Domaine de Canton Stars in Holiday Cocktails

Once again, the upstairs bar at Bourbon Adams Morgan in Washington, D.C. served as the perfect setting for the Museum of the American Cocktail’s Second Annual Holiday Cocktail Seminar. And Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur was well represented, featured in no less than three of the delicious Holiday cocktails presented. The event was emceed by Phil Greene, who did his best to stay out of the way and not impede the talents of renown D.C. bartenders Gina Chersevani (of PS7’s at Gallery Place) and Owen Thomson (bartender at Bourbon, and don’t call him a mixologist). Joining Gina and Owen was home bar and entertainment guru Jerry Lenoir, the creative force behind the popular Web site Mr-Booze.com (http://www.mr-booze.com/).

Arriving guests were greeted with an elegant cocktail, the Yes We Canton!, which was the star cocktail served at the Peace Ball on Inauguration Day last January. The Yes We Canton! was created by Gina Chersevani, and is made with pineapple juice, Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur, and Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Wine. It’s a perfect Holiday drink (recipe below), especially for the busy host or hostess, and can even be served as a punch.

Gina then held court for the next two drinks, offering two amazing hot drinks, Apples and Ale and the Coquito, which she referred to as Puerto Rican Eggnog. The Apples and Ale featured fresh apples simmered in spices and pale ale, with a hearty dollop of Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whisky and Domaine de Canton, and was served in a coffee mug. The Coquito was a rich and warming mixture of condensed milk, evaporated milk, coconut milk, egg, spices, Flor de Cana dark rum, and Domaine de Canton.

At this point, the guests and presenters alike took a break, for conversation and a chance to admire some of Jerry Lenoir’s holiday music collection, as well as ornamental pieces from his amazing home bar, which is featured on http://www.mr-booze.com/.

Owen then took the stage to offer the classic Irish Coffee, a drink he accurately described as one of the most maligned and incorrectly made drinks of all time, in spite of its simplicity. Phil offered a bit of history on the origins of and folklore surrounding the drink, tracing it back to the old trans-atlantic flying boat service and the airport near Shannon, Ireland, where in the early 1940s Joe Sheridan took to greeting chilled passengers with a mug of coffee, whiskey and cream. “Is this Columbian coffee?,” one passenger asked, to which he replied, “No, it’s Irish Coffee,” and a tradition was born. The drink later migrated to the Buena Vista in San Francisco, where it became a fixture, just perfect on those cold winter days during a summer in San Francisco (apologies to Sam Clemens). While serving it, he told of a tour he took of the Jameson’s Irish Whiskey distillery in Dublin, and how it inspired him to make the Irish Coffee in the proper manner.

Owen also demonstrated another misunderstood and mismanaged drink, the Hot Buttered Rum. He explained how to make a batter, basically taking a hunk of butter and folding into it whatever seasonal spices you had on hand, then keeping the mixture on hand to use each time you wanted to serve one. Owen offered guests a perfect blend of butter, spices, and Mount Gay Extra Old Rum.

Jerry Lenoir then presented two amazing drinks, the Winter Mojito and the Northern Spy. The Winter Mojito calls for fresh cranberries and mint, muddled with maple syrup, then blended with fresh lime juice, Falernum, and Mount Gay Eclipse Silver Rum. The Northern Spy was next, giving Jerry and Phil the opportunity to extol the virtues of Laird’s Applejack, and recount its rich history, going back to the Founding Fathers.
Jerry then devoted a good amount of time in discussing Holiday music, mainly jazz and standards from the 40s, 50s and 60s, featuring classics from Herb Alpert, Frank Sinatra, Jack Jones, and Oscar Peterson. Jerry even offered a trivia contest, with winners receiving either a Mr. Booze T-shirt, or a compilation Holiday music CD from his collection. The trivia questions centered around the bar scenes from “It’s A Wonderful Night,” prompting guests and presenters alike to trot out their George Bailey, Nick the Bartender, and Clarence the Angel impressions. We had nearly 30 attendees on hand, and everyone had a great evening, and leaving with a goodly dose of Holiday cheer.

The Recipes:

Yes We Canton!

½ oz pineapple juice
½ oz Domaine de Canton
2-3 oz Jacob’s Creek Brut Sparkling Wine

Serve in flute. Can also be made as a punch.

Apples and Ale

8 apples
2 quarts of Dales Pale Ale
2 cups of Raw Honey
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cardamon pods
1 star anise
10-12 oz of Maker’s Mark Bourbon Whisky
10-12 oz of Domaine de Canton

Peel and quarter the apples. Take some cheese cloth (or a tea infuser works just as well) and place all the spices in there, tie up the cloth. Then in a pot, pour the beer, spice ball, sugar, apples. Let simmer for about 20 minutes just before it boils. Low and slow! Take the ale mixture off the heat.

In a glass mug pour 1/2 oz of Maker's Mark, 1/2 oz of Domaine de Canton and fill with the ale mixture. Enjoy! Serves about 10-12 (20-24 half sized drinks)

Coquito (Puerto Rican Eggnog)

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
2 egg yolks
2 cups fresh coconut milk or 1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk
Pinch fleur de sel
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup Flor de Cana Dark Rum
1/4 cup Domaine de Canton
Ground cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a blender and process for 3 minutes at high speed until frothy. Store in a glass container in the refrigerator and serve chilled, dusted with a little cinnamon.

Hot Buttered Rum

1.5 oz Mount Gay Extra Old Rum
2 heaping barspoons buttered rum batter

fill with hot water and stir until combined

Irish Coffee

1.5 oz Jameson’s Irish Whiskey
3/4 oz Brown Sugar Simple Syrup
Fill with black coffee and top with fresh whipped cream

Northern Spy

2 oz Laird’s Applejack
1 oz Apple Cider
½ oz Lemon Juice
½ oz Apricot Brandy
Rim a cocktail glass with lemon juice then cinnamon sugar. Shake well, strain into glass, garnish with a few fresh cranberries.

Winter Mojito

8-10 mint leaves
6-8 cranberries
2 oz Mount Gay Eclipse Silver Rum
¾ oz Falernum
¾ oz lime juice
¼ oz simple or maple syrup
Splash of club soda
In a mixing glass, muddle mint & cranberries, add rest of ingredients. Shake and strain over ice in a glass and garnish with fresh mint.

For more information on Domaine de Canton, please see www.domainedecanton.com.

For more information on Museum of the American Cocktail events, please see www.museumoftheamericancocktail.org/events

Rico Wisner Uses Domaine de Canton to Win Cuca Fresca Grand Prize!

Domaine de Canton nearly steals the show! On December 1st, Rico Wisner was named the Grand Prize Winner in Cuca Fresca Cachaca’s “Shake Your Way to Brazil” Mixology Challenge. His winning cocktail, the Punch from Ipanema, represented an inventive new interpretation of a classic punch and incorporated Cuca Fresca Premium Cachaça, a homemade hibiscus and rooibos tea simple syrup, passion fruit juice, fresh lime juice, and Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur (recipe below). Rico’s inspiration for the cocktail was the sunset over Ipamena, a place he has visited in the past with his Brazilian wife. The cocktail is featured at his restaurant, Poste Moderne Brasserie, in Washington, DC.

Domaine de Canton also played a prominent role in another cocktail that advanced to the Final Five of the Cuca Fresca Challenge. Francois Vera of Cole’s in Los Angeles made a delicious cocktail titled the Ginger Dream, again showing the beautiful way in which Domaine de Canton marries with cachaca. Indeed, at the Polished Palate International RumFest in Tampa in March, 2009, the star cocktail of the event was a delicious take on the Caipirinha, called the Gingerinha, simply made with Cuca Fresca, lime wedges and, of course, Domaine de Canton.

Paul Pacult, one of the five judges for the finals said “this cocktail competition was easily the most competitive contest I've judged. The level of skill provided by the finalists was extraordinary, as was borne out by their five cocktails, Choosing a winner was difficult, since they were all deserving. In the end, the delicious Punch from Ipanema won our hearts. "

The Grand Prize Winner, The Punch From Ipanema

Sean Ludford, another of the Shake Off’s judges who has judged over fifty cocktail competitions, also said “this was the most impressive line-up of cocktails that I have ever seen in a comparable competition.”
Cuca Fresca’s owner, Phoenix Kelly-Rappa, said, “we knew this competition would be tough based on the caliber of talent we had competing and the cocktails they were making but we had no idea it would be so very close.” Cuca Fresca plans on making this a yearly competition and Ms. Kelly-Rappa also said, “we hope this is only the beginning of our ever-increasing relationship with the mixology community.”
The finals were held at Chicago’s Encore Liquid Lounge because of their innovative cocktail program and unique layout. The lounge’s raised circular bar provided the perfect stage for the finalists to showcase their skills for the judges and crowd. The event was attended by some of Chicago’s top mixologists, including Todd Appel and Lynn House. It was also attended by the Brazilian Vice-Consulate, Leila Tavares. The Punch From Ipanema will be added as a permanent selection on Encore’s cocktail menu. As the grand prize winner, Rico Wisner will be flown to Brazil for a five-day trip that includes a private distillery tour courtesy of Cuca Fresca.

Okay, enough talk, here are the recipes:

PUNCH FROM IPANEMA

Rico Wisner, Post Moderne Brasserie, Hotel Monaco, Washington, D.C.

1.25 oz Cuca Fresca Premium Cachaça

.75 oz passion fruit juice

.5 oz lime juice

1 oz hibiscus Rooibos tea syrup

.25 oz Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur

Combine all ingredients, shake well with ice and serve on the rocks. Garnish with a lime slice.

GINGER DREAM

Francois Vera

Cole’s, Los Angeles, CA

3 orange wedges

1 lime

5 mint leaves

.75 oz Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur

2 oz Cuca Fresca Pura Gold

Muddle the orange wedges, lime and mint leaves together. Add ice, Domaine de Canton and the Cuca Fresca Pura Gold. Shake and pour, without straining, into a tall glass. Top with Bundaberg Ginger Beer. Garnish with an orange slice and mint.