Desert Rose: A Sparkling Cinco de Mayo Cocktail Recipe

May 4, 2009
Fragrant guava nectar and cava sparkling wine make the Desert Rose a chic Cinco de Mayo drink. (Photo by Paul Body)

Fragrant guava nectar and cava sparkling wine make the Desert Rose a chic Cinco de Mayo drink. (Photo by Paul Body)

Whew, it’s been a busy cocktail week with Cinco de Mayo coming hot on the heels of Champagne Juleps for Derby Day this weekend!

Fortunately, I created this fun and fragrant sparkling tequila cocktail called The Desert Rose for my book The Bubbly Bar. It uses the same sweet-tangy-tequila formula as a margarita, but I thought a blend of guava and passion fruit juices would give this drink a tropical flair.

It gets its sparkle from cava, the sparkling wine from Catalonia in Spain, but any brut or dry sparkling wine would work. Segura Viudas makes several great and affordable cavas as does Cristalino. For a great in depth discussion of cava, check out this article from the Culinary Institute of America. Guava and passion fruit juices can be found in the juice aisle of any Asian or Latin grocery store.

Salud!

The Desert Rose

Makes 1 cocktail

In this sultry sparkling version of a margarita, guava nectar and passion fruit juice add the sweet-tart flavor that would ordinarily come from sour mix.

1 ounce guava nectar
1 ounce passion fruit juice
1 ounce tequila
½ ounce Grand Marnier
Juice of ½ lime
3 drops rose water (optional)
3 ounces dry or brut cava, chilled
1 key lime slice for garnish

Add guava and passion fruit juices, tequila, Grand Marnier, lime juice and rose water if using to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a margarita style glass. Top with the cava or sparkling wine. Garnish with lime.

Cocktail Recipes

Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: Champagne Julep

May 1, 2009

I discovered this recipe for the Champagne Julep while poring over the historic drink book called 173 Pre-Prohibition Cocktails. It’s based on a circa 1917 book called The Ideal Bartender, written by Tom Bullock, an African American bartender who was well-known around St. Louis and Chicago for his Claret Punches, Free Love Cocktails and juleps of all sorts. Bullock was one of the first celebrity mixologists and definitely the first African American one. George Herbert Walker (as in the 41st president’s grandpa) was one of his devoted patrons and so was beer baron August Busch.

Bullock’s julep became part of a scandalous national libel case, when former president Teddy Roosevelt sued a newspaper editor for calling him a drunk unfit to hold another public office. Roosevelt testified under oath that he had only had two alcoholic drinks in his entire life, including a few sips of one of Bullock’s juleps.

Newspaper editorials didn’t buy it, writing that the only part of the drink Roosevelt probably left behind was the ice, the mint and the metal cup. The jury did though, and Teddy won his libel suit.

Champagne Julep

Makes 1 cocktail

8 fresh mint leaves

2 teaspoons sugar

1 ounce brandy

4 ounces champagne

sprig of mint, for garnish

Bruise the mint leaves by rolling them between your fingers. Add the sugar, bruised mint leaves, and brandy to a rocks glass. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Fill the glass three-quarters full with crushed ice. Pour on the champagne. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Photo credit: Paul Body

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Champagne Kiss Controversy: Cast Your Vote, Get Some Chocolate

April 28, 2009
Jacques Torres Champagne Kisses

Jacques Torres Champagne Kisses

I’m not a huge fan of eating chocolate while sipping champagne — this decadent combo messes up the flavors of both. But I do love fine chocolate candies that get a little extra sparkle from a dose of bubbly.

French born pastry chef Jacques Torres in NYC makes all sorts of delicious candies at his Willy Wonka-esque chocolate shops in Brooklyn and Manhattan. One of the latest creations by Mr. Chocolate is the Champagne Kiss, smooth squares of imported chocolate adorned with a set of lipstick red lips.  He blends Taittinger Brut Prestige Rosé Champagne along with high quality milk and dark chocolate.

Apparently somebody in the Hershey Company’s legal department was having a very slooow day. The chocolate conglomerate sent a poison-pen letter to the chocolatier who became famous at Le Cirque telling him he might want to rename his candies something like Champagne Smooches or else! They say they’re worried that consumers might mistake Torres’ high end confections which cost $1.50 a piece for their sorta-chocolaty, silver foil-wrapped teardrops. Curiously, chocolate is the 4th ingredient in a Hershey’s Kiss according to this Official Snack Report by WASAW; the first three are sugar, milk and cocoa butter.

This graphic by the NY Post neatly explains why it would be rather challenging to mistake a Jacques Torres Champagne Kiss for one by Hershey's.

This graphic by the NY Post neatly explains why it would be rather challenging to mistake a Jacques Torres Champagne Kiss for one by the Hershey Company.

Despite the heat, Torres is refusing to melt and is fighting Hershey’s. He’s also giving away 10,000 kisses — sorry, the chocolate ones — to lucky visitors who stop by any of his three NYC chocolate shops in Dumbo, Hudson Square or the Upper West Side on April 29.

He’s also circulating a petition online, asking supporters to sign on so he can save his Champagne Kisses. In case you need help figuring out why this chocolaty contretemps matters to you, anyone signing gets a coupon for a free sample of Torres chocolates.

The Bubbly Girl’s Drink of the Week: Angel Eyes at La Puerta

April 24, 2009
The Angel Eyes uses Ronsangel hibiscus infused tequila and the vintage liqueur Creme de Violette.

The Angel Eyes uses Rosangel hibiscus infused tequila and the vintage liqueur Creme de Violette.

With spring turning into summer — at least in San Diego — it seemed the perfect time for a fresh floral cocktail. I love the complexity and hint of mystery that floral flavors add to cocktails. When they’re used with champagne, the bubbles take those wonderful scents into the air and add another dimension to the experience.

Rosangel is a new hibiscus infused tequila by Gran Centenario that has a subtle floral flavor and just happens to be a gorgeous shade of pink. Jennifer Queen, the head bartender at the hip Mexican restauant La Puerta in San Diego, uses Rosangel and a vintage liqueur called Creme de Violette to craft a seductive champagne cocktail she calls Angel Eyes. If pink, hibiscus flavored tequila strikes your fancy, then check out the gallery of Rosangel recipes like a Rosangel Ruby Fizz from Julier Reiner and other top mixologists from around the nation.

ANGEL EYES

1 ½ oz. Gran Centenario Rosangel Tequila

½ oz. Creme de Violet

½ oz. Agave nectar

4-5 Muddled Blackberries

Squeeze of Lemon

Rosé Champagne

Preparation: Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and fine strain into a Champagne flute.

Top with Rosé Champagne and garnish with a sprig of mint.

From Jennifer Queen, La Puerta in downtown San Diego