Tag: Cocktails

Kir Royale- New Cocktail for the New Year

Dry White Wine + Crème de Cassis = Kir
Dry Champagne + Crème de Cassis = Kir Royale

This was the perfect choice for a celebratory New Year’s Eve cocktail, we all liked it! Perfect for a party yet fuss free.

I’m all for the crossroads where easy meets sophisticated. And if you don’t care for sweets in general, this is your drink. Stick to a 1:4 ratio of cassis to champagne to keep the liqueur’s sweetness in the background, and use the more dry champagne (Brut) or wine (Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc).

Read up at TheKitchn.com for more info, that’s where I found the directions and ratios- Kir and Kir Royale: Two Iconic French Wine Cocktail.

Wishing you all the best in 2016!

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Best Sangria EVER

Thursday night was a “Favorite Things” party for my Moms Club. I brought a bottle of Sophia’s Rosé by Francic Coppola to share and came home with another friend’s favorite scented bath salts. What a great idea for a party, huh? All attendees came armed with a gift wrapped favorite thing in the price range of $10-15, attached a number to the gift, and drew a random number. Last year I brought a Pineapple and Sake Teriyake sauce made by Vine and Branch, and Sweet and Spicy Garlic Mustard from Garlic Festival.  But the best thing I found last night was my drink. Stop your search, I have found it- The Best Sangria ever to be served. Get to one of the two locations for the San Diego area seafood restaurant, “The Brigatine.”

The not-so-secret ingredient would seem to be the blackberry brandy to the usual line up of sangria stuff. Remember that! Add blackberry brandy to a sangria… Got it?

I’ve never been to The Brigatine, but will return. Often. And I guarantee, I will be thirsty.

Classic Cocktails- The Sidecar as a Friday Nights après Move-In Drink

Classic Cocktails- The Sidecar
Classic Cocktails- The Sidecar

This is a Side Car. I’ve never had a sidecar until a couple weeks ago.
I highly recommend such a drink after you move your first-born child into her college dorm.

Cognac, Cointreau and lemon juice… how can you go wrong with all of this citrusy goodness? I think this is my new favorite, along with the Sazerac.

Here’s a great link for a recipe that is very close to what I had, right down to the lemon sugar on the rim.
seriouseats.com/sidecarrecipe

The Sidecar Photo from SeriousEats.com
The Sidecar
Photo from SeriousEats.com

Throwback Cocktail- The Gimlet

You can roll your eyes at me, it’s OK. Go ahead. I am that person who goes to a Steak House and orders the soup and salad special. I’ll go to the beach and read a book. Tonight we went to a brewery and I ordered a Gimlet. 



Since I wanted to skip the beer and try a different drink tonight, one of our friends suggested trying the Gimlet. Someone mentioned that it was like a line version of a lemon drop.

That was all the encouragement I needed.  

According to Liquor.com the Gimlet was created by sailors to help prevent scurvy. Sometimes vodka is used, but a traditional Gimlet is made with gin. Served either on the rocks or straight up, 2.5 ounces of vodka, .5 ounce simple syrup and .5 ounce of fresh lime juice are shaken with ice and served in an old fashioned glass. I’m pretty sure mine tonight had soda water in it, too, and I liked it. I’m guessing it was equal parts soda and gin, and I really enjoyed the lime. 

Why have I taken so long to try new things like this?