This is a variation on a punch (inspired by this recipe) I had a New Year’s Eve party this year, hosted by Savvy Housekeeping. I figured since it was a great way to ring in the New Year, a little touch of lavender would make it a great way to celebrate the coming of Spring.

Sparkling Spring Punch

4 bottle dry sparkling wine
1 bottle cognac
1 cup Maraschino liqueur
1 cup Loft Lavender liqueur
1/2 cup fresh tangerine juice

Combine all ingredients in a punch bowl. Fill a bundt pan or large metal bowl with water and fruit slices, then freeze. Use warm water to loosen it, then put the large ice block in your punch bowl. The larger ice will melt more slowly while still keeping your punch cold. Alternatively, you could put ice in the individual serving cups.

Optional: add several dashes of Angostura bitters

MxMo XLVII Roundup

Irish Sour

1 ½ oz. Beefeater 24 Gin
2/3 oz. Suze
2/3 oz. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
½ oz. Yellow Chartreuse
2 barspoons Monin Green Tea Syrup
1 whole fresh egg white

Shake ingredients over ice and strain into an ice-filled glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Courtesy of Pernod Ricard

This week’s drink was created by Kim Haasarud of Liquid Architecture. The cocktail, Moët’s “Golden Glamour” signature cocktail, will be served on the red carpet and inside of the Governor’s Ball.

It’s simple and delicious, made with a bit of passion fruit juice, a splash of vanilla liqueur for an exotic flavor, topped with Moët & Chandon Imperial, and finished with a sprig of mint.

Golden Glamour

4 oz. Moët & Chandon Imperial Champagne
1/4 oz. Navan
1 1/2 oz. Passion Fruit Juice

Combine all ingredients in a champagne coupe. Top with fresh sprig of mint for garnish.

courtesy Moët & Chandon

more Oscar Cocktails
more drink of the week cocktails

The brands have been busy creating new cocktails you can share with your sweetie.

Tongue Tied

1 1/2 oz. X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
1 1/2 oz. SKYY Infusions Cherry
Splash of Grenadine

Shake X-Rated and SKYY Infusions Cherry over ice. Strain into a martini glass. Slowly add a dash of Grenadine so that it sinks to the bottom.
Garnish with a cherry with a knotted stem.

Hopeless RomantiX

1 1/2 oz. X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
2 oz. Prosecco or Champagne
1/4 oz. Lemon Juice
1/4 oz. Orange (1 wedge)
1/4 oz. Pineapple (a few chunks)

Muddle pineapple, orange and lemon. Add prosecco and X-Rated Fusion
Liqueur. Strain and serve in a highball glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

X-Rated Passion

2 oz. X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
2 oz. SKYY Infusions Passion Fruit
Splash of Club Soda

Serve on the rocks and garnish with a lime.

Love EliXir

1 oz. X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
1 1/2 oz. SKYY Vodka
1 oz. Orange Juice
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz. Grenadine

Serve on the rocks and garnish with a lemon twist.

The SKYY Violet

Created by Jon Gasparini of Rye on the Road

1 1/2 oz. SKYY Vodka
3/4 oz. Creme de Violette
3 oz. Dry Sparkling Wine (such as Drusian Prosecco)
3 dashes Fee Brothers or Angostura Orange Bitters

Stir SKYY Vodka, Orange Bitters and Creme de Violette with ice. Strain into Champagne coup or flute and top with Prosecco. Top with zest of an orange and garnish with orange twist.

Love Letter

Created by Adam Wilson of Beretta

1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
3/4 oz. Cointreau
1/4 oz. Maple Syrup (should be 1:1 with water)
1/4 oz. Small Hand Grenadine
3 dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters

Shake. Add Soda. Pour over ice in highball. Garnish with a lime zest.

Honest Kiss-tini
Only 90 calories!

1 oz. Vodka
3 oz. Honest Ade - Cranberry Lemonade
A dash of lime juice.

Combine in a mixing glass with ice. Stir with a bar spoon (about a minute) and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

American Rose

1 1/2 oz. Brandy
1/8 oz. Grenadine
1/2 oz. Peach (peeled and mashed)
1/8 oz. Pernod Absinthe
Champagne to top

Shake ingredients (excluding Champagne) and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Top with champagne. Optional garnish-peach slice.

recipes & photos courtesy Skyy Spirits, Campari, Honest Tea & Pernod Absinthe

Hence this delightful cocktail we created in collaboration with our friend Savvy Housekeeping! The result has the satisfying kick of a gin martini with some added layers of flavor.

Green Tea and Ginger Cocktail

1 1/2 oz gin (we used Tru Gin)
1 oz Ginger Liqueur
3/4 oz green tea, brewed
Lots of ice
Lemon for garnish

Brew 1 tea bag in 1 cup of water. Combine 3/4 ounce of tea with gin, ginger liqueur, and ice in a cocktail shaker. Swirl the cocktail in the shaker until it is cold. Fill a martini glass with ice. Pour in the cocktail and garnish with a slice of lemon.

Photo credit Savvy Housekeeping

When you see maraschino liqueur in the ingredients, don’t think of those neon-red cherries that never go bad! It’s actually a liqueur made from real cherries, pit and all, that has a light nutty flavor.

Pearaschino

1 1/2 oz. Bourbon
1 oz. Maraschino liqueur
1/2 oz. pear syrup
roughly 1 oz. ginger ale

In a shaker, combine the bourbon, maraschino liqueur, and pear syrup. Shake thoroughly with ice. Strain into a martini glass and top with ginger ale, about 1 oz. Garnish with a cherry.

Pear Syrup

2 pears
1 c sugar
2 c water
2 Tbs vodka (optional)

First, cut up the pears. Combine them with the sugar and water in a pot on the stove. Boil for about 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the syrup has a strong pear flavor.

Strain the pears from the syrup (you can also save the pears and use as an excellent topping on ice cream, yogurt, etc.). Transfer the syrup to a bottle. If you want it to last longer, add a little vodka to the syrup.

more drink of the weekcocktails

My favorite Irish Cheddar, spiked with whiskey or ale is pictured below:

Among the thousands of products on hand there was plenty for the bar. We found garnishes, rimmers, buckets of margaritas, syrups, fresh juices and even a hangover cure from France.

In the French pavilion, we even found the P&M whisky range (pictured). Distilled in Corsica, P&M makes two blends and a single malt.

Among the rows and rows of enthusiastic entrepreneurs I kept finding hidden cocktail culture gems. It was truly an International experience with Pisco from Peru, espresso infused Sambuca from Italy, and a hangover cure from France.

I discovered a Sence Rose Nectar, Q Tonic - a natural Quinine tonic sweetened with agave nectar, and chocolates filled with Jack Daniels, Baileys or Jose Cuervo. There were also several mass produced ‘cocktail’ mixes and kits that seem to glow. At least the Appletini tasted ‘like’ apple.

For the first time this year, The Fancy Food Show featured a Craft Brewers Pavilion with some great beers from the 21st Amendment, Stone Brewing, Sam Adams (yep that one) and Kona Brewing. Shockingly, this was one popular spot!

Garnishes and rimmers were popular. I found a nice array of pickled veggies and some boozy one’s as well. I even found “real” maraschino cherries, sans electric red coloring! On the chocolate front we found a neat little product the ‘choc-tail’ sipper, essentially a straw filled with chocolate beads. Made by local chocolate maker Bridge Brand, a drinker sips a drink and the chocolate adds flavor to the it.

Even with all this food, I found that I got quite a workout walking the endless aisles of amazing culinary products.

National Asociation for the Specialty Food Trade

Italian Toddy

1 oz. Tuaca
1 Cup Apple Cider (heated)
Whipped Cream
Nutmeg or Cinnamon

Heat apple cider in a pan and our into a footed mug. Add the Tuaca, put a dollop of Whipped Cream on top, and then add a dash of Nutmeg or Cinnamon.

more Hot Drinks …
more Drink of the Week recipes

Being New Year’s Day we thought we’d need a little jump start, so we choose this simple drink of Benedictine and milk. The cognac based liqueur was originally created as pick me up for tired Benedictine Monks. It’s closely guarded recipe of 27 herbs and spices is also very soothing, even more so when combined with Milk. Served hot or cold, I think we could all use a little Milk & Honey today.

Milk & Honey

1 1/2 oz. ( ~50 ml) Benedictine
Milk

Cold: Pour Benedictine into a mug, add ice, and top up with cold milk. Garnish with a slice of orange and cinnamon
Hot: Top Benedictine off with hot milk.

photo courtesy of Benedictine

Well that’s it 2009 is almost a wrap, but not before we have a few cocktails first. As always Drink of the Week has some clever new cocktails for your enjoyment. First, a couple of cocktails for New Year’s Eve. Start with the New Year’s Sparkler and then just around midnight switch to the Midnight Kick for just that. A bit of tequila will keep the night going strong. On New Year’s Day you can start working on you 2010 resolutions, we have a few cocktail themed solutions. Booze will definitely make them easier to keep.

New Year’s Sparkler

Infuse passion into the New Year with a classic cocktail with SKYY Infusions Passion Fruit, fresh juice and raspberries. The New Year’s Sparkler is an easy way to spice up your champagne flute this New Year’s Eve. Even better? This cocktail is a smart, low calorie option to help you get started on your New Year’s resolutions.

1 oz. SKYY Infusions Passion Fruit
1.5 oz. Pomegranate Juice
3.5 oz. Champagne
5-6 Raspberries

Combine SKYY Infusions Passion Fruit and pomegranate juice in a chilled champagne flute and top with champagne. Garnish with raspberry tree.*

*Slide 5-6 raspberries onto long skewer and place vertically in champagne glass.

Midnight Kick

2 oz. Cabo Añejo Tequila
Orange Slice
Cinnamon

Wet the rim of a chilled shot glass with the orange slice. Then rim the shot glass with powdered cinnamon on a plate. Be careful not to turn the glass right side up until it has been rimmed. The orange liquid will drip otherwise. Shake the Cabo Tequila with ice in a shaker and strain into the chilled shot glass. Slam the shot and then bite into the orange slice to finish.

Learn A Foreign Language

Celebrate 2010 with the hottest drink in Scandinavia, which is now available in the U.S., Xanté. This pear-infused Cognac liqueur is a super premium spirit, from Sweden; made of high quality, all-natural ingredients containing no artificial additives. Xanté and is best served neat and as a super premium shot.

We suggest: The Ritual
A super premium shot cooled over a bed of ice. Simply chill Xanté, pour and consume.

Travel To A New Place

Take your yearly vacation to the next level with an exciting jolt of volcano surfing, beaching, touring the rainforest and sipping world-class rum. The hottest tourist destination right now, heating up Latin America is Nicaragua – and now’s the best time to book a vacation your family won’t soon forget.

We suggest: The One Good Pinch Punch

1 seedless Watermelon
One good pinch of Cayenne pepper
4 Sugar cubes
1 oz. Lime juice
2 oz. Flor de Caña year
1 oz Club soda

Method: Dissolve the sugar cubes in 1 oz. of club soda. Add and muddle several 1-inch pieces of watermelon. Finally, add the rest of the ingredients one at a time and stir as added. Chill.

Recipe can be multiplied to fill a traditional punch bowl.

Created by Phil Ward of Mayahuel, NYC

Try Something New

Don’t be afraid to stop into that new-fangled cheese shop around the corner, spend an afternoon at the museum, or take a sip of absinthe.
Lucid absinthe is the brand that lifted the absinthe ban in America three years ago and is a robust flavorful spirit, available nationwide for everyone to try.
On 12/31, we suggest: Traditional absinthe louching favored by green fairy enthusiasts Oscar Wilde, Vincent Van Gogh, and Picasso

Pour 2 oz. of Lucid in a glass. Top with slotted spoon and sugar cube. Slowly pour water over sugar cube until dissolved. Stir and enjoy.

Do Something Good For Yourself – Without Hitting The Gym

We are not suggesting that you skip the gym – we are simply leading you towards a “better way to drink” with VeeV, the world’s first acai spirit. VeeV is packed with antioxidants and $1 of every bottle sold goes back to the Brazilian rain forest.

We suggest: The VeeV Eco-Aid

1 ½ ounces VeeV Açaí Spirit, Lemonade, Splash of Cranberry.
Garnish with the lemon slice.

Entertain Without Breaking Your Wallet

Even though times are tough and every penny counts, you still have to celebrate the New Year, and nothing beats a fantastic sparkling cocktail.

Bombay Sapphire is a great premium gin by value and we absolutely love it with some delicious bubbly. In this case, we’re digging a fabulous Cremant D’ Alsace (super affordable – about $20). More Champagne Picks

We suggest: A classic French 75

¾ oz. Bombay Sapphire.
½ oz. lemon juice.
½ oz. simple syrup.
Top with Cremant D’ Alsace