Tosca's Kiss

I felt like something warming this evening (my damn sore throat has just gotten sorer over the day) and this really hit the spot. An unusual mix, but it works - rich, spicy, mildly herbal, with a slight but pleasant lemony aftertaste. I used Cockburn's Special Reserve Port (so much for saving that for Christmas!). If a cocktail can be classed as 'warming', then this certainly does. I can definitely foresee myself drinking more of this during the winter months.

---

Cocktail: Devil
Taken from "Diffordsguide to Cocktails" #5.2.

Ingredients:
2 shots Port
1½ shots Dry Vermouth
¼ shot Freshly-squeezed Lemon Juice

Glass: Martini
Garnish: Lemon zest twist

Method:
Put all ingredients in shaker.
Top to 2/3 with fresh ice.
SHAKE.
Strain into chilled glass.

---

Zest Twist garnishes
Here's the lowdown from my Cocktail Bible, the Diffordsguide, on how to do this. I personally am in the 'put it in the cocktail' camp, as you can see from the above photo.

"Zest Twist - This term refers to flavouring a drink by releasing the aromatic oils from a strip of citrus zest [AN: I guess this means Rodney doesn't like most cocktails!]. Using a knife or peeler, cut a half inch (12mm) wide length of zest from an unwaxed, cleaned fruit so as to leave just a little of the white pith. Hold it over the glass with the thumb and forefinger of each hand, coloured side down. Turn one end clockwise and the other anticlockwise so as to twist the peel and force some of its oils over the surface of the drink. Deposit any flavoursome oils left on the surface of the peel by wiping the coloured side around the rim of the glass. Finally drop the peel onto the surface of the drink (some prefer to dispose of the spent twist)."

What a grey, grey day! Here's something to look forward to at the end of it:

---

Cocktail: Delmonico
This 1930's classic is one of my personal favorites; a perfect way to relax after a long, tiring day at work (and aren't they all?).
I'm not a big fan of drinking brandy or cognac straight, no matter how good it is - no snifters beside the fire for me. I do like brandy's aroma and flavour however, and cocktails are therefore the perfect way for me to indulge. Vermouth I love in any form - straight, highball or cocktail - so the Delmonico fulfills several tastes at once. So to speak.

Ingredients:
1 ¼ shots Cognac (Remy Martin preferred)
1 ¼ shots Dry Vermouth
1 ½ shots Sweet (Rosso) Vermouth
3 dashes Anogustura Bitters

Glass: Martini
Garnish: Orange zest twist

Method:
Put all ingredients in shaker.
Top to 2/3 with fresh ice.
STIR.
Strain into chilled glass.

---

Cocktail: Delmonico Special (Martini)
A Martini version of the Delmonico - an excellent compromise if you have no Sweet Rosso Vermouth in the house!

Ingredients:
2 ¼ shots Plymouth Gin
1 ¼ shots Cognac
¾ shots Dry Vermouth
3 dashes Anogustura Bitters

Glass: Martini
Garnish: Orange zest twist

Method:
Put all ingredients in shaker.
Top to 2/3 with fresh ice.
STIR.
Strain into chilled glass.

I said I'd send daegaer and louiselux the list of cocktails we tried on Saturday, so I thought as long as I'm typing them up I may as well share them with everyone, as some were particularly excellent.

I use the "Diffordsguide to Cocktails", currently issues #5.1 - 5.3, which is from 'A' to 'Q' (issue #4 'R to Z' isn't out yet). The recipes and histories below are all adapted from that unless otherwise noted. Comments are my own.

We started off with a bottle of Prosecco, the Italian version of sweet champagne, so the first cocktails all contained it (not that I'm typing these up in any particular order).

---

Cocktail: Bellini
First up, and easiest to make, is the Bellini. Possibly the quintessential Italian cocktail, it was created in 1934 by Giuseppe Cipriani at Harry’s Bar, Venice, Italy. Not only is this a delicious cocktail, but it holds wonderful memories for me of a four day holiday in a cool, quiet November Venice with a couple of friends. We sat at an outdoor café overlooking the Rialto Bridge, drinking Bellini’s and watching the sun set.
I’m not sure if the bar used real fruit back then, but on Saturday we used Funkin 100% White Peach Puree which is honestly much better; it’s fresh, beautiful quality, and someone else gets to do all that messy peeling, de-stoning and pulping. Score.

NB: You can add gomme sugar syrup and lemon juice to taste if required

Glass: Flute
Garnish: Peach slice on rim

Ingredients:
1 part puréed peaches, preferably white
2 parts Prosecco sparkling wine, chilled

Method:
Put all ingredients in shaker.
Top to 2/3 with fresh ice.
STIR.
Strain into a chilled glass.

---

Cocktail: Hot Tub
Basically a Flirtini/French Martini with bubbles. All four of us agreed this was good. We didn’t have any Chambord black raspberry liqueur, so we used blackcurrant liqueur (Crème de Cassis - try to get ones with at least 600 gm of fruit per litre).

Glass: Martini
Garnish: Pineapple wedge on rim

Ingredients:
1 ¼ shots Vodka
¼ shot Chambord black raspberry liqueur
1 shot Pineapple juice
Top up with Prosecco sparkling wine, chilled.

Method:
Put first three ingredients in shaker.
Top to 2/3 with fresh ice.
SHAKE.
Strain into chilled glass.

---

Cocktail: Expresso Martini
I thought this was disgusting – like drinking cold, watered-down coffee. A couple of the others thought it was OK but could be better with some fiddling with – maybe more coffee and no sugar. I don’t think this is cut out to be anyone’s favourite cocktail however. For garnish we used chocolate-covered coffee beans that daegaer and louiselux had kindly brought along.

Glass: Martini
Garnish: Float 3 coffee beans

Ingredients:
2 shots Vodka
1 ¾ shots cold Espresso Coffee
½ shot gomme Sugar syrup

Method:
Put all ingredients in shaker.
Top to 2/3 with fresh ice.
SHAKE.
Strain into chilled glass.