Drink of the Month
SPRING GARDEN PARTY
Created by Bill Norris,
Fino Restaurant, Austin Throw a garden party for Mom on Mother's Day and indulge her with this delicious spring cocktail. Get
locally grown strawberries--they are divine compared to mass-produced
ones.
- 1½ oz. Tanqueray Ten, or other gin with lemon notes
- 1
oz. Paula's Texas Lemon
- ½ oz. fresh lemon juice
- 1 or 2
whole strawberries
- 4 large basil leaves
Muddle* strawberry, basil, and Paula's Texas Lemon in shaker
glass. Add gin and lemon
juice. Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish
with strawberry slice and/or basil leaf.
* What is muddling?
Simply mashing, or crushing, the fruit. Use a pestle or wooden spoon to
break up the strawberry and basil leaves in the shaker glass.
The Jubilation Cocktail
Recipe by The Tipsy Texan
Throw a garden party for Cinco de Mayo; after all, the Mexicans were jubilant to get rid of the French back in 1862. Margaritas are great, but here's another idea for using tequila, the national spirit of Mexico, with Paula's Texas Orange.
- 1½ oz. Pepe Zevada Z Tequila blanco
- ½ oz. Paula's Texas Orange
- 1½ oz. pineapple
juice
- ¾ oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice
- Scant ¾ oz. cinnamon syrup
Combine all ingredients, shake, and pour over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a pineapple wedge.
To make cinnamon syrup, combine equal parts sugar and water, bring to a boil, stir until dissolved, and remove from heat. Steep cinnamon stick in warm syrup for one hour and remove.
From Dale DeGroff's The Essential Cocktail
Whiskey Smash
Throw a garden party for the Kentucky Derby. Fresh mint abounds at this time in Texas, just the ticket for this variation on the mint julep.
- 4 mint leaves
- 3
lemon quarters
- 1 oz. PTO (substituted for orange curaçao)
- 2
oz. bourbon or rye (we like Bulleit Bourbon)
- Lemon slice
and mint sprig for garnish
In the bottom of a bar glass, muddle mint leaves, lemon quarters, and
PTO. Add the whiskey and ice; shake. Strain into an ice-filled rocks
glass. Garnish with mint sprig and lemon slice.
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| Spring Garden Party
| PTO gets a mention in Southern LivingWe were pleased to see that Southern Living magazine chose someone with good taste to write up their guide to Austin. Jennifer McKenzie Frazier picks the Fire in the Hole made with PTO and Tito's vodka at Ranch 616 as her favorite drink in town. The spicy shot, served in a jalapeno cup, is delicious but eye-opening.
Texas Distillers to speak at Southwest Food Expo
"Texas Booze: More Home Grown Choices for Your Bar Menu" is the topic for an educational session June 27 at the Texas Restaurant Association's Expo in Houston. Joining Paula on the panel moderated by David Alan (the Tipsy Texan) are Kelly Railean of Railean Rum and Chip Balcones of Balcones Distilling. We'll sound the wake-up call for those establishments missing out on utilizing all our high-quality local Texas spirits.
Paula's waving the Texas flag at Tales of the Cocktail
Paula's Texas Spirits is a sponsor of The Spirit of Texas spirited luncheon at the increasingly popular Tales of the Cocktail conference in New Orleans July 23. A couple of years ago, this hotter-than-hot conference primarily celebrated New Orleans cocktail culture along with artisanal spirits and the emerging mixology scene. As these trends grow in popularity, so has the conference, as well as its corporate sponsors. Yet they have made a niche for us small folks from Texas. Paula's Texas Orange, joined by Tito's Vodka, Treaty Oak Rum, and Balcones Baby Blue, will show them what we've got.
New cocktail conference in New York City
Meanwhile, if you are really, really interested in the cutting edge of mixology in the U.S., you might want to check out the latest conference organized by some of the industry's pioneers in New York City. The Manhattan Cocktail Classic is a multi-day event based at the Astor Center in lower Manhattan with events scattered around some of the hottest cocktail lounges in town. It kicks off with a gala May 14th at the New York Public Library. I'd love to get a report from anyone who goes.
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