Poinsettia Cocktail

Champagne
1/2 oz. Cointreau
3 oz. Cranberry Juice

Add chilled Cointreau and Cranberry to chilled champagne glass. Stir and top with Champagne just before serving.

Spice it up with by adding 1 oz. of Vodka
For a non-alcoholic version, use Ginger Ale in place of Champagne and Cointreau.

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It smells exactly like bubble gum — think Hubba Bubba or Bubblicious. It tastes like sugar-free bubble gum. Not until it gets to about the Adam’s Apple does the candy flavor stop and the warm vodka feeling kick in.

I found myself wanting to chew. Seriously, there must be a gum-chewing center of the brain and this vodka triggers it.

Would I recommend it? If the idea of drinking alcohol that tastes exactly like bubble gum sounds delicious to you, then I absolutely would recomend it. You won’t be disappointed. It delivers. If the thought makes you cringe, then skip it. (If your childhood dental hygenist used bubble gum flavored polish during your cleanings, this could trigger some dentist memories for you.)

Three Olives Bubble seems destined for the shot glass. As with real gum, it’s hard to imagine pairing this with other flavors. Three Olives suggests mixing with lemon-lime soda or an energy drink or gingerale with cranberry.

If you try this one, let us know what you think!
Three Olives Vodka

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Happy Holidays!

Golden Gate Persimmon Cocktail

2 oz. Square One Organic Vodka
2 oz. Persimmon Puree

Place vodka and puree in a shaker with crushed ice.  Shake vigorously for 30 seconds.  Strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Persimmon Puree

4 Fuyu persimmons, chopped
1 fresh vanilla bean, split down the middle to open
2 tbsp. crystallized ginger, cut into small cubes
Pinch of nutmeg
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups water
Juice of 1 lemon

In a medium-sized stock pot, melt sugar over medium to medium-high heat until amber/golden brown, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.  Remove from heat and pour water slowly down the sides of the pot.  Return to medium-high heat and cook until sugar is melted again, stirring occasionally.  Once completely melted again, add chopped persimmons, vanilla bean and crystallized ginger.  Cook on medium-low heat for about 2 hours, or until persimmons are completely soft and liquid is reduced by almost half.  Add pinch of nutmeg and stir in.  Remove from heat and cool. Once cooled, remove vanilla bean, scrape any remaining pulp from inside bean and put into mixture. Discard vanilla bean pod.  Pour lemon juice into mixture then puree all liquid and solids in a blender or food processor until finely pureed. Strain out solids and use liquid for the cocktail.

Recipe courtesy Square One Vodka, credit to Allison Evanow
Beautiful photo from Food Librarian, who loves persimmon as much as me and shares some other recipes
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Skyy Vodka supplied the cocktails created and served by several of San Francisco’s top mixologists.

The weekend was a wonder of gastronimic delight. It started with rooftop party at The Hotel Vitale, followed by a dinner of SF street food at the Ferry Building. And that was just Friday, the next day began with brunch at the Ferry Building Farmers Market.

Next, it was on to the afternoon tasting at City View Room in the Metreon, imagine a room awash with cocktails, micro-brews, amazing food and products. That night, Greenleaf Produce Warehouse hosted a dinner and awards ceremony. The event wrapped up with a nice Sunday brunch, complete with a DIY Bloody Mary Bar, which came in handy after Saturday night.

At the Metreon we ran into Dominic, who was shaking up batches of a savory cocktail called the “Dolce Rosso”. Made with muddled SKYY Vodka, Mezzetta roasted peppers, fresh strawberries, fresh basil, agave nectar, orange juice and spices, the Dolce Rosso comes out a dark orange or red depending on strawberry content. The peppers and basil give it quite a savory kick that plays well with sweetness of the strawberries.

Take a look as Dominic makes the Dolche Rosso in this video.

I’m working on getting the exact recipe, stay tuned…

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Drink up, the Earth needs you to! Now when you drink, you can say you’re doing it to help the environment.

Finlandia has some specially marked bottles that can be redeemed for a donation to plant one tree in your honor, through non-profit Trees for the Future. So drinking one bottle of vodka means adding one more tree to the planet.

In stores, look for bottles of Finlandia original, lime, mango, wild berries, grapefruit, and tangerine vodkas with pictures of trees on them. This promotion runs through the end of the month.

Finlandia Vodka
Trees for the Future
Via Mother Earth News

Texan Hot Chocolate

1 oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka
1/2 oz Paula’s Texas Orange Liqueur
1/3 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2-1 teaspoon Sugar to taste
8 oz Whole Milk
Marshmallows
A Fresh Orange

Combine Paula’s Texas Orange, chocolate chips, sugar and milk in a pot and bring to a slow boil over low-medium heat as to not burn the Milk. Remove from heat and add Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Pour into favorite coffee/cocoa/tea mug and top with marshmallows. Garnish with an orange twist and shaved/grated chocolate

Created by Russell Davis, Peche
Recipe & photo courtesy Tito’s Handmade Vodka
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1 tsp brown sugar
1 part lemon juice
1 part Bacardi Oro
1 part Bacardi 151
1 part 42BELOW Passionfruit
1 part unsweetened pineapple juice
1 part fresh lime juice
1 part Passionfruit syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters

Dissolve sugar and lemon juice, then add all other ingredients and shake well with crushed ice. Pour entire contents into a Collins glass and garnish with lime wedge.

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Recipe & photo courtesy 42 Below Vodka

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Berry Scary Sour

2 oz Belvedere IX
4 blueberries
½ oz ginger syrup
Dash lemon juice

Muddle berries with the ginger syrup and add Belvedere IX.  Shake with cubed ice and strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass.  Garnish with Aperol foam - ingredients and recipe below.

Aperol Foam Recipe

500g 100% Pressed Pomegranate juice
230g Aperol
100g cold water
60g simple syrup (1:1)
6.5 sheets gelatine (200 bloom count)
Simple syrup (combine 200g of white sugar with 200g boiling water.  Sitr until sugar is fully dissolved.  Cool in fridge.)

Soak gelatine sheets in cold water for 5 minutes.  In a separate bowl add all remaining ingredients and mix well.  Fine strain out any bits of pith as these will clog up the siphon.  Heat gelatine and 1/3 of the mix on stovetop but do not boil.  Take off heat, combine with remaining mixture.  Mix thoroughly. Pour into soda siphon and charge with NO2.  Chill in fridge.

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Recipe and photo courtesy of Belvedere Vodka

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Trick or Treat!

Jack-O-Lantern

2 oz. SKYY Infusions Citrus
1 oz. Mango Nectar or Juice
1/2 oz. Orange Juice
1/2oz. Fresh Sour*
 
Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake vigorously and pour into a goblet glass and garnish with a slice of orange and a mint leaf laid flat on top.
*Combine 1/4 oz fresh lime juice and 3/4 oz simple syrup.

Vampire’s Elixir

1 1/2 oz. SKYY Infusions Raspberry
3/4 oz. White Chocolate Liqueur
1 oz. Half and Half
Strawberry Syrup

Dress strawberry syrup on the inside and rim of a chilled martini glass.  Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass.  Garnish with vampire teeth.

Black Widow

1 1/2 oz. SKYY Infusions Raspberry
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
2 oz. Pomegranate Juice
Squeeze of Fresh Lemon Juice
Raspberry Syrup

Draw a spider web on the inside of a chilled martini glass with raspberry syrup.  Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into chilled martini glass.  Garnish with plastic spider.

Red Zombie

1 1/2 oz. SKYY Vodka
3 oz. Tomato Juice
1/2 tsp. Finely Grated Horseradish
1 tsp. Barbeque Sauce
3 Dashes Worcestershire Sauce
3 Dashes Tabasco Sauce
1/2 tsp. Finely Chopped Chipotle en Adobo
Pinch of Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Generous Squeeze of Lemon Juice
Pinch of Celery Seeds
1 Celery Stick
2 Large Green Olives
2 Lychee Fruits
 
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass.  Garnish with green eye balls, laid across the rim of the glass*.
*Cut the end of a stalk of celery so it measures 5-6 inches long and split the stick in half lengthwise.  Slide the green olives into two lychee fruits to make eye balls and push the thin celery stick through both as garnish.

Wicked Witch Apple Punch

1 750 ml bottle SKYY Infusions Passion Fruit
1 750 ml bottle Sparkling Apple Cider
1 64 oz. bottle Cranberry Juice Cocktail
1 Liter Ginger Ale
2 cups Pineapple Juice
Red Apple Slices
 
Combine all ingredients in a large black witch’s cauldron with ice and stir.  Garnish with large slices of red apple floating on top and dry ice.

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courtesy Skyy Infusions

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Spider’s Kiss

1 oz. Midori melon liqueur
1 oz. vodka
Squeeze of fresh Lemon
Grenadine (optional)
Chocolate syrup

Draw a chocolate web into a cocktail glass. Place in freezer and chill. Shake Midori, vodka and lemon juice and strain into glass. For a blood effect, drizzle grenadine down the side of the glass. Garnish with a chocolate-dipped orange slice.

Recipe created by Mixologist Victoria D’Amato-Moran
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Courtesy of Midori