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Posts Tagged ‘cocktail’

Lilikoi Prosecco Batida – A Cocktail Recipe from Maui

Sunday, June 20th, 2010

Maui sunset Well, the sun is setting quite literally on my trip to the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. It’s one of the most beautiful resorts I’ve visited in a while.

Even though it was a reporting trip, I tried really hard to relax and found that it wasn’t hard to get into that groove. It felt quite decadent laying under an umbrella by the Fountain Pool or reading a trashy murder mystery in one of the high-end cabañas by the adults only Serenity Pool.

It wouldn’t be a Hawaiian vacation without tropical drinks. The hotel’s poolside cocktail menu includes a classic Mai Tai, a Lava Flow – basically a Piña Colada with a dash of strawberry puree – a Blueberry Mojito and a few new creations.

One of the most delicious was a batida – a Brazilian style milk shake with cachaça sugarcane liqueur, sweetened condensed milk and fruit. The variety of batidas is endless, check out this article Cachaça and the Batida for more variations.

I couldn’t resist when I saw this passion fruit – likikoi in Hawaii – batida that also included the Italian sparkling wine prosecco. A bartender at Ferraro’s was kind enough to share the recipe for the Lilikoi Batida, which could be served for brunch, or for sipping by the pool or as a dessert cocktail on a hot day.

The Lilikoi Batida is one of the tropical drinks served poolside at th Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.

Lilikoi Batida

1-1/2 ounces Leblon Cachaça

2 ounces passion-orange juice

2 ounces sweetened condensed milk

2 ounces Prosecco

organic dendrobium orchid, for garnish

Add the cachaça, passion-orange juice and condensed milk to a blender with a handful of ice cubes. Blend until smooth. Add the prosecco and give it a stir. Pour into a tall glass and garnish with the orchid.

Makes 1 drink

From Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea

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Tags: batida, brunch, cocktail, Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, lilikoi, Maui, passionfruit, Prosecco, recipe
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The Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: Tropical Passion at Mr. Smith’s

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Ataulfo mangoes are also known as Champagne mangoes because they're so delectable. (Courtesy Photo)

I love mangoes. I discovered how amazing the ripe fresh fruit could taste during an internship at the Palm Beach Post, when I lived with this couple who had a mango tree in their back yard. If I could resist devouring the fragrant, sweet and golden fruit plain, it wound up in some sort of mango smoothie.

So why didn’t I include a mango cocktail in my sparkling cocktail book The Bubbly Bar? Who knows. Especially since one of the best mangoes around is the Champagne Mango, a smooth and golden-skinned variety so called because its sweet flesh doesn’t get stringy like other mangoes. The Champagne Mango comes from the variety known as the Ataulfo, named after a grower in Chiapas, Mexico.

I’ve enjoyed some tasty mango drinks, including the Mango Ginger Fizz at the Sheraton Twenty/20 in Carlsbad. The National Mango Board’s web site shares some fun-sounding drinks, like the Sweet Escape and Tropical Egg Nog from mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim. And here in the Bay area, where there are plenty of bars with great champagne and sparkling wine cocktails, I discovered Mr. Smith’s.

Every Thursday, bubbly is the thing at Mr. Smith’s in near the Tenderloin. The bar has an old-fashioned feel but boasts three levels including a VIP room with bottle service (really?) and a dance floor. They pour $4 glasses of sparkling wine like the Segura Viudas Aria Brut Cava and offer their sparkling cocktails for just $5 instead of $10. I considered ordering the Absolute Lush, a blend of fresh raspberries, Chambord black raspberry liqueur and cava, but settled on the very tasty Tropical Passion. They were kind enough to share the recipe.

Tropical Passion
3 oz mango puree
1 oz Peach Schnapps
3 oz brut sparkling wine, chilled

Add the mango puree and Peach Schnapps to a champagne flute. Top with the chilled sparkling wine. For contrast, garnish with a raspberry or strawberry.

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Tags: cocktail, mango, Mr. Smith's, San Francisco, The Bubbly Bar
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Drink Em if Ya Got Em: Penicillin and Other Smoky Cocktails

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Penicillin, with blended and single malt Scotch, lemon and honey is good medicine.

“I don’t like smoky Scotch.”

That was me, about 10 minutes after I found my way into the new San Diego speakeasy Noble Experiment and was escorted to my spot at the bar. For a moment, I was one of those annoying patrons who arrives at the bar thinking they know exactly what the do and don’t like.

But even though I wasn’t a Scotch drinker, something drew me to the cocktail called Penicillin, a combination of ginger-honey syrup, lemon and both blended and single malt Scotch. Fortunately, Anthony had dealt with people of my ilk before. He promised that if I didn’t like the Penicillin – one of the cocktails star-tender Sam Ross of Milk & Honey in NYC created for Noble Experiment – he’d make me something else.

It was like taking a refreshing and slightly sweet sip of autumn, on a cool day. It reminded me of burning leaves or sitting in front of a wood-burning fire. Besides adding another dimension of flavor to sweet, sour, salty and bitter, a smoky cocktail instantly creates atmosphere. It stirs up recollections of summer barbecues, smoky rooms, beach bonfires.

Now I’m to reconsidering my thoughts on single-malt Scotch and other smoky spirits. So the next week on a visit to Cantina in San Francisco, I didn’t pause before ordering the Old Gringo, an evocatively named mix of Del Maguey Mezcal, Pimm’s, vermouth and a float of cava, the Spanish sparkling wine. Duggan McConnel shares his curiously creative Old Gringo recipe on the Del Maguey web site.

The Old Gringo at Cantina employs a curious blend of mezcal, Pimm's and sparkling wine.

If these smoky cocktails make your mouth water, there are plenty of places to try one. Jonny Raglin of Dosa Fillmore in San Francisco is shaking things up with his Smoked Cup (Benesin organic Mezcal and smoked sea salt) while Julian Cox of Rivera in LA does a trippy cocktail called with Del Maguey mezcal, citrus and chapulin aka cricket salt. Watch Cox make the Donaji and get the recipe in a great LA cocktail piece on the LA Times web site. Sounds odd, but then again, I just might like it.

Penicillin
2 ounces blended Scotch
3/4 ounce lemon juice
3/4 ounce honey ginger syrup
1/4 ounce single-malt Islay Scotch
candied ginger, for garnish

Add the blended Scotch, lemon juice and honey-ginger syrup to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled. Serve in a rocks glass with one large cube of ice. Mist or drizzle on the Islay Scotch. Garnish with the ginger.
By Sam Ross of Milk & Honey and Little Branch in NYC

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Tags: Cantina, cocktail, Del Maguey, Islay, mezcal, Noble Experiment, Old Gringo, Penicillin, recipe, Scotch, single malt, smoke
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Absinthe Cockails: Killing Me Softly for MxMo

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Inspired by Death in the Afternoon, this modern champagne cocktail Death in the Afternoon teases with just a hint of absinthe.

Of course, we all know now that absinthe doesn’t cause blindness or madness or any of the other evils ascribed to this high-proof spirit back during the run up to Prohibition. But outside of cocktail geeks and urban bars with pretensions of authenticity, I don’t see this spirit becoming the next. big. thing.

A couple years ago on a visit to the Absinthe Museum of America in New Orleans which is excerpted in the slide show at the bottom of this post, a fellow visitor succinctly summed up the real problem with the Green Fairy. ” I love buying different bottles of absinthe, I just don’t like drinking it.” I have to admit I feel the same way. After I got over my fascination with Good & Plenty, licorice is something I like in small doses.

It was different back around the turn of the century in Europe where it became the drink of choice for creative types ranging from Oscar Wilde to Toulouse Lautrec, according to The Absinthe Buyer’s Guide. Anise flavored spirits are still popular and plentiful in Europe, the list at Licorice.org includes Pernod, pastis, ouzo, Sambucca, anisette and Pacharan I tasted in Spain’s Basque region.

It may have been in this licorice-loving context that Ernest Hemingway created his potent absinthe and champagne cocktail called Death in the Afternoon. His book Death in the Afternoon is considered one of the best books ever written about the deeper meaning behind bull-fighting in Spain. Hemingway borrowed the book name and contributed the drink made of a jigger of absinthe poured into a glass of champagne to a humorous collection of cocktail recipes by writers that was published in 1935, according to Absinthe Online.

I love the evocative name Death in the Afternoon; but since I think a little absinthe goes a long way, I fashioned Killing Me Softly, which I included in my book The Bubbly Bar. Besides being a tribute to the fantastic Roberta Flack song, it’s a delicate cocktail that leaves just a hint of licorice flavor lingering on the palate.

Killing Me Softly

1 sugar cube
1 teaspoon absinthe
1/2 ounce St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
4 ounces chilled brut champagne
1 thin slice lemon

Place the sugar cube in the bottom of a martini glass. Swirl the absinthe and elderflower liqueur in a cocktail shaker with ice to chill quickly and strain over the sugar cube. Top with the brut champagne. Lightly squeeze the lemon over the top of the drink and float on top.

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Tags: absinthe, Absinthe Museum of America, cocktail, Death in the Afternoon, Ernest Hemingway, recipe, The Bubbly Bar
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Real Aphrodisiacs for Valentine’s Day Drinks: A Taste of Honey

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Besides being sticky and sweet, honey is endowed with vitamins and minerals that help humans produce sex hormones. (Courtesy Photo)

It’s so easy to take honey for granted: sweet, cloying and sticky stuff without much personality. But it’s always been one of those foods, along with strawberries and whipped cream that shall we say has plenty of sex appeal.

The term honeymoon comes from the Viking tradition of leaving newlyweds alone for a month to get to know each other. They were encouraged to drink lots of mead – wine made from fermented honey – as it was considered an aphrodisiac. Even today, Indian bridegrooms are given honey on their wedding night to increase their stamina.

It turns out honey contains boron, a trace mineral that’s important for a number of different body functions including hormone production. Boron helps increase estrogen levels in women as well as testosterone levels in men and women, which is important for libido. Honey also contains B vitamins which play a role in estrogen production and another natural substance called chrysin that helps keep testosterone levels constant. For more details, read up on boron at Organic Facts.net and Gynecomastia.org

But enough of all that. Now that you know what’s in it, here’s a charming little cocktail I created that makes good use of honey and damiana extract, another natural aphrodisiac found in the supplement aisle at Whole Foods.

The Bee Charmer tempts with honey, lemon, lavender and a bit of bubbly.

The Bee Charmer

small section of honeycomb
1-1/2 ounces Barenjager Honey Liqueur
1/2 ounce bourbon whiskey
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce egg white – the real thing, not pasteurized
pinch dried lavender (optional)
2 drops damiana
2-3 ounces brut sparkling wine or champagne

Put the honeycomb in the bottom of a champagne coupe or small cocktail glass. Add the honey liqueur, bourbon, lemon juice, egg white an lavender if using and damiana to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake hard until will chilled and frothy. Add the bubbly to the coupe, then strain the contents of the shaker into the glass. Garnish with a couple lavender blossoms.

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Tags: aphrodisiac, cocktail, honey, lavender, recipe, Sparkling Wine, The Bubbly Girl, Valentine's Day
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Real Aphrodisiacs for Valentine’s Day Drinks: Watermelon

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Watermelon has scientifically proven effects on libido, making it a great Valentine cocktail ingredient.

Every year when Valentine’s Day rolls around, lots of foods start getting mentioned with the label “aphrodisiac” attached to them. Shopping for foods that have been thought to have an effect on passion would take one to every aisle of the supermarket: strawberries, steak, avocados, potatoes and oysters have all had their day in the sun.

This year, I decided to research food that have a scientifically documented effect on libido or blood flow, which is generally what an aphrodisiac is all about. Over the next few posts, I’ll be sharing recipes for drinks made with foods that can help put you in the mood.

It turns out that watermelon is good for more than cooling off in the summertime; this juicy fruit is also being called “nature’s Viagra.” A study at Texas A & M University’s Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center found that watermelon contains a substance called citrulline that helps blood vessels relax, just like Viagra. For more details, check out this post at Science Blog.com.

Watermelon is delicious mixed with all kinds of spirits; I created this cocktail called Watermelon Kiss using NUVO sparkling vodka and brut rosé sparkling wine. It just may do the trick this Feb. 14.

The Watermelon Kiss cocktail is sweet and juicy, just like a kiss.

Watermelon Kiss
1 tsp pink peppercorns, crushed
1/2 tsp. pink decorating sugar
1-1/2 ounces watermelon juice
1 ounce NUVO sparkling vodka
3 ounces brut rose sparkling wine
dash orange bitters

On a small flat dish, combine the crushed pink peppercorns and the pink decorating sugar. Moisten the rim of a champagne flute with a wedge of lemon. Press the glass in the pink peppercorn/sugar mixture to coat it. Pour the watermelon juice and NUVO into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled then carefully pour into the prepared glass. Top with sparkling wine. Finish with a dash of bitters.
Now make another one for someone special.

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Tags: aphrodisiac, cocktail, desire, drink, love, recipe, science, study, Valentine, Valentine's Day, watermelon
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The Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: Spicy Sparkling Cider Recipe

Monday, December 28th, 2009

spicy sparkling cider 3
I get lots of questions about sparkling wine and champagne at my web site The Bubbly Girl. Some times they’re asking my opinion of a certain wine, or whether it’s alright to drink an old bottle of champagne they’ve been saving – I always say yes to that one; you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised. Other times they want me to help divine the name of a wine they liked from a few flavor clues.

I got one of those questions the other day from a woman who had been served champagne at wedding that tasted just like apple cider. Since champagne is made from grapes and many people are trying to save money at a wedding, it’s very likely what was served as “champagne” at this nuptial was closer to a sparkling cider like Martinelli’s than Moët.

But the question got me thinking about the delicious bright and sweet taste of fresh apple cider made from fall apples. If you have a juicer, try making your own apple juice sometime – it’s nothing like the flat and sugary golden liquid that comes in glass jugs and juice boxes. The closest thing to making your own is getting fresh apple cider in a soft plastic jug.

The season and the cider inspired this cocktail I call Spicy Sparkling Cider, which is a mixture of fresh cider and sparkling wine. I used the Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut, though an extra dry style of bubbly would work if you like a sweeter drink. It’s spiked with Navan, a natural vanilla cognac by Grand Marnier and warm spices like cinnamon, star anise and ginger. Spicy Sparkling Cider is a fun individual drink – we had it before Christmas Eve dinner- but would make a delicious punch as well garnished with whole crab apples bobbing on the surface.

Spicy Sparkling Cider

2 ounces fresh apple cider (don’t use anything from a glass jug)
1.5 ounces Navan Vanilla Cognac
1 sliver cinnamon stick
1 sliver candied ginger
1 star anise (optional)
3 to 4 ounces brut or extra dry sparkling wine, chilled
slice crab apple, cut crosswise to show the star
Add the cold apple cider and Navan to a rocks glass or small stemless wine glass. Add the cinnamon stick, ginger and star anise, if you’re using it to the cider-cognac mixture. Let the spices rest in the cider-cognac mixture for a 5 to 10 minutes to give them time to release their flavor. Top with the sparkling wine, garnish with the apple sliced and serve right away.
By Maria Hunt, author of The Bubbly Bar: Champagne & Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion (Clarkson Potter, $16.99)

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Tags: apple, cider, cocktail, cognac, Domaine Ste. Michelle, Navan, recipe, sparkling, The Bubbly Bar, The Bubbly Girl, vanilla, wedding
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Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: The Winter Shandy

Friday, November 20th, 2009

The Winter Shandy features Crispin hard cider, Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur and Meyer lemonade.
I discovered the Shandy cocktail in Chicago, a tangy blend of lemonade and a local brew. I did think it odd that the bar – which shall remain nameless – was serving such a summery drink in October. A Shandy struck me as a perfectly refreshing summer cocktail

According to my historic cocktail books, Shandy is short for Shandygaff, which was a mix of beer and lemonade, according to Tom Bullock in his 1917 cocktail book Ideal Bartender. Sometimes it was done as a blend of beer and gingerbeer too,

I decided to create a version of this refreshing drink perfect for those sunny days in autumn and winter. Since the season means apples and citrus, I decided to use hard cider as a base for my cocktail since I’d been sampling Crispin’s Natural Hard Apple Cider which has a taste of a crisp apple soda finished with just a touch of natural honey. Crispin’s hard cider comes in a variety of styles from a cloudy old fashioned hard cider in a brown bottle to a clear and crisp brut style to a light hard cider for people who might be watching their weight. The lighter ones are designed to be served over ice, kind of like a soft drink.

I plucked a couple Meyer lemons off the tree, made up some lemonade and created this drink.

The Winter Shandy
2 to 3 ounces chilled Crispin’s Natural Hard Apple Cider
2 to 3 ounces fresh Meyer lemonade
1/2 ounce Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
small piece candied gingerroot
lemon zest, for garnish

Add the chilled cider and Meyer lemonade to a pilsner style flute or rocks glass. Add the ginger liqueur and stir to combine everything. Drop the candied gingerroot into the glass. Garnish with the lemon zest.

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Tags: apple, cocktail, Crispin, ginger, hard cider, historic, Shandy, Shandygaff
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Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: La Mattina Appassionata

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

Mattina Appassionata
I just did a fun Saturday morning radio interview with Mario Martnoli and Amy Strong of the “Food & Dining” show on KLAA AM 830 and are they ever Italo-philes! We talked about buying hand-blown champagne flutes in Venice, sipping cocktails made with Aperol and the Lemon Ice, a delicious digestif cocktail from The Bubbly Bar made with prosecco, vodka, lemon sorbet and fresh mint.

Our conversation got me thinking about all the lovely sparkling wines and liqueurs that come from Italy. When I’m mixing a cocktail, probably the first wine I think of is prosecco, the sparkling wine from the Veneto. Wines made from the prosecco grape have such a delicate quality with soft bubbles and hints of green apple, minerals and white flowers.

I recently received a sample of a new one called Passionne di Fiore.It’s a likable little wine, with lots of fresh green apple and hints of underripe peaches in its aroma. It’s a spumante style of prosecco, meaning it has about 4.5 to 5 atmospheres of pressure in the wine; a frizzante style of prosecco is softly sparkling and has just 2.2 to 2.5 atm of pressure. I also liked that it’s available in the 375 ml size which is perfect for making a couple cocktails for brunch.

The same company that makes Passionne di Fiore prosecco also makes a unique liqueur called Fragoli. It’s a wild strawberry liqueur that I wrote about here a few months ago after I discovered it at the W San Diego. Fragoli actually contains the little Italian wild strawberries called fragolini di bosco.

Since Mario, Amy and I were talking about good cocktails to serve to guests, I decided to create a brunch cocktail called La Mattina Appassionata (Passionate Morning in English) that mixes some of the flavors I love from Italy.

La Mattina Appassionata
1 ounce Fragoli
splash Aperol
juice of 1/2 tangerine
4 ounces prosecco

Add the Fragoli, Aperol and tangerine juice to a flute, straining out any seeds. Top with the chilled prosecco and serve immediately. Cin cin!

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Tags: Aperol, brunch, cocktail, Fragoli, Italy, KLAA, Maria Hunt, Mario Martinoli, Prosecco, recipe, The Bubbly Bar, The Bubbly Girl
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Posts Tagged ‘cocktail’

Lilikoi Prosecco Batida – A Cocktail Recipe from Maui

The Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: Tropical Passion at Mr. Smith’s

Drink Em if Ya Got Em: Penicillin and Other Smoky Cocktails

Absinthe Cockails: Killing Me Softly for MxMo

Real Aphrodisiacs for Valentine’s Day Drinks: A Taste of Honey

Real Aphrodisiacs for Valentine’s Day Drinks: Watermelon

The Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: Spicy Sparkling Cider Recipe

Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: The Winter Shandy

Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: La Mattina Appassionata