Most drinks have a traceable “original” recipe (cocktail writer David Wondrich has tracked down many of them on Esquire’s drinks database.) Many have a popularly accepted recipe, and some even have a “sanctioned” recipe from the International Bartender’s Association (which I picture to be something akin to SPECTRE in the James Bond movies.) But the “right” recipe? Drinks change over time, as do tastes, and at the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is my recipe (if I’m mixing your drinks) and yours (because you should really know what you like, and how you like it.)

I mention all that because whenever I bring sangria to a party, and people ask me for the recipe (more to make conversation than because they’re actually interested), I’m at a loss. It’s a little flip, but my answer is something along the lines of “wine and fruit.” Because that’s all you really need. And that’s really how I think of sangria.

My recipe changes a bit every time I make sangria. I usually buy whatever fruit is on sale in the produce section and pick out a fairly inexpensive wine as well. (There’d be no sense in buying something complex or expensive, since we’re going to fuss with the flavor anyway. And besides, I’m a writer, so I can’t afford it.) A little bit of brandy adds some punch, and a bit of fruit juice helps to balance the flavors, but for the most part we’re just infusing wine with fruit. You’ll be surprised how well it works.

Please note that this recipe makes over a gallon of sangria; plan your guest list accordingly.

Sangria

• 4-5 bottles inexpensive red wine (if you’d prefer, you can use white instead.)
• 1/2 pint (8 oz.) brandy
• One bottle sparkling wine
• 2-3 pounds mixed fruit (for the sake of an example, let’s say a pound of strawberries, a half a honeydew, and an orange.)
• 2 cups fruit juice (anything would work, but again, if you need an example, let’s say pineapple)

I thought this month I would go against the grain of the weather a little bit and offer something on the tropical side.  I believe that it is good to mix it up a little bit in mid-winter sometimes.  When a winter is as historic as this one, a nice tropical drink can lift the spirits.

Back in the summer of 2005, I was working as a daytime bartender because I was performing music at night. The establishment I was working at was a unique place for Nashua, as it offered tapas with a trendy list of cocktails. We were very busy at night but seemed to struggle with our lunches.  I often wondered how to improve business with food and drink specials.  After tweaking the food menu a bit with the chef, I decided that I would create a cocktail that would look striking.  This, I thought, would help improve the lunch sales when all of the downtown merchants walked by and saw a bewitching female sipping on a Blue Bicycle and nibbling on sashimi.

Well, many years later, I can’t say if it really brought our sales up or not, but I can tell you this. Just last night this cocktail was a special and something funny happened.  A women who looked faintly familiar and asked what the nightly cocktail specials were.  I said, “We are offering Van Gogh’s Blue Bicycle.”

Her response, “No way, that’s my all time favorite drink, some bartender, come to think of it, he looked a little like you, served it to me several years ago.  He wrote down the recipe, and I misplaced it.  I keep asking for it, but nobody seems to know exactly what it is…”   Well, the rest is history, but now it’s time to put it out there for public consumption.

Van Gogh’s Blue Bicycle

2 oz. Van Gogh Pineapple Vodka
1/2 oz. Galliano
1/4 oz. orgeat Syrup*
2 oz. white cranberry juice
2 oz. pineapple juice
1/2 oz. Rose’s Blue Raspberry mixer
juice from half of an orange
Apple Pop Rocks
colored baking sugar
raspberry

Fill a martini shaker with ice. Add vodka, Galliano, orgeat syrup, cranberry and pineapple juice, and blue raspberry mixer.  Shake vigorously.

Rim the top of a large, slender hurricane glass with orange juice.  (The glass should be tapered in the middle almost like an hour glass.  This will give the appearance of a sexy drink.  This, of course, is preference, but for my particular needs in the summer of 2005 it worked.)

Combine Apple Pop Rocks and colored baking sugar on a small plate.  (Sugar needs to be added to Pop Rocks, or they will dissolve quickly when liquid touches them.)  Invert glass to coat rim with Pop Rock mixture.  Pour contents, with ice, into glass.  Garnish with a raspberry.

*If you can not find this, please add 4 table spoons of Almond extract to 1/4 pound of suger to a quart of water and cook down for 15 minutes.

I had told my mom about Tapas Night dining that my husband and I enjoy on most Mondays.  She always seemed interested in the dishes, so I decided that she and I would have our own girls only tapas night.  Food was the easiest part to plan.  I purchased some marinated steak tips from our favorite butcher and made Pineapple-Mango Chutney to accompany baked brie and homemade lavash chips.

Now, all I needed to do was decide on a cocktail for the two of us.  Although my mom prefers a regular martini, she also is willing to try new dishes and drinks, so I decided to create a fruit-based martini for our evening.  Both peaches and cherries sounded good to me, which led to a drink that combined these flavors.

When working on this recipe I debated whether to use peach schnapps or peach juice.  After having made the drink both ways, it seems that either could be used.  Using schnapps adds a minimal amount of additional alcohol to the drink, but it also seems to strengthen the peach flavor in the drink.  It also may be easier to find peach schnapps than it is to find peach juice.  If you prefer using peach juice, the drink still is quite tasty, just a little bit lighter in flavor.

You choose- it’s a two-way martini.  Make whatever fits your drink creating needs best!

Peach-Cherry Martini #1

1-1/2 oz. cherry vodka

1 oz. peach vodka

1-1/2 oz. peach schnapps

1/2 oz. lemon juice

2-1/2 oz. seltzer

Fill a martini shaker with ice, and add vodkas, schnapps, and juice.  Shake well.  Strain into a martini glass, and top with seltzer.

Peach-Cherry Martini #2

1-1/2 oz. cherry vodka

1 oz. peach vodka

1-1/2 oz. peach juice

1/2 oz. lemon juice

2-1/2 oz. seltzer

Fill a martini shaker with ice, and add vodkas and juices.  Shake well.  Strain into a martini glass, and top with seltzer.

Last week my husband decided to tinker with his own peach and orange drink concoction.  To change the flavor slightly he added pineapple to the list of flavors.  This produced a drink that tasted quite tropical but also had a bit of a kick to it.  Served over ice, it was refreshing and light.

With our nighttime temperatures sinking lower every week, it seems that the season for chilled drinks in the evening is nearing its end.  So, before we turn to coffee and other hot drinks, I will be making another round of these on one of the remaining warm nights.

Hawaiian Fuzzy Logic

3 oz. peach vodka

3 oz. gin

1-1/2 oz. orange juice

1-1/2 oz. pineapple juice

seltzer

Fill a martini shaker with ice, and add vodka, gin, and juices.  Shake well.  Fill two lowball glasses with ice, and pour half of the shaken mixture into each.  Add enough seltzer to fill glasses, and stir gently to combine.