st-germain

Five Great Jobs

/ Dani DeLuna / 2 Comments

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Say it with me, “Barr-ell Bour-bon. Barr-ell Bour-bon! BARR-ELL BOUR-BON!” Woo y’all, this Barrell Bourbon Batch 006 is deeeeeelicious and today I’m putting it in a tasty sour. If you’re unfamiliar with this unstoppable cask strength bourbon, head over to my review so you can understand the awesomeness that I’m talking about.

You read it? You read the review? Cool! Let’s proceed.

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Golden glory, y’all. Golden glory.

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Cast of Characters:

  1. I wanted to put all that Barrell Bourbon Batch 006 fruity, wheaty, popcorny, apricoty, fabulousness to use with some bright flavors. I was thinking, “Spring sour. What could go in a spring sour?”
  2. ST-GERMAIN! Man, I haven’t used St-G in such a long time. What happened to me? It’s so wonderful, so pleasant, so beautiful to behold and smell. St-G, will you marry me?
  3. Then I thought, “ohhh, let’s keep the fun going and add a bit of orange!” So I reached for the Grand Marnier. It totally complimented.
  4. Lemon for acid, balance, and cause this is a sour. Captain obvious is obvious. (I mean, I could have tried it with Grapefruit or Lime but why? Lemon is the only choice here except for maybe Yuzu. Damn, I wish I had some Yuzu!)
  5. Lastly, a small amount of 2:1 Cane Syrup cause I felt the drink needed to be just a tiny bit sweeter.

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I decided this was going to be an “express and discard” situation. If you want to plop the peel in the drink, go for it!

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Why Five Great Jobs? Cause there are five ingredients and they are doing a helluva great job.

Five Great Jobs

  • 1 1/2 oz Barrell Bourbon Batch 006
  • 1/2 oz St-Germain
  • 1/4 oz Grand Marnier
  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1 Barspoon Rich Simple Cane Sugar Syrup
  • Garnish: Lemon oil

Combine ingredients over ice and shake it like a rocket. Double strain into double Rocks glass on the rocks. Express Lemon peel and discard.

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Yum yum yummy yum yum. This drink is so damn fabulous, it makes wanna shake my tail feathers!

Cheers y’all! May all your Barrell Bourbon dreams come true!

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RTV & Tonic

/ Dani DeLuna / Leave a comment

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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!

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Hello pretty Mint leaf, how fragrant are thy scents!

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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

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!

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Summery Cheers to you all!

#NegroniWeek 2015 – Saint Negroni

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Welcome one and all to #NegroniWeek! This is perhaps the best week of the whole year as far as cocktails go because NEGRONIS ALL WEEK Y’ALL! Negroni Week is put on by Campari and Imbibe Magazine as a charity drive for bars and restaurants to participate in. You can read all about it here.

Now, if you haven’t read my post from May 31st about how I like to make and bottle my Negroni, read it now and then return here. Did you read it? Good. Did you not read it? Hmmmmmm.

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The Saint Negroni is actually a cocktail I came up with during last year’s #NegroniWeek whilst I was mixing Bottled Negroni with different liqueurs. The elderflower flavour from St-Germain pairs so well with the Bitter, Orange and Gin flavours of Negroni that I’m drinking the Saint Negroni again this year. Plus this drink is a really bright and cheery way to start #NegroniWeek.

Saint Negroni

  • 2 1/2 oz Bottled Negroni
  • 3/4 oz St-Germain
  • 2 dashes of Scrappy’s Grapefruit Bitters
  • Garnish: Orange Peel rose

Combine ingredients over ice and stir. Strain into chilled double Rocks glass. Garnish with Orange Peel rose.

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I hope y’all have a fabulous time making up tasty Negroni variations of your own! Cheers!

Mother’s Day with Rosa Regale

/ Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

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Happy Mother’s day to Mom’s everywhere! My Mother and I have a very silly, fun, and hilarious relationship. I always try to treat her like the Queen that she is but especially on Mother’s Day. What do all Queens love to drink on their special day? They love Sparkling Wine! How do I know this? Because when my Mom and I party, there is always sparkling wine. Let’s celebrate this Mother’s Day with Rosa Regale Sparkling Red!

Rosa Regale is a unique Brachetto sparkling wine from the Piedmont region of Italy. It offers a palate of fresh strawberries, wild raspberries and Bulgarian rose, complemented with crisp acidity and a round, dry finish. Sounds tasty right? Yup! Sounds like something your Mother would truly love on her special day, right? Yesssss.

Let’s get into a few ways we can celebrate with Rosa Regale.

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To start, you could chill the Rosa Regale and pour your Mother a glass. I’d recommend pairing it with some fresh strawberries and/or chocolate truffles.

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You could serve it as a fruity and fabulous Mimosa with your Mother’s Day brunch. You are making your Mom brunch right? Thought so.

Rosa Mimosa

  • 2 oz chilled Rosa Regale
  • 1 oz Cointreau, Grand Marnier or other Triple Sec (If too sweet, use 1/2 oz Triple Sec)
  • 2 oz fresh Orange Juice
  • Garnish: Strawberry

In glass combine Triple Sec and Orange Juice and stir until they’ve combined. Double strain into coupe, float Rosa Regale on top, and garnish with Strawberry.

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If you or your Mother are a fan of the Aperol Spritz, then this variation would be perfect!

Rosa Regale Spritz

  • 2-3 oz chilled Rosa Regale
  • 3/4 oz Aperol
  • 1/4 oz St-Germain
  • 1/2 oz fresh Orange Juice
  • Garnish: Strawberry halves + Orange wedge Sandwich

Combine Aperol, St-Germain and Orange Juice over ice and shake. Double strain into coupe, float Rosa Regale on top, and garnish with fruit.

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And for those Mothers who like their drinks a bit bitter or who are really fond of the Negroni, here’s a bubbly variation!

Negroni Rosa Regale

  • 2-3 oz chilled Rosa Regale
  • 3/4 oz Plymouth Gin (or other smooth English gin)
  • 3/4 oz Carpano Dry Vermouth (Sweet Vermouth will also work)
  • 3/4 oz Campari
  • 3/4 oz fresh Red Grapefruit Juice
  • Garnish: Orange wedge

Combine Gin, Vermouth, Campari and Grapefruit Juice over ice and short shake. Double strain into Rocks glass over ice, float Rosa Regale on top, and garnish with Orange wedge.

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Once again, to my Mom and all of the other moms, Happy Mother’s Day with Rosa Regale!

Thanks to M Booth for the Rosa Regale and Aperol.

Flower Flower & Rose Tea infused Vodka

/ Dani DeLuna / 2 Comments

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Yep, you read that right. I did say the word Vodka. I said it loud and proud because this is the first time I’ve been really excited to use Vodka in a drink. (It’s also the first time I’ve used Saké in a drink but more about that later.)

If you know me IRL, you know I’m always like, “Vodka, what’s the point? Where’s the Gin?” Honestly, what got me even considering using Vodka in this drink is cause my friend Chris at Bearded Lady said that he’d been asked to create a Vodka drink for the spring menu. I took it as a challenge to myself.

The inspiration for Flower Flower was to use as many flower flavoured liqueurs/spirits/bitters in my Home Bar as possible while still creating something drinkable and delicious. This was an EXTREMELY difficult challenge and it took me around five tries and a whole lot of “going back to the drawing board”. There are a lot of small amounts in this drink and there is also the aforementioned Rose Tea infused Vodka.

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If you haven’t tried Tulsi herbal teas from India, you haven’t lived. They are definitely the best bagged herbal teas I’ve ever tasted and I always have the Sweet Rose tea at home. I had thought of putting the Sweet Rose with Gin but after my conversation with Chris, decided this was a good time to use that bottle of Tito’s I keep around for emergencies*.

Rose Tea infused Vodka

  • 4 bags of Tulsi Sweet Rose Tea (or your favourite Rose Tea)
  • 300 ml Tito’s Vodka (I always do infusions in ml, it’s just easier)
  • Fine strainer

Rip those tea bags open and let tea steep loosely in the Vodka for 30 mins. (Cover with plastic wrap or seal ur jar) Fine strain into bottle. Smell the deliciousness, taste the glory.

*The emergencies being when someone asks for something with Vodka and I don’t have to panic.

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Now, remember, I said this took like five times to get right, it wasn’t until I opened the fridge and saw that bottle of Yoshinogawa Winter Warrior Saké that the drink all came together.This sake is dry, floral, fruity, a bit sweet and wonderful. I’m always looking for ways to dry out a drink when using multiple liqueurs and in this case, saké was it.

Flower Flower smells like an English Garden, is dry enough on the tongue for serious cocktail drinkers and is perfect for spring. The colour of the drink actually reminds me of a Rose stem. It also features my new BFF Carpano Dry. Enjoy!

Flower Flower

  • 1 1/2 oz Rose Tea infused Tito’s Vodka
  • 1 oz Yoshinogawa Winter Warrior Junmai Ginjo Saké
  • 1 oz Carpano Dry Vermouth
  • 1 tsp Chartreuse Jaune
  • 1 tsp St-Germain
  • 1 tsp Crème de Violette
  • 1/2 tsp Orange Flower Water
  • 1 dash Bar Keep Lavender Bitters

Garnish: Grapefruit peel rose

Combine ingredients over ice and stir until proper dilution has been achieved. Strain into coupe. Express Grapefruit peel and swirl into a Rose.

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Happy spring to you all!

Thanks to the Baddish Group for the wonderful bottle of Carpano Dry Vermouth!

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.

Mr Thomas

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! 

Happy 2015 from Myself and the Cat

/ Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

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Happy prrrrrrty prrrrrty fun times to you all from me n’ Kuti. I’ve had loads of fun writing this Home Bar Girl blog and I hope you’ve had fun too! Have a sensational NYE y’all!

Tonight I will most likely be drinking one or more of the following:

  1. A French 75
  2. Fashionably Late – 1/4 oz St-G, 1/2 oz Chartreuse Jaune, 1 dash Celery bitters, top with dry Prosecco and Lemon peel
  3.  Yamazaki 12 Year on a rock
  4.  A glass of Champagne/Prosecco with a Lemon peel
  5.  Punch

Cheers to you and yours!

You’re So Kind: NOLET’S Silver Gin

/ Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

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I would like to once again thank those kind people at MBooth Marketing for giving me the opportunity to work with such a fantastic product. Aren’t they kind? THEY’RE SO INCREDIBLY KIND!

Ok, wow, like really wow. NOLET’S Silver Gin is sensational! It’s unlike any Gin I’ve ever had and if you’ve read the My Home Bar page of this blog, you know that I am INTO GIN! When tasting it neat, the nose is some outrageous combination of Turkish Rose, Peach and Raspberry, then comes more familiar Gin botanicals. The palate is smooth and silky Gin beautifulness. Truly, I was blown away.

I feel like NOLET’S Silver and I are going to have a long and fruitful relationship. I’m planning to do some strange and wonderous things with this Gin, I’m planning to use it with lots of fruit, hell, I’m planning to drink it neat with a Lemon twist. Right? It’s so good neat!

And now, the cocktails:

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It’s an Improved Martini except because NOLET’S Silver is so different from any Gin that I’d usually use in a Martini, it’s NOT A MARTINI! I swapped out Dolin Dry for Dolin Blanc and added a rinse of St. George Absinthe Verte. Brilliant right? Just wait and see!

Half Light

  • 2 1/2 oz NOLET’S Silver Gin
  • 1/2 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
  • 2 dashes of Regans’ No. 6 Orange Bitters
  • St. George Absinthe Verte Rinse
  • Lemon Peel

Rinse coupe with Absinthe and chill. In tin, combine Gin, Vermouth, Bitters over cracked ice and stir. Strain into coupe, express Lemon peel and garnish.

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This is a Variation on a Sunflower Cocktail which is a Variation on a Corpse Reviver No. 2. I swapped out the Cointreau for Berentzen Pear Liqueur, ditched the Absinthe, adjusted the ratios a touch and added an Asian Pear Slice as garnish. Divine. A fabulous shaken Wintry Cocktail!

Winter Blossom

  • 1 oz NOLET’S Silver Gin
  • 3/4 oz Berentzen Pear Liqueur
  • 3/4 oz St-Germain
  • 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • Asian Pear Slice

In tin, combine Gin, Pear Liqueur, St-G and Lemon Juice over ice and shake baby shake! Double strain into coupe and garnish with Asian Pear Slice.

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Silver Gin, Silver Fizz. Just cause it’s chilly, doesn’t give us any excuses for not making a Silver Fizz! Ohhhh, what a Silver Fizz this is too! I wanted to add complexity to the Fizz formula and build on NOLET’S Silver’s already fabulous flavour profile. Enjoy!

NOLET’S Silver Fizz

  • 1 3/4 oz NOLET’S Silver Gin
  • 1 dash Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
  • 1 dash Barkeep Lavender Bitters
  • 1/2 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 oz Demerara Simple Syrup
  • Egg White
  • Club Soda

In tin, combine ingredients and dry shake until Egg White has emulsified. Add ice to tin and shake again. Add 1 oz Club Soda to Collins glass first, then ice on top of that. Double strain contents of tin into Collins glass, top with Club Soda. *This version of Soda first, Double Strain, Soda last will give you a nice foamy top to the Fizz. Cool baby, cool.

CHEERS!

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Don’t you just wanna drink like a million of these? I do.

Brunch Bonanza: Golden Light

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

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Golden Light at a Fancy party. Doesn’t it look Fancy?

I originally created this drink for Home Bar Girl Presents: A Party several weeks ago but have since realized that I love it as a Brunch or Afternoon cocktail. It’s so fresh and refreshing but still complex! The Celery Bitters and St-Germain work very well with the other mix of flavours. Enjoy!

Golden Light

  • 1 oz Smooth English Gin (Plymouth or Mayfair)
  • 1 oz Apple Brandy
  • 3/4 oz St-Germain
  • 1 oz Apple Juice
  • 1/4 oz Lemon Juice
  • 1 dash Celery bitters
  • Apple Slice or Lemon Peel

In tin, combine Gin, Apple Brandy, St-Germain, Apple Juice, Lemon Juice and Celery Bitters over ice and shake baby, shake! Double strain into coupe and garnish with Apple Slice or Lemon Peel. Cheers!

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Golden Light at Home. It still looks fancy!

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Yummm! 

Improved MarTEAni

/ Dani DeLuna / 1 Comment

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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.