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Monday, December 30, 2019

Hurricane with Herbed simple syrup - Final Cocktail for the Year


Happy New Year!

Today I want to wrap up the month of cocktail / mocktail recipes by speaking about the making of simple syrup.  A simple syrup is the key to many cocktails and with herbs as a base you can create an unlimited combination of flavors to make an equally numerous series of drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.



Once you learn how easy it is, you'll discover just how essential it is to keep simple syrup in stock in your bar and kitchen. It's found in many mixed drink recipes, including the mojito, daiquiri, and hurricane. You can also use it to sweeten your coffee, tea, and homemade lemonades and sodas.
Just add a Tablespoon to 8 ounces of seltzer water or club soda and you have your own flavored drinks.  You can also add to still water for a refreshing beverage.  Below I share how to make the syrup and a hurricane which is a fun citrus drink to brighten the long winter days.



Traditional Herbed Simple Syrup

      1 cup water

      1 cup sugar (white, turbinado, raw demerara sugar, your choice)

      1 cup fresh (only half if using dry) herbs



Directions:

1.         Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan.
2.         Add sugar and stir until it has dissolved completely.

3.         Reduce the heat, add the herbs and cover the pan.
4.         Remove the pan from the heat. Allow it to cool and steep for at least 1 hour until room temperature.

5.         Strain out the herbs, pour the syrup into a bottle, and refrigerate. The syrup will be good for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.



NOTES:

·       Because of the short shelf life, I place my syrup in plastic squirt bottles and freeze it.  When you want a cocktail it only takes about 15 to 20 minutes for the frozen syrup to thaw.

·     Don't expect the syrup at either ratio to be as thick as maple syrup or honey. Instead, it will be thin and very easy to pour—more of a consistency similar to a liqueur.

·     Do not allow the syrup to boil for too long or the syrup will be too thick once it cools.

·     To prolong the shelf life, add a little vodka. Usually between a tablespoon and an ounce is enough, depending on how large the batch of syrup is. 




Using your Simple Syrup to Make a Cocktail



The hurricane is an iconic tropical cocktail that you should know and will never forget. It is a fun rum-filled drink that includes the captivating pairing of passion fruit and orange juices. While it looks and tastes rather complex, it is quite easy to make.



This cocktail became popular at Pat O'Brien's bar in 1940s New Orleans. It's said that O'Brien created
the heavily rummed drink as a means to get rid of the large stock of rum his Southern distributors forced him to buy.



The story says that it debuted during the 1939 World's Fair in New York City and was named after the hurricane lamp-shaped glasses that the first drinks were served in. This style continues to be known as a hurricane glass.



Tropical Hurricane with Herbed Simple Syrup

2 ounces light rum 

2 ounces dark rum

2 ounces passion fruit juice

1 ounce orange juice

1/2 lime

1 tablespoon simple syrup made with herbs – lavender, mint or lemon balm are all good choices

1 tablespoon grenadine (see below to make your own!)

Garnish: maraschino cherry and orange slice



Directions:

1.                  In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, squeeze the juice from half a lime.

2.                  Add the other ingredients.

3.                  Shake well, until the outside of the shaker tin becomes frosty.

4.                  Strain into a hurricane glass and garnish with a lemon slice.



Other Simple syrup flavors you can create

·         Sour mix (aka bar mix or sweet and sour) is also used in the bar, often for tropical cocktails. You make a plain or herb flavored simple syrup and add 1 cup of the syrup to 2 cups of citrus juices and you have a homemade sour mix.  It is great with lemon and lime juice, but also with tangerine and orange.

·         Cinnamon simple syrup is an excellent sweetener for coffee as well as classic and modern cocktails. Cinnamon is warming and is perfect for use in winter. The cinnamon can be combined with other flavors like apple, cherry, thyme, and vanilla. Make yours by combining 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 2 cinnamon sticks and follow the typical directions.

·         Ginger simple syrup made with 1 cup of sugar added to ¾ cup water and 1 cup of sliced peeled ginger offers a subtle spice that is very versatile. Because ginger is a root, you will need to bring the syrup to a light boil then reduce the heat and allow to simmer over heat for 15 minutes to truly gather the unique flavor of the ginger.  It can be added to tea or mixed into cocktails where you might use ginger ale or ginger beer and it's a good substitute for a ginger liqueur. Ginger can be combined with other flavors; vanilla or habanero are just two very fun possibilities.

·         Use 3 Tablespoons of dried lavender flowers with 1 cup water and 2 cups sugar and use the above instructions to make a lavender simple syrup which are a great an easy way to add flavor to cocktails. These are used all the time in modern drink recipes and the basic recipe works for nearly any herb, including basil, parsley, and rosemary.

·         Chile peppers in simple syrup give the sweetener a nice heat that's an excellent way to spice up your cocktails. Any pepper will work, so you can customize the spiciness to suit your needs.  Use two peppers with 2 cups of raw sugar and 1 cup of water.

·         The most popular flavored syrup in the bar is grenadine. That's right, the key ingredient to a Shirley Temple and tequila sunrise is little more than a pomegranate-flavored simple syrup and it is easy to make grenadine from scratch.

·         One uses pomegranate juice instead of water adds the sugar and flavors it with lemon balm leaves to craft your own grenadine.  If you have some orange water, you can splash a few dollops of that in to enhance the flavor.

·         Split a vanilla bean in half and pour warmed sugar/water mixture and allow to steep 8 to 10 hours to create this amazing simple syrup. It is a fantastic sweetener for almost any beverage. You can build on the sweet flavor with a little ginger.


Saturday, December 28, 2019

Mint and Lemon Grass Cooler - Weekend Recipe

Today’s cocktail uses a technique called Muddling.  Muddling is when you place the fresh herbs in a tall glass with some sugar and press with a muddler (a wood or ceramic rod) several times.  You are not pulverizing the herbs, just breaking the leaf enough to release the flavor into the sugar so that when the alcohol and other ingredients are added the flavors will meld and create a robust flavor.  This cocktail uses a shaker to marry all the flavors before you pour into a glass and add soda.



Mint and Lemon Grass Cooler
2 tablespoons chopped mint
1 tablespoon chopped lemongrass (from bottom of stalk)
2 slices lemon, quartered, plus 1 for garnish (optional)
1 teaspoon sugar
Ice
1 ounce anise liquor (such as Ricard or Pernod)
Soda water
Top of lemongrass stalk, for garnish (optional)


Directions:
Muddle together mint, lemongrass, lemon slices, and sugar. Add to a shaker with ice and liquor and shake well.  Strain as you pour into a tall glass filled with ice and top with soda water. Garnish with remaining lemon slice and lemongrass, if desired.


RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2019 so you can find them all.

The themes are:
Jan 2019 – Chicken and Dumplings (CDumpsJan)
Feb 2019 - Pasta Dishes (PastaFeb)
March 2019 - Edible Flowers (FlowerMar)
April 2019 - Seafood Recipes (SeafoodApr)
May 2019 - Cajun And Creole (C&CMay)
June 2019 - Vegetarian Dishes (VegJun)
July 2019 - Zucchini Recipes (ZucJul)
August 2019 - National Mustard Day – mustard recipes (MustardAug)
September 2019 - Quiche (QuicheSep)
October 2019 - Crock Pot meals (CrockOct)
November 2019 - Pies (PieNov)
December 2019 - Mocktails (MockDec)

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Christmas Herb Punch

The website Sugar and Soul gave me the idea for today's cocktail, perfect for Christmas celebrations.
They called it Christmas Punch, I modified it to include my favorite Christmas herbs and changed the name to Christmas Herb Punch.  The best part about this is you can get out the punch bowl, serve this to your guests and family and don't have to be a bartender all evening.


Christmas Herb Punch 

1 orange sliced
1 lemon sliced
1 cup cranberries
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup Lemon Balm leaves
2 cup cranberry juice
2 cups orange juice
1 cup pomegranate juice
2 cups ginger ale
1 cup brewed lemon grass tea
1 cup white rum, optional (or you can use vodka or whiskey)
Ice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher or punch bowl over ice. If using a really large punch bowl, you can double the recipe.  If preparing ahead, leave out the ice and ginger ale until ready to serve to guests.

Additional Notes: if you have children in attendance, keep the alcohol on the side to allow adults to add their own as desired.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2019 so you can find them all.

The themes are:
Jan 2019 – Chicken and Dumplings (CDumpsJan)
Feb 2019 - Pasta Dishes (PastaFeb)
March 2019 - Edible Flowers (FlowerMar)
April 2019 - Seafood Recipes (SeafoodApr)
May 2019 - Cajun And Creole (C&CMay)
June 2019 - Vegetarian Dishes (VegJun)
July 2019 - Zucchini Recipes (ZucJul)
August 2019 - National Mustard Day – mustard recipes (MustardAug)
September 2019 - Quiche (QuicheSep)
October 2019 - Crock Pot meals (CrockOct)
November 2019 - Pies (PieNov)
December 2019 - Mocktails (MockDec)





Saturday, December 21, 2019

Apple Breakfast Tea Cocktail - weekend recipe

There are many books on making Herbal cocktails, like the Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart or Clean Cocktails by Beth Nydick and Tara Roscioli.  Each of these has great ideas for turning your garden jewels into a wonderful relaxing beverage.  After reading these I started to experiment with tastes and flavors and cocktails and mocktails and came up with quite a number of them.



One of the great ways to get the taste of herbs into a cocktail is to make a tea.  Tea Cocktails take the flavor of tea and use it to enhance a combination with alcohol.


Here are some tips for making tea cocktails

1.      Always make your tea stronger than you think necessary for cocktails. Don’t use more time to achieve this; instead, use more tea. Many people make the mistake of steeping the tea for too long to try and get more flavor. The results? Bitter, sour tea. Use more dry tea but stick with the suggested steeping times. You’ll love the power behind a tea concentrate.

2.      Be aware of balance. A stronger tea like rooibos, a tisane versus true tea, has nutty notes that beg to be enhanced by a robust spirit like bourbon or rum. On the other hand, a more delicate tea like white tea requires a spirit that won’t overwhelm it, making vodka or light rum ideal.


Apple Breakfast Tea Cocktail

English breakfast tea
Thyme
Apple juice
Whiskey
Apple, sliced thin

Brew a fresh batch of tea with added sprigs of thyme.  Chill and add equal parts clear apple juice and tea.  Pour into a balloon glass and spike each one with a shot of your favorite whiskey.  Garnish with apple wheels and sprigs of thyme.

RECIPE THEME

Each month a theme is chosen and a number of recipes on that theme from my massive archive will be shared.  This year we have 12 new topics, different from the topics of last year.  To find the recipes of last year, check out this recipe link or search the blog with the topic Recipe2018

You can search the monthly theme by looking for the theme keyword in the search box and it will pull up the recipes on that theme as posted, so look at the bottom of the recipe in each posting for the KEYWORD in the () to search for each  month.  All recipes this year will be tagged Recipe2019 so you can find them all.

The themes are:
Jan 2019 – Chicken and Dumplings (CDumpsJan)
Feb 2019 - Pasta Dishes (PastaFeb)
March 2019 - Edible Flowers (FlowerMar)
April 2019 - Seafood Recipes (SeafoodApr)
May 2019 - Cajun And Creole (C&CMay)
June 2019 - Vegetarian Dishes (VegJun)
July 2019 - Zucchini Recipes (ZucJul)
August 2019 - National Mustard Day – mustard recipes (MustardAug)
September 2019 - Quiche (QuicheSep)
October 2019 - Crock Pot meals (CrockOct)
November 2019 - Pies (PieNov)
December 2019 - Mocktails (MockDec)