When I was working on the Tequilador recipe competition I actually came up with three recipes and debated between which to submit. This one is a twist on the Moscow Mule...the name of course coming from the region of tequila.
Ingredients: 1.5 oz Tequilador Silver tequila .5 oz St-Germain liqueur .5 oz Ginger syrup (I used Monin's) .25 oz Simple syrup 1 oz Fresh-squeezed lime juice
Build ingredients in mixing glass and shake with ice. Strain into a pint glass filled with clean ice, top with club soda, and garnish with a juiced half-lime shell.
There's no real back story to this cocktail...just that I got something in my head that I wanted to do a drink with sage. Blackberry is a natural companion to sage, and I went from there. The name started as "Wise Council" (which "sage advice" means, of course), and with all the goddess names in my cocktails, it seems as though Athena decided She wanted this one ;-) I can't blame Her, as it's pretty delicious.
Athena's Council (a.k.a. Sage Advice) Glass: Large Cocktail Method: Muddle, Shake and Double Strain Garnish: Burned sage leaf
Muddle: 3 ea Blackberries 3 ea Sage leaves .75 oz Agave Nectar (I used Monin's) Add: 1.5 oz Sauza Hornitos Plata tequila .5 oz St-Germain liqueur 1 oz Fresh Lemon juice
Shake with ice and double strain into cocktail glass.Burn a sage leaf to garnish.
So...the USBG was having a contest for Ohio members to create a recipe for Tequilador Blanco or Tequilador Reposado to be distributed in little recipe booklets with the tequilas. I haven't heard anything since the deadline (which wasn't too long ago, so I don't know when results are going to happen Edit: Basilador was picked! The recipes will have a QR code with them so that people can go to a video of each cocktail being made (embedded in this entry below!). I'll be going to Cleveland at some point in December to be filmed making it so I'm not sure how mine came out. I love the drink, and I've gotten some nice feedback on it. The name may be a little misleading, as there's not an overwhelming basil flavor to it, but it seemed cute and clever and better than anything else I could think of at the time...ha
Basilador Glass: Large cocktail Method: Muddle, Shake and Strain Garnish: Grape spiral/basil sprig
Ingredients: 5 each green grapes 3 each Basil leaves 1.5 oz Tequilador Blanco tequila .5 oz Cointreau 1.5 oz Simple syrup 2 oz Fresh lime juice
Muddle grapes and basil leaves with a little simple syrup. Add remaining ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a large cocktail glass and garnish.
To make garnish: I wish I had a video camera for this one. Take a green grape and use a paring knife to cut the grape into a spiral. Wrap spiral around basil sprig, and use a fruit pick to secure.
And now, my awkward first time in front of a camera making a cocktail:
Given that right now I'm wrapping up work on my Valentine's menu (and given that the holiday is just around the corner), I'm sticking with cocktails I've been working on for that. One of the things I love to do is introduce people to liquors they think they don't like through drinks that I'm pretty certain they'll like. The Lady Godiva's Stand from my last entry is one great example of that (it features Cognac, and people seem to be scared of Cognac, for some reason), and this is another (tequila is another that too many people seem to shy away from).
St. Cupid's Arrow Glass: Champagne flute Method: Shake and Strain Garnish: No garnish, though if you have elderflowers that aren't riddled with pesticides or other chemicals, one floating would be lovely, as they are edible.
.75 oz Sauza Hornitos Plata tequila .5 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur Dash of simple syrup
Shake the above ingredients with ice, and strain into a champagne flute. Fill with a dry prosecco.
On naming: This is a drink where the name came before the cocktail. I rarely attempt this because I'm generally terrible at pairing what would taste like the name sounds. This started as "Cupid's Arrow" for a suitably Valentine's-y drink, and I added the "St." when I decided to use the St. Germain.
On my Valentine's menu in general: You'll probably notice that my Valentine's cocktails are actually fairly simple to execute. Valentine's weekend is notoriously busy in the restaurant industry, and I wanted to make it as painless as possible for my bartenders. While our normal drink menu (which will also be available that weekend as usual) contains a lot of fresh-squeezed juices and other things that take some time and patience to execute, I wanted to give them a bit of a break on one of the busiest weekends of the industry. I love craft cocktails, and cocktails that take love and time and effort, but learning to balance that with a restaurant space that used to be corporate and so seats over 200 once the patios are open this summer (yet only has a 12-seat bar) has definitely been a learning curve.
