simple syrup

Flor de Caña 7 Year is AMAZING

/ Dani DeLuna / 2 Comments

WOOOOOOOOOOOO! I FINALLY DID IT! I BOUGHT AGED RUM!

Daiquri-2

So, lately I’ve been meaning to get into the whole Rum Craze that’s hit the eastern USA but kept putting it off and putting it off and now I’ve given in! I was told by my cocktail mentor Angel Negrín to try and get El Dorado 12 Year or Havana Club 3 Year but I couldn’t find either of those in Prospect Heights. What I did find was a Nicaraguan Aged Rum, Flor de Caña 7 Year.

It’s delicious! I love it! I can’t believe I waited this long! Flor de Caña 7 Year has Caramel smoothness for days. FOR DAYS! Great rum to mix with and that’s precisely what I did with it!

Daiquri-1

This is the best damn Daiquiri I’ve ever had. Ever.

Daiquiri

  • 2 oz Rum
  • 1 oz Lime Juice
  • 3/4 oz Turbinado Simple Syrup
  • Lime Wheel

In tin, combine ingredients over ice and shake. Strain into coupe and garnish with Lime Wheel.

Chiquitita-Margarita-2

An original cocktail here. As I had already started with a Daiquiri, I wanted to keep going with the Rum + Lime juice idea and decided to make a “fake” spicy margarita.

Chiquitita Margarita

  • 2 oz Flor de Caña Rum
  • 1 oz Lime Juice
  • 1/2 oz Cointreau
  • 1/2 oz Agave Nectar
  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
  • 1 dropper Brooklyn Hemispherical Sriracha Bitters (or any bitters with heat and chili peppers)

In tin, combine Rum, Lime Juice, Cointreau, Agave Nectar, Angostura and Sriracha Bitters and shake over ice. Double strain into coupe and garnish with Lime Wheel.

Again, delicious. I feel like this Flor de Caña 7 Year will just destroy any citrus cocktail! Now to try and make some stirred drinks with it.

Improved MarTEAni

/ Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

photo by Virginia Linzee. Makeup Artist extraordinaire. 

While at a lady Tea Party for ladies today, I made my own improved version of Pegu Club’s MarTEAni. This is already a fantastic cocktail and my improvements simply consist of using a Whole Egg instead of Egg White and adding St-Germain.

Improved MarTEAni

  • 1 1/2 oz Black Tea Infused London Dry Gin*
  • 3/4 oz St-Germain
  • 1/2 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 oz Simple Syrup
  • Whole Egg
  • Lemon Peel

In tin, combine Gin, St-Germain, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup and Egg. Dry shake vigorously for appoximately 30 seconds to emulsify egg. Add ice and shake vigorously again.

*Black Tea Infused London Dry Gin: place approx 1/4 cup of loose tea into a 750ml Bottle of Gin. Shake, then let sit for approximately 2-3 hours occasionally shaking. Strain and bottle.

Brunch Bonanza: King Snake Flip

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King Snake Flip

Welcome to Brunch Bonanza. The segment where we talk about brunch cocktails!

First off, let me say, I will take ANY excuse to have an egg drink. I looooove egg drinks. They are smooth, nutritious, creamy and delectable. They are also pretty dangerous, meaning that I want to drink several of them in a row.

There’s a long history to flips and egg drinks, even dating back to Harry Johnson’s Bartender’s Manual in 1882. If you get the chance, read it. Just the section about how to set up the bar and make customers feel welcome is inspirational. This particular cocktail is my variation on the Rattlesnake Cocktail from the Savoy Cocktail Book.

King Snake

  • 2 oz Gin
  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 3/4 oz Simple Syrup
  • Pernod Rinse
  • Whole Egg
  • Peychaud’s Bitters

Rinse coupe with Pernod and chill glass. In tin, combine Gin, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup and Egg. Shake the shit out of it for around 20 seconds or until egg has emulsified (this is called a Dry Shake). Add cracked ice and shake again vigorously. Double strain into coupe. Drop a few drops of Peychaud’s Bitters on top of the beautiful egg foam and swirl them around with a toothpick.

Enjoy and Happy Brunching to you all!