GUEST POST: Carnival Cocktails! Recreate + Embrace Mardi Gras Vibes At Home
Thank you to the wonderful folks at The Mixer for sharing these delicious recipes and stunning photos. Read on for all kinds of cocktail inspiration and get a little taste of Mardi Gras from wherever you may be!
People all over the globe will soon be celebrating Mardi Gras with street parades, music and colorful costumes. Meaning ‘Fat Tuesday’ in French, It began as a religious day observed before Lent, when people were meant to use up all the fats in their home in preparation for fasting. Today, however, it has evolved to encompass weeks of partying, starting in early Jan and building to the climax of the official Mardi Gras, which is 21st February this year.
The most famous Mardi Gras carnivals are in New Orleans in the US and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, where thousands of people descend on these cities to take part in the festivities and enjoy delicious party food and drinks.
If you can’t make it to southern Louisiana, our mixologists at The Mixer have hand-picked the perfect cocktails to help recreate the carnival vibes at home. These drinks are sure to get you up and dancing!
SAZERAC
Ingredients per person:
2 Oz Wild Turkey Rye Whiskey
0.5 Oz absinthe or anise liqueur
1 sugar cube per cocktail
A few dashes of bitters per cocktail
To garnish, a lemon twist per cocktail
Ice
Method:
Chill a rocks glass by filling it with ice and setting it aside as you prepare the rest of the cocktail
Soak the sugar cube with the bitters and muddle it in a mixing glass, crushing the cube
Add the Wild Turkey Rye Whiskey and stir
Take the ice out of your chilled glass and rinse it with a small amount of absinthe – swirl the liquor around and then discard
Pour the Wild Turkey Rye Whiskey mixture into the chilled, absinthe-rinsed glass
Squeeze the lemon twist gently over the drink to release its oils – some will use it as a garnish on the rim of the glass afterwards, but rarely drop it into the drink itself
FRENCH 75
Ingredients per person:
1 Oz Gin
2 Oz Champagne or Prosecco
0.5 Oz Lemon juice
0.25 Teaspoon sugar syrup (or to taste)
Sugar and a lemon slice (for the rim of the glass)
Maraschino cherry, to garnish
Ice
Method:
Prepare the glass by running a slice of lemon around the rim and dipping it into a shallow bowl or saucer with sugar
Add the gin, lemon juice, and sugar syrup to a shaker with ice – cover and shake
Strain the mixture into your prepared glass
Top off with Champagne or Prosecco
Garnish with a Maraschino cherry and enjoy
CLARIFIED MILK PUNCH
Ingredients per person:
16 Oz Bisquit & Dubouche cognac
16 Oz Appleton Estate rum
8 Oz Arrack or Cachaça
16 Oz pineapple juice
6 lemons juiced, 2 zested per batch
2 cups granulated sugar per batch
6 cloves per batch
20 coriander seeds per batch
1 stick cinnamon per batch
16 Oz strong, brewed green tea
32 Oz boiling water
32 Oz whole milk
Freshly grated nutmeg for garnish (optional)
Method:
Combine the lemon zest, cloves, coriander, and cinnamon with the cognac, rum, and Arrack in a large container, and let it sit overnight to infuse
The next day, strain and discard the solids
Add the sugar, pineapple juice, lemon juice, green tea, and boiling water to the spirits mixture, and stir until the sugar has fully dissolved
Bring the milk to a slow simmer in a large saucepan over medium heat
As soon as the milk starts to simmer, remove it from the heat and pour it into a large container
Pour the spirits mixture into the container with the heated milk (NOT the other way around) – it should begin to curdle almost immediately
Allow the mixture to cool and leave in the fridge (ideally overnight)
Strain the mixture through a jelly strainer bag or white cotton T-shirt (cheesecloth absorbs too much) – add it all at once and let it drain at its own pace
Repeat the process slowly and carefully (it will be worth it!) until the clarity is where you want it – the more you strain it, the clearer the liquid will become
Once strained, the liquid is stable and can be kept in the fridge until your guests arrive
To serve, pour over ice and serve, garnished with a grating of nutmeg if desired
RAMOS GIN FIZZ
Ingredients per person:
2 oz gin
0.5 oz lemon juice
0.5 oz lime juice
0.5 oz simple syrup
A few dashes of orange flower water
1 oz cream
1 egg white
2 oz club soda
Method:
Add all the ingredients, apart from the club soda, to a cocktail shaker and dry shake for a full minute without ice.
Add ice and shake until well-chilled.
Strain into a serving glass (we like a Collins) and top with soda.
VIEUX CARRÉ
Ingredients per person
:
0.75 oz rye whiskey
0.75 oz cognac
0.75 oz Cinzano Vermouth Rosso
A few dashes of bitters
0.5 oz herbal liqueur
Method:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir well
Strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice
Garnish with a cherry or a lemon twist.
BOURBON HOT TODDY
Ingredients per person:
2 Oz Wild Turkey Bourbon Whiskey
0.25 Oz Fresh lemon juice
2 Teaspoons brown sugar
5 Cloves
Sliced lemon
Boiling water
Method:
Take a slice of lemon, press the cloves into the lemon round and set aside
Boil water and fill a mug to the three-quarter mark
Pour in the whiskey and lemon juice and stir in the sugar until dissolved
Add the clove-studded lemon wheel and allow to infuse
Serve in a warmed mug
GRASSHOPPER
Ingredients per person:
0.75 Oz Crème de cacao
0.75 Oz Crème de menthe (green)
0.75 Oz Heavy cream
Chocolate shavings to garnish
Ice
Method:
Prepare a frosted martini glass by chilling it in the freezer for about an hour
Add a dash of either crème de cacao or crème de menthe to one plate, and chocolate shavings to another
Dip the rim of the martini glass into the liqueur and then into the chocolate and set aside
Add cracked ice to a cocktail shaker, followed by crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and cream
Shake it up (until you feel you might get frostbite on your hands)
Strain into the frosted chocolate rimmed martini glass and serve
For more drinkspiration please visit The Mixer!