Coming of Age

COMING OF AGE

Esmeralda has come of age. It has come time for her to face the brave new world! Don't be afraid, young child! Seize the moment and you will be successful!

This is an exact copy of my friend's earlier recipe of Esmeralda with the following exception:

• added a tea spoon of Parfait Amour after straining the cocktail
• decorated with a maraschino cherry

To add the parfait amour gave this cocktail not only a vibrant color but a sense of grown-up among its peers. The extremely red cherry as a garnish shows passion in this drink. We truly have a lady drink here.

Taste-wise, I give it a solid 4 out of 5. Martini bianco's vanilla flavors work extremely well with parfait amour's flavors as if in total harmony. Highly recommended and better yet, easy to make!

Esmeralda / Friend challenge #1

ESMERALDA

I present you with the very first cocktail introduced by a friend of mine on this blog! As a co-worker I made me a drink which he calls Esmeralda. It is made of:

• 5cl vodka
• 2cl Martini bianco (vermouth)
• grapefruit juice (I used 8cl in this one) 

Shake with plenty of ice, (double)strain into a chilled cocktail glass. As a garnish I used a cape gooseberry fruit. You could also consider either a twist of lemon if you're feeling fancy. Overall,

an excellent cocktail this is! The vermouth's sweetness combined with the grapefruit bitterness...nice. I am honored to make this cocktail! 

In addition, I will be creating a more...adult version of this cocktail later on. Brace yourselves... 

PS. Keep challenging me! I'm up for it!

Creating Pineapple Tequila part 2

THE PRODUCT

Here it is, the product in its making! It's been three days now since I bottled up my pineapple tequila! Next weekend (at least when I have a day off) I'll strain the tequila into a sterilized glass bottle and use the pineapples in a dessert with bourbon vanilla ice cream. I might even heat up the fruit just to show I care.

I'll report more when the "product" is bottled and ready to serve!

Creating Pineapple Tequila part 1

THE PLAN

The title might give away the fact that today I'm making my own Pineapple tequila! I got the recipe from a cocktail book I own but as for getting the ingredients it was rather iffy for a long time;

• 1 liter of silver tequila (I'm using 0.7 liters)
• 50g brown sugar
• 1 large pineapple
• 1 vanilla pod

 Sterilise a big jar by rinsing it first and then putting it in the over (about 100ᴼ celsius/~212F) for some 20 minutes. Let it cool off completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pineapple (cut into chunks and so on). 

In a jug mix the tequila with the brown sugar until it has dissolved. Pour it in the jar with the vanilla pod (which you have cut in half and scraped the vanilla seeds), add the pineapple chunks and let it agitate for about a week. Later on you can use the pineapple chunks for a warm dessert or so!

Keep in mind I need about a week before I can give you any results how I succeeded with this task. Don't worry, I'll post pictures and describe you with all of the valuable information you need as soon as possible!

Stay strong!

¡Ándele!

Jellyfish shot

JELLYFISH SHOT

Another shot at your disposal! I present you with the Jellyfish shot! I got this recipe from TipsyBartender and thought "why the heck not?" Looking kind of like the Alien Brain Hemorrhage, layered shots like these are

1. fun to make

2. beautiful

3. good in taste, in a weird way

What you need is:

• 2 cl creme de cacao
• 1 cl of amaretto
• 2 cl of baileys
• a few drops of grenadine

Add about half a shot glass with the creme de cacao. The gently pour the amaretto on top of it to create a layer. After that make another layer of baileys on top of those. Create the jellyfish by adding a few drops of grenadine on the shot. The amount I used was roughly a tea spoon.

Taste-wise...well kind of a mish-mash. Baileys was very dominant as well as the end grenadine. But want to impress your friends (again) with layered shot? Totally worth it.

Fallen Angel

FALLEN ANGEL

Every now and then there comes a cocktail that just doesn't cut it. The Fallen Angel is one of those cocktails. I could guess the cocktail truly lives up to its name. Okay let's go through the ingredients first:

• 1 dash of angostura bitters
• the juice of 1 lemon
• 4cl gin
• few dashes of creme de menthe

In a shaker, combine the lemon juice, gin and angostura bitters. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Finally, add a few dashes of creme de menthe which will sink to the bottom.

For my taste, this cocktail's sourness level made me grinch with the power of over 1000 lemons. Pretty much like drinking lemon juice in general. The grande finale, lemon flavored peppermint liquor...no. Didn't work then and it will not work later either. This cocktail I wouldn't do again, so horrible it was! Esthetic-wise, looked fancy enough. But don't let the looks fool you!

Japanese Slipper

JAPANESE SLIPPER

Back in the days

A totally better picture, 2013

Greetings from the Far East! This cocktail is also one of my all time favorites. I present you with the Japanese Slipper. Invented in 1984, here we have a drink that has a strong melon-y taste powered up with flavors of lemon and triple sec.

• 1 shot of Midori
• 1 shot of lemon juice
• 1 shot of Cointreau 

Since standard measures differ depending on the country, I will not put exact measures, just remember that 1 shot of everything, let it be 25ml, 30ml or even 40ml. Moreover, if you have a smaller cocktail glass, of course it is better to use less of the ingredients. 

Just add all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker, add plenty of ice, shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Drop a maraschino cherry to the bottom of the glass or alternatively, a slice of honeydew melon on the rim works fine as well. Go big, go Japan!

Squashed Frog

SQUASHED FROG

Another easily made and good tasting shot, this drink makes a good party starter! 

What you need:

• 1.5cl Grenadine
• 1.5cl Midori
• 1.5cl Advocaat (an egg based liqueur, but any cream liqueur would do the trick)

In the given order, layer all of the ingredients into a shot glass, let it settle and go! If you want to make a "hemorrhage" version, add the Midori and Advocaat first, then add the grenadine which will sink to the bottom to create the effect given just like in the Alien Brain Hemorrhage drink.

Chocolate Baileys Martini

CHOCOLATE BAILEYS MARTINI

To all of you chocolate-drink lovers, here's a real treat! Given this drink is not a martini per se, but it sure tastes good! What you need:

• 4cl Baileys Irish Cream
• 2cl creme de cacao (white)
• 2cl vodka
• 2cl fresh cream
• chocolate powder for decoration

Put the cocktail glass in the fridge (or freezer) beforehand. In a cocktail shaker, combine the first four ingredients, add plenty of ice and shake it but don't break it! Double strain the drink into your chilled glass and lastly decorate your cocktail with chocolate powder. Optionally, chocolate flakes work perfectly as well!

Tastes strong, creamy and extremely chocolately! A perfect after dinner drink or with your favorite dessert. When I had a friend couple over for a pleasant evening the other day, I served this with some crème brûlée. Satisfaction guaranteed!