{friday cocktail: a trio of sugar rimmed recipes}

At first when Fresh Origins offered to send me over a pack of their crystal cocktail rimmers I didn't exactly jump at the idea since sugared glasses remind me of bad cocktail bars, but then when I took closer look at the intriguing flavor line-up they have I couldn't resist!  I enjoy the chance to add flavor elements to otherwise simple cocktails through the use of bitters and I figured these herbal/floral sugar crystals in flavors like fennel and cilantro could serve a similar purpose.  

For this Friday's cocktail post, I whipped up three different drinks using the rose petal, fennel and basil crystals.  Of course I love how all of these turned out, but the refreshing Garden Tonic using the basil crystals was by far my favorite.  You could easily substitute champagne in the place of the tonic for this one if you wanna get a bit more fancy with it.

Cheers!

{friday cocktail: blushing kiss}

With warmer temperatures and early blossoms starting to show on the trees around here it is really starting to feel like spring came early.  In the spirit of the changing weather I searched around for a perfect simple cocktail for today's recipe.  This one from Baker's Royale seemed like the perfect fit- I added in muddled basil for an herbal component rather than garnishing the drink with thyme.  The cocktail is light and sweetened solely by the St. Germain which makes for a lovely floral drink to welcome in a new season!

Cheers!

{friday cocktail: hemingway daiquiri}

Ever since I came across a photo of the interior of Club Raye, I have had it on my list of places we absolutely had to visit before leaving Paris.  Decked out in black and white stripes with pops of emerald green (raye actually translates to "stripe" in French), the restaurant/bar is the perfect place to relax with a cocktail and soak in some of the wonderful live jazz music they have every night.  Besides enjoying the music and decor, I got to try a Hemingway Daiquiri for the first time which is a cocktail that is rich in history as much as flavor (watch a video on making it here).  Similar to other cocktails named for or created by Hemingway this one is very strong and slightly sweet.

Cheers!

{friday cocktail: his & hers negroni}

About 10 years ago, Chris and I traveled all around Europe for 6 weeks one summer while we were in college.  Back then was the first time I ever tasted Campari when it was served to me in a Campari Soda on the blazing hot streets of Italy.  I absolutely hated it's bitter taste and steered clear of it up until our recent trip in Florence were I decided to give it a second try with a Negroni.  Much to my surprise I didn't hate it at all- in fact I enjoyed the taste of this bitter yet sweet cocktail so much that I might go as far as to say it's my new favorite drink!

Once we got back to Paris, we picked up the fixings for a Negroni so I could try mixing one up for myself. While researching what the exact proportions are for the recipe we discovered that there isn't really one perfect way to mix up this drink, but rather to tailor the proportions to your taste.  While I like the balance of equal parts of all ingredients, Chris prefers his to have a drier flavor, but both of us agree that this drink is best served over ice.   I thought it might be helpful to provide both recipes and you can decide for yourself what you prefer!

Cheers!

{friday cocktail: rose etoile}

On a recent trip to Le Grand Epicerie in Paris, I picked up a little tasting trio of flavored liqueurs including rose, pear & violette, but have yet to use them in a cocktail.  With Valentine's approaching next week, I figured a recipe using the rose liqueur would be about as perfect as you can get.  Loosely based on this recipe, I created a champagne cocktail with a base of gin and lemon then added a splash of the rose liqueur.  Since real vanilla beans are disturbingly cheap here in France, I also made up a tiny batch of vanilla simple syrup to give the cocktail that extra sweetness.

Cheers!

{friday cocktail: ginger 75}

The holiday season is all about celebrating- whether it’s being reunited with family or friends, hosting a holiday party or ringing in the New Year.  With all these gatherings, you need a good arsenal of champagne cocktails in your back pocket to be ready to toast at any time (and by now you might have exhausted all the good ones you already know of!).  This cocktail recipe uses a crisp mix of ginger liqueur, gin and lemon topped with sparkling wine or champagne.  The sugar sprinkle rim and candied ginger garnish makes the cocktail feel a bit more festive for those special occasions like New Years Eve! 

Cheers!

{friday cocktail: st germain & tonic}

I recently needed to re-stock the St. Germain bottle in our bar and was delighted to find that the purchase of my new bottle came with a "gift with purchase" of a fabulous pitcher and a recipe booklet.  Not that I need any additional ideas on ways to consume St Germain since it already goes pretty quick in our place, but the booklet was adorable so I gave it a look which is when I came across this Friday's cocktail.  The recipe is so simple that it feels like I should have made one of these years ago- it's just a classic gin & tonic with a splash of St. Germain.  Sometimes I get so wrapped up in trying to think of new and interesting ingredients for cocktails that I forget a simple twist on a tried and true recipe can be just as fun!

Cheers!

{friday cocktail: east of eden}

Proof to how much I love my new cocktail book, this Friday's recipe is another fabulous recipe from it's pages.  I altered the name slightly as I used lime juice instead of lemon- although I do think the difference is probably not noticeable.  The only other cocktail I have ever had with an absinthe rinse is a Sazerac and I have always loved how aromatic the rinse makes the glass.  I was intrigued to try it with a Gin cocktail and the Eden Park cocktail in Craft Cocktails seemed right up my alley.  This recipe is definitely more on the herbal side as the flavor from the Tarragon is strong, but not overwhelming when partnered with the Green Chartreuse and Demerara Syrup.

{absinthe rinse}

Cheers!

{friday cocktail: fresa brava}

Over the past couple years, we have build up a pretty strong collection of cocktail and bar books.  Our mini libation library hides inside of our bar console and includes my favorite one, a fabulous vintage one and my go to recommendation for those just starting out with their home bar.   I recently added Craft Cocktails to our line up which is the new addition from Assouline that comes as a follow up to their original Vintage Cocktails book.  Both have the same format of a fabulous handwritten recipe alongside gorgeous full page imagery of the corresponding cocktail.  Every single cocktail in this book sounds amazing, but I opted to try out one that I had all ingredients on hand in my kitchen (the recipes in this book are pretty advanced in the ingredients department so most will require a trip to a specialty store or Amazon.)  

The cocktail I made is the Fresa Brava and it has a great complex flavor of sweet fresh berries mixed with the herbal infusion of the Chartreuse- plus a little spice from jalapeños never hurt anyone.  I actually cheated a little bit on this one since I didn't I have jalapeño infused tequila and simply muddled in a few jalapeño slices to the cocktail. 

Cheers!

{friday cocktail: classic mai tai}

I doubt there is a more tropical classic cocktail than a Mai Tai- even when it isn't sporting a cocktail umbrella this recipe just tastes like sitting on a beach.  That's why this cocktail is the perfect signature cocktail for Ben & Terra's wedding today as Ben is an avid surfer and the couple currently lives just steps from the sand in Venice Beach.  You can be sure I will be drinking my fair share of these during the cocktail hour tonight!

{friday cocktail: spring sparkler}

Wedding season is definitely in full swing which means a calendar full of bridal showers, bachelorette parties, engagement celebrations and wedding receptions!!   A social line up like that also calls for many celebratory (aka sparkling) drinks so I thought I would whip up a quick champagne cocktail inspired by spring wedding season.   The only thing I love more than a great bottle of champagne is a dry and crisp bottle of sparkling rose so that is what I used for the foundation of this cocktail.  Add in some Chambord and aromatic lavender bitters and this cocktail is transformed into a sweet and pink drink perfect for the next bridal shower or bach party!

(also- if you are wondering why the main image isn't the usual cocktail photo you see on Fridays it is because I had my camera on the wrong setting and all the photos of the real cocktail were blurry.  Hey- that's life- it happens, but the cocktail was tasty and it got drank so that's all that matters right? right.)

Cheers!