Posts Tagged ‘Gin’

Enjoy a few modern takes on some classic gin cocktails, plus some delicious recipes to pair with those drinks. This is the third of three posts, each featuring a gin cocktail paired with a tasty side dish. The previous posts featured the Sapphire & Sin cocktail paired with Prohibition Turkey Bites and the French Highball paired with Speakeasy Baked Clams.

The following recipes are courtesy of Bombay Sapphire gin and Corbin Tomaszeski, host of Canada’s favourite food shows Dinner Party Wars and Restaurant Makeover.

The Dorothy Parker
PLUS
Blind Tiger Potato Rounds with Pea Puree and Shaved Fennel

The Dorothy Parker

(Makes 2 cocktails.)

The Dorothy Parker is an updated twist on the Mary Pickford, a white rum cocktail that was invented in Cuba and made popular by wealthy traveling Americans during the 1920s. Re-imagined using gin instead of rum and dry vermouth instead of maraschino cherry juice, this recipe helps enhance the earthier elements of the gin, such as orris root and angelica.

The Dorothy Parker and Blind Tiger Potato Rounds

Ingredients:
1-1/2 oz Bombay Sapphire gin
1 oz fresh pineapple juice
1 tsp grenadine
2 tsp dry vermouth (In this case: Martini & Rossi Bianco OR substitute with Martini Extra Dry and a teaspoon of sugar.)

Preparation:
Add all ingredients to a shaker with plenty of ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a pineapple leaf and a lime twist.

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The folks at Bombay Sapphire gin shared a few modern takes on some classic gin cocktails, plus some delicious recipes to pair with those drinks. This is the second of three posts, each featuring a gin cocktail paired with a tasty side dish. The previous post featured the Sapphire & Sin cocktail and Prohibition Turkey Bites.

The following recipes are courtesy of Bombay Sapphire gin and Corbin Tomaszeski, host of Canada’s favourite food shows Dinner Party Wars and Restaurant Makeover.

Sapphire French Highball
PLUS
Speakeasy Baked Clams

Sapphire French Highball

(Makes 3 cocktails.)

A variation on the French 75 cocktail that was standardized during the prohibition era, the Sapphire French Highball reflects the passion for cocktails that was taken up internationally and by Americans during the times of temperance. The classic French 75 has been re-imagined with the addition of pear nectar to add a rich, fresh flavor that helps to combat the acidity of the lemon and champagne.

Sapphire French Highball and Speakeasy Baked Clams

Ingredients:
1 oz Bombay Sapphire gin
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup (2 parts sugar and 1 part boiling water; stir until dissolved and chill)
1 oz pear nectar/juice
Top with champagne or sparkling wine

Preparation:
Add the first 4 ingredients to a highball glass and stir. Fill the glass with cracked ice (lightly smash some ice cubes).

Top slowly with champagne and stir once more. Garnish with a long “shoestring” lemon twist and edible gold flakes for pizzazz.

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Thanks to the kind people repping Bombay Sapphire gin for sharing a few modern takes on some classic gin cocktails, along with some delicious recipes to pair with those drinks. This is the first of three posts, each featuring a gin cocktail paired with a tasty side dish.

Bring the speakeasy style home and impress your guests with re-imagined cocktail and cuisine pairings that put a modern twist on timeless classics. The following recipes are courtesy of Bombay Sapphire gin and Corbin Tomaszeski, host of Canada’s favourite food shows Dinner Party Wars and Restaurant Makeover.

From the press release:

Inspired by the botanicals in Bombay Sapphire, each dish is rich in worldly, exotic tastes, and is perfectly complimented by the mixable and tantalizing flavours of the gin cocktails. There is a pairing for every palate and these new recipes will inspire Canadians to recreate cocktails at home in their own exclusive clubs to experience classic sophistication and style with a modern twist.

Sapphire & Sin
PLUS
Prohibition Turkey Bites

Sapphire & Sin

(Makes 2 cocktails.)

The Sapphire & Sin is a twist on the classic Gin Fix – a traditional cocktail that was developed during the prohibition era – re-imagined by replacing grenadine with ginger syrup.

Sapphire & Sin and Prohibition Turkey Bites

Ingredients:
1-1/2 oz Bombay Sapphire gin
1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz fresh orange juice
1/2 oz fresh ginger syrup (recipe follows)

How to make ginger syrup:
1 cup of powdered white sugar
3/4 cup of boiling water
5 thick slices peeled ginger root.

Add all to a saucepan over a medium heat for 10 minutes, leave to cool for 30 minutes and strain into clean bottle and refrigerate.

Drink preparation:
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or on the rocks in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with ginger slices and coriander/cilantro leaves.

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Several months ago, I composed a post featuring a video discussing when to shake a drink and when to stir a drink. The shaken vs. stirred debate always reminds me (and likely the rest of you) about James Bond. And so we come to the Vesper.

The Vesper was created by author Ian Fleming for the 1953 novel Casino Royale. In chapter 7, the infamous James Bond, Agent 007, asks a barman:

"A dry martini," he said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet."

"Oui, monsieur."

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"

The Vesper, also known as the James Bond Martini. Photo by KP.

The Vesper

3 oz gin
1 oz vodka
1/2 oz Lillet Blanc

Add ingredients to a mixing glass with cracked ice and stir until ice cold. Strain into a goblet, flute or cocktail glass.

Cut a thin strip of lemon peel and squeeze over top of drink to release its oils, then drop into cocktail and serve.

A few important notes about the Vesper:

1. The original cocktail featured Kina Lillet, which has been replaced here by Lillet Blanc because Kina Lillet is no longer made. Cocktail experts will tell you this makes for a different drink, since the original Kina Lillet was a more bitter aperitif wine than its successor.

2. Despite 007's instructions, this drink contains only clear spirits, so we're going to stir, not shake.

3. The ingredients, as originally given, will make a very large and very potent cocktail. To get it down to a more manageable size, just remember the ratio of ingredients (6:2:1). More simply in this case, halve the ingredients and go with 1-1/2 oz gin, 1/2 oz vodka and 1/4 oz Lillet.

The people representing Nolet's Silver Dry Gin sent me a few refreshing sounding recipes last week, so I though I'd share them with you all. Enjoy

Nolet's Silver Martini

Nolet's Silver Martini

Ingredients:
1 oz Nolet's Silver Dry Gin

Preparation:
Stir gin with ice in a cocktail shaker. Serve straight up in a martini glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

Nolet's Silver Dry Gin Fizz

Ingredients:
1 oz Nolet's Silver Dry Gin
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz pasteurized egg white
Splash of soda water

Preparation:
Stir first four ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Pour into an ice-filled highball glass. Stir well and top with soda water. Garnish with a wedge of lemon.

Nolet's Silver Dry Gin & Tonic

Nolet's Gin and Tonic

Ingredients:
1 oz Nolet's Silver Dry Gin
3 oz tonic water

Preparation:
Pour gin and tonic water into an ice-filled highball glass. Stir well and garnish with a wedge of lemon or lime.

Nolet's Silver Dry Gin Bramble

Ingredients:
1 oz Nolet's Silver
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz simple syrup
Cassis liqueur

Preparation:
Pour first three ingredients into an ice-filled rocks glass. Stir well and top with a light drizzle of Cassis liqueur. Garnish with a raspberry.

What's your favourite gin cocktail?