frangelico

Cocktail Advent 26: Bon Bon

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Oh, did you think we were done just because Christmas is over?! Not a chance! In fact, I figure we’ve got plenty of reasons to continue cocktailing it up through the new year!

Image via Whiskey Blue at W Los Angeles

Image via Whiskey Blue at W Los Angeles

Bon Bon

  • .5 oz Chambord
  • .5 oz Amaretto Di Saronno
  • .5 oz Frangelico
  • .25 oz Chocolate Syrup
  • .5 oz Half & Half
  • .75 oz Raspberry Puree

Add all ingredients in a mixing glass, add ice, cover and shake vigorously.Strain into a port glass and garnish with 3 raspberries.

While I’m not generally a brand snob about liqueurs, when it comes to raspberry liqueurs there are a lot of pale, cough-syrupy options out there. Chambord is the only one that doesn’t twist my face into baby-eating-a-lemon proportions, so sometimes it really does pay to stick with a brand you can trust.

***This recipe was submitted by a representative of Whiskey Blue at W Los Angeles. I am not affiliate with the establishment, nor was I compensated for this post. As always, we encourage responsible refreshment and the use of the Designated Driver. No drunken monkeys, please!***

Cocktail Advent 12: Devoted Nutcracker

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Here’s a concoction that just might have you dancing in your nightgown. It’s okay, we won’t tell.

Image via Devotion Vodka

Image via Devotion Vodka

Devoted Nut Cracker

  • 1.5 oz. Devotion Vodka
  • 1 oz. Amaretto
  • 1 oz. Frangelico
  • 1 oz. Crème de Cocoa

Pour all ingredients into a martini shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain mixture into a martini glass garnished with cocoa powder on the rim.

Anything that combines Amaretto and Frangelico already has me pretty well on its side–those are two of my favorite sweet liqueurs. In fact, this reminds me quite a bit of my Candy Bar shot. Although, since this is 100% alcohol, I’d suggest stirring it over shaking it.

***This recipe was submitted by a representative of Devotion vodka. I am not affiliated with this brand nor was I compensated for posting this recipe, not even with review samples. As always, we encourage responsible refreshment and the use of the Designated Driver. No drunken monkeys, please!***

Cosmic Cocktails | Virgo | Downtime

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Virgos are the worker-bees of the zodiac, they have a need to be constantly busy, constantly doing, and often doing things for others. They are well-suited to the task-master positions of a Personal Assistant (the power behind the power, so to speak) and their perfectionist tendencies make them great managers, though they do have to watch for being overly critical of others while trying to get everyone under them up to their standards.

Downtime, Virgo Cocktail

Teacher’s pets in school, they’re just the sort to wreck the curve and be slightly less well-liked by their peers. The Virgo will very likely pass this off as jealousy, though, as the compliments of the teachers will bolster their spirits.

Got a problem? Go to a Virgo–they love to give advice and, unlike others, are actually pretty good at pin-pointing what, where, and how you went wrong and helping you fix it. They do it with candor and wit, though, so even the bad news goes down gently.

Unless, of course, you’ve found your way onto their bad side, in which case there is no preparing for the snark that will roll from their lips. And not just that, Virgos bring the guilt trip to new heights and you will feel it acutely when you’ve wronged them.

Of course, they’re also very self-critical and are constantly trying to improve themselves, not just others. Too much of this self-analysis can lead to hypochondria and have them dying of some trendy or obscure (extra points if it’s somehow both) disease every other week. Their natural predilection to stomach aches–when stressed or otherwise hyper-focused–gives them ample opportunity for worrying over medical maladies, so stress reduction and getting things out into the open (not their strong suit) is something every Virgo could use.

Downtime

2 oz Ginger Beer
3/4 oz Frangelico
1/2 oz Cointreau

Combine ingredients over ice in a mixing glass and stir until thoroughly mixed and cool–no shaking, that would be far too disruptive, think chill thoughts. Strain into a fresh glass with a few cubes of fresh ice and garnish with some crystallized ginger.

Usually I base these drinks around the direct personality traits of a person, sign, or theme. Today’s cocktail is a slight departure, in that this is more a Virgoan antidote for their everyday life.

Ginger is a natural stomach-soother in it’s various forms. On our last cruise I brought along ginger pills as well as ginger candies with us just in case of seasickness (I don’t usually get it, but it never hurts to be safe). The ginger beer in this recipe isn’t alcoholic and it isn’t the same as ginger ale–it’s 100 times better than even our favorite, Vernor’s, ginger ale and the brand I buy (Bundaberg) has bits of the crushed ginger floating about in it, still.

The hazelnut liqueur represents the various nut-bearing trees this sign is associated with and the orange is just a nice complement to them both. The liqueurs also tone down the bite of the ginger beer which some people find objectionable (not me, of course, but some).

A Little Taste of the Crescent City

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New Orleans Praline cocktail
It’s been a busy week here at Money Creek: 2 cocktails and 3 bottles of wine busy! But it was while creating one of my Character Cocktails for an upcoming product launch (they’re not just for people, you know) that I was struck with inspiration for this week’s Alphatini cocktial, the letter N.

And a good thing I did because I was drawing a pretty big blank, facing the second half of our alphabetical series. But inspiration was found and now I can’t see how I would have missed it.

For this one we’re going to take a little field trip to my favorite city in the USA: New Orleans. Not the city of my birth (though only an hour away) I always get this thrill of excitement when I see those wrought-iron balconies, narrow streets and iconic signs. The go-cups and Marie Laveau’s don’t hurt either. And it’s been far too many years since I’ve made it back to play tourist visit.

New Orleans isn’t short on flavors to savor, either: there’s the seafood delicacies, the spicy sauces, Cajun this, Creole that, and then there’s the desserts. It’s one of these desserts that became our mission to recreate: the Praline.

Pecans surrounded by a creamy, melt-in-your mouth candy. And candy? Is time consuming to make (not to mention dangerous: molten sugar and a better chance that the humidity will prevent it from setting properly). This cocktail? Gets the job done with a lot less trouble.

New Orleans Praline

1 oz Vanilla Vodka
1/2 oz Frangelico
1/4 oz Butterschnapps
1 1/2 oz Cream Soda

Combine vodka and the liqueurs over ice and shake with a touch of the zydeco in your soul. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass while adding the cream soda.

There’s not a readily available pecan liqueur that I’m aware of, so we went with the smooth hazelnut liqueur instead. If you prefer, you could use amaretto but you might also need to add more vodka and soda to balance the stronger flavor of the almond liqueur. Either way you’ll end up with a rich, creamy, decadent cocktail that contains the essence of a praline without all the work.

Have Your Dessert (Cocktail) First!

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Not that I’d know anything about testing out a super-indulgent cocktail recipe before supper. And if I were to do such a thing, it’s only be to take advantage of the light.

Let’s get down to the business of the G-cocktail, shall we? Which just happened to be inspired by a certain special-occasion dessert.

The Groom's Cake Cocktail

The Groom's Cake Cacktail

For those unfamiliar, the groom’s cake is a particularly Southern wedding tradition that is, thankfully, spreading thanks to the global nature of wedding blogs and reality television. An alternative to the (frequently) dry, white wedding cake, the groom’s cake was usually chocolate but, really, these days can be any size, shape or flavor the groom decides (or the bride allows). Often the cake represents a hobby of the groom’s and is one of the few times the groom might have any input into the wedding!

As my mind wandered down this path, I also remembered a cake I did for a friend’s husband that was German Chocolate–the cake itself is only part of the equation; that gooey coconut frosting is another matter entirely! Dreams are made of that nutty, super-sweet stuff.

The Groom’s Cake

1 1/2 oz Vanilla Vodka
1 1/4 oz Godiva Liqueur
1 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
3/4 oz Buttershots
1/4 oz Frangelico
Flaked coconut and cocoa powder for garnish

Combine vodka, Godiva, butter-schnapps, condensed milk and Frangelico over ice in a shaker and shake while you do a run through of the Electric Slide–just to keep in practice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with cocoa and coconut.

Alternately, skip the rim adornment and mix a little of the coconut and cocoa with more of the condensed milk, maybe a splash of frangelico, too, and top something sturdy with the mixture and float it in the drink. I used a mini rice cake for the raft and it worked quite well (and made a nice treat at the end of the cocktail!).

Even though we just did a chocolate cocktail 4 letters ago, I’m firmly of the belief that you really can’t have too much chocolate in your cocktail repertoire (or, you know, life in general), so we’ll go with it. The idea was to create a velvety-smooth concoction reminiscent of the cake and icing combo (second only to red velvet cake* with cream cheese frosting, I’d a guess) that is clearly a desert cocktail.

How’d we do? You’ll just have to try it yourself and see, won’t you!

And, yes, I’ve made a version of the bleeding-armadillo Groom’s cake before. Not exactly like the one from Steel Magnolias but it did have grey icing (poured fondant, in this case) and its beady little eyes, according to the recipient, followed you around the room. Which is only a good thing considering the person that ordered it meant it as a somewhat twisted joke.