Foodie Swellness: Disaronno Sour recipe

When the mercury rises, as it has this week in Toronto, doesn’t it just make you crave being on a patio with a cocktail in hand?

Last week, I got to check out the Canadian launch of the Disaronno Contemporary Terrace to enjoy a few Disaronno Sour cocktails. Did you know Disaronno has a lineage that dates back to the Renaissance?  The tinge of apricot along with seventeen herbs and fruit makes it a subtly sweet cocktail, perfect for after-work drinks on the patio.

(Note to self: Pick up some Disaronno next time I’m at the liquor store.)

Disaronno Sour

• 1.5 oz Disaronno
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 lime wedge

Add ice to tumbler and pour ingredients in. Stir. Garnish with lime wedge. Serve.

Cheers!

1 Comment July 22, 2014

Foodie Swellness: Cocktail hour with Bombay Sapphire

Week before last, I went out for happy hour. Which is not so unusual, I enjoy a cocktail after work now and again, don’t you? Only difference this time was that this happy hour took place on a helicopter.

Thanks to my host, Bombay Sapphire, I got to see my city of Toronto from a whole different vantage point. We were only allowed to board the heli, though, after a very necessary tutorial on how to hold one’s cocktail so as to not spill all over the very luxe copter (in case you’re wondering–you need to cup the bottom of the glass, rather than hold it by its stem, and use the other hand to cover the top of the glass).

Bombay Sapphire is looking to bring back the sophistication of a proper cocktail hour, and to do so, asked their Global Brand Ambassador Raj Nagra to create four gin cocktail recipes. I’ve shared two of my favourites here: the Sapphire Pineapple Ginger Collins and the East Gin and Tonic (which caught me by surprise, as I have never been a fan of a classic G&T). Cheers!

SAPPHIRE PINEAPPLE GINGER COLLINS

• 1 ½ oz BOMBAY SAPHHIRE EAST
• 2/3 oz St. Germain
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice of juice of a small lemon
• four small pineapple cubes
• 2 slivers of ginger
• 2 oz soda water
• Candied ginger and pineapple cubes for garnish

Build and stir into an ice filled glass. Garnish with pineapple leaf, candied ginger or pineapple chunk.

THE EAST GIN AND TONIC

• 1 ½ oz BOMBAY SAPHHIRE EAST
• Fever Tree tonic
• Lemongrass stem
• Cracked peppercorn
• Lime wedge
• Peppercorn sprinkle and lemongrass stem for garnish 

Press 3 small bulbs of lemongrass and lime wedge into the base of glass. Build other ingredients. Serve in a stemless red wine glass

Leave a Comment July 10, 2014

Foodie Swellness: Berry bourbon iced tea

In the summer, at home I’ll typically enjoy a Moscow mule, Pimm’s cup or sangria. But I’m adding a new one to my cocktail rotation. It’s made with the new Pure Leaf Real Brewed Tea, which is a new fave when it comes to iced tea. I often find iced teas can taste rather artificial or have a tinny taste to them, but this one tastes as though you’ve made the tea yourself, as it should as it is indeed tea that’s been brewed.

I discovered the cocktail at a Pure Leaf lunch, and the recipe was developed be Vancouver blogger Rebecca Coleman of Cooking by Laptop. I tweaked mine slightly (using less bourbon, as i didnt want anything too strong on a Sunday afternoon, plus I used a cherry-flavoured one. I also used angostura bitters as I did not have peach ones handy.

• 1.5 oz bourbon
• 2 raspberries
• 2 blackberries
• 4-6 dashes of peach bitters
• Pure Leaf Lemon Iced Tea
• ice

Muddle the berries at the bottom of a wide-mouth mason jar. Fill the jar with ice cubes. Pour the bourbon over the ice and add the bitters. Mix well and top with the iced tea. Stir well and garnish with a mint sprig.

Cheers!

2 Comments June 10, 2014