Lime, Cinnamon, Cranberry Simple Syrup

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, if you are still looking for something unique and fun to add to the celebration, my Cinnamon, Cranberry Simple Syrup is just what you are looking for.  This 15 minute preparation is a fun and easy recipe that is sure to add a little Thanksgiving flavor to all of your favorite cocktails. 

Lime, Cinnamon, Cranberry Simple Syrup
Time to Prepare: 15 min
Time to Cool: 30 min

Ingredients:
1 c. water
1 c. white sugar
2 c. washed cranberries
2 sticks cinnamon
zest of one lime (try to minimize the white pith just under the outer peel as this part of the peel can impart overwhelming bitterness)

Stir all ingredients together over medium heat and simmer for 11 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand to cool. When cool, strain out solids and store syrup in refrigerator for up to one month. 

(The remaining sweetened cranberries should not be discarded as they can be used to garnish a delicious cocktail recipe or be a good addition to the Thanksgiving dinner table as a sweet cranberry relish. Remove the cinnamon sticks and lime zest before serving.)

Cranberry Spice Margarita

•  2 oz favorite Tequila blanca
•  juice of 1 juicy lime
•  (splash) 1/2 oz Limeade or Margarita Mix (splash)
•  (splash)1/2 oz OJ
•  3/4-1 oz cranberry cinnamon syrup

Garnish is a mixture equal parts coarse salt, white sugar and cinnamon to rim the serving glass.
Build over ice, shake, rim glass with garnish. Pour shaken Cranberry Spice Margarita into glass rimmed with white sugar, ground cinnamon, and coarse salt, garnish with a lime wedge and serve.

Cranberry Spice Cosmo

•  3 oz Absolute citcron vodka
•  (splash) 1/4oz lime juice
•  3/4 oz Cranberry Spice Simple Syrup

Glass garnish is a mixture equal parts white sugar and cinnamon to rim the serving glass.
Build in a shaker, serve in chilled martini glass garnished with sugar and cinnamon and a lime wedge.

Cinacran and Bourbon

•  2 oz Favorite Bourbon
•  3/4 oz Cranberry Spice Simple Syrup

Build over ice, shake, serve in a bucket glass.
Garnish with lime.

Here are a few more ways that this cranberry cinnamon syrup can be used.
Mocktails/Non-Alcoholic Drinks

•  CinaCran Lime/Lemonade
•  CinaCran and 7
•  CinaCran and Soda

Cocktails

•  Spiced Cranberry Lemon Drop
•  Spiced Cranberry Hot Whiskey
•  Absolute Citron, soda - spiced CinaCran Syrup
•  CinaCran Bay Breeze/Sea Breeze

GIN DROP

Curious to try something new when you go out or looking to impress your friends when you stay in? Unsure where to start? Don't want to go over the top, but you do want something unique, try out this earthy and refreshing cocktail. It marries the traditional pairing of fresh lime and a delicious Gin, with a hint of some sweetness.  You can ask your bartender to make this if he has time, but he surely won't have heard of it yet. 

Gin Drop

Build in a shaker full of Ice

• 3oz Gin ( Tanquery, Hendrick's,  Bombay Saphire)
• Juice of half of a juicy lime
• 1/2 oz of watermelon pucker ( more if you like)
• Shake and serve as one martini or as two to three shots.

For Home Bartenders, this is an awesome recipe to add to your bag of tricks because most good home bars will already have everything for this recipe except the Watermelon Pucker, which is both cheap and readily available in most liquor stores in full bottles or in tiny airplane bottles for the non-comital type. It is nice NOT to have to buy a bunch of new ingredients just to try a new drink, and it also nice to acquire a new cocktail for your bar at home for less than the cost of one at the pub.

Bloody Mary for Breakfast!

As far as I am concerned, one of the marks of a good bartender is their ability to make a great bloody mary.  As a great bartender, I make a great bloody and jump at the chance to make my own when I am drinking them.

This morning I woke up and wanted to have a bloody and wanted it my way.  I headed over to Max Gill and Grill to indulge in their do it yourself Bloody Mary Bar.  I arrived late so the Bloody Bar was a little worked( no photo ), but there was still essential elements present from all the spices, and over 15 hot sauces to fresh fruit and great garnishes.  For me a bloody is booze, lots of flavor, lots of juice, but not lots of tomato juice. It all starts with a pint glass rimmed with lime juice and salt and filled with ice, the recipe follows but make it your way, if you get the chance.  Or stop by Max Gill and Grill weekends for $5 Bloody Mar Bar.  Awesome.  For those of you that are more a mimosa than bloody, come along for the fun with all you can drink mimosas for $10.

Conk's Bloody

Build this Bloody in a lime salted pint glass full of ice

healthy pour of vodka

juice of half of a lime

juice of 1/4 lemon

1/2oz olive juice

1T. bloody mary concentrate

2 oz tomato juice

garnished with pickled green bean or cucumber as well as an olive and a lime.

Celery and lemon are traditional garnishes, but for me, minimum I want an olive and a lime.  If we are going to throw down and get fancy lets talk about grilled asparagus, pickle spears, pepperoncini, a long foodpick with assorted cheeses, shrimp, or my favorite, pickled green beans.

For the home bartender, a bloody is your canvas, have your friends over for a weekend game, use your favorite ingredients and you are sure to impress .

As for the Vodka, we all have our favorites.  For me, Stolichnya and Absolute are my go tos but Three Olives Tomato Flavored Vodka makes a cool choice as well.  If you have a great Bloody Mary vodka infusion at hand, jump at the opportunity.  If you are unfamiliar, look for Infusions as a future topic.  Pour, mix, enjoy.

COCKTAILS anyone?

I have been spending a lot of my time working behind one of the most popular bars in downtown Ventura, CA and I would like to share a classic cocktail that most bartenders don't make often, and often don't make properly.

As a hard working bartender I get frustrated when I experience bad service at a bar or worse, a cocky yet unknowledgeable bartender.  I don't claim to know all about mixing myself, but I appreciate learning and am alway open to a healthy discussions about bar-tending and our love affair with alcohol.  That is why I chose to look into the history of the Manhattan and learn how to make it properly and share that here.

Robert Hess is a mixology specialist and loves the tradition and history of bar-tending.  In this video from The Cocktail Spirit on The Small Screen Network, Robert Hess discusses the nuances of a great Manhattan and how easy and simple it is to make the most traditional drinker happy.



Here is a perfectly recipe for the Classic Manhattan Cocktail.
Recipe

•       2oz American whiskey (rye or bourbon)
•       3/4  oz sweet vermouth
•       1 dash Angostura bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

The Classic Manhattan recipes call for  Rye Whiskey, or Bourbon. It can be tough to find a bar that has a rye or offers a selection of Rye Whiskey so I find that Basil Hayden is both a great bourbon selection as well as one that is readily available in most good bars .  Enjoy this recipe for a proper Manhattan made at home or come see me at my bar.

Drink of the Week

The Sugary Dog


























-photo from web

-juice of 1/2 ruby red grapefruit
-1 1/2 oz favorite Vodka
-1 T fine sugar or 1/2 oz simple syrup
-2 sprig of basil chiffonade
Combine ingredients with ice in shaker, shake vigorously.
Strain into fine sugar rimmed martini glass.
Garnish with whole basil leaf. 

I encountered this drink at a small store front pizzeria, Zaccaza in Vail Colorado.

Enjoy and share with your friends.