Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The Deconstructed Margarita with Sea Salt Foam

    
     Charged with submitting an original tequila cocktail recipe to Cheers magazine and as my first idea for my entry into a cocktail competition for the upcoming San Antonio Cocktail Conference, I somehow created this drink.
     It consists of an ice sphere made of fresh lime juice, agave nectar, and water.  The mold was courtesy of Makers Mark.  The tequila chosen was Dulce Vida's 100% organic reposado.  And instead of a salted rim, I decided to make a sea salt foam to place on top of the drink.  So step by step, here it is:
Makers Mark Ice Sphere Mold
   
      Using the mold shown above, I filled it with water and then pured that into a measuring cup to determine as total liquid I would need.  The mold holds 1.75 cups.  So for my mold I mixed :
  • 1 cup of fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 cup of agave nectar
  •  1/4 cup water .  
 Make sure to strain the lime juice before pouring into the mold.   Once mixed and strained, pour into the mold and place in freezer overnight.   
      Now for the spirit based part of the drink,
  •  2 oz Dulce Vida Reposado Tequila
  • 1/2 oz Paulas Texas Orange 
Pour both into your shaker with no ice, stir briefly, and set aside. We're not adding ice because we don't want to dilute the tequila yet.  Our ice sphere will take care of that for us.
    
     For the Sea Salt Foam topping we're going to take:
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbsp fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tbsp water
 Combine all your ingredients into a chilled mixing bowl.  Using a hand emulsifier, whip all ingredients on the low setting until you have 1-2 inches of foam on top, as pictured below
Making Sea Salt Foam

     Place your ice sphere into a rocks glass, pour the Dulce Vida Tequila and Paulas Texas Orange mixture into the glass.  Using a spoon, skim the foam on top of your rocks glass.  Garnish with a lime twist.
     Since we didn't chill the tequila it will quickly melt the ice sphere and begin to slowly combine your lime juice and agave nectar into your drink.  So it will start out strong and end with a sweeter mellow flavor profile.

Enjoy
-S.M.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

The Sleepy Hollow

     After the wonderful people at Treaty Oak Rum published my last Rum infusion, they said they were looking forward to the upcoming cocktail that would be created with it.  So after a little bit of time and tinkering, I present "The Sleepy Hollow".  It consist of the Spiced Pumpkin Infused Rum, home made Marshmallow Syrup, and scorching the drink using a Misto can with Fee Brothers Orange Bitters.
The Sleepy Hollow
  • 2 1/2 oz Spiced Pumpkin Infused Rum
  • 1 oz Marshmallow Syrup *
     Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass.  Place one jumbo marshmallow in the glass as a floating garnish.  Using a Misto can filled with 2 parts over proof alcohol (151) and 1 part Fee Brothers Orange Bitters and a lighter, scorch the top the martini briefly to release the aromas from the drink and to toast the marshmallow for presentation.  I find that placing a few drops of 151 on the marshmallow will give the flame a bit more life before it burns out in the drink.

     Marshmallow Syrup Recipe:
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 7 jumbo marshmallows
Making the Marshmallow Syrup
     
     You're going to prepare the same way as simple syrup.  Bring the contents to a boil, continuously stirring the marshmallows.  Once at a boil, remove from heat and allow to cool.  Bottle and store it.  Should be good for about 2-3 months.

Spiced Pumpkin Infused Rum

 
     I have been procrastinating posting this for a few weeks now but here it finally is.  Back at the beginning of October I had decided to try a seasonal infusion and what instantly came to mind would be something involving pumpkins.  So after a bit of culinary reading on what to pair it with I eventuality settled on starting a spiced pumpkin infusion.  I chose to go with a silver rum and let the spices alter it since we all know spiced rum is quite delicious.
     As for my rum selection, I settled upon Treaty Oak Rum, whose distillery is out in Austin, TX.  Now I went with Treaty Oak because I find that the flavor profile from their rum is a tad bit sweeter and smoother than most rums.  Maybe because they use all Texas ingredients?
Spiced Pumpkin and Marshmallow Infused Rum
     So here are the prep instructions for the pumpkin using a 750ml bottle of Treaty Oak Rum:
 Take a whole pumpkin and cut into quarters(we'll only be using half of it).  Peel your pumpkin quarters and then cube into 1"x1" pieces.  Place into a large bowl and add 1tbsp of vanilla extract and sprinkle both cinnamon and nutmeg on top of cubes.  Mix it all together.  Now take 5-6 whole cloves, crush them, and place into a saute pan along with the pumpkin cubes.  Briefly saute until golden brown and then allow to cool.  Once cooled, place into an airtight jar along with a handful of jumbo marshmallows and let sit for at least 2 weeks, tasting periodically to gauge flavor.  Once the infusion has reached the taste you prefer, strain with cheesecloth and re bottle.  Note that you may occasionally need to shake the bottle before using as some spices may settle to the bottom of the glass.

Bubblegum Infused Vodka

     This idea was conjured up solely for a friends party, just something to use as a sweeter without having to worry about mixing multiple ingredients every time for each round of shots.  Bubblegum being a flavor most people enjoy and sweet enough to be able to mask most of the alcohol burn on its own without needing to add anything.  So it ends up being one of the easiest infusions I've ever done and fairly quick compared to past infusions that have taken over 2 weeks.  Without further ado, here is the recipe:

(2) 1lb bags of individually wrapped Double Bubble bubblegum.

Bubblegum Infused Vodka
     That's it.  Just unwrap each piece of gum and place in your container.  I used a 1.75 liter bottle of Enchanted Rock vodka for 2 pounds of bubblegum and let it sit for about 5 days.  Run it through a cheesecloth/mesh strainer combo and bottle it back up.  Taste just like vodka with damn near no burn.  Great for a straight chilled shot.
     We also later found out that you can mix it with a little bit of Ginger Ale and a splash of cranberry juice, chilled and strained into a martini glass with a bubblegum flavored Pop Rocks rim for an excellent martini.

Enjoy,
S.M.