the daily muddle - recipes

Whether you’re hanging in or dining out, cocktails are always a fun idea.  Liquid Architecture founder Kim Haasarud shows us how easy it is to make cocktails at home, using fresh produce from places like Marina Farms, Los Angeles.

The 26th Marie Brizard International Cocktail Challenge Final and International Bartender Seminar took place in Bordeaux, France early last December. After holding qualifying series around the world over the past year, 36 competitors, representing 30 nations were invited to Bordeaux for the finals.

The most awarded Brazilian bartender, Rogerio Rabbit, who finished 3rd last year at this same competition, came to the 2008 edition with a Leblon recipe. Rabbit has created the cocktail menus for great bars in São Paulo, such as Café Journal and Banana Café.

Rabbit went through the first round, finishing first of his group, with a Leblon cocktail.

The Brazilian Soul of Marie

4cl Leblon Cachaça
2cl Marie Brizard Anisette
1cl Marie Brizard limoncini
8 Pieces fresh white grapes
5 Fresh basil leaves

On the 2nd and last day of the challenge, the final 8 competitors went to Chateau du Taillan, outside Bordeaux. The 2nd round worked on a “mystery ingredient box” basis, where competitors had to demonstrate creativity and flexibility on a short length of time. The goal was to create one cocktail in no more than 7 minutes with the ingredients from the box. Rabbit won against Maxime Hoerth, from the George V Hotel in Paris, Maxime who also choose Leblon as main ingredient on his original recipe on the 1st round.

On the 3rd round and Ultimate Final, the last 4 bartenders had a larger “mystery box” and this time the goal was to create 3 different cocktails within 10 minutes with a previous 5 minute set up.

The final result of last years competition was:
Gold Award: José Abarullo, Venezuela
Silver Award, Rogerio Rabbit, Brazil
Bronze Award, Jan Schaefer, Germany
4th place: Kolodziej Bartlomiej, Poland

The wind is blowing, the ghosts are scaring and DJ Love at the Drawing Room is mixing up some tasty Halloween cocktails.  In the famed Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago we find ourselves mesmerized by these hauntingly delicious cocktails.  One in particular is the Pumpkin Caipirinha and the recipe is as simple as a witch’s brew of eyes, tongues, lizard tails and a dash of cobwebs…. seriously here it is;

1 ½ oz. Leblon Cachaca
½ Lime
½ oz. agave nectar
1 ½ oz. Pumpkin Puree
½ oz. Canton

Cut lime and place in a shaker with agave nectar and muddle. Add crushed ice, Leblon Cachaça, pumpkin puree and Canton in the shaker. Shake well and garnish with nutmeg, pumpkin flesh twist and lime wheel.

Although this cocktail will not promise to turn your worst enemy into a warlock it will send your taste buds on an evocative tour of Halloweens past.

As the end of summer draws near we find ourselves sitting around our bbq thinking of fun new recipes for Leblon. All of a sudden I realized the ice in my Caipirinha was all melted. As I was grabbing a little more ice to freshen up my drink, an idea crystalized. ‘How about a Caipirinha on a Stick?!’ All I could think of was enjoying frozen fruit ice pops with this grown up twist. Now the only question was to decide on a flavor.

We called up Junior Merino, our friend and famed bar chef, to help on the realization of this exciting new summer venture. Junior came up with a mouth watering Frozen Caip on a stick; here it is:

LEBLON-LYCHEE POPSICLE
1 1/2 oz. Leblon Cachaça
4 oz. coconut water
a pinch of coconut shavings
1 oz. simple syrup
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. Boiron Lychee Puree

Mix all ingredients in a mixing glass. Pour into your favorite popsicle mold (Bed Bath & Beyond sells a few) you could add pomegranate seeds for a cool effect.

To make a batch of popsicles simply multiply the ingredients by the number that you wish to make. Put in the freezer and enjoy.

It was brought to our attention that Beverage Industry News had recently written a great article on 10 Trendsetting Mixologists. One of these trendsetting mixologist was Ted Kilgore. Here is an excerpt from one of our conversations with this creative mixologist:

How did you come up with the name, Blood & Samba?

The name and the drink Blood & Samba is a riff on the classic Blood & Sand cocktail. The original Blood & Sand was made with equal parts scotch, cherry heering, sweet vermouth, and orange juice. I traded out the scotch for cachaça, and voila! The Blood & Samba was born! It’s a great way to get people to try cachaça if they’ve never had it before, and I love having people try out new cocktail experiences!

What is Cherry Heering?

Cherry Heering is a cherry liqueur made in Denmark. They’ve been using the same wonderful recipe for their cherry liqueur since 1818.

Why did you choose Leblon for this cocktail?

As for why I chose Leblon, let me stress that I feel that you can’t have a quality cocktail without starting with quality ingredients. For example, this is why I always use freshly squeezed lemon juice with simple syrup instead of sweet-n-sour mix. To put it simply, Leblon is by far the best cachaça available to me here in St. Louis! That’s why it makes such a delicious Blood & Samba!

Dawn grew up on the Southside of Chicago – ‘in the ghetto,’ as she called it. She moved to New Orleans a few years back and has been a bartender for four years here at the Old Absynthe House located here in the French Quarter on Bourbon Street. She says she’s ’seen it all’ here at the Absynthe, and she has some great stories, thoughts, and cocktail recipes. Make sure you try her Sazerac and Ramos Fizz, and certainly try this recipe that she created for us: the ‘Crescent City Green Dawn.’ Made with 1.5 ounces of Leblon, a half ounce of La Fée Absynthe (which she says is one of the smoothest), and half a lime muddled with 6 square cubes of sugar (and a splash of water). She serves this drink shaken in a rocks glass with crushed ice, and it’s out of this world!

The dreaded holidays (and the weight gain that inevitably accompanies them) are nearly upon us! Christmas, for instance, is just around the corner—and it seems that little miniature candy canes are lurking around every bend, tempting you. They’re everywhere—at the drycleaners, behind the receptionist’s desk in your office, in the lobby of your building—you just can’t escape them! If you’re going to survive this holiday season and still be able to fit into your favorite pair of skinny jeans, you’re going to have to ditch the sugar rush and indulge in a Pomegranate Frost.

The Pomegranate Frost Caipirinha
1 oz. Leblon Cachaça
1 oz. Pomegranate
4 drops Rosewater
A splash of Champagne

Pour the Leblon, pomegranate juice and rosewater into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a champagne flute. Top with champagne.

Leanne Shear and Tracey Toomey met behind the bar many years ago, and amidst the craziness of the “scene” in Manhattan and the Hamptons, managed to co-author the novel The Perfect Manhattan, released by Random House in 2005. These days, instead of slinging drinks to pay the bills, they’re writing and business partners: their second book, Cocktail Therapy, was released by Simon and Schuster’s Spotlight Entertainment division in August. Branded as bar psychologists and experts in human behavior—not to mention mixologists—they also freelance for several magazines and newspapers including Glamour, Life & Style, Runner’s World, Item, the Huffington Post, and Hamptons.

Shaken or Stirred? Superfine, Regular, or Brown Sugar – or Simple Syrup? Club Soda?
These are the ethical dilemmas that a Caipirinha creator will
encounter. All are very good questions indeed. Let’s try and tackle
them… Shaken or Stirred: stir if you want to be a
traditionalist – and have the patience to properly mix the ingredients
(at least 20 to 30 seconds); shake if you want to quickly get the
ingredients melting and melding fast (i.e. you ADD types). Type of Sugar:
Similar situation: superfine for traditionalists; simple syrup for the
greatest probability of dissolve; brown sugar for a twist (a lot of the
‘bar chefs’ dig this), and sugar only if you have to. And Splenda
works great for any of you carb-counting freaks like me. Club soda:
not if you want to claim 100% “that’s not how it’s done in Brazil;”
however, like the Mojito, it brings some aromatics, some mouthfeel, and
if you like that sensory effect, go for it!

Tyler has been making these Caipirinhas in the back kitchen these past couple weeks, and finally we convinced him that they were ready for the world. He just scribbled down two recipes which will knock your socks off – better than his hand-writing!

Tyler’s First Caipirinha That He Made For Us:

Muddle two Tangerine segments with one tablespoon of Honey. Add ice, 1.5 ounces Guava Juice (Goiabada!), 1 ounce of Heavy Cream, and 2.5 ounces of LEBLON. add a splash of Cointreau (use the good stuff – no triple sec!). Shake well. Strain. And serve in a chilled Martini glass.

Tyler’s Second Caipirinha Caipirinha That He Made For Us:

Muddle three strawberries with 1.5 ounces of Sugar. Add ice, 0.5 ounces of Coconut Cream, 1 ounce of Heavy Cream, and 2.5 ounces of LEBLON. add a splash of Grand Marnier (Grandma!). Shake well. Strain and serve up in a chilled Martini Glass.

Some recipes taste great to the naked eye…

drop two tears in the glass
stir with bitters
2.5 oz of leblon
twist of lemon

drink slowly while thinking of snow in the mountains

Kevin and I were recently on a trip from Miami to Key West, and visited an amazing Churrascaria: Braza Lena in Islamorada, Florida. Our friend Lisa was just there, and said that they are now serving Leblon, with a new menu which includes their Classic Caipirinha and Fresh Fruit Caipirinhas (including strawberry and mango, and the caipi-cola). Michelle knows! And, Dane the Bartender came out with two special Caipirinhas, and has provided the recipes to those folks who can’t make it to Florida and the Keys this weekend…

Cachaça Colada

1 3/4 oz Leblon Cachaça
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Pina Colada mix
Fresh muddled limes and a splash of simple syrup

Chambord Caipirinha

1 3/4 oz Leblon Cachaça
1/2 oz Chambord
Fresh muddled limes and sugar
Splash simple syrup

Both served on the rocks

The Year of the Caipirinha has arrived, and now is the time to make your New Year’s Resolution with a fabulous Leblon Caipirinha toast. To help you with this endeavor, we have a great Pineapple Caipirinha Infusion recipe that we have added as our Caipirinha of the Month for January.