Cocktail Hotel

A creatively themed cocktail column loosely based from my fourth book titled "The Hotel of Naughty Cocktails", a 10-Floor, 195-Room, 1000-page labyrinth of drink. This blog (as of 2006) is to celebrate the start of my 25th year as a Professional and Private Bartender here in Los Angeles - the City of Angels, and Devils too .... Kyle Branche - kbranche@earthlink.net

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Location: Woodland Hills, California

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Room 337 - Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and Candy Bars

Desserts for the Decadent Hour

Creme Brule Martini
In a chilled martini glass, shake & strain 2oz Absolut Mandrin vodka, 1oz Frangelico, a dash of cinnamon, and the juice of 1 orange wedge. Garnish with a cherry or twist of lemon.

Banana Nut Bread
Shake & strain over cubed or cracked ice in an old fashioned glass, ¾ oz 99 Bananas or Caymana liqueur, ¾ oz Frangelico, and 2oz cream

Scooter Pie
In a chilled cocktail glass, shake & strain 1oz Christian Brothers brandy, 1oz amaretto di Amore, and 1oz cream. Garnish with a graham cracker on the side

Gingerbread Man
Chill and strain in a shot glass, ½ oz each of the following: vodka, cinnamon schnapps, Irish cream, and butterscotch schnapps. Garnish with a tiny pinch of cinnamon and a ginger cookie.

Tiramisu
Pour over cubed or cracked ice in an old fashioned glass, 1oz Gran Caffe coffee or Illy espresso liqueur, ½ oz Godiva chocolate liqueur, ½ oz amaretto di Saronno, and 2oz cream. Garnish with
whip cream and dust with cinnamon.

German Chocolate Cake
Pour over cubed or cracked ice in an old fashioned glass, 1oz Van Gogh vodka, ¾ oz VooDoo coconut rum, ½ oz pecan liqueur, and ½ oz Cocobay liqueur. Stir and enjoy the slice.

Candy Corn
In a shot glass, layer pour in ½ oz Licor 43, ½ oz Bols orange curacao, and ¼ oz cream

French Toast
Pour straight in a shot glass, equal parts of Bailey’s Irish cream, Hot Damn cinnamon schnapps, and Dekuyper butterscotch schnapps.

Pumpkin Pie
Layer pour in a shot glass, ½ oz Kahlua, ¼ oz Goldschlager, ¼ oz Carolan’s Irish cream, and ¼ oz Captain Morgan’s spiced rum. Garnish with a pinch of cinnamon or pumpkin spice

Butterfinger
Pour over cubed or cracked ice in an old fashioned glass, ½ oz Pearl vodka, ¾ oz cookies and cream liqueur, ¾ oz Hiram Walker butterscotch schnapps, and 2 or 3 oz of milk or cream

Strawberry Shortcake
Blend with ice in a tall, thin glass, 1oz amaretto, 3 fresh strawberries, and 1 scoop vanilla bean ice cream. Garnish with whip cream and a stick of shortbread

Oatmeal Cookie
In a shot glass, layer pour in equal parts of Goldschlager, butterscotch schnapps, and Irish cream. For an Oatmeal Cookie with Raisins, add ¼ oz Jagermeister

Almond Joy
Pour over cubed or cracked ice in an old fashioned glass, ½ oz amaretto, ½ oz white creme de cacao, ½ oz Cocobay liqueur, and 1½ oz cream

Warm Apple Pie
Pour straight in a double shot glass, ½ oz Berentzen cinnamon apple liqueur, ¼ oz apple schnapps, ¼ oz butterscotch schnapps, and 1oz hot apple cider

Black Forest
Pour over cracked ice in a rocks glass, ½ oz each of vodka, chocolate or coffee liqueur, Chambord, and Irish cream

kb

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Love is a Many Splendid Drink



Specialty Sippers for your Special Valentine

After dinner at your favorite hilltop restaurant, take your darling out on the back patio overlook, close to the firepit to keep her warm, and present her with Moonlight and Roses. Muddle a few mint sprigs, a pinch of sugar, a dash of grenadine, and a drop of rose essence water at the bottom of a medium rocks glass till the aroma rises. Then add crushed ice to the top. Pour in 2 oz. Martin Miller’s gin and stir to your desired flavor.

For those ladies who are hypnotized by violet, Love’s Martini is the botanical essence you’ve been waiting for. In a shaker, pour in 2 ½ oz Bombay Sapphire gin along with ¼ oz of Marie Brizard’s Parfait Amour liqueur. Stir chill & strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a twist of orange peel.

As if the heat isn’t intense enough already, when you get home, throw a couple more logs in the fireplace and relax together on your Purple Love Rug by tossing some cubed or
cracked ice to the top in a tall glass and build the following: 1 ¼ oz Belvedere vodka, ½ oz Bols triple sec, fill with equal parts Schweppes club soda and Canada Dry ginger ale, and top lace with ¼ oz of Chambord. Garnish with some seedless grapes.

In each other’s arms forever, the evening can never end without a Long Kiss Goodnight. Rim a chilled martini glass with shaved chocolate and shake & strain in the following: 1oz Wyborowa vodka, ¾ oz Stolichnaya vanilla vodka, and ¾ oz Hiram Walker white creme de cacao. Garnish with a chocolate kiss.

The Rose is native to the Middle East, originally from Iran, and has been cultivated for at least 3000 years. In Rome, the flowers were used in festivals, and the petals were consumed as food. Rosewater(essence) was prepared by Arab physician Avicenna (AD 980 – 1037). During the Middle Ages, the
rose was esteemed as a remedy for depression. The essential oil, called “Attar of Rose” is used in aromatherapy as a mild sedative.

The mid-morning is in full bloom with a brunchtime closer to lunchtime out in the hacienda. Begin with some juice, but continue with a Four Roses Cocktail. Stir & strain 2 oz Maker’s Mark bourbon, 1oz Cinzano dry vermouth, ¼ oz Bols white creme de cacao, and a dash of Angostura bitters into a frosted martini glass, and garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

If you’re celebrating the day out on the yacht in the Caribbean, there’s nothing wrong with a little Love in the Afternoon. Plug in the blender, for this cocktail is motorized. Scoop some cracked or crushed ice in the cup initially, then pour in 2 oz Captain Morgan Reserve rum, ½ oz Dekuyper strawberry liqueur, 1oz Florida organic orange juice, ¾ oz coconut
cream, ½ oz simple syrup, a dash of whipped cream and 3 fresh strawberries, 1 rim-sliced. Blend to perfection, and pour into a parfait glass.

Stop it . . .please, though I like the way you tease me . . . with your Tainted Heart. This shot is layer-poured starting with ½ oz of Aftershock cinnamon liqueur and ½ oz of Godiva chocolate liqueur. Your Latin Lover is ready when you are, on the rocks with 1oz Partida tequila and 1oz Amaretto Di Saronno.

In South America, your Love Game goes in a collins glass filled with crushed ice. Build over, by pouring 1½ oz Batida de Coco, 1oz Passoa liqueur, ½ oz grenadine, and fill with cold orange juice.

Having a hard time breakin’ the ice with that special someone. Go ahead, be persistent and don’t give up, but have a drink first. Take a pint glass out of the freezer, fill with ice and
pour in 1 ½ oz Crown Royal, splash with club soda, and top with Arizona lemon ice tea. Garnish with a slice of lemon, and the Frozen Tundra of your Love is ready to enjoy.

Sometime later, a note is specially delivered to you, and just in time. It simply says P.S. I Love You. Words one can not get enough of, and it tastes like this: In a cocktail glass, shake & strain ¾ oz each of the following – Bailey’s Irish cream, Grand Marnier, and cream. Strain in, and drizzle a few drops of Arrow green creme de menthe down the center, and top with a dust of nutmeg.

kb