Watermelon Cooler!

Using our inspired Watermelon Infusion from last week...We created a Watermelon Cooler, with home-made Watermelon Vodka, Fresh Basil, with just a touch of St. Germain..(it's my favorite little ingredient to use!) Something simple and refreshing to get you through these hot days of summer...have fun!

the Watermelon Cooler, a Fresh+Twist Original Cocktail

WATERMELON COOLER

2 oz Watermelon Infused Vodka

1/2 oz St.Germain

2-3 leaves Fresh Basil

1/2 oz Fresh Lime

1/2 oz Simply Syrup

In a mixing glass, Add Fresh Basil. Muddle it by lightly pressing the leaves using a muddler. Add Vodka, St.Germain, Lime & Simple Syrup. Add Ice and shake. Pour all ingredients into a collins glass and garnish with a piece of watermelon and a basil leaf. Enjoy!

KIWI CRUSH!

Happy Hour Friday goes back to where we started this weekend! Using a favorite summertime spirit, Cachaca from Brazil. Just like a rum but made from sugarcane, it's a perfect example of what we should be drinking in summer! This week we include fresh organic Kiwi, AVUÁ CACHAÇA, & lime for the perfect weekend. Hope you enjoy..!

the "KIWI CRUSH" /  a Fresh + Twist Original Cocktail

KIWI CRUSH

2 oz AVUÁ CACHAÇA

1 whole Kiwi Fruit

2 tablespoons Raw Brown Sugar

3 Lime wedges

Take a kiwi fruit and peel the rough skin off, cut and quarter the fruit and place in a mixing glass. Add 2 tablespoons of brown raw sugar & crush the kiwi fruit and limes with a muddler. Add the AVUÁ CACHAÇA. Add Ice and shake hard. Pour all contents into a old fashioned glass. Drink and Repeat.

Because He's Old Fashioned...

It's father's Day this Sunday, so to honor all the Fathers, Grandfathers, and all the Dad's to be.. We go back to a classic cocktail this Happy Hour Friday. We bring back the Old Fashioned, made with a favorite bourbon of ours, Woodford Reserve. It's a simple cocktail to prepare and below we show you how. All you need is some sugar or a sugar cube, some angostura bitters, great bourbon & lemon twist (optional ingredients are an orange twist and a maraschino cherry.) So Cheers to the Dads! Enjoy...

An "Old Fashioned" Cocktail, by Fresh+Twist.

"How-To" Make an Old Fashioned

Old Fashioned

2 oz Woodford Reserve

1 Sugar Cube

3 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Follow the steps & numbers above...Step #1: Place sugar or sugar cube in an old fashioned glass. Step #2: Add 3 dashes of angostura bitters. Step #3: Muddle or Crush the sugar, until it breaks down. Step #4: Add Bourbon & Stir. Step #5: Add Ice. Step 6: Drink & Repeat. (not shown)

Let's Go Tropical...!

Even though it's beginning to feel like summer... (technically it's june 21) but we decided to start a little bit early with a new twist on things. This week we are using Bacardi Rum and accent it with a pinch of Cilantro and muddle up fresh cut Mango to bring in the tropics! It's a perfect  refreshing summer afternoon in a glass...or pre-summer I mean. Hope you enjoy our "Tropic Sol."

The "Tropic Sol" - a Fresh+Twist Original Cocktail

Tropic Sol

2 oz. Bacardi Silver

1/2 oz. Apricot Liquor

1/2 oz Fresh Lime

1/2 oz Simple Syrup

1/2 Mango (cut in pieces)

Pinch of Cilantro

Crush the Mango and Cilantro in a mixing glass with Lime Juice & Simple Syrup. Add Bacardi Rum, Apricot Liquor. Add Ice then Shake Shake Shake, Señora Shake it all the time. Pour all ingredients into a tall collins glass. Garnish with mango slice, cilantro & dust with cracked black pepper for a touch of texture and aroma!! Enjoy..!

Q-Cumber Cool...!

Summertime is about to arrive...sunny afternoons, lazy weekends and trips to the beach! So I created a summertime cocktail to cool down and refresh whether its by the BBQ, by the beach or just chilling at the pool. This one incorporates fresh English Cucumber, Organic Sweet Basil, Hendricks Gin and St.Germain. One of my favorite Gins, infused with cucumber and rose petals - just what a little summertime could use! Enjoy...!

English Cucumber & Basil Cocktail

The EC & B

2 oz. Hendricks Gin

3/4 oz. St. Germain

3/4 oz. Fresh Lime

1/2 oz. Agave Nectar

4 slices of English Cucumber

4-6 Basil Leaves

Muddle the English Cucumber & Basil in a mixing glass. Add agave & lime juice as well as Hendricks Gin & St. Germain. Add Ice. Shake it like a poloroid picture. Strain into an old fashioned glass. Add some fresh ice. Sprinkle just a touch of sea salt on top of the drink for added complexity....Drink / Enjoy / Repeat.

Cherry Red Weekend!

It's the weekend...Memorial Day Weekend! And with that comes fresh ingredients from the farmers market...Today I found some just picked cherries! Sweet Summer Goodness! ... And with the extra time to just hang out with friends and family, I'm making a Cherry Collins, a twist on the traditional Tom Collins, kind of like Cherry Lemonade but better...much better! Delicious...!

CHERRY COLLINS / a FRESH+TWIST Original Cocktail

CHERRY COLLINS

2 0z. Grey Goose Cherry Noir

1/2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Simple Syrup

3-4 Cherries

Soda Water

To prepare, de-seed the 3 cherries & muddle them with the simple syrup and lemon juice. Add the Grey Goose Cherry Noir Vodka and top of with soda water. Add Ice and Stir. Garnish with remaining Cherry and Enjoy!!

The Great...Fitzgerald!

Finally the weekend and finally the Great Gatsby arrives in theaters...and of course that means cocktails! In the spirit of the 1920's and the evolution of jazz music, FRESH+TWIST brings you a cocktail from the "King of Cocktails"  himself Dale DeGroff,  it's called, of course, the FITZGERALD. 
It's a Dale Degroff original and we bring it to you in honor of  the great author,  F. Scott Fitzgerald and his novel "The Great Gatsby!"

The Fitzgerald. Photo by IJL.

The Fitzgerald

1 1/2 ounces Gin (Aviation)
3/4 ounce Lemon Juice
3/4 ounce Simple Syrup (1:1)
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish with a lemon wedge or lemon wheel.

Cinco De Mayo Weekend!

As we celebrate Cinco De Mayo this Sunday, which commemorates the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867), just in case you didn't know, FRESH + TWIST returns to the Margarita!

This time though we focus on the best of the best, TOMMY'S MARGARITA! On bar menus around the world, Tommy's Margarita, is a simple, straight-to-the-point version of the classic margarita : 100% Agave Tequila, Agave Nectar & Fresh Lime Juice. No need for triple sec, Cointreau or Grand Marnier - so that you actually taste the flavor of the tequila!

The basis for this recipe stems from TOMMY'S MEXICAN RESTAURANT in San Francisco, CA. In 1965 Tommy Bermejo and his wife Elmy opened a family restaurant specializing in the cuisine of their native Yucatan. Now, run by their son Juilio Bermejo - he continues the passion for tequila and the art & craft of making the perfect margarita!

 TOMMY'S MARGARITA RECIPE

2 ounces reposado tequila

1 ounce fresh lime juice

1/2 ounce agave nectar 

Moisten the outer rim of a rocks glass with a lime wedge, coat lightly with salt. Fill a cocktail shaker with the Tequila, lime juice and agave nectar. Add ice.  Shake well & strain into the rocks glass. Enjoy!

A FRESH+TWIST Margarita made with Casa Noble Reposado, Fresh Lime & Agave!

The Get-Away...

Let's get back to cocktails ...  And taking a bit of knowledge  and  inspiration from last week's  Infusion Ideas (The Porthole)  :  This week we infuse  Partida Reposado 100% Agave Tequila with Serrano Chili and Red Peppercorns!   Together it's a peppery spicy blend mixed with the sweetness of Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice and fresh organic Cilantro... It may be Spring but this has the heat of Summer!         
This is the Get-Away...

'The Get-Away' / An original cocktail from Fresh Twist

Inspiring Infusion!

This week we feature a cool product from Martin Kastner / Crucial Detail : The Porthole. Inspired by the image of a submarine porthole window from the film, "The Fabulous World of Jules Verne," the Porthole is a new approach to  infusing. Designed for the bar chefs at 'The Aviary,' a new bar concept by chef Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas in Chicago. The Porthole can be used to infuse cocktails, oils, teas, dressings or any other type of infusion. And it's stunning to look at!

The Porthole by Martin Kastner / Crucial Detail

The Porthole by Martin Kastner / Crucial Detail

Happy Hour Friday : Elegantly Pear-fect...

Let's get classy this weekend...Let's do something different! Happy Hour Friday goes classic yet modern with a twist on the traditional martini using Asian Pear, with it's crisp clean flavor enhanced by Pear Vodka you get the "Pear-fect Martini..."

The Pear-fect Martini

For recipe info, just email us at freshtwistdesigns@gmail.com!

Spring Fling!

This week, since Spring has arrived, Happy Hour Friday goes outside the box, to a mixologist out of Napa, CA : Scott Beattie.  His creations are unique, inviting, delicious works of art…

     We feature a beautiful cocktail, the Frondsong, from his cocktail book, ”Artisanal Cocktails.“                                                                                                                                                          

FRONDSONG