Spanish Sips

The other night, I met a friend at one of my very favorite restaurants in New York, Sala 19. This place is one of those rare restaurants in New York City where I feel the urge to visit again and again. It's my go-to place for meeting up with friends, celebrating Big City milestones and first dates (though I happily believe my days of those are long gone...). Sala 19 is sexy, sophisticated, loud, dimly lit, affordable -- and the tapas are so damn good.


For drinks, I usually get the red sangria, but the other night, bartender Joe concocted up his own specialty for us, the El Halcon, a smooth blend of Hendrick's Gin, St. Germain, grapefruit bitters, a splash of cranberry (for color). Once all the ingredients are shaken and poured into a martini glass, Joe singed and orange peel with a match to give this sip a smokey flavor. The finishing touch? Topping the whole thing off with some bubbly cava. Salut!

Sips from The Knot Gala

This past week, we celebrated the 15th anniversary of The Knot at an amazing gala at the New York Public Library (check out all the pics here). Of course, no party is complete without a menu of signature cocktails, so we called upon the Cocktail Guru himself, Jonathan Pogash, who just launched his Wedding Cocktail Design blog and graciously hopped behind the bar to mix up the following sips for our 750+ guests. Thanks, Jonathan!

Manhattan Wedding Punch
(wedding theme: simple, backyard, harvest, seasonal)
(season: fall/winter)
(color scheme: caramel)

2 parts Bols Genever
1 part Sailor Jerry Rum
1/2 part Domaine de Canton Ginger liqueur
1 part Apple Cider
3/4 part Fresh Lemon juice
1/2 part maple syrup
The Bitter Truth Aromatic bitters to taste

Directions: Add all to punch bowl with several lemon and orange wheels, and chill and dilute w/ ice. Add freshly grated nutmeg when ready to serve.

Cranberry Spice Sparkler
(wedding theme: Holidays, Valentine’s Day, modern)
(season: fall)
(color scheme: cranberry, cardinal, burgundy, candy apple)

5 whole fresh cranberries
1 heaping tsp. pumpkin pie spice agave nectar
splash of fresh lemon juice
3 oz. Sparkling wine

Directions: Muddle the cranberries in the pumpkin agave nectar and lemon juice. Add the sparkling wine and ice and gently fold. Strain into a chilled champagne flute.

Garnish: a floating cranberry