Cocktails of the Month - Year Two (January: Champagne Cocktail)

As we close out our year of Classic Cocktails, as with the close of any year, we have taken some time to look back and to look forward. We have enjoyed learning about (and sampling) some fantastic classic gems- discovering some forgotten treats and learning to make some favorites that were previously intimidating (we’re looking at you, mint julep and eggnog). We had such a ball, that we are going to challenge ourselves with round 2 - can we find another 12 months of fun, classic drinks to share with you? Stay tuned to see what long lost treasures we unearth....

We are kicking off the year with an early pre-January post, perfect for a last minute addition to your Christmas menu or to add some flair to your New Year’s toast. The Champagne Cocktail has been making a resurgence over the last several years, with the addition of various flavored liquors, but it is just as good in its simplest form.

While the recipe was first published in a bar tenders guide in 1862, there were prior references in journals and diaries that indicate this cocktail was in general use a good bit earlier. Although French purists turned their noses up at the idea of adulterating fine champagne, most people enjoyed both the flavor and added bit of fun that came with this drink. Here are a few helpful tips if you want to give it a try...


1. Use a real sugar cube - not loose sugar or a crushed cube. Primarily you are not looking to sweeten the drink, but to create an even more bubbly experience. This best happens as the sugar cube slowly dissolves.

2. Place a few splashes of bitters on a small plate, and dip each side of  the sugar cube into it. We tried several methods and found that this was the best way to get the cube “soaked” with the least amount of waste and mess.

3. Use a sec or doux champagne for the most authentic result. Brut (dry) champagne was not available in the mid 1800’s, and the original recipes were designed with a sweeter champagne in mind. Perhaps this explains our modern tendency to add sweet flavored liquors.

RECIPE 

Champagne (sec or doux)

Sugar Cubes 

Bitters

Soak sugar cubes in bitters

Place one cube in each glass (flute or coupe), chilled glasses work best

Pour Champagne

Serve as is or garnish with a citrus twist 

In the words of Humphrey Bogart, who was drinking a Champage Cocktail as he said it... 

Here’s lookin’ at you kid! 

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for 2018
Cheers!

Christine and Stacy 

Bellini: A Year of cocktails - June

For this month's cocktail we returned to a classic favorite- one you may have ordered out but may not have made from scratch. It's a quintessential summer fav - light, refreshing and fruity- with the exotic flair of Italy. The Bellini!

The Bellini originated in post-war Italy (most reports date its inception at 1948/49), at Harry's Bar in Venezia.  The setting itself oozes romance and style, nestled just off the Grand Canal. The allure of Harry's is heightened by the fact that it was frequented by Humphrey Bogart, Earnest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, Orson Welles and Truman Capote. I can only imagine the deep conversations and the great works of literature that originated within its walls. And with that, it's easy to see cultured men and women sipping Bellinis in the warm evening hours as they look out over the scenic Venetian landscape.

According to legend, the Bar's proprietor Guiseppe Cipriani delighted in creating simple yet delicious dishes and cocktails using ingredients from neighboring areas (much like the current fresh and delightful return to "farm to table cooking"!).   Rumor has it, he particularly adored the regional specialty white peaches. He created a purée and combined it with Prosecco- the local sparkling white wine. For several years this house specialty was only available during the peak peach season (June-September) and all of the purée was handmade at the bar. As the technology became available to flash freeze the purée, the drink spread both to Harry's New York location and to year round availability.

In a way that seems just what I would expect from a Venetian establishment, the Bellini was named for a 15th century local artist- Giovanni Bellini- who featured a peachy pink color in his paintings that mirrors the color of a true Bellini.

Create your own Bellini with peach purée (from fresh or frozen peaches) and a traditional Italian Prosecco, and enjoy it this summer as you watch the sun set from your back porch. Bonus points if you read Breakfast at Tiffany's while you sip.

Salute!
Christine and Stacy

RECIPE 

One part peach purée

Two parts Prosecco

Serve in a chilled champagne flute

Kir: A Year of Cocktail-April

This month's cocktails (yes, it's a two for one!) are perfect for spring time brunches or afternoon garden parties. The color is a beautiful, springish purplely pink and the flavor is light and refreshing. 

The Kir, and it's cousin the Kir Royale, are classuc cocktails that should have been rediscovered long before now. The Kir was originated by Cannon Felix Kir- a priest, leader of the French Resistence in the Second World War, and later mayor of Dijon in the Burgundy region of France. There are some stories that indicate the drinks beginning as a result of the damage to French red wine vineyards during the war, but these seem to be more the stuff of legend than fact. What is clear, however, is Kir's preference for using and promoting local products. He created his namesake drink by mixing a local dry, acidic white wine with local creme de cassis (black currant) liquor LeJay Cassis. The Kir Royale then developed, using champagne as a base instead of white wine. 

The recipe is simple and can use any white wine, or champagne as long as it is dry and fairly acidic. In recent years the Kir has become a cloyingly sweet drink, but if mixed correctly it should give you the refreshing bite of the dry, acidic wine with just enough sweetness to temper it. 

RECIPE 

1 part creme de cassis liquor

4 parts chilled dry white wine or dry champagne

Pour the creme de cassis in first to get the best mix, and Enjoy!! 

Traditionally the Kir was an everyday drink, and the Kir Royale was for special occasions. We, of course, sampled both. If you like bubbly, I would strongly recommend the Kir Royale as your go to choice. It's no coincidence (thanks to Town and Country Magazine for this tidbit) that the same cassis buds used in making the liquor are used in Chanel no. 5.   Both, to me, exude a classic elegance that just can't go wrong. 

Bon Apetit!! 

Mimosa! A Year of Classic Cocktails - January

January - Mimosa

It's finally here!!  A New Year and the start of our Year of Classic Cocktails!!

Break out the Bubbly!! Who was up all night partying in the New Year?!  Who still hasn't gone to bed?! lolol  As champagne is the definite requisite New Year's libation, chances are, there's still some lurking around the house.  And now that it's morning, and the parties are winding down, well we certainly wouldn't want to waste anything.  So.... the perfect New Year's Morning drink?  Mimosa of course!  This classic is likely well known to all!

Legend has it that the Mimosa originated in Paris, in 1925 - created by a bar tender in the Ritz Hotel. It was named after the yellow/orange mimosa flower that is prevalent throughout much of Europe. My research indicates that it is much more likely that the Paris bartender "borrowed" the idea from Buck's Club in London where it was originated in 1925, and named Buck's Fizz. The Fizz is actually much more in line with a modern mimosa recipe- having two parts champagne to one part orange juice, while the French mimosa was an even mix of the two. The one thing that seems universally accepted is that the drink was popularized in the United States in the 1940's by Alfred Hitchcock!

If you've never made a mimosa, the official amounts are as follows, however one can really mix the parts according to preference.

Mimosa

6 oz. Brut Champagne

3oz. Orange Juice

Mix pre-chilled champagne and OJ in a champagne flute or goblet and enjoy! 

Cheers!

-Christine and Stacy 

A New Classic Cocktail will post on the 1st of each month!  Here's to classics and cool stories! 

Looking Forward, Looking Back

As the year draws to a close, it is a natural time for looking back and making plans for the future; a time for reflecting on experiences and lessons learned, a time for making resolutions. 

New Year's resolutions have been a staple of numerous traditions and cultures throughout history.  From the ancient Babylonians to the ancient Romans, and even through modern celebrations of the Jewish new year (Rosh Hashanah), many times the resolutions have a religious component.  Although the timing of these New Year celebrations differs, they all include a component of seeking forgiveness for wrongs done and vowing to do better in the coming year. Similarly during Chinese New Year the ill fate of the year before is literally swept away to make room for good fortune to come.  In modern American culture, resolutions have taken on a largely secular focus, often revolving around changing health habits or eliminating negative behaviors.  Available data seem to indicate a higher success rate for resolutions that are written down and/or shared. In that vein, we (Stacy and Christine) would like to take this time between Christmas and the New Year to reflect on where Out 2 Lunch has been this past year, and share some of our plans for the future...

2016 has been an interesting year for Out 2 Lunch and we have grown professionally and tried some new ideas. We have experimented with both product lines and sales venues, we have had some successes and some failures and learned from them all. We debuted some new products - most notably pendants created by disassembling and combining multiple pieces of vintage jewelry- and we have retired some of our originals as we streamlined our offerings. We now have a product line - clutches, jewelry and hair pins- that reflects where we are going as a company. We are focusing on those things that feed our artistic spirits; creating one of a kind items that meld the past and future, that combine beauty and function. While we plan on test marketing some new products in 2017, they will be sub-lines of these categories. 

Cheers to the New Year!!

We have also enjoyed exploring our passions this year, and sharing them with you via our Instagram account and this blog. In 2017 we hope to expand our Instagram account to create a virtual community of like-minded artisans, internationally as well as in our local markets of Richmond, Virginia and Raleigh, North Carolina. We have enjoyed finding and supporting other fabulous artisans and creators, and look forward to sharing the best of what we find. We are also continuing to develop this blog, and will be bringing you some fabulous guest bloggers in 2017- that share our passion for the beauty of vintage and hand made. We have found that, generally, things that have stood the test of time have a quiet quality that we prefer to flash in the pan trends. 

Over the past several months we have also been researching and trying some classic, vintage cocktails, as a counter to the trendy bar drinks that have been making the rounds. We will be sharing these drinks on the blog the 1st of every month, beginning on New Year's Day. Some of the drinks were in our common awareness, but we had never tried them, others were lost gems that we were thrilled to discover! Each post will share the back story (or stories in some cases), the recipe for the drink and other interesting information we have discovered. 

Make sure to follow the blog and our Instagram so that you don't miss out on any of the fun!! 

Instagram: out2lunchdesigns

Blog:  Well & Truly Out 2 Lunch

Happy New Year! and Cheers!
Stacy and Christine