Ghostini

If you've been feeling like you need a quick pick-me-up trip to Las Vegas, but the economy has led you to reconsider, why not create the atmosphere at home with this fun colored Ghostini cocktail? The Ghostini, the signature drink of the Ghost Bar at the Palms Casino Resort, is a shimmering pastel yellow melon flavored cocktail, as glamorous as the people who frequent the Ghost Bar.

Sitting on the fifty-fifth floor of the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, the Ghost Bar offers one of the best views to be found in Las Vegas. This futuristic silver, white and green bar is patronized by rock icons and movie stars, and if you get tired of celebrity spotting, take a break on the ghost deck, where the see-through floor looks down on to the Skin Pool Lounge below.

Ghostini - Ingredients

• 1 1/2 shots Absolut Vodka
• 1/2 shot Midori melon Liqueur
• 1 splash of sour mix
  

Method

1. Shake the ingredients over ice
2. Strain over a martini glass
3. Garnish with a cherry
   

Super-Sized Watermelon Martini

If you are looking for a "big" drink to serve at your next gathering, this super-sized martini will certainly be one everyone will remember. One of the signature drinks of the New Asia Bar at the Equinox in Singapore's Raffles City Complex, this drink is as memorable as the bar itself. The Raffles City Complex offers five levels of bars and restaurants with views over the city stretching as far as Malaysia and Indonesia. The New Asia Bar is located on the upper levels, and is one of the highest vantage points in Singapore.

Equinox is owned by the same group that owns the Raffles Hotel, famous for the Singapore Sling, and the Watermelon Martini is just one of the super-sized martinis served at the New Asia Bar (their house specialty is flavored Martinis served in glasses four times the usual size). Decorated in vibrant colors, with Art Deco style furnishings, and floors that slant at 20 degrees towards the views, these huge martinis only add to the dizzying heights of the New Asia Bar.

So even if you can't be in Singapore, I'm sure if you make these at home, you will still feel some of the same effects!

Ingredients

• 250 ml/8.5 oz Vodka
• 250 ml/8.5 oz Watermelon Liqueur
  

Method

1. Put the vodka and watermelon liqueur into a shaker with ice.
2. Shake well.
3. Pour into a large Martini glass.
4. Garnish with a slice of watermelon.

This, and other recipes, can be found in the great book "Signature Cocktails", by Bill Tikos.

Green Tea Martini

For many of us the New Year celebrations seem well over by now, but if you celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, February 7, 2008 marks the beginning of the Year of the Rat, with festivities and celebrations taking place all around the world over the next two weeks.

If you are planning your own New Year celebrations, this Green Tea Martini fits in perfectly with Asian-fusion cuisine, and whether you are cooking Asian food at home, or simply calling your favorite restaurant for pick-up or delivery, this cocktail is sure to please.

Made simply with vodka, ginger and tea, the zing of the ginger mixed with the vodka, and the delicate tannins of the tea are a perfect way to introduce your guests to the delicacies to follow, and go especially well with a menu infused with sweet-spicy-sour flavors.

Ingredients - Green Tea Martini

• 3 ounces Belvedere Vodka
• 1 ounce Green Tea
• Splash of Ginger Liqueur

Method

1. Pour the Vodka, Tea and Ginger liqueur into a shaker with ice.
2. Shake well.
3. Strain, and pour into a martini glass.
4. Decorate with an orchid head.
   

Also, if you don't want to leave out anyone who would like a non-alcoholic cocktail, make green tea infused with ginger ahead of time, and leave in the refrigerator to chill. Serve in a martini glass with an orchid in the same way, so everyone has a beautiful, fun and delicious start to their meal.

Espresso Martini

Great as a cocktail by itself, or as an after dinner drink, the Espresso Martini is perfect for entertaining, and an ideal drink to include at parties and dinners for the holiday season.

Made with vodka, Kahlua and coffee, it is an elegant version of a cross between a Black Russian and an Irish Coffee, and is ultra simple to make. We like it using our Spanish Torrefacto coffee, as it adds an extra rich creamy coffee flavor to the drink, but regular coffee works just as well. Be sure to have plenty of coffee on hand, as one is never enough!

Espresso Martini Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces vodka
• 1 ounce Kahlua
• 1 shot of freshly brewed, cream topped espresso

Method

1. Pour the ingredients into a shaker over ice and shake well.
2. Serve in a Martini glass.
3. Garnish with three roasted coffee beans.
   

Forget the Vodka, Bring out the Gin

I read with interest recently in Bon Appetit that Gin Is In. I am from England, so the classic Gin and Tonic has always been one of my favorite drinks, and one that we would always offer to guests, although most would usually go for a vodka martini. Apparently, gin cocktails are now starting to outnumber vodka-based drinks in the trendsetting bars across the US - from the Pegu Club in New York to Zig Zag Cafe in Seattle - so there has never been a better time to be a gin drinker.

Gin, distilled from corn, barley and flavored with juniper berries and other aromatics has been associated with London since the William of Orange from Holland took over the throne from King James II in 1688. Drinking Jenever, the early Dutch gin, became a symbol of patriotism. Britain banned the import of wine and brandy from Catholic France and encouraged the wholesale distillation of gin. Some time later the great London Gin distillers emerged such as Alexander Gordon, Charles Tanqueray and James Burroughs (known for Beefeater Gin). They developed what became known as the London style of gin, using pure water from the outlying villages and a continuous still to produce a light, dry gin. The flavors from botanicals such as angelica root, coriander, star anise, juniper berries, licorice root, bergamot and cassia bark add a taste and complexity to drinks that vodka does not, and each brand of gin produces a different flavored cocktail, depending on the variety of botanicals used in the production of the gin. Below are Pegu Club's Audry Saunders' recommended brands for five classic gin cocktails.

• Classic Martini - Tanqueray (94.6 proof)
  
• Gin and Tonic - Gordon's (80 proof)
• Aviation - Plymouth (82.4 proof)
• Negroni - Beefeater (94 proof)
• Tom Collins - Beefeater (94 proof)

The ingredients and recipes for the cool drinks can be found in the New Classic Cocktails book, available in the Gourmet Fusion Store.