Tomorrow afternoon starts a wondrous week of wine in the Northwest – Willamette, Walla Walla, Columbia Valley and up to Okanagan and I can’t wait….great wine, but mainly – cooler temperatures…
Though we are teased nightly by our local weathermen with promises that a cooling off is around the corner, we wait…So here are a few ideas to cool you off this long holiday weekend. Whether you are indoors or out, by a pool, lake or patio, these tasty cocktails are sure to please.
September is National Bourbon Month so if you need a special reason to open a bottle of Jim Beam, enjoy a dose of Knob Creek or sip a Wild Turkey, here are a few ideas for mixing:
The Manhattan 101
1 3/4 ounces Wild Turkey Bourbon
1/3 ounce dry vermouth
1/3 ounce sweet vermouth
1 thin slice fresh ginger
3 mint leaves
1/2 tsp powdered sugar
Dash aromatic bitters
Muddle ginger, mint, powdered sugar and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add Wild Turkey Bourbon, vermouth and ice. Shake and strain into a chilled glass.
Muddled Creek
2 parts Knob Creek ® Bourbon
Ginger ale, to taste
Splash of triple sec
Muddled orange slice
Combine Knob Creek, ginger ale and triple sec. Serve over ice in a cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of orange
Washington Apple
½ part Knob Creek Bourbon
½ part DeKuyper® Pucker® Sour Apple Schnapps
½ part cranberry juice
Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well and pour into a shot glass.
My grandma enjoyed a Jim Beam now and then. She wanted it simply in a tall glass over ice, with a little Coca-Cola and a splash of water.
We had some friends over last Monday (the 107 degree day) and to cool off our guests as they arrived we made a white peach and blood orange sangria. Easy and refreshing.
White Peach and Blood Orange Sangria
Two bottles of good white wine (but it doesn’t have to be the best since all the flavors of the sangria will dilute the wine)
1/2 Cup of Orange Liqueur (like Grand Marnier)
1/4 cup sugar
2 large White Peaches – sliced
2 Blood Oranges – sliced
1 lemon – sliced
1.5 liter of orange flavored sparkling water
ice
Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large pitcher. Muddle the fruit a bit to break it up and mix the ingredients and dissolve the sugar. You can serve now by adding in the sparkling water and the ice, but it can also be chilled w/o the water and ice until you are ready to serve. Garnish with an orange slice.
I did an event a few weeks ago with The Macallan Scotch. We started the evening with a classic Rob Roy, and boy was it good….
Rob Roy
2.5 ounces The Macallan Fine Oak 10
.75 ounces of sweet vermouth
Dash of Angostura bitters
Pour over rocks and garnish with
Lemon zest and Maraschino cherry
We made a Frozen Rose cocktail the other afternoon that was just heavenly.
1 bottle good Rose wine – I used a Spanish one from Tapena made from mostly Garnacha (Grenache) and Monastrell (Mourvedre) that is easy drinking and food friendly with lots of strawberry and cherry flavors.
2 cups crushed ice for blending
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup fresh strawberries plus extra for garnish
1 cup sparkling water
Blend the first 4 ingredients until smooth and pour into serving glasses. Top each glass with a splash of sparkling water and a strawberry. I made a grilled romaine, strawberry, walnut and blue cheese salad with this and it was a perfect pairing.
And since vodka is often on the cocktail list, here is an easy one to say good bye to summer from Ketel One:
Labor Day Lemonade
1 1/4 ounces Ketel One Vodka
1/4 ounce Green Chartreuse
3/4 ounce Fresh Grapefruit Juice
3/4 ounce Fresh Lemon Juice
Dash of Grapefruit Bitters
Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake well. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with an orange slice.
