The Vineyard Martini

Last week at Good Gracious! Events, we had the honor of creating a lovely event at Malibu's Church Estate and Vineyards for WIPA, and their group of 100 wedding industry professionals. GG!'s Pauline of course wanted to greet these special guests with a new and fabulous specialty beverage worthy of the surroundings. The Vineyard Martini was created to enhance the experience of a cocktail reception surrounded by grapes on the vine and fields of fresh herbs.

After deciding I wanted to create a grape-inspired cocktail, Stockholm Krystal Vodka joined on as the liquor sponsor for this event. I went to our produce refrigerator, snacking on grapes and nibbling fresh herbs until I found my favorite combination: red and green grapes with oregano!


Enjoy some more great photos from this event, and the recipe at the end of the post...
Special thanks to Imagery Immaculate for all of these beautiful photographs.


Everyone enjoyed the cocktail!


The vineyard table was filled with California Artisan Cheeses, tasty tartlets, crisp arancini, herbs, figs, and so much more!



Vineyard Martini, recipe by Dan Smith of Good Gracious! Events

Martini:
2 tablespoons grape base and 1 ounce of its nectar (recipe below)
2 ounces premium vodka
splash of italian sparkling lemon soda
grape skewer and oregano sprig garnish
Ice

Method:
First, place 1 teaspoon of the diced grape base in the bottom of a martini glass. In a martini shaker, combine ice, vodka, 1 tablespoon grape base and 1 oz nectar. Shake until icy cold and strain into martini glass. Top with a splash of lemon soda and garnish with grape skewer and oregano sprig.


GRAPE BASE & NECTAR
(for about 20 drinks)
Combine:
2 cups each red and green grapes, diced
1 teaspoon white pepper
3 cups oregano infused simple syrup (1 ½ cup sugar, 1 ½ cup water, 6 sprigs of oregano, heat until sugar is fully dissolved and remove oregano. Chill until cold.)

Stir above ingredients together and let soak at least thirty minutes and up to 2 hours, refrigerated

Keeping it simple...

by Dan Smith

Summer is here and MAC Cosmetics celebrated their SURF, BABY line with launch events all over SoCal. Good Gracious! was happy to be on hand with tasty grinds and bodacious libations at MAC stores from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and practically everywhere in between!

Now sometimes MAC gets pretty wild with their cocktails, but as a salute to the simplicity of a Baja summer, this time the right drink was as simple as "CAN" be!

Cans of ice cold Tecate and Modelo Cervezas were passed by surfer-dudes on wooden trays like this one featuring a Tomatillo & Chicken Chimichanga with Avocado Crema. Other trays featured the beers with Chimichurri Shrimp, Crab Tostadas on Blue Tortilla Crisps, and Grilled Squash Blossom Quesadillas with Smoky Tomato Salsa.

Of course we had some sweetness as well; Mini Chuuros with Spiced Hot Chocolate Sauce were my favorites!

Here comes the bride. Quick! Get her a drink!

Spring is in the air and finishing touches are being made to this summer's wedding plans! The wedding day cocktail bar is of course getting more attention than ever, and it takes more work than just calling something a "whatever-tini" to make a splash! Here are some of our favorite cocktails that have been very well received at recent weddings...

Lavender Botanical Bliss. Square One Botanical Spirit, Yuzu Sour, and Lavender Bitters. Decorate the rim with colored crystal sugars and your own blend of dehydrated herbs!

Not just a margarita. This is the Double Agave Vanilla Margarita. Reposado Tequila, Fresh Lime, Vanilla Infused Agave Nectar, and a Vanilla Bean Garnish, INDULGE!

Of course the "bubbly" is always a favorite, but make it your own: 1)Spice it up with rosemary and blueberries 2)Add a wild hibiscus flower and nectar 3)Mix up a sparkling sangria loaded with summer fruit 4)Make it your own with a custom label 5)Spike it with family recipe limoncello!

The Wedding Bouquet Cocktail is filled with colorful pansies, basil, and a refreshing cucumber vodka!

Don't eat your wedding cake, drink it! This sweet and delicious Wedding Cake Martini tasted just like its namesake. And guests love to sink their teeth into that garnish of a White Chocolate Dipped Strawberry dusted with Cake Crumbs!

A Caterer in LA was Nominated for an International Caterers' Association CATIE Award for "Innovations in Mixology"

A caterer in LA and I are so pleased to have heard the news this morning. One of our newest concoctions, an homage to the classic prohibition style cocktail was nominated for the highest honor in catering!
Here's the recipe...enjoy.
(Of course if you don't want to take a month to make your own bitters, experiment with some brands available at your local specialty market.)

Bar Fly's Bliss

2 oz gin
1 oz St-Germain Elderflower
1 oz Licor de Damiana (see my previous post about my travels in Mexico for more info!)
1 oz fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
2 dashes black pepper rosemary bitters
Ice
Rosemary sprig garnish

In a cocktail shaker combine ice and all liquid ingredients. Shake and strain into serving glass. Garnish with rosemary sprig.

Black Pepper Rosemary Bitters
2 cups grain alcohol
8 ounces dried orange peel, minced
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1 tablespoon coriander seed
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
Water
¾ cup granulated sugar
o Put the Spices in a jar and add alcohol
o Seal, store in cool dark place 15 days, giving it a good shake every day
o Strain through cheesecloth to separate liquids and solids. Squeeze solid ingredients as dry as possible. Save liquid in a jar.
o Muddle the dry ingredients into a fine mixture, place in a saucepan and add 4 cups of water
o Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer 5-7 minutes
o Pour this mixture into a 2nd jar and allow to sit 5 days, again giving it a good shake once a day.
o Strain spice mixture through a cheesecloth, discard the solid ingredients, and combine two liquid jars.
o In a small pan, heat ¾ sugar to a dark brown liquid, remove from heat, allow to cool, add to alcohol and water mixture. (Sugar may solidify but will dissolve)
o Seal the jar and let rest for 5 days.
o Strain again and store in dark glass dropper bottles. (up to 12 months)

Lunes por la Mañana

This week, your Monday Morning Bartender will be visiting Mexico. Ciudad Obregon is the destination and home of my partner Rene. The city is the second largest in the state of Sonora which is just below Arizona. Getting there can be as simple as two flights (LA to Hermosillo, then on to Obregon) or as complicated as a series of trains, busses, taxis, planes, and more busses. This trip I get to experience a little of each travel scenario.

When traveling South of the Border I will often grab a bottle of a delicious Mexican Liqueur to bring home. No, not Kahlua, as you might expect, but a sunny-yellow liqueur derived from a extravagantly aromatic yellow-flowered shrub native to Baja California: Guaycura Licor de Damiana.


On first impression you will notice the bottle is quite a unique shape, modeled after an Incan Goddess. Beyond that, unless you are fluent in Spanish and familiar with botanical terms, you will most likely have no idea what awaits you inside.

To make the liqueur, the damiana plants are gathered at the time of flowering. The parts used to produce Damiana Liqueur are the dried leaves and stems. The damiana herb has an ancient reputation going all the way back to the Mayans. The flavor is light but sweet, flowery and at the same time herbal.

As an herb, Damiana is said to act as an aphrodisiac and is also used to treat asthma, anxiety, depression, and headache. There is of course no scientific evidence that it works for these conditions.

Mexican Margarita folklore hints that the first ever Margarita was made with Damiana, not Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or Triple Sec.

Try the Damiana Margarita:
1 oz. Damiana Liqueur
2 oz. Silver Tequila
2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
Shake with ice and serve up or on the rocks

For now, Damiana hasn’t received much attention in the states, but this deliciously floral liqueur is now finally available readily at BevMo and fine specialty markets. It found its way into one of my newest concoctions: Bar Fly’s Bliss, which will be debuted in my February 2011 Cocktail Seminar at Catersource Conference and Tradeshow. For now, that recipe is under wraps. Here is a photo:


Rene and I, enjoying some coconut water at the laguna:

Beer Me with Barley Wine!

This is as seasonal as it gets! Outside it's cold, raining, maybe even snowing! Even here in Southern California we are on our sixth day of rain and there seems to be no end in sight!
What better time to warm up with THE beer of winter: The Barley Wine.

Bass Brewing was first to label an ale as "Barley Wine" in 1900. So named simply because while it is a beer, it can be as strong as wine. Barley Wines are always big, and full-bodied, with complexly layered flavors of spice, malt, and hops. I always enjoy enjoying the deliciously spicy and malty-sweet aromas before taking each sip! Stonger than most beers in alcohol (generally 9% to 12%) Barley Wines should be enjoyed with caution... here's a quick story why.

A pub in my neighborhood used to have a "pint-night" every Tuesday. You would buy your first pint in a 16oz logo glass for $5 and then enjoy refills for just $2! What a deal and at the end of the night you take home the glass.

One night a friend was meeting me for the "Pint-Night" debut of Sierra Nevada's Barley Wine Style Bigfoot Ale. I was running a bit late, but my friend, a strong-beer novice, started with a pint without me. Well he must have loved them because by the time I got there he was finishing his fourth! He had no idea what hit him. He was fun to watch while Bigfoot and I began our own adventure that night. Note to this pub: Serve your extra strong ales in 8 or 11oz glasses, and while I appreciate the value, two buck refills are a bit reckless!

Bigfoot is a redish-brown ale full of big malt and bittersweet hoppiness with an earthy aroma and great depth. 9.6% alcohol by volume.

Many of you know I am a huge fan of Portland, Oregon! Years ago a previous employer asked me to relocate there for a few months (which became two years) while expanding into the Pacific Northwest. My first day in that city's Pearl District we went in search of some great local brews. Driving around we simply rolled down the window and followed our noses to BridgePort Brewing Company, and their Old Knucklehead Barley Wine. Aged in oak bourbon barrels and brewed with pale, chocolate, and caramel malts, this Barley Wine can also age quite gracefully. I brought some of this home from Portland one holiday season and we put it in the extra fridge at my sister's house. Three years later I noticed that no one had touched it and WOW that was a beer to remember! I have tried to age some since but it turns out that the beer doesn't last if I know where it is.

CHEERS!

All Bubbly for the Holidays!

by Dan Smith
Good Gracious! Events, Los Angeles

What is more festive than a glass of “bubbly”?
As catering professionals, we are of course accustomed, if not expected, to serving a glass of champagne or sparkling wine as a welcoming sip or a congratulating toast, but there are so many ways to make this expected beverage sound, look, and taste extra special!

1 Spice it up
Simple as can be! Fill a glass with your favorite sparkling wine and add fresh herbs for some extra fragrance! Rosemary, basil and lemongrass are favorites. Experiment with your chef; he or she certainly won’t mind!

2 Flower power
Add a blossom and a simple glass of champagne becomes a work of art! These Wild Hibiscus Flowers are edible, taste of delicious floral nectar and are a beautifully festive addition to the most special of occasions.

3 Spanish sparkle
Soak some delicious ripe fruits in a liqueur such like Cointreau, St. Germain or a fruit brandy, then top it off with a bubbly Spanish wine and you’ve got a delicious sparkling sangria.

4 Looks good on paper
These individual splits of French champagne were simply relabeled with the groom’s wedding invitation design. Add a hot pink straw and sip!

5 Love lemons
Mix an ounce of your favorite Limoncello (ice cold) with a sparkling wine and you create something special. We garnished these with lemon and lavender at a romantic Italian al fresco feast.