Tag: Cocktail

French Pink Lady

How can I have been doing this so long and never have spoken about my unabiding love for the movie Grease?  I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have watched it.  And I always wanted to be in a cool girl gang like The Pink Ladies.  However , today we are not going to talk about my want to be this type of pink lady:

But about a classic cocktail of the same name – possibly the inspiration for the name of the aforementioned girl gang as I believe the Pink Lady was popular drink in the 1950’s.  My “French” take on the classic Pink Lady is that, traditionally applejack is an ingredient in a Pink Lady.  However, Applejack was not available in my little suburban bottle shop so I subbed in Calvados. Using French Apple brandy is also a teeny homage to one of the Pink Ladies, Frenchie!

So, in the infamous words of Rizzo,  “Okay girls, let’s go get ’em”

pink-lady1The Pink Lady has been around for decades, according to the fount of all knowledge Wikipedia, it was already well known in the Prohibition era.  It was also the drink of choice of choice of Hollywood star Jayne Mansfield.  I’m not sure if she is holding a Pink Lady in the picture below but it’s pink so let’s put two and two together and raise a glass with Jayne!  OMG…how glamourous is she!  If just ONE day of my life I could have that sort of va-va-voom I would die happy!

Don’t let the sweet and innocent look of the Pink Lady lull you into a false sense of security.  This is not girly drink made from sugar and spice and all things nice.  The Pink Lady packs a punch!  It almost straight gin, topped up with Applejack / Calvados, with a dash of grenadine, a splash of lemon juice and an egg white being the non-alcoholic components.

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French Pink Lady

Ingredients

Scale
  • 45ml gin
  • 22.5 ml calvados
  • 7.5 ml lemon juice
  • 12 dashes grenadine
  • 1 egg white
  • Maraschino cherry for garnish

Instructions

  1. Pour the gin, calvados, lemon juice and grenadine into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
  2. Shake vigorously.
  3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
  4. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

I am on a work trip to Canberra for the next few days.  There will be precious little time for sight-seeing in our Capital city  but I’ll try to fit in a run and see if I can get some photos to share with you all.  And right now I need to go pack my bag for the flight tomorrow morning!

Have a fabulous week and remember – think pink!

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Political Partini

Well, the Brits have Brexited; here in Australia we go to the polls this weekend (Lord only knows why – every time we actually elect a Prime Minister internal party political infighting deposes them and puts someone else in the top job!) I’m sure my friends in the U.S. are sick to the back teeth with Trump and Hilary and there’s still a long way to go on that one….

Political Partini

Most of these campaigns are being run on scare tactics and fear mongering  so why not kill the bad vibes with a super tasty cocktail.  I’m in…how about you? 

And oh boy do I have an absolutely beauty for you!  The Political Partini!  It’s not only delicious but punny which means I love it even more!!!!  And what’s not to love?  It’s pear infused vodka, traditionally Grey Goose La Poire but I made my own, Amaretto which I absolutely adore, simple syrup and lemon juice. So, it’s filled with fruit and nuts kind of healthy…in a boozy sort of way!

Polical Partini2This is so, so good.  I only wish I had made more pear-infused vodka so I could make it my election night tipple! Do people in other countries have election night parties?  It’s kind of a thing here.  My parents used to always have / or go to one.  If I had not just started a new job I may have thought more about it and organised something for the weekend but that’s totally not happening…maybe I’ll tag along to my parents’ party….oh Lord really?  Is this what my life has come to?

Well, here’s an ode to something I most likely will not be this Saturday from one of my favourite singers Dan Kelly.  It does contain some of the naughty words  so, if you are at work or there are kiddies about, you might want to delay playing it. 

The Political Partini was created for the US 2008 election campaign but is delicious enough to celebrate or commiserate any election wins or losses.  Or indeed anything.

OMG…it’s so good!!!!  And that’s coming from someone who is not overly fond of pears. 

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Politcal Partini: The Recipe

[yumprint-recipe id=’69’] Have a great week!

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This Goose is Loose – Goose in Spring Cocktail

Happy hump day people of the internet!

This goose is loose! 

For the next five days, I am a lady of leisure!  And what better way to celebrate than with a cocktail (or two)!  And this Goose in Spring Cocktail fits the bill perfectly!

Goose In Spring 1After three years, I am leaving the amazing team at Protiviti in Melbourne for pastures new.  It was so hard to say goodbye; I have made so many friends there and worked for three amazing bosses.  But new challenges beckoned and I am moving on. 

But not until  Monday.

Goose In Spring 2

So, in the meantime, while I am unofficially unemployed, I am as free as this little bird.

Goose In Spring3If being free means:

  • Cleaning out my pantry
  • Clearing out my wardrobe
  • Clearing out my bookshelves
  • Putting my car in for a service
  • A visit to the dentist
  • A visit to the hairdresser
  • Catching up with a girlfriend for lunch
  • A visit to the beauty salon for a mani & pedi
  • Getting the broken strap on my favourite handbag fixed
  • Trying to cook as many recipes from Persiana as possible
  • Vintage Shopping with my mum
  • Writing at least three blog posts to schedule for when I am on holiday next month
  • Writing that novel I’ve been thinking about for years
  • Scaling Everest

Yep, totally absolutely free!

Goose Is Loose 5The Goose in Spring cocktail was the winner of the May 2012 Vodka Cocktail Contest, where it was created by Elijah Venanzi.

[yumprint-recipe id=’68’]The Goose In Spring combines all the delicious floral flavours I love – lavender and elderflower with some fruity deliciousness from raspberries and lime!  The original recipe used lemon instead of lime but I didn’t have any – and you know, when life doesn’t give you lemons, a girl’s gotta improvise!  My lavender vodka was also VERY lavendery so I needed to adjust the other ingredients around it.  The original ratios are per the link in the recipe.

Have a lovely week!  I’ll be thinking of you while I’m doing all that nothing!

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The Devil Made Me Do It

Welcome to my Blogiversary!  Enter if you dare!  Because the theme of this party is The Devil!  I’ve even dressed up for the occasion.

We’re about to get things started.  But first, allow me to introduce you to our eponymous cocktail du jour – The Devil!

The Devil2When I was younger I longed to be the kind of person who had HollyGolightlyesqe parties where glamorous women smoked cigarettes from ridiculously long cigarette holders,  people danced in crowded rooms and a drunk invariably wore a lampshade on his head.People at these parties seemed to get drunk incredibly quickly and I had been wondering what it was that, seemingly in a matter of minutes could turn you from this:

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To This:

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Now I think  I know.  It’s this:

The Devil3Beware! The Devil is Potent!  Delicious but it’s got a kick like a kangaroo!  And totally perfect to kick off my devilishly themed 4th birthday celebrations!

TheDevil5Even better, it’s hellishly simple to make.  Just three ingredients and you’re done!  The original recipe calls for a splash of  lemon juice and a lemon garnish.  I had some kumquats left over from last week’s canapés so I used them instead.

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The Devil

A simple, delicious but highly potent cocktail. Enjoy but beware…the devil’s voice is sweet to hear. Drink this one wisely!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 part Tawny Port
  • 3/4 part Dry Vermouth
  • Ice cubes
  • Dash of lemon or kumquat juice
  • Lemon twist or kumquat slice to garnish

Instructions

  1. Chill your cocktail glass in the freezer.
  2. Add the ice cubes to a glass and stir in the port, the vermouth and the lemon (kumquat) juice.
  3. Strain into the chilled cocktail glass.
  4. Garnish with a twist of lemon or a kumquat slice.
  5. Enjoy!

Just remember to go easy – I think where The Devil is concerned, we need to heed the words of Dorothy Parker.

“I like to have a martini,
Two at the very most.
After three I’m under the table,
after four I’m under my host.”

On a non-birthday note, many thanks to both Donna and Yinzerella for letting me know the comments aren’t working. The WordPress support team of people a lot smarter than me are working to help me fix it!  Until it’s fixed, please feel free to comment via Facebook or Twitter!

Have a great week!  I”ll be preparing us some devillish appetizers!

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Cherry Beer Margarita – My Way

Dear readers…you have no idea of the indignities I sometimes have to suffer to bring you this.

But first, let me tell you how my recipe for Cherry Beer Margaritas recipe came about.  A little while ago, I was pottering around on Pinterest and I found several recipes for Cherry Beer Margaritas. Happy Days, I thought and began a clicking frenzy.  Only, not one of these recipes was what I expected.  I thought that these would be Cherry Beer Margaritas….i.e. margaritas made from Belgian Cherry Beer.  Instead, they were all beer margaritas with some sort of cherry flavouring.

I could not find a Cherry Beer Margarita the way I envisaged it for love or money. And so I decided to make one.

Cherry Beer Margaritas

First problem.  I thought I would just run down to my local bottle shop and pick up some cherry beer and make me some margaritas.  Uh uh.  Not so speedy there, Gonzales.

Cherry Beer Margaritas3

They had Ginger Beer, Mango Beer, Lychee Beer, Chilli Beer, about a billion flavours of Cider and Perry but no Cherry Beer.  This was repeated everywhere.  I actually shelved the idea for several months simply because I could not find Cherry Beer anywhere.

That changed on the weekend.  But not without a cost.

Cherry Beer Margaritas5

I finally tracked down the one bottle shop in Melbourne that sells Belgian Cherry Beer.

I asked for two bottles but they were on a very high shelf so the shopkeeper needed to climb up a ladder to get them.  Whilst he was climbing he started telling me that they were getting more, different cherry beers in a few weeks.  He rattled off some names.

Cherry Beer

“I used to drink a Cherry Beer…but it wasn’t either of those”

“Was it Belle Vue?”

“Yes!  That’s the one”.

He said “That was a while ago”.

I had totally lost interest by then and was looking round the shop to see what else I could buy.  “Yeah, I guess”

Cherry Beer Margaritas2

“Wow….was a REALLY long time ago”  The dude was giving me a look that quite clearly said “Would you like a pension card and a zimmer frame to go with your two beers, Granny?”

“I beg your pardon what?” I asked him, giving him my best death stare and resisting the urge to kick that ladder right out from under him.

“Erm…nothing.  Would you like anything else with that?”

How about one of these?

Giant Cup

The Cherry Beer Margaritas were everything I wanted them to be. A gorgeous deep red, a great cherry and citrus taste, a good kick of salt and a pleasant hit of booze.  Perfect drinking for a sunny afternoon!

I used a  mix of vintage merlot salt I bought at Gewurzhaus and sea salt for the glass.  The merlot salt is such a gorgeous colour and looked really pretty on the glass  but any salt would do.

It’s almost a shame these tasted so good because I won’t be going back to that shop in a hurry. Anyway, I doubt these ancient bones would make the trip!

Anyone up for a lychee beer margarita?

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Cherry Beer Margarita

A delicious cherry beer margarita with a twist – it contains Belgian Cherry Beer!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 30ml tequila
  • 30ml lime juice
  • 30ml triple sec
  • 250ml Belgian Cherry Beer, I used Floris

To Garnish

  • Salt, I used a Vintage Merlot Salt but any salt will be fine
  • Lime circle
  • Maraschino Cherry

Instructions

  1. Fill your cocktail glass with ice and place in the freezer to chill.
  2. Mix the tequila, lime, triple sec together in a large measuring cup.
  3. Remove the glass from the fridge, tip out the ice.
  4. Rub the rim of the glass with lime and roll in the salt.
  5. Pour the tequila mix into the glass and top with the beer.
  6. Garnish with the lime and cherry.
  7. Enjoy!

Have a fabulous week!

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