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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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Italicus Spritz
This is one of my favorite cocktails at RPM Italian in Chicago. The special ingredient is the Italian liqueur Italicus. Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto is a blend of bergamot peel, Cedro lemons, chamomile, lavender, gentian, yellow roses and Melissa balm. An aromatic and lightly spicy liqueur which balances honeyed sweetness with rooty bitterness. It can be difficult to find (and it’s a little expensive) but if you want to duplicate this drink, it’s an essential ingredient.
Add to a cocktail shaker filled with ice:
1 oz fresh lime juice
2 oz Monkey 47 Gin
1 1/2 oz Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto
A small pinch of sea salt
Italicus Spritz: Prosecco, Monkey 47 gin, Italicus Shake well and strain into a large goblet with ice cubes and top with:
4 oz of LaMarca Prosecco or your favorite brand
2 oz of club soda
Stir gently.
RPM garnishes their Spritz with a lime peel but I saw several Italicus recipes that suggested garnishing with green olives. So, if you like green olives, give that a try.
Italicus Spritz Cheers!
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Hibiscus Rhubarb Spritz
I love Spritz Cocktails in the summer. The basic ingredients of a Spritz are Prosecco, club soda and one or two additional ingredients for flavor. Since rhubarb season is here, I created this Spritz using rhubarb. Try the recipe below, my Aperol Spritz recipe or just grab a bottle of Prosecco and club soda and create your own Spritz flavors with other liquors or bitters you might have on hand. I’ll be posting more Spritz cocktail recipes throughout the summer.
Hibiscus Rhubarb Concentrate
4 c Rhubarb
1/2 c dried Hibiscus flowers
3 1/2 c Water
2 T Truvia or 1/3 cup sugar
1 lime, use a potato peeler or zester to peel the skin off the lime, try to get as little pith (the white part) as possible (juice the lime and save the juice for a different cocktail)
Before simmering Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to boil. Turn the heat down to simmer. Put on the lid and simmer for 30 minutes until the rhubarb is mushy and the water is dark red.
After simmering Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Pour / ladle into a fine mesh strainer to remove the sediment. Store the concentrate in a small covered pitcher or jar. The concentrate is good for two weeks in the fridge.
Note: I don’t really like sweet cocktails, so I tried making my concentrate without sugar and the rhubarb was way too tart. Taste the concentrate before taking it off the heat to see if you need to add more sugar.
Hibiscus Rhubarb Spritz
1 oz Aviation gin or your favorite brand
1 oz Hibiscus Rhubarb Concentrate
4 oz LaMarca Prosecco
2 oz Q club soda
Add all ingredients to a large wine goblet filled with ice. Mix well. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Hibiscus Rhubarb Spritz Non-alcoholic Hibiscus Rhubarb Lemonade
1 oz Hibiscus Rhubarb Concentrate
4 oz lemonade
2 oz club soda
Add all ingredients to a large wine goblet filled with ice. Mix well. Garnish with a lemon wheel.
Cheers!
If you have a favorite Spritz cocktail, leave your recipe in the comments below.
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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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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Berry Vodka Soda
I like this drink, because it reminds me of the canned hard seltzer drinks, except it tastes much better! It’s refreshing, not too sweet and low calorie. Note: It does take 3 – 7 days to infuse your vodka so you need to plan ahead. However, once the vodka is infused it lasts indefinitely; so I would suggest making up a jar of berry vodka whenever you have a cup of extra berries.
Step 1: Make the berry vodka
1 cup of berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cranberries, etc.)
1 cup of vodka
Place your berries into a glass jar with a lid and pour in 1 cup of vodka.
If you want to get creative, add citrus zest, fresh herbs or a split vanilla bean to add additional flavors. Just make sure the vodka completely covers all of your add-ins.
Put the lid on your jar, give it a shake and place on a counter out of direct sunlight for 3 days. Give the jar a shake once a day to help the infusing process along.
Day 1 Taste the vodka after 3 days and continue infusing for up to a week if you want more flavor or color. Once the vodka has the color and taste you like, strain the infused vodka through a fine mesh strainer and place in a clean jar with a tight lid. (Discard the remaining fruit pulp, citrus peels, etc.) This infused vodka will last indefinitely.
Day 3 Step 2: Make your cocktail
2 oz infused vodka
5 oz club soda
Lemon or lime wedge
Fill a tall glass with ice. Add your flavored vodka and club soda. Stir gently. Garnish with a wedge of citrus and fresh berries, if desired.
Infused Vodka Cocktails Note: If you’d like more than 1 cup of flavored vodka, just grab a bigger jar and more berries.
Consider infusing your own vodka for other cocktails or martinis using the flavors you want in the cocktail. Some fun combinations: Lemon Zest and Lavender, Cranberries and Lime Zest, Watermelon and Mint or Cucumber and Thyme. If you’re trying a new combination of flavors, I would experiment with just one cup of vodka.
If you have a great infused vodka flavor combination, please share in the comments.
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Gin and Orange Blossom Tonic
I discovered a new spin on the traditional gin and tonic to help quench my thirst this summer. Both the Dampfwerk Barreled Gin and the Spruce Soda Co.
Orange Blossom Tonic are made in the state of Minnesota. I really like supporting locally made products and when they taste this good, it’s easy. If you live in Minnesota, click on the links above to find out where to buy. If you live in another state, find out if you have local distilleries worth a taste or come to Minnesota and visit our many craft distilleries and local breweries.2 oz. Dampfwerk Barreled Gin
5 oz. Spruce Soda Co. Orange Blossom Tonic
Lime wedge
Combine ingredients in a glass filled with ice and stir.
Cheers!
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Gin and Tonic
I wasn’t a huge fan of tonic until I was introduced to the Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. Classic Tonic Syrup. Mixed with club soda it tastes so much better than prepared tonic water.
Gin & Tonic (BTW these goblets are large so the cocktails pictured are doubles.) 2 oz of Nolet’s gin
.75 oz of Jack Rudy Classic Tonic Syrup
5 oz of club soda
Fresh lime juice. Lately, I’ve been garnishing with a frozen or dehydrated slice of blood orange. After a bit, it will turn your cocktail slightly pink.
Combine ingredients in a goblet filled with ice. Stir gently.
Cheers!
Gin & Tonic with a slice of blood orange