Mar-Tea-Nique Daiquiri

I recently was introduced to a new breed of Iced Teas.  Didn’t know iced teas had breeds?  Well, neither did I.

We all know Lipton Iced Teas.  Full of HFS (industry lingo for High Fructose Corn Syrup) and artificial flavors.  So what happens when Lipton comes out with all-natural, no HFS anywhere, iced tea flavors.  We change our perspective.  Enter Lipton Pureleaf.  I heard about it, asked for samples, and voila – came up with a nice little cocktail using the Red Tea with Pomegranate and Blueberry.  They also have Green Tea and White Tea flavors.

A while back I created an entire list of tea cocktails for T-Salon here in NYC.  Don’t get me wrong, the tea flavors at T-Salon are incredible!  But if you’re looking to make tea cocktails at home, this may be a good alternative.

Want to make that cocktail I came up with for yourself at home?  Here’s the recipe:

Mar-Tea-Nique Daiquiri

2 oz. Lipton Pureleaf Red Tea with Pomegranate and Blueberry

1 1/2 oz. Rhum Clement Premierre Canne

juice of 1 lime wedge

1 tsp. superfine sugar

Directions:  Shake all of the above in a mixing glass with ice.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish: seasonal berries

Toasted at Tales

Recovered yet?  Not a chance.  That will take days, perhaps ’til next year’s Tales of the Cocktail (which has already been set, by the way, for July 8th) 

Bigger and better than ever is an understatement.  I heard mixed numbers:  some claimed 5,000 people, others, the more reasonable ones, said around 2,000.  I’d have to go with the latter, although at times, in the small, 19th century bars that lined the French Quarter that hosted some of the Tales events, with the heat topping out at 100 degrees (indoors even, at times), it sure as hell felt like 5,000 people.  Nevertheless, the event was superb, and the chance to mix and mingle with my peers and mentors left me in the clouds the entire time.  Or was it the Vieux Carre cocktails I sucked back at the Hotel Monteleone’s Carousel Bar?  Who knows…

My seminar with the legendary Brian Rea occurred early on, Wednesday, the first day of the festival.  I spoke about researching drink recipes, he on collection old cocktail books.  Thanks Jack, Brian, Jeff, and Greg for speaking on my panel.  Greg has made these great repros of old cocktail books that he premiered at Tales.  He sells them here.

Photos of the entire escapade, you ask.  Yeah, well, my camera didn’t have a chance to peek itself out of my bag this entire trip.  I’m hoping to get some photos from other folks to post, so you’ll just have to stay tuned.

Lookie here! I’m on the small screen.

You can see my mug talking about wedding cocktails here. 

It’s pretty neat, I think.  Let me know what you think…

I’ll be in New Orleans at Tales of the Cocktail this week, so expect some up-to-the-minute blogging direct from the Hotel Monteleone.  That’s what I say now, but who knows what happens when one goes on a diet that includes Sazeracs and Brandy Crustas.

As you await the exciting news from New Orleans, enjoy this deliciously refreshing drink from Jerry Thomas’ 1862 “Bar-tender’s Guide.”

Brandy Crusta

3 or 4 dashes of Gum Syrup (simple syrup)

1 dash Boker’s Bitters (use 2 dashes Angostura bitters)

1 wine-glass brandy (use 2 oz. Cognac)

2 dashes curacao (1/4 oz.)

dash lemon juice (1/4 oz.)

Before mixing the above ingredients, prepare a cocktail glass as follows:

Rub a sliced lemon around the rim of the glass, and dip it in pulverized white sugar (superfine sugar), so that the sugar will adhere to the edge of the glass.  Pare half a lemon the same as you would an apple (all in one piece) so that the paring will fit in the wine-glass.  Put the above ingredients into a small whiskey glass filled one-third full of shaved ice, shake up well and strain the liquid into the cocktail glass prepared as above directed.

(image from the Museum of the American Cocktail)

If you don’t get enough of me on this blog…

You can catch me thrice more (that means 3 times) this week in various capacities.  Now folks, this is very important stuff and please listen up carefully.  If you live in the New York metropolitan area, you’re in luck for two of these.  If not, please make an effort to visit somebody in the New York metropolitan area so you can see me.  But, if you live in or are planning on visiting New Orleans next week for Tales of the Cocktail, you get brownie points from me, and I beg you to say hi to me and make me look like I have many friends.

Okay, here’s the deal:

1) Tuesday, July 8 in Manhattan’s East Village:

Tomorrow I will be helping out my good friend H. Joseph Ehrmann, Square One Vodka Brand Ambassador, in making some signature Square One cocktails at the Indy Spirits Expo at Astor Center in Manhattan.  It should be fun, with booths set up by wonderful artisanl spirits brands to taste and sample their products.  I will be making one of my newest summer creations, The Vanderbilt Avenue Martini, served at The Campbell Apartment Terrace (recipe below). 

Vanderbilt Avenue Martini

1 oz. Square One Organic Cucumber Vodka

1/2 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

1/2 oz. Pineapple Juice

2 sage leaves (1 for muddling, 1 for garnish)

Directions: Lightly muddle the sage leaf in the bottom of a mixing glass.  Add remaining ingredients and shake very well.  Strain into a chilled, vanilla cane sugar-rimmed martini glass.

Garnish: Sage leaf

2. NBC’s “I Do” – A wedding reality show

What does this have to do with me, you may ask.  I will be appearing in this Saturday, July 12th’s episode as the wedding cocktail expert.  A bride-to-be will be visiting me at one of my bars, The World Bar, in search of her perfect wedding signature cocktail.  Be sure to catch me at 7pm on NBC (channel 4 – only broadcast in NY metro area for now – nationally later in August, I think).  Oh yeah, you may catch some guy who claimes to be my father as the Wine expert in the same segment, too.

3. Dinner Cocktail Pairing at 7 On Fulton in New Orleans

On Thursday, July 17th, the second day of the 5-day long Tales of the Cocktail celebration, I will be ‘bar cheffing’ it up at a wonderful NOLA restaurant called “7” at 8pm.  Enjoy traditional cajun food, as well as cocktails that I’ve come up with to complement these culinary flavors. 

Check out the menu and the cocktail pairing that I’ve come up with and to make reservations, click here.

Enough with the barage of opportunities to see me, right?  Truthfully, all 3 of these events are worth checking out.  Not just saying that. 

 

 

The typical “It’s Been a While…”

I’ve been around, trust me.  Ambiguity has done me well as of late.  I’ll have more to say – that is, more substantial stuff to say – very shortly. 

Visit the Tales of the Cocktail website in the meantime, and sign up for fun and educational seminars.  You WON’T be dissappointed!