Rhubarb is finally in season so it’s a great time to feature it’s tart, bright flavor in a cocktail.  Last spring I did two other versions of Strawberry Rhubarb Cocktails. I thought it might be fun to modify them into a celebration cocktail with Sparkling wine for Mother’s Day  Not only is it flavorful but very pretty! Serve in a wine glass with ice or in a flute with no ice.

1 oz London Dry Gin or Vodka

1 1/2  oz Strawberry Rhubarb Simple Syrup

1/2 oz lime juice

3 oz Prosecco or Sparkling Wine

Strawberry Slices and mint

Add the gin or vodka, the simple syrup and the lime juice to a wine glass with ice or a flute.   Top with Prosecco, Cava or Sparkling Wine and garnish with strawberry slices and mint.

You can even make this a mocktail. Omit the Spirit and the sparkling wine and increase the Simple syrup to 2 oz, the lime juice to 1 oz and top with Seltzer.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Simple Syrup:

1 cup strawberries

1 cup rhubarb

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup sugar

Bring ingredients to a boil .  Simmer for 15-20 minutes on low-medium.  Let cool for 30 minutes.  Strain and refrigerate.  Use within 2 weeks. To get the maximum flavor from the fruit you can express the liquid from the fruit but it will cause your smile syrup to be cloudy.  Personally I prefer the extra flavor and I overlook that.

Photo Courtesy of: Elsa Santacruz Romera

I couldn’t resist naming this cocktail after the clock change.  I struggle so much with the difference in time but it really makes me smile when it is light out until 7 pm here in the North East! This cocktail makes me smile too!

Ingredients:

2 oz lemon vodka or lemon gin

1 oz raspberry liquor ( We have a local company in NH called Metcalfe’s but you can use Dekuyper Razzmatazz)

2 oz lemonade

Splash raspberry seltzer

Lemon twist

Frozen raspberries

Add the first 3 ingredients to a shaker filled with ice.  Shake until well mixed and cold. Strain into a martini glass and top with raspberry seltzer water.  Garnish with a lemon twist and/or frozen raspberries.

If you like your cocktails to be less sweet you can use 1/2 the amount of lemonade and the juice from 1/2 a lemon!

Enjoy!

This cocktail showcases an aged Gin from Short Path Distillery in Everett, MA.  Check out how they made this gin on their website!

https://shortpathdistillery.com/. If you are lucky enough to live in Mass it is well worth the trip.  If you cannot get access to a bottle you can certainly use a different aged gin.

Ingredients:

2 oz Short Path Old Tom Aged Gin

1/4 Blackberry Simple Syrup (this is the syrup used in the Mockjito last week!)

1/4 oz Domain de Canton Ginger Liqueur

Juice from 1/2 lime

Top with low calorie tonic water or club soda

Garnish with a lime twist

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Add the first four ingredients to a shaker filled with ice.  Shake until cold.  Strain into a rocks glass and top with tonic water or club soda. There are so many tonic waters on the market these days. The type of tonic water that you choose could change how you experience this cocktail. I recommend making this with tonic water and also making it with the club soda to decide which you prefer.

Blackberry Vanilla Simple Syrup

What you will need:

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

4-5 mint leaves

Combine the blackberries, water, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the mint leaves and let sit for 10 min.  Cool and use for the Blackberry Mockjito or another creative cocktail!

A client and friend gave me an amazing bottle of Cherry Vodka from Idaho that was made with Mount Rainer Cherries.  Since my favorite candy is Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries and it is Valentine’s Day this week I decided to create this cocktail. You should be able to find another brand of cherry vodka in your local liquor store. I love the idea of using a homemade hot chocolate recipe for the creamy chocolate part of the cocktail.  The best part about it is you can enjoy the hot chocolate and then refrigerate the leftovers to use in this cocktail.  If you are dairy free you can make the hot chocolate with any kind of hair free milk.  Or, you can just use chocolate syrup and milk and keep it simple.  I’m not good at simple.

2 oz cherry vodka

2 oz Dark Chocolate Liquor (Godiva is the best!)

2 oz cold hot chocolate or chocolate milk

Drop a cherry into the bottom for a sweet surprise at the end

Shake well over ice and strain into a martini glass.  Don’t forget the cherry! And if you want to make a pretty presentation you can grate chocolate over the top of the glass.

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Homemade Hot Chocolate

Epicurious Recipe from Kemp Minifie

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

Pinch of salt

1 cup milk or any combination of milk, half-and-half, or cream

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together the cocoa, sugar, salt, and about 2 tablespoons milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until cocoa and sugar are dissolved. Whisk in the rest of the milk and heat it over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until it is hot. Stir in the vanilla and serve.  This recipe multiplies very easily but once you get up to a quart of milk (32 oz) you should use 1/4 tsp salt.

I decided to use the Morécello Liqueur that I introduced in last weeks seasonal sipper for another twist on a classic this week. Normally I would not add a liqueur to a Gin and Tonic because I am not a fan of sweet cocktails.  But, the addition of the fresh lemon juice balances the Blackberry liquor and keeps the refreshing, bright characteristic of this classic cocktail. I chose Q Tonic water because of the sugar content and the flavor profile. It is less sweet and works well with these flavors. But, you can certainly use any tonic water that you have available.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Hendricks Gin

3/4 oz of Morécello or another blackberry liqueur

1/2-3/4 oz fresh lemon juice

Top with Q-tonic water

Sprig of fresh rosemary

Add the gin, blackberry liqueur and the fresh lemon juice to a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir until cold. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice, top with the tonic water and garnish with the sprig of fresh rosemary.

I wish I came up with the idea for this tasty Winter Mai Tai creation, but it was created by mixologist Chris who is the bartender at Anima in Las Vegas. Check out this Tik Tok video of him making his creation!

This cocktail is fantastic and again features the winter fruit, grapefruit. I made this one with Angel’s Envy Rye only because I didn’t have another Rye in the house.  This cocktail does not need a high end Rye Whiskey because of the blending of all the unique ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 oz grapefruit juice I I used pink grapefruit juice)

1/2 oz lime juice

1/4 oz cinnamon simple syrup (recipe below)

1/4 oz maple syrup

1/4 oz white creme de cacao

1 oz rum

1 oz rye whiskey

Garnishes- Cinnamon or grapefruit twist

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Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a coup or martini glass and garnish with cinnamon or a grapefruit twist if you used freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.

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Cinnamon Simple syrup:

1/2 cup water

1 cinnamon stick

1/3 cup sugar

In a small saucepan add water and cinnamon and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Strain out the cinnamon stick and bring the water back to a boil. Add the stir and stir until dissolved.  Cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

This is definitely dessert in a glass! If you are an eggnog lover this may be your new favorite holiday cocktail.

Ingredients:

2 oz of eggnog

2 oz vanilla vodka

1 oz Vanilla Kahlúa

Vanilla frosting

Colorful sprinkles for a garnish

Spread the icing in a thin layer on a small plate. Layer the sprinkles on another plate.  Dip the edge of the martini glass in the icing and then the sprinkles to rim the glass. Add the eggnog, vodka and Kahlúa to a shaker filled with ice.  Strain into your rimmed martini glass.

For a twist on this festive holiday drink use bourbon in place of the vanilla vodka and Amaretto in place of the Kahlúa.

It always seems odd to me that Grapefruit is a winter fruit but that is when you really see the nicest grapefruits and it is when they are in season.  This holiday serve this refreshing martini as a precursor to your holiday dinner. Or, you can make a modified version of this as a Grapefruit Mimosa. To do this use a splash of grapefruit juice, a splash of Aperol and a splash of Elderflower liquor and top with champagne.

2 oz Malfy Grapefruit Gin

1/2 oz Aperol

1 oz elderflower liquor

1/2-1 oz fresh lemon juice

Lemon peel or grapefruit slice for a garnish.

You can modify how tart you make this martini!  If you like the bitter sweet orange flavors of the Aperol you can use 1 oz instead of 1/2 oz.  If you do that, be sure to use a full oz of lemon juice to balance the sweetness of the Aperol and Elderflower. If you can’t find Grapefruit Gin then use regular gin and add 1 oz of grapefruit juice and only use 1/2 oz of the lemon juice.

Add all ingredients to a shaker full of ice.  Shake well and strain into a coup or martini glass.  Garnish with a lemon peel or a 1/2 of a grapefruit slice. Although my cocktail photo shows an Eva Menu I asked them to make this creation. After she delivered the drinks the bartender said,”I think I will start making this cocktail.”

I have been wanting to make a Fig Gin cocktail for weeks but have been unable to find figs in my local grocery store.  They finally stocked them for Thanksgiving so I was able to get some. The Fig Simple Syrup is so flavorful and so versatile that next week I will feature another Fig flavored seasonal sipper!  If you are lucky enough to find Owen’s Sparkling Cranberry Mixer at your local liquor store you can use that in place of the cranberry juice and splash of soda water.  It has some lime juice in it which gives this cocktail some extra zing!

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2 oz Malfy Lemon Gin

Juice from 1/2 of  lemon (approx 1 oz)

1 tbsp Fig Simple Syrup

Splash of cranberry juice

Splash of soda water

Rosemary sprig

Lemon peel

Add the Gin, lemon juice, simile syrup and splash of cranberry juice to a shaker filed with ice. Shake well.  Strain into a coup glass and add a splash of sparkling water. Garnish with a lemon peel and a sprig of rosemary.

Fig Simple Syrup:

1 1/2 cups sliced dried figs

1 cup water

3/4 cup of raw or brown sugar

Tsp león juice

Dash of vanilla

Fresh sprigs of rosemary

Bring all ingredients to a boil and then simmer on low for 15 minutes.  Turn the heat off, stir in the rosemary springs and let the figs and rosemary sit in the syrup for another 10-15 minutes as it cools. Strain the rosemary and figs.  You can also serve these figs with triple cream or blue cheese as an appetizer!

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Ingredients for cocktail:

1 1/2 ounces vodka

3 tablespoons cranberry vanilla syrup

strong ginger beer

juice of 1 lime wedge and ice

Fill a glass halfway with ice. Add the vodka and cranberry vanilla syrup then fill to the top with ginger beer and stir vigorously until the syrup is completely blended with the liquor and ginger beer. Squeeze a lime wedge into the glass, stir again and serve.

You can modify this recipe many ways and use a flavored vodka with flavored liquors and complimentary fruit.

Cranberry vanilla syrup

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh cranberries, washed well

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 vanilla bean, scraped

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1. Combine the cranberries, water, sugars, and vanilla beans in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the liquid has reduced and the mixture has thickened. The cranberries will begin to burst as they cook and if the syrup thickens too quickly you can add more water a few tablespoons at a time as needed.

2. Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and pour the cranberry vanilla mixture into the strainer. Gently press on the solids with a spatula to extract all of the syrup then discard the solids. Stir in the orange juice. Allow the syrup to cool then store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I thought it would make sense to come up with a Mimosa for Thanksgiving morning.  If you cannot find the Cranberry Apple Cider in your locl store you can certainly add a splash of cranberry juice.  The spiced pear liquor may be tricky to find as well.  Our liquor store carries, St. George Spirits Spiced Pear Liquor. If you are only able to find regular pear liquor you can always simmer the cider with Mulling spices to get the spriced flavors in your drink.  It is definitely a nice twist for the holidays!

2 oz Cranberry Apple Cider

1/2 oz spiced pear liquor

Prosecco

Frozen Cranberries and a slice of apple

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Add the Cranberry Apple Cider and the pear liquor to a flute. Top with Prosecco or Cava and garnish with frozen cranberries and/or a slice of apple.

1 1/2 oz Pear Vodka

1 oz cranberry juce

1/2 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liquor

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

4 oz Prosecco or sparkling water

This cocktail is a fall twist on a Bellini or a Mimosa.  It is so tasty but be careful because it goes down way too easy. I was out of town and pinch hitting with ingredients and garnishes so the photo is not as festive as I would have liked.  But, what the photo is lacking the cocktail more than makes up for in flavor!

Add the first four ingredients to a shaker.  Strain into a tumbler or a wine glass and top with the Prosecco. Garnish with a lemon or a pear.  Or, for a really festive version for the holidays float frozen cranberries!

If you have an herb garden, you are probably noticing that most of the herbs do not like the colder temperatures we have been getting at night.  If your mint is still thriving like mine is, you can use it in this cocktail!  I recently enjoyed this at the Mountain View Grand, so I am not sure what gin they used.  Feel free to use any herbal gin in this cocktail. But, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on a bottle of Tamworth Distillery Garden Gin or a local herbal gin, that would be a fantastic choice!

2 oz Hendricks Gin or your favorite local herbal gin

1 oz lime juice

1/2-1 oz simple syrup

Splash of soda water or seltzer

Small handful of fresh mint

Cucumber slices

Muddle the mint and 3 cucumber slices with the lime juice in the bottom of a shaker.  Add ice,  gin and the simple syrup. Shake until really cold. Strain into a martini glass, top with seltzer or soda water and garnish with a cucumber wheel.

There is a range of simple syrup so you can add an amount based on the sweetness that you like. It is a trend to cut down on sugar right now, and you can certainly make this with no simple syrup if you prefer. In that case, add an additional 1 oz of Gin and more soda water. I have seen seltzer with cucumber essence.  If you can find a bottle of that it will really accentuate the cucumber flavor!

Here is another Bees Knees cocktail recipe:

 I had this version at Deacon Street Restaurant/Martini & Whiskey Bar.

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Bees Knees Deacon Street Style

2 oz Barr Hill Gin

1 oz Elderflower Liquor

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

1/2 oz honey simple syrup

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Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake and then strain into a coupe or a martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

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For the honey simple syrup:

Heat 2 parts honey and 1 part water until the honey is melted.  Cool. 

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St. Germain Liquor (Elderflower Liquor) is one of my favorite liquors!  It is pricey but worth every penny.  It is made from flowers in the south of France and it gives cocktails a unique floral flavor.  You can substitute with St. Elder  or another brand of liquor but you may need to modify the amounts depending on the sweetness of the brand.

2 oz Grey Goose la Poire Vodka

2 oz pear nectar

1 oz St. Germain Liquor or other Elderflower Liquor

1 oz  fresh squeezed lemon juice

Combine Pear Vodka, Pear Nectar, St, Germain, and fresh lemon juice in a shaker, shake and  then pour into a chilled martini glass.

I have to say that I was very skeptical about this pairing.  I love Rosé; and there are so many unique and interesting varieties from all over the world. Recently, I have been enjoying the more crisp, light versions from Italy and Provence.  Light doesn't mean less flavor though.  The Rosés from these areas have tons of flavor but many of them have more acid so they are better with food.  The addition of jalapeños actually accentuates the flavor profile of the wine but the acidity is still present. You can add the jalapeño slices to taste but I suggest starting with a few.

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This 3 ingredient cocktail made with Guava juice that is sometimes referred to as the "pink angel" has the perfect amount of sweet and tart to make you want a 2nd!

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Ingredients:

2 oz Empress Gin

2 oz Guava Juice

1 oz fresh lime juice

Shake all ingredients together and serve up in a martini glass garnished with a lime.

I was challenged by a good friend of mine to come up with a St. Patrick’s Day cocktail for our get together last Friday night. It’s unlike me to not think ahead when I’m entertaining, especially since the evening called for a tasty green cocktail in honor of the day. My husband found a cocktail on-line that was certainly a pretty green color, but I could not get excited about the recipe. So, I tweaked it and came up with my own. It is a tropical twist on a Tequila Martini.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Blanco tequila (If you like Coconut you can also use 1800 Coconut Tequila!)

1 1/2 oz Hypnotiq Liqueur

1 oz pineapple juice

1/2 oz orange juice

Juice from a 1/2 lime

Garnish with a lime wheel, a pineapple triangle or an edible flower

Add all the ingredients to a shaker filled with ice.  Shake until well mixed and cold.  Strain into a martini glass.

March is a time when it is hard to not think about warmer weather, sunshine and being on the lake.  But, this year Mother Nature has decided to give us our dose of winter in March.  This cocktail is in honor of that. Instead of a Lemon Drop I am calling this The Snow Drop. This is a modified Lemond Drop with a unique Strawberry Lemongrass Essence Vodka, Ginger liqueur, lemonade and a splash of fresh lemon juice. You can also add a splash of seltzer water or Lemon kombucha for some fizz!

2 oz Strawberry Lemongrass Vodka

1 oz Ginger Liqueur

2 oz Lemonade

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Splash of strawberry or lemon seltzer

Lemon twist or a strawberry

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Add the first four ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake well.  Strain into a martini glass, top with seltzer or kombucha and garnish with a twist of lemon.

Since so many people are doing dry January and February I decided to take a break from an alcoholic seasonal sipper recipe and try something fruity, refreshing and non-alcoholic.  I chose to make Blackberry Simple Syrup to really accenuate the blackberry flavors but you could certainly muddle a small handful of berries to keep it simple.

Ingredients:

2 oz coconut water

1/2-1 oz blackberry simple syrup (or a small handful of blackberries)

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Top off with Blackberry or plain seltzer

Mint to muddle and for garnish

Muddle 2-3 mint leaves with the coconut water (and berries if you are choosing the simpler recipe). Add the blackberry simple syrup and lemon juice.  Shake until cold.  Strain into a rocks glass and top with seltzer.  Garnish with a sprig of mint and a blackberry.

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Blackberry Vanilla Simple Syrup

What you will need:

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

4-5 mint leaves

Combine the blackberries, water, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the mint leaves and let sit for 10 min.  Cool and use for the Blackberry Mockjito or another creative cocktail!

I was inspired to make this cocktail because I was finally able to buy some blood oranges at our local grocery store.  Although there are many different blood orange liquors on the market I just don’t feel like they taste enough like the true citrus blood orange flavor that I needed for this drink. Since I paired this with our local blackberry liquor I needed the acid and distinct blood orange flavor from the fruit itself to balance and still highlight the blackberry. Sometimes I struggle to come up with a creative name and decided to use the deep purple color of the drink as my inspiration. Color charts call this purple English Violet. Since I used London Dry Gin in the recipe I swapped London for the English part of the name.

Ingredients:

2 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin

1 1/2 oz Morécello Blackberry Liquor

1 oz fresh squeezed blood orange juice

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 blood orange wheel for garnish

Add all of the ingredients to a shaker and shake well until cold. Strain into a rocks glass with a large cube or a martini glass and garnish with the blood orange wheel.

The other day when my sister was visiting she mentioned that she found a blackberry liquor from Drillaud and she tried it with bourbon. It brought me right back to a time when I

Made this cocktail with fresh blackberries in the summer.  I haven’t had one in a while.  Since it is the winter there were no blackberries at the grocery store so I decided to look for the Moricello liquor that is local to our area.  It is a project by a local entrepreneur who happens to be the husband of my dental hygienist. When you live in an area as small as the Lakes Region 6 degrees of separation becomes more like 3.

This is a super easy bourbon or whiskey cocktail that is a perfect Aprés ski or sipping by the fire drink. I recommend using a smooth bourbon like Four Roses Small Batch or Eagle Rare.  It would also be great with a heated bourbon like Maker’s Mark or Maker’s 46.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz bourbon

3/4 oz Moricello Blackberry Liquor

1/2 oz lemon juice

Lemon twist

Stir the ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a rocks glass with a large cube. Garnish with a lemon twist.

I was struggling to come up with a simple but fun cocktail for the week and a conversation with a good friend reminded me that I can use the crockpot to make some simple warm winter cocktails! If you are making this for yourself you can do a single or double version just as simply in a saucepan on the stove.

One of my favorite cafe drinks is a Dirty Chai.  It is a Chai tea with a shot of espresso. This cocktail is a version of that made with hot chocolate and a shot of Espresso Liquor! What a perfect Aprés Ski Drink!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 to 2 tablespoons sugar or maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like it)

Pinch of salt

1 cup milk or any non-dairy milk

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 oz Espresso Liquor

Whipped Cream or Marshmallows

Cinnamon

Whisk together the cocoa, sugar, salt, and about 2 tablespoons milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until cocoa and sugar are dissolved. Whisk in the rest of the milk and heat it over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until it is hot. Stir in the vanilla and the espresso liquor.  Top with whipped cream and cinnamon!

This recipe makes one cup but you can multiply these ingredients to make as many cups as desired. Or, as mentioned above you can make it in the crock pot to serve for a large get together! To do this you would add the desired cups of milk, sugar and salt to the crockpot.  Heat on high for approx one hour until the milk is hot and whisk in the cocoa powder and vanilla. Heat for an additional 30 minutes. Add the espresso liquor and the garnishes to each cup as you serve. If you prefer marshmallows to whipped cream they will be just as good!  And, if you don’t like Espresso Liquor you can substitute with Liquor 43 or Jameson Whiskey.

The blood orange is another winter fruit that you should be able to find in your grocery store this time of year.  It is a vibrant red/orange color (hence then name) when you slice it) but the juice is a vibrant orange pink.  It makes a really festive cocktail and has a wonderful sweet/tart citrus flavor.

2 oz Effen or SKY blood orange liquor

2 oz fresh squeezed blood orange juice

1 oz fresh lime juice

1 oz orange liquor (Gran Gala is my favorite)

Add the vodka, juices and the liquor to an ice filled shaker.  Shake well and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a colorful blood orange slice!

Just kidding….I googled the ingredients of Figgy Pudding and ironically enough there aren’t even any figs in it! I was just trying to be creative with the name. The name actually came from a fish and curds dish and was actually spelled fige, an old French term meaning curdled. Years later another traditional dish of figs boiled in wine was created but that wasn’t even called Figgy Pudding. Who knows how the term Figgy Pudding got associated with the dense cake made of dried fruits, breadcrumbs, flour, nuts and honey? But, it certainly is a name that most of us associate with Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol,” or the Christmas song, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

Unlike the real Figgy Pudding this cocktail does have Figs in it.  Last week I used Fig simple syrup to make a holiday martini and this week I am using it for a holiday twist on an Old Fashioned.  An Old Fashioned typically gets its touch of sweetness from raw sugar that is stirred with the bourbon/whiskey and ice. I used the Fig Simple syrup from last weeks cocktail recipe in place of the raw sugar. Because the simple syrup was made with raw sugar instead of white sugar the depth of flavor is perfect for an Old Fashioned.  I added the splash of juice for a touch of color and to balance the sweetness of the Fig Simple Syrup and to make the drink look more festive!

2 oz Bourbon or Whiskey

1-2 tbsp Fig Simple syrup

3 dashes of Angostura or Orange Bitters

1/2 oz POM juice or Cranberry juice

Sprig of Rosemary

Add all of the ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.  Stir until combined and cold.  Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice or a large cube and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

This cocktail comes from one of my favorite blogs, Half Baked Harvest. Tieghan Gerard is spot on as usual with flavors. The combination of the sweet fro the pomegranate the acid from the lime juice and the spice in the simple syrup and the rim makes this drink so mouthwatering! Her photo is much better than mine and you can see it if you search for this recipe at halfbakedharvest.com.

Spicy Ginger Syrup

1/2 cup honey

1 inch fresh ginger, sliced

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

8 mint leaves

Bring 1/2 cup water, honey, ginger and cayenne pepper to boil over high heat. Once boiling, simmer for 1-2 minutes and remove from heat. Add the mint leaves and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.  Strain and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Paloma

1/4 cup Pomegranate juice

1/2 cup grapefruit juice

Juice from 1/2 lime

2-4 tbsp Spicy Ginger Syrup

2 oz tequila

Ginger beer

Pomegranate seeds

Spice Sweet Rim

This is optional but adds so much to the cocktail

1 tbsp coarse raw sugar

1 tbsp granulated sugar

Pinch of cayenne pepper

To make the cocktail:

On a small plate mix the sugars and the cayenne pepper.  Run a lime wedge around the rim of the glass and dip the rim into the sugar until the edges are coated evenly.

Depending upon the size of the glass that you are using to serve you may want to mix this cocktail in another glass and pour it into your rimmed serving glass. If you fill the glass too full the sugar rim will melt into your drink.

Add the juices, the tequila and the simple syrup to a glass with ice. Mix thoroughly.  Pour into your rimmed glass, top with ginger beer and garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Spiced Cranberry Martini

If you are a gin lover this is a perfect holiday martini. I used Tamworth Honey Gin because it lends itself well to the cranberry and spiced pear flavors, and it is may favorite local gin. But, you can use Barr Hill Gin which is also made from Honey or a simple London dry gin as well.

2 oz Gin

2 oz cranberry juice

1 oz Spiced Pear Liquor

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Float frozen cranberries

Crystallized ginger

Add the Gin, Cranberry juice, the Spiced Pear Liquor and the lemon juice to a shaker filled with ice.  Shake well and strain into a martini glass or a coup. Float the cranberries on the top and drop a piece of crystallized ginger into the glass.  Not only will it add another layer of flavor it will cause a bead of bubbles to rise from the bottom of the glass and make the cocktail look even more festive!

Now that I have totally embraced fall and we are heading into Halloween week I had to feature a Pumpkin Cocktail. Since I am a bourbon lover and often bourbon has the characteristic spice aromas and flavors that will make this flavor shine, I decided that bourbon would be this weeks spirit of choice.  I tried this with Four Roses small batch and Maker’s Mark and both of those bourbons lend themselves well to this cocktail.

2 of the integral ingredients for this cocktail contain pumpkin and spice flavors.  The first is Pumpkin Butter which I was lucky enough to find at a farm stand in Massachusetts.  If you don’t have a farm stand close by you can buy it on-line from Stonewall Kitchen or Amazon or you can make your own. Half Baked Harvest has a great version. 

The other ingredient is a Pumpkin Spice Simple Syrup from Meadowland in Bend Oregon.  Check out all of the flavors that they have: Meadowland Simple Syrup.  Although I love making my own simple syrups I love the variety and flavors that this company craft and their labels are adorable.  If you’d prefer to not have to wait for your simple syrup to arrive before you can make this cocktail, here is a link to a 4 ingredient recipe, that is a creation of the blog, It doesn’t taste like chicken. While you are there, check out the other fantastic recipes on the blog.

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Ingredients:

2 oz bourbon

1 heaping tsp pumpkin butter

1/2 tsp Pumpkin spice simple syrup

1 oz fresh squeezed orange juice

A few dashes of Angostura Bitters or Orange Bitters

Orange twist and a cinnamon stick or ground cinnamon for garnish

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and mix until the pumpkin butter is incorporated. Strain into a rocks glass with a large cube and garnish with a orange twist and a cinnamon stick or a few shakes of cinnamon.  If you like pumpkin as much as I do this cocktail will become your new favorite sipping cocktail for the fall!

This is a cocktail that I had at Atria in Martha’s Vineyard.  They have a few different versions of this modified cocktail on their cocktail menu.  You may not be able to get some of these ingredients but I wanted to share it with you to show that you can modify a Gin and Tonic in so many different ways.  For another twist on this cocktail you can float cranberries and rosemary and and even add a splash of cranberry juice and use the Fever Tree Indian Tonic or Elderflower Tonic.

The restaurant thinly sliced the cucumbers into ribbons and floated the ribbons in the glass for a pretty presentation.  The shiso is a Japanese Herb that has a taste somewhat like basil but with a more pungent aroma.  You can certainly substitute with regular or Thai basil but just use a few small leaves or the cocktail will be overly herbal. Yuzu is an incredibly aromatic citrus fruit of East Asian Origin.  It has a unique citrus flavor.  You can certainly use regular lemons.

2 oz Yuzu Gin

2 cucumber ribbons

2 shiso leaves (or basil)

Orange marmalade

1 bottle of Lime & Yuzu Fever Tree Tonic Water

Add the orange marmalade, the cucumber ribbons and the shiso or basil leaves to the bottom to the glass.  Add the gin and muddle lightly and stir.  Add ice and the tonic water.

Enjoy!

It is “Bees Knees” Week and as I was pondering a new honey gin cocktail to create I couldn’t seem to pull myself away from the idea of some kind of modified Negroni. Gin is hands down my favorite spirit and the Negroni is one of my favorite gin cocktails. Last winter I played with the herbal characters of Green and Yellow Chartreuse and the refined floral flavors of Elderflower to come up with a White Negroni since there are many liquors that define a White Negroni that we cannot get in the state of NH.  Today, I decided to play with the fruit and acid components of the ingredients without undermining the beautiful honey tones of the gin. I think it worked. I’d love to hear what you think.

There are many choices for bitters right now but if you cannot find cranberry bitters use 100% cranberry juice and the acid and bitters in that will take the place bitters  in the cocktail.

1 oz Tamworth Distilling Apiary Gin or Barr Hill Gin

1 oz Aperol

1/2 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liquor

1/2 oz cranberry juice

2-3 dashes of cranberry bitters

Juice of 1/4 of lime

Add all ingredients to a glass filled with ice and stir briskly with a cocktail spoon or an iced tea spoon. Strain into a rocks glass with a large cube. Garnish with a lime twist.

This cocktail will be just as good with a London Dry Gin.  I wouldn’t use an herbal gin, unless you want to substitute lemon juice for the lime juice and garnish with a rosemary sprig.

Spicy Pineapple Coconut Margarita

I know it is the beginning of fall, but I am not ready to let go of summer yet.  So this weeks seasonal sipper is a twist on a tropical margarita.

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2 oz of Blanco tequila or 2 oz of Tanteo Jalapeño Tequila or a brand that you have available in your area

1 oz fresh lime juice

1 oz of Pineapple Liquor or Pineapple Juice (I was lucky enough to get a bottle of Drillaud Pineapple Liquor from my sister for my birthday)

1 oz Coconut water

slices of Jalapeño

Add 2 oz of the Jalapeño tequila to your shaker (if you don’t have access to that just muddle 2-3 slices of jalapeño with blanco tequila in the bottom of the shaker)

Add the lime juice, the pineapple liqueur or pineapple juice and the coconut water and shake!

Serve over ice garnished with a lime wedge and float a few jalapeño slices on the top.

If you are not a fan of coconut or don’t have coconut water in the house don’t worry.  It is just as good without it!

What is with me choosing another oink drink this week?  I was having a Watermelon Basil Cosmo at Deacon Street Restaurant/Martini and Whiskey Bar in North Conway and I noticed that the Vodka was a Grey Goose Essence Watermelon Basil Vodka. I asked the bartender about it and he mentioned that if I liked it that I should try the Strawberry Lemongrass Essence.  Of course, you know I had to stop at the liquor store the next day and pick up a bottle. You could make a lot of different versions of this but I wanted to add some Ginger to accentuate the lemongrass, some fresh lemon juice for brightness and of course more strawberry since that is the star of the cocktail.

2 oz Grey Goose Strawberry Lemongrass Essence Vodka

2 oz strawberry lemonade

Juice from 1/2 small lemon

1/2 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liquor

1 tsp local strawberry jam

Stir the strawberry jam with the fresh lemon juice and vodka in a shaker.  Fill the shaker with ice. Add the strawberry lemonade and the ginger liquor.  Shake vigorously.  Serve up in a martini glass and garnish with lemongrass if you’re lucky enough to find it in your local market.

Here’s a twist on a Mimosa or a Bellini! You can find Lychee fruit in cans at some Asian markets or buy it on Amazon.  Lychee juice is an option too but you cannot buy it locally where we live. This is a lower alcohol fun cocktail that is Asian Food inspired but would be great to serve with brunch. If you don’t like bubbles you can easily make a Lychee Martini by using 2 oz of Vodka instead of the bubbles!

Ingredients:

2 oz Lychee Juice

1 oz fresh lemon juice

1 oz Domaine de Canton or other Ginger Liquor

Top with Prosecco or Cava

Garnish with a Sprig of mint.

Directions:

Blend the can of lychee fruit with a 1/4 cup of the syrup the fruit was in.  Strain the juice to remove the extra lychee pulp. Add the first three ingredients to a shaker filled with ice and shake.  Strain into a coup or a champagne glass.  Top with Prosecco or Cava and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Ingredients:

2 oz gin

Juice from 1/2 lime (approx 1 oz)

3 oz watermelon juice

splash of seltzer

Add the gin, lime juice and watermelon juice to a shaker to mix.  Serve over ice and garnish with a lime wheel and a sprig of mint.

There are a lot of different watermelon juices on the market.  Simply makes a great version but for a twist on this cocktail pick up the Watermelon Cucumber juice from Trader Joe’s!.