Mother's Day

We make cocktails to match flowers for Mother's Day round these parts. It will be all the rage next year.

     1 1/2 oz tequila blanco
     1/2 oz Campari
     1/2 oz sweet vermouth
     1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
     2 dashes of rhubarb bitters
     Orange for garnish

Mix all ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice and pour into chilled glasses. Garnish with an orange wheel.

Now sit back and wait for someone to cook you dinner.

Rhubarb Bitters

 

We may not have been posting here regularly but rest assured it doesn't mean we haven't been sipping a tippling away (research you know!). I've also been experimenting with more bitters starting with rhubarb and I based it on Maggie's Rhubarb Bitters from Bitters. Took a few weeks but all good things come to those who wait.

 

Blonde Irish

Is it too late for a St. Patrick's Day cocktail? Never!

Being from Ireland and blonde, I liked the name of this cocktail Irish Blonde and we had all the ingredients on hand - well near enough anyway. It called for Michael Collins blended Irish whiskey - we had Jameson, Orange Curaçao, we only had the blue one but we had Cointreau, La Ina Fino Sherry? A dry cooking sherry might suffice and only Angostura orange bitters. For garnish, we had clementines but no oranges and instead of a flamed orange peel we went with a twist after nearly burning the tips of our fingers.

I guess when you look at it we had none of the ingredients (hence the slight change in name) but we did have the chilled martini glasses and the right thirst for whiskey.

2 oz Michael Collins Blended Irish Whiskey

.75 oz Orange Curaçao

.25 oz La Ina Fino Sherry

1 dash Regans’ Orange Bitters

Garnish: Flamed orange peel

Glass: Martini

Red Carpet

 

It's Oscars time! While my stylist finalizes what I'll be wearing on the red carpet, I'm working on what I'll be drinking. I have my priorities! 

 

Blood oranges are still in season and this is the perfect time for it - the color of it alone oozes luxury. 

 

1 oz gin

1 oz Campari

1/2 oz Solerno blood orange liqueur

1/2 oz Lillet rose

1/2 oz blood orange juice

1/2 oz lime juice

2 dashes orange bitters

 

Shake all the ingredients with ice, strain into a long stemmed glass and garnish with a blood orange wheel.

 



I wonder will this outdo the Vesper from last year? Been topping the most popular since it was shaken a year ago. 

 

Snow Day

 

It's snow day number a trillion and hundredity-six in this part of the world and it was definitely time to shake up something cool and refreshing, spring like even! After infusing the tequila I did the same with some fine Russian vodka (purchased especially to sip while watching the activities in Sochi)  and left that in the fridge for a few days. I then made some simple syrup with  lemon peel. I strained the peel from the vodka (tasted great!) and made this:

 

2oz Meyer lemon infused vodka

1oz Meyer lemon simple syrup

1oz fresh Meyer lemon juice

White of one egg

 

Mix all the ingredients with ice in shaker and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a twist of Meyer lemon - what else!

 

Here's to spring!

 

Meyer Lemonita

 

It's been a quiet January blog wise but lest you think it's been a dry January let me assure you that just by looking at our whiskey and Campari bottles it's not at all true. We've obviously been comfort drinking through this 'polar vortex' of a winter but we did have a break and created a Meyer lemonita.

 

I never really noticed Meyer lemons until last year and when I went to make something with them they were gone from the stores - they've a short season so I jumped at the chance this year to try some infusions and juicing them. Not disappointed either.

 

I infused tequila with the peel of two lemons (trying to get as little of the bitter white pith as possible) and kept it in the fridge of a few days. Every time I went to the fridge I'd give it a little shake and drool at the thought of it. This is what we did with it when it was ready ...

 

 

2 oz Meyer lemon infused 100% agave tequila

1 oz gin

2 oz Meyer lemon juice

Agave nectar to sweeten (to one's own taste)

 

Shake above with ice in cocktail shaker and pour into a salt rimmed glass (or sugar if that's your thing) and add some lemon zest for garnish.

 

Random facts about me - some even relevant to this blog.

In 2001, I followed my heart from Ireland with nothing but the bare essentials. My cocktail shaker was in that bag.

In my 20s and 30s I collected miniature bottles of liquor and liqueurs from all over the world with the grand plan of having a huge display in my future home but by Christmas 2000 I knew I had packed and moved them for the last time and had a hell of a cocktail party with my family. (As a teenager I collected beermats!)

I lived in Italy as a young adult and the array of amari and grappe was lost on me. How I wish I could go back and taste them all again.  

Cocktails should make the most of the liquor not mask it - hence our boozy concoctions.

Huge fan of creativity - the crafting of the liquor, the bottle, the label, the drink, the poster, the ad, the glass, the menu, the coffee table book, the bottles on a shelf ...

My favorite spirit is gin. He likes whiskey of the rye variety.

Think twice before a second Negroni, you've gone way too far with a third!

I have a weakness for buying stemware, himself has a weakness for bar ware. We compliment each other perfectly.

Our liquor cabinet is bursting at the seams. We'll have to find a bigger place to live.

And yes, sometimes things get blurred.

 The Corn Store, Limerick 2013

Follow me on Instagram