Confidential Champagne Cocktail

When I saw the box on my porch, I assumed it was another Christmas gift. The return address proved me wrong right away -- it was from Sub Rosa spirits in Oregon. I had been writing Mike Sherwood of Sub Rosa off and on for weeks, and was anxious to sample his infused vodkas. When I opened the package, I was impressed by the stylish motif on the labels and sleek, tall bottles they adorned -- one tarragon, one saffron. Dipping a toe in the (infused) water, I knocked out a couple of the tarragon recipes included in the box. I also poured the saffron vodka on the rocks. It was unlike any other infused vodka I have tasted, beginning with a peppery hit then morphing into a smooth saffron finish. (Apparently, I was not the only one who enjoyed it -- see the review at Slashfood.)

Having explored a few of the suggested recipes, I was ready to try my own. My goal was to showcase the sublime flavors so carefully imparted in the infusions -- I was concerned about overpowering them with assertive or saccharine ingredients. My first creation was a variation of a champagne cocktail that would be a bubbly canvas for the flavors of the tarragon vodka (turning out to be a stripped down verion of the Sub Rosa 76 recipe). Keeping with the secretive theme of Sub Rosa vodka, I named it the...

Confidential Champagne Cocktail

1 1/2 oz Sub Rosa tarragon vodka
1/4 oz lemon juice
Dry champagne

Shake vodka and lemon juice with ice and strain into a champagne flute. Top with champagne and stir gently.

Tuaca Cream

Tuaca Cream

1 1/2 oz Tuaca
2 oz Irish cream liqueur
1 oz whole milk

Stir ingredients together over ice in a highball glass.

Tuaca Pom Fizz

It's true of both food and drink -- often a pairing of a few quality ingredients results in the best flavors. That certainly was the case with Tuaca and pomegranate soda.

Tuaca Pom Fizz

2 oz Tuaca
2 oz Izze pomegranate soda

Stir together with ice in a highball glass.

Brandy Allesandro

Late Wednesday night I drug myself home from meetings in New York, two hours later than planned because of the weather. Ice and snow, no less. One bright spot was the box waiting for me there, cradling a bottle of Tuaca to try (thanks again, Courtney). It sounded interesting -- brandy flavored with vanilla and citrus -- what's not to like? I knocked out a couple of the suggested recipes that came along with the package to get accustomed to the flavor, then struck out on my own. My first creation was a variation of a Brandy Alexander, smoother than the somewhat cloying proportions of the usual recipe.

Brandy Allesandro

2 oz Tuaca liquor
1 oz dark creme de cacao
2 oz whole milk

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Mixology Monday -- Snowbird Rum Runner

Thanks to Jeffrey Morgenthaler for hosting the last MxMo of 2007, with the particularly rich theme of Repeal Day. I'll take up the offer to post an original drink inspired by the Prohibition Era.

The usual image Prohibition is a crew of revelers gathered around a bathtub of gin in a crowded urban basement. Let's not forget that while these parties were jumping in the cities, further south rum runners were smuggling rum and other liquors into the States. Considering that Prohobition Era liquors often were not, shall we say, of sipping quality, this cocktail gives a nod to the rum runner's pluck, the flavors of the season and the forgiving nature of assertive mixers.

Snowbird Rum Runner

1/2 oz white rum

1/2 oz gold rum

1/2 oz pineapple rum

1/2 oz Chambord

1/2 oz triple sec

1/2 oz pomegranate schnapps

1/4 oz grenadine

1/2 oz freshly squeezed orange juice

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.