Be Mine, Clementine

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Be-Mine,-Clementine-1

If January 2015 was spent in a #TikiTheSnowAway denial of Winter, then February is me embracing the cold. It’s so damn frigid in NYC. Everyone East of Colorado has been prisoner to bone crushing temperatures and an endless blanket of snow. I love snow and am a total Winter sports person (Skier 4Lyfe) but could the temperatures just be above 32° F?

So, I did it, I made a Hot Whiskey Punch. My girlfriend wanted something warm when she got home from a hospital shift and I wanted to use up some of the 2 dozen Clementines which come in a box of “Cuties”. Why are there so many Cuties in a box? Why? I’d really be happier if there were like 10. Two dozen are too many Cuties. Just TOO MANY.

Anyway, tl;dr: I’m cold, this drink is Hot & Delicious, Whiskey, Clementines, Spices, Punch. Bang.

Be Mine, Clementine

  • 4 oz Bourbon
  • 1 oz Domaine de Canton or other Ginger Liqueur
  • 1/2 oz Santa Maria al Monte Amaro
  • 2 oz Clementine Juice
  • 1/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1 oz Cinnamon Bark Syrup
  • 6 oz Water
  • 7 drops Scrappy’s Cardamom Bitters
  • Garnish: Clementine Wheel

In pot combine ingredients and heat on LOW. Like really really LOW. Stir continuously until liquids are swimming nicely together but don’t boil. Nooooooo boiling. When it’s ready to go, strain into Mugs. Should make two Mug sized servings or four Espresso Cup servings.

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This delicious Hot Whiskey Punch was named by my girlfriend. Thanks Baby!

National Margarita Day with Casa Noble Crystal

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February 22 is National Margarita Day and I have been #blessed y’all, #BLESSED with this fabulous bottle of Casa Noble Crystal to make Margaritas. I was totally blown away by how tasty this Blanco Tequila is and will try to describe it in a few words.

  • On the Nose: Pineapple, Strawberry, Grasses
  • On the Tongue: Banana, Citrus, Chocolate, Nutty, Agave
  • In the Mouth: Smooth and velvety, almost no “Tequila burn”

In other words, Casa Noble Crystal is a truly special Tequila. It’s definitely unlike any other Blanco Tequila I’ve ever tasted and therefore, the first thing I did was make a classic Margarita with it. I highly recommend taking this approach when testing a new Spirit. Like, when I get a new Rum, I always make a Daiquiri with it. This way I know how the Spirit is going to interact with Citrus, sweetness, etc.

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Casa Noble Crystal Margarita

  • 2 oz Casa Noble Crystal Blanco Tequila
  • 1/2 oz Cointreau (yes, that is Cointreau in a jar cause I live in a tiny apartment)
  • 1/2 oz Organic Agave Nectar
  • 1 oz Lime Juice
  • Garnish: Hawaiian Pink Salt and Lime Wheel

In tin, combine Tequila, Cointreau, Agave Nectar and Lime Juice over ice and shake it baby! Rim Rocks glass with Salt, add ice and strain drink into glass. Lime wheel at the end. Fabulous, classic, yum.

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Once I knew how this beautiful Tequila interacted in a classic Margarita, I got fancy. Mint and Grapefruit fancy to be specific.

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Pample-Menthe Margarita

  • 2 oz Casa Noble Crystal Blanco Tequila
  • 1/2 oz Cointreau
  • 1/2 oz Organic Agave Nectar
  • 3/4 oz Ruby Red Grapefuit Juice
  • 1/2 oz Lime Juice
  • 2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
  • 5-6 Mint Leaves
  • Garnish: Hawaiian Pink Salt, Mint Bouquet

In tin, muddle Mint leaves, Grapefruit Juice, Lime juice and Agave Nectar. Dry shake to incorporate ingredients. Add Tequila, Cointreau, Orange Bitters, Ice and short shake again. Rim rocks glass with salt, add ice and double strain drink into glass. Lastly, add Mint Bouquet.

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Hello Pineapple Spear Bunny Ears. 

Then I decided I wanted to bring out the Banana and Pineapple notes from the Casa Noble Crystal Tequila. I recalled that whole month of #TikiTheSnowAway and said to myself, “I’m gonna do it, I’m gonna make a Tiki Margarita”. This is also the first drink that I consulted The Flavor Bible and learned Coconut Milk and Vanilla Bean syrup go very well together!

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Island Time Margarita*

  • 2 oz Casa Noble Crystal Blanco Tequila
  • 1/2 oz Cointreau
  • 1/2 oz Vanilla Bean Syrup
  • 1 oz Pineapple Juice
  • 1/2 oz Lime Juice
  • 3/4 oz Coconut Milk
  • 5-6 Banana Slices
  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
  • Garnish: Hawaiian Pink Salt, 2 Pineapple Spears

In tin, muddle Pineapple Juice, Lime Juice, Coconut Milk, Vanilla Bean Syrup and Banana slices. Dry shake until ingredients are incorporated. Add Tequila, Cointreau, Bitters and Ice and shake again. Rim rocks glass with salt and add ice. Double strain drink into glass and garnish with Pineapple Spears.

*Honestly, this is the best Margarita I’ve ever made. It might even be the best Tiki drink I’ve ever made.

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Let’s just look at this again, shall we? Sooooo dreamy, so tasty. 

Thanks to Casa Noble for their magical Crystal Blanco Tequila and thanks to the Baddish Group for the opportunity to use it for National Margarita Day!

Improved Negronis are for Chinese New Year

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Gung Hay Fat Choy to you all! It’s Chinese New Year! Growing up in the SF Bay Area meant many a fun trip to Chinatown for New Year festivities and I totally loved the parades! My darling girlfriend is Chinese American and so this celebration has taken on a whole new meaning for me! I’ve noticed that no other culture wishes that everyone has Luck as much as the Chinese culture. So to you all I say, “May you be prosperous and full of luck!”

Trivia? Which drink goes perfectly with the rich and varied flavours of Chinese food cause it cuts right through the mix? NEGRONI! Bing, Bing, Bing! You did it! The citrus and bitter notes of a Negroni pair well with the heavy foods in a traditional Chinese New Year dinner and Red is the color of the celebration.

This is not just any Negroni though, this is An Improved Negroni. You may be thinking, “this bitch, why does she think she can ‘improve’ a Negroni?” But I’m not such a crazy bitch! “Improved Cocktails” are actually a category of drink. If you look back on the grand history of cocktails, the original ones were in an Old Fashioned format. The “improvements” meant adding things like a dash of Absinthe or two dashes of Maraschino.

My improvements are: adjusting the ratios, adding Maraschino and using Blood Orange peel in the drink for added Citrusness. Sun Ye Fai Lok!

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An Improved Negroni

  • 1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin
  • 3/4 oz Campari
  • 3/4 oz Carpano Antica Vermouth
  • 2 dashes Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
  • Garnish: Blood Orange Peel

Combine ingredients and stir over ice until proper dilution has been achived. Strain into rocks glass with ice. Express Blood Orange Peel and Garnish.

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An Improved Negroni in the wild at Chinese New Year 2014. I have switched vermouth since then y’all! 

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Let’s just look at this drink again. Campari, you make me turn red all over. Remember #EveryWeekIsNegroniWeek

It’s Mardi Gras! Let’s drink that Creole Sazerac!

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It’s Mardi Gras y’all! Happy Fat Tuesday to all y’all and to all y’all about to get into that Lent Lyfe, I say, “good luck!”

I love Mardi Gras because my mom’s side of the family is from Mississippi, I lived in Alabama for 10 years and I love wild parties. I had a great decade living in the South, great food, great friends, many many huge parties. I was a fairly busy DJ while I lived in BHM, and so most anything Southern reminds me of the good times. Nostalgia!

If you read that post I wrote for a Negroniac, you know I have a THING for Sazeracs and their variations. For this Mardi Gras’ Sazerac, I was inspired by the 18.21 Spicy Creole Bitters. These bitters are straight Tony Chachere’s! Mamoo used to cook with these spices all the time growin’ up! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the 18.21 Spicy Cajun Bitters are like a firey infusion of Cajun Spices in a bottle of bitters. Perfect for a bayou Sazerac variation.

Creole Sazerac

  • 2 oz Rye
  • 1/2 oz Campari
  • 1/4 oz St George Absinthe Verte
  • 2 dashes 18.21 Bitters Spicy Creole Bitters
  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
  • Barspoon Turbinado Sugar
  • 1/4 oz Water
  • Garnish: Orange Peel

Combine ingredients and stir until sugar has dissolved. Add ice and stir again until drink has chilled. Strain into chilled rocks glass. Express Orange Peel and garnish (or don’t garnish, it is a Sazerac and therefore up to you).

*Note: In this variation, I felt the Campari would play well with the Creole bitters. I also felt that Peychaud’s would not stand up to Campari quite like Angostura does. I did not follow the traditional Sazerac formula of two glass mixing and therefore the 1/4 oz of Water is crucial.

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Thanks again to 18.21 for the Spicy Creole Bitters! 

Branca Menta & National Chocolate Mint Day

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Hello Minty fresh and decadently fabulous people! Let’s talk about Branca Menta.

For Valenspoons I did a post on Fernet Branca and the Hanky Panky, an excellent amaro in an excellent cocktail. Well, have you heard of and/or tasted Fernet Branca’s little brother? Branca Menta has the flavour profile of Fernet Branca but with the added power of Mint. It is lower proof, sweeter yet still bitter, has a greater viscosity and is just perfect as a digestivo. I’ve been drinking it frequently after dinner or with dessert.

What goes better with a Mint Amaro than Dark Chocolate? Nothing. Absolutely Nothing. National Chocolate Mint Day is 19 February, so let’s get going! I’ve got two tasty cocktails for us to celebrate.

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I wanted to make a Mint Chocolate drink which was neither very sweet nor anything like a “mint chocolate Martini” (hint, not a Martini, quit calling it a Martini). I turned to my fave aged rum, Flor de Caña 7, added the totally awesome St George NOLA Coffee Liqueur and Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters instead of Crème de Cacao. The result is a bitterly chocolate mint cocktail, powerful enough to get us through the frigid winter, yet tasty enough to ask for another.

A.C.M. (Amaro Ciccolata alla Menta)

  • 1 3/4 oz Flor de Caña 7 Year Aged Rum
  • 1/2 oz Branca Menta
  • 1/2 oz St George NOLA Coffee Liqueur
  • 1/4 oz Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters
  • Garnish: grated 70% Dark Chocolate

Combine ingredients and stir over ice until proper dilution has been achieved. Strain into chilled coupe. Grate Dark Chocolate on top. Santé!

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Secondly, I JUST WANTED SOME CIOCCOLATA DENSA WITH BRANCA MENTA! This is where we can all just shout “WOOOOOO”! Yes y’all, it’s my fabulously thick Hot Chocolate with aged rum and Branca Menta.

I have a bit of a history with Cioccolata Densa and Chocolat Chaud. Back in 1999, I went to Italy for the first time where I experienced the awesomeness which is Italian Cuisine. Nothing compares to real Italian food and it is definitely my favourite type of cuisine to cook. I also had Cioccolata Densa and it blew my notions of “Hot Chocolate” out of the water. Soon after that, I tried the French version, Chocolat Chaud and have never turned back. I always make my drinking chocolate very dense and not very sweet. Cheers to THAT!

Branca Menta Cioccolata Densa

  • 10 oz Whole Milk (do not use reduced fat Milk, ever, just don’t do it)
  • 4 heaping tbsp Dark Chocolate Chips (70% or above)
  • 2 tbsp Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix (70% or above)
  • 2 oz Flor de Caña 7 Aged Rum
  • 1 oz Branca Menta
  1. In pot, combine Mlik and Dark Chocolate Chips over very low heat stirring constantly.
  2. When the Chips start to melt and mix with the Milk, gradually add the Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix until everything is smooth and fabulous.
  3. Turn the heat off, add Rum and Branca Menta. If you don’t find the above amounts to be enough Rum and Branca Menta, add some more until you like it.

*Recipe should create approx 4 servings in Espresso cups.

Branca-Menta

Where you at? You sexy thang. 

Thanks again to Branca Menta and the Baddish Group for giving me the opportunity to participate in this totally delicious Chocolate Mint experience! Tasty times, happy minds.

Rothko 1957 with 18.21 Tart Cherry + Saffron Bitters

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I would say that creating a cocktail is rather similar to creating a work of art or a piece of music. Cocktails begin in the mind, are tinkered with in the mixing tin (often several times over) and then presented to the public to behold, taste, feel and enjoy. When I make a piece of music, it always begins in my mind, then I go to my instrument, work on the main theme over and over until it is ready for supporting layers. Finally, upon completion, I present my piece of music to the public for them to hear, feel and enjoy.

For this drink, I began, in my mind, with the 18.21 Tart Cherry + Saffon Bitters. The profile of these bitters is Cherry on the bottom and in the back, Saffron up front and on top. I wanted to bring out the Cherry a bit more, so I added the syrup frrom Luxardo Maraschino Cherries. Then I knew that I wanted a complex set of modifiers, which came in the form of Carpano Antica and Inocente Fino Sherry. The hardest ingredient was actually which spirit to use for the base. After much trial and error, I decided that I wanted a spicy Bourbon and Elijah Craig 12 Year was perfect.

What is Rothko 1957? The name is a reference to a painting by Mark Rothko, Saffron 1957. Yeah man, we’re making art, man.

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Rothko 1957

  • 2 oz Elijah Craig 12 Year Bourbon
  • 3/4 oz Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth
  • Heavy 1/4 oz Inocente Fino Sherry (just slightly more than 1/4 oz)
  • 2 droppers 18.21 Tart Cherry + Saffron Bitters
  • 1 Barspoon Luxardo Maraschino Cherry Syrup*
  • Garnish: Luxardo Maraschino Cherries*

Combine ingredients, add ice and stirrrrrr until proper dilution has been achieved. Strain into Rocks glass with Ice. Garnish with three Luxardo Maraschino Cherries.

*In my mind, if you’re not getting some snooty pooty Brandied Cherries, these are the only cherries to buy. Never get the bright red ones, so gross.

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Tasty times, artful minds. #SnootyBooty

Thanks again to 18.21 Bitters for their sensational Tart Cherry + Saffron Bitters!

Valentines & the Hanky Panky

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So, it’s the week of Valentines, or as I like to call it, Valenspoons. I have no idea why I started calling it Valenspoons, perhaps it was because I like the way it sounds, it’s a silly sounding word. Perhaps I changed the name during one of those years when I did not have a sweetheart and was frustrated that this holiday even existed! Perhaps it was to mock the notion that there should be a Hallmark Holiday which encourages people to hit one another up on Tinder and have a dinner date + some Hanky Panky.

Speaking of Hanky Panky…

Do you all love Fernet-Branca as much as I do? Do you get that “Bartender’s Handshake” after a long night out? Do you drink Fernet-Branca after meals to savour the incredibly complex flavours and help settle your tummy? Do you think the Toronto is the best Manhattan Variation? Cause I do!

The Hanky Panky is one of my fave classic Gin cocktails, right up there with a Martinez, French 75 and Martini. Bonus: this drink was invented by a lady! Wooooo! Laaaaady! Ada Coleman was the head bartender at the Savoy American Bar in the early 20th C and the story goes that she created this cocktail for Sir Charles Hawtrey. When he had his first sip, he drained the whole glass and said, “By Jove! That is the real hanky-panky!”

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Hanky Panky

  • 1 1/2 oz Hayman’s Old Tom Gin or London Dry Gin
  • 1 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
  • 2 dashes Fernet-Branca
  • Garnish: Orange peel

Combine ingredients and stir with ice. Strain into coupe, express Orange peel and garnish.

Dirty-Puzzle

And since it’s Valenspoons, I’ve got a little variation for y’all! I decided to dry it out with Plymouth Gin, different specs, swap out the Orange peel for a Blood Orange peel and add some Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters. Totes a Valenspoons drink now y’all! Fire up the Tindering!

Dirty Puzzle (Hanky Panky variation)

Combine ingredients and stir with ice. Strain into coupe, express Blood Orange peel and garnish.

Fernet-Branca

Luv u Fernet-Branca. Luv y’all. Happy Valentimes. 

Thanks to The Baddish Group for giving the opportunity to make these delicious drinks!

Brunch Bonanza: Sangre del Diablo with 18.21 Bitters

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Hellooooooo weekend party people! It’s time for another Brunch Bonanza, the segment where we talk about Brunch Cocktails.

Now, I totally consider a Margarita to be a Brunch cocktail cause when is it not Margarita Time? When? Never. It’s never not Margarita Time but most certainly never not at Brunch! Vitamin C, Sugar, Salt, Tequila, more Tequila, etc = perfect companion to the first Weekend meal of the day.

Also, it’s Blood Orange season and I absolutely love Blood Oranges. I like their flavour better than regular Oranges and the colour is just terrifying! Nothing like being afraid of the fruit you’re about to eat, amirite? No? Ok. Add to this the fantastic and SPICY 18.21 Japanese Chili & Lime Bitters and you have a cocktail to set the Devil’s Blood on fire!

Sangre del Diablo

  • 2 oz Blanco Tequila or Jalapeño infused Blanco Tequila*
  • 1/2 oz Cointreau
  • 1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
  • 3/4 oz Blood Orange Juice
  • 1/4 oz Lime Juice
  • 2-3 droppers 18.21 Japanese Chili Lime Bitters*
  • Garnishes: Pink Salt rim and Blood Orange Wheel

Combine ingredients in Tin and shakity-shake-shake over ice. Strain into Salt rimmed rocks glass over ice. Garnish with Blood Orange Wheel. Feel the fire.

*If you’re a caucasian human, I recommend you keep things on the less spicy side. If you’re a POC, go wild, it’s up to you! If you’re half caucasian/half Mexican like I am, use 1 oz Jalapeño Tequila and 1 oz Blanco Tequila. If you’re offended by this joke, #SorryNotSorry.

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Yes, that is Cointreau in a jar cause I live in a tiny apartment and we all have to make sacrifices.

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Wooooooo, beautifulness is coming for youuuuuu. ¡Viva la Vida!

Dr Joe aka Let’s Get Surgical, Surgical

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If y’all follow me on instagram, you’d know that I recently had surgery on my left arm and would have seen this photo:

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This was obvi taken before surgery: Two gowns on my body, one oxygen measuring thingamabob on my 4th finger of my right hand and a hat for my Top Knot. #TopKnot4Lyfe 

The surgery was for a compressed Ulnar Nerve in my left elbow, aka Cubital Tunnel, which occurred in March 2014 after an elevator door accident. (Don’t ask.) Since that time, I’ve had very limited use of my arm & hand, lots of pain and tingling + numbness in my 4th & 5th digits. To be frank, it sucked.

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Image via http://www.surgicalnotes.co.uk/files/images/ulnar_nerve.jpg

But now, NOW I’ve had surgery and things are already better than they were before! I had an amazing experience at Columbia Presbyterian where everyone from the Nervously-Singing-Resident-Surgeon to the Uses-Crystals-And-Practices-Reiki-Nurse were so kind, helpful and totally on top of things. And then, there’s my hero, my surgeon, my salvation: Dr Joe.

That’s not his real name and I didnt ask permission to use his name, so for now, he’s Dr Joe. He is a brilliant but kind and forthright surgeon. Most of the surgeons I’ve interacted with during my injury have been total assholes. But not Dr Joe! He’s the best! The kindest! And he has dark curly hair like I do! I’d even say he’s a “Hot Doctor”.

This is the last drink I made the night before Surgery and it was incredible: dry, smooth, sophisticated, completely classy. I want to live my life as if it were this drink.

Dr Joe

  • 2 oz Hayman’s Old Tom Gin
  • 1/2 oz Santa Maria Al Monte Amaro
  • 1/2 oz Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth
  • Around 14 drops of Maraschino Cherry Liqueur
  • 2 dashes Dr Adam Elmegirab’s Boker’s Bitters*
  • Garnish: Lemon Peel

Combine ingredients, add ice and stirrrrrrr until proper dilution has been achieved. Strain into coupe, express Lemon Peel and garnish.

*A quick note about these sensational bitters: THEY’RE SENSATIONAL! Made with a 19th century recipe, they are intended to reproduce what were perhaps the Original bitters. They shine with Old Tom Gin, like raise the banners and wave the flags. Buy some and make yourself a Martinez immediately!

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Mr Thomas with 18.21 Earl Grey Bitters

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Hellooooo February, you strangely spelled month you. The month of bitter cold, lots of chocolate and luvvvvvvvv. It’s nasty as all hell outside in Brooklyn this morning, so let’s dive right into this bright, shimmery stirred cocktail with 18.21 Bitters! For my posts on 18.21 Bitters, I’ve decided to change the format from one giant “You’re So Kind” post to individual posts.

The 18.21 Earl Grey bitters are everything I wanted them to be, namely, they are potently Earl Grey. When I opened the bottle and sniffed the fabulous Earl Grey aroma, my brain said “GIN”, so I agreed. Then my brain said, “in the style of a martini but with just a touch of Sunshine” (aka St-Germain) and here we are.

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Combine ingredients over ice and stirrrrrrrrrrr. Strain into coupe, express Lemon peel and garnish.

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Thanks to 18.21 Bitters for these wonderful Earl Grey bitters! They’re so kind! I will be using the Earl Grey with more Gin, Tequila and Pimm’s. I just need to get the Pimm’s back in my home bar!