ABSOLUT ON THE ROCKS 2009

MY PROFILE FOR "ON THE ROCKS"

A day in my life...heh heh

This was a blast! I competed with top bartenders from around the country in Las Vegas!

Check it out!

WINE BASED DESSERT COCKTAILS

I created these cocktails in my advanced mixology class here in Chicago at CHIC recently. We were asked to create some wine based cocktails to pair with desserts.

While I don't usually think cocktails should be paired with entrees or meals in general, they can lend themselves to desserts very well given the plethora of desert wines and liqueurs to work with and the nature of dessert course.

I always stir wine based cocktails to give them a chill, but not over dilute them.

I don't have names for these...not my forte!

1)
GOSLINGS Black Seal Rum
PIERRE FERRAND Ambre Cognac
Black Pepper Corns
Fresh Sweet Cherries
Muscat Wine

Muddle cherries, pepper corns and 1/3 of muscat. Add remainder of muscat, spirits and ice and stir. Strain into small chilled coupe.

2)
DOLCE Sweet Dessert Wine
PIERRE FERRAND Ambre Cognac
Fresh Plum
Grapefruit Peel

Muddle plum and peel from grapefruit and splash of DOLCE wine. Add wine, cognac, and ice and stir. Strain into chilled coupe. Grapefruit peel/disk garnish

3)
VEUVE CLIQUOT Demi-Sec champagne
Yellow Chartreuse
Green Grapes
Grapefruit Peel
Grapefruit Juice

Muddle green grapes with a 1/3 of demi-sec and splash of fresh grapefruit juice. Add Chartreuse, ice and stir. Strain into chilled coupe and top with remainder of champagne.

LIME CORDIAL

After a another friendly debate over what a GIMLET cocktail consists of, I decided to make some preserved lime juice or lime cordial...sometimes known as ROSE'S LIME JUICE....at home with real lime juice and sugar...

A GIMLET does not use fresh lime juice. While I love fresh lime juice, I want to stay consistent with what a true Gimlet should be or what it reasonably would have been shipboard in the British Navy in the late 19th century.

It turned out better than I expected and the shaken GIMLET it makes using PLYMOUTH GIN is exactly what I want in a this cocktail.

However, I am sure that shipboard British officers rarely had ice on board unless traveling to Newfoundland in November.

To preserve the lime juice in an old fashioned way I used some tartaric acid and citric acid...These are not necessary if you refrigerate the lime cordial and expect to use it within 6 weeks.

Remove Zest from limes before juicing them. Only the green zest is used..it contains the oils and lime flavors...take care not to get the white pith part of the rind...it is very bitter.

LIME CORDIAL
1 part fresh squeezed lime juice
1.25 part sugar
All of the green part of the skin of the limes...zested

I suggest using about 10-15 limes to try out the recipe.
Cook lime and sugar until simmering...easy simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add lime zest from limes and allow to cool....

Strain out lime zest, bottle, and refrigerate.

If using citric acid and tartaric acid use 2 tsp each per quart of lime cordial or appropriate ratio.

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE SUMMER CHERRY BOUNCE

My entrance to the latest competition sponsored by BOMBAY SAPPHIRE GIN


1.5 oz BOMBAY SAPPHIRE GIN
.5 oz CARPANO ANTICA ITALIAN VERMOUTH
.5 oz FRESH LEMON JUICE
SPLASH SIMPLE SYRUP
5 FRESH PITTED SWEET CHERRIES for muddling
3 PITTED FRESH CHERRIES FOR GARNISH
CHILLED CLUB SODA
LEMON TWIST


In mixing glass muddle cherries and syrup. Add BOMBAY SAPPHIRE, lemon juice, and vermouth. Fill tall zombie glass 1/3 full of ice and add one pitted cherry…Continue to fill glass ice with cherries until glass is full. Shake and double strain into glass and top with chilled soda and fresh lemon twist.


Cherry pitters are available at most hardware stores and Sur le Table and are very handy.

If Carpano is not available, use any high quality Italian vermouth.

EL CHILO

This is a very simple cocktail that I did for the TRES GENERACIONES event at CRIMSON AND HOTEL SAX April 28, 2009


2 oz TRES GENERACIONES ANEJO TEQUILA
1.5 oz Cinnamon/Almond infused ROMPOPE style Vanilla/Egg liqueur


Stir and strain into rocks glass filled with fresh ice.

Grate fresh cinnamon for garnish

LA LUNA

I entered this cocktail in the ST. GERMAIN cocktail campaign/comp in february 2009

Didnt win, but got 3rd place...

It is delicious and fresh.


1.5 oz Pisco
1 oz ST. GERMAIN ELDERFLOWER LIQUEUR
.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Small Egg White

Sophisticated variation of a Pisco Sour.

All ingredients into shaker filled with ice.

Shake extra vigorously to ensure foam on top of cocktail.

strain into chilled coupe glass

DELICIOUS!!

10 CANE SPICED PEAR DAIQUIRI

I made this cocktail for a cocktail dinner hosted by Anna Kimball and 10 Cane at Le Lan in Chicago spring 2009.



1.5 oz 10 Cane Rum
.5 oz oz Spiced Simple Syrup
.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1 oz Fresh Pressed Pear Juice

Spiced candied pear slice for garnish. I used Comice pears for the juice and garnish.


Shake all ingredients and strain into chilled coupe. drop slice of pear into cocktail as edible garnish.

To make the spiced syrup:

2 cups sugar
1.5 cups water
1/4 cup allspice berries
1/4 cup clove
2 cinnamon sticks
3 nutmegs
1 tbsp black pepper berries

cook all together in sauce pan over low heat until boiling..make sure to watch so it doesn't boil over..

turn off heat allow to steep until cooled. Strain off spices..add a splash of vanilla extract and voila!..spiced syrup.

Can be used in many other drinks, iced teas etc.. particularly yummy in hot toddies.

Spiced pears are a bit more tricky.

peel and slice 1 pear...add lemon juice immediately to slices to help stop browning.

make another small batch of spiced syrup...but this time do not cool...strain hot syrup over pears to steep and par cook...they will be tender but al dente and hold their shape.

cool and let steep in air tight bag. This should maintain the color and keep them from being brown....which is a bitch.

The juice will have a tan color and there is no natural way around that. It gives the cocktail a honey like appearance which is appealing.

I was very very happy with this cocktail. It was easy to drink.