TALK DRINKS

Happy New Year!!!

From all of us here at TALKDRINKS, we would like to wish you a very Happy (and safe) New Year. Our New Year's resolution is to bring you even more tasty cocktail recipes, useful bartending tips, and interesting stories from both sides of the bar. Cheers to a Great 2009. 

Freedom

I have been officially blessed with the opportunity to be a free agent. I'm going to use my time to focus on my cocktail recipes, mixology competitions and most importantly, my photography. More adventures to come! Cheers - Elba

A Christmas Cake Recipe - Welcome to Miami

My friend emailed this recipe to me and I thought it was really cute. Try it out and enjoy. ;) Merry Christmas!!! - Marita, Ortanique on the Mile

Christmas Cake Ingredients:
* 2 cups flour
* 1 stick butter
* 1 cup of water
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 cup of brown sugar
* Lemon juice
* 4 large eggs
* Nuts
* 1 bottle tequila
* 2 cups of dried fruit

Steps:
Sample the tequila to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the tequila again. To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat.

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the tequila is still OK. Try another cup... Just in case.

Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit up off floor. Mix on the turner. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver.

Sample the tequila to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. Check the tequila. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Add a spoon of sugar, or some fink.

Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner.

Finally, throw the bowl through the window. Finish the tequila and wipe counter with the cat.

Bingle Jells!

Winter Wonderland Cocktail Soiree - The Windy City Post

Two weeks ago, I attended the Winter Wonderland Cocktail Soiree at the Architectural Artifacts Atrium with my good friend Matty Colston of Blackbird Restaurant. Yelp.com - Chicago gathered together the crème of Chicago’s culinary scene, such as MK, Uncommon Ground and Zed 451 just to mention a few, and invited 1,000 of their elite Yelpers to sample signature dishes and cocktails. Blackbird's Chef Mickey served a cool Rabbit Sausage with Jasmine Cornbread and a White Cream Sauce. Mixologist Matty Colston created the "Añejo Smash" made with Partida Anejo, muddled kumquats, toasted sesame seed and a Japanese herb garnish. The evening culminated with a cocktail contest and it came down to the wire. The judges were all the Yelpers who attended. Matty's Anejo Smash took 3rd place just 4 votes shy of top prize!!! Cheers - Alex, bartender, Moonshine 

Cranberry Spice Margarita - The Wild West

Here is a great new cocktail courtesy of Trudy Thomas from the Camelback Inn Resort & Spa. The Camelback Inn is an Arizona landmark set on 125 acres of lush desert landscape nestled at the base of Mummy Mountain. They recently completed an extensive renovation and, now with their new garden, are able to grow their own herbs to be used in their cooking and cocktailing. Trudy created this special holiday cocktail, which is being featured resort-wide. I tried it on my last visit there and it is fantastic. Stephen, Bartender, Roaring Fork

Cranberry Spice Margarita
1 1/2 oz Partida Reposado
3/4 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz Velvet Falernum
1 1/2 oz house made lime sour
11 cranberries (8 muddle 3 for garnish)
1 teaspoon superfine sugar for rim
In a mixing glass, muddle fresh cranberries with lime sour and add remaining ingredients then shake with ice. Strain over ice into a Margarita glass rimmed in sugar. Garnish with a pick of cranberries.

Pranna's 1st New Year's Eve Bash!!!

We will be celebrating our first New Year's Eve at Pranna. Ring in the New Year from 9:30pm-2:30am with hor d'oeuvres, food stations and a premium open bar. To reserve your table please contact [email protected]. Hope to see you there. - Elba

Wednesday, December 31 from 9:30pm-2:30am
Pranna Restaurant
79 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 696-5700
www.prannarestaurant.com

Holiday Parties Galore - The Wild West

I love this time of the year because of all the great events and parties that are being thrown in Scottsdale now. A few weeks ago, I blogged about a great restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale called The Mission. Last Wednesday, Rick Philips of Desert Living Magazine hosted a terrific cocktail party here. The gorgeous of Scottsdale's and Phoenix's social elite gathered to try specialty cocktails served by the Mission's talented bartenders and yours truly. Since my interview on Teq Talk, some people have made me into the resident Tequila expert. I was happy to do Tequila tastings with the guests and talk to them about the history and evolution of this great spirit. There were both experts and beginners in the crowd, but all came away with a true understanding of how Tequila has become a super-premium sipping spirit. Salud - Stephen, Roaring Fork

(PS - I'm a bit of a shutterbug and photography is one of my favorite hobbies.)

Warm Tequila Recipe for the Cold Winter Months

The Ginger Snap - Welcome to Miami

After reading an article that said ginger is going to the be hot ingredient for 2009, it gave me some ideas and I decided to experiment over the weekend. This cocktail is very refreshing with a light fruity flavor and the ginger adds a unique ting. Happy Cocktailing - Marita, Ortanique on the Mile

The Ginger Snap
2 oz Reposado Tequila
1/2 oz ginger simple syrup
1/2 a lime (cut into smaller slices)
Ginger Ale
8 - 10 red seedless grapes
3 inch sprig rosemary
Muddle lime, grapes and rosemary in a shaker. Top with ice and add ginger simple syrup, Reposado Tequila and shake. Strain over ice into a highball glass and top off with ginger ale. Garnish with a grape and sprig of rosemary.

Ginger Simple Syrup
2 palms of fresh peeled ginger
2 quarts of super fine sugar
2 quarts of water
Preparation: Bring water to near boil in a medium sauce pan and stir in the sugar until it is fully dissolved. Place in pre-peeled and chopped fresh ginger and crushed nutmeg. Let pot simmer for about 30min. Take it off the heat and let it cool. Once the mixture is cool throw it through a blender and strain the liquid through fine strainer. The syrup is now ready for use.

Premium Grappa Education

I just came back from a 2 week adventure in Europe where I was very fortunate to be in Alba, Italy just after the white truffle festival this year. The truffles were fantastic but even more importantly, the region around Alba is the DOCG home to Barolo and Barbaresco wines, which is when the Marolo family comes into the picture. What to do with the grapes after they have been pressed to make wine?
There are 4 distilleries in Alba and the Marolo family has one just outside of the city on the road to Canale. I met Lorenzo Marolo on a trip to the US earlier this year and mentioned I would be in Italy later, so we made plans to meet. Lorenzo's father Paolo has been distilling single varietal Grappa since 1977, and his father before him. The process of fermentation to distillation when making Grappa is very tricky. The white grapes, typically Moscato, have not yet been fermented before they arrive. The red grapes of Nebbiolo are well on the way as they are left in the pressed grape juice to add colour and texture or tannin structure to what will be wine. These must be handled carefully and either distilled straight away or sealed in the bags to avoid further oxidization
Lorenzo took us on a tour of the distillery from the must piles (bags of pressed grape skins waiting to be distilled), to the stills where the real work is done and then finally the tasting room. Hooray! Unfortunately we could only look at the cellar from outside a cage. The cellar is under lock and key by DOCG law to control the quality and integrity of the final product. A representative must be present during tasting and refilling of the barrels.
The family distills over 40 different types of Grappa and fruit Brandy, including a few aged 9, 12, 15 and 20 years!!! They also have a Grappa that is flavored with chamomile, make chocolate truffles flavored with the Grappas and a Panettone (Italian Christmas cake) flavored with their Moscato Grappa.