Kick off Memorial Day Weekend with a Sorbet & Prosecco Cocktail

What better way to kick off the summer than with the ultimate combination: sorbet and prosecco? Sure, we've all had a prosecco and popsicle cocktail, but that is soooo two years ago. Shaking things up with sorbet is giving me all the summer feels! It's the perfect way to combine a little bit of bubbly, some sweetness, and summertime cool all in one! 

A prosecco and sorbet cocktail is super easy to make (great for fun outdoor parties!) thanks to elit Vodka. I don't know about you, but I'm picturing Memorial Day Weekend lounging by the pool with a Sgroppino in hand!

Sgroppino

Ingredients:

1 ½ parts elit Vodka

1 scoop of Lemon Sorbet or another different flavor

3 parts Prosecco

Directions:

Method: Blend all ingredients in a blender with a bit of crushed ice. Pour into a coupette and garnish with fresh lemon zest.

Little Bunny Foo Foo | An Easter Brunch Cocktail

One of my favorite things about Easter? The traditional brunching of course! I'm usually a mimosa fan, but you know I love to shake things up a bit on holidays... especially one as fun as Easter!

Whether you're hosting your own Easter brunch or a springtime bash with friends, I've got a new cocktail that's even better than waking up to an Easter basket filled with marshmallow peeps... at least I think so! It's called Little Bunny Foo Foo!

Little Bunny Foo Foo was developed by You & Yours Distilling Co.'s bar manager, Trevor Bowles, is made from the distillery's Sunday Gin, carrot juice, a bit of ginger syrup, a splash of lemon juice, and a pinch of turmeric. 

So... basically it's the healthiest, prettiest, most instagrammable Easter cocktail you ever will see!

Here's how to make it: 

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Created by Trevor Bowles, You & Yours Distilling Co.

Ingredients:

1.5oz of You & Yours Sunday Gin

1oz of carrot juice

.25 ginger syrup

.5 fresh squeezed lemon juice 

Pinch of grated turmeric 

Directions:

1. Shake and strain over rocks. 

2. Garnish with the cutest carrot you can find.

Happy Easter!

Celebrate Love with Valentine's Day Cocktails

Whether you've got a boo or not, it's hard not to fall for all of the fun that comes along with Valentine's Day season. From all the pink, white and red decor, to being able to indulge in a box of chocolates, to (of course) sipping on decadent Valentine's Day cocktails. 

This Valentine's Day, maybe you're spending the evening with your BF, your hot new fling, or your closest gals... One thing that's for sure is that we all crave a little bit of a seductive buzz on V-Day. Luckily, I have a few cocktails that will definitely stir some romance into your night, and are fit for any flirty occasion. 

Swipe Left Cosmo

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Parts SVEDKA Strawberry Colada 

1/2 Part Triple Sec 

1/2 Part Fresh Lime Juice 

1/2 Part Cranberry Juice

Directions:

Pour SVEDKA Strawberry Colada, triple sec, fresh lime juice and cranberry juice into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a skewer of fresh strawberries. 

Killer in Red

Ingredients:
3/4 oz. Campari
3/4 oz. Cinzano 1757 Bianco
1/2 oz.  Grand Marnier
3/4 oz.  Chamomile Gin
Drop of Rose Essence
 

Directions:

Pour all the ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice and stir with a bar spoon. Strain the cocktail into a chilled coupe. Finish with a drop of rose essential oil and serve.

Love of a Lifethyme

Ingredients:

1 oz Patrón Silver

   ½ oz lemon

 ¼ oz pomegranate syrup

  ¼ oz honey

   Fresh thyme

 2 dashes peychauds bitters

Directions:

Shake ingredients with ice. Double strain champagne, absinthe spritz, or prosecco float into a coupe or champagne glass. Garnish with fresh thyme.

Tickled Pink

Created by Ashtin Berry, Bartender at Ace Hotel Nola, New Orleans

Ingredients:

¾ part elit Vodka
½ part cranberry syrup
¼ part lemon
2 dashes orange bitters

Directions:

Shake with ice and strain into coupe or flute, top with bubbles and add an orange twist.

Love Potion

Ingredients:

2 parts SVEDKA Vanilla

½ part granulated sugar

Dash Angostura bitters

Dash chocolate bitters

Directions:

Build ingredients in a cocktail shaker, stir and strain over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with a white chocolate-dipped cherry.

Heart Throb

Ingredients: 

2 Parts Ruffino Sparkling Rosé 

1 Part Vodka 

3/4 Part Lemon Juice 

3/4 Part Pear Nectar 

1/2 Part Simple Syrup

Directions: 

In a shaker, place all ingredients except for the Ruffino Sparkling Rosé. Shake and strain into a highball glass with some ice. Top with the Ruffino Sparkling Rosé and garnish with sprigs of thyme. 

Toast to New Year's Eve with elit Vodka's Golden Hour Martini

I love a good glass of bubbly on New Year's Eve, but one thing I love more? A gold cocktail.  Stir things up a little differently while ringing in the New Year by drinking a gold-infused martini made with elit Vodka.

Created by bartender Edwin Medina, The Golden Hour is sure to set an early tone for 2017 with this luxurious twist on the classic martini. Served in an absinthe-sprayed martini glass, The Golden Hour is garnished with edible gold flakes.

Why drink a regular martini when you can sip on a gilded one? 

There's no turning back from here.

Created by Edwin Medina, No 8

2 parts elit Vodka 

  1 part Contratto Vermouth Bianco

 ¼ part Luxardo Maraschino liqueur

 2 dashes of Angostura bitters

2 dashes of Orange bitters

Absinthe spray

Edible Gold Flake garnish

 Method: Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into a martini glass that has been sprayed with absinthe. Garnish with edible gold flake.

 About elit

A product of tireless precision from grain to bottle, elit elevates centuries of vodka tradition to the fine art of ultra-luxury vodka. elit is distinguished from other vodkas is the freeze-filtration process, where the liquid is brought to precisely -18º C before passing through an ion-charged filter. The result is an understated and uniquely creamy vodka, void of any imperfections.

Tis the Season for Boozy Holiday Cocktails

It's the most wonderful time of the year in the cocktail world. Why? Because all cocktails get a little frostier, a little more festive, and a whole lot boozier. It's the holidays, and as we get older a lot of times the magic of the season seems to disappear. With holiday cocktails, that magical feeling is reignited within us. The flavors of the season may be a little more naughty than usual, but the tippling spirits will make you feel soHo-Ho-Ho nice.

Here are my favorite recipes to get you into the Christmas spirit. 

Candy Cane Cava-Tail

Fill 1/3 of a flute with White Crème de Cocoa and the rest with chilled Sweet Cuvée Cava. Garnish with a whole candy cane.

Salt & Char Yule Nog

Created by Emily McKenna of Salt & Char in Saratoga Springs, NY

Salt & Char Yule Nog
Yields 12 glasses

Ingredients:

6 eggs, separated 

1 cup milk 

1 cup cream 

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons white sugar 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Pinch cinnamon 

Pinch kosher salt

6 oz cognac 

1 oz jagertee

Orange and nutmeg to garnish 

Directions:

Mix egg yolks and brown sugar. Slowly add in milk and cream. Add vanilla, salt, white sugar, cinnamon, cognac and jagertee. Whip egg whites then fold into liquid mixture. Serve in chilled glass. Top with orange zest and nutmeg.

Fireside Delight

Created by Enzo Cangemi

Ingredients:

1 oz Campari

1 oz Frangelico

1 oz Espolon Tequila Reposado

2 dashes Chocolate Bitters

Directions: 

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Belvedere Toddy

Ingredients:

1 oz. Belvedere Vodka

1.5 oz. Hot Water

1 oz. Lillet Blanc

.5 oz Lemon

.5 oz Honey Stick

1 Cinnamon Stick

Fresh Grated Nutmeg

Orange Wedge

Cloves

Directions:

Add hot water to heat glass mug, then honey to melt. Add remaining liquid to ingredients. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and orange wedge and top with freshly grated nutmeg. Option to pierce orange wedges with 3 cloves.

Cava Wonderland

Prepare rims by combining 1/4 c coconut flakes, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, and one scraped vanilla bean. Coat the rim of a glass with lemon juice to make the sugar mixture stick. Pour 2 oz coconut juice blend or coconut puréed nectar into bottom of glass. Fill with Extra Dry Cava and stir to mix.

La Navidad

Created by Karl Bernholtz, Bluebird (NYC)

Ingredients:

1.5 oz. Santera Reposado

0.25 oz. Dark Rum

1/3 oz. Walnut Liqueur

1 oz. Blood Orange/Star Anise/Vanilla Cordial

0.5 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

1 barspoon Allspice

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until cold. Strain into a coupe and garnish with grated nutmeg

(Optional) Garnish with fresh stick of pine or blood orange wheel

Cordial Recipe:

16 oz. White Sugar

2 oz. Brown Sugar

16 oz. Orange Juice

1 Blood Orange, peeled and diced

1 Lemon, peeled and chopped

0.5 or 0.75 oz. Star Anise, toasted

Half cap of Vanilla Extract

Tommy Bahama Eggnog Coconut Martini

Ingredients:

1 part Jim Beam®

1 part Cruzan® Coconut Rum

2 ½ parts coconut eggnog (recipe below)

Shake all ingredients well with ice, strain into a martini glass and sprinkle with nutmeg.

Ingredients:

Coconut eggnog:

5 egg yolks

¾ cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups coconut milk

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

½  tsp nutmeg

Directions:

Whisk egg yolks with sugar until creamy and the sugar begins to dissolve.  Add cream and coconut milk. Stir in vanilla, salt and nutmeg. Chill well.

A Rosso December

Created by Fabio Raffaello

Ingredients:

 2 oz Campari

  1/2 oz Mezcal

1/2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

  1/4 oz Simple Syrup

 4 oz San Pellegrino Aranciata Amara

Float of Cynar

Directions:

Shake all the ingredients except the San Pellegrino, and strain over fresh ice into a collins glass. Add the San Pellegrino and a float of Cynar. Garnish with a sprig of mint and an orange slice.