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Sara’s Purple Passion
A good friend asked me to help create a cocktail for her son and daughter-in-law’s wedding celebration. The groom enjoys whiskey so they served a whiskey ginger ale cocktail which was called “Whiskey Chaser.” Not to be left out, their dog Sarge had a cocktail called “Sarge’s Swamp Water” which was a Bootleg. The bride likes tequila and the color purple so I tried a few different ideas and this is the final recipe I created, which is essentially a bright purple margarita.
If you like the fun purple color, you need to order Butterfly Pea Flower Powder. I ordered mine from Amazon. Mix 1 teaspoon of powder into 4 ounces of blanco tequila. Mix well and then pour through a fine mesh strainer to remove any little pieces of powder that didn’t dissolve. The tequila will be blue, but it will turn purple when you mix it with citrus.
In a glass with ice, combine:
2 parts Sweet & Sour (I don’t typically use a pre-made mix, but asking a venue to make a scratch cocktail in large quantities isn’t practical. You can also use my scratch margarita recipe and by adding the butterfly pea flower powder you will achieve the same bright purple margarita.)
1 part Cointreau or Triple Sec
1 part fresh lime juice
Mix to combine.
Pour 1.5 parts of the butterfly pea flower tequila into the glass and watch the blue tequila turn the drink purple. (If you don’t care about the “show” of watching the drink turn purple you can just add the butterfly pea flower powder to a cocktail shaker with all of the margarita ingredients and ice, then shake well until the powder is dissolved.)
Stir and enjoy.
Cheers to Chase & Sara!
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Italian Strawberry Spritz
We had a delicious, refreshing strawberry spritz at Marina Grande in Sorrento, Italy and I did my best to recreate it. It’s perfect for a summer cocktail party!
Sorrento Italy Two key components of this cocktail are the strawberry infused white vermouth and Italicus.
White Vermouth – this is not the dry vermouth you use in your martini. Look for white vermouth (vermouth blanca or bianco) which has crisp floral and citrus notes. If you have trouble finding white vermouth, Cocchi Americano Bianco is a great substitute in this cocktail.
Italicus – This is an Italian liquor made from herbs. It’s expensive, but there’s really nothing else with a similar profile. (I use Italicus in another delicious cocktail, the Italicus Spritz, if you’re looking for ways to use up the bottle.)
A day or two before you want to make this cocktail, infuse the white vermouth (or Cocchi Americano Bianco) with fresh strawberries. Wash the strawberries, remove the green stems and slice up the strawberries into quarters. Place the strawberries in a large Mason jar and pour the white vermouth over the strawberries. Seal and let sit on the counter for at least 24 hours. Shake every 4 – 6 hours to redistribute the strawberries and help the infusion process. Once the strawberries have lost most of their color and are looking a little mushy, pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, capturing the infused vermouth. (The longer you infuse the strawberries in the vermouth or Cocchi, the pinker your spritz will be.) Pour the strawberry infused vermouth back into the Vermouth bottle or a Mason jar and chill. Discard the strawberries.
Recipe:
1 1/2 parts strawberry infused white vermouth or Cocchi Americano Bianco
1 part Italicus
3 parts processo
1 part club soda
Combine in a wine glass over ice, stir gently, garnish with strawberry slices.
Italian Strawberry Spritz Salud!
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In Conclusion
If you like the cocktail The Last Word, but want something a little lighter, try In Conclusion. Basically, a Last Word with Bubbles.
1/2 oz Gin (I like The Botanist for this drink)
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Luxardo liqueur
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice, strained to remove pulp
Combine the above ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well to chill and strain into a chilled champagne glass.
Top with chilled Prosecco.
Drop a Luxardo cherry in the glass right before serving to limit the loss of bubbles. (Note: do NOT refrigerate Luxardo cherries.)
In Conclusion If making this cocktail for a group, combine the first four ingredients in equal portions in a container with a lid (like a Mason jar) and refrigerate for several hours to chill. Skip the shake with ice, just add two ounces of the chilled gin mixture to each champagne flute and top with Prosecco and a Luxardo cherry.
Cheers!
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Things I Love – #24
Below are some great gift ideas for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries, hostess gifts, etc. (Click photos or the blue text for links.)
Notes to Self socks. I love these inspirational socks. Great for Moms, daughters, sisters, best friends, husbands, yourself… you get the idea.
This is a fun couple’s quiz book. My husband and I just take the quizzes verbally and try to guess each other’s answers. Remember, The Newlywed Game? It’s kind of like that, but with multiple choice and not on live TV.
I love this leather catch-all that says You + Me. It’s cute on a night stand for jewelry, lip balm, change, keys, etc.
Leather catch-all Silk pillowcases are supposed to help with break-outs, wrinkles and even bedhead. Make sure you get 100% silk and wash it inside a delicates laundry bag, then hang to dry.
Silk pillowcase This cocktail making set is great for someone who likes to make Manhattans, Old Fashioneds or other cocktails that require stirring instead of shaking. This set comes with everything you need.
Crystal Cocktail Set An assortment of bitters also makes a great gift for the bourbon and whiskey connoisseur.
Woodford Reserve Bitters This Pure Fiji coconut sugar scrub was at the Fiji resort we went to for my 50th birthday. Luckily, I don’t have to travel to Fiji every time I need to restock. This scrub is great for dry winter skin and it smells like the beach.
Pure Fiji Sugar Scrub Everyone with an Apple Watch could use a new band once in a while. I love these sport loop bands in fun colors.
Apple Watch Sport Loop Band A flowering bulb garden is great to help friends (or yourself) get through the gloomy winter months.
Bulb Garden Don’t forget the pets. Amazon has so many great dog toys. Our son’s golden, Bo, is a chewer and goes through toys at an alarming rate – even the “aggressive chewer” toys – so we have new dog toys arriving regularly. (Our daughter’s dog, Frito, gets regular Amazon toy shipments from me as well.)
No Stuffing Squeaky Plush Dog Toys 
You can put an empty water bottle inside this toy. Bo loves it! 
Outward Hound Invincible Dog Toys – so far so good… What are some of your go-to gift ideas?
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Click on the three lines to the left of the word “lifestyle” at the top of this page and enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Also, follow me on Instagram at cocktailsandgratitude for photos of cocktails, flowers, my pets and, eventually, more travel.
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Rosemary Hibiscus Gin Spritz
I had leftover Hibiscus Rosemary Concentrate from my New Year’s Eve Hibiscus champagne cocktail, so I created this new Spritz. Remember, there are three basic ingredients for a spritz: liquor / liqueur, bubbles and soda. You can always add additional ingredients to create more complex flavors, as I’ve done below. (Click blue words for more recipes or additional information.)
Add to a cocktail shaker:
2 oz of your favorite herbal gin (I used The Botanist)
1 oz Rosemary Hibiscus Concentrate (recipe below photo) If you’re not a fan of hibiscus or just don’t want to make the concentrate, try the cocktail without the concentrate. I bet it’s delicious!
1 1/2 oz St Germain Elderflower Liqueur (this liqueur compliments gin nicely, add a splash to your gin and tonic or gin and soda)
Fill shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a large wine or water goblet with fresh ice cubes, then top with:
4 oz Prosecco (I used LaMarca)
2 oz club soda
Stir gently. Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary. (Rub the rosemary between your fingers before adding to release the oils.)
Cheers!
Hibiscus Gin Spritz Hibiscus Rosemary Concentrate. If you can find hibiscus flowers that’s great, (available on Amazon) but if not, just pick up a container of natural hibiscus tea at the grocery store. The Republic of Tea is a good brand.
- Boil 1 1/2 cups of water
- Add 1/4 cup of hibiscus flowers or several tea bags and a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary
Let steep for at least 10 minutes until the concentrate is a dark red.
Strain out the flowers and rosemary, discard. Refrigerate the concentrated tea for up to one week. (If you have any leftover concentrate, try it in the Hibiscus margarita or the Hibiscus Champagne Cocktail.)
For a non-alcoholic drink with the hibiscus concentrate try: 1 oz fresh lemon juice, 1 oz Hibiscus concentrate and 5 ounces of club soda over ice.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn money from qualifying purchases.
Click on the three lines to the left of the word “lifestyle” at the top of this page and enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Also, follow me on Instagram at cocktailsandgratitude for photos of cocktails, flowers, my pets and, eventually, more travel.
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New Year’s Eve Champagne Cocktails
Below are a few tips to help you prepare the best champagne cocktail.
- Chill your glass in the freezer for 5 – 10 minutes while you gather your ingredients and open your champagne. (Heat is the enemy of carbonation.)
- Since none of these drinks are served over ice, chill all ingredients in the fridge for several hours before making your cocktails.
- Freshly squeeze all citrus and strain to remove any bits of pulp. Chill.
The basic ingredients of a champagne cocktail usually includes:
- a bitter or sweet liqueur
- a flavor accent, if you used a bitter for the first step this step will mostly likely be sweet
- Champagne or Prosecco
Champagne Cocktail Liqueurs and Accents Once you understand the basic components, have fun and create your own cocktail. Below are a few options to get you started.
Classic Champagne Cocktail The Classic Champagne Cocktail
1 sugar cube
Angostura aromatic bitters
5 oz Champagne
Place the sugar cube in the bottom of a chilled champagne flute. Dash bitters onto the sugar cube until soaked. Top with champagne. This is a classic party drink because it’s quick to make and the sugar makes the champagne fizz.
Kir Royale Kir Royale
1/2 ounce black currant liqueur (Creme de Cassis)
5 oz Champagne
Luxardo cherry (do not chill or the syrup will crystalize)
Pour the chilled liqueur into the chilled champagne glass. Top with champagne. Garnish with a Luxardo cherry.
Cocchi Champagne Cocktail Cocchi Champagne Cocktail
1 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz Orange simple syrup (see below)
5 oz Champagne or Prosecco
Combine in a chilled champagne flute. Garnish with an orange slice or a fresh orange peel.
Orange Simple Syrup
Simmer in a saucepan for 5 – 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup of sugar
- The peel from 1 orange and 1 lemon (try to include as little white part (pith) as possible since that will give your syrup a bitter taste)
- Juice from the orange you just zested
Strain out the peels, discard. Refrigerate the citrus simple syrup for up to one week.
Hibiscus Champagne Cocktail Hibiscus Champagne Cocktail
1 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz Hibiscus rosemary concentrate (see below)
5 oz Champagne or Prosecco
Combine in chilled champagne flute. Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary.
Hibiscus Rosemary Concentrate. If you can find hibiscus flowers that’s great, (available on Amazon) but if not, just pick up a container of natural hibiscus tea at the grocery store. The Republic of Tea is a good brand.
- Boil 1 1/2 cups of water
- Add 1/4 cup of hibiscus flowers or several tea bags and a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary
Let steep for at least 10 minutes until the concentrate is a dark red.
Strain out the flowers and discard. Refrigerate the concentrated tea for up to one week. (If you have any leftover concentrate, try it in the Hibiscus margarita.)
Cherry Champagne Cocktail Cherry Champagne Cocktail
Luxardo cherries (do not chill or the syrup will crystalize)
1 oz Cherry liqueur (I used Heering 200)
Fresh lemon juice
5 oz Champagne or Prosecco
Drop a Luxardo cherry in the bottom of a chilled champagne coupe or flute. Use a spoon to drizzle a tablespoon of Luxardo syrup in the glass. Top with 1 oz cherry liqueur and a few drops of fresh squeezed lemon juice, then top with Champagne or Prosecco. Garnish with a lemon wheel or lemon peel.
Sorbet Champagne Float Sorbet Champagne Float
Sorbet
Raspberries or blackberries
Champagne
Place a ball of sorbet in a chilled coupe, top with champagne and berries. Serve with a spoon. You could even serve this for dessert, just use a chilled dessert dish and increase the size of the sorbet scoop.
Aperol Spritz I can’t forget the classic, Aperol Spritz.
For the person who just wants a glass of champagne, consider adding a few pomegranate seeds and watch them dance on the bubbles.
Cheers and Happy New Year!
Comment below with your favorite bubbly cocktail. I’m always looking for new ideas.
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Limoncello & Prosecco
This is a simple and refreshing cocktail that you can easily transport for a porch / patio happy hour. When we were invited to a friend’s house for a porch happy hour I packed my cooler with a bag of ice, a bottle of Prosecco and a mason jar of limoncello, along with my favorite “Mama’s Happy” glass, of course.
1 part limoncello (use your favorite brand, I’m fortunate enough to have a son who makes homemade limoncello)
3 parts Prosecco
Serve over ice and top with fresh berries and a lemon slice.
Now that the spring weather started cooperating, we recently started having one or two friends over for patio happy hours. Two weekends ago one friend came completely prepared and has now been awarded the “World’s Best Covid-19 Happy Hour Guest in recognition of Impressive self-reliance with style and flair.” How do you win such an award you ask? Well, you bring everything you may possibly need to prepare your own drinks… with matching glassware. He started with a beautiful crystal cut glass, ice and Blanton’s bourbon. Impressive start. He then reached into his cooler of tricks for a beer with a matching logo glass. To finish the happy hour, he pulled out a different imported beer and, you guessed it, another matching chilled glass. Impressive!
What is your Covid-19 happy hour style?
Limoncello & Prosecco Click on the three lines to the left of the word “lifestyle” at the top of this page and enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Also, follow me on Instagram at cocktailsandgratitude for photos of cocktails, flowers, my pets and, someday soon, more travel.
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Book (and Cocktail) Recommendations
While everyone’s travel has come to a halt, consider ordering or downloading a book set in a beautiful, fun destination – maybe some place you’ve always wanted to visit. And, since almost everyone is looking forward to happy hour right now, I’ve suggested a cocktail to go with each location!
Nantucket / Martha’s Vineyard: read with a Nantucket Spritz (1 oz tequila, 1 oz Cointreau, 2 oz blood orange juice, 2 oz champagne – chill ingredients, combine and serve in a champagne glass)
The Nantucket Spritz photo and recipe from The Kachet Life The Nantucket Inn by Pamela Kelly (the first of four books in the Nantucket Beach Plum series) – In the first book Lisa Hodges decides to turn her large, waterfront home into a bed and breakfast.
Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand (the first of two books in the Paradise series) – All of Elin’s books are based in Nantucket and I’ve enjoyed them all.
A Beautiful Place to Die: Martha’s Vineyard Mystery #1 by Philip R. Craig – If you’re more of a mystery book reader, this is a nineteen-book series.
Italy: read with a glass of Italian red wine, or an Aperol Spritz (recipe here)
Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes – If you enjoyed the movie, you’ll love the book.
A Vineyard in Tuscany by Ferenc Máté – A very entertaining read about Ferenc and his wife, Candace, restoring a thirteenth-century friary, planting a vineyard and building a winery.
Living in a Foreign Language by Michael Tucker – Remember “L.A. Law” stars Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry? This book details their ups and downs buying and renovating a 350-year-old house while trying to learn Italian.
France: read with a glass of well-chilled French rosé, or a French 75 (recipe here)
A Riviera Retreat by Jennifer Bohnet – Jennifer has numerous books based in the French Riviera, all quick easy reads that will have you pulling up a map to see exactly how close Cannes, Antibes, Nice and Monaco are located. I’m definitely adding The French Riviera to my list of future travels.
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle – Peter recounts the highlights of living in a 200-year-old farmhouse at the base of the Lubéron Mountains. If you enjoy Peter’s writing style, he has numerous books based in Provence.
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald – If you’re looking to read a classic set in The French Riviera this book is often seen as a follow-up to The Great Gatsby.
Leave a comment with the books you’re reading now. I’m always looking for more suggestions.
Cheers and happy reading!
Click on the three lines to the left of the word “lifestyle” at the top of this page and enter your email address to receive notifications by email when I post something new on this blog. Also, follow me on Instagram at cocktailsandgratitude for photos of cocktails, flowers, my pets and, someday soon, more travel.
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Suja Margarita
I had trouble coming up with a name for this margarita… “Yummy Margarita” seemed a little subjective. I’m pretty sure the alcohol offsets any of the probiotic properties of the Suja, but trust me when I say it’s too tasty to care.
1 1/2 ounces Patron Silver or tequila of your choice
1 ounce Cointreau
1 ounce fresh lime juice (If I’m juicing multiple limes, I’ll juice 1 lemon as well to make an unsweetened sour mix.)
2 – 3 ounces Suja Vibrant Probiotic (Ingredients include strawberry, raspberry, tart cherry and lemon juice.)
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Salt the rim (if desired) of a tall glass and fill with crushed ice. Strain over the crushed ice.
For those of you who haven’t discovered Suja juices yet, you can find them in the refrigerated fresh juice section / produce area of Target or Whole Foods.
Cheers!
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Aperol Spritz
I had my first Aperol Spritz in Sidney, Australia in 2017 and it quickly became one of my favorite light cocktails. Aperol is an Italian bitter; if it’s too bitter for you, add more Prosecco.3 parts Prosecco (I use La Marca)
2 parts Aperol
1 part club soda
Orange peelThis is an easy one… combine all ingredients in a large wine glass or water goblet filled with ice.
Garnish with an orange peel. (And, if you love green olives, try one in your spritz.)
Cheers!