The Week in Home Cocktailing July 10, 2016

This was a pretty busy week for me in terms of home cocktailing. Its been a while since I've done three cocktails and an infusion in a week. So without further delay, here we go.

July 7th was National Chocolate Day and to celebrate the occasion, I decided to make a Godiva Chocolate Martini. Here is the recipe I used:

While I was going for lines of chocolate syrup inside of the glass, the syrup refused to cooperate. But having the chocolate syrup lining the entire interior of the glass worked out. It gave the cocktail an extra rich layer of chocolate that accompanied the cocktail.

It left me wondering how the cocktail would be with an added layer of coffee and a thicker consistency. On that note, I decided to make a small Espresso Vodka Infusion using Tito's Vodka. Here is the video of my putting together the infusion.

To no surprise, two days later the infusion looks like this:

The infusion is dark like straight espresso and has an amazing coffee aroma. I'll keep it in the cabinet for a few more days.

On July 8th I came up with the idea to make a Chai Alexander in the same manner that you would make the classic Brandy Alexander. Instead of using Creme de Cacao, I would substitute it using the Tazo Chai Tea Latte concentrate that we sell in the cafe. Here is what I came up with:

 

I used ground cinnamon as the topping since I didn't have any ground allspice. I found the cocktail to be bland using the listed proportions and decided to bump it up to 2 parts Half and Half, 2 Parts Tazo Chai Tea Latte and the 1 Part Brandy. I still found the cocktail to be missing that spicy kick that I like from my chai. 

I later thought that perhaps the chai releases its spices and aroma when exposed to heat while the flavors are muted somewhat when exposed to the cold. I'll have to keep working on this. Perhaps when the weather changes from Summer to Fall. 

The last cocktail that I worked on was in celebration of National Piña Colada Day on July 10th. For this recipe, I decided to use the legendary David Wondrich's recipe from Esquire Magazine. Can't go against someone who recommends using Brugal Añejo. So here is what I came up with:

It had been so long since I had Piña Colada that I had forgotten how refreshing they are. The first one didn't last very long. 

I made a second Piña Colada, this time using a mixture of Brugal Añejo, The Real McCoy 3-year white rum and Cruzan Black Strap Rum. I also enjoyed this one. I like the added level of flavor that the Black Strap Rum gives the Piña Colada. 

Since I still had some Coconut Cream left, I decided to make a third Piña Colada, this time using Abuelo Añejo Panamanian Rum. For some reason, I found that the Abuelo Añejo didn't blend well with the pineapple and coconut flavors. I'll keep this rum for something else. 

Well, that's it for now. I'm looking forward to seeing what cocktails this upcoming week has in store. 

Until Then Happy Drinking,

SiscoVanilla

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