Dry Soda Cocktails

Have you tried "Dry Soda" yet? It's all natural, low calorie, is less sweet (although made with real cane sugar), comes in unique flavors and best of all is made right here in Seattle! They have a tasting room in Pioneer Square that I need to try out.

Not only is this stuff delicious by itself, they have tons of recipes for cocktails made from their sodas up on their website. I haven't tried one yet but the two below look awesome.

Paris in the Rain
Gabriel Ellzey | Bon Bon Lounge - Spokane, WA 
1 1/2 oz. Magellan Gin (or gin of choice)
3/4 oz. St. Germain
3/4 oz. Lemon Juice
1/4 oz. Green Chartreuse
1/4 oz. Creme de Violette
Lavender DRY Soda
Serve: Collins Glass
Garnish: stalk of Rosemary

• Combine gin, St. Germain, lemon juice and Green Chartreuse into cocktail shaker.
• Break off a small portion of Rosemary and add to shaker.
• Shake ingredients and double strain into ice-filled collins glass.
  Top with Lavender DRY Soda and drizzle Creme de Violette.
  Garnish with Rosemary.

Sparkling Cucumberita
2 oz. Tequila
1 oz. Triple Sec
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
3 oz. Cucumber DRY Soda
Serve: Large Margarita Glass
Garnish: Cucumber and Lime Wedges, Crushed Ice

• Half-fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all ingredients, except DRY Soda, and shake vigorously.
• Put 2 oz. crushed ice in prepared glass, then add margarita mixture and Cucumber DRY. Mix lightly.
• Garnish with lime and cucumber wedges on the side of the glass.

Drink of the Month: Spiced and Spiked Apple Cider

For Jenny's fair trade gift party last night I decided to whip up some yummy spiced (and spiked!) apple cider for the shoppers. I love drinking cider this time of year, and even better with some spiced rum included. I went for a super easy concoction (can't really bring myself to call it a recipe) of Trader Joe's Spiced Apple Cider (made from Washington Apples!), cinnamon sticks, and Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum.  What's not to love about easy, delicious, and festive?

Drink of the Month: Jameson and Ginger

Something possessed me to buy a ginormous bottle of Jameson last week at Costco. I'm not much of a mixologist, nor am I good at remembering to have lots of ingredients on hand, so the Ginger and Jamie, as I like to call it, is one of my favorites. It's simple yet easy to make classy. How you ask? Spice it up with a fancy ginger beer.

I love Reed's Ginger Beer Extra Ginger Brew which is made with lots of real ginger and sweetened with honey. Natural Brew Outrageous Ginger Ale and Regatta are also favorites.

Another great part about this drink is that there's no wrong way to make it: add ice, your preferred amount of Jameson and fill your glass up with ginger beer, finish it off with a squeeze of lime and you're good to go.

Drink of the Month: Grapefruit Basil Gin Fizz

Our friends Brittany and Victor whipped up this refreshing summer drink during a sunny evening BBQ in their backyard. It's relatively easy to prepare and deliciously fresh on a hot day. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and lime
Gin
Simple Syrup
Cointreau
Muddled Basil
Soda

Another recipe here if you're interested in variations.

Drink of the Month: Shandy

Have you ever had a shandy?
Daisy, my good friend from London and our resident expert on all things British, introduced me to the shandy a few weeks ago. It's a great summer drink that seems to be quite popular on the other side of the pond. It would be perfect to serve at any Olympic-viewing parties you might be hosting in the near future.

Shandies are simple, just 1/2 beer and 1/2 sparkling lemonade. I know it sounds a little weird, I'm always off put by mixing anything with beer, but trust me, this one is really good.

If you want to shake it up here's a raspberry shandy recipe.

(Image via My Recipes...also, check out their beer and ginger ale shandy)

Drink of the Month: Paloma Fresca

The Paloma is a delicious spin on the traditional Mexican margarita, very refreshing and great for warm summer nights. It was also relatively easy to make, just a lot of juicing. We adapted this tasty recipe from Dylan O'Brien of San Fran cocktail bar, Bloodhound. Jenny also made a fresh and tangy Grilled Chicken Corn Salad which went well with the Paloma. 


Ingredients: 2 oz tequila 
1 oz fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice 
.5 oz fresh-squeezed lime 
.5 oz agave syrup 
Soda water 

Make Ahead: Agave Syrup 
Will keep in the fridge for a few weeks. 
1. Add 1 cup of hot water to 1 cup of agave. 
2. Stir to dissolve the nectar and cool in the refrigerator. 

Drink of the Month: Lavender Cocktail (with Lavender Fondue!)

Yesterday Jenny, Brittany and I had a little Lavender Party in Britt's back garden to celebrate the unseasonably warm weather that we've had here in Seattle. 
Here is the recipe we used for our yummy Lavender Cocktails
2-3 oz Gin 
3/4 oz Lavender Simple Syrup (see recipe below)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1 dash Bitters
2-3 sprigs Mint

Muddle mint sprigs in lime juice, bitters and simple syrup. Add gin and ice, shake, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a mint leaf and lavender. 


Jenny made the delicious Lavender Syrup beforehand:
• 1/4 cup Lavender Flowers (stripped from stalk)
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Water
Add ingredients to a pot. Heat while stirring with a spoon until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let sit for 2 hours. Strain into a bottle or other container, and store in the refrigerator. 

We also had a delicious Lavender Goat Cheese Fondue using the Palace Kitchen's recipe!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dry Riesling 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms
• 1 cup (8 oz.) herb-flavor fresh chèvre (goat) cheese
• Pepper
• 2 Fuji apples (1/2 lb. each), rinsed, cored, and sliced 
• Preparation
• • In a 1- to 2-quart pan or fondue pan over high heat, boil wine and lavender until reduced to 1/4 cup, 6 to 8 minutes.
  • Reduce heat to medium-high, add chèvre, and stir until boiling, about 4 minutes. Add pepper to taste. Set pan over a candle or on an electric warming tray.
  • Use forks or thin wood skewers to spear bread and apple slices and dunk them into fondue.
• 
  
• PS. Brittany prepared the other delish dishes you see above including the Japanese Cucumber Salad and Cilantro Lime White Bean Hummus. 
• 
  
• (Cocktail recipe inspired by Cocktail Virgin. Photos by our own Jenny of JKoe Photography).

Drink of the Month: Cucumber Martini

Spring is officially upon us which means sitting outdoors in the evenings (when the sun finally peeps out) and sipping on fresh, cool cocktails. Have you tried Hendricks Gin before? It has a distinctly cucumber taste and is great in a gin and tonic or in mixed drinks. Here's a great recipe for a simple cucumber martini. Enjoy!

2 Oz of Hendricks Gin

3 Slices of Cucumber

4 Mint Leave

1/4 Oz of Lemon Juice

1/2 Oz of Simple Syrup

Preparation:

Muddle mint and a cucumber slice in a cocktail shaker. Add liquids and ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of cucumber and a fresh mint sprig.

PS. Past "Drink of the Month"


(photo and recipe via)

Drink O'the Month: St. Paddy's Edition

Any guesses on our March drink of the month?

Irish Coffee? Nope, us Americans drink that one far more than the Irish (and some say we even invented it). Green Guinness...not this one either, the Irish don’t dye their Guinness green. Irish Car Bomb...no again, this one is offensive when you think about it, please don’t ever order it while in Ireland.

OK, OK. You guessed it...CIDER! While it could be hard to get your hands on some authentic Irish cider such as Bulmers or Magners there are tons of local and national hard ciders to chose from in the US. And big plus for me, most cider is gluten-free! In Ireland most folks drink their cider on the rocks but here in the US it’s either served from a bottle or if you’re lucky straight from the tap in a pint glass.

Recently, some friends and I got together for a little cider tasting at the Noble Fir in Ballard. We sampled four ciders and rated them below.

1) Winesap Estate Cider, Blue Mountain Cider Co, Oregon: We were lucky enough to drink this one straight from the tap. The group described it as dry, tart, clean, crisp, white-winey, not very carbonated and less appley. This one is great for people who don't like sweet drinks. 

2) Anthem Cider, Wandering Aengus Cider Works, Oregon: This was the other on tap cider and was a crowd pleaser for sure. Group descriptions: sweet but not too much so, apply, somewhat tart, closer to apple juice taste, not very bubbly. Great everyday cider.

3) Samuel Smith's Organic Cider, Tadcaster, England: This was my personal favorite, the closest to a traditional cider taste. Highly carbonated, semi-sweet, almost like a hard-Martinelli's. Very yummy.

4) Crispin Honey Cider, Minneapolis, MN: Jenny was a big fan of this cloudy cider. It was described as very sweet, candy-appleish, tart bite at the end, and pear-ish taste. Great choice for people who like a sweeter cider. 

PS.  How not to order a drink. ;)

Drink of the Month: Rooibos Tea

I’m a tea lover. On an average day I drink between one and five cups of tea (or more at work!).  I enjoy all types of tea: green, earl grey, jasmine, peppermint, Irish breakfast, calming, medicinal. But my very favorite tea is rooibos. This tasty, caffeine-free red tea is grown in the Western Cape province of South Africa and is now popular all over the world. Patrick and I spent six months in Pretoria, South Africa in 2010 and it seemed like nearly everyone drank rooibos all day long. Most people there drink it with lots of milk and sugar but it can be sipped plain, with honey and lemon, or iced. Some places in South Africa are now even offering Red Cappuccinos made from rooibos.

Lucky for me, rooibos is also an antioxidant and said to assist with nervous tension, allergies and digestive problems. In South Africa, rooibos is used as a traditional medicine to alleviate allergies, asthma, colic in babies, and dermatological problems. What types of tea do you enjoy? Would you try a rooibos tea cocktail?

Cute photo taken by Jenny of her rooibos tea steeping in a cute mug from one of my favorite stores.

Classic Drink of the Month: French 75

Do you have bottles of unopened champagne leftover from the holidays? Why not mix up one of our favorite classic cocktails: the French 75! This elegant, not-too-sweet, drink was created in 1915 at the New York Bar in Paris and includes cognac or gin and champagne along with simple syrup and lemon juice. It can be served in a champagne flute or martini glass.

I had a great French 75 in Ballard over the weekend at the Back Bar in Bastille restaurant. Their motto is "Damn Good French Cuisine" -- I can only agree based on the delicious mussels, falafel and crème brulée we consumed. 

French 75 recipe from Creative Culinary

• 3 ounces gin
• 3 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons superfine granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups ice cubes
• 1 cup chilled champagne
• Lemon twists for garnish

1. In a cocktail shaker, combine gin, lemon juice, sugar, and ice cubes and shake to chill.
2. Strain cocktails into 2 champagne flutes and top off with champagne.
3. Garnish glass with a lemon twist.

(photo from madtini.com)