Archive for the ‘Cocktails for winter and Christmas’ tag
Holiday Dessert Cocktail: Crème Brulee
Try as I might, the brown sugar refused to adhere to the rim of the cocktail glass. The mission aborted and glass washed anew, I opted for a rock candy “Petits Batonnets Sucres” from Williams Sonoma as garnish instead. In my opinion this little garnish is more tasteful than a messy, sticky sugared rim anyway and doubles as a drink stir. The cocktail itself is sweet, but with a creamy edge. Crème Brulee contains excellent flavor possibly due to the inclusion of Licor 43.
Crème Brulee
1-1/2 ounce Van Gogh Vanilla Vodka
1 ounce Licor 43
1 splash Cream
Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker and add crushed ice. Let stand for five seconds. Shake vigorously for five seconds. Strain into martini glass. Rim glass with lemon juice and brown sugar.
Holiday Cheer: Christmas to New Year Martini & Cocktail Recipe Guide
Holiday Dance: Cherry Samba - Dos Lunas Acai-berry Lemon Drop - Lun-Acai
Reviews – Classic Cocktails – Holiday Cocktails
Drink Recipes & Photos - Cocktails
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www.discus.org – Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
Copyright 2009 Cheri Loughlin – The Intoxicologist – All Rights Reserved
White Christmas Cocktail Recipe: Minted Snowfall
It’s just a little early for a White Christmas, but never too early to get into the spirit of the season. The perfect cocktail to enjoy while watching a beautiful, fluffy white blanket of snow fall to the ground: Minted Snowfall using Hiram Walker Peppermint Schnapps with hints of espresso vodka and white chocolate in proper measure. This is one of my original cocktails created for Hiram Walker. Minted Snowfall smoothes out crisply with just the right amount of sweetness cooling out across the palate. Ideal for sipping by the fire or keeping within reach while baking in the kitchen.
Minted Snowfall – created by Cheri Loughlin, The Intoxicologist
I part Van Gogh Espresso Vodka
3/4 part Hiram Walker Peppermint Schnapps
1 part Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur
1 part Heavy Whipping Cream
Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Stick Garnish -optional
Rim Old Fashioned Glass with Godiva. Dip rim of glass in crushed peppermint. Set aside. Combine liquids in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Strain into peppermint rimmed old fashioned glass over fresh ice. Garnish with chocolate dipped peppermint stick.
Find White Christmas cocktails with frosty themes using a variety of spirits served straight up and in hot cocoas. A couple of non-alcoholic mocktails have been included in the photo drink slideshow as well. 125+ holiday themed drink recipes for the Christmas season and New Year’s Eve may be found in the Holiday Cheer Martini Guide.
Reviews – Classic Cocktails – Holiday Cocktails
Classic Cocktails - Bourbon Cocktails - Cocktails - Drink Recipes & Photos
Top 10 Classic Cocktails - 21 Must Try Classic Cocktail Recipes
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Copyright 2009 Cheri Loughlin – The Intoxicologist – All Rights Reserved
Santa’s Sparkling Sleigh Cocktail Recipe & Barefoot Bubbly Champagne Holiday Martini Contest
Barefoot Bubbly recently sent out several celebration bubblies to tickle the nose. Rather than pop the cork and fill the glass in a rather ordinary manner this holiday season, I’d love to sample Barefoot Bubbly in a few celebration martinis and cocktail recipes. Everyone dabbles a little with fresh fruit, fruit juices, bitters, liqueurs and various spirits, so I would love to know what readers at home dabble with from the ordinary to extraordinary with champagne and sparkling wine. A little bubbly cocktail recipe contest is in the mix…
Barefoot Bubbly retails for approximately $10 making it reasonably affordable within the sparkling category. Using Barefoot Bubbly as a dazzling topper for cocktails extends the effervescent glow for holiday martinis keeping it even more budget friendly. Champagne and champagne cocktails are the headline worthy, show stopper martinis at any party. Including even one on the cocktail listing for your celebration gathering will created quite a stir.
Santa’s Sparkling Sleigh – created by Cheri Loughlin, The Intoxicologist
1/2 part St Remy XO Brandy
1/4 part NAVAN Vanilla Liqueur
1/2 part Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice
2 parts Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvee
3 Fresh Cranberries – Frozen (garnish)
Combine brandy, liqueur and juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into champagne saucer or flute. Top with Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvee. Garnish with three frozen cranberries.
Create a cocktail recipe using any Barefoot Bubbly Champagne with five ingredients or less. Name your cocktail and submit it to The Intoxicologist no later than noon Tuesday, December 15. You must be 21 to enter and win. A winning recipe will be chosen based upon ease of duplication, originality of creation and name and availability of ingredients. Participants must be over 21 years of age. The Intoxicologist is not allowed to give away spirits, but I am giving away stemware from my private collection. The winner will receive the set of glasses from the Santa’s Sparkling Sleigh photo above.
For inspiration have a look at a few champagne martini and cocktail recipe links for the holidays:
Champagne Topped Holiday Martinis - Champagne & sparkling wine topped cocktails chosen for the holiday season. Spirits include X-Rated Fusion, Boca Loca Cachaca, Bacardi Limon, NAVAN, SKYY Infusions, PAMA, Barefoot Bubbly, Bombay Sapphire & HPNOTIQ.
Holiday Honey – Evan Williams Honey Liqueur & Bourbon with champagne topper
Marilyn Monroe Champagne Cocktail - Barefoot Brazilian - French 75
Birth of Champagne Cause for Cocktail Celebration
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Copyright 2009 Cheri Loughlin – The Intoxicologist – All Rights Reserved
Hot Brew: Winter & Holiday Hot Coffee & Espresso Drink Recipe Guide
Relaxing weekend mornings, after dinner dessert or late evening night cap, fresh brewed coffee dressed with spirited elixirs, creamy add-ins and fluffy toppings with sprinkled spice hit the spot when the swirled chill in the air nips at our heels and licks at our bones. When leaves begin to fade from lush green to golden yellow and auburn and twirl to the ground, thoughts of hot coffee cocktails laced with favorite spirits begin dancing in our head like the sugar plum fairies of Christmas lore. These are the warming drinks that fill us with warmth.
The hot coffee and espresso guide below contains drink recipes with brewed coffee and espresso as well as those that contain coffee liqueurs and espresso spirits. There are also a few non-alcoholic Mocktail coffee recipes included for anytime consumption.
Brazilian Cream – created by The Intoxicologist
3/4 part Seagram’s Brazilian Rum
3/4 part Kahlua Coffee Cream
Fresh Hot Chocolate
Grated Nutmeg
Whipped Cream
Cacao Bits Garnish
Place Seagram’s Brazilian Rum, Kahlua Coffee Cream and sprinkle of nutmeg in bottom of large mug or Irish coffee cup. Add fresh hot chocolate. Top with whipped cream, sprinkle of grated nutmeg and cacao bits. Wowser! Talk about the ultimate sweetly, seductive spiked hot chocolate with hint of coffee. Nutmeg definitely adds a nice spice touch with the cacao bits give a wee bit of nutty bitter to the bite.
Hot Brew: Hot Coffee & Espresso Drink Guide
1. Baileys Liqueur: Baileys Cup of Coffee Recipe
2. Baileys Liqueur: Baileys Traditional Coffee Recipe
3. Baileys Liqueur: My Baileys Coffee
4. Baileys Liqueur: Snowflakes & Cream Recipe
5. Bourbon Hot Coffee: Capetown Coffee
6. Coffee Cocktail: Café con Coco (Mocktail)
7. Coffee Cocktail: Viennese Coffee
8. Courvoisier Exclusif Hot Coffee Cocktail: Café Euro
9. Disaronno Hot Coffee Cocktail: Disaronno Mocha Italia
10. Disaronno Hot Coffee: Café Disaronno
11. Drambuie Hot Coffee: Café Oxidado
12. Frangelico Coffee Cocktail: Frangelico Hazelnut Coffee
13. Gran Duque de Alba Coffee Bar: Café de Alba
14. Gran Duque de Alba Coffee Bar: Macchiato de Crema
15. Gran Duque de Alba Coffee Bar: Taurus
16. Hot Coffee Cocktail: Café Brulot
17. Hot Coffee Cocktail: Coffee Nudge
18. Hot Coffee Cocktail: Nose Warmer
19. Hot Coffee: Dutch Chocolate Butternut
23. Hot Coffee Mocktail: Amaretti Coffee
24. Hot Coffee Mocktail: Hot Buttered Cinnamon Coffee
25. Hot Coffee Mocktail: Hot Coco Bean
26. Hot Coffee Mocktail: Irish Mock-achino
27. Hot Coffee Mocktail: Sugar & Spice
28. Jameson Hot Coffee Cocktail: Irish Coffee Sweet & Unsweetened
29. Kahlua Hot Coffee: Bavarian Coffee
30. Kahlua Hot Coffee: Café Grande
31. Leblon Cachaca Hot Coffee: Café Leblon
32. Maker’s Mark Bourbon Cocktail: Kentucky Coffee
33. Nescafe Hot Coffee Cocktail: All Canadian Coffee
34. Nescafe Hot Coffee Cocktail: Fire & Ice
35. Nescafe Coffee Mocktail: Melting Mocha
36. Pisco Hot Coffee: Cholo Blanco
Hot Chocolate Drink Recipes
Hot chocolate recipes have been added by request. Hot chocolate is an integral part of warming up during the winter. Quite possibly these should have been added from the start. Better late than never!
1. Cabo Wabo Tequila Cocktail: MexiCabo Hot Chocolate
2. Campari Cocktail: Red Hot Chocolate
3. Courvoisier Exclusif Hot Chocolate Cocktail: Euro-Cocoa
4. Courvoisier Exclusif Hot Chocolate Cocktail: Euro-Cocoa #2
5. Don Julio Tequila Cocktail: Heart to Hot Chocolate
6. Flor de Cana Hot Chocolate Cocktail: Coco Loco
7. Hiram Walker Hot Coffee Cocktail: Hot Pumpkin
8. Hot Chocolate: Jack’s Cozy Cocoa
9. Hot Chocolate: Marnier Chocolate Bonbon
10. Kahlua Hot Cocktail: Snow White
11. Kahlua Hot Chocolate Cocktail: Snowcap
12. Leblon Cachaca Hot Chocolate Cocktail: Deep Chocolate
13. SKYY Infusions Hot Chocolate Cocktail: Cuppa Good Cheer
14. Van Gogh Vodka Hot Chocolate Cocktail: Melted Mallomar
Reviews – Classic Cocktails – Holiday Cocktails
The Intoxicologist on Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon
www.discus.org – Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
Email: str8upcocktails@gmail.com
Copyright 2009 Cheri Loughlin – The Intoxicologist – All Rights Reserved
‘Made in Scotland’ Makes Mixing at Home a Cinch
I almost missed the Made in Scotland tasting room at Tales of the Cocktail while sitting through a seminar about cocktail photography. Luckily my partner slipped into the tasting room early to taste and photograph and I ducked out of my seminar early to do the same. What a delicious treat! Charlotte Voisey must have been the hardest working spirits personality at all of Tales of the cocktail from a few bystanders point of view. She shook up fresh cocktails using The Balvenie. It seems this busy lady could be found just about everywhere lively debate or Hendrick’s Gin needed a fresh smile.
While I did not have the pleasure of tasting the Glenfiddich offering of the Scottish Pair cocktail my impressions remained solid. First off many Scotch enthusiasts would cringe at the thought of placing Glenfiddich 12 Year Old in a cocktail rather than consuming it neat or on the rocks. However the representative on duty at the table assured me this cocktail tasted wonderful. Since there was nothing left to sample, I assume it went over quite well. My other observation happened to be the number of ingredients contained within the recipe, ease of obtaining the ingredients and degree of difficulty in building the cocktail. All measured an overwhelming ‘trouble-free’ on the ‘simple’ scale. Glenfiddich is relatively easy to find across the nation rather than one of the harder to find Scotches available only in selected markets. The ingredients may be found in nearly any moderately stocked grocers shelves. The Scottish Pair is a simple shake and strain variety that can be prepared with a cocktail shaker or mixing glass and strainer. Straight forward. When I mentioned how much I appreciated the detail of uncomplicated recipe for the average home bartender, the Glenfiddich representative said that is exactly what the brand was going for with this particular recipe. Nice to know that while there are thousands of fabulous recipes swirling about that tempt our taste buds with more ingredients than we can juggle and names we can’t pronounce there are also offerings of a more simple nature to choose from.
Scottish Pair
3/4 ounce Glenfiddich 12 Year Old
3/4 ounce Hendrick’s Gin
2 ounces Pear Juice
1/2 ounce Agave Nectar
1/2 ounce Fresh Lemon Juice
Combine ingredients and shake well. Serve up in a martini glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Something more along the lines of wintry and warm to set our sights on the days ahead comes from The Balvenie. This marvelous cocktail surprised me a bit with its beautiful color and flavor. The cinnamon notes revealed in lovely form with The Balvenie remaining intact throughout the cocktail. It would be a pity to cover up the delightful flavor personality of The Balvenie with over the top additions. The Christmas Cake Martini harmonized the essence of all the flavors perfectly. This would be an excellent cocktail to serve at your next Christmas party or family gathering this winter.
Christmas Cake Martini
1-1/2 ounce The Balvenie Portwood
1/4 ounce Raynal VSOP
1/4 ounce Cherry Brandy
1/4 ounce Orgeat
1/4 ounce Fresh Lime Juice
Pinch of Cinnamon Sugar
Combine ingredients and shake well. Serve up in a martini glass. Garnish with a fresh cherry.
Tired of the usual champagne topped cocktail for Sunday brunch? The Balvenie offered the Apple Bellini for something just a little unique and more than a little divine at the Made in Scotland tasting room. This cocktail is so easy to prepare you won’t have to wait for a visit to Scotland. You can make it in your own home to enjoy for Sunday brunch, Saturday afternoon on the deck or anytime something refreshing suits your mood.
Apple Bellini
1 ounce The Balvenie Doublewood
1-1/2 ounce Fresh & Cloudy Fiji Apple Juice
2 ounces Brut Champagne
Combine ingredients in a champagne flute. Stir gently before serving.
There are other cocktails offered by The Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Hendrick’s Gin that should be sampled as well. These recipes are taken from the Stir Your Soul drink recipe book offered at Tales of the Cocktail.
Balvenie Smash – created by Charlotte Voisey
Balvenie Signature Cocktail
2 ounces Balvenie Doublewood
3/4 ounce Fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 ounce Agave Nectar
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
4-6 Mint Leaves
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake well. Serve over fresh ice in a Double Old-Fashioned glass. Garnish with a fresh spanked, mint sprig.
Sweet Solera – created by Charlotte Voisey
Glenfiddich Signature Cocktail
1-1/2 ounce Glenfiddich 15 Year Old
3/4 ounce Lillet Rouge
1/2 ounce Caramel Syrup
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake well. Strain into a martini/cocktail glass. Garnish with a fresh cherry complete with stem.
Abandoned Rocket Ship – created by Jim Ryan
Hendrick’s Signature Cocktail
1-1/2 ounces Hendrick’s Gin
1 ounce Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 ounce Honey
3 Medium Hulled & Sliced Strawberries
1/2 ounce Lemon Juice
Fist full of Arugula (rocket)
Murray River Australian Sea Salt to rim glass
In mixing glass present in this order: fist full of arugula, strawberries, lemon and honey. Muddle with a spring in your stick. Add Hendrick’s Gin and Yellow Chartreuse. Ice. Shake and fine strain into a salt rimmed double rocks glass. Smile.
Blood & Sanguinello – created by Charlotte Voisey
Featured at: Wolfe’s of New Orleans Spirited Dinner
3/4 ounce Glenfiddich
3/4 ounce Sandeman 10 Year Old Tawny Port
4 Muddled Luxardo Cherries
3/4 ounce Solerno Blood Orange Bitters
1/2 ounce Pink Grapefruit Juice
1/4 ounce Lemon Juice
1 dash of Orange Bitters
1 Egg White
Shake ingredients vigorously and starin into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange zest.
Enjoy more glimpses, photos & cocktails from Tales of the Cocktail ’09:
· Mekhong Spirit of Thailand: Face to Face Taste Experience
· Seven Deadly Sins Soiree Slightly Playful, Purely Pleasurable
· Pernod Absinthe Strikes Balance with Strong Spirit
· Boca Loca Cachaça & Jeffrey Morgenthaler Stir the Soul
· Van Gogh Vodka Big Easy Breakfast Introduces Dutch Caramel & Triple Wheat Blue Vodka
· Hendrick’s Enchanted Portal of the Peculium Party Photos & Cocktails
· Viennese Vixen: OVAL Vodka Lavender Infusion Contest
· Tweet-Up at Bar Tonique – New Orleans
· Tasting the Experience Le Nez de Courvoisier
· Cocktail Photography: On Ice
· 21st Century Gin Q&A: Tales of the Cocktail ’09
· Photo Essay: Mischieve in the Garden of Agave
· American Whiskey Legends: Q&A at Tales of the Cocktail ‘09
· Bloody Mary and Popping Balloons with 42Below Vodka at TOTC ‘09
· Beefeater Welcome Reception Photos
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Copyright 2009 Cheri Loughlin – The Intoxicologist – All Rights Reserved
