The Raven

The Raven is a dark and mysterious cocktail that I've adapted from other recipes. I like this one because it contains ingredients that are more common in bars than those found in other Ravens. The key to this drink is the layer which is rather easy to obtain in this mix as the blue shaken mix is much lighter than the Chambord and they rarely break the layers unless stirred.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz vodka
• 1 oz rum
• 1 oz blue curacao
• 1/2 oz Chambord

Preparation:

1. Pour the vodka, rum and blue curacao into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
2. Strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice.
3. Slowly pour the Chambord over the back of a bar spoon so it floats on top.

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November Cocktail Contest: Bring Out Your Gin

The big announcement of the week (besides that wonderful infusion cocktail by Judy Bronson) is that we have a new contest upon us. This month I decided to take it easy on everyone and go with a base spirit theme, and that is gin.

Martini

Gin is a spirit that is open to such a variety of interpretations that it is an excellent candidate for November's contest. There are so many ways you can use gin and such a variety of flavors it can be paired with that I think this should be a lot of fun and I'm very interested in seeing what you can do with it.

A couple of notes when it comes to gin cocktails... Because the flavor profile can vary so much from brand to brand, it may be critical to your recipe to note a specific brand. Or, you may want to distinguish that you use a London dry or recommend a few brands that you have found to work well in your recipe. The other point I have to make is that I'm going to be a stickler about originality with this one. There are many, many gin cocktails out there, including some of the great classics, so please do your best to give us something new to taste. Modern twists on classics are not out of the question, however.

Have fun and let's see what you got.

Submit your gin cocktail recipe here...

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Winning Infusion Cocktail: The Marriage of Figaro by Judy Bronson

A little over a month ago I took in the final submissions for the Infused Spirits Cocktail Contest. I knew that getting the results would take some time given the nature of infusions and today I am thrilled to announce the winning cocktail. It is The Marriage of Figaro by? Judy Bronson who writes the fun blog Cocktations.

What made this drink stand out from the rest? Complexity, creativity, and richness in balance. The drink begins with fig-infused Four Roses Bourbon and she prescribes not just any old fig, but a combination of Turkish and Mission figs and this combination with FR's yellow label is stunning. This is a bourbon you can take into a multitude of other whiskey cocktails, especially those bare bones classics like a Brown University or Ward Eight. There is a lot of potential in this whiskey infusion.

When we add the other two ingredients in Bronson's recipe the drink becomes even more interesting. One is the always useful St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram and the other is Cardamaro. The latter is a unique amaro (bitter liqueur) with notes of cardoon and blessed thistle? that add an exotic quality unfound in similar spirits and it works really well in this drink, consider it essential.

Anyway, check out The Marriage of Figaro recipe and Judy's original submission. Thank you to all who participated, it was fun to explore your infusions, and congratulations Judy!

The next contest theme will not be as labor intensive, but no less flavorful. More on that later.

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Berry White

The Berry White is a delicious mix of flavors that features UV Blue Vodka. This raspberry flavored vodka is accented in this drink with chocolate, orange and lime from the other ingredients.

Prep Time: 2?minutes

Total Time: 2?minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 oz UV Blue Vodka
• 1/2 oz creme de cacao
• 1/2 oz Triple Sec
• 1/2 oz lime juice

Preparation:

1. Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Shake well.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

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In Case You Missed Them...

Just is case you missed them, here are eight new articles I wrote this month:

• What is Chicory?
• Herbal 'Tea' Recipes (including the Sage Tisane pictured above)
• Benefits of Soy Milk
• Soy Milk Recipes
• What is White Tea?
• Earl Grey Tea
• Dirty Chai Definition
• How to Make Kombucha

Enjoy!

Photo (c) Marko Goodwin
Do you tweet? Follow About Coffee/Tea on Twitter.
Are you on Facebook? "Like" About Coffee/Tea.
Interested in learning more about tea? Sign up for the free, easy Tea 101 e-course.

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What is White Tea?

White tea is an often misunderstood type of tea. It is celebrated for its low caffeine level, but many so-called white teas are actually HIGH in caffeine. It is often defined by how it is processed, but some say that true white teas are a much narrow category of tea than mere processing. There's a lot more to this gentle drink than it would seem! Learn more: What is White Tea?

Photo (c) Marko Goodwin
Do you tweet? Follow About Coffee/Tea on Twitter.
Are you on Facebook? "Like" About Coffee/Tea.
Interested in learning more about tea? Sign up for the free, easy Tea 101 e-course.

View the original article here

Stoli Accomplice

Combine a fine Champagne and a great vodka (like Stoli) with strawberries and you have a fantastic drink called the Accomplice. This is a great cocktail for elite celebrations and, especially, New Year's Eve parties. I like that it's served in a cocktail glass as opposed to a Champagne flute because it allows the bubbly to swell in the wider glass. Not to mention it's much easier to rim a cocktail glass with sugar, which is a necessary finishing touch for this and works best with a brut or extra brut for that sweet-dry combination that is stunning.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz simple syrup
• 2 oz Stolichnaya vodka
• 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
• Champagne
• 3 strawberries
• superfine sugar for rimming

Preparation:

1. Muddle three strawberries and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker.
2. Add the vodka and lemon juice.
3. Shake well.
4. Strain into a sugar-rimmed martini glass.
5. Top with Champagne.

View the original article here