Tag Archives: Kirsch

Happy Hour Is Like a Box of Chocolate Cocktails

Posted on July 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

When the movie Forrest Gump comes to mind one line rings a bell; “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” The same holds true with most cocktail listings at restaurants and bars. Descriptions can be vague or over the top flowery. The first drink poured might taste phenomenal, but the second could be vastly different depending upon the bartender mixing the drink, free pour versus measuring and whether an exact recipe is actually followed.

Interesting to note: Forrest Gump opened in theaters today, July 6, 1994. Tom Hanks starred, winning his second Oscar. The movie received thirteen Academy Award nominations and took home six Oscars. Find more about Forrest Gump at History.com.

The book series, Food & Wine Cocktails, published yearly opens the proverbial cocktail menu box of chocolates so to speak. This handy little book offers amazing cocktail drinks from bars and restaurants across the nation with little tidbits of trivia about each recipe or venue. While the recipes below only feature chocolate cocktails, Food & Wine Cocktails bring all manner of drink recipes to the bar including classic cocktails, seasonal drinks, non-alcoholic mocktails, frozen drinks and even party food recipes.

Babylon Sister

Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, San Francisco

1 ounce Kirsch (Cherry Eau-de-Vie)

1/2 ounce Maraschino Liqueur

1/4 ounce White Crème de Cacao

1/2 ounce Heavy Cream

1/4 ounce Simple Syrup

3 Skewered Brandied Cherries

Lemon Wedge & Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Moisten half of outer rim of martini glass with lemon wedge. Dip martini rim in unsweetened cocoa powder. Set aside. Place all liquid ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to chill and blend thoroughly. Strain into prepared martini glass. Garnish with skewered brandied cherries. Notation: Cocktail trivia for this particular recipe note that this cocktail name and ingredients were inspired by the Steely Dan tune “Babylon Sisters” which include the line “drink kirschwasser from a shell.”

Mayan Mocha Martini

West End Tavern, Boulder, CO

1-1/2 ounces Blanco Tequila

1/2 ounce Coffee Liqueur

1/2 ounce Dark Crème de Cacao

3/4 ounce Half & Half

Pinch Ground Cinnamon & Cayenne Pepper

Place liquid ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well to blend and chill completely. Strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with pinch of each spice; cinnamon and cayenne pepper.

Butter Pecan

Poole’s Diner, Raleigh

1 cup Butter Pecan Ice Cream

1 ounce Bourbon

1/2 ounce Chocolate Syrup

1-1/2 teaspoons Milk

Pinch Malt Powder – optional

3 Candied Pecans – optional garnish

Place all ingredients except pecans in a blender. Blend well. Once thoroughly combined, pour into chilled highball glass. Garnish with candied pecans

Evil Twin Martini

The Oakroom, Louisville

1/2 ounce Vodka

1/2 ounce White Chocolate Liqueur

1/2 ounce Dark Chocolate Liqueur

1/2 ounce Raspberry Liqueur

Raspberry Garnish

Place liquid ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with fresh raspberry.

Pisco Alexander

La Duni Latin Café, Dallas

2 ounces Pisco

1/4 ounce Dark Crème de Cacao

1 ounce Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 ounce Evaporated Milk

1 ounce Heavy Cream

Cinnamon Stick Garnish

Place liquid ingredients in blender on pulse for thirty seconds. Transfer liquid to cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well to completely chill. Strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with cinnamon stick.

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Posted in Cocktails

Tagged Babylon Sister, Bourbon, Butter Pecan, Chocolate Liqueur, Coffee Liqueur, Creme de Cacao, Evil Twin Martini, Ice Cream, Kirsch, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, Mayan Mocha Martini, Pisco, Pisco Alexander, Raspberry Liqueur, Tequila, Vodka

Reader Question: What is Kirsch?

Posted on August 26, 2011 | Leave a comment

Kirsch, also known as German Kirschwasser or cherry water, is a clear, unaged brandy distilled from the fermented juice of black morello cherries. The crushed pits or stones of the cherries are included in the process of making this fruit brandy, instilling in it a pungent flavor that is shy of being too sweet. The cherry flavor of Kirsch is distinctively different from the cherry flavoring in cherry puckers and schnapps. Puckers and schnapps tend to lean toward the heavy, medicinal syrupy sweetness. Kirsch delivers a clean, subtle cherry aroma with a full fruit feel without being overpowering and artificial. This makes Kirsch a perfect liqueur for sipping or cooking. It is often used in fondue, as the creamy filling in a Black Forest cake, or memorably flambéed for cherries jubilee.

It is important not to confuse Kirsch with crème de Kirsch which is a sweet cherry liqueur. While there is not a direct alternative or substitute for Kirsch, there are other fruit based brandies to try if you would like other options of flavored brandies; Apple Brandy, Apricot Brandy, Blackberry Brandy, Peach Brandy…

Lollipop

3/4 measure Premium Orange Liqueur

3/4 measure Green Chartreuse

3/4 measure Kirsch

Dash Maraschino Liqueur

Place liquids in cocktail shaker with ice. Stir or Shake according to preference. Strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Frozen Maraschino Singapore Sling

2 measures Gin

1 measure Kirsch

1 teaspoon Benedictine

1 teaspoon Cognac

3 Maraschino Cherries

2 Tablespoons Maraschino Cherry Juice

1 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice

1 Teaspoon Simple Syrup

1/4 Cup Club Soda

2 Teaspoons chilled Ruby Port

Place all ingredients except Ruby Port in blender with 2 cups cracked ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into two cocktail glasses or wine goblets. Top with float of Ruby Port on each cocktail.

Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon – str8upcocktails @ gmail.com – ©2011 Cheri Loughlin-The Intoxicologist, All Rights Reserved. All opinions, reviews and spirits’ coverage are the personal opinion and decision of Cheri Loughlin.

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Posted in Cocktails

Tagged Chartreuse, Cognac, Gin, Kirsch, Kirschwasser, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, Orange Liqueur, Ruby Port

National Comic Book Day: Super Hero Cocktail Recipes

Posted on September 25, 2010 | Leave a comment

Do you follow a favorite super hero through the pages of comic books? If so, you might be interested to know that today has been set aside as National Comic Book Day. Perhaps a masked man wearing spandex tights will be lurking around the corner handing out free comic books. Better yet a damsel in distress (with broken high heel shoe of course) about to be preyed upon by some evil bad guy will be in your path today and you can swoop in to save the day. You will be the super hero of your own comic book.

Who are the favorite super hero comic book stars of all time anyway? I don’t really have the answer to that question, but the top answer on my Twitter page hands down was Spiderman.

White Spider

1 ounce Gin

1 ounce Lemon Juice

1/2 ounce Cointreau

1 teaspoon Simple Syrup

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Strain into a cocktail glass.

White Spider starts sweet first and then moves to tart quite quickly. Right away it smoothes again with a vanilla finish leaving one with the feeling that another sip is in order to decipher what just happened. This is similar to extremely well made lemonade that will come around full circle and bite you where it really counts if you keep sipping and wondering what just happened. Soon enough the White Spider will let you know it just did you in.

Back in the day of Spiderman cartoons on television all the guys thought Angelica Jones, A.K.A. Firestorm, was the bomb…or bombshell that is.

Bombshell

1 part Tequila

2 parts Dry Marsala

Splash Campari

Splash Cherry Brandy

Lemon Twist Garnish

Combine the ingredients in a rocks glass over ice. Garnish with lemon twist.

Iceman was also one of Peter Parker’s college friends who always plunged from the sky on his own super ice ramp. Sure beats a ski lift any day, but imagine the melt down cleanup…

Frostbite

1 ounce Tequila

3/4 ounce White Crème de Cacao

3/4 ounce Heavy Cream

Grated Nutmeg Garnish

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until cream becomes nice and frothy. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with grated nutmeg.

Frostbite makes a fabulous dessert style cocktail. Use tequila with kick to it; something with depth of character, spicy in base. Skip the mixto and go for 100% agave with pepper, vanilla and caramel note to complement the cacao and nutmeg. This drink recipe isn’t too heavy on sweetness, but long on satisfaction.

Batman fans are truly in luck. As one Twitter user pointed out Batman’s character strengths were his lack of ‘super human power’. His super power happened to be detective work and dedication to honing his physical perfection. It didn’t hurt that he was massively wealthy and could afford every super toy imaginable, but that’s another story. Batman’s character list is long as well as the cocktail recipe possibilities that could be paired with any number of them friend or foe.

The Dark Knight

1-1/2 ounce Sambuca

4 ounces Cola

1/2 ounce Homemade Grenadine

Maraschino Cherry Garnish

Build in a highball glass over ice, topping off with grenadine as float. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

Gotham Martini

3 ounces Smirnoff Vodka

1/2 ounce Blackberry Brandy

1/2 ounce Black Sambuca

3 Blackberries for Garnish

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled one-third full of ice. Shake ten to fifteen seconds. Strain into a well chilled martini glass. Add blackberries on a skewer for garnish.

Gotham – created by Robert Hess 2002

1/2 teaspoon Absinthe

3 dashes Peach Bitters

2 ounces Brandy

Lemon Twist Garnish

Coat a chilled small rocks glass with absinthe. Add peach bitters and brandy. Garnish with lemon twist.

Cat got your tongue? Drooling over the feline qualities of Cat Woman with her nicely ripped up and haphazardly sewn together leather duds? Every girl needs an outfit like that with whip and high heels to match.

The Reluctant Tabby – created by Gary Regan

1-1/4 ounces Dubonnet Rouge

1/2 ounce Limoncello

1/4 ounce Scotch Whisky

Lemon Twist Garnish

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Strain into a wine goblet. Garnish with lemon twist

This is just a fun little cocktail. The Reluctant Tabby plays up Dubonnet Rouge with fantastic appeal. Possibly it’s the Scotch that downplays the sweet factor of limoncello. Whatever it is, it just works. Dubonnet just rolls over the tongue with luscious sophistication and flavor. Love this little sipper. Gary Regan created a winner here…of course.

Cat’s Eye

2 parts Gin

1-1/2 parts Dry Vermouth

1/2 part Kirsch

1/2 part Lemon Juice

1/2 part Water

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until frost forms on the outside of the cocktail shaker. Strain into a chilled goblet.

If the Joker happens to be your favorite villain with his wicked grin…

Dry Smile

1 part Mandarin Vodka

1 part Cinzano Extra Dry

1/2 part Orange Curacao

Juice from 1/2 Lemon

1 tablespoon Strawberry Syrup

Pineapple Juice to Taste

Strawberry Garnish

Combine vodka, Cinzano, Curacao, lemon juice and strawberry syrup together in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend. Strain into a tall glass over fresh ice. Taste. Add pineapple juice to create the desired finished taste to your liking. Garnish with strawberry.

The most bizarre, albeit fun, answer I received when asking about superhero favorites was Bananaman. This was one I’d never heard of, but saw a short video firsthand as ‘proof’ of his existence. It appears he begins as a boy, so it seems appropriate this superhero begin with a Mocktail recipe rather than cocktail.

Banana Coffee Break

10 ounces Milk

4 tablespoons Coffee Powder

5 ounces Vanilla Ice Cream

2 Bananas – sliced and frozen

Brown Sugar to taste

Pour milk and coffee powder into blender and combine. Add half of the ice cream and combine again. Continue to add remaining ice cream until all is thoroughly blended. Add bananas and brown sugar to desired sweetness level. Blend until thoroughly combined. Divide mixture between two glasses. Garnish with fresh banana slices if desired.

Since adults enjoy a good read about Bananaman…the adult cocktail to suit those needs.

Banana Cocktail

1 part Advocaat

1 measure Crème de Banane

1 ripe Banana

Club Soda

Combine Advocaat, crème de banane, and banana in a blender with one cup ice until thoroughly blended. Pour into a chilled highball glass. Top with club soda.

Find a few more interesting daily cocktail dates and holidays to celebrate by following the link.

Find The Intoxicologist on Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon or Email: str8upcocktails@gmail.com – Copyright 2011 Cheri Loughlin – The Intoxicologist – All Rights Reserved – All opinions, reviews and spirits’ coverage contained within are the personal opinion and decision of Cheri Loughlin, The Intoxicologist