Archives for August 2019

Watermelon Hibiscus Paloma

August 31, 2019 by Natalie 2 Comments

Popping in here real quick to bring you the perfect cocktail for your holiday weekend! I’ve been juicing watermelon a lot and drinking it after my runs and making simple drinks with it in the evenings. Had to put a twist on one of my favorite cocktails and share this Watermelon Hibiscus Paloma with you. Can’t thank my friends over at Exotica Tequila enough for letting me come up with delicious things with one of my favorite spirits!

I can’t believe it’s Labor Day weekend already. Where has the time gone? I was just getting into the swing of summer and now POOF it’s gone. Just like that. There’s nothing more satisfying and refreshing than watermelon juice on a hot day. I’m sure going to miss seeing this fruits presence in the produce aisles. So I had to squeeze it into one lady recipe before I say goodbye to it for a few long, hard and cold months.

Watermelon Hibiscus Paloma, serves 1

2 oz. Exotico Tequila

1 oz. watermelon juice

1/2 oz. lime juice

1/2 oz. hibiscus syrup*

Grapefruit soda

Salt, for rim

*Hibiscus syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers

Combine sugar, water and hibiscus flowers in a small saucepan. Simmer until all sugar has dissolved and the syrup is a very dark red/pink, about 10 minutes.

First, juice your limes and watermelon. I used my slow juicer to juice the watermelon but if you don’t have one, you can also blend is and strain the juice.

Then prepare your glass by rimming it with salt. Add all tequila, watermelon juice, lime juice and hibiscus syrup to a cocktail shaker. Shake with ice and strain into your salt rim glass. Top with your favorite grapefruit soda and lastly garnish with a slice of watermelon.

Couldn’t think of a better way to send summer off than with a Paloma. This Watermelon Hibiscus Paloma is refreshing, sweet and citrusy. Hibiscus adds so much depth and floral flavors with a hint of tartness. Salt adds a savory element that compliments the watermelon and hibiscus perfectly.

I can’t wait to make and enjoy a few more of these this weekend. I hope you decide to make this Watermelon Hibiscus Paloma as well. If you do please comment below and tell me how you’re enjoying your holiday weekend. Cheers to another summer! xo

Summer Sipping on the Titan Cocktail

August 29, 2019 by Natalie 198 Comments

Summer isn’t over yet! The temperatures are continuing to rise around here. It has been so humid that I am now convinced I live in South Florida because it randomly rains every day now. Even when it’s not in the forecast. Even when the sun is shining. So, what’s a girl to do when it’s too hot and humid to deal? Make a delicious and boozy crushed ice beverage. Very excited to be partnering with my friends over at THE HOUSE OF ANGOSTURA® to bring you a brand new recipe, The Titan Cocktail, to keep you cool until the end of summer.

THE HOUSE OF ANGOSTURA, THE HOUSE OF ANGOSTURA, based in Trinidad, has been blending bitters fornearly 200 years and producing fine rums for 130 years, mastering the art of ageing and blending. Using a secret recipe, closely guarded to this day, ANGOSTURA®aromatic bitters is recognized as the world’s first and best-selling cocktail bitters. It is an essential ingredient for contemporary cocktails as well as the classics. With just a few dashes, ANGOSTURA aromatic bitters transforms summery mixed drinks into beloved warm-weather cocktails, from spritzes to tiki inventions, to frozen cocktails and beyond.

The Titan Cocktail was inspired by one of my favorite tiki classics, The Saturn Cocktail. Most tikidrinks are rum based but what makes the Saturn special is that it is made with gin. This cocktail is rich and sweet just like most tiki concoctions, but the gin gives it the drinkability of a refreshing Tom Collins. I went a step further and, instead of gin, I used mezcal. I named it Titan after Saturn’s largest moon.

The Titan

1 1/2 oz. mezcal

1/2 oz. lime juice

1/2 oz. orange juice

1/2 oz. passion fruit syrup*

1/4 oz. orgeat*

1/4 oz. falernum

Float of ANGOSTURA aromatic bitters

lime twist and cherry, for garnish

*Passion Fruit Syrup

1 part 100% passion fruit puree, frozen and preferably Goya

1 part rich simple syrup (2:1 demerara sugar and water)

Make your rich simple syrup ahead of time. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir over heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Let cool. Let frozen passion fruit defrost and then add it to the rich simple syrup. Stir until combined and store in a resealable container.

*Orgeat – You can find my step by step process on how to make orgeat in this post on A Beautiful Mess.

To make the Titan cocktail, simply add mezcal, lime juice, orange juice, passionfruit syrup, orgeat and falernum to a cocktail shaker. Dry shake without ice and pour into a highball or swizzle glass. I used these pearl diver mugs from Cocktail Kingdom. Fill the glass with crushed ice and swizzle with a swizzle stick or bar spoon. You can do this by gently twirling the spoon or stick between the palms of your hands until a frost forms on the outside of the glass. Swizzling is a method of dilution the same way as shaking and stirring is, except it is done in a glass with crushed ice.

Next, float the ANGOSTURA aromatic bitters on top of the drink and top with more crushed ice. Garnish with a lime twist and a cherry. I like to roll the twist around the cherry and then use a cocktail pick to secure it.

I just made a few small tweaks to the Saturn cocktail and made it my own by substituting the gin for mezcal. The mezcal adds a slight smoke and earthiness to an otherwise sweet drink. The addition of the ANGOSTURA aromatic bitters is really what changes everything. ANGOSTURA aromatic bitters counteracts the sharp taste of acidic ingredients and subdues the pronounced flavors of spirits. That’s why it is the perfect ingredient to balance summer cocktails. Although ANGOSTURA aromatic bitters contain some ABV, using just a few dashes can transform your cocktails. So whether you’re sipping on a high-proof or low-abv beverage, ANGOSTURA bitters are the perfect flavor and enhancer and complement to any cocktail. I hope you will be mixing up a few Titans before summer is over. xo

Green Garden Cocktail

August 2, 2019 by Natalie Leave a Comment

Possibly one of my favorite things to do is to come up with margarita variations. The Green Garden cocktail isn’t quite just a margarita but was definitely my inspiration for creating this drink. I’m also very excited to be partnering up with my friends over at Exotico Tequila again. So expect a lot of delicious tequila drinks for the rest of 2019! I teamed up with Exotico last year for my Mango Kombucha Margarita + Bistec Mango Tacos post. Those recipes are well worth a revisit and are currently making my mouth water. If you missed that post and you aren’t familiar with Exotico Tequila it is handcrafted with tradition by the Destiladora Gonzalez Gonzalez.

The Destiladora Gonzalez Gonzalez is a family distillery spanning three generations and one of Mexico’s most respected makers of tequila. The tequila is made from 100% Blue Weber agave grown in the highlands of Jalisco. From my many travels to Jalisco I learned that the red clay soil there produces larger and much sweeter agaves which is why Exotico gets their agaves from this region. This type of agave, once distilled, gives Exotico its floral, well-rounded taste. I love the Exotico Blanco because it has notes of roasted agave with a peppery finish which makes it delightful to use in drinks or sip on its own.

I’ve been on a cucumber juice kick and thought it would make a wonderful summer ingredient in a tequila-based drink. I love spicy and savory elements in cocktails and decided to make a green bell pepper syrup to use as well. The results were amazing if I can say so myself. 😉

Green Garden, makes one serving

1 1/2 oz. Exotico Tequila

1/2 oz. Yellow Chartreuse

1 oz. fresh cucumber juice

1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

3/4 oz. green bell pepper syrup

handful of basil leaves

salt, paprika and chili flakes, for rim

Green Bell Pepper Syrup, makes 1 cup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 green bell pepper

To make the syrup, cut a green bell pepper in half, remove seeds and rinse. Chop into small pieces. In a small saucepan add sugar, water and chopped green bell pepper. Let simmer on the stove until all sugar has dissolved then remove from heat and let completely cool. I left the green bell pepper in the syrup overnight and then strained to extract the most flavor.

Next, get your cocktail glasses ready! I did an equal part combination of course sea salt, paprika and red chili flakes. Run a lime around the rim of your glass and then roll the outside rim of your glass through the salt mixture. To make cucumber juice I ran a few cucumbers through a slow juicer. If you don’t have a slow juicer the other option is blending the cucumbers and straining the cucumber juice out through a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Combine tequila, Yellow Chartreuse, cucumber juice, lime juice, green bell pepper syrup and basil leaves in a cocktail shaker. Finally, add ice, shake and strain into your salt-rimmed glasses.

Not only does this cocktail taste magnificent but the color is very stunning. I called it the Green Garden for the use of all the green ingredients and of course the color. I love the green bell pepper syrup and I can’t wait to play around with it in other drinks. Perhaps even test out some other peppers in syrups as well. This cocktail is herbal, refreshing and savory—perfect for a hot day! But always and most importantly, perfect in the company of tacos. And chips. And guacamole. You get it. xo