The Nuttall's Woodpecker - A cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

I was gifted a bottle of Roku Japanese Gin and some fresh picked blueberries by good friends and decided to use these in a gin smash variation.  The fresh blueberries were so sweet and juicy that they really yielded a good size cocktail.  The color is all natural.  

To make this add several large basil leaves and about a quarter cup of fresh blueberries to a cocktail shaker and mash these with a muddler.  Add ice, the lemon juice and lemon-thyme simple syrup to the shaker and shake well.  This one requires double straining into a cocktail glass.  If you want a lighter version just serve this in a rocks glass over ice and add a splash of club soda.

Ingredients

• 4 or so large basil leaves, plus a sprig for garnish
• 1/4 cup blueberries, plus a few for garnish
• 2 oz Roku Japanese craft gin
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice, plus a slice of peel for garnish
• 3/4 oz lemon-thyme simple syrup
• Club soda, optional if serving over ice

Makes 1

A not great pic of a Nuttall's Woodpecker that was foraging in our backyard last spring

The Rufous Hummingbird - A cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

Hi, there.  I recently visited the Venus Spirits tasting room in Santa Cruz to see what they had on offer.  Boy was I impressed.  They have a nice selection of Gin, Bourbon and more with some seasonal offerings.  Anyway, I decided to make a cocktail from their Gin #02.   As I wanted to keep this local, I used Lo-Fi Brand Gentian Amaro out of Sonoma (also wonderful).  This cocktail is really fantastic if you enjoy a kind of complex, slightly bitter, citrusy, tad smoky, and moderately sweet straight-up drink.

To a cocktail shaker half filled with crushed ice add

• 4 oz Venus Spirits Gin #02
• 2 oz Lo-Fi Brand Gentian Amaro
• 2 oz Orange Juice
• 2 oz Cranberry Juice
• 1 oz lemon-thyme simple syrup

Shake and strain into two chilled cocktail glasses.  Garnish with a twist of orange peel and a twist of lemon peel.

To make a lemon-thyme simple syrup add several good sized sprigs of lemon-thyme to a 1:1 ratio of water and sugar.  Bring to a low boil, reduce to simmer and cook for 20 minutes.  Once cool strain into a glass container.  Keep in the refrigerator.

Cheers!

The Scarlet Ibis - A cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

 

What to do with fresh raspberries?  Why make a cocktail of course!  This cocktail is fruity and spicy and very nice on a warm afternoon.

Reserve a few raspberries from a 6oz pack for garnish.  Squish the remainder through a sieve to remove seeds and create a pulpy-juice base.  Add fresh squeezed juice from one lime.  This will make more than you need for 2 cocktails and will keep in the fridge for a few days.

To a shaker 1/3 filled with ice add

3 oz. tequila reposado (I used Herradura)
1 oz. Pepper Vodka (e.g. Hanson of Sonoma Habanero)
1 oz. raspberry liqueur (Vedrenne is a good one)

1 oz. Cointreau

1 oz. of the raspberry-lime juice

2 oz. of raspberry juice blend (e.g. Evolution brand)

Shake and strain into two chilled cocktail glasses that have been rimmed w/raspberry-chipotle sale (I purchased mine from D'Olivo in downtown Walla Walla, Washington).  Drop in a couple of raspberries for garnish.  To make it extra festive sprinkle some edible gold glitter in the coupe before straining in the cocktail (I purchased mine from Fancy Sprinkles).

Makes 2 cocktails.

Cheers!

The Scarlet Ibis is a beautiful tropical bird that calls parts of the Caribbean and South America home.  

The Red-eyed Bulbul – a cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

This cocktail has a nice refreshing zing from the lemongrass-jalapeno simple syrup and pepper vodka.  I've made a version of this simple syrup before for a different cocktail but this time I amped-up the use of both the lemongrass and jalapeno to impart more flavor.  

For the simple syrup bring the following to a soft boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes.  I used turbinado sugar which gives the syrup a darker hue but white sugar is good as well.  Once the mixture cools strain it into a glass bottle or mason jar.  It keeps in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

lemongrass-jalapeno simple syrup

1.5 cups sugar

1.5 cups water

jalapeno sliced into rings (keep the seeds for more heat, adjust amount to taste)

about 2 inches of fresh lemongrass roughly chopped and split

For the cocktail shake the following over cracked ice

• 1 oz pepper vodka (I used Hanson of Sonoma Habanero vodka)
• 1.5 oz white rum (I used Havana Club)
• 2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 oz of the lemongrass-jalapeno simple syrup

Shake and strain into two small cocktail glasses.

Cheers!

The Cedar Waxwing – a cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

This cocktail is a nice one for autumn and winter.  It tastes a bit like drinking an apple pie.  It's easy but you have to find the Dram which is the key ingredient- I can't think of a good replacement.  If you are lucky enough to live near apple orchards then even better because you can make it w/local fresh cider!  This one is dedicated to my friend Becca and I was able to enjoy this one using their local apple cider recently - it was so good!  

I was inspired to make this one after trying a special cocktail from the Cocktail Guru's over at Orchard City Kitchen this fall - I got close!

Add to a cocktail shaker 1/3 filled w/cracked ice:

• 2 oz St Elizabeth's Allspice Dram
• 4 oz Bourbon (I like Birddog small batch premium aged)
• 3 to 4 oz organic apple cider or juice
• Fresh squeezed juice from a lemon half

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass and garnish w/a lemon wheel or lemon peel.  I like the sweetened dried lemon wheels from Trader Joes in the winter.

Makes 2 yummy cocktails.  Cheers and Happy Holidays!

Cocktail Engineering: The Western Tanager – a cocktail recipe by Michell...

Cocktail Engineering: The Western Tanager – a cocktail recipe by Michell...: I picked up some nice fresh peaches and nectarines at the Farmer's market last weekend and started thinking about making a cocktail with...

The Western Tanager – a cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

I picked up some nice fresh peaches and nectarines at the Farmer's market last weekend and started thinking about making a cocktail with a nice peach flavor.  This is a sweet little cocktail that's nice this time of year to go with all the stone fruit are coming in.  So here you go!  

In a cocktail shaker 1/3 filled with cracked ice add:

• 4 oz Ketel One Peach & Orange Blossom Botanical Vodka
• 2 oz Giffard creme de Peche de Vigne liqueur
• 3 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
• a few drops of Scrappy's orange bitters

Shake and strain into two small cocktail glasses and garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a twist of orange peel.

I like the Ketel One brand of flavored vodka because it has no added sweeteners or sugars and is all-natural.  I'd like to take a trip to Holland some day to visit the Ketel One distillery.

Cheers!

The Red Munia

I dedicate this little cocktail to my friend Diana and also in recognition of national heart month - you can read more from the links below.  This little drink is a twist on the French 75 and comes out with a light pink hue for a nice Valentine's Day cocktail.  

Shake the following over ice and strain into two cocktail glasses garnished with strawberry:

• 1.5 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 4 oz Beefeater Pink strawberry flavored gin
• 8 drops of Lavender bitters (Scrappy's, 0.5 oz size bottle)
• Big squeeze of agave

Top w/ Brut Rose sparkling wine.

The Red Munia is also known as a strawberry finch.  It makes it's home in the grasslands of tropical regions in Asia.  You can read more about it on Wikipedia - it's a very pretty bird.

Read about American Heart Month here:

https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/american_heart_month.htm
https://www.goredforwomen.org/ 

Cheers!

The Great Spotted Woodpecker – a cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

A nice little fall cocktail...

Into a cocktail shaker 1/3 filled w/cracked ice add:

- 2 1/2 oz. good bourbon
- 1 oz. of Nocello Walnut liqueur
- 1/2 oz. of Trader Joe's vanilla bean infused Maple Syrup

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.  Makes one sweet and warming little drink.

Apparently, the Great Spotted Woodpecker can crack open a walnut.  I watched a video on YouTube.

Cheers!

The Black Redstart – a cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

Hello, I'm back after a summer hiatus with a nice little spicy and refreshing cocktail.  The only special ingredient you need is the Averna Amaro Siciliano liqueur.  To build this one in a shaker 1/3 filled with cracked ice add:

- 5 oz. good quality white or golden rum
- 1 oz. of the Averna Amaro Siciliano liqueur
- fresh squeezed juice from one small orange
- fresh squeezed juice from one lemon
- a good squeeze of agave nectar

Shake and strain into two ~6 oz cocktail glasses with two or three small ice cubes.  Garnish with one orange and one lemon peel.

The Black Redstart is a bird that can be found in Sicily as well as other parts of Europe.

Enjoy!

The White-cheeked Turaco – a cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

This little cocktail is herbal and a bit bitter and also very refreshing.  To build this drink:  muddle about (6) 1-2" chunks of grapefruit with (6) fresh sage leaves.  Pull out the grapefruit husks and pour into a cocktail shaker - you should have about 2 ounces of juice with the sage leave pieces and pulp.  

To the 2 ounces of grapefruit juice add

• 4 ounces of good gin (I used St. George 'Botanivore' - that said I want to experiment w/other gins to see how the flavor changes).  
• 1 and 1/2 ounces of Chartreuse
• two drops of bitters (Bittercube Bitters 'Jamaican #1 if you can find it).

Shake with ice and strain into two small (4 to 6 oz) cocktail glasses.  Garnish with a slice of grapefruit skin and a small sage leaf.

The White-cheeked Turaco is a beautiful, flamboyant bird that makes its home in the horn of Africa.  

Cheers!

The Cardinal – a cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

This is basically a cosmo made my favorite way - very dry.  You have to follow the ingredients exactly to get one this dry.  Just in time for National Cocktail Day!

To a shaker 1/3 filled with cracked ice add:

5 oz. good quality plain vodka
1 oz. dry curacao
1 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice
3 oz. 100% juice cranberry juice (no sugar added)

Shake and strain into 2 cocktail glasses garnished with a nice big piece of fresh lemon peel.

Cheers!

The American Goldfinch – a cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

This being winter, the warming cocktails are more on my mind.  So Kentucky bourbon it is!  This is a nice and simple cocktail that you can enjoy while watching an early winter sunset or admiring your first lily bloom of the season.  In this cocktail I used a small batch bourbon called "Bird Dog".  I have to admit, I tried it because I love bird dogs and the dog on the label reminded me of my German Shorthaired Pointer a bit.  To my delight, it turned out to be a lovely bourbon that I plan to keep in the barmoire cabinet for cool night nips.

To build this cocktail with a shaker 1/3 filled with cracked ice add:

4.5 oz good quality bourbon
1.5 oz Dry Curacao (I used Pierre Ferrand)
1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 oz apple juice (I used an organic Gravenstein juice)

Rub the inside rim of two cocktail glasses w/pinched lemon rind.  Rim w/brown sugar.  Shake and strain into cocktail glasses.  Makes two drinks.

Cheers!