Back in the fall, I published two cocktail recipes that came from our wine
dinner group, one to start the dinner with, and one to finish. I’ve gotten
several emails from folks who had tried them, liked them and asked for more. So here are two, one pre- and one post-prandial.
The first was also served as the
starter for our wine dinner group. Months and months ago, I picked up a bottle
of saffron gin from France at a liquor store in another city. It sat in our liquor cabinet because I didn’t
know what to do with it. When my turn came around for a starter cocktail for
our wine dinner group, I took a sample of the gin to my favorite bartender,
Chris Ferri at Southward. He came up with
an excellent idea: a honeydew melon gin fizz.
The saffron gin isn’t widely
available, but this drink would be equally delicious with regular gin. I know there are those who think they don’t
like gin, but nobody in our group complained. Give this a try before you
automatically switch to vodka, as another non-gin loving friend (who hadn’t
tasted it yet) suggested.
The dessert drink came from a
visit to Louisville with my sister. That’s
home for us, and we try to get back once in a while. We have a friend, Chef Dallas McGarity, of
the excellent Marketplace at Theater Square, who lets us know where we need to
dine (other than his restaurant) while we’re there.
This time he directed us to The Place Downstairs. It hasn’t been open
long but already has quite a reputation.
We had an excellent dinner. When
we were finished we still wanted to chat a bit but didn’t want to tie up a
table on a busy evening. We adjourned to the lounge for a decaf French press
coffee. The restaurant manager, Ricky
Moir, treated us to a Bourbon Ball Coffee.
The bourbon ball is a popular candy-type confection in Kentucky, and
lots will be served at Derby parties over the next few weeks. The coffee had all the right flavors: bourbon,
of course, whipped cream flavored vodka and dark crème de cacao, and a fluff of
whipped cream on top.
This was served in a large “café au lait” sized cup and the recipe is
geared toward that. That’s a lot of
alcohol, so I served it to my guests in cappuccino cups, so that the recipe
below made two servings. That would be
your call.
Honeydew
Ferri-Fizz
4 ounces
honeydew melon juice (see note)
8 ounces
saffron or regular gin
1 bottle
sparkling wine (cava or prosecco)
8 honeydew
melon balls
Shake the honeydew melon juice
and gin in a shaker with ice until very cold. Strain into 8 champagne
flutes. Divide the sparkling wine among
the glasses. Place the melon balls on a
skewer and garnish each drink. Makes 8.
Note: If the
honeydew melon isn’t very ripe when you buy it, let it set at room temperature
for four or five days to ripen. Cut in
half, discard the seeds and use a melon-baller or spoon to make the garnish.
Place the remaining melon flesh in a blender and puree. Strain through a fine sieve. Keep the juice
and discard (or eat) the remaining pulp. You’ll have more juice than you need
for eight drinks, but it keeps well in the fridge.
Ricky’s
Bourbon Ball Coffee
1 ounce Four
Roses (or other Kentucky) bourbon
1 ounce
whipped cream flavored vodka
1 ½ ounce
dark crème de cacao
8 ounces
coffee, preferably French roast
Whipped
cream
In a coffee cup, mix the
bourbon, vodka and crème de cacao. Add
the coffee, stir, and top with whipped cream. Makes one large serving or two
cappuccino sized servings.
