Source: The Courier Journal
Warm weather brings its own lineup of cocktails. Looking for some new ideas for your next cocktail hour? We turned to the folks behind the bar at some local restaurants for their favorite nice-weather drinks.
Daniel Duncan, Loop 22
I have a love/hate relationship with margaritas. Even the most generic can be delicious, but most of the time the acidity and sweetness do not bode well later. Most margaritas you'll encounter are full of high fructose corn syrup and strong acidity. The one we make at Loop 22 is the best one I've had in years. All sour and orange juices are hand squeezed. We infuse El Jimador tequila with jalapenos for 24 hours.
1.5 ounces jalapeno-infused El Jimador
.75 ounce Tres Agaves Organic Nectar
.25 ounce Cointreau
1 ounce sour
.75 ounce orange juice
Shake well with ice and pour into a tall glass. Top with a splash of soda. What you end up with is an extremely flavorful and dangerously refreshing margarita with non of the cavity-inducing, stomach pain nightmares that most margaritas tend to give.
Guy Genoud, Brasserie Provence (@BrasserieProven)
What can be more refreshing than a Vin d' Orange, a Provencale specialty to be drunk in moderation under an umbrella on a French Riviera beach?
In a large bucket, dilute 1 pound of fine white sugar in 1/2 liter of vodka. Add 4 bottles of rosé wine from Provence (rinse and keep the bottles) then cut small pieces of 2 lemons, 4 sweet navel oranges and 2 blood oranges (all organic preferably); add 1 cinnamon stick.
Keep refrigerated. Stir the melange with a wooden spoon once a day for a week, then once a week for 5 weeks during the maceration process. Then filter it through a linen, squeeze all the fruits during the process (actually take a bit of the citrus pulps ... amazing). Put in back in the wine bottles. Serve it very cold by itself (no ice and no garnishes). Santé.
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