You can have your (Black Forest) Cake and drink it too

Just another day at the office...

Today is Black Forest Cake Day and we’re using one of the cake’s staple ingredients, Kirschwasser (Wikipedia says its a mandatory ingredient, so it must be true!), as inspiration to make a fantastic cake-themed cocktail.

We used both Hiram Walker’s Kirsch and Cherry Flavored Brandy in this recipe, whose all natural flavors of the kirsch cherry pit give it a rather tart mouth feel; however, the drink is combated by the smooth chocolate of the Crème de Cacao in the finish.

While cherry is far from being at the top of my favorite fruit lists, the overall consensus around the office is that this is an enjoyable drink and  mirrors both the sweet and tart flavors of the traditional Black Forest Cake. My last thoughts on it would be to top the cocktail with whipped cream (or alcoholic whipped cream if you’re feeling really quite bold!) and a sour cherry garnish. Only then will you really have yourself a sliver of Black Forest Cake worth sipping on 😉

Black Forest Cake Cocktail

• 1 part Hiram Walker Kirschwasser
• 1 part Hiram Walker White Crème de Cacao
• 1 part Hiram Walker Cherry Flavored Brandy
• 1 part Cream

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a cocktail glass and serve. Top with whipped cream.

Cheers!

Friday’s Feature Cocktail: The Speyside Cosmopolitan

Gosh, how is it already the last Friday of March?! Maybe its the fact that it snowed twice in Connecticut last week –  spring has yet to arrive –  that has caught me by surprise of the month gone by.

I thought it’d be nice to send off March with a toast to Women’s History Month. Although pink on the exterior, this scotch-based cocktail is anything but frilly.

Chivas 12 is certainly the most mixable of the spirits in this scotch’s portfolio, with its woody nose and taste of ripe fruits (I remember apples from a previous tasting experience). The combination of both sweet and tart flavors, from the below cocktail’s other ingredients, makes for a great balancing act. It’s perfect for those ladies who truly love a well-made drink.

So without any further ado, Friday’s Feature Cocktail is the Speyside Cosmopolitan.

Speyside Cosmopolitan

1 ½ parts Chivas Regal 12 yo

½ part Crème de Framboise or Hiram Walker Black Raspberry Liqueur

1/3 part Fresh lime Juice

1 part Cranberry Juice

Shake ingredients with ice in a cocktail mixing glass. Fine strain into a chilled martini glass.

Cheers!
SJ

Today, everyone’s a bit Irish

Top o’ the morning on this finest of national holidays! Though if you are in the serious spirit of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, you maybe have been up for a few hours already chowing down on corned beef hash and eggs and, dare I say it, even throwing back a pint or two.

But for those of you who are not fans of Green Beer, there are many cocktail options incorporating Ireland’s beloved brown spirit.

While the Irish Coffee (I like this recipe from Imbibe) and other highballs may be more go-to drinks, I plan to incorporate my Jameson today into this cocktail recipe from Hiram Walker, the Irish Appletini.

Irish Appletini

• 2 parts Jameson Irish Whiskey
• 1 part Hiram Walker Sour Apple Schnapps
• Top with Ginger Ale

Shake whiskey and schnapps in a shaker with ice and strain into a martini glass. Top with ginger ale and garnish with a green apple slice.

Slainte!
SJ

What’s Hot – HotMixology

It’s Monday, which means a new episode of HotMixology hits the television airwaves starting tonight. Hiram Walker will be along for the ride in every episode this season, having been named the exclusive cordial of the aforementioned national broadcast TV show.

Each week, HotMixology host Dave Elger and a team of mixologists bring television and online viewers to the HotMixology bar to prepare innovative and flavor-bursting cocktails in a high energy atmosphere. Each episode has a distinctive theme dedicated to current trends and holidays, such as this week’s featured theme: Spring Vacation 2011 HotMixology Style.

The new episode is not up on the web (yet!) but you can view the show when it airs on the Fox Business Network three times weekly (Monday 1:30 am EST/10:30 pm PST, Tuesday 1:30 am EST/10:30 pm EST, and Thursday 4:30 am/1:30 am PST).

To see archived episodes with tons of recipes to try at home, such as the Illegal Manhattan (a combination Illegal Mezcal, Love Potion No. 9, and Hiram Walker Cherry Brandy – as created by Aaron Seel in the “Good Times and Great Oldies” episode), check out hotmixology.com.

Cheers!

Featured Foodista Drink Blog of the Day

What a privilege that Foodista has selected us to be the Drink Blog of the Day on their website! I couldn’t be more thrilled, especially since the Cocktail Culture blog is amongst some great company over at the Foodista site. Please click on over there through the logo image to see many of the other great food & drink blogs that have been profiled on the Foodista site, along with plenty of recipes and features to whet your appetite. Cheers!

Celebrating Mardi Gras

Fat Tuesday is upon us once again! For those of us who can’t make it to NOLA and the infamous bar, Pat O’Briens,  it’s about that time to bring a bit of NOLA home to you.

O’Briens rum-heavy Hurricane Cocktail sets the bar high for Mardi Gras-inspired drinks while a classic Sazerac serves as the epitome of all things New Orleans. But for a few creative spins, why not test out these popular Hiram Walker cocktails?

The Tidal Wave will surely have you thinking of the Blue Bayou

Tidal Wave
While this drink may incorporate some Caribbean flavors, the use of Hiram Walker’s Blue Curacao will surely have you thinking “Blue Bayou”

1 ½ parts Malibu Coconut
¾ parts Pineapple Juice
Splash of Hiram Walker Blue Curacao
Splash of Coconut Cream

Shake vigorously in a shaker and fine strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a piece of pineapple.

Vodka Stinger
The vodka version of this acclaimed cocktail has gained a lot of popularity and is served chilled up in a cocktail glass as opposed to served neat or on the rocks. And not to fear – this minty cool cocktail will taper off the fire in your mouth after all those Cajun-spiced foods you’ll be snacking on.

1 part Hiram Walker White Crème de Menthe
1 part ABSOLUT Vodka

Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a mint leaf.

Cheers!
SJ

Unusual Uses for Absinthe

The Sea Fizz is a frothy cocktail calling for Pernod Absinthe.

Absinthe and egg whites surprisingly go hand-in-hand and the two recipes I’ve found to share today certainly support this claim. As you see, today is National Absinthe Day, so it’s important that we put those bottles on our back bars to use.

Anise-flavored spirits have had a lukewarm reception here in the US; we just can’t seem to fully embrace that flavoring of licorice in spirits such as absinthe and, another example, ouzo (if you haven’t yet already seen it “Boozehound” author and WaPo columnist Jason Wilson wrote a great piece just this week on ouzo’s acceptance in the US).

My hope is that the two recipes below provide enough other flavor and texture elements to help mitigate that strong anise presence in the absinthe cocktail. And, as always, please share with me your thoughts on these recipes and how, perhaps,  you have found other success incorporating absinthe into cocktails.

Cheers!
Sj

Absinthe Flip
• ½ part Pernod Absinthe
• ½ part Hiram Walker Orange Liqueur
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp sugar
• grated nutmeg

Shake ingredients well with ice. Strain into a prechilled Delmonico glass.
Sprinkle nutmeg on top.

Sea Fizz (pictured above)
• 1 part Pernod Absinthe
• ½ part simple syrup
• ½ part lemon juice
• egg white

Add all ingredients to shaker except for egg white. Shake.
Include egg white and shake again. Serve in a rocks glass.

What the Traffic Spike!?

What does a Mocha Martini (pictured above) have to do with Cocktail Culture web stats? Keep reading to find out!

Upon arriving back into the office this week I noticed that I had quite the jump in my traffic over the weekend, as made available from the handy WordPress stats. Inquiring minds need to know: what caused the traffic spike? While I’d like to imagine that the few of you readers out there not named My Mother felt compelled enough to share my clever wit and writing style on this blog amongst your friends (cough cough!), I delved a bit deeper into the WordPress statistics…

I quickly discovered that “Kahlúa” and many of this site’s previous blog posts with Kahlúa cocktails happened to be the major trend. And then – it clicked! In addition to Sunday being a night to pay homage to Hollywood’s greats at The Oscars, it was also a night to pay homage to that most “delicoso” treat from Veracruz, Mexico. That’s right, I totally missed that Sunday was National Kahlúa Day.

…Fail.

So now to offer those readers coming for Kahlúa recipes a little something in return for visiting me here at Cocktail Culture – RECIPES! However, I am going to defer from the “delicioso” website offerings and the more-than-expected White Russian, and offer some cocktails with more imaginative uses for the liqueur that combines 100% Arabica coffee and sugarcane.

Salúd!

Mocha Martini

• 2 1/2 parts ABSOLUT Vodka
• 1 part Hiram Walker White Crème de Cacao
• 1/2 part Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake for at least ten seconds. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

Banana Mudslide - an imaginative dessert with the flavors of Hiram Walker and Kahlua

Banana Mudslide

• 1/4 part Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur
• 1/4 part Irish Cream Liqueur
• 1/2 part Hiram Walker Crème de Banana
• 1/2 part ABSOLUT Vodka
• 1 part Milk or Cream

Add all ingredients with ice to a blender. Completely blend and serve in a highball or double Old Fashioned glass.