Finn Dove

Time to use our home infused bitters! And this is what we did - a riff on the Paloma using grapefruit juice & club soda instead of grapefruit soda and the addition of the bitters - obviously. Without the soda I thought it needed a little injection of sweetness so I added some agave nectar, himself thought it was fine without - you can decide how you like it but without doubt the bitters gave it a nice complexity. 

The little guy named it (he's good at this!) when I told him I wanted  a change from 'paloma' which meant 'dove' he said to name it Finn Dove after the main character in the Flight of the Doves which we read together this summer. We'll call it Finn for short.

2oz Reposado Tequila (El Mayor)

Juice of half a lime
1 oz grapefruit juice
2 dashes grapefruit bitters
1 tsp Agave nectar (optional)
Club Soda
Shake first five ingredients with ice and strain into Collins glass with lots of ice and the spent half a lime.

"Yah-hah-hoo," shouted Uncle Paddy.

"Yah-hah-hoo," shouted Uncle Joe.

And for the very first time, Michael saw Finn really smiling.

Peach-Basil Margarita

 

One of our favorite chefs is Rick Bayless, his Mexican Everyday cookbook is often a go to in our kitchen, and we even made a special trip to Chicago once to eat in the Frontera Grill where the food did not disappoint but his cocktails blew us away. So it was a no brainer that his new book Frontera: Margaritas, Guacamole and Snacks found its way into our hands. The drinks require a little more preparation so I must remind myself to read it on Tuesday, shop for it on Wednesday and start preparing for it on Thursday to make the drink on Friday. Too much work?

This week, with the abundant supply of peaches and willingness for getting more involved in putting a cocktail together I made the Peach-Basil Margarita. We only had white peaches left (hence the pinky color) but I highly recommend you use yellow peaches - they add so much more flavor.

 

Basil salt (5-7 basil leaves chopped up small with the salt for the rim)

1 lime wedge

2 fresh basil leaves

1 1/2 oz 100% blue agave tequila

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz triple sec

1 oz peach puree (blend ripe peaches in blender with a little sugar until really smooth)

1/2 - 3/4 oz basil syrup (simple syrup with basil)

 



Wet rim of glass with lime wedge and dip in the basil salt.
Muddle the basil leaves and the end of cocktail shaker and then add in all the other ingredients with ice. Shake and strain into salted glass.

This went down really well! Make sure you make enough puree for a second!

Grapefruit Bitters

 

Look what we have infusing in a cool dark place (i.e., shoe box in our bedroom): grapefruit bitters!  We used this recipe and it will be ready to use this weekend - can't wait to taste it. Any suggestions on what to use it in?

Princess Peach

1 1/2 oz Brandy
1/2 tsp Pastis
1 tsp Grenadine
Slice of peach
Top with sparkling wine/champagne
Shake first three ingredients together with ice in a shaker. Pour into flute, top with sparkling wine and add slice of peach.

We picked peaches yesterday and it was reason enough to open a bottle of prosecco but what to put with it that used peaches and wasn't the ubiquitous Bellini nor too taxing to make? Thanks to mixology ap we found one called American Rose that required nothing more than a slice of peach in it. That I could handle! After making a cobbler and peach ice cream it was all I was able to muster but we thought there was nothing necessarily 'American' about the drink with French liqueur, Spanish brandy and Italian bubbles so we changed the name. 

And yes, it was good enough for this princess. 

Seashells she sells

 

Yes, we're still at the beach and this is what you make from what's left of the bar on the second to last night.

2 parts vodka
1/2 part grapefruit juice
2 drops grapefruit bitters
2 parts tonic water (or to taste)
1/2 part Tres Agaves margarita mix (to sweeten it a tad - grapefruit juice, tonic water and bitters funnily enough made it really bitter)

Stir in whatever container you have to hand and pour over ice in a chilled glass. Sip it while waiting on your friend to come back with a box of freshly steamed crab.

Yes, it's going to be hard to leave.

Porch Swing*

 

We're still on vacation though we've moved up the coast to Chincoteague Island. We spend our mornings watching the Tour de France, the days on our bikes or at the beach and evenings on the front porch. We didn't bring a huge bar selection so hard to come up with something different - but this was new for himself though popular for me way back in the 80s with Pernod.

2 parts Ricard Pastis
1 part Blackcurrant Ribena (fruit cordial - the non-alcoholic kind)

Stir in a chilled glass and add ice.

Like the glasses? We're always on the lookout for champagne coupes and found these in a little antique store in town. Just the right amount of fancy.

* Name inspired by the little guy's antics on the porch. Watch it here.