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Would You Rather Drink a Gin or Vodka Martini?

partysugar — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:30:29 -0700

Source: Flickr Users flymolo17 and Mr. T in DC

How Do You Feel About Martini Glasses?

partysugar — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 06:50:22 -0800

Happy Hour: Raspberry-Chocolate Kiss Cocktail

partysugar — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:00:18 -0800

I consider myself a party chameleon; I can have fabulous fun at any party from a hippie hangout in the Berkeley hills to a swanky soirée on a Manhattan rooftop. I apply the same open-minded mentality to cocktails. While there is a time and place for a whiskey-laced Sazerac, there is also a suitable occasion for this frilly pink concoction. It's served in a rimmed martini glass and known as a raspberry-chocolate kiss.

Valentine's Day is the opportune time for this sort of sweet, girlie drink. It has a chocolate wafer-cookie rim and fresh raspberry flavor. A simple syrup infused with mint provides a delicate herbal essence to the delightfully fruity mixture. If you enjoy cosmopolitans, you'll love this drink.

I sipped the spirit-lifting libation after a long day and trust me - it's the perfect cure to the single girl Valentine's Day blues. To look at the recipe, read more.

Raspberry-Chocolate Kiss Cocktail
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1/4 cup Mint-Infused Simple Syrup, plus more for rim (recipe below)
3 chocolate cookies, finely crushed, such as Nabisco Famous Wafers
10 raspberries
1/4 cup vodka
2 tablespoons cranberry juice
Ice cubes

Directions

Fill a shallow dish with enough simple syrup to just cover the bottom. Place crushed cookies into another shallow dish. Invert a martini glass into simple syrup and then immediately into crushed cookies to coat the rim of the glass.
Place raspberries in a cocktail shaker; crush with a muddler.
Add simple syrup and muddle again.
Add vodka and cranberry juice; fill shaker with ice. Shake well until chilled. Strain into prepared martini glass. Serve immediately.

Makes 1 drink.

Mint-Infused Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Stems from 1 bunch of fresh mint

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, 1 cup water, and mint stems. Place over medium heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat; let cool. Strain through a sieve. Syrup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

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Come Party With Me: Halloween Dinner - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:30:50 -0700

Although there is no meat in the Halloween dinner menu, the meal is quite rich, so select a cocktail that is clean, crisp, and refreshing. The classic highball is perfect because guests can choose between gin or vodka. Eyeball ice cubes are a creative and festive way to make the drink more Halloweeny. If you don't like a highball, consider using the ice cubes in another concoction. When guests sit down to dinner pour a Halloween-themed wine. As always, be sure to have plenty of water, beer, and nonalcoholic alternatives on hand. To learn how to make the eyeball highball, read more.

Eyeball Highball
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

14 medium radishes
7 pimiento-stuffed olives, halved crosswise
16 ounces gin or vodka
1 ounce vermouth

Directions

Trim stem and root ends of radish. Use a paring knife to scrape red skin from radish, leaving just enough to give a veiny appearance. With a small melon baller, cut a hole in radish, about 1/2 inch in diameter.
Fit an olive half, cut-side facing out, into hole. Place radish in ice-cube tray. Repeat with remaining radishes. Fill tray with water; freeze.
Mix vodka or gin with vermouth; stir with ice. Divide eyeball ice cubes among four glasses. Strain martini; pour into glasses, and serve.

Makes 4 drinks.

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Come Party With Me: Chinese New Year - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:28:31 -0800

Kick-start your Chinese New Year dinner party with an elegant cocktail. A lychee martini is sophisticated, cool, and festively flirty. When you sit down to dinner offer guests a dry Riesling, fruity Sauvignon Blanc, or crisp Chenin Blanc; all would pair nicely with the menu. If you really want to serve a red, look for a light, smooth Pinot Noir. Don't forget water and sparkling water. A refreshing option for non drinkers is lemonade. To see the recipe for the lychee martini, read more.

Lychee Martini
From InStyle magazine

1 14 oz. can lychees
2 cups vodka
1/2 cup cranberry juice

Drain the lychees, reserving 1 cup of the lychee syrup.
In a large pitcher combine the reserved lychee syrup, the vodka, and the cranberry juice. Refrigerate until very cold.
Fill cocktail glasses with ice water.
To serve, empty ice water from glasses. Place one lychee in the bottom of each glass, and fill with a cocktail.

Serves 8.

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Happy Hour: A Perfect Peartini

YumSugar — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 14:18:11 -0800

I'm not a huge fan of fruity martinis because they often taste too fake to me. Yet I'm also not one to turn down a cocktail, so when a friend recently offered me a pear martini, I was happy to keep an open mind. The concoction she mixed - featuring Grey Goose's pear-flavored vodka - was smooth, strong, not too sweet, and not the slightest bit artificial tasting.

Pears are at their peak right now, so why not experiment with a Peartini of your own? The amaretto liqueur provides a nice contrast to the lemon juice, and you can use fresh pear slices for garnish. The recipe lets you mix up the cocktail by the glass or the batch; to get it, read more.

Peartini
From Grey Goose Vodka

2 parts Grey Goose La Poire
1/4 part Disaronno or other amaretto liquer
1/4 part simple syrup
1/2 part lemon juice
Pear slice for garnish

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is frosted and beaded with sweat.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with a pear slice.

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Yum Market Finds: Mad For Martini

YumSugar — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:49:19 -0800

I was checking out the Yum Market when I realized I suddenly had an urge for a nice, dry martini. It was only 10:30 a.m., so I couldn't figure out why I wanted a drink so badly. That is until I realized the Yum Market was full of martini-inspired items! There was this fun Martini Lamp that TeamSugar member moderngirl found. There was also a martini-printed pillow that gardengirl74 discovered. For more martini inspiration and drink accessories, scroll through the list below.

To learn how to bookmark your own items, read GeekSugar's guide.

Martini Lamp	Martini Glass Pillow
Martini Olive Throw Pillows	Martini Candles
Lite Cube Fruit Wedges ($16)	Summertime Cocktail Shaker Set
Bighead Bar Coaster Set	Riedel Martini Glass ($35.00)

Happy Hour: Trick-or-Tini

partysugar — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:15:00 -0700

Just in case you don't have enough Halloween themed cocktail recipes, here's another! It's a twist on the classic martini, the trick-or-tini. With its fun name and Halloween hues, this candy corn look-alike is a dessert in itself. Coconut cream, tangerine juice, and banana liqueur are carefully layered to make this delicious cocktail. To prevent mixing when layering liquors, be sure to pour super slowly with a steady hand over the back of a big spoon. Want to make this tonight? Get the recipe when you read more

Trick-or-Tini
From Stirrings

1 part coconut cream
1 part tangerine flavored mixer (suggested, Stirrings Tangerini)
1 part banana liqueur
Splash of white rum

Chill ingredients in fridge or freezer.
Once cooled, pour the first three ingredients, in the order listed above, slowly over the back side of a spoon into a martini glass.
Top with a splash of white rum.

Serves 1.

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Yummy Link: Lychee & Lime Martini

YumSugar — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:30:39 -0700

This lychee and lime martini sounds like it would hit the spot this summer. - Never Bashful with Butter

Happy Hour: Cilantro Martini

partysugar — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:13:13 -0700

I met two of my oldest gal pals for happy hour at Two restaurant here in San Francisco. We sat at the bar and acted the way long time girlfriends usually do when they see each other: giddy. Laura, who is a member of the staff at Two, told me that I had to try the cilantro martini. Using cilantro to infuse a cocktail?! Pure genius! This cocktail was smooth and refreshing - an absolutely excellent aperitif. My tastebuds were souring, my palette tantalized, and my heart racing (not from the drink but from the very cute bartender!). Like any resourceful party gal I ran home and worked out the recipe on my own. Like cilantro? Like vodka? Make this cocktail for your next happy hour! To get the recipe just read more

Cilantro Martini
Inspired by a cocktail consumed at Two restaurant

heaping handful fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated and minced
juice from 1 lime
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
2 oz citrus flavored vodka (recommended Ketel One Citroen)
1/2 oz gin (recommended Bombay Sapphire)

Fill shaker with crushed ice, cilantro, lime juice, and simple syrup. Muddle well.
Add vodka and gin shake well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail shaker and enjoy.

Serves 1.

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