I Made Mulled White Wine with the Cooking Gift Set Co. Brewing Kit and It’s a Game Changer

Wooooo y’all, I’m super pumped to be writing this post! A couple of weeks ago, Cooking Gift Set Co. hit me up and asked if I wanted to give their Mulled Wine Brewing Kit a whirl and I was like, “HELL YES!” You know I love infusing spirits and making syrups and to have a product with allllll my fave spices in a kit was music to my Home Bar Grrrrl ears!

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In addition to good looking and perfectly sized packaging (I mean, look at this amazing packaging!) the Cooking Gift Set Co. Mulled Wine Brewing Kit comes with detailed recipes! Oh how I love a very specific recipe!

The recipes include Festive Red, Spiced Cider, Gløgg, Glühwein, and Lush White…

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…LUSH WHITE. Hold up a sec! “Lush White? MULLED WHITE WINE?” Yes y’all, MULLED WHITE WINE. Game changer.

Their recommendation was to use a Dry Chardonnay or Viognier but I wanted to try it with Chenin Blanc cause lately I’ve been on a Chenin Blanc kick. Typically Chenin Blanc is big bodied for white wines, kind of fruity, dry, and really pleasant.

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I read the Lush White recipe which suggested the use of dried orange peel, cloves, star anise, and crystalized ginger. I toasted the spices for a minute or two on low heat…

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…put the spices in one of the satchels from the Mulled Wine Brewing Kit, added 1 bottle of Chenin Blanc, 1 cup of water, 1/4 cup sugar, and a couple of lemon peels.

Then let it simmer, not boil, for around 20 mins (as per the instructions). After that I turned the heat off, covered the pot and let it sit for around 30 mins. (The instructions said to let it sit for 5 minutes but y’all know I can’t let something sit for less than 30.)

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Voila, I had just made the delicious Lush White Mulled Wine. And I’m talking SUPER DELICIOUS. The spices are so so nice, the balance is excellent with star anise coming through first followed by an undercurrent of earthiness from the orange peel, cloves, and ginger.

So, now what? What to do with Mulled White Wine?

Gurrrrrrl, first of all, you should just pour some in a mug with a cinnamon stick and “wooooo” yourself to paradise! Then maybe put on your fave winter movie and chill out on the couch.

But wait, there’s more! You may be thinking, “I know what this Mulled White Wine needs. It needs some Brandy.” Congratulations, you’ve literally just made Fortified Wine. Wine + Sweetness + Herbes/Spices + Fortification (aka some kind of spirit) = Fortified Wine. America, get on that shit.

Lush White Fortified Wine

  • 6 parts Lush White Mulled Wine
  • 1-2 parts Brandy, Cognac, Calvados, Apple Brandy, or Pear Brandy

When serving, I’d encourage freshly grated Nutmeg as a garnish.

If for some reason you didn’t drink all of your Lush White Mulled Wine and part of the bottle made it to the fridge, you can use the wine as a cocktail ingredient.

There were a lot of possibilities when trying to come up with a Cocktail worthy of the Lush White but my first and best thought was, “Gurrrrl, put it with Aged Rhum Agricole and Creole Shrubb.” Done.

Nöel in the Antilles

  • 3 oz Lush White Mulled Wine
  • 3/4 oz Rhum JM VO Agricole (or the Aged Agricole of your choice)
  • 1 barspoon Hamilton Petite Shrubb (or the Creole Shrubb of your choice)
  • Garnish: Star Anise

Combine ingredients over ice and stirrrrrrrrrrrr. Strain into chilled coupe and garnish.


Holiday Cheers to y’all and if you want to order a Cooking Gift Set Co. Mulled Wine Brewing Kit, use the code HomeBarGirl and get 20% off if you order by Christmas Day! AMAZING RIGHT?

A Lost Monk with Frangelico

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Happy Hump Day y’all! Today I’ve got a tasty stirred cocktail with the deliciously nutty Frangelico! Let’s dive right in.

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The inspiration for this one was totally “Apples + Nuts + the fruity/raisiny business in Bonal has got to = something amazing right?” Yes. It totally did! This a like a fall dream come true!

A Lost Monk

  • 2 oz Calvados
  • 1/4 oz Frangelico
  • 1/2 oz Bonal Gentiane Quina
  • 1/4 oz Dolin Dry
  • 2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
  • Garnish: Orange peel

Combine ingredients over ice and stir. Strain into double Rocks glass over one big rock. Express Orange peel and drop it in the drink.

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And remember, Frangelico is part of the big happy Campari family. Collect them all and remember to #DrinkItalian!

Thanks to MBooth for the bottle!

Straw Eyes

Bonne Fête Nationale mes amis! I’ve chosen to feature this cocktail for Bastille Day because it is so very french: Herbaceous, sophisticated, a provençal dream. The combination of Calvados and Bonal gives loads of earthy terroir and is complimented by Lemon Sherbet and Celery Bitters.

Salut!

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Hottttt off the trails of being written about for Punch Magazine and with Lemon Sherbet, my new fave ingredient, in hand, I have a rip roaringly delicious Cocktail for y’all today! It’s autumnal, sort of sweet, vegetal, and dry all at the same time!

Here we go!

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Look at the colour! Feel the golden glory shimmering in your eyes!

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It’s mine, allll mine! My eyes have turned to Straw!

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So, in order to make this magical drink, you must first make Lemon Sherbet. I’ve been using it in nearly everything and I promise, it will change your Cocktail game. It will especially change your Punch game!

Next, you need Calvados (French Apple Brandy. American Apple Brandy will prob work, but will be less smooth), Bonal (an aperitif from France that I luv), and Celery Bitters (I like Scrappy’s Celery Bitters the most).

Straw Eyes

  • 2 oz Calvados
  • 1/4 oz Bonal Aperitif
  • 1/4-1/2 oz* Lemon Sherbet
  • 1 dash Scrappy’s Celery Bitters

Combine ingredients over ice and shake it like a rocket. Double strain into coupe, no garnish.

*This depends on how sweet you want the drink to be. The Lemon Sherbet can be overpowering so I’d say start with 1/4 oz.

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Yes, Kween, this is your early fall treat. Woooooo!

Copa de Cibola

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AUGUST, I have arrived! This is the month of my birth and I always feel a certain kind of fever this time of year. Maybe it’s the heat? Maybe it’s the golden tones in the light? Maybe my brain is fried from going to the beach?

Yeah, it’s definitely the heat.

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Yesterday on Instagram I posted the August version of #HomeBarFrontRow cause I like to switch bottles out for inspiration. If you want to join in the fun and show off your Home Bar, just post a photo with the hashtag #HomeBarFrontRow!

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Well, inspiration came rather quickly in the form of these ingredients! I began with Calvados*, then thought “Oh that would totally go well with Denizen White Rum and Giffard Banane.” Then I wanted a Pimento spice set for the “bitters” and sort of went back and forth between St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram and Dale Degroff’s Pimento Bitters. I did a smell test and St. Elizabeth won. (But major love for the Dale Degroff Bitters. No hard feelings!)

*Note: this is Christian Drouin Calvados but that bottle definitely doesn’t fit in my Home Bar, so I switched it.

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As far as the name of the drink goes: In the 16th century, there was an area in the southwestern US that was fabled to have seven cities of gold. Cibola was one of those cities.

Copa de Cibola

  • 1 3/4 oz Denizen Aged White Rum
  • 1 oz Christian Drouin Calvados
  • 1/2 oz Giffard Banana Liqueur
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
  • Garnish: Orange peel

Combine ingredients over ice and give it a nice long stirrrrrrrrrr. Strain into the most beautiful coupe you have. Express Orange peel and garnish.

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Golden August Cheers to all y’all!

Fruity Cocktails with Fino Sherry

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Edit: If you’re here for #SherryWeek, have an excellent time with these recipes!

Y’all, I have been waiting for this post ever since I got that bottle of Inocente Fino Sherry back in January. From the moment I put my lips on this Sherry, I knew, I knew it was going to go with fruit and I knew I was going to use it Long or Tiki style.

I’ve been biding my time.

Today on Instagram, I was challenged to make a Fog Cutter by @el_nova_1 (the person behind last week’s Navy Grog challenge who loves Tiki as much as many of us do) and make the drink immediately! It’s DAMN FABULOUS! LIKE DAAAAAAAYUM FABULOUS. Citrusy, dry, great flavour arc, deep. I’m in luv. With this challenge comes a great opportunity for me to post a couple of other Fruity Sherry drinks I’ve had sitting in my notebook.

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First things first about this Fog Cutter: I don’t have any Grape Brandy! I only have Calvados! The recipe also calls for Cream or Amontillado Sherry and I only have Fino Sherry. So, like any good Home Bar Gurrrrrrl, I’ve made some adjustments (ahem, Old Tom Gin) and named the variation “Karl the Fog Cutter” after my beloved San Francisco Bay Area’s archnemesis (or claim to fame), Karl the Fog.

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Karl the Fog Cutter

  • 2 oz Denizen Aged White Rum
  • 1 oz Calvados
  • 1/2 oz Hayman’s Old Tom Gin
  • 1/2 oz Inocente Fino Sherry (float)
  • 2 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1 oz Orange Juice
  • 3/4 oz Orgeat
  • Garnish: Sherry float, Orange wedge with Maraschino Cherry spear, Monkey

Combine ingredients over ice and short shake. Strain into Tiki Mug or Collins Glass over Cracked Ice. Float the Sherry, garnish with Orange wedge with Maraschino Cherry and Monkey.

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This next one came from a flavour pairing obsession I currently have: Fino Sherry + Apricot Liqueur. It’s to die for. The nuttiness from the Orgeat & Fino go sooooo well with the Apricot. Literally the greatest thing since Smith & Cross Rum + Teeling Irish Whiskey. This one is straight up Tiki, so be sure you have a mint sprig and some Orgeat ready to go!

Marley’s Map

  • 1 1/2 oz Flor de Caña 7 Rum
  • 1/2 oz Denizen Aged White Rum
  • 1/2 oz Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur
  • 1/2 oz Inocente Fino Sherry
  • 1/2 oz Orgeat
  • 1 oz Grapefruit Juice
  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
  • Garnish: Mint sprig, two Pineapple chunks and a Maraschino Cherry

Combine ingredients over ice and short shake. Strain into double Rocks glass or short Tiki mug over ice. Garnish with Mint sprig, two Pineapple chunks and a Maraschino Cherry.

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Now back to that Cobbler. Goodness, I get such a thrill out of making and/or drinking a Cobbler! This one came to me in the night and I had to write it down before I fell asleep. Again, we’re using the glorious Apricot + FIno Sherry combo along with Carpano Antica Vermouth, Old Tom Gin, and Boker’s Bitters. I wanted this one to taste Old Skool/Pre-Prohibition.

I definitely Flavor Bible’d the Rosemary + Blueberry + Strawberry + Lemon + Orange flavours. If you don’t have the Flavor Bible yet…get to it!

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Stafford Cobbler

  • 1 1/2 oz Hayman’s Old Tom Gin
  • 1 1/4 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
  • 3/4 oz Inocente Fino Sherry
  • 1/2 oz Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur
  • 3/4 oz Lemon juice
  • 1/4 oz Honey Syrup
  • 2 dashes Boker’s Bitters
  • Small handful of Blueberries, muddled
  • Garnish: Strawberry, Blueberry, Orange wheel, Rosemary sprig

In tin, combine Lemon Juice and Blueberries and muddle. Add remaining ingredients, ice and short shake. Strain into Stemmed glass filled with ice and fruit, Orange wedge and Rosemary Sprig on top. Serve with a straw and a spoon so your guests may eat the fruit!

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Yassssss gurrrrrrrl, Ms Stafford Cobbler, lemme get real close.

Thanks again to The Baddish Group for the fantastic bottle of Carpano Antica!

A Connoisseur’s Revenge

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If your french relatives were in the mood for an Irish Whiskey cocktail, this would be it. This boozy sipper has bright flavours, herbaceousness, and a nice long finish. Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey plays very well with Calvados making this my second favourite split base for Teeling. Throw in the gentian and herbes from Salers, fabulous botanicals from Boker’s Bitters and you’ve got A Connoisseur’s Revenge.

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A Connoisseur’s Revenge

  • 1 1/2 oz Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey
  • 1 oz Christian Drouin Calvados
  • 1/4 oz Salers Aperitif
  • 1 dash Boker’s Bitters
  • Garnish: Orange Peel

Combine ingredients over ice and stir until proper dilution has been achieved. Strain into coupe, express Orange peel and garnish.

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Yummmmmmmm, I am so ready to drink this!

Thanks to The Baddish Group for this delicious bottle of Teeling Irish Whiskey

Nog-A-Thon + Montenego Nog

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Yesterday I was in an Egg Nog contest at our neighborhood bar, Bearded Lady. I love that bar. They have a really amazing cocktail program, great oysters and it totally has that chilled out neighbrhood bar vibe. Bonus, the bartenders are extremely nice dudes.

This was the second year that Bearded Lady has held the Nog-A-Thon and the entries were really really tasty!

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Look at these garnishes and varying types of nog! Mine was the one in the top right, fluffy and with nutmeg on top.

Montenego-Nog

I wanted to share the recipe for my Nog with y’all!  This recipe amount was for the contest and serves around 20 people. Also, metric system is better.

Montenego Nog

The Nog Base:

  • 375 ml Whole Milk
  • 375 ml Heavy Cream
  • 75 ml Cinnamon Bark Syrup
  • 50 ml Vanilla Bean Syrup
  • 6 Eggs

The Alcohol:

  • 120 ml Flor de Caña 7 Year Rum
  • 90 ml Calvados
  • 60 ml Santa Maria Amaro
  • 30 ml St Elizabeth allspice dram
  • 18 dashes Angostura Bitters

Garnish:

  • Freshly grated Nutmeg
  1. Combine Nog Base ingredients in blender and blend until a nice foam has appeared on top of the liquid.
  2. Pour Nog base into container and add Alcohol.
  3. Stir until liquids are combined.
  4. Pour Montenego Nog into cups or coupes.
  5. Garnish with freshly grated Nutmeg.

Hope you enjoy and have a glorious holiday!

Auntie Edna

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Y’all, we’re getting pretty close to Xmas and I know errrybody’s Aunties are making ALL the desserts. In fact, Auntie Edna is making so many desserts that even when she’s not making dessert, she’s thinking about dessert. So she took a break from making fruit cakes, made this drink and then went right back to making more cakes! Auntie Edna is so crazy! But damn she does make some sensational cakes and drinks!

Auntie Edna

  • 1 1/4 oz Calvados
  • 3/4 oz Pineapple infused Plymouth gin
  • 1/2 oz Chartreuse Vert
  • 1/2 oz Berentzen Pear Liqueur
  • 1/4 oz Cranberry infused Dolin Rouge
  • 1/4 oz Carpano Antica
  • 3 drops Black Walnut Bitters
  • Clove studded Orange peel

Combine ingredients over ice and stir. Strain into coupe and garnish with Clove studded Orange peel.

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Wolskir Flip

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Flip, flip, flip-a-delphia

I know I’ve mentioned Santa Maria al Monte Amaro before but have been slightly overwhelmed with all this Holidaze/Xmas business and You’re So Kind posts lately…AHEM. Ok, seriously though, Santa Maria is my fave Amaro. It’s sort of like if you smashed Fernet Branca and Averna together but then lightened them up at the same time. Brighter, lighter, smooth, perfect as a digestivo. I drink Santa Maria neat in a tiny 1 oz cordial glass nearly every day.

Santa Maria Cordial Glass

Santa Maria lounging in a Cordial glass. Tasty.

Some instagram friends of mine mentioned a Flip contest and I was totally inspired. I love Flips, Silver Fizzes and anything with a Whole Egg. The most popular Flip amongst the HipStars is probably the Cynar Flip (excellent cocktail, such flavour).

Flips means you get to drink an egg in a cocktail. Which in turn means you can have vitamins and calories whilst consuming alcohol. DO YOU GET WHAT I’M SAYING? It means you can drink and not pass out! But don’t get crazy now, everything in moderation, especially Egg drinks!

This drink is named after my friend Rebecca Wolskir, a bad ass French teacher and Cyclo-Cross Maniac who also loves Santa Maria al Monte Amaro as much as I do!

Wolskir Flip

  • 3/4 oz Flor de Caña 7 Year Rum
  • 1/2 oz Sana Maria al Monte Amaro
  • 1/2 oz Christian Drouin Calvados
  • 1/4 oz Agave Nectar
  • 1/2 oz Half n Half
  • Egg Yolk

In tin, combine ingredients and Dry shake until Egg Yolk has emulsified. Add ice and shake again. Strain into Coupe and serve up. No Garnish.

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Lemme just drink this and take a nap. 

Copa de Oro is on a cocktail List!

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Y’ALL! I MADE IT ONTO A COCKTAIL LIST! WOOOOOO! My mentor Angel Negrín deemed my Copa de Oro cocktail worthy of making it to his December 2014 #ChurchNight cocktail list at Lou’s Pup. Lou’s Pub is perhaps the greatest Dive Bar/Package Store/Cheer’s-Type-Bar/Creative Outlet ever. I love it there, I’ve had such good times and so many great drinks in this bar.

Tears of happiness!

Also, don’t you want to drink all of these drinks? And oh my god, how cheap are these drinks?

Anyway, hallelujah, I’m so excited. Luv y’all!