Here are my 4 entries for the 2009 Grand Marnier/Navan Summit in Vail Colorado.

NORTHWOODS CORDIAL

2oz GRAND MARNIER
1 oz FRESH ORANGE JUICE
1 oz SPICED CRANBERRY SYRUP
1 DASH ANGOSTURA BITTERS

Shake all ingredients and strain into coupe

SUPPER CLUB COCKTAIL

2 oz GRAND MARNIER
1.5 oz FRESH PRESSED APPLE JUICE
.5 oz PIMENTO DRAM
1 DASH ANGOSTURA BITTERS

Shake all ingredients and strain into chilled 5oz Coupe glass Is great as a hot drink…heat apple juice and spiced syrup…increase quantity to 2.5 oz apple juice. Add Grand Marnier to hot drink mug and add hot spiced cider…cinnamon stick stirrer for garnish

GRAMMA’S YULEWEIN

2 oz GRAND MARNIER
2 oz FRESH PRESSED APPLE JUICE
2 oz FULL BODIED RED WINE
1 oz PIMENTO DRAM

In a sauce pan, heat red wine and apple juice. Add Grand Marnier and Pimento dram to mug…pour hot wine and apple juice into mug.

Garnish with Cinnamon stick

SNOW VIOLET

1 oz NAVAN
.5 oz CREME DE VIOLETTE
.5 oz LEMON JUICE
3 oz DEMI SEC CHAMPAGNE

Garnish with edible flower..violet or lemon twist

Chill Navan, Creme de violette, and lemon juice over ice…Strain into Champagne flute or Coupe…top with champagne and garnish.

I just created this cocktail for the ABSOLUT MANGO launch event in Chicago at the HOTEL SAX on January 26th, 2009.

It is a sweet and savory cocktail…I wanted a cocktail to go with spicy Indian food.

Mango is a very common ingredient in Indian cuisine. It also is wonderful in sweet and savory dishes and salads. I thought the pungent aromas blended with sweetness of ginger syrup and orange juice would combine beautifully with the savory of garam-masala and a touch of salt.

Onion and lime would also be good choices with mango.

1.5 oz ABSOLUT MANGO vodka
1.5oz Fresh Orange Juice
.75 oz Garam-Masala Scented Ginger syrup
a few grains of salt

Shake all ingredients and strain into chilled coupe or other cocktail glass…garnish with candied orange peel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evbbh-ZtX8k

I created this cocktail in the fall of 2008 for Lindsey Reisinger of MAESTRO DOBEL in Chicago.

I wanted it to be a sweet cordial.

1 oz MAESTRO DOBEL DIAMOND TEQUILA
.75 oz PINEAPPLE SYRUP
.5 oz DUBONNET ROUGE

Shake all ingredients and strain into small coupe or cordial glass.

I make Pineapple syrup with a base of rice vinegar syrup. To it I add the juice of a pureed fresh pineapple. I cook that down to a syrup. Allow to cool and add the rest of the pureed pineapple. Add fresh grated ginger for an amazing sweet and sour dipping sauce for egg rolls or other fried delicacies.

I created this cocktail two years ago.

Chocolatey, tropically warm feelings on a -40 degree windchill day in Chicago!

THE VERACRUZ

2 oz Partida Añejo Tequila
1 oz Benedictine
1 ½ oz Chile Ancho-Chocolate Sauce*

Shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish with Cinnamon stick.

*Ancho-Chocolate Sauce

Puree of chile ancho, Mexican chocolate and cinnamon.

rehydrate chiles…puree…double strain…puree should be smooth as silk with no skins. Melt mexican style chocolate with splash of milk and ancho chile puree…2 parts chocolate to one part chile…pinch of cinnamon to taste…

I recently had some friends at the bar and was paging through my new copy of The Essential Cocktail by Dale De Groff to maybe try something new, fun and sweeter for my friend Deborah from France…I love champagne cocktails and frequently use champagne or some other sparkling wine in my cocktails.

At the dinner Dale gave here in Chicago in conjunction with the release of his new book he made a sgroppino al limone….I never had one and really loved it..

Blending the sweet, the cream, and then the dry/acid of a sparkling prosecco was wonderful.

I thought this would be a good cocktail for her to try…but we didnt have any sorbetto…

I saw another cocktail titled Italian Egg Cream….amaretto, creme de cacao, cream and prosecco…i had the ingredients for this and tried it…she loved it!

It is actually a very good cocktail.

The sweetness of the amaretto and cacao are definitely offset by the prosecco creating a very nice balance to a fun and beautiful drink.

ITALIAN EGG CREAM

.75 oz AMARETTO
.75 oz WHITE CREME DE CACAO
1 oz HALF AND HALF
3 oz PROSECCO OR BRUT CHAMPAGNE

shake the first 3 ingredients well and strain into a flute or coupe.
top with sparkling wine…slowly so as not to create too much foam…use a straw or spoon to gently fold or mix the ingredients.

I served it with a straw…they preferred it for sipping on.