theredshaker

Mar-tea-nis!

Jan 062010

Tonight we have high tea- Red Shaker Style. Two tea based martinis to try, something a little different. And what goes with high tea but finger sandwiches!

First up is a plum and green tea martini

(Due to a technical SNAFU, the picture for this one.. and the main shots of the next martini, were lost. grrrrrr) [Shaker 1 again- just imagine plates full of deletable tea time treats]

As Pavilions was out of plums, we substituted a pluot. This martini incorporates green tea and honey simple syrup, citrus vodka, pear vodka and muddled plums. The color is gorgeous. The taste? Shaker Two nailed it: you can’t taste any one of the flavors, but you can taste all of them. Sort of an odd result. Not unpleasant, but neither of us can say we enjoy the flavor.

Overall this gets high marks for looks, but 2 olives for taste.

Moving on to our next Teani:

The Earl Grey Marteani–

This uses vodka infused with earl grey tea, simple syrup and lemon juice, foamed up with an egg white. (Note: the original recipe calls for gin.. but we are vodka girls.. so use whichever you prefer) First impression is an intriguing tea aroma and an unusual color. Both Shaker Two and I tasted with some trepidation. The result? Hello gorgeous! This is a surprisingly delicious drink! You definitely taste the tea, but it’s not overwhelming or bitter. Rather somewhat sweet/somewhat sour from the lemon, an incredibly balanced beverage. We like this one a lot.

4 3/4 olives!!

This one might even hit a 5. The more we taste, the more we love. Seriously people – go out and make this drink.

This also gives us many ideas for more tea infused vodkas and teanis. Brilliant. Now if we could only remember where we found this recipe in the first place. Whoever you are, we love you!

Feeling a bit under the weather? Forget hot tea with lemon and honey, make yourself a teani.
We liked this so much that we made another round to go with our berries and cream, lemon bread and meyer lemon curd. After pouring out the first teani, we were very pleased to enjoy the second so much. Martini success!

Remember, don’t be afraid of martini failure. If you don’t enjoy it, pour it out. There are so many wonderful options. Try again until you find something you love.

Shakers One and Two will close out this mid week tea-ni fest with a Happy New Year to all our tini faithful.

In Between Days…

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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.

Standard Definitions

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Dec 192009

Anyone who has spent any amount of time trying various beverages in bars and at home knows there are few constants in this world.

Sure, you have some classic drinks that even the most adventurous mixologist won’t mess with (assuming they have a clue about their craft): Screwdrivers, Tom Collins, Sidecar, Manhattan, etc… there are also a few terms that are sacred and do not vary from region to region like recipes are sometimes wont to do. This means you should be able to go into any bar, any where and have some consistency.

For example (and educational purposes):

Float: small amount of liquor poured over other ingredients so as to “float” atop the drink (the truly gifted can layer ingredient upon ingredient for a beautiful presentation.

Muddle: crush and mix an ingredient in the glass – like mint in a mojito.

Neat: unmixed drink served without ice.

On the Rocks: Served on ice (rocks..ice… get it?)

Shaker: a tool used to mix drinks by shaking (in a non-drink sense, it also refers to the two authors of this blog)

Shooter: a mixed drink usually shaken then served neat then gulped.

Straight Up: plain drink served neat with no rocks

Twist: piece of fruit peel squeezed over a drink then used as garnish.

Virgin: non-alcoholic version of a mixed drink.

Zest: small piece of lemon, lime or orange peel

Now.. based on this short and nowhere complete list of definitions, were you to order a Belvedere up with a twist, would that drink include olives? No.

It should be a pour of vodka with a bit of lemon. What was served was a glass of chilled vodka with a little plate of both olives and some lemon. Subsequent requests for another round of Belvedere up with a twist resulted in Belvedere with olives dumped in. *sigh*

Is this somewhat of a rant? Yes.

If your drink is not correct, don’t hesitate to send it back.

Conversely, if it is done well, reward the bartender accordingly.

Shaker Two on a Rant OUT.

The Stripe Report – Holiday Style

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Dec 162009

Stripe here. Just checking in to let you thirsty RS fans know that though the busy holiday season schedules make for brief and infrequent postings, The Shakers are by no means finished sampling and creating tasty festive ‘tinis. They don’t call it getting into the “spirit” of the season for nothing, so let’s get to shaking. Soon. Santa won’t be expecting a plate of cookies at your houses and you better have something good for him when he comes.

Now, there’s something under there for me, right?
Stripe out.

Run, Run as fast as you can!

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Dec 132009

……you’re gonna want to taste this gingerbread man! The Christmas season has inspired us to make merry once again with a holiday themed tini. Forget visions of sugarplums, visions of martinis dance through our heads. And we welcomed a friend for his first Red Shaker tasting-hi Ref!

Another friend sent us a link to this recipe (thanks Diane!)

The Gingerbread Martini:

We first tried this as the recipe stated and the unanimous verdict was ok, but not “gingerbready” enough. So we did what the Shakers do and tweaked and twisted. Gingerbread perfection! Basically, we replaced the gingerbread Monin syrup (too sweet from past experiences) with an interesting liquor:Hiram Walker Gingerbread liquor, doubled the quantity and cut the kahlua (overkill and gets lost in the flavor profile). This naughty little man gets blended up with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Garnish with some freshly grated nutmeg and a gingersnap cookie, you have a very enjoyable dessert martini. Creamy, not too sweet, one is perfect for a holiday treat.

Shakers One and Two give this 4 1/2 olives

Ref threw in a solid 4 1/4 (he’s a gin drinker, so don’t hold it against him).

As we wrap up a quick Sunday night shake we send out a special holiday wish to our Shaker friends:

May all your spirits be bright and your martini glasses full.

Sometimes, the classics are the best.

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Dec 082009

This evening’s get together was unplanned. It ended up being a result of new technology not working as well as promised. In other words, the digital transmissions to Shaker 2’s place sucks and she was unable to watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas” so Shaker 1 offered to open up the Balcony Bar for a special screening.

Could we leave it at just watching this fabulous holiday classic? Of course not.

While Shaker 2 thought it would be perfectly fine to have tried and true classics like dirty and twisted…. Shaker 1, as usual, raised the bar a bit higher. She was again inspired and created:

The Mistletoe-tini!

A combination of Rain vodka, champagne sorbet, pomegranate juice and triple sec.

All I gotta say is “well done, Shaker 1!” {*blush*thank you}

Not too sweet, a slight fruity undertone balanced with the dryness from the champagne. Lovely! This puppy would even rock in the summer. 4 1/2 olives! And it’s a pretty festive color.

As the twinkle lights cast a festive glow on the Balcony Bar, the Shakers enjoyed “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and the ushering in of the holiday season.

Deck The Halls

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Dec 032009

…..with Christmas ‘Tinis! It’s never too early to start celebrating the holiday season (well ok, anytime before Thanksgiving is too early). Tonight we’ve decided to test out a couple of party friendly Christmas martini recipes.

First up is our own creation: Frosty’s Revenge

Made with Shaker 2’s Snowman Soup hot cocoa mix, vanilla vodka (Stoli), amaretto, golden rum and heavy cream infused with a cinnamon stick. This one is creamy, not too sweet, with a hit of warmth from the rum/amaretto…..delicious! We give this one 4 1/4 olives as is, next time would add some nice cocoa or shaved quality chocolate for a richer result. Frosty you can come over and play again. We promise not to steal your magic hat.

Next up: The Peppermintini

We got this one from the Edy’s Ice Cream website. Peppermint ice cream, vodka and white cream de cocoa blended up. Usually I don’t enjoy the chunky rimming garnishes, but the crushed candy cane rim on this really makes the magic happen. Pair that with a spiral of chocolate syrup drizzled inside the glass, you’ve got happiness in a glass. This tini slides past 4 3/4 olives to perilously close to a 5 for Shaker 2. A solid holiday/dessert tini treat. If you only give yourself one gift this holiday season, give yourself the gift of creamy pepperminty boozy happiness. It will bring out your inner drunken child. Finding new ways to love candy canes is a beautiful thing.

It’s a school night, so Shakers 1 and 2 will call it a night, before we float away on a boozy sweet cloud of Christmas cheer.

Don’t worry shaker fans, we’ll be back soon with more happy holiday themed martinis.

Good night and remember, there are only 22 drinking days left until Christmas.

Turkey and…. violets??

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Nov 252009

On this eve of Thanksgiving, the Shaker Girls decided to have a decompression night and try an interesting new liqueur that Shaker One has been itching to try for quite a while…. an Austrian violet liqueur. The label reads that this concoction comes from the Austrian Alps and made of wild violets from the mountainside. Now, this is not some run of the mill schnappsy beverage, it is a rather unique drink that is a bit more on the aromatic side rather then an overpowering synthetic flavor. It also gives the drinks a fun bluish color! We like fun colors.

We first tried the Creme de Violette alone, since neither of us had tasted it before. It was slightly sweet, but not cloying.

Our first drink was a Violet Fizz, which we tweaked a bit using vodka rather then gin (‘cuz we are vodka girls, not gin girls..and it’s our blog, so there.)

The result was not bad, but we felt that there was a bit too much lemon in the drink-it really overpowered the violet. So we halved the lemon and got close to a lovely drink ( the lemon proportion totally overshadowed the violet)

As written, it gets 1.5 stars

…. tweaked, it gets 3.5.

We also like that the drink matched Shaker One’s dress!!

Next was our own concoction of champagne sorbet (thank you, Surfas!), Creme de Violette, vodka, a splash of lemon juice and a splash of lemon bitters (thanks, Lynda!!) This was quite lovely – but then again, it was based on champagne sorbet, how can you go terribly awry??

Both of us felt this was well worth the liqueur’s fairly subtle flavor.

Our third drink of the night was Creme de Violette with champagne. Oh yeah, baby.. this one was good. The flavors made friends in the glass and complimented each other well. Definitely going to be a repeat guest in the menu, methinks.

On the night before Thanksgiving, we would like to thank all of you who read our blog. This is a lot of fun and has been educational on so many levels. Much love to our family and friends. We will return after the turkey coma has subsided and the food babies have gone away.

Cozy Fall Shake

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Nov 202009

At the end of a long work week the Shakers decided they needed something soothing. Friday night beckoned and instead of revelry our thoughts turned to comfort food. Atkins followers, avert your eyes. It’s gonna get veeerrrry carb-y in here.

Dinner: Mashed Potato Bar!

Both regular russet and sweet potatoes made into mashes and served with a variety of fixins. It was guuuuud.

For our ‘tinis we decided to test a few more recipes from the Rain Vodka site. (Note: this site is flash, so I can’t post a direct link to the recipes… it also has a lovely *ahem* soundtrack that you can’t mute. The menu is fairly easy to navigate so you can find the recipes on your own.)

First up: The Rain Mango Tango

Made with Rain Honey Mango Melon Vodka, cranberry juice and orange juice this one made us wish we had a whole bottle of the vodka (we were still working off testers for the other flavors). Delicious with a nice balance of fruity flavors.

We both give this one a 4 1/2 olives.

Next up is the Rain Ocean Breeze made with Rain Red Grape Hibiscus Vodka.

Like last time we tried this vodka, we could not get past the overpowering “fake grape” smell/taste. We’d love to have been able to detect the hibiscus, but nope! All grape all the time. Yuck. We give this one olive.

Then we have The Seaside Rain made with Lavender Lemonade Vodka:

Shaker 2 found the grapefruit flavor a bit overpowering and Shaker 1 agrees that she’d have liked to have the lavender show through better. Pleasant but not a show stopper. 3 olives.

Lastly we have the Rain Provencal made with Lavender Lemonade Vodka.

This was a fun looking one made with an egg white to foam it up. The taste however was just ok. The lemon overpowered the lavender note here which was not the case with the other Lavender Lemonade Vodka recipes we’ve tried. 3 olives.

So in the world of Rain flavored vodkas, yes to Lavender Lemonade and Honey Mango Melon. Sorry Cucumber Lime and Red Grape Hibiscus, you’re not on the guest list.

Shakers 1 and 2 signing out in a blissful haze of carby goodness. And a special hello to Suzy Q for listing The Red Shaker as one of the things she’s thankful for. We’re thankful for our thirsty faithful followers. Good night and good shaking!

Delusions of Grandeur (or palatability at the very least)

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Nov 152009

Remember college drinking? The cheapest swill was still a thrill. You hadn’t yet discovered that booze doesn’t have to taste like turpentine. The successful use of a fake ID covered many a taste sin. Now those days are in the distant past and I expect more from my cocktails. But when I venture back to a college bar type place, I set the bar a bit lower. Yesterday I think I tripped over it.

Scene: Pre game tailgate temporary bar
Cast of Characters: One surly cocktail waitress/”bartender”
One long bar full of bottles, not a single recognizable label
One vodka loving football fan in need of a non-beer cocktail

When I’m at a place like this, I keep it simple. Nothing more taxing than a booze and one mixer. How can you go wrong with a vodka cranberry? When the first sip ends in a cough, you know you’ve got problems. I assumed I’d mistakenly ordered well vodka and resolved to correct my error on the second round. So I very politely ask the “bartender” if they had any other brands of vodka. She archly informed me that their vodka of choice~Cruzan~ was excellent and of very high quality (Note: a cursory google search turned up Cruzan rum, but no vodka. When you’re not even googleable that’s not a good sign in a booze-perhaps I got the name wrong?). I nicely said that it wasn’t the best vodka I’ve tasted and was met with the following response:

“It’s much better than Gray Goose and equal to Absolut”
Martinis on the house for anyone who can make sense of that logic. Honey, you just either gave Absolut quite the promotion or insulted Gray Goose (both acceptable brands in my book).
I resisted telling her that I’ve taken off my nailpolish with stuff that tastes smoother than her beloved “Cruzan” and told her I’d just have a screwdriver.

This is what I got:

Next time I’ll have a beer.

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