champagne » The Red Shaker

Nothing Says "I Love You" Like A Good Zombie…….

Feb 142010

Hello and Happy Valentines Day to all our Shaker pals. Shakers 1 and 2, being single gals, decided the very best way to celebrate this holiday would be with good friends, good tinis and of course, ZOMBIES!!!!

So we gathered a small crowd of discriminating palates, assembled a menu of zombie and valentine appropriate tinis and screened “Zombieland”.

Thanks to everyone for bringing such tasty snacks. We hovered ’round the table and hoovered up the treats. Yum.

First up- The Zombie Martini:

After searching the web for zombie themed drinks, we decided to pass on all the “colorful/creative” (read gross) “bleeding brain” type tinis and just go with a classic. We basically took the recipe for a traditional zombie cocktail and shook it up martini style. A mild martini, heavy on the fruit juices. One guest said it would make a good breakfast alternative to a screwdriver. You could easily speed up this zombie by altering the booze to juice ratio, but this was a nice way to begin the evening. Guests rated this from 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 olives.

Next up was another in our Teani Series- The Chai Teani:

We infused rain vodka with chai tea (Stash Chai Spice Black Tea from Trader Joe’s). We then shook that with heavy cream, simple syrup and a dash of cinnamon. This was delicious, though all agreed that we’d gone just a tiny bit heavy on the cinnamon (*Shaker 1 holds up her hand to take responsibility for this, I just can’t control myself with cinnamon*). This was a very good teani, with complex spice layers coming through. I still think we need to play with the recipe a bit more and perhaps even foam up the cream first to give it more body. Though Shakers 1 and 2 agreed it wasn’t up to the level of the Earl Grey Teani, our consensus rating was 4 olives.

Last up for the evening was a martini created especially for Valentines Day. We let our guests name it and the result:

The Velvet Kiss:

This is a seductive martini. Rich red color, perfumed aromas of elderflower, deep berry base; with a splash of prosecco at the end. It lived up to it’s name. Delicious, layered flavors, not too sweet, a sexy drink any day of the year.

We gave this 4 3/4 olives.

This was the hit of the evening. In fact, as our Valentines gift to you, here is the recipe:

-Take about a cup of frozen mixed berries, add a splash of triple sec and let thaw.(why a whole cup? Because you’ll want more than one of these)
-In a shaker, muddle about 1/4 cup of the berry mix (I use an immersion blender to really get the juices flowing)
-add ice to the shaker
-add the following: 2 shots premium vodka
1 shot Chambord
1/2 shot St. Germain elderflower liquor
-shake well, strain into martini glass and pour in a splash of prosecco or champagne.

Serve this to your sweetie and we will not be responsible for the results (though you will thank us later).

A special thank you to all of our wonderful guests for making this a super fun Shaker night.

Oh, and the movie? Shaker 1 gives Zombieland a double tap!

Happy Valen-braaaaaaaainnsssssssssssssssss………………..

In Between Days…

Uncategorized No Responses »

Dec 282009

So we find ourselves in between Christmas and New Year’s Eve……all done with candy canes and eggnog but not quite ready for champagne cocktails (ok, Shaker One is always ready for champagne cocktails). We decided to try out a few new ‘tinis, nothing holiday specific.

Tonight’s special guest shaker joining us from wintery Philadelphia: Welcome Cyndy!
After an enjoyable dinner of take out vegetarian Indian food (from Samosa House East in Culver City), we begin our martini meandering with-

The Spicy Big Apple(New York Martini glasses courtesy of Beverly~thanks!!)

First we made it as stated in the recipe. We were not repulsed, but certainly not impressed. Too much orange, not enough cinnamon. We all thought it tasted like a sweetened screwdriver. No.

So we made a few alterations- infused the brown sugar simple syrup with cinnamon, cut the orange juice back to just 1/2 shot and upped the apple cider a bit. The result? Tasty! This would be really enjoyable as a partner to Grandma’s caramel corn. Full of fall flavor, you could drink two.

As written- 1 1/2 olives

(Shaker One would give this 1/2 olive, generously)

Shaker Style-3 olives

Next up is the French Pear Martini

Following the recipe, we found the St. Germain overwhelmed the martini. So we increased the pear vodka and added an extra float of champagne. A lovely true pear flavor, not at all synthetic tasting. Well done Grey Goose Pear Vodka. The champagne float give it a wonderful depth. Overall an enjoyable martini.

As written- 2 1/2 olives

Shaker Style- 3 1/2 olives

Then we move on to the Red Square Espresso Martini

When we visit Red Square at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas we always enjoy this martini. Even Cyndy- who does not enjoy coffee- loves this drink. We found the recipe online without quantities, so we experimented a bit here. We went with equal parts of the five ingredients. The result resembles the original pretty closely. Not too strongly coffee flavored, not overy sweet, a non-coffee drinker’s coffee drink. Delicious! And even better paired with gulab jamun-an incredible Indian dessert ball in a honey sauce.

We give this drink a 3 1/2 olives.

We close out this Shaker night full of food and martinis. Join us again soon for more ‘tini fun.

here is to beautiful sunsets and lovely guests

Uncategorized No Responses »

Sep 132009

It has been a few weeks in the making, but we finally got our acts (and schedules) together for a long-awaited shaker night. As the days get shorter and fall starts to creep in, we appreciate the last of the summer nights.

This week, we have a guest in from Holland, Michigan…the fabulous MJ. This woman is not only kind, fun and an inspiration – she is also a martini virgin!!!! Oh yes, let the corruption begin. 😉 What better way to cap off a weekend of the Hollywood Bowl, Disneyland and trips to Venice Beach then an evening of cold drinks and fabulous food?

(Shaker One also would like to celebrate the nail biting USC victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes – apparently USC snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat from the Buckeyes in the last few minutes of the game.. Go Trojans!!!!)

This evening started out with a Pineapple Drop martini.

{Shaker One here, seriously- I need to get on this infusion thing}

Our guest Shaker, MJ, liked her first martini. She felt it tasted a bit like a pineapple margarita – she did sample more then one baby martini (she opted to use the baby martini glass – she is not too much of a drinker, normally..) She thought it could use a bit more pineapple… or “be more pineapply.)

2.5 olives… Shaker One concurs and Shaker Two is ok with that rating.

Shaker One produced another lovely menu… oregano grilled shrimp, herbed orange salad and some lovely La Brea Bakery bread (mmmmmmm). The shrimp was amazing – perfectly marinated and grilled. The orange salad was good, but would have been a bit better served over a bed of mixed greens then alone.

Our second beverage selection of the night is a Strawberry Basil martini from foodandwine.com.

It is a pleasant combination, though consensus was that we would like the strawberry flavor to be more pronounced. Perhaps infusing the vodka a bit more with strawberries… but overall, it is a nice drink with an interesting herbal element.

MJ gives is 2 olives (she likes the pineapple more, so she could not rate this one higher) she would also like it a bit more with all strawberries and no basil. She is a self proclaimed “foo foo drinker”

Shaker One gives it 3

perhaps 3.5 with a few mods.

Shaker Two coughed up 2.75 olives

We opted for a St Germain and champagne cocktail as a lovely finish..and discussed the merits of Dave Navarro, hair bands, and future plans for a “welcome back to the country” for Shaker Two after her upcoming international European tour.

To finish off our evening…. a somewhat made-up concoction based on a White Russian a bit with some variation…namely vanilla bean ice cream and Frangelico added to the traditional Kahlua (coffee liqueur), vodka and Baileys.

This was a lovely dessert drink (served with chocolate covered strawberries)

Recipe:

1 3/4 oz vodka (we used Stoli)

1 3/4 oz Irish cream

2/3 oz Frangelico

2/3 oz Kahlua

scoop vanilla bean ice cream

MJ sez….the drink is quite tasty, a little strong (for a non-drinker) might like it a little less alcohol (more like a Kahlua and cream, then a white Russian.) She gives it 3 olives – being her favorite martini of the night.

Shaker One like the heart strawberry sliver garnish and likes (total girlie warning here) how it looks. Taste wise, for a dessert martini, was nice. It is a little sweet and a bit heavy. Pleasant and lovely, but not something she would normally order… 2.5 olives. (Shaker Two concurs)

Tri-Umphant!

Uncategorized No Responses »

Aug 232009

So, we hadn’t planned to shake tonight, but we could not let Miss Shaker Two’s very first Triathlon go unacknowledged. Scrounging around in the pantry and bar resulted in an impromptu, but quite enjoyable celebration of Shaker Two’s accomplishment: The Santa Barbara Triathlon. Yay Shaker Two!

And what better way to mark such a momentous occasion than with martinis? And what better martinis than our very own special recipes. Yes sports fans, these came right out of our weekend addled brains. And on the seventh day, the shakers looked upon what they created, and it was good. Soooooo good.

First off The Staciatini. All the deliciousness you desire, all the booze to soothe your thirsty spirit. Champagne sorbet, St. Germain, Vodka and a splash of champagne……it is frothy and sparkly and entices you to drink another. And another. And…..oh, well you get the idea. Yes, yes and yes. Try to resist. I dare you.

Shaker Two gives this one 4 3/4 olives

Shaker One gives it 5 olives~

Almost the golden olive.

Next is Mother’s Rose Garden. St. Germain, rosewater and vodka. So incredibly lovely. And garnished with rose petals from the Balcony Garden . Delicious.

We give this tini a 4 1/4 olives.

Lovely.
Well, it was a short shake tonight. We are looking forward to doing a fun shake theme night soon, so stay tuned. A bientot alors, mes amis!!

Strategy Session and Cocktails!

Uncategorized No Responses »

Aug 022009

Hello from Red Shaker headquarters. The Shakers decided to get together to plot our merchandising empire……over drinks, naturally.

As a change of pace, tonight we journey on a lovely river of bubbly: Champagne drinkies! As these are not officially martinis, we are suspending our olive rating system and just commenting on the drinks.

First off, The St. Germain Champagne Cocktail

A lovely summer drink. Slightly sweet. but not overly so. Shaker Two says, “I’m in love with St. Germain”. I think that’s still illegal in 29 states, but we can all dream of a day when equality reigns.

Next up is the Champagne Julep.

Yes sports fans, that is exactly what it sounds like- a mint julep made with champagne and cognac instead of whiskey. Ok, this one takes the triple crown! Even Miss Shaker Two, who is not a mint fan, enjoyed this. I would happily drink this while sitting on the veranda entertaining my beaus. Tomorrow may be another day, but we need another bottle tonight.

In between our libations, we are actually putting together our Red Shaker Shop. Coming soon: t-shirts, boxers and a variety of products celebrating the Shaker Life!

One Technical note: in addition to blogspot, you can now reach our page at:

www.theredshaker.com

Whilst Shaker Two deals with the technical side of things, I wonder what drink we should have next………….

La Vie En Rose~champagne with rosewater. Mmmmmm, this smells amazing. The rose flavor is subtle but definitely there. We like this one! Note: as I didn’t have any rose champagne chilled, we made this with brut. The recipe used rose. for an enormous list of champagne based cocktails, go to http://www.wineintro.com/champagne/cocktails/index.html

You won’t run out of options with this website. Really comprehensive and fun. We will be trying many more from this site in the future. I do love my bubbly.

Thanks for joining us for this impromptu strategy session. Check back soon for links to the store and be the coolest or at least the drunkest kid in your neighborhood by sporting the Red Shaker gear!

Shake ya later! 😉

Newer Entries