Kickin' It Old School

I just got back from the Bowery Hotel, where bartender Brian is mixing up old school concoctions worthy of Toulouse-Lautrec. That's right, we are talkin' Absinthe. Though I have done my Absinthe research, even writing a story on the "Green Fairy" while at Pennsylvania's Wine Spirits Quarterly, I have never seen an absinthe cocktail made in person -- until tonight. Bowing to tradition, Brian mixed up this mystical green potion in a pint glass, topped it off with a strainer, over which he poured ice cold water from an ornate glass jar over a sugar cube. If you're not daring enough for this hallucingenic sip, try the bar's Bowery Cocktail: a mix of Dubonnet, Angostura bitters, and Plymouth Gin topped off with Champagne and served in a martini glass garnished with a lemon twist.

Got Milk?

I hope not. I'm a firm believer that martinis should never be made with milk or half & half. The main reason is three-fold: 1) I feel like I am drinking dessert at happy hour. 2) By the time you reach the bottom of the glass, the creamy mixture gets coagulated. And 3) all those calories! Unfortunately, two of my favorite martinis -- the Espressotini and the Key Lime Martini -- are often hard to come by minus the milk factor, but they do exist! Here are two of my favorite no-milk martini recipes.

Espressotini
Courtesy of Starbucks
1 part Starbucks Coffee Liqueur
1 1/2 parts Absolut Vanil

Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with three coffee beans.

Key Lime Martini
Courtesy of Absolut
4 parts Absolut Vanil
1 part Lime Juice
1 part Simple Syrup
Lemon wedge

Chill a cocktail glass with ice or in the freezer. Pour absolut vanilia, lime juice and simple syrup into a shaker. Fill the shaker with ice cubes and shake it until the shaker is very cold. Empty the cocktail glass from ice and water. Strain the drink into the cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

A Mango Moment

Maybe its that one 60 degree day we had this week -- or the fact that summer can't get here fast enough, but I am definitely having a mango moment. It began the other night at PLANETHAI212. Kira had the Mango Margarita (Cuervo Gold, fresh mango puree), Elli had the Mango Creamsicle (Stoli Orange, Cointreau, mango juice), and I had a Mango Cosmopolitan. Can you say: vacation in a glass?

Mangopolitan
Courtesy of Finlandia
2 oz. Finlandia Mango Fusion vodka
1/2 oz. cranberry juice
1/2 oz. triple sec
1/2 oz. sweet & sour mix
Splash of lime juice

Shake and strain into a sugar-rimmed martini glass.