May 042012
 

 

Tonight we bring you a tropical twist on a classic cocktail you’ve seen on this blog before:  the Gimlet.

Now a classic vodka (or gin) gimlet conjures up dimly lit dives with dangerous dames waiting to wreck your life for a smile.  Ok, I’m a sucker for all that is Raymond Chandler.  This little lady is what Philip Marlowe would order while tracking a shady character to a tropical locale.

The Pineapple Gimlet~

Muddled fresh pineapple and chunks of ginger root, fresh lime juice, Rose’s lime, vodka-all shaken with ice and strained out into the glass.  Sweet and tart at the same time, with a subtle hit of heat from the ginger.  If you prefer a sweeter drink (the fresh pineapple provides plenty for me), add a bit more Rose’s lime.  This is a delicious drink.  You can taste all the individual ingredients, yet they dance in the glass to somehow become a new flavor blend.  I love it.

4 3/4 Olives.  Perfect for a summer bbq, luau, or just whenever you want a mini vacation in a glass.

Happy sipping and happy weekend!

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Jan 012012
 

Wishing a happy and healthy 2012 to all of our friends and fellow cocktail aficionados.

And for those of you who are not nursing the after effects of over imbibing, I bring you a twist on the cocktail I created to wind down the end of each fabulous day spent in Paris last spring:

The Rue St. Roch

Named after the street where our apartment was located and made on the fly with local ingredients in our makeshift kitchen bar (two tumblers served as a cocktail shaker), this makes a light and sophisticated nightcap.

2 shots vodka (here I used Tito’s)

1 shot orange muscat dessert wine (I found a similar option to the bottle that was in every Parisian liquor store)

1 shot Lilet Blanc

Shake over ice, strain into glass and top with a generous splash of San Pellegrino Limonata.  A slice of lemon rind finishes the drink.

Delicious and subtle, Shaker One gives this cocktail 4 3/4 olives.

 

 

 

 

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Dec 272011
 

I was recently at a friend’s house and she offered me a beverage. Knowing her gifts in the kitchen, I easily accepted to see what she had come up with cocktail wise. As she was pulling out various bottles, she handed me a little bowl of cherries and told me to try them. I’m game, so I popped one in my mouth, hoping it was not one of the typical sad little maraschino cherries… I really should trust my friends – it wasn’t.

I could not quite identify the liquor they were soaked in. There was a bite along with the sweet cherry – but nothing too insanely rough to the mouth. She pulled out a jar and showed me the label. I had had my first moonshine cherry.

She had finished mixing up the drink and plopped a couple into the beverage and I took a sip. Lovely. This was her own concoction of a pomegranate martini that was really lovely.Pom liqueur, lime juice, vodka, orange juice and moonshine cherries. Being that we are both silly, as a nod to moonshine’s southern roots, she adorned the glass with a giant plastic insect.

We sat at her table and as we enjoyed our drinks, she told me about a friend of hers that she had given a jar of the cherries. Turns out, her friend hid them from her husband because she liked them so much she wanted them to herself. One night, my friend was visiting their home and the woman kept sneaking moonshine cherries. Needless to say, she got a wee bit buzzed and went to the cupboard where she told her husband that he had to try these cherries. He asked “What cherries?” and the cat was out of the bag. He then asked my friend if she would let him know if more cherries were given. When he asked his wife why she had hidden them, she said “I just love them so much.”

If you can find these babies, I say try them out.

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Dec 232011
 

This year my old friends at Trader Joe’s have provided me with yet another source of holiday martini inspiration.

Spiced Cran-tini

3 ozs Spiced Cranberry Cider

2 ozs Golden Rum

1 oz Vodka

1/2 oz triple sec

1/2 oz lemon juice

Muddle some fresh peeled ginger in the bottom of a shaker.  Add the remaining ingredients and shake with ice.  Strain, pour and garnish with a strip of orange zest and a dash or two of orange bitters.  Fee Brothers makes a nice one.  The cider is also nice on it’s own for your non- imbibing guests.

Happy Shaking!

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Nov 302011
 

The other night Shaker One was in the mood for an adult beverage but wanted to try something different.  So off I went to rummage around in the bar, fridge and pantry…….nothing grabbed me.  Until I poked my head in the frezer and spied  some Haagen Dazs raspberry sorbet.  Suddenly I remembered my lovely bottle of Creme de Mure and inspiration struck!

 

Now I’ve used sorbet in place of ice in several martinis before.  You get some of the flavor of the sorbet itself as well as a lovely texture to the drink……thicker in an almost fluffy way.  I love that technique.

So into the shaker went:

2 large spoonfuls raspberry sorbet

1 shot Creme de Mure

3 shots vodka

2 shots fresh lemon juice

Shake, strain and finish with a dash of lemon bitters.  Now that may sound like a lot of lemon juice to you, but trust me- you need the bite of citrus to balance the syrupy sweetness of the Creme de Mure as well as the sweet sorbet.  This is a lovely drink, sweet without being at all cloying or “dessert-y” and the raspberry marries with the blackberry liquor beautifully.  Though I think it would make a lovely light after dinner option in place of dessert.  I loved the slightly slushee, slightly foamy mouth feel that the sorbet produced.  You can see it here:

Raspberry Sorbetini~ I’d give this one 4 1/2 olives.  We’ll have to get Shaker Two to give it a try and chime in.

Delightful!

 

 

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Nov 232011
 

Shakers One and Two would like to wish you all a wonderful Turkey Day.  And whether you are stuck for ideas on how to use up your leftovers friday or maybe are having just a bit too much family togetherness on the day itself, the Shakers are here for you:

Cranberry Relish Martini:

The perfect way to use some of your leftover fresh cranberry relish.  No, not that weirdly shaped stuff that gloops out of the can in one ridged gelatinous blob.  I’m talking about what my Great Grandmother used to chop by hand (we’re all thankful for food processors!), with fresh cranberries, navel oranges and a bit of sugar.  My mom made this every year.  And for those of you who want a shortcut, I’ve heard that Trader Joe’s now makes a good version, though I’ve yet to give it a try myself.

Back to the ‘tini-

Just muddle 2 large spoonfuls of the relish in the bottom of a metal shaker with about a shot of Grand Marnier (ok, go ahead and use Triple Sec if you don’t like your guests very much).  Add 3 shots of vodka, a shot of freshly squeezed OJ and a squeeze of fresh lemon.  Shake well with ice and strain into a martini glass, serve over ice with a bit of club soda, hell- pour it into the gravy boat and add a straw.  Sometimes the holidays can make you really, really thirsty.  <wink wink>

I garnished with a whole cranberry and a bit of orange zest and shook in a few drops of cranberry bitters (you could also use orange bitters if you prefer).  It’s like drinking Thanksgiving!

One more tip:  for a more festive bevvie, put a spoonful of the relish in the bottom of a flute and top with your favorite champagne or prosecco.

Gobble Gobble!

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Nov 152011
 

Did you guess?  Shaker One has begun making her own cranberry liquor.

While browsing thekitchen.com at apartment therapy (I love that site, it’s a daily stop of mine), I ran across a post on making your own cranberry liquor.  I love cranberries.  My great grandmother would finely dice cranberries by hand to make her holiday cranberry relish (imagine the labor in the days before food processors!).  I like to make a cranberry martini using her relish recipe around the holidays.  But when I saw the post I thought, ‘hey, wouldn’t cranberry liquor be a lovely addition to champagne?  Sort of a holiday champagne cocktail!”……..so off I went to the store for fresh cranberries.

The recipe couldn’t be easier.  Simply add chopped cranberries and simple syrup to vodka and leave in the fridge for 3 or 4 weeks, shaking or stirring every other day or so.  I added a cinnamon stick, a vanilla bean, the rind of part of an orange and a couple of cloves to give it a greater depth of flavor.  The shot above is from day 2.  Right away the cranberries imbued the liquids with a lovely deep red color.  When I first mixed everything together all I could smell was the vodka.  Now after 2 days I’m beginning to smell the cranberries as well.  I can’t wait to sample it, which I plan on doing at the end of each week-just to see if any adjustments are needed.

I’ll check back in in a week or two to let you all know how it’s coming along.

Of course, now all I can think about are cranberry champagne cocktails.  Sigh. Oh well, I’m told patience is a virtue.

Cheers~

 

 

 

 

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Jul 222011
 

This one is sort of a Shaker take on a strawberry mojito.   Muddled fresh strawberries, mint leaves, simple syrup, shaken with ice, vodka and lime juice……

A more girly martini perhaps.  Sweeter with just a subtle hint of mint coming through.      Next time I’d go heavier on the lime.  I feel like it’s missing something to pull it up into the really fantastic range.   Plus, I can’t help but compare any strawberry martini to the Strawberry Jalapeno superstar.   Still, tasty and refreshing.   A pleasant summer sip.

 

3 3/4 Olives

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Jul 082011
 

Shaker One back with more spicy sips.  Those of you who enjoyed the Spicy Pineapple martini, fasten your seat belts.  This drink is going to wake up your taste buds.  Still searching for ways to use up my enormous bag of fresh jalapenos and finding myself firmly in the midst of strawberry season, what’s a Shaker to do?

Why, make a Strawberry Jalapeno Martini of course!

Now, you may think this sounds like an odd combination.  And it sort of does.  But trust me on this one.  It became an instant favorite of mine.

Fat juicy strawberries, chunks of fresh jalapenos (seeds in)and a bit of simple syrup muddled up.  Add ice, vodka, lime juice and shake that liquid maraca~

I garnished with pretty things, but the key here is to toss a few of the jalapeno seeds into the martini glass.  This is an outstanding drink.  Really subtle and fresh.  You can add more jalapeno if you want to up the heat, but I like it balanced so you don’t lose the fantastic flavor of the fresh berries.

I’d give this South of the Border Seductress 5 olives.

Shaker Two-what do you think?

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Jul 012011
 

The June gloom in Southern California has finally abated and warmer weather is upon us.  Lately Shaker One has been on a spicy/Mexican food kick.  I bought an enormous bag of jalapenos and made seriously fantastic pico de gallo which I’ve been putting on just about everything.  But my proseccos or even my lambruscos just didn’t seem like the right beverage to accompany all these tasty taco treats.  Not in the mood for a margarita, not tempted  by the Pacifico in the fridge……..I spied a pineapple and had a flash of inspiration.

The Spicy Pineapple Martini

Chunks of jalapeno peppers, fresh cut pineapple, the juice of one lime and simple syrup muddled up.  Added vodka, a bit more lime juice, ice and shake that baby like a  maraca~

Garnished with a sliver of jalapeno pepper (seeds removed this time), this is a really fantastic cocktail.  Totally refreshing.  All the tart sweetness comes from the natural juice of the pineapple and you get just a hint of heat on the finish from the jalapeno without being overpowered.  The lime juice provides the perfect bridge between the two flavors.  I love this.

4 1/2 olives.

 

Can’t wait for Shaker Two to give this a try and tell us what she thinks.  Hasta luego!

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