Do Try This Rosé and Rye Spring Sangria Recipe at Home

Do the Rye Thing... 

It finally feels like spring in the New York area, and you know what that means... it's Rosé season! I've been obsessed with rye whiskey lately, and rosé is one of my favorite wines, so I figured mixing them would make a tasty sangria. I was right! The resulting Sang-RYE-a is a simple recipe featuring George Dickel Rye Whiskey that's perfect for home-hosted spring brunches with the girls.

I Prefer to let the fruit soak up the rye for an hour or so before adding other ingredients. Then I add the rosé, raw sugar and coconut water.

Here's the complete recipe (4 servings per pitcher):

SangRYE-a

Ingredients
8oz George Dickel Rye
12 oz cocnut water
1 bottle rosé
3/4 a medium peach, diced
1 small nectarine, diced
1/8 medium papaya diced
2 tablespoons raw sugar

Method
Add fruit, sugar and George Dickel Rye to a pitcher. Let sit for an hour or more. Add coconut water and rosé. Stir with bar spoon or wooden mixing spoon. Enjoy!

Those who like their drinks a bit sweeter may want to add more sugar or coconut water to taste. Do you have a favorite spring drink that features rye? If you try this at home, I'd love to know your thoughts and the ways you put your own spin on it in the comments.


**Disclosure: I am working in partnership with thebar.com brand and I am receiving rewards for my participation in this campaign. All thoughts/opinions are 100% my own. Drink is intended for those whom alcohol is legal and appropriate. Please Drink Responsibly!

Booze Clues: 6 Fun St. Patrick's Day Drinks

To Glasses of Good Cheer and Pots of Gold

Whether you're Irish or not, chances are you'll find yourself at a bar this evening, toasting to St. Patrick and hoping to get lucky (ya know, in the pot of gold way, hehe). Hopefully you're beyond your green beer days, but if you're not sure what to drink beyond that initial shot of Jamo (Jameson), See below. From skinny margaritas to smoky scotch drinks and full-bodied bourbon sippers, we've got you covered (and not all of them are green!).

Strong, Spicy and Refreshing

Knob Creek Mint Ginger Old Fashioned- Created by Celebrity Chef Michael Symon

Ingredients
1 ½ Parts Knob Creek Rye Whiskey
Ginger Beer
½ Part Lemon Juice
¼ Part Green Chartreuse
6-8 Mint Leaves

Method

Combine all ingredients (except ginger beer) in a bar tin with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled Collins glass, top off with ginger beer and garnish with a single mint leaf.

Sweet, Effervescent and a Little Spicy

Basil Hayden’s Lucky Ginger- Created by Zachary Brian Taylor (San Francisco, CA)

Ingredients
1 1/2 parts Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
3/4 parts Lemon Juice
1/2 part Brown Sugar Syrup*
1 spring of Rosemary
Ginger Beer

Method
Combine Basil Hayden’s Bourbon, lemon juice and brown sugar syrup into a cocktail shaker.
Remove rosemary needles from the bottom 3/4 of the spring and add to the shaker. Save the top of the spring for use as a garnish.
Add ice to shaker and shake.
Double strain into a Collins glass filled with ice.
Top with ginger beer.
Garnish with the remaining rosemary spring.

*Brown Sugar Syrup
1 part Water
1 part Brown Sugar

Hearty

Cruzan Strapped Stout

Ingredients
1 ½ parts Cruzan Black Strap Rum
1 bottle of Chocolate or coffee stout beer

Method

Combine ingredients in a pint glass. Stir gently.

Lighty & Spicy

Luck of the Irish

Ingredients

2 ¼ slices jalapeño chile, seeds removed (use more slices if you like it spicy)

3 parts Skinnygirl Margarita

Chili powder or Mexican chili seasoning mixed with coarse salt

Lime peel for garnish

Method 

Muddle the jalapeño slices in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Pour Skinnygirl Margarita over the jalapeños. Add ice and shake well. Rim a rocks glass with the chili powder mixture and pour in the margarita. Garnish with a lime peel.

Smoky and Earthy- for Badasses Only

Luck of Laphroaig- Created by Tyson Buhler (New York, NY)

Ingredients
1 1/2 parts Laphroaig Select
1/4 part Sarsaparilla Syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Orange twist

Method 
Combine ingredients in a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with orange twist.

Stout and Simple

The Perfect Pint of Guinness Draught 

We learned the 7-step process to pouring the perfect pint of Guinness yesterday at a special lunch tasting. Make sure your bartender knows the method. It involves precision and a brief pause for settling, so be patient. After your first sip, post a pic on Instagram with your stout-stache. Because you're bae AF, right?

Oh and if you want to leave a lucky-looking lip print on your glass, green lipstick is the way to go.



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Wild Wednesday: Fendi Monster Booties & A Sarsaparilla Old Fashioned

It's Scary out There

It's official. Winter has arrived. Considering the fact that a few days ago it was pretty warm outside, Jack Frost seems like a new kind of monster. We're friends with the monsters though, right? Well, even if you don't like the ones under your bed or that brutal one called winter wind, this Monster Bootie by Fendi will likely win you over. Fox fur trim at the ankle provides whimsy and warmth, and they eyes add to the fun. The sculptural open heel gives it a modern feel. Worn right, this bootie says your style is untamed, you know how to have fun and you don't mind attracting an extra eye or two. (Pun slightly intended.)

The bite of winter's wind is soothed by a sip of whiskey. Rye whiskey, with it's frontier-sy feel, fits right in with our wild theme today, and if sipping it straight isn't your thing, you'll want a cocktail containing the flavorful spirit. Try a Sarsaparilla Old Fashioned made with Knob Creek Rye at happy hour. While bourbon and scotch have a refined connotation, ordering rye at a bar gives you a little extra edge. Sarsaparilla was popular among cowboys in the old west, so having it in your cocktail contributes to your rabblerouser image.

Sarsaparilla Old Fashioned

Recipe by Eddie Eakin |Dallas, TX

Ingredients:

- 2 parts Knob Creek® Rye

- 1/4 part Honey Syrup (1:1 honey and water)

- 1/2 part Root Beer Liqueur 

- 2 dashes Sarsaparilla Dry Bitters

- 1 dash Vanilla Bitters

Method:

1. Combine Knob Creek® Rye, Honey Syrup, Root Beer Liqueur, Sarsaparilla Dry Bitters and Vanilla Bitters in a mixing glass.

2. Add cracked ice and stir for 40 revolutions. 

3. Strain over ice in a rocks glass. 

4. Garnish with 1 whole star anise pod and a brandied cherry.

Outfit Idea 

Go for high-low in:
Fendi Monster Booties: available at NeimanMarcus.com
Annalise Cropped Sweater: available at candela.com
Jacquard Pencil Skirt: available at zara.com
Gattinoni Planetarium Crossbody Bag: available at Forzieri.com

Spot-Light: Cocktail Classes at Harding's in NYC

 A Reason to Toast Tuesdays

Imagine walking into a room and seeing a spread like the one above on your table. If you're like me, you get extremely excited. So. Many. Spirits! And they're for my tablemates and I to mix cocktails? Yes please! Well, this was exactly the scene at Harding's NYC recently when I attended their "First Tuesdays" mixology class. 

Lead by Derrick Turner, master mixologist (but don't dare let him hear you use that word) and lead bartender at Harding's, the class took us through the preparation of three amazing cocktials featuring artisanal offerings from St. George Spirits. Derrick eases participants' inhibitions with humor, charm and an interactive style. Or maybe it was the fact that started the class with shots for everyone. Actually, I'm almost sure it was a combination of both. 

First, we made The Rockerfeller, a cocktail that combines St. George Spiced Pear Liquor, rye whiskey, and bitters. It was smooth, balanced and just strong enough for me. If you'd like to try it at home, here's the recipe:
The Rockerfeller
1 oz St. George Pear Liqueur
2 oz rye whiskey
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 dash simple syrup (if you prefer sweet drinks)
Blend ingredients over ice in a shaker or mixing glass and stir with a bar spoon. Rub orange peeal around the rim of a coupe glass. Strain ingredients into the coupe and garnish with rolled orange peel. 

Next, we mixed apple cider, bourbon and St. George Raspberry Liqueur to create the Blood of the Woods.  I thought this drink would be super sweet because of the liqueur, but I was delightfully surprised to find that I was wrong. Unlike many of the other liqueurs I've tried, this one tasted like the actual fruit instead of tasting like syrup. In this cocktail, it added depth, complexity and a bit of tartness. Per-fect for for fall. At-home bartenders, here's the recipe: 
Blood of the Woods
1 oz apple cider
1 1/2 oz bourbon
1 charred cinnamon stick (broken into small pieces)
1/4 oz maple syrup (if you want it sweet)
Top with St. George Raspberry Liqueur
Mix bourbon, cider and cinnamon in a shaker over ice. Shake and then do a loos strain into a rocks glass. Top with liqueur and watch it settle to bottom. 

Our last cocktail, the "Simply Wicked", was inspired by a Broadway musical we all know. "According to 'Wicked', the good witch was kinda an A-hole. That was my inspiration," said Derrick before instructing us to mix St. George Absinthe, gin and agave syrup to create this cocktail.  I must confess that I made a wicked F-up because I somehow ended up pouring my ingredients into the leftovers from the previous cocktail (blame it on the...). Derrick made a note of it after sampling the mixture and said it might get added to the lineup at the bar. Luckily, a tablemate let me take a picture of her cocktail for the sake of this post. Here's the recipe: 
Simply Wicked
1 1/2 oz gin
1/4 oz St. George Absinthe
1/2 oz agave syrup
pinch of watercress
Blend gin, absinthe, watercress and agave in (empty) shaker over ice. Shake and then strain into a coupe. Garnish with watercress. 

I'm a whiskey girl, but apparently my business card prefers gin cocktails. Ha!

Ready to join in the fun? Here's the scoop on the next class:

Location: 

Harding’s

32 East 21st Street (between Broadway & Park Ave. S.)

New York, NY

Date / Time/ Concept: 
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Get the Party Started: Champagne Cocktails

Cost: 
$35 per person
Tickets:  www.hardingsnyc.com / 212.600.2105
Space is limited, tickets strongly recommended.