Blushing Geishas and Lychee Nuts

Day 293, Cocktails 291 & 292

Saturday night and daughter number 1 was hosting a boy / girl Valentine’s Party in the Twilight Lounge.  That means two things.  First, Gwen and I got to stay home Saturday night to chaperone.  Second, the liquor cabinets were locked for the night as well!  What to do, then?  Well, a little advanced planning and move a few key bottles upstairs to the kitchen, that’s what to do!

I had a full bottle of pomegranate juice that had been around a for awhile and decided it was time to put it to use.  I poked around Colleen Graham’s cocktail blog (see the links list below) and found something called the Blushing Geisha.  I didn’t have the rose water that it called for, but went ahead anyway with this variant (that is the beauty of cocktails – you can change ’em any way you want to!).

  Blushing Geisha

• 2 oz Ty Ku
• 1 oz pomegranate juice
• 1/8 oz lemon juice
• seltzer water

In a shaker combine the Ty Ku, pomegranate juice and lemon juice.  Shake to chill and combine.  Strain into a rocks glass filled 2/3 with ice.  Top with seltzer water. 

I was really suprised how well the Ty Ku flavors, especially the melon tones, came through in this drink.  I really expected the pomegranate to overpower the drink, but it didn’t.  This turned out to be a very nice showcase for the Ty Ku and would make a great cocktail for a warm summer night – and those aren’t that far off around here.

Next up was a totally off the cuff creation.  I had already figured to use vodka and the pomegranate in some type of cosmo type concoction.  Hmmm, I wonder how the Lillet Blanc would play with these?  And what about staying Asian themed by using some lychee juice?  Here’s what I came up with.

  Lychee Pom

• 1-1/2 oz vodka
• 1 oz pomegranate juice
• 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1/8 oz bar syrup
• 1/8 oz lychee juice

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker and shake, shake, shake.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lychee fruit or leave ungarnished.

Wow, does the lychee ever stand clear!  It’s amazing the flavor that is packed into the lychee juice.  Sweet, and the closest I can come to describe it is pear flavors, but not quite as syrupy as pears are.  Either way, the small amount in this drink was still enough to have it become the defining the flavor, with notes of orange and floral flavors coming from the Lillet Blanc.  We enjoyed this one so much that we each had two.  By the time we were through with the second the party was also finishing up and we called it a night.

Cheers!

Almond Lychee and the Goblet of Fire

Day 264, Cocktails 263 & 264

Friday night was a stay in family night for us.  The kiddos picked out Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for the DVD player and Gwen and the daughters put together a mini Tapas of appetizers for us.  My job was to whip up cocktails for us, non-alchoholic for the daughters, of course.

I had a can of Lychee fruit juice, which has become a favorite at the Twilight Lounge, especially for daughter number 2.  I started by mixing up her non-alcholic cocktail.  I began with a pint glass filled with ice.  Next I added about 3 oz of the lychee juice, 1 oz of orgeat, juice from 1/2 a lime (about 3/4 oz) and then topped it with tonic water.  Sometimes I’ll also drizzle in a bit of grenadine on the top for color, although I did not do that this time.  You can also top this with seltzer water or lemon lime soda – my daughter happens to like the tonic water.  It was soooo good that she had another!

You’ve seen orgeat in some of my cocktails, mostly tiki type fare.  It is an almond flavored syrup and is usually available in larger liquor stores with the other flavorings such as grenadine or bloody mary mix.  It is thick and sweet, so it doesn’t take too much to flavor a cocktail.  It is just one of those ingredients I always have on hand.

Now, what to make for the adults?

  Almond Lychee

• 1-1/2 oz Appleton Estate VX amber rum
• 1 oz lychee juice
• 1/4 oz orgeat syrup
• 1/2 oz lime juice

Combine the ingredients in a shaker and shake, shake, shake to mix and chill.  You really need to work this one over to make sure the orgeat gets thoroughly incorporated.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lychee fruit.

I know, my picture doesn’t have a garnish – I didn’t have any lychee fruit in the house, but next time I will!  This is a nice, tiki style cocktail with a twist from the lychee juice.  The closest I can come to describing how it tastes is pear – but a little lighter.  There’s a bit of the molasses flavor from the rum and the lime helps provide a bit of tart, cutting the sweetness of the orgeat. 

The Almond Lychee was so good that we had two while watching good ‘ol Harry once again beat off the advances of what’s his name that shall remain unnamed.

Later last night I went down to the Twilight Lounge to write yesterday’s post.  As usual, I poured myself a whiskey on the rocks to sip on while I wrote.  Normally I would have had a scotch (Cutty Sark is my house blended) but instead decided to use Russell’s 6 Reserve Rye last night.  After a couple of sips, which I did enjoy, I decided to tinker.  After fooling around and adusting a bit here’s what I came up with.

  Blog Sipper

• 2oz Russell’s Reserve Rye
• 3 dashes Angosturo orange bitters
• 1/4 oz lemon juice

In a mixing glass, combine the ingredients (bitters first) with ice cubes.  Stir for 30-45 seconds to combine and chill.  Strain into a rocks glass with large ice cubes or an ice ball.

Mmmm, that lovely combination of orange flavors and rye with just a touch of lemon is delicious.  The perfect cocktail to sip on while I muse over the cocktail world!

Cheers!

Not a Finger!

Day 230, Cocktails 227, 228 & 229

Saturday night was another Christmas movie night – the weather forecast here was just too lousy to plan anything else. 

We watched a couple of movies, including on of my all time favorites, “A Christmas Story”.  I just love the whole leg lamp scene, from the moment the major award arrives to the ignominious end, a shattered relic of its glory.  “Not a finger” is all poor Darrin McGavin can blurt out when he sees what’s happened to his prized lamp, and that just cracks me up every time!

Of course, nasty weather outside, a roaring fire and Christmas movies inside all lend themselves to cocktails being mixed with care in the Twilight Lounge!  We ended up with a lineup of three new cocktails, so let’s get to it.

  Gwen’s Red Carpet

• 2 oz vodka
• 2 oz pomegranate juice
• 2 oz Pinot Grigio
• seltzer water

Fill a collins or highball glass with ice cubes.  Add the ingredients in the order listed, topping with selzter water.  Give a quick stir and serve.

This was a recipe that Gwen found and originally called for champagne.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have any about, so I improvised with the Pinot Grigio and seltzer water.  This was a nice starter cocktail, and I could easily enjoy several of these since they are not too sweet.  In fact, Gwen did have a second while I moved on to my next cocktail for the evening.

  Maraschino Manhattan

• 2 oz Maker’s Mark bourbon
• 1 oz sweet vermouth
• 1/8 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
• 1 dash Peychaud’s bitters

Fill a shaker with ice cubes and add the ingredients, bitters first.  Shake, shake, shake to combine and chill.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry.

This was very, very good.  You know how I love the flavor of Luxardo’s Maraschino liqueur and there was just a hint of it evident along with the bourbon and vermouth.  It was a very nice, slightly drier version of a sweet manhattan.  As much as I liked this I think it is the new house manhattan of the Twilight Lounge.

Finally, cocktail number three was an off the cuff mix prepared after I ran out of Pinot Grigio for the Gwen’s Red Carpet. 

  Not a Finger

• 2 oz vodka
• 2 oz pomegranate juice
• 2 oz lychee fruit juice
• lemon lime soda

Fill a collins or highball glass with ice cubes.  Add the ingredients in the order listed, topping with lemon lime soda.  Give a quick stir and serve.

This one really hit the spot, especially for Gwen.  In fact, she labelled it the best of the night!  The lychee adds a really bright, fresh flavor that I have a hard time describing…somewhat pear like, but it is a unique flavor that is really good.  If you can find lychee fruit juice in your local market pick up a can and try it out, you’ll love it!

Cheers!

Lucky Fortune

Day 177, Cocktails 171 & 172

Oh what a happy day it was when the new Woodmen’s store near us opened up!  Among the many wonders is the very large selection of Asian foods.  It is the best selection you can find around here without going to an Asian market.  So what, you ask?  Well, in addition to the pork and leek dumplings for dinner tonight it was the lychee juice that I was able to purchase there that has me excited.  I”ve been itching to work with lychee flavors in cocktails ever since having the Springtime cocktail at Bryant’s way back in the beginning of June. 

So with my can of lychee juice in hand, it was time to see what I could do.  My first effort was actually a nonalcoholic cocktail for daughter number 2.  She enjoys the tart, lemon juice based concoctions that I create for her and she loves lychee.  Here’s what I put together for her.

  LuLu

• 2 oz lychee juice
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 1/4 oz grenadine
• seltzer water

Combine the ingredients, except the seltzer water, in a pint glass.  Stir and then fill the glass with ice and top with the seltzer water.  Garnish with a lemon wedge or slice.

This is a nice, slightly sweet, lychee flavored cooler that would be great for sipping poolside or with an Asian meal.  The great thing about this is that it is not overly sweet, so sipping on one for the afternoon won’t leave you with that syrupy flavor in your mouth!

With Lulu satisfied, it was time to take care of Gwen and me.  I figured that the same flavors (or thereabouts) should work well for an adult cocktail as well.  Thus, the Lucky Fortune was born.

  Lucky Fortune

• 2 oz vodka
• 1 oz lychee juice
• 3/8 oz lemon juice
• 1/4 oz grenadine

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake, shake, shake.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon peel.

Hmm, hmm good is all I can say.  The lychee really pops in this, while the lemon juice keeps it from being overly sweet.  The vodka (Smirnoff, in this case) is there, but is really just the backbone while the grenadine provides a subtle layer of flavor.  I could drink this all night and be very be very lucky indeed!

With the Lucky Fortune under my belt and me writing about it I started to think about what other flavors would work with the lychee.  Ginger came to mind, being one of those quintessential Asian flavors.  So back to the bar it was.  It took a couple of tries to get the balance right (good thing Gwen was here to drink the samples) and this is what I settled on.

  Lucky Ginger

• 2 oz vodka
• 1 oz lychee juice
• 1/2 oz Domaine de Canton
• 3/8 oz lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake, shake, shake.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon peel.  If you’re feeling adventurous, use pickled ginger or even a water chestnut for garnish instead of the lemon peel!

Well, there you have it, a very satisfying night of lychee inspired cocktails.  I’ve still got a little left, so we’ll see what I come up with tomorrow.  Until then….

Cheers!