A few nights ago my girlfriend Kristin and I had a couple of friends over for a little post 4th of July bbq.  It was a small, low key affair in which to decompress from the rest of the weekends festivities.  I know what you are probably saying, “my lans, more bbq?”  Well to prevent withdrawal we had to taper down consumption.  ;-)  With them, my friends Robbie and Alexis brought some fresh cherries and peaches and asked if there was anything I could do with them.  Always up for a challenge, I knew exactly what to do and after taking inventory of what I had on hand I took to the task of quenching some thirsts.

The first cocktail I devised was a Cherry Lime Smash.  Having fresh mint on hand as well as some incredible limes off the tree in the yard prompted me to head in this direction.  Talk about refreshing, the hibiscus in the tequila complemented the mint and the cherry so well I could have knocked these back until I knocked myself out.          

Rosangel Cherry Lime Smash

2oz    Gran Centenario Rosangel
.5oz   agave syrup (1:1 ratio w/ water)
.5 lime cut into wedges plus one wedge
4 ripe pitted cherries (I believe these were Bing cherries)
8-9 mint leaves

Due to a collarbone injury I solicited the help of my guests. They didn't seem to mind.

This is prepared like a traditional smash by muddling the limes, cherries, mint, and agave nectar together.  Make sure not to over muddle by grinding to hard.  As the title indicates you want to just smash and activate the ingredients,  not beat them to a unrecognizable pulp.  Next add the tequila followed by ice and shake well.  Finally strain over cracked ice and garnsish with a fresh cherry and a nice top of mint. Don’t forget to give the mint a nice little slap to wake it up.  You’ll thank me as you get a noseful of mint as you sip your refreshing cocktail.

Next, what to do with the peaches?  I decided to use some fresh thyme as I love the way certain herbs mesh so well with the sweet and slightly acidic nature of a good summer peach.  I pulled together some fresh lemon juice, peaches, thyme, demerara simple syrup and of course Rosangel for the Peach Basket cocktail.

Peach Basket
2oz      Gran Centenario Rosangel
.75oz  fresh lemon juice
.75oz  demerara simple syrup (1:1 ratio w/ water)
.5 peeled peach
1 Tbsp thyme leaves
I started by muddling the peaches and thyme together followed by the lemon juice and simple syrup.  Next I added the Rosangel then ice and proceeded to shake it up.  For this cocktail I recommend double straining it over ice through a small tea strainer as the thyme leaves will try and make an escape from the shaker.  Finally I garnished the cocktail with a small piece of peach in which I threaded a thyme stem with the leaves on.

One of the purposes for this post was to showcase the Rosangel tequila, but  what I also wanted to emphasize is how easy it is to make a wonderfully fresh and lively cocktail using ingredients that are available to you now at your local farmers market.  I purposefully did not want to go overboard and use a bunch of homemade or hard to find ingredients.  Sometimes less is more, and even with a little muddle, these are both simple and delicious cocktails to make at home at your next get together.  A big thanks to Rosangel for letting me play around with their tequila.

What happens when you gather 100 of the country’s most talented bartenders for a weekend in Vail?  A party of epic proportions.  Having that much talent together in one place threatened to melt all of the snow in Vail Pass.  This is part one in a series of posts describing what really went down. 

A couple of weekends ago I had the opportunity to attend  the Grand Marnier & Navan 2009 Mixology Summit in beautiful Vail, CO.  The weekend was designed to bring together 100 of the countries most talented and passionate bartenders for parties, education, networking, and most important of all, sharing in the passion for the craft.  Grand Marnier fully succeeded in creating an environment that was both conducive to education as well as having a damn good time.  Much to my delight, the weekend ended up being completely free of pretense, leaving even more room to open up, be yourself, and let your ideas run free.  

To be a part of this amazing event, Grand Marnier selected 100 bartenders based on four of their original cocktail recipes.  Three of them were to utilize Grand Marnier and one recipe to use Navan, (a vanilla cognac.)  For the Summit each bartender chosen was required to select two of the four recipes they had submitted, and create them in a lab designed to showcase the bartender as well as their cocktails.  Having arrived early to the Summit, I chose to do my lab early the first day.

I ended up choosing two of my cocktails that I felt best represented my style.  Fresh, balanced and delicious.

On the left we have La Guera.  My approach here was to start with Hendricks Gin and highlight the cucumber used in making the gin.  It’s actually a very simple drink based on the classic White Lady (gin, Cointreau, lemon juice)  I replaced the Cointreau with Grand Marnier and added muddled cucumber.  For balance I opted to use agave nectar, as I love how it sweetens but doesn’t overwhelm.  For the garnish I chose edible Borage flowers.  They have a slightly sweet herbal flavor and also taste a bit like cucumber. Here’s the recipe.

La Guera
2 oz.    Hendricks Gin
.75oz.  Grand Marnier
1 oz.     fresh lemon juice
.5oz.    agave nectar syrup  (1:1 ratio with water)
2 Tbsp peeled and diced cucumber
1 barspoon St. Germain Elderflower cordial to rinse glass
3 Borage flowers for garnish 

Start by muddling agave nectar and cucumber in the glass half of shaker.  Next, add remainder of ingredients minus the St. Germain, followed by ice and shake vigorously for at least 10-15 seconds.  Finally, fine strain into chilled cocktail glass that has been rinsed with St. Germain.  Garnish with thin slice of scored cucumber with three Borage flowers tucked into the middle.  Enjoy!

My other cocktail is the Sonora Cocktail.  While both of these display a bit of my Texas roots, the Sonora really brings it home for me.  Having worked in many a Mexican food restaurant growing up, I would always see some of the staff putting chile powder and lime juice on fruits (especially melon), a common practice in the northern Mexican state of Sonora.  What an amazing combination of flavors.  The sweet and spicy combo really blew my mind back in the day, and I’ve always wanted to recreate that combo in a cocktail.  The garnish here is a Calendula flower.  It’s in the marigold family and together they have been called poor mans saffron.  The idea is for it to be aromatic while you sip, adding to the flavor without being tasted.  I use Chile de Arbol powder here because I want it to really stand up to the other ingredients. 

Sonora Cocktail
2 oz.    El Tesoro Blanco
1 oz.    Grand Marnier
1 oz.    fresh lime juice
1 oz.    demerara simple syrup
1/2 cup peeled and chopped cantaloupe
1/8 tsp Chile de Arbol powder 
Calendula flowers for garnish

Start by muddling cantaloupe and simple syrup in glass half of shaker.  Next, add remainder of ingredients followed by ice and shake like the dickens for 10-15 seconds.  Fine strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with calendula. 

I’d really like to thank Nathan Peitso of Maggie’s Farm again for growing these flowers specifically for my use at the Summit.  He and his crew have been an invaluable resource here in LA for hard to find specialty produce.  Just another reason I’m happy to call Los Angeles home.

After a couple sips

More to come about the rest of the event.  The parties, seminars, the fact that I’m still alive. . .

To commemorate the event Malo hosted the Rosangel Gran Centenario Cocktail Competition in their newly renovated upstairs area.  The evening was also meant to showcase some of LA’s top female mixologists. A noble cause indeed because who doesn’t think well crafted cocktails by our female counterparts are sexy.  I certainly respect the notion.

Sweeter than most of the cocktails that night.

The competition itself was realized in two parts.  First the cocktails were to be judged by a panel of local professional palates, Chuck Taggart of GumboPages.com, LA bartending luminary Marcos Tello, (pictured to the left judging in fabulous drag) and Catherine Schimenti, Craft pastry chef and 2009 James Beard Award nominee.  Second came the People’s Choice vote of public opinion.  Both winners will be featured in the upcoming “LA Cocktail Book” with the judges pick taking home $250 cash and $150 for the peoples choice winner.  Not too bad for an evening hanging out with friends and crafting a few cocktails.

The Hungry Cat's Matty Eggleston

Taking home the Grand Prize was Matty Eggleston of The Hungry Cat fame.  Leading him to victory was his wonderful cocktail “The Lullaby” featuring Rosangel and freakin Nutella!  Here’s the recipe for those with some extra Nutella sitting around in your pantry.

“The Lullaby”

4 oz. Gran Centenario Rosangel
3 Tbs Nutella
1/2 Cup of Whole Milk

In a frothing tin, steam milk and 1/2 cup of whole milk with 3 tbs Nutella. Steam until warm and & agitate with barspoon. Add 4 oz. of Gran Centenario Rosangel and steam a moment more. Pour into 4 teacups or larger espresso cups. Garnish with a light dusting of freshly grated cinnamon and orange zest.

Silamith Weir of Martin Miller's Gin

Taking home the People’s Choice vote was the lovely Silamith Weir, LA brand market manager for the wonderful Martin Miller’s Gin.  In her cocktail Casa Blanco, she managed to incorporate several ingredients not known for playing well together, with stunning results.  Here’s the recipe for the adventurous.

“Casa Blanco”

2 oz. Gran Centenario Rosangel
1/2 oz. Matusalem Gran Reserva
3-4 Chunks of Pineapple
4 Basil leaves (shredded)
1/2 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      3/4 oz.  Lime Juice

Muddle pineapple and basil together. Add all other ingredients and shake vigorously. Strain and double strain into cocktail glass.

Mark Blackhart

Other finalists included Mark Blackhart with his Angels Apiary:

“Angels Apiary”

• 1.75oz   Rosangel
• .75oz     3 Olives Citrus Vodka
• .5oz       Matusalem Reserva
• .5oz       honey
• 2 dashes Peychaud Bitters
• vanilla bean garnish 

Juan Alvarez

Juan Alvarez, President of the LA Chapter USBG offered up his St. Rose cocktail:

“St. Rose”

• 2oz         Rosangel
• 1oz         St. Germain
• 1/2 of a grapefruit
• 4 basil leaves
• splash of guava juice

Jason Bran

And rounding out the competition was Jason Bran, head bartender at SBE’s XIV, with his Ramos Rose:

“Ramos Rose”

• 1.5 oz       Rosangel
• 1oz           pink grapefruit juice
• .5oz          Creme di Cassis
• 1/2 an egg white
• 5 drops orange flower water   (I was asked by Jason to report that Ballandale orange flower water is complete shit)  more on that later. . .

Although there was only one female finalist, keeping in the theme of the evening, a few others were on hand to satiate a very thirsty crowd with their own Rosangel concotions.  Local talent included, Kylee Van Dillen (Westside Tavern) Kim Haasarud (Liquid Architecture) Tina Brandelli, and Author and mixologist extrodinaire Natalie Bovis-Nelsen of The Liquid Muse , who offered up her Flor de Maria cocktail:

“Flor de Maria”

1/4 ounce Luxardo maraschino liqueur
1/2 ounce homemade hibiscus cabernet syrup (hibiscus tea syrup with a cabernet reduction)
3/4 ounce lemon juice
1 1/2 ounces Gran Centenario Rosangel Tequila
Spritz orange flower water
lemon zest for garnish
1 – 2″ piece orange zest

Muddle orange zest in the bottom of a cocktail glass. Add maraschino liqueur, syrup, lemon juice and tequila. Shake, with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Spritz with orange flower water. Garnish with a sliver of lemon zest.

In a word, delicious.

Thanks to all those involved and to all the participants for working so hard and producing some world class libations.  I definitely left Malo absolutely satisfied and harboring a wonderful buzz.  Now if I only could find my car. . .