Shake it like a Samurai

Bartenders are always looking for new an innovative ways to perfect the art of the cocktail. Check out the video below for a sneak peak at "The Hard Shake," by true-life sensai Kazuo Uyeda.



Uyeda will soon be teaching his method via seminars to bartenders from around the world; so if you're lucky, you may soon find yourself sipping a cocktail shaken to perfection. For the full story and details on the methodology behind "The Hard Shake," check out Gawker.

Cheers,

Foggy

Hibiscus Sunrise

A new post has been a long time coming, so I thought it fitting to create something fresh. The recipe below is a twist on a hibiscus cocktail I found on the back of a bottle. For those not familiar with hibiscus, its an edible flower that looks like a cross between a tiny octopus and a rose bulb and tastes like a mix between a raspberry and a grape. They are not extremely common, but you can purchase them from a good gourmet food store or online. They typically come either as dried leaves, or full bulbs soaking in a jar of syrup. For just about any drink recipe you'll want to use the latter.

Hibiscus Sunrise



Ingredients 


0.5 oz orange curacao
1 hibiscus flower
0.5 oz hibiscus syrup
3 oz champagne (I use Martini & Rossi's Asti)
dash of orange blossom water

Instructions

Drop the hibiscus flower into the bottom of a champagne flute and add curacao, orange blossom water, and hibiscus syrup. Fill with champagne. The finished cocktail should be a light rose color and taste pretty much like it looks. Drink it to celebrate the end of snowy weather and the beginning of Spring (I hope).

Cheers,
Foggy

Homemade Baileys?!

While I have neglected to post a drink recipe of mine own this year I can't pass up sharing the extensive amount of awesome bartending related links that keep coming my way. Today's comes from a place called Cupcake Project, and its a recipe for crafting your own homemade irish cream. Bailey's being the standard, irish cream factors in to a large number of pretty amazing cocktails, and if you can put a season on drinks, and I think you can, winter is definitely the best season for good irish cream.

Below is a link to the recipe which is pretty simple as long as you have a decent blender. I also recommend adding ingredients to the mix to create more interesting flavors beyond "original." Butterscotch syrup or schnapps, amaretto, or any esspresso flavored syrup or schnapps would go well here.

Cupcake Project's Homemade Irish Cream

Cheers!
Foggy

How much is in your drink?

To start off 2010, I want to share an awesome site that a buddy of mine found. It's called the "Cocktail Cost Calculator." You plug in the ingredients you need for a particular drink, and it will spit back to you the total cost to make it. For example, a Long Island Iced Tea costs approximately $1.28 using rail liquors. Here's to a year of mixology. (Fun Fact: 2010 is the Chinese Year of the Barman).

Cocktail Cost Calculator

Happy New Year!

Foggy

A Better 'Nog

I'm personally not a huge fan of eggnog. It's easily the most acclaimed yet controversial holiday beverage. Most of the 'nog I tend to see comes in the form of a pre-made grocery store blend that is just plain the wrong way to do things. This season, try the recipe below from Poste Moderne Brasserie. It's a rather daunting collection of ingredients, but good things take effort. And the end result is a recipe that even a 'nog hater can appreciate. Below is a how-to video straight from the creator himself, and be sure to check out the full post with recipe at Washingtonian.com






Thanks to Eric for passing this one along

Happy Holidays!
Foggy