once upon a time, it seems like an eternity ago now, i was mixing a drink. or, i was attempting to mix a drink anyway. i had lemon juice, green apple schnapps, peach puree, maraschino syrup, and i hate to think what other stains stuck to my front. from my fingers to my elbows my skin felt like fly paper–someone must have dipped me in a vat of simple syrup when i wasn’t looking. the jigger kept jumping out of my hand and i’m lucky the mixing glass didn’t end up in my customer’s eye. what a night to be butter fingers… the bar manager was breathing down my neck, the world was closing in, i was praying the drawer would be right, and… and then i was called a hot mess. suddenly, everything was awesome. because hey, if i’m gonna be a mess, then i’ll take the hot part too. i was a hot mess and i kinda liked it.

which brings us to the cantaloupe… this yummy fruit is ruled by the moon and is hence a cancer. if any fruit is a hot mess, it must be the innards of a over ripe melon… juicy, goopy, sweet, fragrant, wet, dripping, tantalizing, delicious… does this sound like any of the cancer’s you’ve known?

this cancerian libation was created at my last bachelorette party. it was the end of the night and we were winding down from my astro-bar cheffing lesson… i suddenly remembered that we had not used pisco in any of our concoctions thus far. heaven forbid, pisco is one of my faves! i immediately set to rectifying that by creating a drink on the spot. i threw in some lemon cooking oil, muddled a few leaves of basil, a few chunks of melon, and shook that baby up. i thought it might very well taste like crap. i poured all the girls a sample and waited for their reaction… luckily, it was positive. their faces lit up with surprise, a lot of mmnnns all around, and then someone called that drink a hot mess! everyone chimed in that this was indeed the perfect name for such an unwieldy yet successful bevvie. and the HOT MESS was born…

HOT MESS:
1 1/2 oz pisco
handful of melon chunks
3-5 leaves basil
dash lemon cooking oil
1/2 oz raw simple syrup
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

muddle basil, melon. add other ingredients. shake over ice. double strain as per below into glass. enjoy!

Here are some pics from a Bar Cheffing Class / Tasting Party we held a lil’ while back. Everyone had a rockin time learning the basics of bar cheffing. The never-ending stream of infused liquor cocktail shots certainly helped boost the mood! Above are some homemade infusions that everyone sampled, and sampled, and sampled… And below Moi is giving tastings.

For all you infusion newbies out there: it’s SO easy to make your own custom liquor infusions, try it! here’s how:
–––1. Take a resealable container (my preference is old glass jars).

–––2. Fill the jar about 1/4 full with the ingredient (s) you’d like to flavour your alcohol with. I prefer fresh ingredients, but canned, frozen or dried will do just fine. Spices, fruits, vegetables, chocolate– your imagination is the limit! Do stay away from unidentifiable varieties of mushrooms and rusted nails though. A vegetarian myself, i hate meat. But hey, you want a pork chop cocktail, go for it! You’ll find through experimentation what works and what doesn’t.

–––3. Allow to sit (preferably in a cool, dark location) for anywhere from two days to two months. Keep stirring and tasting it, and when you like the intensity of the flavour, then it’s finished! Strain into a final storage container such as the original bottle. Enjoy neat or mixed in a lovely libation. Or allow someone else to enjoy it as a special gift : )

Hands down everyone LOVED my nasturtium-infused gin, which had a pleasant, citrus-chili bite. We reached a unanimous decision that my radish infused vodka DOES NOT work. Maybe i let the radish infuse too long? But let me tell ya, it was RANCID RADISH we tasted that night. ew.

My salad-infusion didn’t go over too well either (tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers and carrots). Maybe in my next Bloody Mary this particular vintage can find a home… The candied ginger vodka was a big hit. And after sipping the serrano peppar tequila i wanted to swallow the sink. I thought my lips were going to melt off my face. Careful and comprehensive notes were taken to avoid anymore “radish” incidents in the future!


SPEAKING OF LOVELY LIBATIONS, ONTO BAR CHEFFING 101… LET’S SHAKE, MUDDLE AND RIM!
––– RIM
If you will be rimming your glass with sugar, salt, or some other powdery concoction, of course you want to prepare that first. Wet the edge of the glass with a small wedge of lemon, cantaloupe, sponge, or whatever– slit up the middle. if you use a piece of fruit, it will give an extra layer of yummy flavour when taking a sip.

Then roll the edge of the glass gently, in a circular motion in a dish of sugar, salt or other powdery concoction.

Voila! Le glass c’est finis!

––– MUDDLE
Muddle, macerate or mush your fresh ingredients using a muddler, spurtle of end of a wooden spoon.

Place in steel cocktail shaker along with the ingredients of the drink. If you’re making a basil margarita, then you will add the basil leaves, the tequila, the cointrea and the lime juice all in there together and muddle away. Press the bottom of the muddler downward in a spiral motion for several minutes. The longer you do this the stronger the flavour will be. A little tiresome I admit, but worth it–especially for the biceps! Spring is just around the corner…

––– SHAKE IT BABY
When you’re finished muddling, add a handful of ice to the muddled mixture. Place the lid or shaker cup over shaker and shake vigorously for ten seconds. Now there are two options: Strain into a cocktail glass (chilled is nice). Or, pour the whole mixture, ice and all, into a highball glass and enjoy the mash. Adding another ingredient such as seltzer to this mixture is a nice way to make it last a little longer and taste less intense.

CHEERS TO A GREAT CLASS!

(thanks to mary claire miraldi for the great photos)