this august i gave a lecture, demonstration, and tasting on HERBACIOUS COCKTAILS. i spoke in front of 180 guests for 1 1/2 hours, and had to actually use a mic! i forgot what a rush being on stage was… i just love that energy! tickets to the annual HERB DAY EVENT to benefit HILLHOLD MUSEUM always sell out… so the crowd is eager to learn and have fun. i demonstrated how to make 4 different cocktails and one mocktail, based on the work of medieval astrology nicholas culpeper.

of course, intoxicated zodiac made the favors to celebrate the event. i created a special herb day cocktail that was printed on one side of the glass with the museum’s logo printed on the other. they were used as centerpieces.

this annual event is hoity toity… i asked someone their name and they said berkley. i said, oh what an unusual first name. she replied, no, i’m a berkley (as in, last names are what count here.) definitely a blue blood event! i had such a blast, thank you for having me HILLHOLD MUSEUM.

that’s me, picking the winner of the door prize with my mom sitting on my right… hi mom!

This past June, my Libran sister and her Virgoan husband got hitched under the sign of Gemini. Nuptual Astrologer, April Kent, chose the most auspicious date for them to exchange vows. This is what she recod:

“Friday, June 10, 2011, 6:20 pm MDT, Canon City, CO: A very nice chart with the Moon in Libra (past its constricting conjunction with Saturn), the sign of marriage, approaching harmonious aspects to the Sun/Mercury in Gemini; a lovely, chatty, curious, lively energy. Venus is also in Gemini, and at 6:20 it’s in the 7th house along with the Sun and Mercury …. nice. Venus is sextile Uranus (to keep things lively and spontaneous) and trine Saturn (financial prudence and stability), but also approaching a quincunx with Pluto in the 2nd… taken together, this could spell some financial adaptations/compromises that need to be made. Mars is a little close to the descendant at this hour and might indicate a certain amount of bickering (though you’ll tend to have long fuses; physical exercise could provide a healthy channel for this energy). Overall, this is a nice chart for communication, socializing, reaching harmonious compromises, and enjoying new experiences. Window of opportunity: Say your vows between 6:08 p.m. (Mars leaves the 7th house) and 6:30 p.m. (after which the last few – unpleasant – degrees of Taurus are on the 7th house cusp).”

Since my sister was now planning her ceremony around Gemini’s celestial influence, she of course had to include that theme in her reception. Intoxicated Zodiac Marriage Sign favors accomplished this perfectly, and they are photographed here beautifully.

Inside the shot glass there are dried lavender petals to signify Gemini’s influence and dried Rose petals to symbolize love, both of which can be infused into sugar syrup and then made into a cocktail at home!

A Welcome Drink was served to greet guests that was ruled by sign of Gemini: a simple Lavender Martini. Lavender is ruled by Mercury and is hence a Gemini.

Some old bottles were then painted and labelled with the Gemini Marriage Sign Reading and used as props to spiff up the Marriage Sign concept so guests could understand it more easily.

Here i am, showing off my Lavender Martini! Fleur and Jesse are shown here exchanging Gemini vows… Ironically, Fleur means flower in French.

Overall the reception was a total hit, with no small thanks to the smashing Welcome Cocktail, and the unique favors which enthused the guests to no end… Not to mention the dogs!

more and more, we’re being granted access to many of the obscure liquors that europe has been privy to for so long. over here in the grand united states, we live vacuum packed and hermetically sealed–with the vacuum made in china. thankfully the alcohol has seeped through the walls of our red, white and blue fortress and into our chalice. we’ve been presented with another long lost liqueur, heralding from the days of speakeasies, from the prohibition-era itself: voilet liqueur. in fact, there are so many companies making this spirit now that i’ve lost count. you should be able to secure a bottle at your local booze shop, and if you can’t, reprimand the owner–the severity of which i leave up to you. because that’s just uncalled for.

ironically however, creme de violette sounds a whole lot better than it tastes. voilets are beautiful, so you know who rules them: venus–cheers to the bull…! creme de voilette is made from voilets, which means it’s a pretty purple color, which means one just has to mix with it, especially if one happens to be of the female persuasion. we love purple, don’t we girls? well, i’ve solved our little quandary, and i present it to you now in what i think you’ll find to be a most agreeable tipple:

CANDIED VIOLET
2 oz crème de voilette
2 oz coconut milk
.5 oz maple syrup (light amber)
.5 oz rose water

Shake over ice, strain into glass.
Garnish with edible flower, ideally a violet

Cheers!

did you know that lilac flowers are edible? i didn’t until recently, and since my discovery i’ve have been patiently waiting for lilac season to roll around, so i could put this claim to the test. and guess what? it passed with flying colors, or pink and purple really… i didn’t die–lilacs are edible!

thanks to beautiful venus for giving the world yet another intoxicating flower. is there anything better on this earth than the smell of fresh lilac? c’mon now, before you all say: sex, chocolate, shopping or drugs…. admit that lilacs are pretty high up on the list!

i propose we all take a lesson from the zodiacal pleasure-monger, and make like a bull this may. taurus knows how to enjoy the small things in life, like fresh lilac. taurus reminds us to stop to smell the roses, and drink the lilacs too.

we all know i love flower tipples, and i’d order this in a bar, hands down, just for the sheer novelty of it. i’ve provided a pictoral guide of my lilac experience for your viewing pleasure below.

the lilac aroma is quite fragrant infused into the simple syrup, but when you mix it with the other cocktail ingredients, it somewhat loses the intensity of its scent. it’s still there, just harder to detect. but, very easy to drink!

the syrup actually turns out green. if you’re not into green, add some NATURAL food coloring, or throw a blueberry or two into the sauce pot while you’re cooking the syrup.

FRESH LILAC MARTINI:
1 part lilac syrup*
1 part vodka (feel free to use 2 oz vodka, but it will dilute the scent.)
1 part fresh squeezed lemon

shake over ice, strain into the prettiest glass you can find, and garnish with a lilac sprig. cheers!

LILAC SYRUP: equal parts lilac florets, water, sugar. simmer for 10 minutes. strain. chill.

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.