Recipe: The Appletini

If you're a sour apple fan, you'll love this. You probably already know about it, but the recipe deserves another go-over.

I make this drink straight-up (served in a cocktail glass, no ice).

First, fill the cocktail glass with ice to chill it, or pop in the freezer for a few minutes. Then, in a shaker full of ice add: 1 1/2 oz. vodka and 1 oz. apple liqueur (such as DeKupyer Pucker Sour Apple Liqueur). Now, you're supposed to stir it, but I've shaken it gently and it has turned out fine.

Pucker up, folks. And, for your viewing pleasure, here's another video from our friend at the American Bartenders School. Enjoy!





The above apple image by Fir0002/flagstaffotos
Obtained from Wikipedia
Used here under the GNU Free Documentation License

Cocktail Recipe: Classic Margarita

Woo-hoo! It's Friday, so let's celebrate with a margarita!

There are many stories as to its origin, but I won't go there. Straight on to the recipe!

Run a lime wedge around the rim of a margarita glass, highball glass, or even a little Mason jar. As you can tell, I'm not picky. Dip the rim (make sure it's good and moist) into some Kosher salt. Make sure it is Kosher salt -- its grains are just right for margaritas. The best way to do this is to sprinkle some on a plate and commence dipping.


In a shaker full of ice, measure out:

1 1/2 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Cointreau or Triple Sec
2 oz Key Lime juice -- regular limes work in a pinch. Do not use bottled lime juice (ick!).

Shake, shake, shake! Pour into a salt-rimmed glass and garnish with a lime wedge. I like to garnish with a slice of orange as well.

¡Salud!

Public domain image taken by Jon Sullivan obtained from Wikipedia.

Wine Review: DeLille Doyenne AIX Red Mountain 2006

Jim and I had dinner at Brix Cafe in Kirkland and I tasted one of the most amazing wines. As you have probably guessed from the title of this post, it was a lovely red from DeLille Cellars. These folks have produced many award winning wines, and this is one of them.

This wine is a Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon blend with a nose of dark berries, cherry, and I actually detected a note of leather. It had a velvety mouth feel with lingering notes of dark, ripe fruit and mild spice. The fruit lingered and played with the tannins and ended with a smooth finish. While it was beautiful in the glass (opaque deep garnet red), I practically tipped the glass upside down and stopped just short of licking out the last remaining drops.

AWARDS

• Ranked #48 in Wine Spectator's top 100 of 2008, it scored an outstanding 93 points.
• Seattle Wine Awards -- Outstanding
• Gold Medal -- South Florida Fine Wine Competition

The above image was obtained from the DeLille Cellars Website and it's sole intent is to illustrate the wine being reviewed.

New: Cocktails and Wine will accept samples for review.

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Napa Valley wine: Elizabeth Spencer 2005 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon

While visiting Napa recently with some very good friends, we stopped at the Elizabeth Spencer tasting room in Rutherford. We were all pretty excited to get started on our wine tasting adventure for the day -- for the trip really, since this was our very first stop.

We couldn't have picked a better place to start. The little brick building was inviting and, while the interior was quaint, we opted for the lovely, blooming courtyard for our tasting. We were greeted by Ashley who told us the building was once an old post office from 1872! She was friendly and knowledgeable and turned us on to the 2005 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon.

This wine is a brilliant purple color -- beautiful to look at in the glass -- has some mighty legs, and an aroma of blackberry and cherry with a bit of violet. I also noted aromas of sage and earth. The flavors were very fruit-forward and full-bodied with a long, smooth finish. While, in my opinion, this wine was moderately complex, proper cellaring would build upon that and only improve an already lovely finish. In other words, excellent now, even better later.

I haven't seen this wine in Washington yet but, fortunately, they ship. Check them out.

Scooby Snack Cocktail Recipe

I'd put a photo of it here, but I'd be violating all kinds of copyright laws, so you'll just have to imagine Scooby Doo and Shaggy chowing down on Scooby Snacks after being bribed to search for clues or play some part in a creepy criminal sting they wouldn't be part of if it weren't for the aforementioned Scooby Snacks.

They could actually chug the Scooby Snacks instead...

Here's a recipe:

1/2 oz Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur
1/2 oz Midori melon liqueur
1/2 oz Malibu rum or any other coconut flavored rum you can find
A splash of pineapple juice

Add ice to a cocktail shaker and pour all the ingredients in. Shake until cold. Pour into a small rocks glass or a stemmed cocktail glass (aka a martini glass). Garnish with whipped cream.

Also, for your viewing enjoyment, here is a little how-to vid. Enjoy! This guy makes me giggle.

How to Make a Scooby Snack Cocktail

One of my favorite Washington wines: Napeequa '06 SLR (Columbia Valley)

Napeequa 2006 SLR (Sexy Little Red) is a wine I keep going back for, so I sure hope winemaker David Morris doesn't sell out anytime soon. In fact, if you look closely at this photo, you'll notice the bottle is empty.

Immensely sippable on its own and rich without being heavy-handed, it also pairs with food nicely. Think Lasagna, Ravioli with meat sauce, or even a juicy medium-rare filet. Yes, this wine is versatile.

One can tell with each sip that this wine is lovingly crafted. The grapes that make up this blend are Verhey Vineyard Syrah 60%, Lawrence Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 30%, and Verhey Vineyard Malbec 10%. The color, of course, is a beautiful garnet red. It is light in the mouth at first and has a lovely, smooth finish -- not too tannic. When I taste, I detect notes of ripe red fruit, toast, and oak.

This wine is a great compliment to any rich pasta or meat dish. I love it all by itself.

Check out Napeequa on the web at http://www.napeequa.com/.

Are you drinking Salmon-Safe Wines?

Living here in the Pacific Northwest, salmon are important to not only our economy, but our ecology as well. This here is a Coho Salmon. Isn't he adorable?

Say you planted some vines on a sun-soaked slope of your property. That's great -- you'll have some lovely grapes in the years to come. But when you water those vines, what happens? Sure, the thirsty plants will suck up some of it, but there will be runoff. Down the slope. And, very likely, into a stream. During this process, silt and other gunk will be washed into the stream which reduces the ability for the salmon to thrive there, eliminating yet another "safe harbor" so to speak.

Salmon-Safe is an orginazation that is helping vineyards "protect important salmon watersheds and produce world class wine." (From http://salmonsafe.org/wine/index.cfm)

What can you do to help? If you are a grower, you can plant trees and ground cover on stream banks to control soil erosion and use natural methods to control weeds and pests. Salmon-Safe can help with that. If you are a consumer, you can look for the Salmon Safe label in your supermarket or wine shop. You can help keep our rivers safe for salmon.

For more information about Salmon-Safe and to view a list of Salmon-Safe wines, visit their webiste at salmonsafe.org.

Blueberry Martini Recipe Redux

Here's the old recipe:
1.5 oz Blueberry Vodka
3 oz Blueberry Juice
Club Soda
Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Add vodka and blueberry juice. Add a splash of club soda. Shake until your hands are frozen.

I was making a fruit salad the other day with blueberries and watermelon when the proverbial light bulb went off. Why not add some Watermelon Pucker? So I did. And you should, too.

Here's the new recipe:
3/4 oz Blueberry Vodka
3/4 oz Dekupyer Watermelon Pucker
3 oz Blueberry Juice
Club Soda

Mix it the same way you'd mix the other recipe.

Amazing and refreshing. Perfect for summer!

Cocktail Recipe: The Mai Tai

The only thing missing from this Mai Tai is the maraschino cherry. Because I ate it. I took this photo at Cheeseburger Waikiki, but here's how I make my Mai Tais.

1 1/2 oz. Light Rum
1 1/2 oz. Sweet and Sour
3/4 oz. Orgeat Syrup
3/4 oz. Orange Juice (squeezed from an acutal orange)
3/4 oz. Cointreau
Dark Rum

Pour the first five ingredients in a glass over ice and stir it up a little. Float some dark rum on top (3/4 oz to 1 oz). Garnish with a slice of pineapple and a cherry.

Photo copyright Rose Holck