Batten Down the Hatches

Our beach vacation got cut a little short today, as we were asked to evacuate Ocean City, NJ, way too early this morning due to Hurricane Irene. I'm still not over it. If you're heading out to the store with everyone else tonight, be sure to add the following ingredients to your emergency checklist so you can mix up this weekend's signature sip.

Hurricane
Courtesy of Dale DeGroff, Craft of the Cocktail

1 oz. dark rum
1 oz. light rum
1/2 oz. Galliano
2 oz. passion fruit nectar/syrup
2 oz. orange juice
2 oz. pineapple juice
1 oz. simple syrup
Dash of Angostura bitters
Fresh tropical fruit, for garnish

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a hurricane glass filled with ice. Garnish with tropical fruit.

Congrats to Employees Only!



I have only been to Employees Only once -- and it was way before I was into the cocktail craze or even started this blog. Unfortunately, I didn't have the good sense back then to order a proper sip and the only thing that really made an impression was the fortune teller by the entrance.

But now I have a reason to go back, because this West Village speakeasy was just named Best Cocktail Bar in the World at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans last month! Click here to see what the guys behind the bar had to say about this well-deserved honor.

And if you can't make it to Employees Only any time soon, consider stirring up the recipe below, a modern take on a classic punch.

The Remedy
By Steve Schneider, Employees Only

1/2 part absinthe (2 cups) (Schneider's prefers Pernod 68 Absinthe - decent price, high proof, very well balanced)
1 part raw sugar syrup (4 cups)*
1 part fresh lime (4 cups)
2 parts filtered water (8 cups)
1 part Champagne (1 bottle)(Schneider's rec: Perrier Jouet Grand Brut for its level of dryness)
1 pound strawberries, sliced
2 long English cucumbers, sliced
3 limes, cut into wheels
grate nutmeg to taste

Take all the ingredients, except the Champagne and nutmeg and place them in a container overnight. The punch and the fruit will soak together nicely overnight. Once ready to serve, add the decorative ice mold** and add punch. Top off with the Champagne and grate nutmeg to taste***

*Sugar syrup: 2 cups of water to every 1 pound of sugar. Heat all ingredients in a saucepan and stir until sugar is dissolved, let cool and bottle.

**Decorative Ice Mold: Purchase any sized bundt pan and fill it up by strategically placing strawberries and cucumbers with ice cubes in the pan before topping it off with water and freezing overnight. This provides a nice large block of ice to keep your punch cold, and as it melts, it will add more fruit to your punch -- it also adds a cool decor element to the table.

***Don't add the Champagne until the end so it doesn't go flat. A note about the fruit that's been sitting in the punch overnight: Schneider likes to discard the original fruit because it can get mushy after sitting overnight and replace it with new, diced fruit small enough so it can comfortably fit in the glass and won't hinder the drinking experience.

Bloody Dave's

Charlie and I have sipped our fair share of Bloody Mary's this summer. It all started at Dayna & Dave's house a few months ago, when Dave whipped up a batch as pre-dinner cocktails. So good, we've adopted his recipe as our own, and on the weekends you'll find us sippin' "Bloody Dave's" for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Dave Gray's Signature Recipe: 1 shot of vodka; clamato juice; 1 lemon and lime slice each; couple dashes each of black pepper, worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce; horseradish to taste (found in the deli section of the grocery story, btw); Spanish olives and black olives.

Here are a few of my other favorite places to try this classic brunch thirst-quencher:

Standard Tap, Philadelphia
Stubbs, Austin (make your own Bloody Mary bar)
Blue Pig Tavern, Cape May
Mother's, New Hope (shown above)

Dirty Monkeys & Flaming Coffees in Cabo

The No. 1 highlight of our vacation to Cabo San Lucas this past spring? We got engaged (awww....). The No. 2 highlight of the trip? The drinks, of course (at least for the purposes of this blog)!

I'm obsessed with pina coladas, but to curb my waistline I treat them similar to the way I treat Philly cheese steaks (two per year for the sammies; only when I'm in a tropical destination for the sips). So, as the bartender at the Riu Palace pool bar was mixing up my second colada of the day, she stopped and realized she made a slight mistake. "You want to try a Dirty Monkey?" she asked. Why not? I was on vacay, after all. Her mistake turned into my new favorite by-the-pool sip.

Dirty Monkey
1 oz. coconut rum
1 oz. creme de bananas
1 oz. creme de cacao
1 oz. Kahlua
2 scoops vanilla ice cream or milk

Blend six ice cubes with ice-cream in a blender until smooth. Add liqueurs and continue blending, again until smooth. Add more ice-cream if needed (for milkshake consistency). Pour into a highball glass, and serve.

Another highlight? Flaming coffees at Los Deseos on the marina. Gimmick? Yes. Delicious? Absolutely!

Lemony-licious

I love all things lemon. Lemon-blueberry pancakes, my mom's lemon biscotti, lemon bars and, of course, lemon-y cocktails. So for my best friend's bridal shower this past May, I mixed up a batch of Sparkling Lemon Vodka cocktails as the celebration's signature sip. They were so good that this pretty container didn't last very long as a decor element!

Lemon Vodka Sparkling Cocktails*
1 cup vodka, chilled
1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 2/3 cups Champagne, or other sparkling wine, chilled

Combine vodka and lemonade in a pitcher; chill until ready to serve. Just before serving, add Champagne and stir gently. Yields 8 half-cup servings (I think I tripled this recipe for the party).

*This recipe was adapted from Cooking Light's gin version.

Another lemon cocktail recipe I'm obsessed with? Lemon Verbena Gimlets

Wake Up Sippin'

As I sit here sippin' a double Nespresso cappuccino (my new favorite non-alcoholic drink on a weekend morning), I was reminded that I forgot to post about one of the most brilliant additions to my favorite spirited sip - the Espressotini.

Genius-ness was found at Balthazar (a place I dearly miss for a breakfast since leaving my last job which was located just around the corner. Eggs Florentine, yum...). The drink was the Pradotini (or Pravotini?). The additional twist? A splash of orange vodka which added a delicate hint of citrus to the finish. Devine. Unfortunately, I can't find the recipe anywhere, but if I was gonna give it a shot at home, I'd start with this and adjust accordingly:

Espressotini...inspired by Balthazar
2 oz. espresso
1 oz. Absolut Vanil
1 oz. Grey Gooose L'Orange
1/2 oz. Starbucks Coffee Liqueur

Shake over ice, and strain into a very chilled martini glass.