Punch in the face

PUNCH IN THE FACE

Three punch ideas for a par-tayh

Good evening everyone. With my wife one (1!) day due from "labor" (these are interesting times, my dear readers), a good friend of mine gave me a challenge!

Last Saturday I bumped into him at my work. He had a friend who was organizing a big party and needed a good punch for it. So my friend challenged me to come up with a few ideas and preferably have a tasting at my place. Since I'm rather short on time (our first born should pop any given day now), I managed to make the tasting happen today.

I was given one restriction; the punch can't be overly sweet.

So as I rode my bike on Sat. (technically Sun.) night home, I came up with three ideas, of which I actualized two. I didn't know the "theme" for the party, so I made a range of different styles of punches which would work and if needed, could be tweaked easily.

For a punch, a few reminders. The most important part; garbage in, garbage out. Using crap products gives you a said result; crap. That said, it is vital to recognize we're building a punch here. So there's no reason to buy champagne when you can use sparkling wine. Well there's one obvious reason. You don't spend so much money with the latter. BUT say one uses juices for their punch. Getting the cheapest carton of concentrated stuff can and will make a big difference.

In addition, always work in parts. It is way easier making a big bowl of punch when you can easily e.g. ten-fold your amount of liquid poured in and still have the same consistency with each batch.

Lastly, freeze a carton of juice instead of a big chunk of ice for each batch. This way as the block melts it gives more flavor than just regular ice/water.

So let's get down to business. The three ideas I had were:

Grasovka-pear and the citron-peach, respectively.

• Grasovka (bison grass vodka)
• Xanté
• Cloudy apple juice (premium)
• Sparkling wine

• Citron vodka (in this case Absolut)
• Peach liqueur
• Orange juice (premium/"squeezed")
• Sparkling wine
• (twist, explained later)

And the last (which was not made since I didn't have the material)

• Bacardi Razz/Forest fruit vodka/Nordic berries vodka
• Cassis/raspberry/relevant liqueur
• Forest fruit juice
• Sparkling rose wine

With the first, I thought of a "wintery apple pie/pear punch" with cinnamon sticks/apple slices as a decoration. The consensus was this would work as a drink but was too heavy for a punch. The second one I made (two versions actually) was a solid candidate. The fact I squeezed the juice for the glass made it (surprise, surprise) very fresh and easily enjoyed! I made another version where I substituted the peach liqueur with apricot brandy and a Fanta and the difference was huge, in favor for the first version.

The last idea was something "forest fruity", merely to give options for a different kind of punch.

Whatever they decide to go with in the end, I really felt that this was a fun assignment to have as we also discussed total punch amounts + pretty much covered everything related to the party, punch and garnishes in general.

Bellini

BELLINI

sorry about the foam part, I have an excuse explanation for that

A little while back I had my opened bottle of Prosecco at my disposal. In addition, I've always wanted to make a Bellini cocktail. An Italian classic, one might say. Rather simple (according to the recipe) to make, but practice was something...different.

• 5 cl peach pyrée
• sparkling wine (traditionally, Prosecco is used)

First put the pyrée in the glass and then gently pour in the wine. I had difficulties with the massive amount of foaming that occurred. Given, the sugar makes sparkling wine foam but this went totally berserk. I had difficulties (or lack of skill) getting a gentle pour and without my gentle pour that Bellini went cray-zayh! But after struggling I finally got it...somewhat right.

I finally gave this drink a gentle stir and set it aside for this picture. I must say though, this cocktail is not as good as I thought it would be. Somehow it tasted...stuffy. The berry cocktail before was totally more refreshing than this one.

Berries and bubbles

BERRIES AND BUBBLES

A summery greeting to you all! Albeit we're already going on August, it doesn't matter, the sun is shining, it's ridiculously warm outside so why not grab a perfect summery cocktail? Called the Berries and bubbles, I picked this up from a website (Smallscreen Network) and thanks to my wife who picked up some fresh raspberries I had the ingredients to pull one off. Note that any seasonal berry will do just fine. If you like strawberries or blueberries, go straight ahead! This cocktail is not specifically made for raspberries!

• depending on size, 8-10 large or 15-25 smaller raspberries
• 4.5 cl quality vodka
• 2 cl fresh lemon juice
• 2 cl simple syrup
• a good sparkling wine/champagne
• raspberries for decoration

In a mixing glass, add in the raspberries, vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup. Add plenty of ice, shake and (double)strain (for a clearer cocktail) into either a coupe or a flute. Top it off with your choice of sparkling wine and add a few raspberries (you can freeze a few if you wish) for the garnish.

Wouzaa! A sweet drink with a strong taste and aroma of raspberries. Especially towards the end it got even stronger; as you can see the sparkling wine (I used Prosecco) floated on top of the rest of the ingredients but nonetheless, a super refreshing and summery cocktail!

I could easily imagined this being done with blueberries, that would probably make one helluva cocktail as well...or any berry, for that matter!

Since I opened the bottle of Prosecco...I think it's time for the long waited Bellini...

Kir Pétillant

KIR PÉTILLANT

Before the official Midsummer celebration we shall celebrate it with a cocktail! A famous variation of the Kir, the Kir Pétillant is an exciting way to start say, a party!

• 1.5 cl cremé de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur)
• sparkling wine

Pour the cremé de cassis in the champagne flute (or wine glass) and afterwards pour in the sparkling wine. Enjoy well chilled.

As mentioned earlier, here are the three most used versions of the Kir (in my opinion)

1. Kir (cassis + white wine)
2. Kir Royal (cassis + champagne)
3. Kir Pétillant (cassis + sparkling wine)

A warm and beautiful color, taste-wise plenty of currant but not overwhelmingly. I can still taste the wine. A bit to the sweeter side but nonetheless well balanced. A good combination.

These are easily done at parties in larger amounts so if you ever want to have sparkling wine with a twist but without the hassle, this is your cocktail!

Mimosa

MIMOSA

Good morning everyone! I've had a small-ish break from cocktail creating but after the Finnish May Day celebration I believe it is more than correct to post a hair of the dog - style cocktail for each and everyone to enjoy. I give you the Mimosa (a close relative of the Buck's Fizz):

• one part orange juice (only use premium quality!)
• one part champagne (brut sparkling wine)

First pour in the OJ, then top it off with your choice of sparkling wine. Stirring is recommended, for the sake of this picture it wasn't stirred.

Fruity, dry-ish, refreshing! I don't think this cocktail even needs any garnish, given it is created after a party, so fiddling with fruits isn't necessary at all! Then again, at brunch a strawberry would compliment this drink wonderfully.

As I mentioned earlier about the relationship with the Buck's Fizz. Where this one is equal amounts of OJ and sparkling wine, the Buck's Fizz is two parts OJ to one part sparkling wine, making an even more lighter drink. Either way, excellency guaranteed with this one.

Champagne cocktail Shaker style

CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL SHAKER STYLE

More sparkling cocktails! Here is a champagne cocktail I made using the recipe Shaker Bar in Helsinki/Jyväskylä use in one of their mixes. It's an interesting one and I had to try it myself:

• ~1 cm piece of cucumber
• 2 cl midori
• dash simple syrup
• sparkling wine (champagne)

First, cut a pice of cucumber, drop it in your cocktail shaker and muddle the juices out of it. Add the midori and dash of simple syrup and ice and shake it but don't break it! Take your chilled champagne flute and doublestrain your mixture in the glass. Then, carefully layer the champagne (I used sparkling wine) on top of the base liquids. Again, be careful when adding sparkling wine to something sugary, it'll foam like crazy.

At this point you can either use dried cranberries (their way) or one cocktail cherry (my way) and drop them in the drink. A beautiful contrast between green/red. Some stir the drink once for the ingredients to mix but I left it as it was. Better that way.

This was an interesting cocktail. Especially towards the end the flavors from the cucumber and midori...they work! A dry beginning with a sweet after-taste. Not bad. Not bad at all!

French 75

FRENCH 75

Are you ready for a special drink? Because this classic one sure is one! Introducing the French 75. I've longed for this cocktail for such a long time now and finally...finally I had the opportunity to create this truly fantastic cocktail!

• 2 cl fresh lemon juice
• 2 cl simple syrup
• 4.5 cl gin
• champagne (or sparkling wine)
• lemon twist for garnish

Before we start, some recipes substitute the gin for cognac (being the "French" 75, not the British 75), but either way it is fine. Just note that using quality cognac will of course alter the taste of this cocktail. I used gin, though.

Shake the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice and (double)strain into a champagne flute (a tall tom collins glass will do just fine, if you don't have a flute). Top the drink with the sparkling wine and decorate with a lemon twist. Remember that the sparkling wine will react with the sugar causing heavy foaming so pour it gently and carefully. Also, I used a rather large slice of lemon peel and given, it does look more beautiful in the drink than just a small twist.

Taste-wise. Phoooie! Just amazing. A perfect harmony I must say! This is definitely a drink for brunch or a good social event. You can't go wrong with the French 75.

Airmail Cocktail

The Airmail cocktail

Good morning everyone! This morning I tried something completely "different". How does a mix of rum and champagne sound like? My thoughts exactly. After this cocktail I've come to the conclusion that either I:

1. Used wrong ingredients when creating this
2. Don't like the mix of rum and champagne

Either way, I present you the Airmail cocktail. Many sites have different proportions of how much you need  of each ingredient. This is what I used:

• 1.5 cl honey syrup (to make honey syrup, use the same amount of honey and hot water, stir until consistent)
• 1.5 cl lemon juice (many imply the use of lime juice)
• 5 cl white rum (many imply the use of rhum agricole)
• champagne, sparkling wine, etc...

Combine the three first ingredients, shake with plenty of ice and strain into a coupe glass. As seen in the picture, I had a cocktail glass. Top off with brut champagne (or sparkling wine, whatever you have in hand at the moment).

Now that I think of it. I have probably fudged things up to begin with. But regarding this cocktail, not much to say. The rum and champagne mix does not quite cut it. This is definitely a cocktail I should either work on more to perfect it...or just ditch it as a bad one. I mean, not every classic cocktail is good just because of its "classiness".

On the positive side...I can drink the rest of the champagne on its own.

Black Velvet

BLACK VELVET

2013

Black velvet and that little boy's smile

Black velvet with that slow southern style

A new religion that'll bring her to your knees

Black velvet if you please

- Alannah Myles, Black Velvet

2016, three and a half years later

Introducing a beer cocktail, one of the few I personally know (along with the Snakebite), which proves to be a worthy drink indeed! Given, this drink's history goes back to the late 19th century, created to mourn the death of Prince Albert. Here's how to make one;

• Guinness (stout beer)
• Champagne

First pour the glass halfway with Guinness and then gently pour the Champagne (using the back of a [bar]spoon helps) along the side of the glass (or just tilt the glass enough) to create two separate layers, as shown in the picture.

For this cocktail I specifically wanted to by champagne, I had a small bottle of Baron-Fuenté Grande Reserve. To my surprise it had more sweetness to it than I had imagined. I enjoyed one of these with my good friend and given, as a layered cocktail this was very beautiful but having this mixed a little bit really gave this drink more taste.

I personally liked it. I did have some (negative) expectations how this would go down but yes, the combination did work well after all! I would say that  whether you want to have this with a good (chocolaty) dessert or just feeling fancy, trying one of these is definitely an experience you shouldn't miss.

Classic Champange Cocktail

Classic Champagne Cocktail

It is time for a Monday after-work cocktail! The Classic Champagne Cocktail (CCC...okay I made that one up).

I admit I especially bought two champagne flutes in order to create this cocktail. Although I'm bigger fan of those "old fashioned champagne saucers", these kind of flutes are good for champagne cocktail making (and others too, as far as I know). Moreover, a tall flute is better at keeping the bubbles in the drink whereas the saucer's wideness releases those bubbles quicker.

But what is a classic champagne cocktail then? How does it differ from a "regular" champagne cocktail? One thing, for that matter. The cognac. A champagne cocktail consists of angostura bitters, one sugar cube and champagne (sparkling wine), a classic is made as follows:

• 30 ml cognac
• 1 sugar cube
• angostura bitters
• champagne to top off (or sparking wine like I did, preferrably brut [dry])
• a lemon twist for garnish

First pour in the cognac in the flute. Then add your champagne but leave some space for the sugar cube (it will make the cocktail foam a bit). Now here have some options how to soak our sugar cube in angostura. Some like to use a napkin and put the cube on it, add the angostura, wait a while and then drop it in the cocktail but you can also use this:

Hold the cube tightly on top of the angostura bottle and turn it once or twice to fully soak it. Remember to have a large enough cube to cover the whole bottle! (mine spilled a little bit). Then take the cube and drop it in the drink. The cocktail will foam but as you can see from the picture it looks very beautiful! Use a long lemon twist to garnish your master piece (cut the zest near the glass so the essential oils will spray to your drink) and there you have it, the 

Classic Champagne Cocktail. For any special occasion.

I liked this cocktail very much. The cognac rounded the sparking wine's taste perfectly + I especially liked how the dissolving sugar cube made the cocktail sweeter to the end!