1 Tablespoon of edible confetti and edible sprinkles
1 sheet of gold
Isn’t it the cutest ?
Method
For the whipped cream
Take two room temperature egg whites and add to a mixing bowl. Mix using a Kitchen-Aid mixer with the whisk attachment (or by hand with a chilled bowl and chilled whisk or hand mixer) until soft peaks. Add pinch (or two) of cream of tartar and a dash of salt. Increase the speed of the mixture. Slowly add sugar as the foam begins to form stiffer peaks. Reduce speed and toss in some raspberries. Once mixture is a light pink stop mixing and set aside. Pieces of raspberries will be visible. Do not worry if you over whip. The more air the better. Sipping the liquid cake through the foam is the fun part.
For the shot glass coating
Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler (Ban-Marie) or microwave. Using a pastry brush, paint the chocolate onto the top of the glass. Let it cool slightly before adding sprinkles and gold. Don’t forget to sprinkle the raspberry sugar. Set the glass aside until ready to use.
For the shot
In a mixing tin, muddle raspberries. Add citron vodka and hazelnut liqueur. Shake and strain into the decorated shot glass. Place a zip lock bag into another empty glass creating a pastry bag for piping. Spoon in the raspberry meringue. Twist the top of the bag, punching all foam to the corner point that will be used for piping. Snip the end with scissors and pipe the meringue into a swirly cone. Have fun with it. Add sugar and gold to finish. Remember to use toothpicks to handle your gold. Stand away from the fan.
Did you know that smoking dried rosemary can add incredible uniqueness to cocktails? Smoking dried herbs, like rosemary, can enhance the flavors of mezcal, tequila, bourbon, rye, Campari (yes, I am forever on a Campari kick), and gin cocktails. This technique, known as glass smoking, not only adds depth of flavor but also creates a visually captivating experience for onlookers. After preparing your cocktail, relight the dried rosemary, blow out the flames, then place the smoking herb stick in the glass as a garnish. Make sure the sprig is long enough to continue smoking once inserted into the cocktail for an added effect. It also smells really great!
What you will need:
Fire safe surface
Dried Rosemary
BIC lighter gas stove top or butane torch
Chilled bucket glass for your cocktail. A chilled glass provides a sticky surface for the smoke from the condensation.
Method
Place your chilled glass on the fire safe surface, up right. Light the dried rosemary. Blow out the flame. Once it starts to smoke place dried rosemary sprig on the fire safe surface and let it smoke. Then turn the glass upside down and catch the smoke by placing the glass drinking side down on top of it. Leave for a few minutes. Turn the glass upright again and build your cocktail. Voilà .
2 1/2 ounces of fresh juiced apples (you will need 4 apples. 3 for the juicing and 1 for the slicing and munching while preparing the cocktail)
1 ounce of cinnamon simple syrup
1/4 ounce of fresh lemon juice
2 ounces of vodka of choice
Method
For the juicing
In an Omega Juicer, juice three green Granny Smith apples. Set aside or chill in refrigerator until ready to use. The juice is best if used 24-48 hours after juicing when using a cold-pressed juicer. If the fresh juice isn’t cold pressed the recommended use time is immediately.
For the cinnamon syrup
In a sauce pan over medium heat dissolve equal parts beet sugar and water. Three ounces of water to three ounces of sugar, for example. Raise heat to a boil for about one minute. Add two tablespoons of ground cinnamon. Cinnamon sticks will work too but I only have ground cinnamon at the moment. Boil for another minute and then lower the heat to simmer for a few more minutes. Stir occasionally. Set aside to cool.
Slice apples for the garnish. Dipping your slices in fresh lemon juice prevents browning from oxidation. Place on a sealable container and refrigerate until ready to use. A plastic wrapped plate will work too. Then, add all ingredients to a mixing tin. Add ice. Stir or shake. Usually shaking with citrus is the best choice but if you are unable to shake ingredients for whatever reason, a good stirring will do. Shake and strain into the glass.
Glass: coupe (The glass used for this cocktail is a Crate & Barrel Camille Long-Stem Champagne Coupe Glass.)
Garnish: apple slice
Garnish: lemon juice dipped apple
Bar Chef Notes: Lemon juice prevents the apple from browning due to oxidation. If you prefer, do a double strain which aids in removal of residual ice and pulp presenting a clearer cleaner cocktail. This one, pulp and ice crystal and all for me is best, surprisingly. A teaspoon of apple cider vinegar gives extra zing, should you be inclined.
Please enjoy responsibly and be of the legal drinking age.
Where to buy the goods? You know, stemware, juices, ground cinnamon and stuffs..
I cup of Whole Foods 365 brand frozen black cherries
1 frozen packet of PITAYA Dragon Fruit
1 scoop of VEGA Vanilla Protein & Greens powder
2 tablespoons of Vital Proteins hibiscus beauty collagen powder (this one contains 120 mg of Hyaluronic Acid, which is great for your joints – confirmed by my running coach). The hibiscus flavor adds a unique taste and flavor to the mix. That certain something.
1 cup of 365 Whole Foods unsweetened vanilla almond milk
10+ PRI Manuka honey for the rim of the glass or any honey will do. Manuka has that extra extra.
2 Tablespoons Navitas Organics cacao nibs for the rim of the glass and to blend into smoothie. A little more doesn’t hurt though. These are considered nature’s dark chocolate chips and a superfood. Add a great texture and earthy flavor to the smoothie.
Method
Take a tablespoon of cacao nibs and grind them in a coffee grinder. Alternatively, you can place them in a zip-lock style bag and crush them with a mallet. Then, pour the crushed cacao nibs onto a plate. Roll the rim of the glass in manuka honey (scoop some honey with a spoon – use plastic or wood as metal can affect the enzymes in the honey) and then roll it in the cacao nibs. Place the glass in the refrigerator to chill until needed.
In a blender, in my case the Cuisinart To Go cylinder, add all ingredients. Blend until smooth. Remove the glass from the refrigerator and pour smoothie inside to enjoy.
Where To Buy:
*This is an affiliate link and I may receive commissions from purchases.*
Jar, cocktail mixing glass, spoons, fine weave cheese cloth (worked best for me) or several coffee filters, jigger for measuring, glass for cocktail, fruit vegetable peeler, lemons for the twist, one medium blood orange and two small medium limes, Brother’s Bond Bourbon, Sukhi’s mango curry chutney, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, ice, a couple of small bucket glasses, several medium and large sized rubber bands
Cocktail Ingredients:
10 ounces Brother’s Bond Indian Bourbon (7 ounces for the milk citrus juice and 3 ounces for after clarification)
9 Ounces of goat milk
3 Ounces of fresh citrus juice (this recipe 1 medium blood orange and 2 small limes) with pulp strained out
3 Tablespoons of Citric Acid powder
1/2 Ounce of Vanilla Extract (easy recipe to make it here)
1/2 Ounce Sukki’s Mango Chutney
Coconut sugar for the syrup to taste
For the Milk Wash:
In a mixing glass add 7 ounces of Brother’s Bond Bourbon and the room temperature juice of one medium blood orange and two small limes. Then slowly pour in 9 ounces of goat milk. Whisk with a whisk or fork as you pour. Once milk bourbon mixture combined, cover, label, and refrigerate for 3-24 hours. Once a visible separation, start the filtering. A few passes for me. The coffee filter broke the first time. I switched to cheese cloth for the next pass. Once again I filter as there were still some particles present after the second pass. The liquid should be crystal clear.
After 24 hours in the refrigeratorOverhead viewSimple rubber band and plastic wrap until ready to filterLabel and dateSeparation indicates readinessFirst drip coffee filterWhat is left behindCoffee filter broke a couple of times and I switched to a cheese clothGive the cheese cloth a good squeeze to remove all liquid into the batch in the jar
My first coffee filter broke and I had to start again. I tried another coffee filter and ripped the second coffee filter and decided to switch to fine weave cheese cloth. Leave the mixture alone and let it drip as slow as it needs to drip. Patience.
Pass bourbon milk mixture as many times as you need to in order to produce a crystal clear liquid. Three or four times worked for me.
After clarification, add 3 ounces of the remainder bourbon 3 Tablespoons of Citric Acid and 1/2 Ounce of Vanilla Extract. Give the mixture a good stir. Cover, date, and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the Mango Curry Syrup
4 heaping Tablespoons of Mango Curry Chutney
2 Ounce of Still Water
In a bucket glass, mix chutney and water. In a second bucket glass fasten a cheese cloth or coffee filter with rubber band. Pass the chunky chutney liquid through the filter to remove larger pieces of fruit. Store your new mango curries syrup the refrigerator until ready to make the cocktail(s).
The start of straining.To speed up the process, stir with a demitasse spoon.In one glass mix 3/4 water to 1/4 chutney. Strain mixtures through a cheese cloth. Secure the cloth with a rubber bandThis recipe only needs a small amount for one mango curries syrup.
For the Coconut Sugar
1/2 Cup of Coconut Sugar
1/2 Cup of Water
Combine equal parts water and coconut sugar in saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Occasionally stirring. Once dissolved remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Once cool, store in refrigerator until ready to use for your cocktail.
For milk washed India iced tea
2 Ounces of Clarified Bourbon
1/ 2 Ounce of Mango Curries Syrup
2-3 Bar Spoonfuls of Coconut Sugar Syrup (if you like it sweeter add more to taste similar to a regular iced tea)
In a bucket glass add a large ice cube or several cubes and set aside. Ice choice, a personal preference. Pour all measured all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and mix about ten stirs of the spoon. This is a stirred not shaken situation. Pour into bucket glass over large ice cube. Express the lemon and toss into glass.
Glass: bucket glass
Garnish: expressed blood orange, orange, or lemon peel. I like the lemon for this one.
Please make sure that you are of legal drinking age and enjoy responsibly
Use a fruit vegetable peeler (I use OXO) to remove the outer layer of the orange which will be your garnish. This method helps avoiding the pif. Best if the orange is at room temperature and slightly firm. Condensation and softer skin may cause the peeler to slip and perhaps catch a finger. Peeler should be in great condition.
Once you have several orange peels, place your cutting board on a non-slip surface. Use your pairing knife to trim the edges.
What to do should you prepare more than you need? No biggie. Wrap your orange pieces in a damp paper towel and store in the refrigerator. Paper towel shouldn’t be too wet as the peels will become slimy. Peels will keep for a day or two. Same day use is recommended.
Wash your tools after each use with soap and water. Citrus will cause the knife and peeler to become dull faster.
Uniformity is best. These are the creative version. Keep the orange and use for juice.
2 1/2 ounces of Amaretto (make your own from my almond liqueur recipe here)
3 dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters
Settled Angostura garnished foam. Small shiny bubbles.Egg whites and coil. This coil is larger than I usually use. This one was in the space I was working. Second visual. You don’t need a coil to get foam like this. Shaking harder is necessary.Last bit of foam before letting the cocktail settle.
Remove the coil from the strainer. Place into a mixing tin. Crack the egg and remove the egg yolk adding the whites to the tin. Dry shake the egg until soft peaks form. In another mixing tin add raspberries. Muddle. Then add raspberries with all other ingredients to the egg white foam. Dry shake some more. Remove the coil and add ice. Shake until the tin is cold. Double stain using a fine strainer to eliminates any particulates. Three dashes of Angostura bitters once the foam settles. Swirly swirl a design.
* Bar Chef Notes: an excellent foam can be achieved without a coil. A longer shake is required. Express citrus peel. Aquafaba can be a substitute for vegan version.
Today’s drink? Amaretto on the rocks with an orange twist. Essentially, it’s an almond liqueur. This liqueur is made in my California kitchen, not in Italy. Despite that, I still feel a little Italian when I enjoy it. You may feel the same way too.
Before we start making it, what is amaretto? Amaretto is a nutty, vanilla-tasting liqueur with a slightly bitter flavor and a cherry finish. The first amaretto was said to be made in the 1500’s by a couple in Saronno, Italy. It is recommend to be consumed as a digestif or shaken with an egg white for a sour cocktail. It can also be served neat, on the rocks (my choice today), alongside coffee, or with scotch (one of my favorites).
Making your own amaretto can impress your guests. I have brought this and my Irish cream (premium content recipe coming soon) to many a dinner parties and given them as hostess and holiday gifts. The rich bottled goodness could be mistaken and rival those on the shelves in our markets, proving a perfect toast to perfection. If I so say so myself..
For the almond liqueur
Ingredients:
1 gallon water
6 cups of sugar
1 x 16 ounces of dark corn syrup
1 Tablespoon of decaf coffee
2 ounces of vanilla
3 ounces of almond extract
2 pints of vodka
Method:
Combine water, sugar and corn syrup and boil for 50 minutes. Add instant coffee and cool. When cool add extracts and vodka. Store in a glass jar with a lid or vessel of choice.
For the drink
2 ounces of almond liqueur
Orange twist
Pour 2 ounces of almond liqueur over ice. Express twist and rim the glass. Toss peel into glass.
Glass: bucket glass
Garnish: neatly trimmed orange peel (show and tell making of orange peel garnish click here)
Please drink responsibly and be of the legal drinking age
Morning Mocktail. Vodka Optional. This is the mocktail category though..
1 bunch of celery (organic or from your garden is best)
1 medium knob of fresh ginger
1/2 English cucumber with skin
Squeeze of fresh lemon
Pinch of pink Himalayan salt
KOS Pantry green spiralulina
I use an Omega cold press juicer. You can use any juicer but the cold press juice lasts longer. A blender and cheese cloth could also work.
Feed all washed ingredients into the juicer as directed, except the lemon. Pour juice into bucket glass. Squeeze the juice of the fresh lemon. Sprinkle salt and stir. Sprinkle green spirulina.
