Wine Cocktail Mingle!

Last night, I attended the Wine Cocktail Mingle at Relish Restaurant, Victoria Plaza.

It was organized by Massive Dynamics [www.massivedynamics.co.ke], a company that has quite a lot of experience in the event industry in the UK and Ghana. Previously, in Kenya, they had successfully organized the Nederburg wine tasting.

So, at the event they featured 5 wine cocktails; Red Wine Sangria, White Wine Sangria, Mulled Wine(hot), White Wine Spritzer and Calimocho.  To be honest, I was quite pleasantly surprised with them. I had prepared a Sangria for my Christmas party but it was nowhere near to the ones I had at the event. The cocktails were very flavorful, and all had a fruity undertone.

My personal favorite was the White wine Sangria. As soon as I had tasted it, I was thoroughly impressed! There was a lime-y flavor in there that really piqued my curiosity. What was the secret ingredient? Well, as they say, It’s a secret…

“I liked the Red Sangria because it wasn’t too sweet, It wasn’t too spicy. The mulled wine was like Fanta orange with spices” –Nzsia

“I really liked the Mulled Wine because it puts me in the Christmas mood. It is very popular in Europe” –Jenny

“A sangria is different everywhere you go” –Mary

I found that the majority prefer more of the wine taste in their cocktails “otherwise it just tastes like juice”. For this reason, people kept going back for the Calimocho which had some doubting whether or not it really was a cocktail.

“I’m always up for trying new things. I actually don’t have a particular drink I always order” - Terry

People had rather mixed emotions about the event. Due to the restaurant setting, some felt like it discouraged mingling and that they should have instead opted for a standing, cocktail party like setting.

“The cocktail setting is important because some come with their families and you don’t know who is who” -Vie

“The décor and ambience was awesome because such things like wine, they need an ambience where people can savor them; the music, the service… It’s perfect.”  -Mwai

The cocktails were served in a glass and brought to your table one at a time starting with the red wine sangria.

One of the guests, Kay, expected a stall like setup where one would walk up to different tables and could get some information about the particular cocktail, then proceed to taste it. There was a general consensus about the lack of proper labeling and food pairings such as cheeses or cold meats.

“They brought the hot one, then the cold one” -Doreen

“All of them tasted the same after the first one because there was no in between” -Pauline

Every body had strong opinions and interesting perspectives on the cocktails and the event, but, all in all, it was a great time where we got to try something new with great company.

I am thoroughly looking forward their next event.

The recipe for the Mulled Wine is coming up soon…

Cuban’s For Christmas!

This one is for one of my good friends Ragni :D (ragzzxx.tumblr.com/) Check it out

On my search for a simple cocktail I could whip up whenever people dropped by this festive season, I came across a recipe for a Brandy Cuban. 

What’s really great about this recipe is that you can make a variety of cocktails just by changing the liquor involved… for example, substitute brandy for rum and make a Cuba Libre!

-> 2-3 ice cubes

-> 1.5 measures Brandy

-> Juice of 1/2 a lime

-> Coke, to top up

Place the ice cubes into a glass and pour over the brandy and lime juice. Stir vigorously to mix then add coke.

Ragni I hope you like this one :D It’s pretty simple and isn’t brandy just the perfect thing for Christmas?

However, If it’s cold where you are, follow for an Irish Coffee recipe 

SerJer Original Cocktail: Spinach Spill

This is my first video. We (Ser and I) wanted to detox before attending the OktoberFest. My logic was that greens are always good for you, especially spinach because it is full of all sorts of vitamins, the chlorophyll would help you go to the bathroom, and, tomatoes are full of antioxidants. If its good for you on a hangover, should be better before it right?

The lime is there simply because i love to put lime juice in everything! it always makes it better

To be honest, my body didn’t feel any different after 24 hours but my skin looked great :D

So here are the facts.. did that cocktail help us in any way? Well:

•  Spinach juice contains iron, calcium, vitamin E, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B9 or folate, vitamin K, and many other vital nutrients responsible for keeping our bodies healthy
•  Drinking spinach juice is a great way to consolidate the nutrients in an amount of spinach that you probably couldn’t eat in one serving, and being fiber and pulp free the juice can be rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream for immediate health benefits.

Jer Original: Jellies & Cream

Had a lots of time to spare today so i decided to try my hand at making Vodka Jello Shots. However, i decided to make more of it so it could also be served as a dessert as opposed to just that thing you get a some random party, that you take only because it’s served by or on some hot chick…just saying…

It took some time and patience.. but look at the result!

All you need is:

-> Packet of Jello, Any flavour you like [ I used the 10 Calorie, Sugar free kind: to take some of the guilt away]

-> Whipping cream

-> 1/2 Cup Vodka

-> 1/2 Cup Sprite

-> 1 cup boiling water

-> Flavour appropriate garnish

-> Coloured Sugar [which i will show you how to make yourself next week]

The method is actually quite simple. Combine the jello powder and boiling water in a bowl and stir until fully dissolved. Separate the mixture into two equal parts. To one, add the Vodka and to the other, the sprite. Stir the two mixtures and place them into, preferably, metal containers. Put them in the fridge fridge until solid [approx. 4 hours]. 

Rim the shot glasses with the colored sugar.

Now all you need to do is start layering. Vodka jello -> Whipped Cream -> Sprite Jello -> Whipped cream -> Garnish.

Enjoy!

Enjoying 2 Russians at Bubbles O’leary’s Irish Pub

Was hanging out at Bubbles today with my friend Sanjana and decided to try out some cocktails. Some would say that the choices were somewhat reminiscent of our[Sanjana and I] nights at Bubbles…

We had a White Russian and Black Russian.

White Russian                                  Black Russian

-> Vodka                                          -> Vodka

-> Kahlua                                         -> Kahlua 

-> Milk Cream                                    -> Coke [optional]

The White Russian tasted like a light cream liqeur like Baileys or Amarula. The Black Russian actually tasted like a Captain & Coke. I’d say the White is a daytime drink or one for a chilled out night, whereas, the black would be great for a night out but you might have to pace yourself.

The cocktails were served by this cool guy…

And to top it all off, the price was quite reasonable…

Jer’s Atlas

The distance doesn’t matter with this drink in your hand!

-> 3 measures Vodka

-> 4 measures Cranberry juice

-> 1/2 or 1 measure Blue Curacao [depending on how green you want it to be. I used 1/2]

-> 2 dashes Orange juice

-> ice cubes and a straw to decorate

Pour the ingredients and some ice cubes into a shaker and shake. Pour into a tumbler filled with ice and a straw and serve :D I added some coconut chunks as well because on my side of the atlas, it’s all cocktails and coconuts at the coast.