the liquid muse herself asked if moi if i’d care to contribute an original cocktail to her latest book, THE BUBBLY BRIDE. perhaps you’ve heard of PREGGATINIS by natalie bovis-nelson? that was her first book. both are good reads with useful material to boot.

with wedding season right around the corner, you’d be wise to stock up on copies of THE BUBBLY BRIDE. for $16.95, every star struck lover deserves a tipple how-to as cute as this one! cheers to the happy couple…

studies show that inhaling lavender impairs our mental processing ability. in other words, it’s relaxing… good for a wedding? chill out bridezilla! it’s also kind of funny that lavender belongs to virgo, the virgin ; ) white wedding with lavender cocktails–how perfect!

CHILL PILL:
1 oz lavender bud-infused vodka
1 oz lavender bud syrup
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
lavender water spray or rinse
lavender soda

combine lavender bud-infused vodka, lavender bud syrup, lemon juice and shake over ice. prepare champagne flute with rinse of lavender water, or mist inside of glass with lavender water spray. strain into lavender-misted / lavender-rinsed flute and top with fair amount of lavender soda. stir briefly and serve. garnish with sprig of lavender or purple flower if available.

lavender vodka: infuse 750 ml vodka with 3 cups dried lavender buds (available at health food stores or online) allow to sit for several days and strain.

lavender syrup: bring to boil 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1/4 cup dried lavender buds and remove from heat. allow to infuse for 1/2 hour and strain. add splash vodka to act as preservative and store in fridge. note that using white sugar over raw will give a prettier pink color, while the latter will make for a darker hue.

lavender water: available at health food stores or online. for greater control and speed, i prefer misting over rinsing of glass. transfer lavender water into small spray bottle that is dark in color and store in fridge.

i don’t know about you, but valentine’s day is my least favorite holiday. relationship pressure, obligatory materialism, societal stigmas… the list of reasons why it sucks is endless. like taxes, it exists and must be dealt with.

enter PINKY VODKA—valentine’s day solved. it’s a bouquet in a bottle! boy or girl, any lovely human will lust for this exquisitely designed vessel. sexy and slender, it’s shape emulates the style of luxury perfume. inside, the hand-blended swedish vodka is a rose quartz shade of blushing pink derived from rose petals, violets and wild strawberries, which all come together in a subtle floral nose and flavor.

despite the flowers, your man won’t think this is too girly. he’ll like it even more if you play bad bad bartender and shake your booty while shaking up a rose water gimlet. don’t forget to rim… the glass. he just might propose on the spot.

visit PINKY, the world’s most beautiful vodka.
750 ml $50; WALLYWINE.com

DRINK FOR THOUGHT:
apparently we don’t know the zodiac sign of st. valentine. it is however, ironic, that this holiday was created in the month of aquaruius, which is the sign of universal love. we as a society have chosen to take aquarius’ one love concept and make it intimate. valentine’s day is now a romantic love holiday, rather than the holiday of love for humanity it was perhaps intended to be?

since i’m the only blog that hasn’t done an AVIATION cocktail yet, i thought it about time. truth be told, i think the Crème de Violette tastes rather like vicks 44 alone, but when it’s blended in a cocktail it suddenly becomes palatable and intriguing. and like so many recipes from a bygone era, this classic tipple tastes better with every sip. funny how those old timers grow on you like that, isn’t it?

this particular bottle of violet liqueur has been sitting on my bar for over a year… talk about procrastination. yup, i’m the queen of it and so is taurus—happy birthday to all you bulls out there! perhaps my nasty habit of putting things off stems from my moon in taurus placement, and if it doesn’t at least that makes a good excuse. i have a lazy bull sitting on my moon, so leave me alone world! actually, when nick newmont did my chart for me, he told me i had a hunter’s moon… this apparently is the culprit behind my hesitance to take action. i like to wait and see how things play out, and then before ya know it, i’ve missed the damn boat!

last weekend i was out hiking with my dogs when i stumbled upon these incredibly abundant and exquisite violets—i was compelled to pick them for garniture in a tipple that called for Crème de Violette, and here we are! the violet is ruled by none other than the planet of beauty and love, venus. hence the voilet falls under the dominion of taurus. unlike scorpio, the overtly sexual sign, taurus prefers sex behind closed doors. but prefers sex none the less. (thanks to nick newmont for that insightful analogy) most of us would never know taurus was exceptionally talented in the sack, or particularly well endowed, and that they consider sex a basic need of life along with shelter, water and food. but it is true. so if you think all that cute taurus across the hall does well is drink, cook and look pretty, think again. she can hit every g spot in the human body too. provided it’s behind a beautiful, well built, antique, solid oak, closed door… cheers to taurus and making love in true taurean fashion… delectable, tantalizing, enduring, appreciative, satisfying, taurus.

AVIATION COCKTAIL
2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons maraschino liqueur
1/4 ounce Crème de Violette

Anindita Mitra writes for the THE TELEGRAPH in calcutta, india. she’s a sagittarius… the sign of both mental and physical travel, and she virtually travelled across the globe to research her cocktail blogosphere piece. well written and interesting, the article mentions yours truly along with the other KAISER, ms thing the LIQUID MUSE, none other than JAMIE BOUDREAU, my ACHING HEAD, the one and only CAMPER ENGLISH, mixology monday founder PAUL CLARKE and COCKTAILIANS. cheers to us all, and thanks anindita! check the article out here…thanks for the pic alcademics…

this week, COMIDA will unveil the BEEKEEPER MARTEANI in honor of earth day. made with organic honey syrup, and chamomile tea-infused organic vodka, this is a leoan libation. yes, the sunny chamomile flower belongs to leo, the sign that loves to be loved. leo should indeed be honored with such a prestigious launch date for she wants nothing more than to be recognized for her outstanding efforts… think madonna, think obama. i have quite a few leo friends and they are all excellent, kind, and conscientious workers. similar to the honey bee, they quietly toil. but unlike the honey bee, they won’t be content to drone on without some pats on the head or a bowl of creamy honey. so give the good little leos in your life some acknowledgment… those kind words will recharge them in the most literal sense. we love ya leo! and we love the honey bee too…

albert einstein (pisces) said that without bees, mankind will have four years to live. this is because they cross pollinate our food supply and without them to do it for us, we will do it ourselves at a woefully sad pace. a.k.a. we’ll starve to death. he wasn’t a dummy, mr. einstein, so he might be onto something with his dire prediction. bee die off is a collassal problem at present, due to colony collapse disorder. we believe this illness is a form of mass bee suicide caused by A) pesticide and herbicide B) genetically modified organism crops C) cell phone signals bouncing of satellites; electro magnetic radiation D) over work (we don’t even let bees hibernate anymore but wake them up in the dead of winter and ship them out to california to pollinate almonds). you think you need a vacation? i would wanna kill myself too if i were a bee!

i hope i’ve established that colony collapse disorder is a real phenonmon, and one what we all need to concern ourselves with remedying. COMIDA is doing a little something to help… every time you order a BEE KEEPER MARTEANI at COMIDA (82nd st & columbus ave, nyc… near the children’s museum of new york and the american museum of natural history) they will donate $1 to PlanBeeCentral.com. wait, it gets better! COMIDA uses 100% organic honey to create this philanthropic cocktail and that stuff is not cheap. i do believe organic honey is one of the most expensive organic products you can possibly buy. think about it… the farmer must section off vast acreage of pesticide, herbicide and GMO-free crops. you can imagine how many flowers it takes to make just one drop of honey. but the lucky bees that get to make it… i am sure those are some of the happiest and thankful bees on the planet! i bet they get up every morning and can’t wait to get to work!

so happy earth day everyone, and please stop in at COMIDA to taste my (and leo’s) latest tipple, the BEE KEEPER MARTEANI.

BEE KEEPER MARTEANI:
(martini glass, up)

2 oz chamomile infused organic vodka
1 ½ oz chamomile organic honey tea syrup
½ oz lime
comb honey (carefully cut one square out and rest on side of glass for garnish)

***to infuse chamomile organic vodka, steep 10 tea bags in 750 ml bottle for one week.
***to make organic honey syrup, combine 1 cup organic honey with 3 cups hot water.

lavender is ruled by mercury, and is hence a virgoan plant. this is true because of its feathery quality of leaf, and for the effect this flower has on our central nervous system. it calms us, and slows us down mentally. a recent study showed that when students sniffed pleasant scents before taking exams, their test scores were increased. that is with the exception of lavender… when students inhaled this scent, their scores was lower. here is proof positive that this little purple bud can effectively calm the monsters in our mind.

because the sacred virgin is a zodiacal worry-wart, she might benefit from prescribing herself a nightly (or lunchly, if needed) LAVENDEEP. her agile mind will become less frought with troublesome thoughts, allowing her to focus on what she does best: making money! yes it’s true dear virgo, you recently pushed pisces out of the #1 millionaire spot. more than money, what virgo seeks is perfection of craft, the lucrativity of which just happens to be a nice perk. not convinced? read on…

to prepare for my trunk show at HENRI BENDEL, i researched famous fashion designers and their zodiac signs. i could not believe how many top level virgo fashionistas there were… more than ANY OTHER SIGN! (Stephen meisel, Tom ford, Claudia Schiffer, Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld, Michael kors, Anna sui, Hugo boss). these hypercritical angels are actually workaholic nazis… they possess a clarity of vision that can’t be tainted, a determination of will that can’t be swayed, and a heart of loving steel that can’t easily be won.

so, count your lucky stars if are loved by a virgo, after you pat yourself on the back first. because penciling into her agenda, or entering into her iphone, will be the following task: “mold love life into throbbing lump of steamy perfection.” so, bring on the white scarves, the four poster bed, and be careful of that halo. a trail of lavender syrup from the belly button to the pubic area would do wonders in warming this angel up. (because virgo rules this part of the body, it is a highly sensitive area to them). i can fondly tell you first hand, that in bed, virgo is no angel.

LAVENDEEP
1 oz lavender bud-infused vodka
1 oz lavender bud syrup
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
lavender water spray or rinse
lavender soda

shake all ingredients over ice and strain into champagne flute. top with lavender soda.

combine lavender bud-infused vodka, lavender bud syrup, lemon juice and shake over ice. prepare champagne flute with rinse of lavender water, or mist inside of glass with lavender water spray. strain into lavender-misted / lavender-rinsed flute and top with fair amount of lavender soda. stir briefly and serve. garnish with sprig of lavender or purple flower if available.

lavender vodka:
infuse 750 ml vodka with 3 cups dried lavender buds (available at health food stores or online) allow to sit for several days and strain.

lavender syrup:
bring to boil 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1/4 cup dried lavender buds and remove from heat. allow to infuse for 1/2 hour and strain. add splash vodka to act as preservative and store in fridge. note that using white sugar over raw will give a prettier pink color, while the latter will make for a darker hue.

lavender water:
available at health food stores or online. for greater control and speed, i prefer misting over rinsing of glass. transfer lavender water into small spray bottle that is dark in color and store in fridge.

lavender is ruled by mercury, the same planet that watches over the zodiacal angel, virgo. and like an angel heals, so does lavender.

can’t sleep? place a drop of lavender oil on your pillow. got a rash? rub some lavender oil on it. pets love lavender oil, put a drop in their litter box or on their bed. lavender has become a modern symbol of healing and purity; a guardian of goodness. nature’s nurse, if you will. so who wants to play doctor with virgo? we should all be so lucky!

in this lavender libation, those virgoan petals take the inherent goodness of this classic cocktail to another level… a subtly fragrant one. care for a nightcap? this tipple will bring some particularly sweet dreams…

if you’d like to try your hand at growing lavender, it prefers to grow in sunny, well drained soil. if you can get it to grow, it’s amazing stuff to have in the garden! in the dead of winter, there’s nothing better than a vase of dried summer lavender. and the bees, well they just love it…

LAVENDER BEES KNEES

1.5 oz gin
.5 oz fresh lemon juice
5 sprigs fresh lavender OR 1/2 tsp dried lavender
1 spoon honey

*** Mix hot water and lavender in bowl. Let steep for five minutes. muddle as well to augment flavor.

*** Whisk in honey, strain into another bowl.

*** Add lavender honey syrup, gin, lemon juice; strain into cocktail shaker with ice and stir extremely well.

*** Strain into a cocktail glass.

VIA EHOW

THANKS TO KALYN’S KITCHEN FOR HOSTING WEEKEND HERB BLOGGING.

pisces sweet pisces… when they are good, they are very good. but when they are bad, they are very bad. i guess this can be said about everyone, but with pisces it always seems to be more so.

more enjoyable. more fun. more seductive. more addictive. more cool. more sensual. more thoughtful. more intelligent. more captivating. more and more wonderful every day until it’s just not. and then it’s more painful, more alienating. more simplistic. more naive. more boring. more treacherous. more elusive. more withdrawn. pisces is the duplicitous fish whose compassionate nature attracts others easily.

i love pisces, and seem to draw them out… feeding my addiction to seafood i suppose. inevitibly pisces will decide that suddenly they don’t love me, and i’m left baffled and wounded. but, their’s is sweet nectar worth shedding some blood to taste.

honeysuckle is a pisces due to it’s invasive property of overtaking the lawn on which its planted. it spreads, like jupiter, the planet of expansion. way back when, jupiter ruled pisces. now that we identify neptune as pisces’ ruling planet, jupiter is still considered pisces’ co-ruling planet. (due to it’s delicate white flowers it also has a lot of mercury in it, making it partly virgo and gemini).

this is an amazing fragrant tipple, probably one of my faves. the strong floral scent of pisces’ honeysuckle sour will intoxicate you more that the alcohol itself. enjoy one with a pisces and you will have found happiness. at least for a while ; )

HONEYSUCKLE SOUR

1.5 OZ GIN
2 OZ SIMPLE SYRUP
1 OZ FRESH LIME JUICE
15 HONEYSUCKLE FLOWERS

MUDDLE HONEYSUCKLE FLOWER IN BOTTOM OF MIXING GLASS WITH LIME AND GIN. AFTER FLOWERS ARE WELL MACERATED, ADD GIN AND FILL GLASS WITH ICE. STIR VERY WELL. REMOVE ICE CUBES (I USED A FORK). STRAIN INTO MARTINI GLASS USING A SMALL FINE METAL SIEVE. PRESS FLOWERS INTO MESH TO GET ALL THE LIQUID OUT. GARNISH WITH A HONEYSUCKLE BLOSSOM.

THANKS TO JOANNA’S FOOD FOR HOSTING WEEKEND HERB BLOGGING.

when i think of gin, i think a gimlet. thanks to some creative thinking british sailors, this classic tipple was born. the story goes that in order to escape scurvy while at sea, the sailors had to consume large amounts of lime. the addition of gin made the lime more palitable and the rest is history. the gimlet is the original health drink! of course i had to adulterate this perfect yet modest recipe and add all sorts of crazy shiz…. the most unusual being i think the addition of rose geranium leaves.

geranium is ruled by sun and falls under the sign of leo. this plant thrives in hot, dry soil. if they don’t get it, they’ll not flower. and if you give them a tad too much water, they’ll quickly drown. i find the bloom of the geranium to be spectacular because of it’s color. be it red, pink, orange, or even white – the petals are always brilliant, just like leo. i have lots of geranium plants sitting on my window ledge. they’re sun hogs. again, like attention-loving leo! this interesting plant, like mint, comes in a multitude of scents ranging from lemon to cinnamon to mint to rose. and the latter is the one used in this cocktail, imparting a very subtle, but pleasant smell and flavour. i’d tell you to garnish with a geranium flower to really impress the lofty lion, but i’ve heard they are poisonous. stick with an orange slice instead!

BEHOLDEN (rose geranium & orange flower gimlet)
1 1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz fresh orange juice
1 1/2 oz organic raw simple syrup
1/4 oz orange flower water
5 rose geranium leaves

muddle geranium leaves with orange flower water and lime until leaves are macerated. add gin and simple syrup. shake in ice filled cocktail shaker and strain into martini glass.

NOTE: be sure to store flower waters in the fridge or they will go rancid.

thanks to OH GOSH for hosting MXMO XXI.

will she swallow or will she not? that is a question for libra… flirt extraordinaire punctuated by a zodiacal question mark. not only will this little vixen keep you guessing, but she’ll keep herself guessing too! this drink is named in her honor and for the devil’s advocate she plays in any given argument. doesn’t matter what she believes… she’ll choose the side not taken for the sheer fairness of giving both parties a judicious hearing. yup, she really will drive ya nuts in a debate, but take solace in that she does the same to herself, 24/7. Including what to drink, and when, and where, and how, and wether to swallow or not. the one thing she won’t ask is why. another drink? libra always says, why not!

the alluring sign of libra is ruled by the planet of beauty and love, venus. like all libras, who are usually a very attractive bunch, fruits and flowers under this planet are also exceptionally enticing. pleasing to look at, to smell, to swallow. the venusian pear and elderflower in this cocktail makes it quite intoxicating.

THE SWALLOW:

2 oz sake
1 oz freshly extracted pear nectar*
3/4 oz elderflower syrup*
1/4 fresh squeezed lemon

* (if pears are overly soft, a puree will work)

as soon as you juice the pears, add the lemon juice to preserve color as it will go brown very quickly. stir the pear juice, lemon, sake and elderflower syrup very well and pour into chilled cocktail glass. garnish with a kiss.

(recipe created by gwen sutherland kaiser)

ELDERFLOWER SYRUP
i found making this to be a very VERY labor intensive proposition. and buggy as hell. seems not just libra’s like elderflower, but every damn bug in the insect kingdom too!
shake “ripe” flowers off bush into container. the ones that aren’t ready to fall will stay on bush. after you finish plucking out the critters, go to any one of the ELDERFLOWER SYRUP recipes below:
JEREMY TAYLOR
JOANNA’S FOOD
ABSOLUTELY GREEN RECIPES
THE PASSIONATE COOK

thanks to KALYN’S KITCHEN for hosting WEEKEND HERB BLOGGING #107.