Friday, 18 May 2012

Passionfruit Cooler Recipe



Yield: 2 servings

Total Time: 25 minutes

This is based off of fresh passionfruit juice from our garden. Fruit will vary in sweetness/tartness so adjust amount and sugar amount to taste. This is pretty tasty as a cocktail with the addition of rum and a bit more lime. If you are a pulp-free type, make a mint simple syrup (see note 2) instead of muddling the mint leaves.

Ingredients:

• 5-6 whole Mint Leaves
• 2 T Sugar
• 1 oz (@ 1/2 a lime) fresh Lime Juice
• 1 T fresh Passionfruit Juice *see note 1 for extracting
• 6 oz Water

Directions:

1. Muddle the mint leaves, sugar, and lime juice together.
2. Add passionfruit juice and water to the muddled mix. (Add passionfruit seeds if you are so inclined) Pour into glasses filled with ice.

*Note 1: Extracting Passionfruit Juice
Cut the passionfruit in half then scrap out the seeds and pulp into a small mesh strainer. Over a small bowl to catch the juice, scrap the seeds and pulp using the back of a spoon in order to separate the pulp and juice from the seeds. Reserve the seeds if you enjoy them in your drinks or other recipes.
*Note 2: Mint Simple Syrup. (keeps quite well, so make more than needed and use for iced tea, making lemonade, cocktails, etc...) Combine 2 c water, 1 1/2 c (285g) sugar, 1/2 c (170g) light corn syrup, and a large handful of mint leaves in a med. saucepan. Heat just until a light simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and allow mint to steep for 15-20 min. Strain and store in refrigerator until ready to use.


Thursday, 8 March 2012

Scotch Apple Cider is Hot, Smoky



Ill be mixing up some of these ASAP, you'd better believe it.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup apple cider
1 teaspoon honey
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 (1-by-2-inch) lemon peel
2 tablespoons single-malt, not-heavily-peated Scotch whisky, such as Glenlivet
1/4 teaspoon heavily peated Scotch whisky, such as Laphroaig
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat apple cider, honey, cinnamon stick, and lemon peel in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the honey has melted and the cinnamon is fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Turn off the heat, add both Scotches and the lemon juice, and stir to combine. Transfer to a heatproof glass and garnish with the cinnamon stick and lemon peel.


Sunday, 16 October 2011

Flaming



Decided to play with fire eh? Well here are a few tips on flaming your liqueurs. Most liqueurs with a high alcohol content are really easy to flame.

Simply warm your liqueur up in a sauce pan and have a pre-warmed cocktail glass ready. After heating the glass, pour the rest or other alcohols into the glass to warm. The glass can be heated over an element or a flame, but use caution to avoid contact with the glass and element or flame as the glass will break or char easy. When the alcohol has been heated, ignite it and add it to the alcohol in the glass. If done properly, the alcohol in the glass will be warm enough to flame also.

Caution:

When flaming liqueurs be sure to keep any objects away from the glass. Flames can often shoot high up and ignite things in their way. Like your hair! So if doing this, please use caution and enjoy the fireworks.

Sunday, 18 September 2011

How to Make Grenadine



Grenadine is a classic pomegranate-based sweetener found in many drinks, and often an integral flavor agent in popular cocktails. So it's a shame that such an essential ingredient is sold commercially as a cheap, chemically sweet substance often lacking real pomegranate juice. Today's grenadine is rife with high-fructose corn syrup and food coloring, a far cry from the preservative-free original.

Fortunately for home bartenders, it's quite easy to make your own grenadine. There are two popular methods to making grenadine, one that involves cooking on the stove and one that doesn't. For the latter, grab a bottle of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice, a bag of sugar and a jar.

Add one cup of POM pomegranate juice and one cup of granulated sugar into a jar. Shake vigorously until the sugar is dissolved. Add another ounce of sugar and once again shake with gusto. The end result is a bright, fresh grenadine readily able to sweeten up your drink without the artificial cloying flavor of commercial grenadines. And depending on your personal tastes, you can add more or less sugar to achieve your desired sweetness.

The other method of making grenadine is to cook it on the stove. Simply add two cups of POM pomegranate juice to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the liquid has been reduced by half. Add one cup of sugar, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. The result is a rich, red grenadine with a slightly different flavor than grenadine created using the "cold process" detailed above. An optional step for either method is to add an ounce of high proof vodka or grain alcohol to act as a preservative.


Wednesday, 20 July 2011

Layering

Nothing makes a drink look more attractive and temptingly delicious than when you layer it. Layering drinks is combining combinations of liqueurs which blend together create fresh and vibrant colors or stay seperated to make colurful designs. Indeed, layering drinks is like a bartender's artwork on his beverage canvas and it all comes together with the use of creativity and science.

There are many ways that bartenders choose to layer drinks. But it really all boils down to science. When layering drinks, the mixer must keep the alcohol's density in mind to combine the right liquids. Each alcoholic beverage has its own specific gravity.

Higher density alcohols are said to sink below those that are of lighter densities. Of course there would be times when two ingredients are of the same density level. In this case, the drinks are to be mixed with great precision in order to result in successful layering.

Most of the times, bartenders and drink mixers would use a plastic syringe to be able to get the right amount in the glass and at a slower pace. Experts would tell you that the slower process you try to mix these drinks together, the better the outcome. Even if a syringe is not handy you can also slowly pour the liquor by using the back of your spoon to create a trickle effect instead of a direct pouring of the liquor.

Techniques

One of the more difficult techniques in bartending is layering or floating liqueurs. Although this seems like a challenge, there is a very simple method that you can use. Each liqueur weighs differently and either floats or sinks when added to another. Most recipes are written with the heaviest liqueurs printed first. If all else fails, experiment and get used to the liqueurs that you most often use.

To pour the liqueurs into the glass, simply use the rounded or back part of a spoon and rest it against the inside of the glass. Slowly pour down the spoon and into the glass. The liqueur should run down the inside of the glass and smoothly layer. This technique takes practise, but can be mastered by anyone. Make sure that the liqueurs are poured in order of their weight, starting with the heaviest first.


Wednesday, 22 June 2011

The Voodoo Priestess Cocktail drink Recipe.



Will you fall under her spell?
This is a slight variation of the original recipe, but just as good.
A little bit of prep goes into this exotic potion, but well worth the effort.
Voodoo Priestess Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces dark rum (Captain morgan, Cruzan black strap, Whalers, Myers, etc.)
• 1 1/2 ounces spiced rum (VooDoo Spiced Rum)
• 1/2 ounce brandy (your choice)
• 2 ounces orange juice
• 1 ounce lime juice
• 1 ounce lemon juice
• 2 ounces Voodoo Priestess Spice Syrup
• 1 dash orange bitters

Mixing Instructions:

Shake in cocktail shaker and shake.
Pour into a glass filled with ice.
Garnish with a exotic flower.


Wednesday, 9 March 2011

How to make Vodka Gummy Bears, a cocktail treat thats far from normal.

How to make Vodka Gummi Bears.

Here is a nice treat that is a bit different than the normal cocktail.

It's basically candy gummy bears infused with vodka. I gotta admit, i am a fan of gummy bears, so i decided to give this one a go. I was happy with the results. It was very easy to make and interesting as the little gummy bears puffed up as they absorbed the alcohol. We tried using gummy worms, and they got a lot bigger as the soaked up the vodka. It's just plan fun to make this unique cocktail creation.

I wonder if this is the new jello shot.

How to make Vodka Gummy Bears:

Ingredients

• 1 Bottle of Vodka (Any kind is fine, i do not recommend premium for this one)
• 1-2 Bags of Gummy Bears (Regular or sugar free)
Optional: Gummy Worms

Procedure: (How to make Gummy Bear Vodka)
Basically you just soak the gummy bears in the vodka.
Get a large glass container, do not use plastic, it will add a bad flavor to the vodka.
Pour the vodka over the worms and let sit for a few hours.

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