How do you welcome Summer? And your vacation-time guests?
Most folks calibrate the start of summer with all the festivities that are part of the 4th of July. It doesn’t get much better than music, grilled food, cool, refreshing drinks. And Fireworks.
Hospitality is in my wheelhouse. So when guests arrive, I greet them with a special refreshment.
What’s the cocktail to be this year? Well, Let’s Make it Interesting…
No, really!
That’s the name of the cocktail, as featured in my book: The Art of the Garnish!
I selected it as the signature cocktail for the recent talk I gave to members of the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) Manhattan chapter, where I spoke to the interior designers about a garden lifestyle in the supercool showroom of Subzero ~ wink. (See earlier blog post for details). Look how pretty the drink looked for the arriving guests.
I love this drink because it’s tasty, light, refreshing and so glamorous. Its ingredients are vodka, infused with strawberry tea and rose water, Aperol, lemon juice, simple syrup; topped with sparkling wine/champagne.
And the garnish is, ta-da ~ rose petals!
A true Garden-to-Glass glamourpuss.
While the size of our guest list won’t allow me to serve the drink with the rose ice “cubes,” it will be just perfect in the hostess beverage server, surrounded by glasses, rose petals and edible gold stars as Garnish, and my artful cocktail napkins!
We have the great privilege to not only celebrate my firecracker of a Mother’s birthday ~ and a special niece’s too ~ but also, the fireworks are set off right below us in the marina.
A truly dazzling display tribute to our USA and my Mother!
Our guests only need to Look Up!
It’s a perfect affair to jump start summer. And I love to welcome guests with a different Hostess Drink every year.
My theory is that when you ask a guest what they would like to drink, they invariably look around to see what the others are imbibing.
Parties too often fall back to wine and beer. While I love both those beverages, a party should offer the opportunity for something special.
I want to welcome friends and family in the best possible way.
A ready-made Hostess Drink, elegantly displayed, puts the guest at ease and makes toasting the holiday a fun treat to start the party off in style.
So this year, I’ll be mixing up a way to “Let’s Make It Interesting.” After all, Mother will be turning 98 and life remains, well, "Very Interesting." (wink)
Cheers to curiosity and adventure.
Please enjoy your holiday. With pride, abandon, and safety.
Let’s Make It Interesting Recipe
“Let’s Make It Interesting” is a spring-into-summer cocktail incorporating the flavors and aromas of a blooming garden.
It is light and crisp with grassy undertones of Sencha tea, fruity strawberry, floral rose and bright rhubarb. And as an added bonus, its champagne topping makes it socially acceptable to enjoy before noon.
Ingredients
1 oz Rose and Strawberry Sencha tea-infused vodka *
.5 oz Aperol (Italian aperitif made of bitter orange, gentian, rhubarb, and cinchona among other ingredients) or Aperitif such as Campari or better yet, Leopold Brothers ~ they use the original cochineal or beetlejuice just like Campari used to.
.5 oz lemon
.25 oz simple syrup
Champagne or sparkling wine
Method
Combine all ingredients but the champagne into a shaker. Shake and fine-strain into a chilled cocktail glass, Coupe, and top with the champagne.
Garnish
Rose petals from your garden. Or you can purchase rose petals from the “Spice Whisperer,” Lior Lev Sercarz, chef and spice blender and owner of La Boite, a spices shop located in New York City. Lior is also featured in my Art of the Garnish book. I admire him and his creations very much. You’ll love the rose petals La Boite offers.
*Rose and Strawberry Sencha Tea-Infused Vodka
Combine a heaping quarter cup of strawberry Sencha tea to 750ml - 25.5 ounces - vodka and 1 drop rose water. Let infuse for 30 minutes. Strain and bottle.
Enjoy this refreshing Garden-to-Glass cocktail treat.
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