smoQ Summer Cocktails

Oh, hey!  I finally finalized my summer menu!  A few popular returning suspects, and a few new faces.  Ones created by my bar staff are noted with their names.  We're rolling this one out Monday or Tuesday...

ETA:  This is by far my favorite menu so far.  When I remember summers growing up in Oklahoma, there are many elements I remember in this list...fresh watermelon and strawberries and cucumbers from my dad's garden, my grandmother's rose bushes (and OH her flower garden was heaven!) in Michigan, lemonade and sweet sun tea...and I am a July baby, so being out in the pool or the yard with my nose buried in books picking strawberries in the summer months were my favorite parts of growing up.  Summer flavors are so crisp and clean, and they have just the perfect amount of sweetness. Also, I feel so many elements embody the slightly-more-upscale Southern style we're aiming for, and with elements of the smokiness we're named for, as well.

Watermelon Cooler (Non-Alcoholic)

Watermelon, cucumber, mint, lemon-lime soda, topped with soda water.

Summer Lemonade (Non-Alcoholic)

Mint, basil, dill, rosemary, and pomegranate juice steeped in fresh lemonade.

smoQin’ Rita

Sauza Hornitos Plata tequila, Cointreau, Dewar’s, fresh lemon and lime juices, house-smoked hickory salt.

Lavender Honeybee

Plymouth gin, house-smoked honey, rosemary, lavender syrup, and fresh lemon juice.

Mockingbird Summer

Hendricks gin, fresh muddled watermelon, strawberry, dill, and fresh lime juice.

Flowers for Hemingway

10 Cane rum, fresh lime juice, rosewater, hibiscus syrup, and Regan’s orange bitters.

The Gatsby

Four Roses bourbon, Fernet Branca, rosewater simple syrup, and ginger ale.

Summer Garden Lemonade

Hendricks gin and St-Germain elderflower liqueur mixed with our fresh Summer Lemonade.

Peach Pom  (Josh)

Absolut Apeach vodka, PAMA pomegranate liqueur, peach puree, orange flower water, and fresh orange juice.

Bon Temps  (Josh)

St-Germain elderflower liqueur, hibiscus syrup, agave nectar, orange flower water, iced tea.

Spellbound

Tanqueray No. Ten gin, fresh strawberry, basil, balsamic syrup, fresh lime juice, and ginger ale.

Red Ginger Bee  (Carey)

Wild Turkey American Honey bourbon, hibiscus syrup, fresh lime juice, and Gosling’s Ginger Beer.

Jamaican Staycation

Appleton Estate Reserve dark rum, Frangelico, and locally brewed Mt. Carmel Nut Brown Ale.

Mixology Monday: Niche Spirits

Welcome to another Mixology Monday with me!  This month's theme is Niche Spirits (e.g. any base spirit not typically used as a base spirit--not vodka, gin, rum, etc.), and is hosted by Filip at Adventures in Cocktails.  My entry is a bit out of season, but it never hurts to start planning your holidays early, right?

For my "niche spirit" I was planning on creating a new cocktail, but I decided on a tweaked classic.  When I was first introduced to Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine, the first thing I thought of was eggnog.  When I was working on the opening menu for my bar last fall I decided to research eggnog recipes (which of course all seemed to involve either bourbon or rum...neither of which I've ever really enjoyed eggnog with), and I worked out one that worked beautifully with the Catdaddy!

Daddy's Eggnog
Method:  Preshaken egg, Shake and Strain
Glassware:  Brandy snifter or large punch cup
Garnish:  Fresh grated nutmeg


Ingredients:
1 whole egg (preshaken)
1.5 oz Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine
.5 oz Simple syrup
3 oz Apple cider


Shake indgredents VERY well (make sure that egg is completely incorporated--there is little worse than a separating egg drink) with ice and strain into glass.  Top with a fresh grating of nutmeg.  Enjoy!


Sadly, I don't have a photo of my eggnog, but it was rather enjoyed, and I can't wait to put it back on this upcoming winter!

Flowers for Hemingway

A few weeks ago, Dan and I were at one of our regular places and they were featuring a daiquiri with rose and hibiscus and soda water.  I loved the idea, but the rose was fairly overpowering (I think they used about half a barspoon of rose water), and they used soda water in it which I wasn't too crazy about, and I was missing the hibiscus and lime completely.  I decided I adored the idea so much that I just had to make it work for myself.  As for the name, this isn't really a twist on the Hemingway Daiquiri recipe, but...since he has "his own" daiquiri, he tends to be the first thing I think of when I'm talking about classic daiquiris.  Also, as far as literature goes...I'm not a Hemingway fan, though I appreciate his contributions to our literary record.  My husband, on the other hand, does quite enjoy his work.  Regardless, Nobel Laureate authors always deserve flowers in their memory, right?

Flowers for Hemingway 
Method:  Shake and strain
Glassware:  Large Cocktail
Garnish:  Flamed orange twist

Ingredients
1.5 oz 10 Cane rum
1 oz Fresh lime juice
1.25 oz Simple syrup
1 drop Rose water
5 drops Fee Bros. Hibiscus flower water
1 dash Hibiscus syrup
2 dashes Regan's Orange bitters


Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a large cocktail glass.  Garnish with a flamed orange twist.
 

Cherry Kisses

A friend of mine asked me the other day if I might be able to come up with a black cherry martini, as she had had a wonderful one, and wanted to surprise her recently-21 sister-in-law with a recipe but couldn't find any good ones online.  She said they used black cherry vodka and a chocolate rim with a chocolate covered cherry garnish.  This was what I came up with.  My staff loved it, and so did some of our guests, so I thought I'd share.

Cherry Kisses
Method:  Shake and strain
Glass:  Large cocktail
Garnish:  Chocolate rim with a fresh cherry, or a chocolate-covered cherry (the real kind...not those fake maraschinos)

Ingredients:
2 oz Effen Black Cherry vodka
.75 oz Real pomegranate grenadine (1 part pomegranate juice to 1 part sugar, shaken well to mix)
.5 oz Fresh lime juice
.5 oz Simple syrup
2 oz Cranberry juice