Spring Fling: Ginger Tea

Continuing with the spring fling drinks, I think it is time to revive an "older" drink that fits the bill perfectly and is an excellent example of bridging the gap between winter and summer. The cocktail of the day, then, is the Hennessy Ginger Tea.

Photo c Hennessy

It has been three years now since I was first introduced to this but it remains a favorite because of how it marries cognac with herbs. The main ingredients of the drink are Hennessey VSOP, chilled green tea, and fresh mint and ginger. The result is one of the most refreshing brandy drinks you will find, complete with snappy flavors that enliven the taste buds. It is simple, yes, and those drinks are some of our favorites.

Hennessy Ginger Tea recipe...

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Spring Fling: Camarena Rosemary Lemonade

If I and many of my fellow cocktail writers have not yet convinced you that ice is the most important ingredient in a bar and that it is not just some boring element to disregard because its sole purpose is chilling, I have a spring fling worthy cocktail that may just do the trick. It is Camarena Tequila's Rosemary Lemonade and the ice is absolutely essential to the drink's flavor.

Photo c Camarena Tequila

The rosemary comes into this tequila lemonade through no other element than the? ice and the garnish and this may seem odd, but it is a neat little trick. You may be thinking that the ice simply has the herb frozen inside, but it is actually a rosemary infused cube in which the water that will fill the ice tray is heated and allowed to take on the herbal flavor, much like infusing simple syrup. By doing this the drink captures the rosemary as the ice melts, some of which will happen immediately with more will come as the drink sits. Use this technique as just one more little trick for adding subtle flavor and creating better drinks.

Beyond the fancy ice, the Rosemary Lemonade is a very simple drink which marries 3 flavors into a beautiful and natural union. Camarena's reposado is a good choice for mixing into drinks like this as it is inexpensive enough (around $15-20) to use on a regular basis and is actually a pretty decent reposado. Now, if we add organic, fresh squeezed lemonade the finished drink is a great example of a clean, refreshing spring drink.

Rosemary Lemonade recipe...

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Spring Fling: Tamarind & Tequila

Today's Spring Fling is a little drink I have been playing with lately and I think it is ready for an unveiling. It is, quite simply, Tamarind & Tequila. Okay, so there is a little more to the drink than tamarind and tequila, but those are the basic flavors and they always work well together.

Essentially, this drink uses a few sweet ingredients to balance the natural sour flavor of the tamarind and raw agave taste of a good blanco tequila. The tamarind ingredient I chose to use is a tamarind nectar because it not only mixes well in stirred and shaken drinks, but it is readily available (look in the juice aisles). Jumex is the nectar that I can find locally (Goya makes a fine nectar as well) and it comes in a 12 ounce can, posing a freshness problem if you are making fewer than 8 drinks at one time. My solution is to store the remainder in recycled glass bottles, with the small club soda and ginger ale bottles being my first choice.

Beyond that, this drink is very easy to make and is excellent to serve alongside Mexican cuisine.

Tamarind & Tequila recipe...

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Spring Fling: Cranberry Daiquiri

Spring is here and that means that it is time for a whole new crop of cocktails. All this month I plan to feature various spring-worthy mixed drinks. To get us started, how about a Daiquiri,? a Cranberry Daiquiri to be exact.

This is a fun cocktail with all of the basic Daiquiri elements of rum, lime, and sweetener, however the twist comes in with the extra ingredients. At first glance, you may think this may entail the simple addition of cranberry, but you would be wrong because we have some herbal elements to include. It is the addition of tarragon and elderflower that make this drink really interesting, bringing everything together in harmony.

If you are in LA this spring and are in the mood to sample this drink from the source, stop by the W Los Angeles Hotel and sit down at either the Ninethirty or The Backyard. These are the restaurants mixologist Stephanie Sanders created this lovely little drink for.

Cranberry Daiquiri cocktail recipe...

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