Lillet blanc » The Red Shaker

So Long, Shaker! Shake

May 062011

One of the most interesting thing in life is how it changes both in small ways and on the larger scale. The latter is the scale of Shaker Two’s big change, which is a move to another state. Now, not to fear, this blog will still be going and plans are in place and being formulated on the most fun way to keep bringing you all the crazy martini recipes and fun we have been writing about since 2009.

So, in light of Shaker Two’s imminent departure, we put together a So Long, Shaker! Shake

Shaker Two Says A Sip For The Hostesses~John joins us via skype

A few of our friends joined in both locally and via Skype and we revisited some of the favorites from the blog this far and, wow, they were just as tasty this time as they were when we first made them pair that with some of our favorite recipes and it was a night of fun, food and – of course – martinis.

First off is the Spicy Lemon Drop.

We first wrote about this in July 2010 and included it in part of our Founding Fathers 4th of July Shaker Night. This was a summer favorite with a lovely kick to a somewhat traditional lemon drop.

This was a hit with the guests and there might have been more than one consumed by a few.

As drinks were flowing, the table was set with a veritable buffet of tasty bites ranging from smoky cheezee poofs (gougeres), vichyssoise, red pepper puff pastry rolls, grilled vegetable wraps, an assortment of cheeses and fried chicken from KyoChon.

: Shaker Two Says A Sip For The Hostesses~

: John joins us via skype

Next up is the Citrus Bliss.

Shaker One spent lots-o-time juicing citrus for these bad boys and is it worth it. The fresh citrus takes this drink from good to *SLURP*.

Third on deck is the Balsamic Martini created by Jacopo Falleni.

This one has some really amazing flavors going here and it was well worth revisiting it.

To round out the evening and to somewhat taper the spice from the KyoChon chicken (YUM!!! Thanks, Simon and Bill!) we ended with a Shaker Two favorite – the Parisian. In honor of Shaker One’s quickly approaching firtst trip to Paris, we thought this beautiful drink would be a nice addition.

All in all, this was a lovely night of friends, memories and cocktails.

Like The Butterball Turkey Hotline, But For Martinis……

martini No Responses »

Apr 132010

{scene: living room of Shaker One’s Pad}

*ring!ring!*

Shaker Two: “Hi, what’s that martini with the Lillet and the St. Germain…? You know?? The Lillet site is giving my iphone error messages in French.”

Shaker One: “How civilized, hmmmm-might be the Parisian….lemme look it up……”

Shaker Two: “Use the search engine tool on the top of our blog!”

Shaker One: “Oh cool, I wondered if we had one of those…….ah yes, The Parisian- 2 shots voddy, 1 shot St. Germain, 1/2 shot Lillet Blanc.”

Shaker Two: “Excellent- the bartender got it right! Thanks Shaker One~”

Shaker One: “Have fun.”

*puts phone down, walks over to bar*

Shaker One: “Well I have to have a drink now, don’t I?”

The Stripeycat:

{fade to black}

Shaker Two here…. I arrived home this evening after a night out with the boss talking business, projections plans and whatnot, while consuming a disgusting amount of vodka. Not being in the mood for a dirty martini, I opted for one of my standby’s from the blog – the Parisian.
The aforementioned conversation truly DID take place as I was trying to remember the exact ratios of Lillet Blanc, vodka and St. Germain. Stupid flash sites were not cooperating with my iPhone (damned Flash) and I was really craving it.. so Shaker One was a drunken lifeline in this case.

As far as the aforementioned “search” function…look to your top right and you can do a search of the entire blog for ingredients, links, keywords, etc…. a very handy thing, indeed.

Many thanks to Shaker One for being there when I needed her.

Love Potion #9

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Feb 222010

The Shakers have come up with a new signature martini:

The Love Potion #9 (working title)

Inspired by the Velvet Kiss and couple of our favorite ingredients (Lillet Blanc, St. Germain) we’ve created a tasty tini to melt your heart……literally.

3 oz Vodka
2 oz Lillet Blanc
1/2 oz St. Germain elderflower liquor
1 oz lemon juice
splash of simple syrup (optional)

Shake above over ice, strain into a martini glass and gently drop in a frozen heart. Yes, that’s a frozen heart of berry puree you see floating in the glass.

This martini is meant to be sipped slowly. The flavor changes over time. You start out with a nice citrus-y top note, but as the drink matures you start to get a more pronounced Lillet flavor and near the end, the berry puree heart melts to color and flavor the last half of your drink. This is a martini to savor, enjoying the layers as they develop.

Shaker 1 gives this a 4 1/2 olives

Shake and Bake

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Jul 192009

Good evening thirsty ‘tini fans. This hot weather has left us parched and jonesing for the sweet sweet relief that only an icy tini or four can give……..

So tonight we decided to throw in an impromptu shakin’. As we discovered the Candy Store (ie, Beverage Warehouse) is closed on sunday (sobbing quietly), we decided to scrounge in the pantry and bar and see what we could throw together on the fly.

We begin our hot, hot summer afternoon with Golden Crown appetizers and summer sippers. Shaker Two went with the Sweet Tea Vodka and her new bestest summer friend, The Drunken Arnold Palmer. Shaker One chose a voddy spiked raspberry lemonade sparkler. Mmmmmm, oh so refreshing on both counts.

As the pizza dough rises, we delve into our recipe collection. Oh wait, did I neglect to mention we have home made pizza on the menu tonight? Well, stay tuned for deliciousness. If you haven’t eaten, go grab some cheetos or something. It won’t be as good as what we’re having, but you’ll keep the drool off the keyboard.

Though we lament the absence of St. Germain in the house to make our beloved Parisian ‘tinis, we peruse the Lillet site for inspiration……….

Hmmmm, the Absolute Lay* looks interesting (or in the interest of full disclosure, more like the Stoli-n Lay). Not bad. Light, but with too much of a white wine taste for this shaker.

As we heat up the oven, we mix a batch of what will become a summer go to ‘tini:

The Lillet Sin*.

If this is a sin, just book the penthouse in hell, Satan. And have a pitcher of these ready for us.
Run, don’t walk to the liquor store and get what you need to put these in your glasses. So incredibly refreshing with a perfect balance of ginger, lime, mint, lillet and a splash of sparkling water brings near perfection to our lips with every sip. Sigh. Swoon. More please.

…..maybe even 4 3/4.

You know, screw the menu delving, we’re sticking with this one until dessert tonight.
Mmmmm, the pizza is in the oven. We’re having Rosemary Chicken Potato Pizza. I know, it sounds really weird, but it is oh so tasty. Trust us. Ok, I should really stop telling you to do that. But in the food/bevvie realm? Go ahead! You won’t be disappointed.

So back to the Lillet Sin…..it’s almost perfect. And that means it is approaching the holy grail of ‘tin ratings: The Golden Olive. When five olives are not enough to contain the tini goodness of a drink, we bestow upon it the ultimate rating: THE GOLDEN OLIVE. It shines, it shimmers, it drunkens all that bask in it’s deliciousness. So far we’ve not met that Tini, but we shall perservere until we can share that level of perfection in a glass with all of you faithful followers.

These lushes are all Sunday nighted out. Thanks for joining us for an unplanned but enjoyable end to the week. Stay cool and stay tuned for more martini fun.

Lushes out.

(* Shaker Two here.
/rant
I would LOVE to link you to the recipe, but as is the nature of most freakin flash websites, you cannot directly link to pages within the site.. so go to the main Lillet site and you can find it within their recipes. Flash sites irk me for this reason… and a few others – but we’ll just focus on that one for this entry.
/rant off)