mix it up

Come on, Ladies! I know you love your Cosmos, so here’s a special V-Day treat… Here are 20 fun & flirty V-Day cocktails from Cosmo. Oh yeah. So, get your ingredients, practice mixing these drinks with your girlfriends this weekend, and perfect it for Monday night. I am positive you will find at least one sexy drink to celebrate with your special someone.

DRINK			SOURCE
Amore Vietato (Forbidden Love)	- 2 oz. Hendricks gin - 1 oz. blood orange juice - Dash simple syrup, 2 strawberries - 4 slices of cucumber	Muddle fruit with simple syrup, add gin and blood orange juice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with strawberry, cucumber spiral and orange peel hearts.	Wendy Verdel, Zeffirino, The Venetian, Las Vegas
Love is… Margarita	- 3 parts chocolate milk (store bought or homemade) - 1 part Sauza Silver Tequila - 1 part strawberry puree or daiquiri mix - Chocolate covered strawberry	Combine chilled chocolate milk, Sauza and strawberry puree in a tall glass. Stir vigorously to combine. Pour into a glass and garnish with a chocolate covered strawberry.	Sauza
Poire Royale	- 1 ½ oz. Hangar One Spiced pear vodka - ¼ oz. Mazzenez, Poire Williams, Eau-de-vie - ¼ oz. St. Germain elderflower liqueur - ½ oz. simple syrup - 2 oz. Looza pear nectar	Combine all ingredients over ice in a shaker. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Cut a thin piece from top to bottom in the center of a bosc pear for garnish.	Todd DeSilva, Director of Food & Beverage, InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa
Cranberry Flower	- 2 oz. Hendricks gin - .75 lemon juice - .75 lemon simple - 2 teaspoons cranberry simple syrup - 6 cranberries (from compote)	Muddle cranberries, add cran simple, lemon simple, lemon juice, and gin. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with three cranberries.	Beauty & Essex in NYC
Kerasi {“cherry” in Greek}	- 2 oz. peach vodka - 1 oz. cherry puree (just blend fresh pitted cherries) - 1/2 oz. peach liqueur - 1/2 oz. cherry brandy - 1/2 oz. lemon juice - Sparkling wine, like Cava	Shake all ingredients but the Cava over ice and strain into a flute. Top off with Cava. Garnish with a cherry.	Philip Pepperdine, Barbunia, New York
Strawberry Kiss	- 1 1/2 oz. Absolut Vanilia - 1/2 oz. strawberry liqueur - Splash of CranPineapple juice	Combine ingredients and top with champagne.	Absolute
The French Cosmo	3 oz. pineapple juice 1 1/2 oz. vodka 1/2 oz. cassis Garnish: pineapple slice or leaf	Shake all the ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled stemmed glass. Garnish with pineapple slice or float a leaf from the fruit in the drink.	Joe Reiser, at Woo Lae Oak, Los Angeles
Sweet Red Kiss	- 1 1/2 oz. Dubonnet Rouge - 1/3 oz. Chambord - 1/3 oz. Absolut Kurant - Splash each of orange, pineapple, and cranberry juices	Combine all ingredients; shake with ice. Strain into glass — sugar the rim for a sweet touch — and garnish with orange pieces.	James Michael Bobby, Kumo Restaurant, West Hollywood
Espresso Martini	- Shot of espresso - 1/2 oz. Three Olives Chocolate Vodka - 1/2 oz. Godiva dark chocolate liqueur - 1/4 oz. Amaretto - 1/4 oz. Kahlúa - Baileys to top off	Shake ingredients with ice. Rim the glass with shaved chocolate. Strain cocktail and top with Baileys, whipped cream, and cocoa.	David Feuer, Deco, in Houston
Remember Last Summer	- 1 1/2 oz. Absolut Vanilia - 1 1/2 oz. strawberry liqueur - 1 oz. pineapple juice - 1/2 oz. coconut cream - Shredded coconut	Mix all ingredients except shredded coconut in a shaker with ice, and shake well. Strain into a glass. Garnish with coconut.	Paulina Szafranski, at Monarck, Denver
The Bramble	- 2 oz. Absolut Los Angeles - 1 oz. simple syrup - 1 oz. lemon juice - 1 spoonful of blackberry jam - Splash of sparkling wine	Add all ingredients except wine to a shaker, and shake vigorously for a few seconds. Strain mixture over ice in a rocks glass. Top with sparkling wine.	The Volstead, New York City
Watermelon Martini	- 3 oz. Ketel One Citroen - 1 oz. Watermelon Pucker - 1/2 oz. Cointreau or triple sec - Splash of lemonade - Splash of 7-Up	Mix all ingredients together over ice, shake, and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a slice of watermelon.	James and Jane Nelson, The Independent, Minneapolis
Strawberry Punch	- 3 fresh strawberries - 3 slices canned pineapple - 1/2 oz. pineapple syrup from the can - 1/4 oz. simple syrup (dissolve one part sugar in one part boiling water; let cool) - 2 oz. white rum	Muddle fruit. Pour over ice with other ingredients; shake. Garnish with fruit.	Fonda Tsironis, Park Blue, New York
Very Cherry Martini	- 1 1/2 parts Martini and Rossi Rosso vermouth (chilled) - 1 part cherry juice - 4 parts Martini and Rossi Prosecco	Combine the vermouth and cherry juice, along with ice, in a shaker. Shake, and strain into a chilled glass. Top with the Prosecco.	Michael Wurster, Icon at the W New York-The Court
Black Crush	- 1 1/2 oz. Absolut Raspberri - 1 oz. sour mix - 1/2 oz. simple syrup - 6 mint leaves - 3 blackberries - Club Soda	Muddle blackberries, mint, and simple syrup in a shaker. Add ice, vodka, and sour mix. Strain into a glass. Add a splash of club soda.	Sensi, Las Vegas
Cactus Pear Margarita	- 2 oz. tequila - 1 oz. Cointreau or Triple Sec - 1 oz. cactus pear syrup - 1/2 oz. lime juice	Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake for 10 seconds. Strain into a chilled glass with a salted rim, and garnish with lime or fruit juices.	Laurence Kretchmer, Mesa Grill, Las Vegas
Rediscovered Cherry Cosmo	2 oz. Smirnoff Black Cherry vodka 1 oz. white cranberry juice 3/4 oz. Cointreau Splash of fresh lime juice	Combine all the ingredients in a shaker, and add ice. Shake and strain into a glass. Garnish with fresh or dried cherries.	Judson Sherman Rose, STK, New York
Pink Margarita	1 1/2 oz. tequila 1/4 oz. Campari 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice 1/2 oz. honey	Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Pour into a tumbler. Serve on the rocks and garnish with a lemon slice and mint leaf.	James Stuart, Parea, New York City
Cherry Punch	1 oz. cherry vodka 1 oz. triple sec Splash of Rose’s grenadine Splash of cranberry juice	Shake together all ingredients but cranberry juice with ice. Pour into glass and top with cranberry juice. Garnish with a fresh cherry.	Brooke Isaacson, Club ONE, Baltimore
The Delancey	- 3/4 oz. pomegranate juice - 3/4 oz. St-Germain elderflower liqueur (available at liquor stores) - Prosecco	Mix together the juice and liqueur, and pour into a champagne flute, then top with Prosecco.	Richard H. Friedberg, at Allen and Delancey, New York City

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Here’s another healthy drink from Food & Wine magazine. It’s called The Red and the Black.

The Red and the Black

2-1/2 cups sugar
2 cups warm water
1/2 cup coarsely crack black pepper, plus 1 tbsp finely ground black pepper
2 quarts strawberries, hulled & halved
2-1/2 cups tequila blanco (20 oz)
1-1/4 cups fresh lime juice (10 oz)
1 tsp salt
1 lemon wedge
ice

In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups of the sugar with the warm water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the saucepan from the heat, stir in the 1/2 cup of coarsely cracked black pepper and let cool. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for 3 hours. Pour the black pepper syrup through a fine-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup.
In a large pitcher, muddle the halved strawberries. Add 2 1/4 cups of the black pepper syrup, the tequila and fresh lime juice (reserve the remaining black pepper syrup for another cocktail). Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
On a small plate, mix the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar with the finely ground black pepper and the salt. Moisten half of the outer rims of 10 rocks glasses with the lemon wedge and coat lightly with the pepper-and-salt mixture. Fill the rocks glasses with ice. Stir the drink well, then pour or strain into the prepared rocks glasses and serve at once.

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Mix It Up #115 : Gin & Tonic {Keeping it classic}

Mix It Up #114 : Valentine’s Day Drinks from Cosmo

Mix It Up #113 :: Blackberry-Mint Margarita

Mix It Up #112 :: The Red and the Black

Mix It Up #111 :: Strawberry-Lemon Mojitos

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