What I’m Drinking: Ti Penso Sempre

This is a cozy drink for a chilly March day! It reminds me, too (as I’ve been making it for a bit), of the dark days before Aperol was available in the U.S., and when the now-everywhere (a good thing!) stateside Spritz was just something Italian sipped. Doesn’t seem that long ago to me (I am very old) when I used to have to always bring two bottles of Aperol back in my suitcase when traveling back from  lovely Italy, one for personal use and one for a pal. What changes have come since then (now I just have to fill my suitcase with grappa unavailable here)! Back to this here, drink. It mingles in a cuddly manner bountiful brandy with that Aperol I was going on about, with a tiny salute of simple syrup and a fresh orange for a tint of tang. It can be a bit sweet, like you, so if you want to take the simple to even tinier levels or out altogether, it’s okay. Things will still be cuddly.

Ti Penso Sempre, from Dark Spirits

Ice cubes

1-1/2 ounces brandy

1 ounce Aperol

1/2 ounce simple syrup

Orange slices, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the brandy, Aperol, and simple syrup. Shake well.

2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass and be glad your local liquor store shelves are well-stocked (one hopes, at least).

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What I’m Drinking: Up In Mabel’s Room

I feel pretty awful that I’m not 100% sure I have actually ever known a Mabel, and so have never actually been up in Mabel’s room, which seems a mysterious, wonderful, alluring place, one where rye flows like water in a waterfall of grapefruit juice and simple syrup, one where the foxtrot trots, and laughter reigns, where no-one frowns and no-one is divisive, and all drink (and eat – cheese, lots, in Mabel’s room, and pastries I’m guessing) and are merry. My kinda place. Now, I just need to know a Mabel.

Up In Mabel’s Room, from Dark Spirits

Cracked ice

1-1/2 ounces rye

3/4 ounces fresh grapefruit juice

3/4 ounces simple syrup

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything. Shake exceptionally well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Be Mabel.

A Note: I know, I know, it’s usually ice cubes and shaking. But cracked ice works here. Go figure!

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What I’m Drinking: Prophecies and Dreams

First, before any one gets any Coleridgean ideas or something, drinking this will not give you prophetic dreams (as far as I know, though I suppose as somebody said, there are more things in heaven and on earth and all that). However, it is pretty dreamy! And perhaps I can at least prophesize that if you like gin-y types of drinks (Martinis, say), you will most likely like this one! It stirs up a mighty tasty mélange of Kur gin (made right out here in WA, and one I’ve written about before: short story, it’s a classically-minded juniper-y London dry style gin with citrus and fruit accents), dry vermouth (hence the Martini mention), The Blood Orange’s Revenge homemade blood orange liqueur (which I talked about in a recent blood orange liqueur post, but which is to be clear, yummy), and old pal Scrappy’s Orange bitters, which brings it all together with trademark bright orangean-herb notations. What the future holds, who knows – unless you make this drink. Then the future will be you holding a delicious drink (and drinking it).

Prophecies and Dreams

Cracked ice

2 ounces Kur gin

1 ounce The Blood Orange’s Revenge

1/2 ounce dry vermouth

1 dash Scrappy’s Orange bitters

1. Fill a mixing glass or cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add all the dreams and prophecies (meaning, all the other ingredients). Stir well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Drink while sleeping (no, no, that’s a joke!).

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What I’m Drinking: The Blood Orange’s Revenge Homemade Liqueur

Blood oranges are strange (in a good way, like so many strange things). They can appear from the outside as many of their citrus siblings, from oranges to mandarins. But then, cut them open, and the blood (or blood-esque juiciness) starts flowing. Though, within that bloodiness, there can really be lots of variation in color, even if the darker rich ruby color is probably the main type (hehehe). At first, I was a bit freaked out by them, but now I love them and their sweet, tart, tangy flavor. They can make, as you might imagine, a memorable liqueur, like so many fruits. Years back when I was writing Luscious Liqueurs (a book renowned by at least my mother for its genius), I played around with blood orange liqueur ideas, and came up with the below, which I am still fond of – the hint of cloves adds a strange, and strangely nice to me, touch. So, when I ended up with a batch of blood oranges recently, I decided to revisit the recipe, and still was fond of it.

It’s a yummy winter’s treat, too (hitting hints of the season while reminding of summer).

The Blood Orange’s Revenge

4 blood oranges

1 lemon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

2 cups vodka

1-1/2 cups simple syrup

1. Peel the oranges and lemons, getting just the fruit rind and as little of the pith as possible. Place the peels in a large glass container that has a good lid.

2. Then remove the layer of pith from the flesh of two of the blood oranges (juice the final two oranges and the lemon for drinks or cooking). Cut each of the two un-pithed oranges into pieces, and add the pieces to the container. Stir slightly with a muddler or wooden spoon to smash up the oranges.

3. Add the vodka and cloves to the fruits. Stir a little more and seal. Place the container in a cool, dry spot away from the sun. Let sit for two weeks, swirling occasionally.

4. Once the two weeks have faded into the past, add the simple syrup to the container, stir well, and reseal. Let the mix sit two more weeks, swirling occasionally.

5. After the next two weeks have passed, strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer, to filter out the larger orange parts. Be careful that you strain into a container big enough that no liqueur is lost.

6. Next, strain the liqueur through double sheets of cheesecloth into a pitcher or other container, one that easy to pour from.

7. Finally, strain the liqueur through two new sheets of cheesecloth into bottles or jars, or one larger bottle or jar.

A Note: Blood oranges, if you don’t know, are a member of the orange family whose flesh contains the pigment anthocyanin, which turns it a dark red color. Their taste is similar to oranges. You do not have to be a vampire to eat them.

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What I’m Drinking: The Spicy WAG

You might guess, after looking at the title here, that this drink is named after a particularly feisty pup of some sort, or one who swears like a doggy sailor, and knowing how much (as you know me so well) I love dogs, it’d be a good guess! But, sadly, a wrong one. Really, I just fancied up a name (as I am fancy) for a whiskey and ginger-y combo I made recently (Whiskey And Ginger – WAG! Hilarious, right?). Not whiskey and ginger ale, which is a wonderful classic combo especially in spring and early summer, and not the Whisky Mac, which is a Scottish classic combo of whisky and ginger wine that I like to have when visiting the UK. Instead, this whiskey ginger mélange utilizes Portland Syrups Ginger Syrup, a bottle of which I was lucky enough to receive not many moons ago (along with a few more delicious Portland Syrups)!

This Ginger Syrup has a very fresh, strong ginger flavor, one accented by the addition of Japanese chilies, which gives a nice bit of heat mingling with the ginger spice on the tongue at the end of a sip. It’s not overly sweet, either, but well-balanced. It’s also brewed by hand in Oregon (as the name might have you guessing), which is just south of me, so neighbors really. I’m excited to try it just with soda as well as with classic ginger-y mixes like a Moscow Mule, but for the maiden voyage wanted to keep things simple, so just mixed it with Seattle Distilling Brockway Hill whiskey, a yummy whiskey made from Washington-grown rye, and one with an amiable-but-strong-in-personality rye spice flavor. This was, I am sad to admit, a small batch whiskey release, so might not be easy to find – sub in your fav rye, or bourbon, and I’ll bet you’ll still end up with a spiced boozy treat you’ll want to have twice!

The Spicy WAG

Cracked ice (see Note 1)

2-1/2 ounces Seattle Distilling Brockway Hill whisky

3/4 ounce Portland Syrups Ginger Syrup (see Note 2)

Big ice cube

1. Fill a mixing glass or cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add the whisky and syrup. Stir well.

2. Add a big ice cube to an Old Fashioned or comparable glass. Strain the WAG over the ice cube and into the glass. Enjoy!

A Note: This is syrup in here, so I could see some shaking this. I just wasn’t feeling it. Really, you could even skip the ice while stirring if you aren’t sitting in front of a heater.

A Second Note: You could go down to 1/2 an ounce here, too, but I was feeling the ginger buzz and felt I’d better ride it!

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What I’m Drinking: The Rosé Squirt

Hey, no offense to January (I mean, it is the first month of the year, birthing, so to speak, a new time of new beginnings and fresh starts and resolute resolutions and all that, and it tends to start with a smooch, so it definitely has some pluses as a month, however . . .), but by the end of January I’m usually ready, well ready, for it to be over, and usually ready, well-and-truly ready, for some springtime springing. It just gets a little drab, our first month of the year. Maybe not everywhere in the globe! And maybe not for everyone!

But for me, I could use a dosage of spring snazziness in my step, and in my glass, right about this time every year – and, wonders of wonders, here is the Rosé Squirt, ready and waiting for me to take the first sip. It is not a combination of rosé wine and the carbonated soda Squirt (if you were thinking so, though an 18-year-old me might like that – heck, a currently-too-old-to-be-specific-about-dates me might like it too). It is a combination of nutty, dry maraschino liqueur (go with a good brand here – I’m using Luxardo Maraschino, which I’m fond of, and which has been made by the same family from Marasca cherries since 1821, and which boasts hints of chocolate, vanilla, and marmalade notes) rosé wine (the springtime-iest of wines perhaps), and bubbly club soda, with a good maraschino cherry (you couldn’t go wrong with Luxardo maraschino cherries here, too, pals, because they are wondrously delicious) as a final accompaniment. Combine those delights and you have spring in a glass (note: also works beautifully as a summer sipper): refreshing, budding with flavor, light-on-its-feet, lovely. Have one today, and know that actual springtime isn’t too far away.

The Rosé Squirt, from Wine Cocktails

Ice cubes

1 ounce Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

3 ounce dry rosé wine

Chilled club soda

Luxardo maraschino cherry, for garnish

1. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the maraschino liqueur and rosé. Stir briefly.

2. Fill the glass almost to the top with chilled club soda. Stir again, a bit more than briefly. Drop a cherry on top and serve.

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What I’m Drinking: Tre Baci

I’ve had a fair amount of lush, creamy, type drinks on the ol’ Spiked Punch lately (with Holly Jolly homemade cream liqueur and the Silk Stocking cocktail a couple of example), and I’ve never been shy about my love of dessert drinks (really, nearly all drinks), so perhaps it’s not a surprise that I’m going to continue this month with another that falls into those categories, this time, a brand-new cocktail called Tre Baci. I hadn’t actually planned on continuing along the sweeter road, but then a bottle of Borgata Chocolate Liqueur showed up, and, well, here we are, sweeter bottoms up!

Borgata Chocolate Liqueur is from Italy (which I love!), but I hadn’t had it until recently, and it is sort-of over-the-top, in a delicious way. Like the best chocolate syrup ever, plus booze (and a boozy chocolate syrup would be the best ever): rich, smooth, ultra-chocolate-y, yummy. Worth trying solo, but it’s almost too much richy goodness alone – well, depends on the person! In cocktails, it’s dreamy. Here, I mixed it with just a few other standouts, starting with tequila. Specifically, Corralejo Reposado tequila, which has a fetching agave-nature and smokiness mingling with vanilla and oak. Tequila’s smokiness is underrated as a chocolate pairing, as this cocktail aptly demonstrates. For the third member of the trio, I went with Grandeza, an orange liqueur made in WA (using agave syrup, btw, which ties nicely into our tequila!), and I’m guessing by now you can imagine the orange mingling with smoke and chocolate; I’m salivating just typing it! A little cinnamon on top and ta-da, there’s a drink ideal for late evening sipping (probably with your favorite someone else, cause sweet drinks are best with a sweetie).

Tre Baci

Ice cubes

2 ounces Corralejo Reposado tequila

1 ounce Borgata Classic Chocolate Liqueur

1/2 ounce Grandeza orange liqueur

Sprinkle of cinnamon, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add our liquid trio of awesome. Shake well (I know this might not appear a shaking drink at first to some, but the Borgata is so creamy, I feel it needs it).

2. Strain into a cocktail or comparable glass. Sprinkle a touch of cinnamon on top (freshly-grated, if you have it).

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What I’m Drinking: Holly Jolly Homemade Cream Liqueur

Way back last year (haha, I kid, I kid – I mean, it was last year, but solely weeks ago, not months) right before Christmas I had a recipe for a delicious (said humbly) Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur. It was so delicious (said, again, humbly, or ‘umbly, if you’re feeling like Uriah Heep in David Copperfield), and a hit around the holiday fires, that I had to make another one to satisfy all the requests. But instead of making another batch of the same version, because where would be the fun in that?, I decided to tweak the recipe, and then tweak a little more, to move into new territory. It is the new year! Though, admittedly, my tweaks did make this almost more winter-holiday-y, which leads to the name Holly Jolly. See, I went with a few winter-y spices (cinnamon, ginger), and also changed the base to vodka slightly infused with mandarin orange zest and juice (mandarins seem a little winter holiday-y to me, too). But it’s still lush and lovely and velvety and creamy, just veering off in the flavor hints. A hit, me thinks (humbly, of course).

Holly Jolly Homemade Cream Liqueur

1-2/3 cups vodka

Peel (pithless as possible) and juice from 1 mandarin orange

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

1 cup heavy cream

4 Tablespoons chocolate syrup

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Add the vodka and mandarin peel and juice to a good-sized glass container with a lid. Let sit in a cool, dry spot at least a week, swirling occasionally.

2. Strain the combo from Step 1 through cheesecloth into a pitcher, and then pour the mandarin-bit-less vodka into a blender (or just strain straight into the blender, but do make sure you get the bits strained out).

3. Add all the other ingredients to the blender. Blend well. Pour the mixture (using a funnel if needed) into a large (at least 1-1/2 liters) or a number of small bottles or jars. Seal, and put into the refrigerator. Consume within two weeks.

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