What I’m Drinking: The Italian Cactus Berry

You know this, I know this, everybody knows this – I believe good drinks should have good names, and when creating drinks you need to create names too. Okay, that’s out of the way. But here, really, the change is so minor! The Cactus Berry is a favorite spring-and-early-summer drink of mine, from Wine Cocktails, and as I was dreaming of spring recently, I decided it would be a perfect fit for today. But, it usually uses Merlot (along with tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice), and I didn’t have such. But I did have a bottle of Donini Settegrappoli, which is an Italian red, rich, lush, full of body, perhaps I think the best red wine in the world. If I can go a little overboard (admittedly, Donini is my favorite winery in the world, too). So, I thought it might be perfect. And guess what? I was right! You can be right, too, if you try this drink.

The Italian Cactus Berry (mostly from Wine Cocktails)

Serves 2

Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces Donini Settegrappoli Italian red wine (or another amazing wine)
1-1/2 ounces tequila (blanc, usually)
3/4 ounce Cointreau
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
Lime wedge, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the wine,  tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice. Shake well.

2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass through a fine strainer. Garnish with the lime wedge and serve.

Leave a comment »

| Share:

What I’m Drinking: The Doninoni

There’s no need to yell at me – I realize with the title here, I’m nearly breaking my own soapbox (to stretch a metaphor to the breaking point), or favorite soapbox, as admittedly there are many I like to stand upon. But this one, it’s the one where bartenders make up new drinks and then just name them some bastardization of an existing classic drink. C’mon bartenders, be creative! Though, in this case, bartender heal thyself, as this drink name is partially a play on the classic Negroni. But it’s also a play on my favorite Italian winery, Donini, and really, The Doninoni is so much fun to say! And changed enough (as opposed to, oh, the numerous Strawberry Margaritas I made in college, or something like the Appletini for gawd’s sake) to make me not too egregious, right? Right! If you disagree, drink two of the below and call me in the morning.

The Doninoni

Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces Nat’s gin (I used the gin wife Nat made at Scratch, cause she did such a good job – read more about making gin at Scratch)
1-1/2 ounces Donini Tarragoni (if you sadly can’t get this, another slightly-dry but full-bodied Umbrian red could suffice)
1-1/2 ounces Campari
1/2 ounce grenadine (go homemade or go home)

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

2. Add a few good ice cubes to an Old Fashioned or comparable glass. Strain the mix into the glass and over the ice.

Leave a comment »

| Share:

Drink A Delicious Red October at Seattle’s Liberty

I do a monthly column (along with various other things) for Seattle magazine (sure, you can be jealous), and until recently it was called Bar Hop, and had me chatting about a single new bar in the wondrous city I live within. But now it’s changed up a little, still a single bar, but with the focus lighting a little more on a single cocktail within said bar – and it’s not just new bars anymore, either, and is called (for now, at least) the Bar Method. And for the first one, I visited one of my favorite Emerald City bars of all, Liberty, which is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary! Amiable bartender Laura Bishop was my shaker, and made me a delicious wine cocktail called the Red October. But heck, don’t let me ramble, go read the article now.

Leave a comment »

| Share:

What I’m Drinking: Fuori Pista

Hey, remember a week ago, when I had a special summertime cocktail featuring Amaro Lucano? The drink was called Good Luck In Pisticci, and was pretty darn amazing (if I can say such without being called someone-who-pats-themselves-excessively-on-the-back). If you missed that post, somehow, go back and read it now. It has lots of info about the particular amari called Lucano, and more. Go on, go read it. Okay, now back to this post, where I’m not going to say anything except that I ended up making two special summertime cocktails with Lucano, and this is the second. It’s also a wine cocktail, for those who understand that wine cocktails are awesome. But enough of this – make the below and be happy.

Fuori Pista

Ice cubes
2 ounces dry red wine (I used Terragoni, from Donini, my favorite Italian winemaker)
1 ounce Amaro Lucano
1/2 ounce Sidetrack Blackberry liqueur (from right here in WA)
3 ounces chilled club soda
Fresh blackberries, for garnish

1. Fill a goblet or other awesome glass (a highball works) three quarters full with ice cubes.

2. Add the wine, Lucano, and Sidetrack Blackberry. Stir briefly.

3. Add the club soda and a few fresh blackberries. Stir again, briefly. Enjoy the sunshine.

PS: The name of this means “off track” in Italian, a reference both to the fine folks at Sidetrack, and the fine Italian ingredients in this.

2 Comments »

| Share:

What I’m Drinking: Perseverance

Sometimes, you (or I – though if this doesn’t happen to anyone else I’ll eat my hat) forget about a drink that you actually really like. There are so many drinks out there! Then you come back to it like an old friend after that first sip and think, why did I not drink this for so long? I recently had this moment with the Perseverance, which is a recipe featured in Wine Cocktails. It’s actually a nice end-of-summer-beginning-of-fall drink, so fit my mood as well. Tastiness.

Perseverance

Ice cubes

1 ounce vodka (I think Rocket vodka is good)

2 ounces chilled Maryhill Rosé Sangiovese

1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur

2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the vodka, rosé, maraschino, and bitters. Shake well.

2. Strain the Perseverance equally into two cocktail glasses.

Leave a comment »

| Share:

What I’m Drinking: The Blue Train

There’s another drink also called The Blue Train (as happens, cause people are creating drinks all the time. Like ten were created as I typed “ten”), or the Blue Train Special, which shakes together 1-1/2 ounces brandy and 1 ounce fresh pineapple juice over ice, and then tops it with Cap Classique or other sparkling wine and a pineapple chunk in a flute glass. This is not that Blue Train. The Blue Train is in Wine Cocktails. This one is in Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz. Both drinks are awesome. This just happens to be the one I’m drinking today. But tomorrow? Who knows?

The Blue Train

Ice cubes

1 ounce gin

1/2 ounce Cointreau

1/2 freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 ounce crème de violette

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, and crème de violette. Shake briefly.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass.

2 Comments »

| Share:

What I’m Drinking: The Lord Charles

This regal number is going to make the transition from summer to fall an easier one. First off, it could, honestly, simply, be consumed in summer and loved by all good countrymen. However, it has enough of a presence to not be all flighty as some summer drinks. Next, it’s called the Lord Charles, and darnit, that means it’s a bit serious like fall. On the flip side of that, remember that Lord Charles was also the name of a famous ventriloquist dummy, so a bit silly as well. See how it straddles the line without fear? With one, or two or three, of these in hand, you’ll move from season to season without a hitch. This recipe’s from Wine Cocktails by the way (a book I suppose you have—unless you’re square).

Ice cubes

2 ounces Malbec

1 ounces Simple Syrup

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

1 ounce dry sherry

Chilled club soda

Lemon twist, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the Malbec, simple syrup, lemon juice, and sherry to the shaker. Shake well.

2. Fill a highball glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Strain the Malbec mixture over the ice cubes. Fill the glass with club soda, almost to the rim.

3. Twist a lemon twist over the each glass and drop it in. Stir briefly with a scepter and serve.

Leave a comment »

| Share:

Wine Cocktails! Protecting Your Breasts! Woman’s World!

It’s summertime (still—honest) and the living is wine cocktails-y. At least it should be cause wine cocktail are refreshing, and un-snooty, and fun, and delicious, and all that. And recently, as if me saying it aloud and in digital form wasn’t enough, I did a little interview with Woman’s World magazine, so it’s in print. And print is forever. So, pick up the most recent issue of said magazine. I also have the page with me here below (but the whole issue is fun, naturally), which has some wine cocktails talk, two recipes from the book Wine Cocktails, notes about how wine and wine cocktails are healthy (including protecting breasts, which I’m all for and which is just another reason why cocktails are the definition of awesome), and something about Ladybug Bling–which can’t be bad. So, read up:

Leave a comment »

| Share: