DIY Crème de Violette

Spring is here and so is the first wave of fresh ingredients.

Homemade violet liqueur can be made right now and for the next week or two in Ontario. 

But don't do it!

This might look tempting but you should not make this recipe.

If you live in a part of the world where you can purchase violet liqueur or even a violet syrup, do that. 

Seriously, this is one for the folks in Ontario or other places in the world where it isn't available for purchase. It is insane to try to collect eleventy hundred pounds of flowers to make a cup of liqueur. But for people who love it and aren't able to buy it, this is one way to get the flavour at home. You can also buy candied or dry violets, the rest of the recipe will remain the same.

I've been waiting a year to post this after having missed the violets last year by a week. Then it almost happened again. A while a ago I wrote about having a friend that gifts me amazing things from her garden. This time it was a huge whack of fresh violets, that she spent a day picking and delivered right to my door. I then set about ruining them. I spent the rest of the week feeling terrible that I wasted my friend's time and effort and trying to figure out how to get more violets.

I was wavering between giving up and giving in to theft, my neighborhood is full of violets right now. Every garden and lawn seemed to have them but mine, until today. This morning a patch bloomed on the far side of the house and I set to work gathering the flowers and carefully removing them from their stems. (I also have my eye on the all of the fruit blossoms around and I'm not yet fully resolved to stay within my moral boundaries...)



The violet petals need to be preserved in vodka right away to protect the flavour and freshness. After they steep, an equal part of simple syrup is added and that's it. It is actually a very simple recipe, it's the timing and delicate care of the flowers that is somewhat tricky.

If you're unsure because you've never had it, ask yourself this; Do you like Thrills gum? If like me you are compelled to purchase it every time you see it because you can never get it enough, then this will be worth it. If you are among those to whom violet chicle tastes like soap, perhaps you'll want to try this week's cocktail without any Violette or substitute with a floral liqueur you prefer, something like the elderflower in St. Germain. I hold no judgement for the haters. If you asked me to make a liqueur with lavender, I might die. Just the thought of it makes my stomach churn and my head ache. Use ingredients and flavours you like, as you would when you're cooking, you'll have a much higher rate of success.

The Porter
1 1/2 oz gin
1/4 oz Creme de Violette*
1/4 oz Maraschino liqueur
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz egg white

Method
Add all ingredients to shaker, fill 3/4 with cracked ice. Shake vigorously for no less than 30 seconds. Stain into chilled Coupette. Garnish with fresh violets or a cherry.

This cocktail is only a slight variation on a classic gin cocktail the Aviation.
I've added some egg white for texture and switched out the cherry garnish in favour of fresh violets. 




DIY Creme de Violette
2 C violet petals, no stems
1/2 C vodka, 40% abv or above
1/2 C simple syrup

Method
Place petals in mason jar add vodka. Infuse for 8 hours. Add cool simple syrup, tighten lid, turn gently a few times. Let rest in fridge for 72 hours. Strain and return to jar, store in fridge.  






Do you love a product that you just can't get where you live? Leave it in the comments and I might just be able to help you DIY.

MXMO ~ DRINK OF SHAME

Some hard truth, it was not easy to narrow this down to one.

Yes, even when I choose the theme myself, I still find the challenges tough. 

This month after a year of participating in Mixology Monday I decided to try hosting one. I had read two articles back to back, this one by David Wondrich and another by Jeffery Mongenthaler. There was some debate between the mentor and mentee as to whether or not we should be reviving the old drinks or just leaving them to rot in the compost bin. I'm clearly in the revival camp. I've done a few over the last year and I'm all for second chances and shedding the shame.

There have been several drinks that I'm guilty of loving despite their bottom shelf status, but none that I drank with as much pleasure as a Vodka & Cranberry. I believe it's more popularly known as a Cape Cod, but that would have added too much class to my order. No, I opted instead to shorten it to Vodka Cran and I think I can hear distant memories of myself saying, "I'm jus' gonna have Vodka Cran", like I was doing the bartender a favour. Imagine a lame 90's meme where I'm a cross between Brenda from 90210 and Ricky Lake, and I'm definitely wearing cranberry coloured, matte lipstick.

I also have to admit that I love the drink so much that this is in fact the second time I'm remixing it. The first time was for a publication with a very diverse audience, they require the recipes to be as simple as possible. One of the reasons Mixology Monday is so useful, it forces you to think in a particular framework. The recipes I write for publication, often have specific parameters so it's very good practice. Part of my own mandate here on Tipicular is similar, I'm trying to connect home bartenders with modern mixology, so I try to keep it simple but educate as well. 

In order to remove all shame from this drink, I'm going to start with a cooked shrub, a great method to learn, that can be made with many fruits and is useful for adding acid balance to your drinks. A cranberry shrub is the perfect element for adding sweet, tart cranberry flavour while retaining the casual element of the drink.

This hot method for making shrubs is fast but it needs to carefully watched. The sugar needs to dissolve, and the cranberries need to soften and run but cooking it for too long will overly thicken it and dull the flavours. These were frozen, fresh won't be available until October. Don't forget the salt and pepper. 

I wanted to retain the essence of the drink so the vodka was a must but I when  I tried it with both a lime and a raisin vodka, neither worked. Sometimes less is more. The addition of some orange, a natural flavour match to cranberry and some aromatic bitters, bring this drink back to life. Also, perhaps due to age, I had to lighten the drink with soda. This is now a modern drink, perfect for a cottage weekend. Once pre-made, the shrub travels well and vodka is always an easy sell for the lake crowd. 

The New Brunswick
1 1/2 oz vodka
1/4 oz dry curaçao
1 1/4 oz Cranberry Shrub*
2 drops Peychaud's bitters
5 oz soda

Method
Add first four ingredients to a shaker, fill 3/4 with ice and shake to combine. Strain into a double old fashioned filled with cracked ice, top with soda. Garnish with frozen cranberries.






Cranberry Shrub
1 C cranberries
1 C sugar
1/2 C red wine vinegar
1/2 C white vinegar
s&p

Method
Add all ingredients to a heavy bottom sauce pan. Over medium heat, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 10 mins or until berries burst when stirred. Remove from heat, cool and strain. Shelf stable.



A huge Thanks to Mixology Monday, this was so much fun. (The posts are staring to come in, and they are awesome!)

Most important is the virgin  slut behind the party, Thank you Fred!

Do you have shameful drink secret? Let me know in the comments below. Maybe I can help!

LINGONDRYCK ~ COCKTAIL HOUR AT IKEA

Does anyone else love the Lingonberry drink at Ikea?

Glass and cutting board are both Ikea

I sometimes make up excuses to go to Ikea just so that I can get one. And by one I mean I fill a cup when I get in the door, refill it after walking through the showroom, it's very dry in there, and then one more fill up for the ride home. (start the car! start the car!)

The fountain version you get at the Ikea stores isn't even juice. It's sugary, red crack-dryck, and I love it! Similar to cranberries, lingonberries don't have much natural sweetness and are usually processed with sugar. I was given some of the syrup as a gift. Then, I also received some wild lingonberry preserve. It's the real deal, sour and tangy, closer to the whole foods I prefer to work with. Both can be purchased at Ikea, although I've used a different brand of preserves today.

This is from their website.

There is no way I could resist pulling these together for a new recipe. I'm still in a produce dead zone here so I have to make the most of syrups and preserves until the fresh stuffs begin to arrive. Just the thought of this one is reviving my will to get through the last days of cold.

The natural match for this would be Akvavit but alas here in Ontario, that's not going to happen. So you can steep some vodka with caraway seeds, I found a large sachet of caraway at a Polish deli in my neighborhood for $1.89. It's somewhere in between fennel and cumin. If you've ever been to Buffalo, NY, these are the seeds on top of the bun used for Beef on Weck. If this seems like too much effort for a drink made with Ikea jam, just use Absolute vodka, the most popular brand in Sweden. You'll miss out on the earthy and anise flavours from the caraway but you still get an easy, refreshing berry drink.

Yep, this plate is also from Ikea.
No, I'm not working for them.
I just really like lingonberry.

Please don't skip the bitters. If you're new to home bar tending I must encourage you to start purchasing bitters. Having bitters is essential to making great drinks. If you tried to cook without any spices in your cupboard you wouldn't get very far. Consider bitters to be your drink spices. Try one that's easy to find (Angostura) or test a few to find one that you really like.

If you're not yet a believer, here's the moment to try. This drink is an easy one, so try making the drink without the bitters, then add them in, one drop at a time and see how it changes the entire experience. A somewhat ordinary berry drink will take on extra dimensions and be elevated to a new level.

I used a light and citrusy variety because I thought it would be complimentary to the berries. But, go ahead and try one that is dark and spicy, or one that happens to have your favourite flavour in it. (vanilla bitters would work really well in this one too)




Lingondryck 

1.5 oz Akvavit or Caraway Vodka
1 oz lingonberry syrup
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 tsp lingonberry preserve
2-3 drops orange bitters

3 oz soda

Method 
Add all ingredients excepting soda, to a shaker, fill 3/4 with cracked ice. Shake vigorously for no less than 30 seconds to incorporate preserves. Double strain into a double old fashioned glass (or any glass from Ikea!) filled with cracked ice. Top with soda. Garnish with dollop of preserve and fresh lime zest.













If anyone in Sweden is reading this, I'm sorry. Try to imagine making a Canadian drink for the first time without thinking about whiskey or maple syrup...

OLGA'S INFERNO

I'm a lucky gal, this has been a pretty good season for produce gifts.

This week a huge bunch of mint, with the roots intact, was delivered to my door. It's already been planted. My garden is grateful, so am I.

And, my beautiful neighbor joined a canning co-op. Each participant canned a different item. There is a big party where you get to try all of the goodies, and then you get to take home one of each. So fun. She told me she really joined (and took on a ton of work) because a talented friend was bringing jars of a garlic eggplant spread she loves, and she wanted a jar of her own. I have to admire spirit like that!

She was contributing a hot chili chutney, so she found a local supplier and purchased a case of fiery peppers. She did not need a whole case.

As a result, I received a half case of long red chilis. They were a beautiful, deep red with most of the heat at the front, tapering off fairly quick. I haven't had their Scoville units tested but they're hot, maybe a 7.5 out of 10.

I can't let a gift go to waste, but these peppers go a long way and I have a huge amount. I have whittled down the pile by starting with a few items that would be useful for a cocktail. It was hard to narrow the possibilities, but I decided to make a vinegar style hot sauce and a spicy shrub (more on that later). Making those gave me two bi-products which I also really liked, a refrigerator pickle and an antipasto.

Something about being around the chilis has got me fired up and I think we need to make a really bold recipe to go with them. It's the end of summer and I think it's only fitting that we have a Tiki drink before it's gone. I'm also getting down to the last of the local melons. I'm not bracing for winter yet but I am a little sad to see them go. Here, they refresh against the heat of the hot sauce.



Olga's Inferno
1 C watermelon, cubed & frozen
2 oz fresh pineapple juice
1 1/2 oz Russian Vodka
1/2 oz light rum
1/4 oz fresh lime juice
1 tsp Honey Hot Sauce*
3-4 drops Peychaud's bitters


Method
Add all ingredients to a blender, mix on medium until just smooth. Pour into your favourite Tiki mug, garnish elaborately 






I think it's important to remember to experiment. This drink has quite a few ingredients in it and it's very well balanced. That being said, not every ingredient is around all of the time. Try this without the bitters, or maybe try using Angostura bitters if that's what you have on hand. It might not be exactly the same but you might like it even more. The best way to practice substitutions in any recipe is one equivalent ingredient at a time. Swap a spirit for another spirit, swap a sweet juice with another sweet juice etc.. 


Honey Hot Sauce
12 whole chilis, 5-6inches ea.
1 medium onion
1 large clove garlic
1 C water
1 C rice vinegar
1/2 C honey
2 tsp salt

Method
In a food processor pulse chilis, onion and garlic. On low speed add water. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, over medium heat, add chili mixture, vinegar, honey and salt. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, simmer until reduced by half, approx, 1 hr. stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, let stand to cool and strain. Keeping liquid in a mason jar in the fridge.

I reserved the chili mixture and poured 1/2 C olive oil over top in a mason jar. This will last a few days in the fridge.

I had/have so many chilis, this isn't over. Let me know what your favorite hot products are in the comments below.