Cocktail recipes for your holiday parties

Morton's Crystal Poinsettia
Make your way to the cozy bar tucked below Sixth Avenue because winter at Morton's means it's "Morton's Weather."

1 tsp fresh Pomegranate arils
4 ounces Piper-Heidsieck Champagne
½ tsp pomegranate juice
1 tsp cassis

Serve in Champagne flute.

Photo: Morton's Crystal Poinsettia

Canlis' Pear Apple Sidecar
Perfect for when the winter winds blow, no reservations needed to enjoy this holiday cocktail in the lounge at Canlis!

1 oz Calvados (Apple Brandy)
1 oz Clear Creek Pear Brandy
¾ oz lemon juice
½ oz orange juice
½ oz Demerera (brown sugar syrup)

Serve in a sugar rimmed martini glass.
Garnish with pear slice.

Six Seven Restaurant & Lounge's Cool Cucumber Frostini
1 oz Light Fino Sherry, or Pride of Village Sake
1/4 Hangar One Kaffir Lime Vodka
1 oz fresh squeezed cucumber juice with skins on
Splash freshly-squeezed lime juice
Splash simple syrup
1/4 oz Moscato D'Asti

Serve in a martini glass with a powdered sugar rim, garnished with a cucumber slice.

Six Seven's Pomegranate Cosmo (note their concept of giving us red and green drinks for the holidays!)
2 oz Pomegranate juice
1 oz. Ciroc Vodka
1/2 oz Cointreau
Splash freshly-squeezed lime juice
Splash simple syrup
1 oz club soda
Pomegranate seeds

Serve in a martini glass.

Six Seven's Gingerita
1 1/2 oz Heradura Silver Blanco Tequila
1/2 oz Cointreau
1 oz freshly-squeezed lime juice
1 oz ginger-infused simple syrup
Splash of Pasteurized Egg Whites (can sub with bottled or powdered egg whites)

Shake. Serve in a rocks glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

Ponti Seafood Grill's Strawberry Clove Cocktail
We think the Strawberry Clove Cocktail is great for the holidays. The color and the hint of clove really remind us of the season and its flavors. And who doesn't love strawberries?—Ponti bartender

Clove Simple Syrup
1 cup white sugar
1 cup water
8 whole cloves

Cocktail
1 1/2 oz vodka
4 large strawberries
1 oz clove simple syrup
1/2 oz lemon juice
1 oz sweet & sour

Clove Simple Syrup: In heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together cloves, water and sugar until sugar dissolves. Increase heat slightly, simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate syrup until cold.

Cocktail: Using a cocktail shaker, muddle strawberries and lemon juice together. Add ice, vodka, simple syrup and sweet and sour. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a slice of strawberry.

Ponti's Mango Mint Martini
2 oz Cruzan Mango Rum
1/2 oz mango purée
1 oz lime juice
1 oz simple syrup
6 fresh mint leaves

Combine ingredients in martini shaker and muddle. Add ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with fresh mint leaf and serve.

Photo: Ponti's Mango Mint Martini

Il Fornaio's Tuscan Limone Drop
1 1/2 oz Absolut Mandarin vodka
1/2 oz Caravella Limoncello
1 oz sweet and sour
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Measure all ingredients into glass shaker.  Add ice to metal shaker. Pour ingredients into metal shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into sugar rimmed martini glass. Garnish with lemon peel.

Il Fornaio's Chaitini
1 3/4 oz Voyant Chai liqueur
1 1/4 oz Kahlua

Measure all ingredients into glass shaker.  Add ice to metal shaker. Pour ingredients into metal shaker and shake vigorously.  Strain into martini glass. No garnish.

Tini Bigs Lounge's Spanish Tini
The Spanish Tini is the type of drink that is great for sharing around the fire on a cold holiday night, then crawling under the mistletoe.—Patrick Haight, Bar Manager

2 ounces Starbucks Coffee liqueur
Splash (1/4 ounce) of Tia Maria coffee liqueur
2-1/2 ounces black coffee, chilled
Lime wedge
Granulated sugar
1/2 ounce Bacardi 151 rum
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Garnish: finely grated semisweet or dark chocolate shavings

Photo: Tini Bigs' Spanish Tini

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.  Add coffee liqueurs and coffee.  Stir vigorously.  Let stand. Rim a big martini glass with lime wedge and granulated sugar (do not use confectioners' or superfine granulated—baker's sugar, as it will not caramelize).  Pour rum into the bottom of martini glass.  Tilt the glass and light the rum with a match.  Carefully tilt and swirl the glass to caramelize the sugar.  When the sugar is caramelized, set the glass down, still ignited, and sprinkle the nutmeg and cinnamon (you will see small sparks - don't be alarmed).  Now strain the contents of the cocktail shaker into the lit glass.  Pour a layer of heavy sweetened cream on top.  Garnish with chocolate shavings.

Salish Lodge & Spa's Oompa Loompa (WillyWonka is one of those "must see" movies around the holidays—now you can drink while you watch!). Created by Mark Kieras, Director of Wine & Spirits and Brandon Binger, Bartender

This cocktail is an homage to Mr. Willy Wonka's cocoa bean loving Ooompa Loompas.  These orange skinned, green haired people were skilled enough to save Violet Beauregarde, the chewing gum fanatic, from the effects of consuming Mr. Wonka's experimental "three-course-meal" gum. Violet's actions caused her to turn blue, fill with blueberry juice, and swell up like a balloon...esentially making her a human sized blueberry.  The skilled Oompa Loompas were able to roll her off to the juicing room and save her before she was about to explode.  Whether you are or are not a golden ticket winner you're sure to enjoy this lovely concoction... but be careful, too many of these and you too will likely be on your way to the juicing room.

Muddle two lemon wedges and one sugar cube.
Top with 1¼ oz of Stoli Blueberi vodka, ¼ oz of triple sec, ½ oz of sweet and sour mix, and ¼ oz of blue curacao.

Shake and serve up in a sugar rimmed martini glass. Garnish with a lemon flag with a dried blueberry speared in the middle of the flag.

Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar's Cinnamon Citrus Twist
This Chef Howie recipe has been part of the Seastar Holiday Menu for a few years. I have heard repeated praise from the guests, but when this drink is mentioned, I always remember the staff member who sampled the drink and exclaimed "This tastes like Christmas!"—Seastar bartender

1-1/2 oz Stoli Cranberry Vodka
3 oz orange juice
1 oz cranberry juice
Cinnamon sugar
Cocktail/Martini glass
Coat the rim of a chilled martini glass with citrus juice, and dip in cinnamon sugar
¾ fill cocktail shaker with ice
Add vodka, orange and cranberry juices to shaker, and shake vigorously

Strain into prepared martini glass

Kathy Casey's Douglas Fir Sparkle'tini
 Makes 1 cocktail

1-1/2 oz Douglas Fir Infused Gin (recipe follows)
1 1/2 oz Dish D'Lish Lemon & Lime Sour Cocktailor
3/4 oz white cranberry juice
1 – 1 1/2 oz brut champagne or dry sparkling wine
Garnish: tiny Douglas fir sprig and a fresh or frozen cranberry

Measure in the infused gin, Cocktailor mix and cranberry juice.
Fill shaker with ice, cap and shake vigorously. Top with champagne.
Garnish with Douglas fir sprig and cranberry

Douglas Fir Infused Gin
1 bottle high quality gin, such as Aviation
1 5-6" sprig rinsed Douglas fir branch

Place Douglas fir branch into gin and let sit 24 hours. Then remove branch and discard.
© 2006 Kathy Casey Food Studios® – www.kathycasey.com

December 2006