Sangre de Frambuesa

Still in a state of fascination with basil-flavored drinks.
Also a sudden urge to use some raspberry vinegar (artisanal no less!), half-empty bottle of it collecting the dust in my pantry (well, how many beet salads one can make).
The point of departure was Sangre de Fresa from the excellent Art of the Bar book. And it [...]

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Flowers of Sunset

Wrapping up a great Sunday: a small elegant Aperol drink that miraculously matches the color of the sunset.
Audrey Saunders christened her cocktail the Aperol Sunset, a wordplay on the well-known Tequila Sunrise…
My variations on her theme became Rita Sunset

and Rosa Sunset

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Kamikaze Sunrise

i can’t bring myself using vodka in cocktails; there are so many interesting base spirits out there that vodka seems like a waste… I know – empty canvas and stuff, but my palette (pun not intended) is limited…
So i worked from the classical kamikaze formula but made it with tequila. And some lemon thyme.

nice [...]

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Sweet Heat

Robert Hess’s Essential Bartender’s Guide is, well, essential. Tonight i tried another drink from the book: the recipe had a great list of ingredients – jalapeno, tequila and Licor 43.

Maybe a bit on a sweeter/Licor43er side but still worth for encore… I actually found another Sweet Heat formula on the web – next time [...]

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Yerba Mora

Yes i never met a chartreuse drink i didn’t like, especially when it involved tequila.
Add to this that Yerba Mora came with a profound quote from its creator, Joaquin Simo: “The thing about good traditional Mexican food is that you can never tell exactly what’s in it. It’s the same with cocktails…”
Well, thankfully the drink [...]

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Elegance of Everyday Things

In pursuit of elegance. What a great name for a book. And the cover to match. Balance, simplicity and symmetry.
No wonder it came to mind when i was sipping 2 If by Sweet cocktail yesterday. I was prepared not to like it expecting the drink to be brown and cloying. But the balanced ratio (6:4:3) [...]

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Tequila Steamed Mussels, with Chorizo

Sauce of fire roasted tomatoes, charred onion, garlic and chipotle in adobo. Slices of fried chorizo. Baked in 500F oven covered, in cazuela.
About the ratio: 2lb mussels, 1lb sauce, 1/3lb chorizo, 1/2 cup tequila: can def tune down on the latter – the flavor was nice but a bit bitter (usually comes with strong liquors).
Served [...]

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