SWEET VANILLA COCKTAILS

VANILLA HAS THAT SECRET SOMETHING…

As aroma also affects mood, vanilla is to me always an aroma of pleasure and helps evoke a sense of wellbeing.

Ever since i found that ebay seller who sells these tahitian vanilla beans to such a good price i havent been out of beans for at least a couple of years now. I try to find all kind of ways to use them which isnt hard, (vanilla sugar, milk,sauce for both desserts and fish/shellfish, syrup, infused spirits, extract, coffee, tea..and they make good presents too. I even learnt a while ago that you can make straws with the beans too and sip cocktails. Not practical at all but fun.

Many of my cocktails are adorned with these lovely little dark brownish/black spicy beans or contains my vanilla syrup. And i dont get tired with these beans even though its soon time to take a (sort of) vanilla break, if possible.

The first cocktail of three is a cocktail that was created by me and Rick at Kaiserpenguin (if you haven`t already, go and check out his awesome garnish!) on one of those spontaniously “making up drinks on the spot nights”, very much like a private TDN which occurs every week at the Mixoloseum chat room. Its a coffee flavored cocktail that were made in two different ways depending on which ingredients were available. My cocktail didn`t contain any coffee syrup but had instead coffee liqueur.This is my version of this drink:

KENYAN GHOST

2 oz dark rum ( i used Pusser´s red label and Zaya)

1/4 oz coffee liqueur

0.5 oz orgeat

1 oz orange juice

dash Angostura bitters

float blackstrap rum on top

Shake, strain and pour in a double old fashion glass filled with crushed ice. Float blackstrap and garnish with a vanilla bean.

Rick from Kaiser Penguin and Tiare from A Mountain of Crushed Ice

AN OLD MEXICAN LEGEND

There`s an old mexican legend that tells how the beautiful girl Vanila and the youth Chocolatl loved each other, but the evil magician who hated their love transformed Chocolatl in a tree and Vanila in an orchid. But their love was so strong so the orchid Vanila embraced the tree Chocolatl. And it’s said that who picks the fruits of the tree and the orchid and prepares for himself a drink from it, will feel nothing but love.

So therefore to increase the love in the world i have created this tequila/chocolate/vanilla cocktail.

“Vanilla bean pods dipped in honeyed water and left to steep…with a pinch of dark cocoa, then coated in light and dark muscovado sugars to adorn and flavor this cocktail”

TEQUILA VANILA

Split the vanilla bean a bit but not all the way, let it hold together in one end. Scrape out the seeds and reserve. Dip the bean in warm honeyed water ( 2:1 honey – water) and leave to steep for about 10 min while cooling. Add also into this a small piece of very dark cocoa chips to melt in the honeywater.

Then coat the honeyed bean with light and dark muscovado sugars. (I recommend Billingtons or Tate&Lyle) reserve the bean for garnish. Use the vanilla flavored honey to sweeten the drink.

2 oz tequila reposado or anejo

0.5 oz vanilla honeyed water

0.5 oz fresh lime juice

2 oz fresh orange juice

Dash Angostura orange bitters

A small piece of very dark cocoa chips.

The black seeds from the vanilla bean

Shake all ingredients, strain and pour in a fancy glass filled with crushed ice and garnish with the vanilla bean on top of the ice.

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The third is a sunny cocktail made with mango juice and two rums.

UNDER THE MANGO TREE

1 oz Appleton extra

1 oz aged agricole (I used Clemént vieux)

2 oz Maaza mango Juice

1 oz fresh lime juice

0.5 oz tahitian vanilla syrup.

A dash of Trader Tikis falernum bitters

1 barspoon hibiscus grenadine

1 vanilla bean for garnish, simple, just stick in the glass and voila, awesome!

Shake and strain, serve in a rocks glass with crushed ice.

When the cocktail is finished the bean can just be re-used, for instance i put mine in my jar of vanilla sugar. That is a mix of light and dark muscovado sugars and tahitian vanilla beans to flavor.