Crème de Violette Cocktails for Your Springtime Party

The Blue Moon Cocktail will brighten up your cocktail party with its sweet and sour combination of lemon and violets. 

Finally, spring is here. Warm caresses from the sun. The dewy luminescence from springtime light. Rainbow beauty from early-riser flowers such as crocuses, hyacinths, and daffodils. Just walking to the subway brings exquisite joy. This is the time of year when our taste buds turn to floral favors. One such flavor we revere comes from violets in the form of a deep, almost impenetrable purple liqueur called crème de violette. The term crème refers to sugar, and there is plenty of that in pretty much the only crème de violette you can get stateside, Rothman & Winter, which is also made with Alpine violets and Weinbrand (German or Austrian brandy). It became available to us here soon after we started Cocktail Buzz, back in 2007, and we have been smitten with it ever since. Initially, we bought some to fulfill the old recipe for an Aviation cocktail. It’s hard to fathom how this cocktail got its name without the addition of a little crème de violette, which adds a subtle but magical pale purple–blue tint to the drink. It’s a stunner—sourness from the lemon juice, bitterness from the maraschino liqueur, and sweetness from the crème de violette. We created a variation of the Aviation we call the Kitty Hawk, named after the Wright Brothers’ site of their famous flight. The addition of a little Catdaddy moonshine adds a southern sweet-tea charm to the cocktail. On its own, one sip of crème de violette will remind you instantly of violet candies you can find at any candy counter in New York City.

A Violet Sparkler, simple and beautiful

For all of you who like to get the party started with a little bubbly, you’ll be happy to know that crème de violette mixes exceedingly well with champagne or any sparkling wine. Just a little splash (1/2 to 1 1/2 teaspoon per 3 ounces of champagne) in a flute or coupe is all you need to experience the floral aromas and tastes of a Violet Sparkler. Top with some reposado tequila and you’ve just made yourself La Violeta. Something elegant for a Cinco de Mayo cocktail party.

Cousin Barbara turned us on to the Blue Moon, a gin and lemon juice Jazz Era cocktail laced with a healthy dose of the violet liqueur. The Blue Moon glows anywhere between heliotrope and lavender depending on the gin you use (try several to see which one you like best), and is perfect for any time of year, but spring seems just about right. Perfect if you want to serve something a little boozier to your guests. Just provide a few nibbles to keep the partiers satisfied and sober.

Blue Moon
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce crème de violette
1/2 ounce lemon juice
lemon twist, as garnish

Method
Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass or coupe. Add garnish.

Another cocktail resplendent with a smoky gray hue was created a few years back, when Phil Ward was behind the stick at Death & Co. Paul and his friend Shelley were lucky enough to have Phil make one up on the spot while we were talking about a cocktail Paul had made for his mom that featured scotch and crème de violette. Phil grabbed a bottle of this Compass Box blended whisky called Asyla, gave it a deep sniff, then immediately grabbed a bottle of crème de violette, gave that a quick sniff, then put both bottles near his nose and gave both a deep inhale. The first thing he grabbed was Lillet blanc. The clincher was absinthe, but just a little. The verdict, well, neither Shelley or Paul can recall the exact details, but rest assured, they liked the results. Each ingredient working to enhance the others. Try it up, as Phil intended, but feel free to have it on the rocks, or with a splash of soda.


Smoke and Violets
(created by Phil Ward)

Ingredients
2 ounces Asyla Compass Box scotch whisky
1 ounce Lillet blanc
1/2 ounce crème de violette
2–3 dashes absinthe
lemon twist, as garnish

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass or coupe. Add garnish.

For after dinner, you may want a Marianne at Midnight, the drink referred to above that Paul created for his mother. We’ve altered our recipe a little, adding a half ounce less crème de violette, to this scotch and Tuaca sipper.

If you’d like to harvest the essence of crème de violette and create a bitters, all you need to do is find some gentian (a bitter root), cinnamon bark, and grapefruit peel. Letting these age a few days in an ounce and a half ounces crème de violette is all you need to do. Then get creative and come up with your very own cocktail.

Violet Bitters
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces crème de violette
1/4 teaspoon gentian
piece of cinnamon bark
piece of grapefruit peel

Method
Mix together ingredients and let sit for a few days. Strain into a small bottle or dropper.

We don’t know which is prettier: the heliotrope glow of a Blue Moon (left) or the bubbly lavender of a Violet Sparkler? We think you should make both and decide for yourself.

Well, there you have it all. A crème de violette cocktail for any time of the day or evening. Start with a Violet Sparkler and end with one of the many drinks we love and have shared with you. Or create your own using your new homemade violet bitters. Happy spring. Embrace renewal.

photo © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

How a Cocktail Is Born . . . Quickly!

We were just in Kansas for the holidays when Tracy shouted, “Make me a cocktail.” Steve was in the throes of cooking something delicious, so his hands were tied. I looked at the bar and there lay a big bottle of Crown Royal. Okay, that would be my base spirit. I didn’t want to make a Manhattan—too spirituous for a crowd that was about to dig in to some good grub (roasted turkey with seasoned gravy, cranberry relish, creamy mashed potatoes, green beans with shallots and hazelnuts). So what else to make? I could make an Oriental (Steve just picked up some sweet vermouth and triple sec from the liquor store), but that would be too easy, I thought. Tracy wanted something new, but familiar. So why not a riff on an Oriental. Hm, how can I change it but not too much. I was dealing with the pressures of family in search of an immediate cocktail buzz. So into a mixing glass I poured 1 1/2 ounces of the blended Canadian whisky, and a half ounce each of triple sec, sweet vermouth, and lemon juice, plus a tiny wedge of Clementine, as a garnish (Steve’s mom had bought some lemons and Clementines for the occasion, so why not use them). I gave it a vigorous stir (there were no shakers in the house), plopped in the Clementine mini-wedge, and tasted it. Immediately I thought that it was too citrusy, so I added another 1/4 ounce of sweet vermouth, which helped the balance. Tracy then tried it and opined that the drink needed more booze, so back into the mixing glass with an extra 1/2 ounce of the Crown Royal. Voila! That did the trick, and it hit the spot too. Before I knew it, I had made four of them. We dubbed the drink a “Quick & Dirty,” on the spot, until Steve’s grandmother Dunie so astutely retorted, “I know why you call it ‘Quick,’ but what makes it ‘Dirty’?” Good question, we’d have to come up with another name, but more orders needed to be filled, and the crowd was thirsty. Three weeks later, we made the drink again, back home in Brooklyn, and the name “Occidental” popped into my head. Being a riff on an Oriental, and having been invented out West, the Occidental seemed like the perfect moniker for such a tasty drink that boasts sweet, sour, and bitter notes in every sip. Try one on the rocks, or up, and let us know what you think. Cheers to all, and Happy Happy New Year!

The Occidental
(created by Paul Zablocki, Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces Canadian whiskey
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
1/2 ounce triple sec
1/2 ounce lemon juice
small Clementine wedge, as garnish

Method
Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into ice-filled rocks glass. Squeeze garnish over drink and drop in.


A holiday feast.


Cousin Danny, enjoying a Sombrero.


Aunt Mary, Cousin Brian, and Sister Carol.

Uncle Joe shows you the easiest way to carve a turkey.

text by Paul Zablocki
photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Two Sublime Tastings: Yamazaki and Flor de Caña

We were very excited to be invited to two special lectures in the past few weeks for two very special spirits: Flor de Caña Rum and Yamazaki Whisky. At both lectures we were treated to tastings of several different spirits in each of the brands’ lines, as well as delicious appetizers created by the hosting establishments. Both put big smiles on our faces.

The ladies at Truth Be Told PR know how much we love Yamazaki whisky, so we were delighted when they invited us to a small sit-down lecture and dinner at the esteemed 21 Club in Midtown Manhattan. The dinner–lecture was held in the Remington Room (the exquisite Western art of Frederic Remington on every wall!), and the waiters brought the few guests profuse amounts of delicious short rib and potato appetizers, as well as mini crab cakes, and more. After chatting with Tanya Thomas form Truth Be Told, the lecture and tasting was conducted by Mike Miyamoto, Master Distiller from the House of Yamazaki in Japan. Mike, a handsome, venerable gentleman, with a wry sense of humor, spoke of the history of Suntory Yamazaki Distillery and the emergence of Japanese Whisky created to suit the discerning Japanese palate. He explained how each of the Yamazaki Single Malt whiskies is distilled and aged, explaining how the wood from each cask and the years required for the aging process give each whisky its distinct color, aroma, and flavor. He also gave us a tour of the Distillery, via a PowerPoint presentation, from obtaining the malt required to start the fermentation process (it’s cheaper to ship the malt from Scotland than it it to obtain it from Japan), through distillation, aging, blending, and finally bottling.


Mike Miyamoto, Yamazaki Master Distiller, with Paul, at 21.

Then the tasting began. Before the nine of us guests were three snifters of 12-year, 18-year, and 1993 Cask Strength (a very rare whisky not available in the U.S.). First we sipped the 12-year, which we are already familiar with having created two cocktails featuring the whisky (click for recipes for the Bank of Japan and the Tokyo Momo). We discovered it’s Mike’s favorite, and no wonder: its gold color, honey-vanilla aroma, and sweet spice finish (from aging in Japanese Oak) make it unique and excellent, mitigating the woody earthiness of most single malts. This whisky can be drunk with dinner, and some sushi and other Japanese appetizers were offered to us as we sipped and sipped. This 12-year is lighter and drier than the second tasting, the 18-year whisky. Sweeter, with a less prominent nose, its full body and flavors of cherry, honey, and toast paired perfectly with the rich chocolate torte that enticed us from the moment we walked into the room. The third tasting, and the pièce de résistence, was the Cask of Yamazaki 1993 “Heavily Peated Malt.” Only 554 bottles of this whisky, aged in American white oak, were produced. Bringing the deceptively light in color whisky to our noses, we instantly smelled the peaty smokiness, akin to the scent of magic marker and aged leather. One sip confirmed the nose; however, we, along with our beautiful and delightful tasting companion, food and drink writer Akiko Katayama, were surprised by its honey-blossom sweetness, which helped balance the leathery smoky flavors that permeated our palates. We all agreed that this was a special moment and were honored to have been a a part of the experience.



A week earlier was Ed Hamilton’s rum lecture, sponsored by USBG and Flor de Caña Rum, held at the Aspen Social Club. If you haven’t been to the Aspen Social Club (or its parent restaurant lounge Aspen), run, don’t walk. Its Colorado-Rockies-Chic interior has to be seen to be believed. Glass walls that allow you to look into seemingly endless rows of trees, a white-antler sculptured ceiling in the back, various seating and socializing areas with their own bars varying degrees of intimacy, it’s a place that makes you feel special. And Ed Hamilton, one of the world’s leading rum authorities, made us feel special. After the waitstaff handed us each a tangy, superb Daiquiri, and we were encouraged to gobble up polenta fries and gourmet quesadillas, we chatted with Ed before his PowerPoint lecture about his love for rum and his quest to find the world’s best rums. You should check out the Web site he curates called Ministry of Rum. It’s a fascinating compilation of lore, brands, profiles, forums, distillation processes—you name it—much of which he discussed during his lecture.

The tasting consisted of five Flor de Caña rums, each with its own distinct flavor, color, and age. First was Limón, a clean, bright 4-year rum blend with natural flavors to create a liqueur perfect for mixing your favorite rum cocktail, such as a Mojito. The second tasting was a personal favorite, the 7-year Gran Reserve Rum, full-bodied, mahogany-colored, and tasting of crème caramel. Its mouthfeel was silky, and it made us want to sip it for the rest of the evening, but we had three more to go. Third was the 4-year Gold Rum, another perfect mixer, with hints of vanilla in the nose, and a medium-bodied overall taste. Its golden hue will add a beautiful shimmer to your tiki drink. Fourth up was the 4-year Extra Dry White Rum, the only aged white rum on the market, that was used in the our meet-and-greet Daiquiri (which we downed a little too quickly, after which we had a Firecracker, made with the 7-year Gran Reserve, triple sec, lime juice, simple syrup, and chunks of watermelon, all shaken with some cayenne pepper for some zing zap kapow). The fifth and final tasting was of the 18-year Centenario Gold, a smooth sipper with hints of nutty maple and caramel. This one makes for a great postprandial quaff.

Tastings are a perfect way to get to know a brand or spirit, especially those that are new to the market, rare, or expensive. We highly recommend both Yamazaki for all you scotch drinkers who want to try something unique, and the Flor de Caña rums, for their smoothness and adaptability. Cheers!

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Peaches! Peaches! Peaches!

The Smash Daddy, perfect for summer and early fall.

Well, if you haven’t figured it out already, peach season is coming to a close. So we implore you to run to the grocery store or farmers market and pick up some peaches ASAP. Sorry for posting so late in the peach season, but sometimes it takes a while to perfect some cocktail recipes. They’re worth the wait when they taste as delicious as these two rocks drinks.

First up is the Smash Daddy, a simple concoction made with some muddled white peach and one of our favorite new liqueurs, Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine (now called Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine). It’s a vanilla-, cinnamon-, and nutmeg-flavored Moonshine that tastes like someone just dropped a bit of wedding-cake frosting into a vat of virgin whiskey, and added a few other spices like coriander seeds and a sweetener like sorghum. The smell is reminiscent of juicy fruit gum. Confused? Well, trust us, you have to try it to believe it. It got Steve’s lazy ass out of bed when we were at Tales of the Cocktail, and he was happy that Paul played reveille so he could try this beguiling elixir at a morning tasting. Just a splash of soda, a few drops of peach bitters, and you’ve got a sweet sipper that may just turn into a gulper depending on how you take a shine to the Catdaddy. If you’re a fan of sweet tea or, say, and an Old-Fashioned with muddled fruit, think of the Smash Daddy as a Peach Old-Fashioned. If you only have regular yellow peaches, we won’t tell.

Smash Daddy
(created by Paul Zablocki, Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounce Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine
splash of soda
3 drops peach bitters
quarter of a white peach
peach slice, as garnish

Method
Score half a white peach. Muddle in a rocks glass, skin side up. Fill with ice. Add Catdaddy, then soda. Add bitters. Garnish with peach slice.

P.S. Don’t forget to eat the booze-soaked peaches. This is one drink where you want to eat the garnish after you’ve relished the last drop.

❤ ❤ ❤

Our second cocktail, one of Steve Schul’s creations, is the Tokyo Momo. Momo is Japanese for peach, and this rocks drink uses a muddled white peach shaken with Yamazaki 12-year Whisky to create a deep and complex combo. But that’s not all. Steve also added two unique liqueurs that complement the sweetness of a peach: Cherry Heering and Dumante Verdenoce Italian Pistachio Nut Liqueur. He decided on these two liqueurs for several reasons. First, he realized that the strong scotch-like flavor of the Yamazaki whisky needed a strong counterpoint to balance it, and Cherry Heering is such a liqueur to do the trick. Second, being a pie lover, he knew that bittersweet cherry mixed with peach is a great combination. But what other flavor would add to the complex fruitiness already brewed? That’s where the third element comes in. Nuts. Something nutty, like the refined beauty of the Dumante pistachio liqueur, with its complex nutty sweetness, was a perfect addition. A drop of whiskey bitters brings all the flavors together so that the Tokyo Momo tastes like you made a peach cobbler and let the juices run over the side of the pie crust. One sip and we proclaimed our love for the early days of fall.



Tokyo Momo
(created by Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Yamazaki 12-yr. whisky
1/2 ounce Heering cherry liqueur
1/2 ounce Dumante pistachio liqueur
2 drops Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters
quarter of a white peach
brandied cherries, or peach slice, as garnish

Method
Score the white peach, flesh side, making sure not to go all the way through the skin. Muddle in a shaker. Add the whisky, liqueurs, and bitters. Fill two-thirds with ice. Shake for 30 seconds. Strain into ice-filled rocks glass. (If you’re having trouble straining, be patient and keep shaking and straining. If you’re not that patient, then strain the mixture all at once through a sieve into a pitcher.) Garnish with brandied cherries on a skewer or a peach slice (or both).

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Suntory Spirits Unite in This Early Fall Cooler

The Bank of Japan is crisp, zingy, and refreshing.

Suntory makes an incredibly smooth whisky, Yamazaki, and we thought we would challenge each other to come up with a drink that showcases its mellow smokiness. The “Bank of Japan” is the name of the first drink (we’ll explore the other at a later date), and the path we took to come up with the name was long forgotten after a few rounds of these coolers that are perfect for late summer–early fall. (Happy Fall, by the way, and we hope you enjoy the lack of humidity wherever you may be.)

Sometimes it’s difficult to mix whiskies (the flavors of most single malts can be slightly overpowering when mixed with liqueurs that cannot hold themselves up to their piquancies). Mulling around the liquor cabinet, Paul thought that the addition of Midori, another Suntory product, might just be the sweetness that this 12-year Yamazaki needed. Midori, as you all know, is a melon liqueur, and a guilty pleasure in the Schul–Zablocki household. It’s also an ingredient in The Universe, which won First Prize in the the 1978 U.S. Bartenders Guild Annual Competition, and was a favorite at the bacchanalian Studio 54.



The addition of Midori did add just the right amount of sweetness, and also a tantalizing fruitiness, to the Yamazaki Whisky, but something was missing. The characteristics of what makes single-malt whisky, whisky, were now suppressed. How to bring them back? Another glance at the liquor cabinet revealed a bright yellow liqueur, recently purchased, and crying out to be used creatively. Strega! Italian for witch, and a brew of spicy, herbal wonder. Just a little bit goes a long way, so after a splash, and a few drops of Peychaud’s Bitters to round out all the flavors, we threw in some ice and garnished with a slice of pear (apple works just as well) to welcome the fall into our home. The color is gorgeous, and changes from a bright yellow, to a glowing chartreuse, depending on the light source (see photos).

Now as we enter the fall, and are sitting outside on our terrace, or back porch, or near an open window, we can sip our Bank of Japans, breath a sigh of relief knowing that in less than half an hour we’ll be ready for another one. Kampai!

Bank of Japan
(created by Paul Zablocki, Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Yamazaki whisky
1/2 ounce Midori melon liqueur
1/4 ounce Strega
2 drops Peychaud’s Bitters
splash of soda

Method
Stir first three ingredients in ice for 30 seconds. Pour into rocks glass. Add ice. then bitters. Top with soda. Add red pear slice (such as Clapp, Red Barlett, or Red Anjou), as garnish.

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz