it here.

We’ve made it all the way to Le Negroni Week-end, so I feel like we should be getting funky with our recipes. Therefore we aren’t using that Bottled Negroni which was discussed in a post from May 31st. We’re getting out of the box, and I mean WAAAAAY out of the box.

Bana-Negroni-1

The BanaNegroni reminds me a lot of a drink you’d find at Sother Teague’s Amor y Amargo. Hell, it especially reminds me of one of his drinks that I included in a Spring Cocktails with Jägermeister post called Precision Timepiece. Even though there is no mention of the word “Negroni” anywhere in the description of Precision Timepiece, it’s totally in the Negroni format. Three main ingredients, in a Rocks glass with some rocks, stirred, citrus peel. So it is with BanaNegroni.

BanaNegroni

  • 1 1/2 oz Espolón Reposado Tequila
  • 3/4 oz Amaro CioCiaro
  • 1/2 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil
  • 1 dash Dale Degroff’s Pimento Bitters
  • Garnish: Orange Peel

Combine ingredients over ice and stir. Strain into double Rocks glass with ice. Express Orange Peel and garnish.

Bana-Negroni-3

I really hope you like this one cause it’s wild, very intensely flavoured, and tasty. I also hope it gets your creative juices flowing. Would love to see some variations on this one!

Cheers to y’all and all your #NegroniWeek cocktails!