The Bon Vivant’s Companion

What to serve a cocktail virgin?  Not just someone who’s never had a drink before, but someone who’s dabbled in drinking and wants to trade up from Milwaukee’s Best to mixed cocktails.  Where to start?

I say, let them drink lemonade.  Everyone past the age of five has had a glass of the stuff, and lemonade is a resilient mixer.  It’s an easy base for batched cocktails and it holds a lot of liquor.  So go ahead, subtly layer flavors, or dump in a ton of booze.*

(*See everclear punch, and my first two years of college…)

Lemonade is also incredibly accessible.  Its natural balance of sweet and citrus reduces the need for multiple, flashy ingredients — more good news for beginners.

Dovetailing with the newbie theme, this post is my first for Mixology Monday.  I felt the need to present a sufficiently road tested cocktail.  So last night I played bartender for my book club ladies, a group of women whose feedback on literature, poor life choices, and cocktails is always appreciated.  They are a tough group, and there’s not a cocktail virgin among them, but who doesn’t remember their first time?  After much sipping and discussing, I’m pleased to say this rag-tag group of readers gave the lavender lemonade a unanimous thumbs up.  The virgin version even worked for our mom-to-be in the group, who declared her mocktail “good for the soul.”

Which, I feel, takes lemonade to a whole new level.

Here’s the recipe:

Lavender Lemonade:
1 ½ oz Vodka (preferably citrus flavored)
½ oz Lavender-ginger simple syrup
Mint
Blueberries
Fresh squeezed, or organic lemonade

Prepare in the glass portion of a Boston Shaker so you can see the cocktail as you build it.
Place 3 or 4 medium mint leaves, and 4 to 6 blueberries in the shaker.  Cover with ½ oz of the simple syrup.  Muddle ingredients.  Add ice.  Add 1 ½ oz vodka.  Add 4 oz lemonade.  Shake ingredients.  Pour contents of shaker into a tall glass.  Garnish with mint leaves and a straw.

Lavender-Ginger Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
½ inch slice of ginger cut into thin pieces
1 tsp food quality lavender

Place sugar and water into small pot.  Once the sugar has dissolved all lavender and ginger.  Slowly reduce over low heat for 10 minutes.  Should produce about 1 ½  cups of liquid.  Store in fridge for up to a month.

Looking for a cocktail to serve at your Inauguration party next week?  Try an Obamartini or Biden Beer Bomb. I created these cocktails during the presidential debate season last fall, and they were two of my most popular posts for ’08.  Interest in them seems to be spiking again, so I thought I’d present them together.  Besides having catchy names (if I do say so myself) these cocktails are easy, festive, and in the case of the Obamatini, downright patriotic.

Throw your own Inaugural Ball next Tuesday. Invite friends and family over, huddle around the big screen (while our fellow citizens freeze in DC), and raise a very full glass to the peaceful transfer of power, a new era, and a whole lot of hope.

Fun Party tips:

-Buy a life sized Obama cutout at a party supply store for photo ops.
-Burn a copy of the Inaugural address and loop it all night long.
-Treat your guests to a West Wing Marathon.  Even on mute this series (democratic porn, really) will raise hopes and elevate spirits.

The Obamartini

2 oz original Grey Goose Vodka
1 oz fresh pressed blueberry juice
½ oz simple syrup
¼ oz Chambord
¼ oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
Pour all ingredients over ice into a Boston Shaker
Shake until cold and strain into a martini glass
Skewer blueberry, marshmallow, and piece of strawberry (in that order) onto an olive pick and garnish away.

The Biden Beer Bomb

½ bottle of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat Beer (or beer of your choice.  Wheat beer or hefeweizen works best)
1½ oz Woodford Reserve Bourbon
½ oz Cherry Brandy
¼  oz simple syrup

Run water over beer mug and put in freezer while preparing cocktail.

Place bourbon, cherry brandy, and simple syrup in a Boston shaker with ice.  Shake until cold.
Pour mixture into the bottom of an ice-cold mug.  Add beer to taste.

It’s fall and the mind turns to crisp cool air, fuzzy sweaters, and crackling fires.

Not in LA. Here the October winds are hot and thick, short-shorts are acceptable after labor day, and crackling fires…well, if you check the news, we seem to have that covered.

Having come from the Midwest (and never having been a short-short kind of girl) I miss cold weather, changing leaves, and fire in actual fireplaces.

I’ve been working on a cocktail that captures a little of that fall feeling. I intend to serve it this year at my West Coast Thanksgiving.

I use vodka as the base, add brandy and Licor 43 for a blend of warm flavors that are sweet without being cloying, and top off with a slice of apple.  For the syrup I used a cinnamon cider syrup I found at a specialty food store (pictured below).  It’s a reduction of apple cider, maple syrup, and cinnamon.  You can find specialty syrups like this one all over in October and November.  In a pinch, cinnamon simple syrup works well in this cocktail.  When making simple syrup, add a cinnamon stick as it is simmering for a similar flavor.

Licor 43 is a particularly interesting mixer. A Spanish liqueur with gentle vanilla undertones, it’s made from 43 ingredients (hence the name). Exactly which 43 ingredients is not quite clear –the recipe is a carefully guarded secret which dates back 1000 years.

Autumn Harvest Cocktail
1 ½ oz Grey Goose Vodka
½ oz Licor 43
½ oz Cinnamon Cider Syrup*
½ oz Brandy
¼ oz lemon juice
Apple for garnish

Pour all ingredients into a Boston shaker over ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a slice of apple.

Michigan Ave

Did you spend election night dancing in the streets?    Does your head hurt from all of the excitement?

Well, whether you’ve been screaming in celebration or smashing things in anguish, I have a morning after cocktail “experience” for you – how about a bloody Mary the size of your car?  That’ll fix what ails you….

Stanley’s Kitchen and Tap, has been dishing out soul food in Chicago’s Lincoln Park since 1993.  The place is kitschy watering hole designed to feel like a ramshackle Louisiana shack (the pre-Katrina, Disneyesque version), complete with gingham curtains and Christmas tree  Stanley’s has a full menu, a weekend brunch buffet, and plenty of high tops and big screens for sports watching.  So go ahead and torture yourself with (insert name of Chicago sports team here)  while sipping bourbon, and munching ribs.  If you feel like a little heavy lifting, belly up to their “build your own” Bloody Mary bar for a Bloody Mary experience (yes, I am going to keep calling it that).

You begins with a Big Gulp sized paper cup filled with ice, 3 ½ shots of vodka, and a straw for your sipping convenience.  Next, take the cup to the main bar where you’ll find every Bloody Mary ingredient known to man.  Want Tomato juice?  Clamato?  Both?  There’s plenty of room in that cup, so knock yourself out.  I lumped horseradish, worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco into my cocktail, and finished it off with pickles, and a shake of black pepper.

On the way back to the table I grabbed a heaping plate of fried chicken and waffles, and settled in for one of the most pleasant (if not calorically shameful) breakfasts of my life.

I plan on stealing the “build your own” idea for my next brunch.  Lining up condiments in a thoughtful way is very easy to replicate at home. It’ll get my guests moving, and keep me from playing bartender all day.

Now, how to replicate the fried chicken experience….

Candy Dominoes, delicious treats that won’t threaten your relationship with blue jeans.

I discovered these little guys in the toy section of Jonathan Wright and Company (my favorite stationery shop), and used them as decorations at an adult birthday party.  The nostalgic images are retro in a way that makes grown-ups want to play with them (and play with them), but sturdy enough for a two year old to smash (and smash).

As a game, match the bright, candy tiles end to end until a player wins.  As party decorations, sprinkle them all over the table to whimsical effect.

Can’t get to Jonathan Wright’s in LA?  You can find Eeboo Candy Dominoes at Amazon.com.

To keep the game interesting, play while sipping on a grown-up Root Beer Float.  This cocktail was inspired by the soda fountain feel of the dominoes, and is a great example of how a small design choice can influence the overall theme of an event.

Root Beer Float Cocktail
1 ½ oz Original Grey Goose Vodka
1 oz Root Beer Schnapps
¼ oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
¼ Crème de Cacao
Vanilla Ice Cream
Splash of Cream Soda

Put Vodka, Schnapps, and Root Beer Schnapps in a Boston Shaker over ice.  Shake until chilled. Pour entire contents into a tall glass.  Finish with a splash of cream soda, and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.  (A cookie dough scoop, or melon baller creates the perfect sized scoop for this cocktail.) Add a straw and enjoy!