MxMo XLII: Dairy

It's time again for Mixology Monday, the monthly celebration of cocktails on blogs around the world. This month, our hosts are the fine folks over at eGullet, led by group manager Chris Amirault. Here was the instruction for this month's theme:

"Any drink using a dairy product is fair game: milk, cream, eggs, butter, cheese, yogurt, curds, you name it. Given the importance of dairy products in drinks dating back centuries, there are lots of opportunities for digging through vintage receipts for a taste of the past, and as always innovation is highly encouraged."

I've recently written about another drink that calls for cream, the Smashing Pumpkin. In addition, I give you the Jasmine Orchid.

I am enamored with jasmine these days, although have set it aside for the last month or so. This drink calls for both jasmine syrup as the sweetener, and jasmine tea to enhance the jasmine further. It's definitely a dessert-style drink, and I served it alongside apple pie at a pairing dinner - it was a nice pairing. Of course, since it requires a lot of shaking, I made the guests who wanted refills shake their own!

Jasmine Orchid
2 oz Vanilla Vodka (see note below)
1 oz Jasmine Tea Syrup (see note below)
1 oz Cream or Half & Half
1 large egg white
1/2 oz Jasmine Tea (see note below)
1 oz Club Soda

Combine vanilla vodka, syrup, cream, egg white and tea in shaker; shake well without ice. Add ice, and shake vigorously, longer than you think you might need to. Strain into champagne flute or coupe glass; top with soda. If desired, garnish with a few jasmine tea leaves or a jasmine pearl.

For vodka: I used our Tahitian Vanilla, which is getting rather hard to find since we suspended production. I imagine others made with real vanilla will work too, such as Tru.

For syrup: heat 1 cup of water, steep one tea bag (or equivalent) in water for 45 secs. Remove tea bag, add one cup sugar, and stir well to dissolve. Cool completely, and refrigerate.

For tea: steep 1 tea bag in 1 cup water for 45 seconds, then remove tea. Cool completely, then chill.

I used Republic of Tea Asian Jasmine White Tea for this drink, so the advice above is for their tea bags. As with any tea, you may need to adjust based on the strength and potency of the tea you use.

Thanks to the folks over at eGullet for hosting this month!

Note: photo is from istockphoto.com.

Cocktails from the Fall Flavor Festival

Last night I teamed up with mixologist Jessi Brickner and Chef Adam Grandt from Sage Grille in Highwood on a Fall Flavor Festival. We led students through six cocktail ideas for fall parties and three appetizers. The cocktails included two for Halloween, two for Football Parties, and two inspired by the season. We had a lot of fun coming up with new recipes, and I wanted to share some of them here.

GPR Sparkler
- refreshing and savory, perfect for a cheese course or with a lighter herbed, roasted meat.
¾ oz Gin (used Distiller’s Gin No. 6)
1½ oz Pear Puree (used Perfect Puree for class, also good with Ceres)
Sparkling Wine (used Saint Hilaire Limoux Blanc de Blanc Brut 2005)
Fresh Rosemary

Shake gin, puree, and sprig of rosemary with ice, strain into champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine, garnish with rosemary sprig.

Smashing Pumpkin
- not-to-sweet dessert style drink, with hearty fresh pumpkin and spice flavors and rum undertones
2 oz White Rum (used Ron Matusalem Platino)
1 oz Cream or Half & Half
3/4 oz Pumpkin Puree (fresh is best, but it's a little early for pumpkin in Chicago yet)
1/2 oz Ginger Simple Syrup
Dash Cinnamon & Allspice

Shake ingredients with ice, strain into cocktail glass. Top with additional dash of cinnamon, and garnish with candy pumpkin or black plastic spider.

MxMo XXXII: Guilty Pleasures (aka Mmmmmm Chocolate)

Geez, I can't believe so much time has past since my last post. I have got to stop letting this happen. Unfortunately, this time of the year is really busy in the distillery business - did you know that around 50% of the spirits sold in the US are sold between Halloween and New Years?

At any rate, enough excuses, and onto Mixology Monday! This month's host, Stevi Deter over at Two at the Most, has selected the topic of Guilty Pleasures. As Stevi puts it, this should be one of "[t]hose things you love, but hate to admit that you love."

So here's mine (cringing a little at admitting it) - the Chocolate Martini. I love a good dessert, and sometimes I like my dessert in liquid form. I know, I know, it's not a martini, and I know, I know, it's terrible for you. Some of my friends might even say it's an abomination in a glass. But a well-made one is incredibly tasty.

Favorite Recipes
One of my mixologist friends here in Chicago, Rashed Islam at Viet Bistro, makes one of the best ones I've ever had. Of course I haven't gotten him to give me his recipe ... perhaps I'll have to send in a spy. In the meantime, here are two of my favorites recipes.

Ultimate Chocolate Martini
2 parts North Shore Tahitian Vanilla Vodka (you knew I'd use that)
2 parts Godiva White Chocolate liqueur
1 part Godiva Chocolate liqueur
3 parts Baileys

Shake ingredients with ice, strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with chocolate shavings. This one came to me courtesy of a member of the North Shore Distiller's Club, Suzanne.

White Mocha Martini
1 oz North Shore Tahitian Vanilla Vodka
1 oz Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur
1 oz Coffee Liqueur (e.g., Kahlua)
½-1 oz Cream or Half & Half

Rim cocktail glass in a mixture of finely ground espresso, fine sugar and cinnamon. Shake ingredients together over ice, strain into glass.

Cheers!