White Tiger's Milk

1 1/2 oz. Laird's 100 Apple Brandy

1/2 oz. Apricot Eau de Vie

3 oz. Whole milk

1 Dash Aromatic Tincture

1 Egg white

Dry Shake/Shake/Strain

Garnish: Grated Nutmeg

Glass: Rocks - no ice

Italian Affair

1 1/2 parts Milagro Anejo Tequila

1/4 part Frangelico

1 part lemon juice

1 part simple syrup

1 part pear puree

Shake well. Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass and garnish with a pear slice and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

SWEET TART

In a Shaker Glass Add:
1 ½ oz. Stoli Raspberry
1 oz. Simple Syrup
1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 bar spoon full of Strawberry Jam
Shake well and strain into a martini glass. Fill the rest with Champagne. Garnish with a lemon.

* From www.gerberbars.com*

Geisha Highball

4 1/2 oz. Pomgranate Lychee Green POM Tea

1 1/2 oz. dry sake

1/2 oz. citrus vodka

Garnish

2 long slices of English cucumber, cut to look like chopsticks

1. Build the ingredients over ice in a highball glass in the order listed.

2. Garnish with the cucumber slices.

Farmers Market Mary

1 part ABSOLUT Peppar

3 parts tomato juice

1/4 part Cynar Artichoke Liqeur

1/4 part fresh lemon juice

1/2 part stout beer

3 dashes Worcestershire sauce

3 dashes Tobasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce

6 pieces of muddled arugula1 block of parmesan cheese

Muddle arugula and Cynar in mixing glass. Build by adding ABSOLUT, fresh lemon, tomato juice, Worcestershire and Tobasco. Roll with ice to mix and serve in a high ball glass. Grate parmesan on top.

R.A.F.

2 oz. Oxley Gin

1 oz. lime juice

2/3 oz. lavender syrup

1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur

Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, fill with ice, shake and double strain into a martini glass.

*Instructions for special lavender syrup prep: Break 2 bunches of lavender and let them simmer in simple syrup in 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let lavender sit in simple syrup for 5 to 6 hours. Remove lavender.

Caballo Blanco

1 1/2  oz. Dos Maderas

1 1/2 oz. Cointreau

1 1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon juice

Shake and strain into sugar rimmed martini glass.

South Slope Sour

2 parts Absolut Brooklyn

3/4 parts Green Chartreuse

3/4 part Lemon Juice

1/4 part Simple Syrup

Dash of Angostura Bitters

Shake & Straing into a cocktail glass.

This was created by Brad Farran, The Clover Club

Playful Perennial Punch

3 parts Hendrick's Gin

2 parts Lillet Blanc

4 med strawberries

1 parts fresh strained lime juice

1 1/2 parts raspberry zinger syrup (2 bags: 4 parts H20: 4 parts sugar)

4 parts dry sparkling wine

4 parts sparkling water

Muddle strawberries and syrup. Add ice, shake with vigor and double strain into punch bowl with an ice block inside.(Take a well cleaned quart container, fill with filtered water and place in freezer overnight) Top with Hendrick's  Lillet, sparkling wine and sparkling water. Garnish with the freshest berries and slices of stone fruit

Black Paloma

1 1/2 Parts Olemca Altos Plata Tequila

1 1/2 Parts Kahlua

3/4 Parts Lime

1/2 Parts Fresh Grapefruit Juice

2 Dashes of Bitters

Pinch Sal

Top with Club Soda

Drink of the Week: Jersey Shore Breakfast

2 oz. Laird's 100 Apple Brandy

1/2 oz. Lazzaroni Amaretto

1 Dash Orange bitters

1 Dash Angostura bitters

Spray orange disc into empty rocks glass coat with essential oils and discard.

Combine/Stir

Garnish: Amaretti di Sarrono cookie.

Glass: Rocks

Cocktail of the Week: The Mallard's Mallet

The Mallard's Mallet

2 1/2 parts Hendrick's Gin

1/4 parts Marachino Luxardo

2 parts strengthned celyon tea (1 bag per 5 parts water)

1 Tbsp gooseberry jam

1 whole lemon peel

soda water

ice

Garnish with edible flowers

In a mixing container combine beautiful gin, maraschino, tea, jam,  and lemon peel.  Give good muddle and remove the peel. Strain into a teacup, add ice and top with soda water. Adorn with edible flowers, an ice block and serve.

My Remix on the "Aster" Cocktail

I did a spin on the cocktail "Aster", which is a yummy gin cocktail. This cocktail calls for 3 oz. gin, dash of fresh orange juice, dash of fresh lemon juice and orange zest as garnish. I decided to stick with the gin and orange juice, but instead of lemon juice I did a dash of dutch caramel vodka (yes its a bit extreme but not strong). Here goes my recipe!

3 oz. Citadelle Gin

1 oz. Orange Juice

Dash of Van Gogh Dutch Caramel Vodka

Stir all the ingredients together. Pour Ice in Shaker. Connect Shake to cup with ingredients and shake for at least 1.5 minutes. Serve

What I love about this recipe is that its simple! Simple yet good. The splash of vodka gave the orange juice a little more flavor, almost like the presence of bitters would.

Absinthe: A love story

By Brooke A. Boudreaux

New Orleans is in a love affair with absinthe. But that’s no secret. You can tell that by looking at our official cocktail, the Sazerac, which is made by first coating a glass with absinthe. (And, mind you, when I say official cocktail, I mean documented by the government).

In New Orleans, we have a tendency to gravitate towards the old and the dramatic: antiques, 18^th century architecture and old-fashioned cocktails, just to name a few. We embrace our history and we carry it with us. Here, everything old really is new again… and again… and again.

Enter Absinthe; A strong alcoholic beverage with a long and stormy history in the world of cocktails, and a reputation for providing people with inspiration, while simultaneously driving them to madness. Given our love of high proof liquor and our flair for the dramatic, how could we NOT fall in love?

It’s no wonder that it is a New Orleans native, Ted Breaux, who is credited for lifting the ban on genuine absinthe in the United States, after it had been illegal for 95 years.

I had the opportunity to meet Ted Breaux and attend the Launch of Jade Absinthes at the Windsor Court hotel’s Polo Lounge hosted by Viridian Spirits. This marked the first time that the three Jade Absinthes had been served on U.S. soil. How fitting that it was during Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans; and it is especially fitting that one of the Jade Absinthes is named Nouvelle-Orléans.

Watermelon Mojito

Last night, I tried out a bar in New Orleans called Phillips Restaurant &Bar. It was a truly nice lounge atmosphere, cute setup and designed for nice group meetups. You can find this place at 733 Cherokee Street; it's slightly hidden which makes it so cool. I didn't even know this place existed.  

The cocktail I tried was their $5 special of the night, Watermelon Mojito. I never had a Watermelon Mojito, so I was ready for my first big try so I can blog about it! It was definitely an interesting taste. At first, I didn't taste the watermelon. It had a nice flavor, but I mainly tasted the lime and cucumber. They put a few lime and cucumbers in my cup that seem to overpower the taste a little. The drink presentation was awesome, but I think it slightly took over the drink. 

Here is a Watermelon Mojito you can try at home.

My Own little recipe I put together. Note: I'm more about flavor! I don't want to taste the alcohol as much as I want to taste the natural flavor; I want a mixture of both.

4 Fresh Mint sprigs

Few chunks of watermelon or 1/4 cup of watermelon puree

1 tsp simple syrup

3 tbsp lime juice

2 oz. rum

2 tbsp of sparkling water

Place mint and watermelon in glass and muddle, then add other ingredients. Then add ice into your shaker and give it a good shake for 1.5 minutes. Garnish with one lime wedge.

Cocktail of the Week: Enc(rust)ed Nail Recipe

Enc(rust)ed Nail

Chad Doll | Bryant’s (Milwaukee)

1 oz Drambuie

.75 oz Dewar’s White Label

.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

.5 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

3 dashes Peychaud's Bitters

Combine all ingredients into mixing glass.  Shake with ice and double strain into coupe glass. 

Drambuie 101

Drambuie is a sweet Scotch Whiskey liqueur. It is a honey and herb flavored golden liqueur. It is made from aged malt whiskey, heather honey and herbs and spices.

http://www.drambuie.com/

Search For Ultimate Catdaddy Moonshine Cocktail Is Over

On July 22, hundreds of cocktail enthusiasts and the Catdaddy Bar Chef Challenge judging panel, consisting of Dale DeGroff, Paul Tuennerman, Alan Kropf & Jeff Dorenbush of Mutineer Magazine and Joe Michalek the Founder of Piedmont Distillers, gathered together at Tales of the Cocktail to declare the ultimate Catdaddy Moonshine cocktail. 

The Catdaddy Bar Chef Challenge began in April when nearly 50 recipes were submitted for consideration.  Each recipe was prepared, tasted and ranked with the purpose of narrowing the entries to the Top 3 Finalists.  These three mixologists were invited to present their recipes at Tales of the Cocktail, an internationally acclaimed festival of cocktails, cuisine and culture held annually in New Orleans, Louisiana.  In addition, each Finalist received a 2 night stay at the legendary Hotel Monteleone, six complimentary tickets to Tales of the Cocktail seminars and $500. 

The Top 3 Finalists recipes and mixologists were Mountain Moonshine Punch by Jim Kearns, New York mixologist who’s worked at some of the top bars in the city including, Pegu Club, Death & Co and Mayahuel.  He is currently a bar consultant, bar manager and bartender at the acclaimed Rye House.  Last Kiss by Giacomo Cuccurullo, a native Italian who started bartending at the age of 17 and is now a Bar Chef Instructor at the Instituto Culinario de Mexico. And lastly, Chinese Bootlegger by Payman Bahmani a Brooklyn-based mixologist who runs the cocktail event and consulting company Life's a Cocktail and writes a weekly cocktail column called Happy Hour.    

A Tales of the Cocktail Exclusive: A Sit-Down with master distiller Jean Sebastien Robicquet

By Brooke Boudreaux 

During the second day of Tales of the Cocktail, I had the opportunity to meet with Jean-Sebastien Robicquet, master distiller of EuroWineGate (EWG).  At one point, I asked him what differentiates his spirits from those of his competitors. In a thick French accent he, in turn, asked me, “Which would you rather eat, a grape berry or corn?”

Using grapes and grapevine flowers in their process of distillation gives G’Vine, EWG’s gin brand a very distinctive flavor. I first had a taste of their G’Vine gins, Floraison and Nouaison. I found Floraison to have some nice tropical notes, but my favorite was clearly the, Nouaison. I’m not exactly a gin drinker, but I really enjoyed the Nouaison, which was much more fragrant and had stronger notes of juniper, which I really liked.

I was then asked to sample their two newest products, L’Esprit de June and Excellia.

JUNE is a fruity grape-based liqueur with extracted flavors of vine flowers. June’s taste is sweet, but subtle and delicate with hints of peach and white strawberries. I found it to be quite enjoyable on the rocks. It was even more delicious as a simple cocktail created by adding a little of the G’Vine gin to it. It was so refreshing, I could easily imagine drinking this makeshift cocktail around a pool on a hot day or pairing it with a mid-day brunch.

New Amsterdam Gin Cocktail

Recently, I went to Tales of the Cocktail, an international acclaimed cocktail and cuisine festival in New Orleans. It was a fabulous experience and basically created a monster. I now think I'm a mixologist. To make my new imaginary profession worst, I was in a mixology competition. I competed in The Next GINeration Cocktail Challenge presented by New Amsterdam Gin. For this competition, participants had 10 minutes to create a cocktail inspired by New Orleans, name and story for your drink! Before I get into my creation, let me tell you a little about gin and New Amsterdam Gin.

Gin 101

Gin is a colorless neutral alcohol with a base flavor of juniper berry.  Additional flavors depend on the company and incorporates different botanicals. Gin was created in 1650 by a physician in Holland as a medicinal tonic! It was originally called genever, which is Dutch for juniper.