Posts Tagged ‘cocktails’

WHISKEY SLUSH FOR THE HOLIDAZE

Posted: November 25, 2014 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, Food, mixology, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

This is my version of a holiday drink I was introduced to by my mother-in-law from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I knew I was marrying into the right family after one sip!

image

 

Ingredients:

9 cups water
2 cups sugar
4 “Constant Comment” tea bags
12 oz frozen OJ concentrate, thawed
12 oz frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 cups whiskey (I use Crown Royal)
7Up or Sprite

Boil water and sugar, making sure sugar dissolves. Turn off heat and steep tea bags in liquid for 10 minutes. Discard tea bags.
Add thawed OJ and lemonade concentrates and the whiskey. Mix well, and pour into a freezeable container with a lid. Freeze overnight.

To serve: Scoop the slush out of the container (it doesn’t freeze solid) and mix in a tall glass with 7 Up.

There’s a lot of sugar in this recipe, but there are many places to use substitutes if you like: Splenda instead of sugar, low-sugar concentrates, and diet soda. Then again, there’s a lot to be said for just pouring the whiskey into a rocks glass and relaxing! Cheers!

A “SECRET” LIMONCELLO RECIPE

Posted: November 15, 2014 in Capri, Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, Food, mixology, Recipes, travel, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , ,
1

Many years ago, my wife and I visited the Amalfi coast, and we spent several nights on the beautiful island of Capri. On our last night, we dined at the Grand Hotel Quisisana, and our meal ended with a glass of the most delicious limoncello I’d ever had.

I asked the waiter if it was possible to get the recipe of the limoncello, and he made a big deal about the recipe being a “secret.” Though disappointed, I understood, and I left Capri thinking that I would never taste that limoncello again.

Two weeks later, now back at home, I was reading the latest issue of Conde Nast Traveler, and there in black and white, was the Quisisana limoncello recipe! WTF?

My twist on the recipe: instead of lemons, I use grapefruit. I’ve tried other citrus, too, like oranges, but grapefruit-cello is fantastic!

Four ingredients. As Tom Petty said: "The waiting is the hardest part!"

Four ingredients. As Tom Petty said: “The waiting is the hardest part!”

 

Ingredients:

4 lbs lemons or grapefruit, zest only

2 750-ml bottles 100 proof vodka (I prefer Absolut)

5 1/2 cups sugar

6 cups filtered water

 

Using a vegetable peeler, gently peel the zest off all the lemons (or grapefruit), making sure you don’t get any of the white pith that could make the limoncello bitter. Place all the zest in the bottom of a glass jar with a lid that can hold all the vodka.

Pour the vodka on top of the zest pieces, seal the container, and keep at room temperature for a week, swirling the jar around gently once a day.

On the sixth day, combine the sugar and water in a pot over medium-high heat, and stir until all the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from the heat, cover, and let it thoroughly cool to room temperature (overnight is best.)

On day seven, strain the zest, pouring the infused vodka into a clean glass jar. Discard the zest.

Pour the sugar/water mixture into the vodka and mix well.

At this point, you can pour the finished product into individual bottles, but let it mellow for about a month before drinking.

I keep my limoncello/grapefruitcello refrigerated.

KICKIN’ CUCUMBER COCKTAIL

Posted: September 15, 2014 in Cocktails, Cucumbers, drink recipes, Drinks, Food, garden, mixology, Uncategorized
Tags: , , ,
0

If you think cucumbers are boring, this drink will change your mind. Garden-fresh cukes are always best.

This drink requires a little prep. If you have a juicer, use that instead of pureeing in a food processor. Just peel the cukes and juice.

 

image

Ingredients:

4 fresh cucumbers, peeled and seeded

Small ice cubes

1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves

2 teaspoons granulated organic cane sugar

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 cup top shelf vodka, like Chopin

1 oz (2 tablespoons) Cointreau

 

Peel and seed cucumbers. Coarsely chop them and then purée in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Set cucumber juice aside.

To a large glass pitcher, add mint leaves, sugar and lime juice. Muddle ingredients so that mint leaves release their oils. Add 3/4 cup (at least) of the cucumber juice. Add the vodka and Cointreau. Muddle again briefly.

Fill tall drinking glasses with ice cubes. Strain cocktail into glasses. Garnish with cucumber spear or mint.

THE BEST MOJITOS ARE BY THE PITCHER

Posted: August 13, 2014 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, mixology, Recipes, Uncategorized
Tags: , , ,
0

I love me my Mojitos, and they’re even better when I have fresh organic blueberries and raspberries to add to the mix. Frozen fruit works well, too. Make it by the pitcher and you’ll never make it any other way again!

The ingredients

The ingredients

Ingredients:

Make ahead of time…
1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed lime juice
1 1/3 cups turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)

Mix both ingredients together and let stand at room temp. Shake until dissolved. The mixture can be covered and refrigerated for several weeks and ready to use any time. Shake well before using.

mojito pitcher

For the Mojitos…

1 cup sugar/lime mixture
1 cup mint leaves, packed
1/2 pint blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 pint raspberries (fresh or frozen)
3 or 4 cups white rum, preferably Don Q Cristal rum
3 or 4 cups club soda

Combine mint leaves and 1/2 cup of sugar/lime mixture in bottom of a pitcher. Muddle mint up very well to release mint oils. Add blueberries and continue to muddle.

Add remaining sugar/lime mixture, rum and raspberries. Mix well. Just before serving, add club soda and ice. Stir. Pour into glasses.

Or…for drinks one at a time, fill a tall glass with ice. Fill one-third to halfway with club soda. Top with Mojito mix. Garnish with mint leaf.

 

Cheers!

Cheers!

WITH A CHERRY ON TOP

Posted: August 9, 2014 in drink recipes, Drinks, mixology, restaurants, Rhode Island, travel
Tags: , , , , ,
0

The original maraschino cherries were a variety called marasca from Croatia, and that’s where the name comes from. But today’s maraschino cherry is a completely different animal. The modern American supermarket maraschino cherry (usually a variety called Queen Anne) is soaked in a salt brine to remove its natural color and flavoring…then pitted and soaked in a sweetener for around a month. The final step of dipping in artificial coloring gives the modern maraschino its neon red color (or any other color desired).

So why would any self-respecting bar that takes pride in its cocktails serve you these vile, rancid cherries? Especially when there are some incredibly amazing alternatives?

If you pride yourself in the quality spirits you drink…if you understand that every ingredient counts–from the mixers down to the quality of the ice cubes–then you need to get the right cherries for the job!

Luxardo cherries have always been the standard by which other cherries are ranked, and for good reason. Sip a Manhattan made with Luxardo cherries, and you will never go back to what you had before. It’s why they go for about $25 a jar and they are worth every penny. These are made with a recipe that dates back to 1821 in Italy, using genuine marasca cherries and their syrup.

cherry2

 

A recent trip to what has become my new favorite restaurant in Providence, RI, a tiny 20-seat restaurant called birch, opened my eyes to yet another fantastic cherry:

My Amarena Fabbri cherry awaiting my Manhattan at birch in Providence, RI

My Amarena Fabbri cherry awaiting my Manhattan at birch in Providence, RI

Amarena Fabbri wild cherries: made in Bologna, Italy since 1905, these are wild cherries that are carefully harvested and stoned, then preserved in amarena syrup. (The amarena cherry is a small, dark, bitter cherry grown in the Bologna and Modena regions of Italy.) Packaged in beautiful blue and white Opaline jars, I can’t think of a better gift for the avid mixologist. Also about $25 a jar.

Both the Luxardo and the Amarena Fabbri cherries are avilable at Amazon.

 

THE TASTIEST 2-INGREDIENT DRINK YOU’LL EVER MAKE

Posted: July 24, 2014 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, Food, MARTINI, mixology, Recipes
Tags: , , , ,
2

Inspired by the Stoli Doli cocktails at the Capital Grille, I tried to recreate that fabulous drink. But when I substituted Stoli Vanil for regular Stoli, I created something amazing. I call it Velvet Elvis.

Making my Velvet Elvis is incredibly easy and rewarding…

Velvet Elvis

Ingredients:

1.75 liter bottle Stoli Vanil

2 fresh pineapples, peeled, cored and sliced

 

Place pineapple slices in a glass 1-gallon container. Pour in the vanilla vodka, making sure it covers the pineapple. Seal the lid tightly, and swirl around for a few seconds.

Place the container away from light on a shelf at room temperature for 3 weeks.

At the end of the weeks, strain the liquid, and squeeze out as much as you can from the pineapple slices as well. Discard the used pineapple slices.

Enjoy Velvet Elvis on the rocks.

I’LL HAVE WHAT JAMES BOND IS HAVING.

Posted: July 15, 2014 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, Food, MARTINI, mixology, Recipes
Tags: , , , , , ,
5
It seemed almost silly to try to make one…but the classic James Bond martini has always fascinated me. I’m not talking about the clichéd Sean Connery “vodka martini, shaken, not stirred.”  I’m talking about the real James Bond martini, which appeared in Ian Fleming’s first 007 novel “Casino Royale” and only appeared in the most recent “Casino Royale” movie starring Daniel Craig.
Bondtini
To quote the novel:
‘A dry martini,’ he said. ‘One. In a deep champagne goblet.’ ‘Oui, monsieur.’ ‘Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s (gin), one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet.  Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?’ ‘Certainly, monsieur.’ The barman seemed pleasant with the idea. ‘Gosh that’s certainly a drink,’ said Leiter. 

Bond laughed. ‘When I’m … er … concentrating.’ he explained, ‘I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink’s my own invention. I’m going to patent it when I can think of a good name.’ 

He watched carefully as the deep glass became frosted with the pale golden drink, slightly aerated by the bruising of the shaker. He reached for it and took a long sip. 

‘Excellent,’ he said to the barman, ‘but if you can get a vodka made with grain instead of potatoes, you will find it still better.’ 

To quote the movie: http://youtu.be/Vc7n7yyXWsU

Bond named this drink the Vesper martini, after a female agent in the story.
My version of this classic drink remains true to the original, though I’ve changed brands due to personal preference. In the novel, Bond just asks for “vodka.” (Of course, this was back in the 1950’s when we didn’t have 100 brands to choose from!) My choice for best-bang-for-the-buck grain vodka is Tito’s: it has just enough of an edge, which is what this drink needs, and it’s half the price of other grain vodkas, like Grey Goose.
Bond asks for Gordon’s gin. I’m partial to Hendrick’s, which adds wonderful floral notes to the drink.
And the original Kina Lillet has had its formula changed in the 1980’s to keep up with the times by reducing the quinine, which made it bitter. The French aperitif wine, Lillet, is today’s version: a blend of wine grapes, oranges, orange peels and quinine. Lillet is not a vermouth, though you’ll find it in the vermouth section of your favorite liquor store. Some aficionados claim the martini is just not the same without the original Kina Lillet formulation, but I find that the drink works just fine for me.
ingredients again
So…measurements true to Bond:
3 oz Hendrick’s
1 oz Tito’s
1/2 oz Lillet
I prefer combining these over ice in a cocktail shaker, and I stir, not shake.
I strain it into a chilled martini glass and I skip the lemon peel. I prefer three olives instead…stuffed with garlic, if my wife is away on a business trip!
Bondtini2
A side note: the correct pronunciation of Lillet is Lih-LAY. Grammatically in French, the double-l would make it sound like Lih-YAY. So to keep that from happening, they spelled it Lilet for a while until the French were used to the correct pronunciation, then they went back to Lillet on the bottle.

JUST WHEN YOU LEARNED ALL ABOUT BITTERS…

Posted: July 1, 2014 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, Food, mixology, Recipes, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , ,
2

Bitters have been around forever, but the recent resurgence in the art of mixology has made bitters a real buzzword among bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts alike. Ten years ago, I almost never would have asked for a cocktail that included bitters. Now, I almost always do.

But bitters aren’t the only way to spice up your libations. Other tinctures have been around for centuries as well, many of which are finding their way to the forefront of mixology. Two of those are falernum and shrub.

Despite that falernum and shrub sound like the name of a bad law firm, they are welcome additions to many simple spirits we enjoy.

Falernum is a sweet syrup used in Caribbean and tropical drinks. It often has flavors of almond, ginger, cloves, lime and sometimes vanilla or allspice. Some people drink falernum by itself on the rocks, but most often it is mixed in a cocktail. The bottle below is falernum made by my friend Roy, who used ginger, cloves and lime juice in an alcohol base.

image

 

Shrub, meanwhile, can be several different kinds of drinks. It was a fruit liqueur popular in 17th and 18th England, made with rum or brandy mixed with sugar or the juice or rinds of citrus fruit. A shrub was also a drink popular in American colonial times, featuring a mix of vinegared syrup mixed with spirits or water. But most times, today’s version of shrub is the sweetened vinegar-based syrup itself. If you’re curious about shrub, there’s a great source for a variety of shrub flavors: http://www.shrubandco.com.

PROVINCETOWN, MASSACHUSETTS

Posted: June 18, 2014 in Cape Cod, Drinks, Food, seafood, travel, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
0

I recently spent a long weekend in P-Town with my wife and daughter…my wife enjoying an art conference while my daughter and I enjoyed the sunshine. We’d meet at the end of the day for dinner, and share our stories.

P-Town has a bit of a reputation…and I was told by some friends that after sundown, we should bring our 7-year-old daughter indoors if we wanted to avoid her asking a lot of uncomfortable questions. Well, there were no red leather chaps, no circus freaks. I’m sure that there are certain weekends that may be a bit less family friendly than others, but generally speaking, today’s Provincetown is not the same as the town I visited back when I lived on Cape Cod in the 80’s.

Families walk the main street, Commercial Street, late into the night. Shops, restaurants and galleries cater to all tourists and lifestyles. And why not? A small waterfront town like this relies on its very short summer season to make its money. Why turn people and their wallets away?

There are many restaurant choices in Provincetown, and if you’re looking for top-notch big city fine dining, you won’t find it here. However, there are many good restaurants with creative dishes. And there’s incredibly fresh simply presented seafood that is a staple in New England: clams, oysters, cod, halibut, tuna, and scallops.

 

VICTOR’S

victors1LTL

Victors is a fun place. They serve tapas, and they make it very easy to share by dividing each plate beautifully and simply. The ingredients are fresh and the ideas are pretty good. Sometimes, though, they just don’t hit the mark. The fish taco with halibut was delicious. Duck sliders, however, were too salty. The Caesar salad came out in large, individual pieces of Romain lettuce, sprinkled with the Caesar ingredients on them. An interesting presentation, and again, easy to share. But not exactly what you want in a Caesar salad. Raw tuna Napoleons were good. The bar knows its cocktails and they serve them strong. Service is excellent. Basically, Victor’s is a perfect example of any Provincetown restaurant: good but not great. In a seasonal town, it is hard to maintain quality to the highest standards. But it’s a fun place to go to.

 

MEWS BAR & CAFE

mews1LTL

When a bar boasts 300 vodkas from around the world, I need to check it out. And that I did! I always start with my signature Stoli Elit and then work my way from there. I asked for and received a written list of all the vodkas in stock and being Lithuanian, I was happy to see there was a Lithuanian vodka on the list. I challenged them to present the bottle to me, and it appeared within seconds! Naturally I had to have a drink with it. The bar staff was swamped but always courteous and service was excellent. The bar itself is old and funky and really a lot of fun. I will come back someday for the food, but this time it was all about the martinis. One cool feature was that the olives for my martini were on a skewer that hung on the outside of the glass, and not in the drink. Sort of like truck nuts for a martini. Funky and fun.

mews3LTL

 

 

MAC’S PROVINCETOWN

macs1LTL

 

Mac’s does not have a great view of the water. It’s on a rather busy street that offers no scenery whatsoever. But what they lack in views, they make up for in fresh fish and delicious sushi! Everything we had was spectacular: the mini baked hand grenades (rice, shrimp, scallop, dynamite sauce and eel sauce) should not be missed. The sashimi–we had fresh halibut–was superb.

Sushi at Mac's, including the Hand Grenades in the black dish

Sushi at Mac’s, including the Hand Grenades in the black dish

The broiled yellowtail collar, what they call “Hamachi Kama” in the big city, was the best I’ve ever had. We were there for lunch, so no big drinking going on. But a peek inside showed a beautiful, clean (new) space that could get hoppin’ on any given evening around the raw bar. And next door is their own seafood shop…probably the cleanest I’ve ever seen, selling impeccably fresh fish.

Broiled yellowtail collar

Broiled yellowtail collar

 

 RED INN

redinn1LTL

The biggest disappointment on our trip.

After my wife had a pretty good trout dinner at the Red Inn several nights before, we decided we would try again for a Friday night dinner. The place was crowded and it seemed that the wait staff was overwhelmed. Everything on the menu sounded good but all of it tasted like it had been cooked two days earlier and then just reheated before service. The bacon wrapped fried oysters that came with my Caesar salad were greasy, rubbery and cool. The avocado foam on my wife’s beet salad could’ve been anything… it had no flavor at all. The slow braised pork shank special lacked seasoning and it sat on top of a rather flavorless pile of grits. It seemed that the best dish on our table that night was the Kobe beef sliders our daughter had ordered. (And was it really Kobe? I think not, since it can only come from Japan and it’s really expensive. I’m guessing it was Wagyu, the American version of Kobe. Mislabeled menu.)

 

EDWIGE

edwige1LTL

 

Our best dining experience of the weekend.

The soup of the day was an unlikely and fantastic mushroom and lobster soup. We thought the lobster would be lost with the intensity of the mushroom stock, but it was a delicious balance of flavors…really addictive! The tuna tartare was equally excellent. A main course bowl of seafood in a coconut sauce again showed a delicate hand by the chef and was delicious. And a flank steak was moist and tender, despite it being cooked beyond medium when I asked for medium-rare, set on top of a mound of irresistible wasabi mashed potatoes.

Infused vodkas that later infused me.

Infused vodkas that later infused me.

Cocktails are serious…and there’s a choice of house-infused vodkas at the bar: pineapple, ginger, cranberry, pepper. A bit of an issue with the wine list…but it’s an issue with every wine list we’ve seen in every restaurant we’ve been to in P-Town. Looks like one distributor has all the rights to wine in this town, so the lists are the same from place to place. Kinda sucks.

THE PROVINCETOWN INN

The view of town outside our room

The view of town outside our room

 

This is an old resort that has taken a beating over the years. The rooms aren’t fancy, but they are clean. And you absolutely cannot beat the location and the views: right at the end of Commercial Street and right on the water! Considering this is a town where you don’t come to stay indoors a lot, the rooms are perfectly fine. We stayed in the Captains Suite A, which had a full kitchen, and though we didn’t cook meals here, it was nice to hard boil an egg in the morning and keep our snacks in a full-sized refrigerator. They have a private beach (nothing fancy) and a swimming pool (very nice.)

 

 SURF CLUB RESTAURANT AND BAR

One look at the place and you know this is no fancy dining establishment. But the cocktails are strong and the food is fresh. It’s right on MacMillan wharf, so you can grab a bite, like we did, right after your whale watch trip. Great kids’ menu. I had the broiled seafood platter and it was a fresh as it could be.

 

DOLPHIN WHALE WATCH

whale LTL

A fleet of beautifully maintained boats with professional crews and expert naturalists to narrate your trip. Indoor areas with snacks as well as plenty of seats out in the sunshine, and great views from anywhere on the boat. I’m sure the boats get crowded in season, but we went before the season really kicked in and had a great time. We saw 12 humpback whales over the course of 3 hours…some very close to the boat! There are other whale watch companies out of the Cape, but this is the one to go with. Highly recommended. http://www.whalewatch.com

ptown2LTL

 

RACE POINT BEACH, HERRING COVE BEACH

Huge expanses of sand. Beautiful dunes. You can spot whales out in the distance.Two great beaches that shouldn’t be missed. In season, they do charge a $15 parking fee.

ptown1LTL

THE BEST ESPRESSO MARTINI

Posted: May 29, 2014 in Cocktails, drink recipes, espresso, MARTINI, mixology
Tags: , , , ,
0
Alz Espresso martini

Alz Espresso martini

One of my recent mixology projects was to finally create my own version of the perfect espresso martini…one that has been developed from painstaking research (that means drinking a lot of other espresso martinis.) My favorite local espresso martini here in Rhode Island comes from Asterisk in Newport. They sell thousands of them in the summer season, and part of their success is using freshly brewed espresso. But overall, my favorite espresso martini was one that I sampled a couple of years ago at the Le Parker Meridien Hotel in New York City. It featured an Irish cream liqueur called Coole Swan. The bartender was nice enough to write down the recipe for me, but I guess I had a little too much to drink…because I lost it! So it was up to me to come up with my own combination.   So here it is… ALZ ESPRESSO MARTINI 3 oz. good quality vodka, like Belvedere 3 oz. freshly brewed espresso 1.5 oz. Kahlua 1.5 oz. Coole Swan Chill your martini glasses. Pour all ingredients into a large shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Pour into chilled glasses. Makes 2 martinis. Let me tell ya…this tasted as good the first time as it did several martinis later! I’ve found that using a high-end vodka really does make a difference in the quality and taste of the martini…as does brewing your espresso just before assembling the drink.

Older Entries
Newer Entries