Basil and mint are usually my go-to cocktail herbs. Occasionally, I’ll get a little creative with the rosemary. But tarragon is an herb I hadn’t mixed with until recently. And the results were fantastic!
I was at a dinner party and it was cocktail time. Someone suggested mixing tarragon with the garden-fresh strawberries we had available, and a new, delicious cocktail was born.
Until this drink, I’d never had a cocktail made with fresh lychees. Their bumpy shell houses a squishy, gelatinous fruit with a little seed inside that. It tastes like a sweeter more syrupy grape with an exotic fruit twist. Nolet’s Gin sent me a box of lychees and a suggestion for how to use them … a Gimlet made with lychees. How could I resist?
In case you’ve never seen a lychee before (I hadn’t), … Read more
(Note: We’re going to be doing some cross posting with Hawaiirama, a travel blog / webzine focused on Hawaii. Natch, there are some great cocktail recipes floating around the boites of paradise.)
Tim Rita is the chief barkeep / mixologist at the Halekulani, a posh hotel also known for its extraordinary cocktails. (Cocktail guru Dale DeGroff was previously the in house mixologist). Tim is a playful kinda guy and feels compelled to create whimsical seasonal … Read more
This week’s drink is my favorite of this summer! Juicy, dark-red plums combine with thyme and bourbon to make a surprisingly complex cocktail. The vanilla notes of the bourbon underscore the tart and sweet flavors to make for a refreshing and fresh tasting drink.… Read more
Ingredients:
2 oz Flor de Caña 7 Year Rum
.5 oz simple syrup
3 dashes Peychaud Bitters
Dash Lucid Absinthe
Grapes
Directions:
Salt rim of small rocks glass. Add Flor de Caña, simple syrup, Peychaud Bittes, and Lucid to shaker with ice. Strain into coup style glass. Garnish with red grapes.
Created by Mixologist Duane Fernandez Jr. – New York City. Courtesy of Flor de Caña Rum.… Read more
It’s grilling weather where I am, so I was looking for something I could sip on the deck while cooking over the coals. The rosemary bush in my yard and the giant red grapefruits I bought at Whole Foods called to me, so I put them together in a variation on one of my absolute favorite warm-weather concoctions: the Mojito.
I ran out of sugar to make simple syrup, so for my second one I … Read more
By Brian Van Flandern, Tequila Don Julio Global Brand Ambassador
Ingredients:
1 ¼ oz Tequila Don Julio Añejo
½ oz fresh lime juice
1 oz fresh pineapple juice
¼ oz simple syrup
Sprig of fresh rosemary, garnish
Directions:
Muddle fresh rosemary into a cocktail shaker. Add Don Julio Añejo, fresh lime juice, fresh pineapple juice, and simple syrup into the cocktail shaker. Shake well and strain into a highball glass. Garnish with sprig … Read more
This cocktail combines the delicate flavors of tangerine and lavender with the kick of tequila. The unique and slightly salty flavor of tequila really comes through. With Cinco de Mayo coming up, you may even consider this as a light and slower-drinkin’ addition to your party menu. You can substitute rum for a slightly sweeter taste any time of year.
Ingredients:
1 tangerine (½ for juice and ½ for tangerine slices)
2 sprigs fresh lavender… Read more
Courtesy of Moon Mountain Organic Vodka.… Read more
Now that spring is in full bloom, it’s time to take advantage of all the fresh cocktail ingredients available to us!
I used fresh lemons and lemon verbena along with Tru2 Organic Gin, which is highly recommend for this cocktail (and others, for that matter). Lemon verbena has a flavor that is like a mild mint with a lemony finish, so we thought it would be perfect for muddling and mixing. And I was right.… Read more