Cocktail Friday: The Rose

My sister, Rebecca (who also blogs here), will be taking the reigns on Fridays for a while and I am SO excited about it! Armed with her trusty iPhone and lots of Happy Hour experience, I know she will be bringing some great stuff to Set the Table! This elegant drink called The Rose is everything a summer drink should be.

I think I have a pink drink problem.

Since taking over Cocktail Friday, I’ve done a Cherry Vodka, a Rhubarb Martini, and today I'm introducing you to another pink drink called the Rose. You may already know about the Rose - especially if you were hanging around with our hometown hero, Scotty Fitzgerald, in Paris in the 1920’s. But, just in case you weren't, here's a nice writeup about the Rose by mixologist David Wondrich over at Esquire:

Light, dry, suave, enigmatic -- Johnny Mitta, barman at Paris's Chatham Hotel, knew what he was doing when he put this one together, back around 1920. The cherry-pit notes of the kirschwasser blend perfectly with the nuttiness of the vermouth, and the touch of syrup colors it the palest Art Deco pink. By 1925, when all those Yank literary types were flooding the city, Mitta's creation was all the rage. Signature cocktail of the Lost Generation? Perhaps a little on the, ah, gentle side for a Hemingway or a Fitzgerald, but you know what that means. Doubles.

Light and dry is exactly right. This isn’t a sweet drink. The raspberry syrup works more like food coloring and, if there was a fruity taste, I couldn’t detect it.

The Rose

Ingredients

• 2 ounces French vermouth
• 1 ounce Kirschwasser
• 1 teaspoon raspberry syrup

Instructions

1. Combine with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake for about 15 seconds and strain into chilled glass. Garnished with a maraschino cherry (traditional) or fresh raspberry.

Cocktail Friday: Blueberry Thyme Gin Fizz

We had a truly wonderful spring day on Wednesday. The sun was full of enough warmth to take away the need for a sweater or jacket. The moment I felt the heat hit my skin I felt instantly rejuvenated. Riley and I went to the park where he discovered the joy of watching bugs crawl on the sidewalk. As I watched him discover new things that only come with the changing seasons I realized how much he has grown. Last year at this time I was watching him clumsily walk around as he discovered that moving one step in front of the other brought him from here to there and back again. Those sweet baby legs are now little boy legs. He has grown faster than I'm willing to acknowledge most of the time.

Luckily, each new stage brings even more sweetness than my heart can hold (even in the midst of the toddler mood swings that come with being 2 years old).

So, I'm saying goodbye to one season and hello to a new one by celebrating the things that I love most. Today, it's all about fresh thyme and bright blueberries. Muddled together they create the perfect beginning to a spring cocktail. Gin, vermouth and bitters are given a little life with a splash of club soda. Sweetness comes from my date simple syrup (which makes this a no-sugar-added cocktail).

And just like that it's time to say cheers to the weekend. And spring. And change.

Life become more beautiful with change, don't you think?

Blueberry Thyme Gin Fizz

Ingredients

• 15 fresh or frozen blueberries
• 3 large thyme sprigs
• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz vermouth
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1/2 oz date simple syrup
• club soda

Instructions

1. Combine the blueberries, thyme sprigs, gin, bitters and simple syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously until thoroughly chilled.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass filled with ice.
3. Top with club soda and garnish with a thyme spring and a couple blueberries.

Cocktail Friday: Negroni + Meyer Lemon Twist

Brad and I went skiing with some good friends last weekend. We spent all day Saturday with snow flakes falling on our faces and, at least in my case, saying prayers of thanks that I didn't break a leg as a result of my very limited experience on skis. When the day was over, all I wanted to do was sip on a cocktail while cooking a warm, soothing soup in my cozy kitchen. There is something about ending an active day cooking something delicious that can't be beat.

One of the things I love about cooking is that you can make seemingly small changes that make a recipe new and fresh. Adding coconut milk to what would otherwise be a classic butternut squash soup, for example. That's the fun part- taking something classic and making it your own.

Classic cocktails are another perfect place to add little touches that reflect the seasons or showcase your favorite garnishes and ingredients. Another perk of going with the classics is that you can learn a lot about mixing good drinks. The Negroni, for example, demonstrates how delicious Campari can be when the bitter flavor is balanced properly. Gin and vermouth are used to both highlight the bitterness and mellow it out. The finishing touch, typically a twist of orange, completes the cocktail with a bright citrus scent that you catch just as your mouth touches the rim of the glass but before the liquid passes through your lips. Perfection.

The only change I made here is the garnish. Rather than going with the traditional orange twist I opted for Meyer lemon. Consider this my trademark when it comes to the classic Negroni. At some point this weekend I will be sipping on one of these and hopefully cooking up something delicious. Cheers, friends!

Negroni + Meyer Lemon Twist

Ingredients

• 2 oz Campari
• 2 oz Gin
• 2 oz Dry Vermouth
• 2 strips Meyer lemon zest (or orange zest)

Instructions

1. Combine the campari, gin and vermouth in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
2. Cover and shake vigorously for about 15 seconds.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the strip of zest.