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• 1 oz Beefeater London Dry Gin
• 1 oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino (or other sweet vermouth)
• 2 dashes Fernet Branca
Chill a coupe glass with water and ice. In a mixing glass, add ingredients with ice and stir gently for about 20 seconds. Strain into the coupe and garnish with a slice of orange peel. Serves 1.
I’ve always loved apples — in pies and crumbles, roasted with pork — there is no end to the versatility of this beautiful local fruit. As a cocktail maker, apples play a major role in my creations. Our B.C. apples are bountiful, and we produce so many varietals to choose from. As the cool, crisp breezes of fall begin, apples automatically become a focus at my professional bar, but they are perfect to incorporate into drinks at home. Here are four recipes to get you started, but feel free to experiment with different varieties of apples, in different forms. Your house guests will be happy, I guarantee it.
INGREDIENTS:
1 whole Honey Crisp apple, core removed*
Egg white separated from 1 large egg
1 oz amaretto
1 oz calvados
1 oz lemon juice
2 oz soda water
4 1-inch ice cubes
apple fan (for garnish)
METHOD:
Place first five ingredients plus ice into a blender and blend on a low setting, gradually increasing speed until the ice has dissolved. Put soda water into a tall glass, then add the blender contents slowly to mix through the soda—done right, a frothy head that rises above the rim of the glass should form. Garnish with an apple fan.
INGREDIENTS:
1 oz peach liqueur
1 oz prosecco
1 fresh pitted peach (leave skin on for added colour and texture)
OR 3 oz white peach puree
2 cups of cubed ice
METHOD:
Add all ingredients to a blender, leaving the cubed ice until last. Put the lid on and blend on the lowest setting. Slowly increase the speed until the desired texture is reached. Pour into coupe glasses. Garnish with fresh mint and peach slices. Serves 2.
INGREDIENTS:
4 oz London dry gin
1 oz simple syrup*
0.5 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
0.5 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
2 oz heavy cream
1 tsp orange flower water
2 oz club soda
1 oz liquid egg white (white of one large egg)
1 cup of cubed ice
METHOD:
Add all ingredients to a blender, leaving the cubed ice until last. Put the lid on and blend on the lowest setting. Slowly increase the speed until the ice has melted and cocktail has become light and frothy. Pour into Highball glasses. Garnish with grated nutmeg and perhaps an umbrella. Serves 2.
INGREDIENTS:
1 oz London dry gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth
3 oz freshly squeezed blood orange
2 cups of cubed ice
METHOD:
Add all ingredients to a blender, leaving the cubed ice until last. Put the lid on and blend on the lowest setting. Slowly increase the speed until the desired texture is reached. Pour into double Old Fashioned glasses. Garnish with a fresh rosemary and a straw, or maybe even a spoon. Serves 2.
INGREDIENTS:
4 oz light cuban rum
1 oz maraschino liqueur
1.5 oz freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice
1.5 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
0.5 oz simple syrup*
2 cups of cubed ice
METHOD:
Add all ingredients to a blender, leaving the cubed ice until last. Put the lid on and blend on the lowest setting. Slowly increase the speed until the desired texture is reached. Pour into Martini glasses. Garnish with fresh mint and a grapefruit wedge. Serves 2.
Once a derided device of the past, the blender is slowly finding its way back into cocktail bars around the globe.
INGREDIENTS:
2 oz mezcal
0.5 oz cocoa nib syrup*
2 dashes Scrappy’s Fire Water
1 dash Angostura bitters
orange zest for garnish
METHOD:
Pre-chill an Old Fashioned glass. Add all liquid ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir for 20 seconds. Strain cocktail into the glass, over fresh ice. Garnish with orange zest.
*Cocoa nib syrup: Add 1 cup cocoa nibs, 1 cup raw sugar and 1.5 cups water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stir, and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow syrup to cool and strain into a sealable bottle or mason jar and refrigerate (it will keep for about four weeks). Dry the nibs on parchment paper to use as garnish.
—by Justin Taylor
