L’Ouragan de ‘75

Created by Alfredo Garcia as an official entry into the 2018 Tales of the Cocktail cocktail competition, this fruit-forward take on the French 75 is the perfect summer sparkler.

• 1 oz Hendricks Gin

• 3/4 oz Home-made passion fruit/pomegranate syrup*

• 2 oz dry sparkling wine

• 1/2 oz Rhum Agricole Clement Creole Shrubb

• 2 dashes El Guapo® Mojo Cubano Bitters

In a shaker filled with ice, add gin and syrup. Shake well and strain into champagne flute. Spoon layer sparkling wine and spoon layer Rhum Agricole and Bitters. Serve immediately.

*syrup- 1/2 cup passion fruit purée, 1/2 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice, 1/2 cup sugar. Simmer until sugars dissolve (about 15 min). Strain and chill.

Elderflower Sour

ELDERFLOWER SOUR

• 1.5 oz The Botanist Gin
• .5 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• .75 oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice
• .25 oz Simple syrup
• 1 Egg white
• 6 dashes El Guapo® Love Potion #9 Bitters
• Rose water, in an atomizer for garnish
• Edible flowers, for garnish

In a shaker filled with ice, combine Gin, Liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup and bitters. Shake vigorously, strain cocktail and discard ice. Add egg white and, using the same cold shaker, shake the drink a second time and strain into a coupe glass coated with a thin layer of rose water. Alternately, you can spritz the finished cocktail with rose water. Garnish with edible flowers before serving.

* To make simple syrup, simply add 1 cup sugar to 1 cup boiling water. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Leftover syrup will keep in fridge for several weeks.

Cool Hand Cuke

Created by Chelsea S. O’Lansen of The Catahoula Hotel for New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles Magazine

• 1 Egg white
• .75 oz Freshly squeezed cucumber juice
• .75 oz Vanilla simple syrup*
• .75 oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1.5 oz BarSol Mosto Verde Pisco
• 4 dashes El Guapo® Cucumber Lavender Bitters

In a shaker tin filled with ice, combine egg white, cucumber juice, simple syrup, lemon juice, Pisco and bitters. Shake once (hard) with ice, discard ice and shake again without, then double strain into a coupe or Nick and Nora. Garnish with Angostura bitters and an edible flower.

* To make vanilla simple syrup, simply add .25 ounces of vanilla extract (O’Lansen uses homemade) to 24 ounces of regular 2:1 simple syrup

Pink Elephant

Concocted by Raphael Leclercq, Barmaster of Frenchie Covent Garden in London; this Pink Elephant is a cocktail made for special occasions!

• 1.5 oz Dry Gin (They used Elephant)

• .75 oz El Guapo® Classic Greek Rose cordial

• .5 oz Elderflower Liquor (They used Boudier)

• .75 oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1.5 oz Cranberry juice

• 1 egg white

• Rose petals, for garnish

• 50/50 Rose Water & Bergamot, in atomizer for optional spritz

Dry shake first, then shake with ice. Double strain into a chilled coup and garnish with rose petals. Spray the rose water/bergamot atop drink just prior to service. Enjoy!

Spring In My Step

Spring In My Step
This take on a classic French 75 is served behind the bar at Brennan’s Restaurant on Royal Street.
Created by Allison Park

• 1.5 oz Hendricks Gin
• 1 oz Freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
• Vanilla simple syrup (recipe below)
• 6-8 dashes El Guapo® Cucumber Lavender Bitters
• Petillant natural wine or any sparking white wine
• Edible flowers or cucumber spirals, for garnish

In a clean cocktail shaker with ice, combine Gin, grapefruit juice, simple syrup and bitters. Shake until well chilled, and strain into champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine and garnish before serving.

To create vanilla simple, bring 2 cups of filtered water to a rolling boil. Pour 2 cups of white sugar into water while stirring, and remove from heat source. Slice a whole vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and scrape seeds from both sides of the pod into the pot. Drop seeds into pot to steep, and allow mixture to cool for an hour. Store unused syrup in fridge, where it will keep for up to two weeks.