Cheers

DRINKS Fresh and Fun Gin Cocktails CURIOUS FLOWERS Kyle Mathis, head mixologist of Taste by Niche in St. Louis, MO, created this recipe. 1 ½oz. Aromatic gin ¼ oz. Hibiscus liqueur ¼ oz. Creme de cassis ½ oz. Fresh lemon juice 1 Bar spoon orange marmalade 1 Dash Angostura bitters 1 oz. Brut sparkling wine Shake all ingredients except sparkling wine together and fine strain into large coupe. Top with sparkling wine. APPLE DREAM The mixologists at Caorunn Gin created this recipe. 1 ¼ oz. Caorunn Gin 1 oz. St. Germain elderflower liqueur Crème de Mure blackberry liqueur 1½ Thyme sprigs ½ oz. Lemon juice ⅓ Pink Lady apple Soda water In a mixing glass, muddle apple well, add sprigs of thyme and gently press. Add all other ingredients (except soda and Crème de Mure) and shake well over cracked ice. Fine strain into glass, pack with crushed ice and finally top with soda and Crème de Mure. Garnish with a lemon (or orange) twist with a sprig of thyme threaded through it or a lemon corkscrew and a blackberry. 50 | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 FORNOVO The mixologists at Belly Wine Bar in Cambridge, MA, created this recipe. 1 ½ oz. Plymouth gin 1 oz. Cocchi Americano ½ oz. Combier Pamplemousse rose liqueur 2 dashed Peychaud's bitters Prosecco (or any sparkling wine of choice) Stir all ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass. Strain into a flute. Top with prosecco or other sparkling wine, and garnish with a grapefruit swath. MARCONI The mixologists at New York restaurant SingL created this recipe. 1 oz. Aperol 1 oz. Bombay Sapphire gin ¼ oz. Fresh-squeezed lemon juice Cima prosecco Lemon peel In a special rocks glass, pour Aperol, gin and lemon juice. Float prosecco to top of glass and rim glass with lemon peel. Peel then goes into drink as a twist. IN THE HEDGES Dan Bronson, beverage director/mixologist of The Strand Smokehouse in Astoria, NY, created this recipe. 2 oz. London dry gin 6 oz. Bitter Italian lemonade 3 Sprigs thyme Grapefruit bitters (optional) Fill a Collins glass with ice and add gin and soda. Twist together the thyme sprigs to make a swizzle of sorts and stir. Add a few drops of grapefruit bitters. SAPPHIRE & SASS Vicki Honerkamp, head bartender and wine steward for Jakes Atop the Midnight Star in Deadwood, SD, created this cocktail. 1 ½ oz. Bombay Sapphire gin 1 ½ oz. Orange juice 2 Dashes Tabasco sauce Tomato juice Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper Rim a tall glass with kosher salt and pepper and fill with ice. Add 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce. Pour in gin, then orange juice. Fill up with tomato juice. Garnish with bleu cheese-stuffed olives and a pickle. LOVE LETTER Tiffany Soles, bartender at Irvin Mayfield's Jazz Playhouse in New Orleans, created this recipe. ¾ oz. Disaronno 1¼ oz. Gin 1oz. Pom pomegranate juice ½ oz. Fresh lemon juice 3 Basil leaves Club soda Muddle basil in a mixing glass. Add ice, Disaronno, gin, pomegranate juice and lemon juice and shake well. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add club soda and garnish with lemon peel and basil leaf. Call for Recipes! Cheers is looking for more innovative and original recipes using sake or tequila. Please specify ingredient quantities (oz., tsp., etc.). Send recipes to Cheers Drinks Department, Melissa Dowling, 17 High St., Norwalk, CT 06851, or email MDowling@specialtyim.com. www.cheersonline.com

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