My "You Can Have Your VD" Dinner Party

Valentine's Day, Shmalentines Day. That was my mantra this year, especially having gone through a fairly strange break up two weeks ago. Rather than relishing in my own self-pity, I decided to own it. Hence, my "You Can Have Your VD" dinner party with some of my single gal pals. And, of course, the best feature to this shinging was the bar, composed of three man-hating cockails: the teenie-peenie-tini, the bitch slap, and the femme fatale.

The teenie peenie tini- a vodka martini with cointreau, cranberry juice, orange juice, lime twist.
The bitch slap- Vodka, maraschino cherry liquor, cointreau, grapefruit juice.
The femme fatale- which is just what we called the old fashioned (sugar cube, bitters, whiskey, club soda).

And these cocktails were even more appetizing while washing down some penis-shaped pasta. Yummy.

Finally Posted the Spring Cocktail Menu!

It took a few weeks of experimenting, but I finally have five winners for my spring cocktail menu (see above in the green). I love all of them, but I'm especially fond of the Mediterranean Fig Cooler, as I'm absolutely in love with Edmund Briottet Creme de Fig. It reminds of me of my Maltese heritage, and the sweet date and fig desserts we usually eat at family functions. Let me know what you think about my five winners!!

April's Specialty Drink Revealed...

I've been in a vintage mood lately. Hell, who am I kidding- I'm always in a vintage mood, but this month it is reflected in my choice of specialty drink...*drumroll please*... the mint julep. The mint julep was first noted in writing in 1803 as a libation of "spiritous liquor that has mint in it, commonly consumed by Virginians in the morning". Thus, it's safe to assume that the drink is southern-inspired. No suprise then that these days the "spiritous liquor" used in the mint julep is non other than bourbon whiskey.

But just wait whiskey haters- this drink is prepared similar to a mojito, muddling mint with simple syrup, adding crushed ice, and floating the whiskey along top. The result is whiskey with a delicate sweetness. It's refreshing, full of flavor, and perfect for springtime. Hence- my April drink of the month. Drink up!!

Spring Specialty Drink Menu...

I'm working on a Spring themed specialty cocktail menu and should be able to perfect it in a few days. Stay tuned!

Delicious Libations on the Hollywood Tower Rooftop

What could be better than sipping tasty cocktails at a hype party on a beautiful Saturday night? Doing so on top of the historical Hollywood Tower. Last night I bartended for an awesome young lady on the occasion of her 25th birthday. There were about 60 guests at the party, enjoying the fresh grilled burgers, the airbrush artist who painted custom t-shirts, and the amazing view of the Los Angeles cityscape.

As for the bar, I offered four specialty cocktails: the Russian Rose (the birthday girl happens to be of Russian heritage), the Hemingway, the Lynchburg Lemonade, and the Cuba Libre. The Cuba Libre is a very popular drink, as its basically just a fancy name for a rum and coke with a lime. The Lynchburg Lemonade is a great whiskey drink, mixing Jack Daniels, Triple Sec, Sweet and Sour, and Sprite (it's potent, sweet, and tangy...so perfect for summer).

The two most popular drinks of the evening were the Russian Rose and the Hemingway. The Russian Rose is a sweet, vodka based drink which is usually comprised of vodka, grenadine, and orange bitters. To make it less strong we switched out orange bitters with orange juice, which makes the drink taste quite different from the original recipe (bitters have a very aromatic, unique taste), but it was still delicious. My favorite drink of the evening was the Hemingway. This drink is usually comprised of a light rum, maraschino cherry liquor, lime juice, and grapefruit juice. I substituted pineapple juice for the grapefruit juice with great results (I mean honestly, does pineapple juice not taste amazing with anything?). The maraschino cherry liquor we used was Luxardo brand and adds a fresh, complicated, almost floral flavor to the drink. I am definitely going to be experimenting more with this stuff. Absolutely delicious!

Custom Drinks for Vintage Inspired Wedding

So I will be bartending a wedding in a few months, and I spoke with the bride this week regarding her bar needs. She was going pretty simple, some beer, margaritas, and a signature drink. She said that she'd like the signature drink to reflect the wedding's theme, vintage Hollywood. She is a big fan of fruity drinks and not a big drinker, so would prefer a cocktail without any bite. And so I went off to the drawing board and came up with the following ideas:

Shutter Island:
Vodka, Passion fruit liqueur, Mango liqueur, Pineapple Juice

Great Gatsby:
Muddled fresh blackberries, Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Creme de Cassis (black currant flavor), Sour Mix

Hemmingway:
Vodka, Elderflower liqueur, Vanilla-infused simple syrup, Strawberry Lemonade

The bride is going to try them out this weekend and let me know which drink will be HER drink. Can't wait to hear what she thinks!

Take Me to The Moon!

There's an interesting article in the LA Times about the resurgence of "Moonshine"- the liquor so named because it was brewed illegally (under the moonlight) during the time of prohibition. Moonshine, in this sense, refers to whiskey. Whiskey, easily distinguished by the brownish-caramel hue, obtains this coloring through being aged in wood. Moonshine, however, is a sort of juvenile Whiskey lacking contact with the wood and thus, is clear in color. It's flavor is still intense, and mixes differently than wood-aged Whiskey. Check out the article below!

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-moonshine-20110113,0,3897667.story