FLORENCE FENNEL COCKTAIL
Ingredients
Serves 1
2 oz (60 ml) Hendrick’s small batch gin
½ oz (15 ml) Martini Bianco
¼ oz (8 ml) Fennel Syrup
2 dashes lemon bitters
1 dash Okanagan Spirit Taboo absinthe
Instructions
- Stir all ingredients on ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with thinly sliced fennel bulb strips and wide lemon zest with oils expelled over the drink. Discard zest.
- To make FENNEL SYRUP: In a saucepan, bring 1 cup (250 ml) water to a boil and add 1 cup (250 ml) thinly sliced fennel bulb. Let sit for 15 minutes. Strain through a cheesecloth. Add equal parts sugar to fennel water. Store in a glass bottle. Keep refrigerated.
Featuring
BITTER DAISY
Ingredients
Serves 1
1½ oz (45 ml) Long Table London Dry gin
½ oz (15 ml) Cointreau
½ oz (15 ml) Lavender Bitter Orange Cordia
¾ oz (22 ml) fresh lemon juice
dried candied orange slice, for garnish
Instructions
- Shake all ingredients on ice and fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with dried candied orange slice.
- To make LAVENDER BITTER ORANGE CORDIAL: Heat 1 cup (250 ml) water to a boil. Remove from heat and add 2 tbsp (30 ml) dried lavender buds and let sit for 10 minutes. Strain out buds and add equal parts honey to lavender water (about 1 cup/250 ml each). Add ⅓ cup (75 ml) orange bitters to the Lavender Honey Syrup. Store in a glass bottle, keep refrigerated.
Featuring
BUFFALO STANCE
Ingredients
Serves 1
1½ oz (45 ml) Zubrówka vodka
½ oz (15 ml) Alvear Medium Dry sherry
½ oz (15 ml) lemon juice
½ oz (15 ml) allspice syrup
2 dashes Mystic Caravan Smokey Pear bitters
fresh slices of pear, for garnish
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass and stir. Strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with fresh slices of pear.
- To make ALLSPICE SYRUP: In a saucepan, combine 2 cups (500 ml) sugar to 2 cups (500 ml) water to 1 tbsp (15 ml) ground allspice. Bring to a boil and let cool.
Featuring
LOW TIDE
Ingredients
Serves 1
1½ oz (45 ml) Sailor Jerry Spiced Navy Rum
½ oz (15 ml) Giffard Ginger of the Indies
¼ oz (7 ml) Okanagan Spirits Poire Williams
½ oz (15 ml) lemon juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters, to top
ginger beer, to top
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into a shaker (except for ginger beer and bitters). Strain into a mason jar over fresh ice and top with ginger beer and bitters.
Featuring
SWANN SONG
Ingredients
Serves 1Instructions
- In a mixing glass, stir Goldschläger with ice to chill. Strain into a champagne flute. Top with Piper-Heidsieck Brut. Soak sugar cube with 3 dashes of Plum & Rootbeer bitters and slowly lower into the champagne flute with a long spoon.
Featuring
KYLO
Ingredients
Serves 1
½ oz (15 ml) Luxardo Sambuca Passione Nera
2 oz (60 ml) Barbieri Aperol Aperitivo
¾ oz (22 ml) Cointreau
1 oz (30 ml) lemon juice
black Twizzler straw, cut on each end, for garnish
Instructions
- Pour Sambuca into a Collins glass. Fill glass with ice. In a mixing glass, shake Aperol, Cointreau and lemon juice with ice and strain over ice in the Collins glass. Garnish with a black Twizzler.
Featuring
TAR PIT
Ingredients
Serves 1
1 oz (30 ml) Diplomatico Riserva Rum
½ oz (15 ml) Galliano Liqueur
½ oz (15 ml) butterscotch liqueur
1 oz (30 ml) chilled espresso
Instructions
- Shake rum, Galliano, butterscotch liqueur and espresso with ice in a shaker glass until very cold. Strain into a cocktail coupe glass and garnish with coffee beans.
Featuring
GHOST PILOT
Ingredients
Serves 1
1½ oz (45 ml) Star of Bombay Gin
½ oz (15 ml) Crème de Cacao
½ oz (15 ml) peppermint schnapps
¼ oz (7 ml) lemon juice
Instructions
- Shake gin, cacao, peppermint schnapps and lemon juice in a shaker glass with ice until very cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and enjoy.
Featuring
KAHLÚA CUPCAKES WITH MARSHMALLOW SPIDER WEBS
Ingredients
Serves 24 cupcakes
2½ cups (625 ml) all-purpose flour
2½ tsp (12 ml) baking powder
½ tsp (2 ml) salt
½ cup (125 ml) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¾ cups (425 ml) granulated sugar
3 tbsp (45 ml) Kahlúa
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
2 large eggs
¾ cup (175 ml) whole milk
24 chocolate kiss candies, unwrapped
2 cups (500 ml) chocolate chips
3 cups (750 ml) mini marshmallows
BUTTERCREAM:
1 cup (250 ml) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup (125 ml) cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tbsp (30 ml) Kahlúa
3 tbsp (45 ml) whipping cream
¼ tsp (1 ml) sea salt
3 cups (750 ml) icing sugar, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Line cups of two standard muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
- In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar, Kahlúa and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In two additions each, alternate adding flour mixture and milk to butter mixture. Combine on low speed until batter is well combined.
- Divide batter among paper liners in muffin tins and bake until cupcakes are golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in centre of cupcakes comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from muffin tin to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
- When ready to assemble, transfer Spiked Buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe domes of icing onto each cupcake. Place a chocolate kiss on top of each mound of buttercream before refrigerating frosted cupcakes for 30 minutes allowing frosting to set.
- Place chocolate chips in a microwave-safe measuring cup. Microwave at 15 second intervals, stirring between each, until melted. One at a time, dunk cupcakes into melted chocolate, covering frosting in a layer of chocolate. Set aside and repeat with remaining cupcakes. When all cupcakes are dipped in chocolate, refrigerate again until chocolate is firm, about 15 to 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place half the marshmallows in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 15-second intervals until puffed and melted. Stir with a fork to deflate and combine to a smooth paste.
- Working with one cupcake at a time, grab a little melted marshmallow between your fingers and spread your fingers apart to make marshmallow stretch and become stringy. Lay stretched marshmallow over and around chocolate covered frosting. Continue until cupcake is covered with desired amount of marshmallow web. Melt remaining marshmallows when first half gets too hard to make spider webs with. Transfer to a serving platter and let sit at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, allowing frosting to soften slightly, before serving.
- To make SPIKED BUTTERCREAM: In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add Kahlúa, whipping cream, salt and ½ cup (125 ml) icing sugar. Mix into butter mixture at low speed until well combined. Continue adding icing sugar a ½ cup (125 ml) at a time, incorporating fully before adding next addition. Make sure to scrape down sides of mixing bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Mix frosting on medium-high speed until stiff but spreadable, about 3 minutes. Use immediately. Makes about 5 cups (1.25 L).
Drink Pairings
FLIGHT OF FANCY
Ingredients
Serves 1
1½ oz (45 ml) Empress 1908 Gin
½ oz (15 ml) Cointreau
½ oz (15 ml) lemon juice
½ tsp (3 ml) Giffard Crème de Violette
grapefruit zest, for garnish
Instructions
- In a shaker with ice, combine gin, Cointreau, lemon juice and violet liqueur. Shake to chill and strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with a piece of grapefruit zest.