The Bubbly Girl

Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: Amelie at The Edison in LA

July 18, 2009

The Amelie is one of the champagne cocktails at The Edison Room in LA. (Photo by Maria C. Hunt)

After months of anticipation, I finally managed to be in LA on a night when The Edison was open, so I went to check it out. Of course, a lot of the key people were away at cocktail conference in New Orleans, but you can’t always get what you want.

I walked a short distance into an alley near Second Ave. and Spring Street and immediately saw two big bouncers and a hostess in a long vintage style beaded dress. Once inside, I spotted a shoeshine guy in vintage attire; he sat in a room ringed in art Nouveau style iron work. The main part of the spacious bar is down a long, nearly two-story staircase. Casting a dim glow over the lower floor was a trippy hanging light made up of Tungsten filament bulbs and old blue glass insulators that spiraled down for what seemed like forever.

This unique light fixture at The Edison in LA features tungsten filament bulbs and vintage glass insulators. (Photo by Maria C. Hunt)

The voluminous bar is in the basement of an old private power plant; big metal structures that look like burners and furnaces are still in place, with low velvety banquettes and sofas set around them. Light is a recurring theme at the Edison, in the decor and even down to cocktail skewers in the shape of little light bulbs.

Part of the reason I wanted to visit was because I knew from conversations with Edison Spirits Director Aidan Demarest that the Edison loved champagne and sparkling cocktails. Demarest said that bubbly has a beguiling quality that tempts visitors to try other ingredients they’ve never tasted before. As you might expect, the bartenders dress in shirts, ties and vests and greet guests with a politesse not found a most bars in LA. The drink menu is labeled a Catalogue of Parts; inside I found drinks like the Absinthe 75, made with the licorice flavored green spirit; and The Mistress, a flirty drink with pomegranate syrup and champagne.

But since it’s spring I decided to try a the Amelie, a seasonal strawberry sparkling cocktail that’s new on the list. Demarest was even kind enough to share the recipe below. I sipped the fresh, cool Amelie and then got on to my next appointment, unfortunately before the 8:30 aerial dance and acrobatic show. I plan to go back on July 28 for the special event called Radio Room, when Demarest will be working behind the bar and treating guests to some of his electrifying cocktails while a unique cabaret style show that includes AiRealistic unfolds above.

The Amelie

2 fresh strawberries, hulled
2 cucumber slices
1-1/2 ounces white rum
3/4 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce honey syrup (equal parts honey and water blended)
float of champagne
In a cocktail mixing glass, muddle the strawberries and cucumber slices. Add the rum, lime juice and honey syrup and ice. Shake until well chilled then strain into a tall, Collins style glass filled with ice. Top with a float of champagne. Serve with a straw.
From The Edison Room in Los Angeles

Cocktail Recipes, Pop Culture

Celebrate Bastille Day with a Kir Royale!

July 14, 2009

Quel horreur! Francophile that I am, the Bubbly Girl has been so busy today that she nearly forgot the significance of July 14. I might have forgotten completely if not for this timely wine lifestyle email called The Daily Sip from Bottlenotes. It’s Bastille Day, the day when French people celebrate independence. I was just in France

(Photo by Maria C. Hunt)

in May for a champagne story in Champagne and stayed near the Bastille.

Of course, I also made sure to have a Kir Royale, a blend of the black currant liqueur creme de cassis and champagne, which is one of my favorite classic champagne cocktails. I cannot believe I paid 12 euro for this teensy tiny Kir Royale at a cafe near the Louvre Museum. I savored every drop.

The drink has story behind it too; as I detail in The Bubbly Bar, my champagne and sparkling wine cocktail book that’s being released on Aug. 25.

It was named after Felix Kir, the mayor of Dijon, France who played an important role in the French Resistance. Actually there are two wine cocktails named after Felix. The Kir pairs dry white wine with crème de cassis. But add Champagne, and it becomes a Royale. To make your own Kir Royale, add a tablespoon of crème de cassis to a glass of cold brut champagne or sparkling wine. Twist a strip of lemon peel over the glass — this is important! — and drop it in.

Santé!

Cocktail Recipes, Travel

Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: Strawberry Fields at W San Diego

July 10, 2009

The elegant Strawberry Fields cocktail at the W Hotel San Diego tastes just like wild Italian strawberries. (Photo by Maria Hunt)

On my first visit to Venice in northern Italy, I discovered fragolini di bosco, the tiny, aromatic wild strawberries. They’re also prized in France, where they’re known as fraises des bois. Adored for their unique perfumed aroma and curious crunchy texture, these berries once grew wild in the woods. Now they’re carefully cultivated by discerning farmers, including the ones at Chino Farm in Rancho Santa Fe.

This May, hundreds lined up for a taste of Berthillon ice cream in flavors like wild honey, fraise de bois and blackberry. (Photo by Maria Hunt)

Visiting Europe in late spring, I always try to get my wild strawberry fix. I got a taste in Paris when I walked over to the Ile Ste. Louis on an extraordinarily hot day for an an ice cream cone from the famous Berthillon. The passion fruit sorbet was exquisite, but the main event was the soft pink fraise de bois sorbet that had a fragrant almost nutty flavor, and was studded with frozen berries. But since it was an extraordinarily hot day, the line for ice cream was extraordinarily long, so I didn’t go back again. And then when I got to Puglia in southern Italy, I couldn’t find my little strawberries at all; it was already cherry season.

So I was delighted back here in San Diego to discover the Strawberry Fields cocktail at the W Hotel San Diego downtown. The simple libation stars Fragoli, an imported Italian liqueur made with wild strawberries. It captured their taste perfectly and in fact, has little freeze-dried wild strawberries floating in the bottle.

To make a Strawberry Fields at home, mix 1-1/2 ounces of Fragoli with 4 ounces of chilled Veuve Clicquot champagne. The sweet, low-alcohol liqueur from Emilia -Romagna would be delicious with the Italian sparkling wine prosecco, or even over berries or ice cream.

Since it’s kind of a boutique item, Fragoli can be hard to find in retail stores. It can, however be ordered from the Toschi company’s Fragoli web site; the best price I found on it was at New York state mail-order liquor stores Mid Valley Wine and Market View Liquor that sell Fragoli for about $24.

Fragoli has been around for a while, but was recently re-introduced with new packaging. (Courtesy photo)

Belvedere (Bubbly) Girls Night Out Contest & The Midnight Rosé Fizz: The Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week

July 3, 2009

The Midnight Rosé Fizz features blackberries, Belvedere black raspberry vodka and rosé champagne. (Photo by The Bubbly Girl)

The Midnight Rosé Fizz features muddled fresh blackberries, Belvedere black raspberry vodka and rosé champagne. (Photo by The Bubbly Girl)

I was more than a little intrigued when I heard about the new Belvedere Black Raspberry Vodka nicknamed Maceration. First I was surprised that a somewhat obscure culinary term was chosen as the buzz word for this new spirit that is flavored with fresh raspberries.

In case you didn’t know, maceration is what you’re doing when you let fruit sit in brandy overnight before making sangria. The liquor makes the fruit soften and release its flavors.

But the part about the new Belvedere vodka that really caught my attention was the Girl’s Night Out Contest. The winner and seven friends will be treated to a night out in a city near their home that includes being whisked around in a limo, dinner at a fine dining restaurant and an overnight at a posh hotel suite. The winner will also get to use a white leather and metallic Jonathan Kelsey Belvie Bag like the one shown below. Other prizes include a day at luxury spa. The contest is open to women 21 and over through July 31.

The Belvie bag by designer Jonathan Kelsey was made in a very limited edition of just 100. (Courtesy photo)

Whether you win or not, try making the Midnight Rosé Fizz, a maceration-style summer cocktail shown above.

Midnight Rosé Fizz
3 fresh blackberries
dash agave nectar
3/4 oz Belvedere Black Raspberry vodka
Dash Peychaud bitters
3 to 4 ounces brut rose sparkling wine or champagne

Muddle berries with a dash of agave syrup. Shake with the bitters and vodka in a cocktail shaker filled with ice until well-chilled. Pour into a champagne flute and top with rosé sparkling wine or champagne. Garnish with a rose petal or other edible greenery.

Belvedere Black Raspberry is made by soaking fruit in vodka. (Courtesy Photo)

The Best Red, White and Blue Berry Drinks for the 4th of July

June 30, 2009

A martini with Strawberry Rosemary Lemonade (Photo by Maria Hunt)

A martini with Strawberry Rosemary Lemonade and a blooming sprig of fresh rosemary (Photo by Maria Hunt)

I thought it would a fun challenge to create three summer berry cocktails – one red, one white and one blue – for the 4th of July. So I went out and bought every type of berry I could- raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries- along with white cherries and got to work.

July is National Berry Month and right now all these berries are super sweet and very affordable, even the organic ones from Driscoll, a huge family owned berry company in central California. Besides being delicious, berries are one of nature’s superfoods. They’re low in calories and packed with Vitamin C, fiber and all sorts of antioxidants, plant substances that fight ailments like cancer, heart disease and high blood pressure. Studies have shown that the purplish-blue hue of blueberries and blackberries means they have particular helpful plant chemicals, while red berries like strawberries and raspberries are loaded with other good antioxidants.

The RED cocktail is a Strawberry Rosemary Lemonade that started with a simple syrup flavored with fresh rosemary from my garden mixed with juice from fresh organic strawberries. It’s easier if you have a juicer, but if you don’t just puree the berries in a blender and strain. Once you’ve created this syrup, you’ll find it useful as a base for all manner of drinks or to drizzle over vanilla ice cream. Start with 1.5 ounces of Strawberry Rosemary Syrup and, according to your taste:

Mix with sparkling water for a tangy Italian style soda
Add regular water for lemonade
Add water and freeze the lemonade to make popsicles.
Drizzle it into a glass of champagne or sparkling wine
Mix with 2 ounces gin, vodka or white rum and shake over ice to create a martini
Blend with 2 ounces tequila and ice to make an unforgettable margarita

Strawberry Rosemary Lemonade
Makes 3 cups syrup

1 cup fresh strawberry juice
1 cup lemon and/or lime juice
1 cup Rosemary Syrup (see below)

Combine the strawberry juice with the lime or lemon juice and the Rosemary Syrup. Pour into a clean bottle and cap. Syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week. To make Rosemary Syrup, mix two cups water with one cup granulated sugar in a pot over medium heat. Bring it to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add needles from 4 sprigs fresh rosemary and simmer for a couple minutes, then turn off the heat and let sit for 30 minutes. Strain the syrup.

Berry White Elderflower Sangria (Photo by Maria C. Hunt)

White Elderflower Berry Sangria (Photo by Maria C. Hunt)

The WHITE cocktail is a White Elderflower Berry Sangria that’s spiked with St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur made from these fragrant white flowers that bloom in the French Alps and every berry I could find. The bitters add a note of complexity while the lemon juice keeps it from being too sweet. The secret to good sangria is time. The fruit needs time to sit in the liqueur and absorb its flavors and vice versa, so if at all possible, start your sangria the day before you plan to serve it.

White Elderflower Berry Sangria
Makes 6 servings

1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1 cup white cherries, halved and pitted
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup blackberries
1 cup St. Germain White Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 cup gin or vodka
1/4 cup orange liqueur like Cointreau
1/4 cup Homemade Sour Mix (see Recipes page)
2 teaspoons orange bitters
1 bottle brut sparkling wine, well-chilled
handful fresh mint, torn

Add the strawberries, raspberries, cherries, blueberries and blackberries to a large pitcher. Top with the St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, gin or vodka and orange liqueur. Let sit for a few hours in the refrigerator or overnight if possible. Or if you’re in a hurry, add the sour mix, orange bitters and sparkling wine to the pitcher. Add a cup of crushed ice. Top with the freshly torn mint and serve by ladling some fruit into each glass and then pouring sangria on top.

The Blue Basil Fizz (photo by Maria C. Hunt)

The Blue Basil Fizz with a African Blue Basil garnish (photo by Maria C. Hunt)

The BLUE drink isn’t technically blue as that shade really doesn’t exist in nature. The Blue Basil Fizz is more of an inky purple thanks to all those antioxidants in blackberries and blueberries. These berries shine when mixed with Chambord black raspberry liqueur imported from France and muddled with fresh basil. Top it off with prosecco, the light sparkling wine from Italy for the refreshing fizz.

Blue Basil Fizz
Makes 1 cocktail
6 blueberries
4 blackberries
3 leaves basil
splash Homemade Sour Mix (see Recipes page)
1 ounce Chambord
3 to 4 ounces prosecco, well chilled
sprig basil for garnish
drinking straw (optional)

In a heavy pint glass or mixing glass, add the blueberries, blackberries, basil and Homemade Sour Mix. Muddle until the mixture is very pulpy and fragrant. Pour it into a tall Collins style glass. Add the Chambord and fill three-quarters with ice. Top off with prosecco and garnish with the sprig of basil and a straw.

Cocktails created by Maria Hunt aka The Bubbly Girl, author of The Bubbly Bar: Champagne & Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion on Amazon.com