Tag: melon liqueur

Revali’s Gale Cocktail

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I’ve been off and on returning to my “wandering around” in the game Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and I was struck with inspiration on the 4 “powers” you get in the game (Incoming SPOILERS). Revali’s Gale lets you glide upward with a gust of wind, making it easier to traverse mountains. For this original cocktail I wanted to play with both the visuals of the power and the flavors of the game’s region. Specifically using Grey Goose vodka to mimic the Rito (bird-like race) and the regional wheat flavor (wheat vodka); I played with various iterations of a mix of flavors to get the desired color and flavor. It had to be green, light, airy, and in a tall glass. Thinking about it more and more I wanted to also incorporate some mint to reflect the tall mountains and snow shown in the game. For that reason I decided to do a riff on the classic Mojito.

The “Revali’s Gale” is a light summer style drink, with refreshing flavor that will elevate you to new heights. The drink looks very similar to a classic Mojito, but is considerably greener and the bottom. It has a light minty aroma and paired with a few visual mint leaves a very inviting presentation. Like any Mojito you’re greeted with a light taste of your choice spirit and club soda which moves quickly to a little sweet lime. With this variation you get a finish of melon and mint which keeps you going back for more. As you drink to the bottom and start to mix in the darker liqueur components, you get more melon and citrus, but it’s not overpoweringly sweet. Overall this is a nice twist on the summer classic, and can really be enjoyed in any season. If you’re not a huge rum person and want to go for a vodka variant, this might be the cocktail for you!

Alcohol Taste Rating: 4/10
Overall Rating: 7.7/10

Revali’s Gale

2 oz Grey Goose Vodka (or other Wheat Vodka)
1 oz Lime Juice
2 sugar Cubes
6-8 Mint Leaves
Club Soda
Splash Blue Curacao
Splash Midori

Muddle Lime Juice, Mint, and Sugar in a mixing glass. Add ice, and vodka. Shake well. Strain into an iced collins glass and top with club soda. Add a splash of blue curacao, then a splash of Midori. Serve to a wandering hero.

Revali's Gale Cocktail
“Revali’s Gale is now ready!”

Witch’s Brew

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So I thought I should throw something quick together for the holiday, and what I came up with was actually pretty solid! The Witch’s Brew is loosely based on the Rainbow Road Cocktail, but with a bit less red and yellow and more violet.

As with any layered cocktail the Witch’s Brew has a killer presentation with three distinct layers and multiple flavors for your cackling palette. As for the flavor, again you’re looking at traditional layered drink fare. So the flavor will change the more into the drink you get. It starts with the melon and sweet rum both in flavor and aroma. The back flavor once it settles leans to the citrus of the juice, but then you get pulled back into overproof rum territory quickly as it settles in. As the upper layer slowly disappears, you begin to get a sweet and floral flavor creeping in. Overall it’s a simple drink, but complex in its ingredients list…I’d say that’s perfect for a true brew.

Alcohol Taste Rating (8/10 then 4/10)
Overall Rating (7/10)

Witch’s Brew

1/2 oz Blue Curacao
1 1/2 oz OJ
1/4 oz Grenadine
1/4 oz Creme de Violette
1/2 oz Midori (Or other melon liqueur)
3/4 oz 151 Rum
Maraschino Cherry

In an iced mixing glass stir Blue Curacao and Orange juice to chill. Strain into a cocktail glass. Then stir grenadine and Creme de Violette with ice, and strain pouring on the side of the glass (should sink to bottom). Finally stir Midori and 151 rum with ice, and strain on the side of glass (or with a spoon) layering mixture on top. Garnish with a cherry (with stem).

DSCF7471
“Cold Hot Fresh Witch’s Brüe only 10 bucks a pop! ” -Homestar Runner

Uncle Iroh’s Pai Sho Earth Tea

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So recently I picked up a set of 4 pints with laser etched designs of the popular series Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: Legend of Korra. With these new glasses in my set I was inspired to design 4 drinks that embodied the franchise. The first in this set (today’s cocktail) is a spin on the classic long island iced tea.

In addition to the recent glassware I found myself buying a bottle of Pimm’s No. 1 Liqueur, which in retrospect was a terrible idea. Pimm’s tastes like flat cola and cheap vodka, and not in a good way. However in having it on hand it allowed me to impart the cola flavor without the unnecessary fizzy element. I also thought I’d be spending more time refining this, but I honestly don’t think it needs any more work. Sometimes you just get lucky and design something spectacular the first time around!

The cocktail itself imparts a unique yellow-green color, not unlike a generic green tea and the aroma is citrus with a hint of melon. The drink starts sweet, moves to sour and a little lemon, and finishes with an alcohol burn (but surprisingly not much of one). If you’re looking to use up some Pimm’s as I was, why not give this long island ice tea variant a try. However, I wouldn’t buy the Pimm’s just for this. Instead leave a can of cola open overnight, then use that the next day.

Overall Rating: 8/10
Alchohol Taste Rating: 6/10

Uncle Iroh’s Pai Sho Earth Tea

3/4 oz Light Rum
3/4 oz Gin
3/4 oz Vodka
3/4 oz Blended Whiskey
1 1/2 oz Midori
3/4 oz Pimm’s No. 1
Top with Lemonade

Fill a pint glass to the top with ice. Straight build ingredients in order, Stir well.

Uncle Iroh's Pai Sho Earth Tea
“Strong enough for a Firebender, Green enough for Ba Sing Se”

 

Mediterranean Freeze

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Today’s blending cocktail is probably my favorite thus far for the week. The Mediterranean Freeze is an interesting color, but is well complemented by the garnishes. The opening aroma is very orange-y making for a very inviting drink. It starts off with the taste of a basic screwdriver (vodka and OJ), then moves to a sour citrus, then finishes with a subtle melon that keeps you going back for more. I wouldn’t say that the peach schnapps is lost in this drink, but it does lend itself to the overall sweetness in the first few sips. This is really solid blending cocktail and worth making again, perhaps in a larger quantity for a party.

Alcohol Taste Rating: 2-3/10
Overall Rating 9/10

Mediterranean Freeze

1 oz Vodka
3/4 oz Midori
1/2 oz Peach Schnapps
2 oz Sweet/Sour
3 oz Orange Juice
Orange Slice and Cherry

Blend liquid ingredients with ice, pour into a pint glass. Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.

Med. Freeze
Chilly!

Blended Cocktail Week! (Meadow Snow)

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Well I’m back again after a long hiatus, for a bunch of blending cocktails! This week I’ll be posting a blended cocktail every day!

To start things off we’ve got a easy and fun drink to help you finish of your summer. The Meadow Snow’s official garnish of a cantaloupe cube, may not be in everyone’s regular bar stock, so you may want to substitute it with the more aromatic lemon peel as I did. the lemon peel makes for an amazing opening aroma as it mixes with the familiar fragrance of Midori. Like most blended cocktails it’s a sweet drink with a nice balance of a bit of sour as well that isn’t lost in the mixing process. Mid-palette you’re hit with Midori and your finish up with a refreshing aftertaste of gin. I’ll leave it up to your tastes/wallet on whether or not to use a nice gin or a cheaper one.

Alcohol Taste Rating: 7/10
Overall Rating: 8/10

Meadow Snow

2 oz Gin
3/4 oz Midori
1 1/2 oz Sweet and Sour
Cantaloupe Cube (or lemon wedge)

Combine liquid ingredients in a blender with ice. Pour into a lowball glass. Garnish and enjoy.

DSCF6535
“It’s Green!”

Lil’ Watermelon

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Well, my vision for this drink a “core sample” of an alcoholic watermelon. Green floating over pink working our way to the juicy and sweet red center. I was recently leafing through my cocktail book when I remembered the “electric watermelon” that I featured back in May. This however I designed to take on both flavor and the appearance of watermelon. Granted the green is on top, how ever that could easily be rectified by mixing the melon liqueur with simple syrup on the bottom (1/4 oz each to make a 1/2) and topping it with a mix of the 1/4 oz of rum and 3/4 of pucker. Today though we’ve got our core sample of the Lil’ Watermelon.

The taste starts with a powerful melon taste as the Melon Liqueur creates a more natural taste with the pucker. After a little burn it ends on a slightly sweet finish from the grenadine

Alc. Rating: 9/10
Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Lil Watermelon (Core Sample Version) Shot

1/4 oz Grenadine
3/4 oz Watermelon Pucker
1/2 oz Mix (1/4 oz Midori/Melon Liq. + 1/4 oz Light Rum)

Layer in order in a tall double shot glass. OR half all ingredients in a standard shot.

lil watermelon
“Professor what is this strange object we just found?” “I don’t know, take a core sample. “

Wall Street Wizard and .44 Magnum

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Well this was supposed to be a 2 for 1 tuesday, but I’m not getting around to the post until after midnight, so now it’s just two drinks without the snappy title. So today we’ve got two interesting cocktails, one much better than the other.

First up is the “Wall Street Wizard,” which is straight alcohol stirred and strained for a great emerald look. Unfortunately that’s about all the drink has going for it. It has an earthy citrus aroma, but so much of the midori flavor is lost with the other alcohols. It starts with a hard curacao bite and finishes with equally hard gin flavor. It’s not one I recommend very much as it’s a tough one to drink, unless you’re looking for something VERY different:

Overall Rating: 3.5-4/10
Alc. Rating: 9/10

Wall Street Wizard

1/2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Light Rum (Gold Used)
1/2 oz Blue Curacao
1/2 oz Midori

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

wall street wizard
Hypnotized by the color…so your think it’s better than it is.

So next up we’ve got something much better. The “.44 Magnum” is a powerful mix that doesn’t quite taste as powerful as the ingredients at work here. The topping of 7Up/Sprite makes for a citrus fizz aroma and start to the drink. Mid pallete is a sweet/sour rum, followed by a Jamaican dark rum finish with a hit of pineapple. Due to the less than appealing color and presentation in this drink, an opaque tiki glass would probably be better than the listed “bucket glass” in my recipe book.

Overall Rating 7/10
Alc. Rating 6.5/10

.44 Magnum

1/2 oz Light Rum (Gold Used)
1/2 oz Dark Rum
1/2 oz Jamaican Rum
1/2 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Triple Sec (or Cointreau)
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
1 1/2 oz Sweet/Sour
Sprite

Shake all but sprite with ice. Strain into an iced tumbler (or tiki glass). Top with sprite.

44 magnum
“The most powerful handgun in the world”

Midorable Cocktail

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Is the name a little cheesy? Yes, but don’t blame me this time (it’s not an original).

The Midorable is a radiant green cocktail with a slight foam on top so it doesn’t require a garnish. It has a mild melon aroma which is very inviting. The flavor begins with a little banana, moves it’s way to the melon, and the finishes just a little sour. A sweeter variation might be worth a try (replace lime juice with simple syrup).

Alcohol Rating: 6.5-7/10
Overall Rating: 7.5/10 (could use 1/4 more of each ingredient to fill glass, the sour isn’t for everyone)

Make it Again? Yes. Possible Menu item

Midorable

1 oz Midori
3/4 oz Banana Liqueur (For less bite use Creme de Banana)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Sweet/Sour

Shake and Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

midorable
“Not very cute, but it is Midorable”

Nordic Death

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Well today’s cocktail is a tasty creation that is visually disturbing. Very dark green with a foamy top, and a little bloody grenadine doesn’t make it all that appealing (although it does match the name). Good thing the taste delivers and then some!

The “Nordic Death” features a tropical berry flavor with a light sparkle. It has a mild alcohol(y) taste on the finish. I’d call this a great party drink, especially in the creation side of the presentation.

Alcohol Taste Rating: 1-3/10
Overall Rating: 9/10
Make it Again? Yes! Already on the menu

Nordic Death

½ oz Vodka
½ oz Raspberry Liqueur
½ oz Midori
½ oz Blue Curacao
2 oz Pineapple Juice
Sprite
Dash of Grenadine

Shake vodka, liqueurs, and pineapple juice. Strain into an iced Collins glass. Top with sprite and dash grenadine on top.

Nordic Death
“What’s that floating in the ocean? Oh it’s just a Norwegian”

Cold Fusion

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Today I’m highlighting one of my current favorites. The “Cold Fusion” is a delightful sweet, sour, and melon flavored drink with a great all around taste and feel. Built on the core lemon and Midori base, it’s aroma and taste are equally of both ingredients. The drink starts sweet and goes to a mild sour as it hits the back of your mouth. Midori takes center stage, but thanks to the sweet/sour and lemon it doesn’t overpower the drink. The colorful green makes this somewhere between a late spring and early summer drink, and certainly warrants a place on my permanent menu.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10
Alcohol Rating: 2-3/10
Make it again? Yes! (Menu item!)

Cold Fusion

¾ oz Vodka
¾ oz Midori
½ oz Triple Sec
½ oz Rose’s Lime Juice
½ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1 ½ oz sweet ‘n’ sour
Lime Wedge Garnish

Shake and Strain, pour to an iced pint glass

cold fusion cocktail
Cold and Crazy!