Sips & Shots

Destiny? Fate? An excuse for every human foible?

That, my friends, are just some of the things folks find when they gaze up at the night sky.

Me? I have perhaps more than the average interest in astrology but I take it, like most things, with a few grains of salt and a whole lot of common sense.

(And, no, we’re not salting this martini. I made one exception, that was more than enough!)

What we are, is closing out this lovely romp through flavored-martini land with an ode to the stars, planets, and who knows what else out there in the vastness of space.

The Zodiac

1 1/2 oz Cranberry Juice
1 oz Vodka
3/4 oz Blue Curacao
3/4 oz Pomegranate Liqueur

Combine all ingredients over ice and shake until it’s cold as the far reaches of space. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

No garnish is needed–the inky depths of this drink speak for themselves. While not harsh–I would never give you a harsh drink, balance is important–this AlphaTini will positively take your breath away. Wait, did I say take? I mean it will snatch it from you like you’ve just been sucked out of an airlock.

And just like that sudden decompression, this drink will knock you ass over teakettle if you’re not careful. Testing a new cocktail a week, in addition to the occasional recreational drink, I have a pretty decent tolerance for booze, right? One quarter of a Zodiac–3 signs, if you will–and I was already feeling the effects, even after just having supper.

But, then, not all horoscopes are gentle…

# # #

Well, then! This week’s post has finished yet another Friday series here at Sips & Shots. After a week or two’s break I will be back with a delve into the world of white wines (just like our Meet the Reds mini-series way back when) and then we’ll get started on our next series (by the way, today’s cocktail was a hint, can you guess what the next series will be?).

But before we go, I wanted to be sure to tell each and every one of you how much I appreciate you reading, whether at Sips & Shots or over at Circle of Food. For every comment I receive here, there or on Facebook I always get a little thrill. As a thank you, I’d like to offer you this free download–a custom cocktail perfect for Valentine’s Day, courtesy of my other venture, the Character Cocktail.

Would you mind sharing your email address in return?

(For those who read via RSS feed, you’ll need to go to the actual post to get the download)

(I’d never sell your information, I just want to be able to track the downloads and be able to send out cocktail-related emails when something big is on the horizon. Once you’ve entered your email address the page will refresh, just scroll down back to this area and you should see “Your download is ready” and a button with the name of the file on it.)

To view the pdf you will need Adobe Reader, you can download it for free here.

Cheers!

On Monday I told you about a fabulous trip that would make a romantic Valentine’s gift if ever there was one. If that trip is a little out of your budget (the way it is mine), here are some other gift ideas for the cocktail lover in your life that might not make your wallet faint:

Along the lines of Divino Tuscany, but a bit closer to home, if you’re near Paso Robles, California, or will be on March 31, 2012, consider gifting yourself or your loved ones the “Olfactory Evaluation of Wine” class led by Alexandre Schmitt at Niner Wine Estates. Learn exactly what all those notes about “noses” mean in this afternoon class for wine pros and enthusiasts alike. At $125 per person it’s practically a steal! Make sure to RSVP, though, as spots are limited.

Prefer something a little more portable? How about an engraved bottle of premium vodka? Double Cross (seems like a dubious name for a Valentine’s gift, right? never fear, it refers to the double cross on the Slovakian coat of arms) vodka is offering just that for $39.99 (engraving may be extra  is free!). Email gifts@doublecrossvodka.com for specifics.

More from California, but this time from the comfort of your own home! The New York Times’ Knowledge Network (didn’t know there was such a thing, did you?) is offering a California Wines: Napa Cabernet course for the very reasonable rate of $65. A perfect gift for the online learner who’d love to know more about this very popular varietal.

Got a visually-inclined cocktail enthusiast in your life? Consider this new (and very awesome, it’s definitely on my wish-list) print from Pop Chart Lab, Constitutions of Classic Cocktails, for a mere $36. It’s like a maze, with awesome drinks at the end–who wouldn’t like to solve that one?!

For the scotch lovers out there, be on the lookout for the Glenfidditch Cask of Dreams 125th Anniversary special bottling. Only 3500 bottles will be available, starting this month, at a suggested retail of $99. Get it while you can!

And, finally, if you’ll allow me a shameless plug of my own: You’ve seen the cocktails I create each Friday here at Sips and Shots, but did you realize that you can have your very own signature drink created just for you (or a loved one)? Character Cocktails are custom-designed cocktails based on the recipients personality and presented as a ready-to-frame piece of original art for $67, shipping included. Gift certificates (real, live, hold-in-your-hand ones as well as printables for you last-minute sort) are available at the Character Cocktail site.

Unless you live under a rock, you know that Valentine’s Day is just over a week away.

Now I know that many people view this holiday as a money-grab by the card and chocolate industries and I’m not saying it isn’t, but I’m also not one to pass up an opportunity to say I Love You to the people in my life. (Yes, we should do that every day, but it’s nice to set aside one day in particular, too.)

For those who have no opposition to the upcoming holiday but are still wondering what to do or give to mark the occasion, have you considered laying low on the chocolates and tchotchkes, and gifting your someone special with an experience they’ll remember for the rest of their life?

How about, say, a trip to Tuscany?

copyright Alessandro Moggi

Divino Tuscany 2012 is a

One-of-a-kind, 4-day celebration of the best Tuscan wines, food and culture. Divino Tuscany will offer a distinctive program that highlights premium wines: wine tastings with Tuscany’s top winemakers, seminars and grand tastings curated by James Suckling, former Senior Editor and European Bureau Chief of Wine Spectator and one of the world’s most influential wine critics; special luncheons and dinners prepared by Michelin-starred chefs and entertainment organized by IMG Artists, one of the leading producers of cultural and lifestyle festivals. Participating winemakers include Marchesi Antinori, Frescobaldi, Mazzei, Ricasoli, Il Borro, Petrolo and Castello Banfi, and more.

copyright Alessandro Moggi

Sure, this sort of trip is a little on the pricey side (€1900 per person, or around $2500 at current rates), and you still have to make travel arrangements, but spending 4 days wining and dining in Tuscany in May doesn’t sound like a bad use of this year’s vacation fund, now does it? Especially not with a line-up of activities like this:

copyright Alessandro Moggi

And if you go? Please send me a postcard!

She was afraid to come out with the Vodka
She was as nervous as she could be
She was afraid to come out with the Vodka
She was afraid that somebody would see

Two three four tell the people what she bore

It was an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Martini
That she served for the first time today
An Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Martini
So with the Vodka, she wanted to stay

This song has been dancing around my head for more than a week–the moment I realized this week’s letter-inspiration was Y, yellow was the first thought and this song arrived right on it’s heels.

I thought about filking the entire song but even I’m not that obsessed!

At any rate, it was the inspiration for this week’s cocktail and the polka dots made me think back to an early Character Cocktail: the Miracle Mocktail. It was based on the idea of Bubble–aka Boba–Tea, right down to the tapioca pearls. Perfect polka dots! And what is the yummiest yellow spirit around? Limoncello, of course.

Since I still had a bounty of tapioca pearls in the cabinet, this time I decided to tint them with molasses instead of black food coloring (blech!). While very tasty, they are definitely more brown than black, but I don’t see that as a true problem, all things considered. Black tapioca pearls are available online and from specialty shops, if you’d rather not bother tinting them yourself, and instructions for preparing them (via Bubble Tea Supply) are pretty simple.

The biggest quandary I had was deciding whether to give it such a long name or not!

Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Martini

1 oz Vodka
1 oz Limoncello
3/4 oz Green Tea
1/2 oz Peach Schnapps
garnish: 1 Tbsp prepared tapioca pearls

Spoon the tapioca pearls into the bottom of a cocktail glass. Combine vodka, limoncello, green tea and schnapps over ice and shake like a bikini top on a water slide and strain into the waiting pearls. Watch them dance around a bit, then sip.

The green tea is a further nod to the Bubble Tea inspiration, but the peach schnapps were just for taste. The peach and lemon are such a good mix; this drink is divine. And there’s no need to sweeten the tea or to use my beloved vanilla vodka–that would just be sugar-overload!

Alphabetical series always have a few trouble spots and X is a biggie. I suppose I could have gone for something musical with a xylophone-inspired cocktail, but I opted to go with the other tried-and-true x-answer: x-ray.

There’s seldom, if ever, a good reason to go in for an x-ray–it’s almost always for a broken this or a not-working that–but we’re not talking fractures, today. Nope, we’re taking a slightly different sort of look inside, this time into your mind.

Two X-people immediately spring to mind (not ex-people, as in no longer around, necessarily, but x-people as in their names are the only x’s I can ever remember): Xavier Roberts and Charles Xavier. And while a friend and I did stumble upon possibly the most inappropriate memorabilia in the gift shop of the former (I mean, really, whose idea was the Cabbage Patch Museum’s shot glasses, hmmm?), I think we’ll go with Professor X, of comic book fame, for this week’s inspiration.

Thanks to the glut of comic book movies that have made their way to the big screen in recent years you don’t have to get anywhere near a comics shop to know that Professor X is the telepathic head of the mutants who try and stay just this side of the law and hope for equality and acceptance with the rest of mankind. And the Professor isn’t just your average side-show (or reality-show) mind-reader; no, his powers pack quite the wallop.

Just like this week’s Alphatini.

X-Ray Specs

1 1/2 oz London Dry Gin
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Raspberry Liqueur
garnish: lemon slice

Combine the gin, vermouth, lemon juice and raspberry liqueur in a glass over ice and shake with all the power of your mind–or arms, for us non-mutants–until cold as steel. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a center-cut slice of lemon.

A few notes: the London Dry Gin is a nod, of course, to the wonderful Jean Luc Picard Patrick Stewart who plays Professor X in the first few X-Men movies. The lemon wheel, with it’s spokes, is a blatant homage to his wheelchair. The rest of the drink is overall dry with a bit of sweet. Because even if you are fighting both misguided mutant supremacists and the scared masses of humanity, I’d like to think you find at least a little time for fun so you don’t burn out.

Just don’t have to many of them, or I can’t vouch for the state of your mind the next morning.

(And for those who might be curious, a single X-Ray Spec comes in at a mere 165 calories.)