The Martini Club: Round Pond Cocktails

Welcome to this edition of The Martini Club! Today I am sharing some delicious cocktail recipes from Round Pond Estate in Napa, California. I had an amazing experience at this estate when I was visiting Julia. We had an olive oil tasting....just the two of us! First we had a tour of their facility, which is a small, family run operation. Then we were treated to an olive oil tasting. They set up lovely glasses of their different olive oils--an Italian Varietal, a Spanish Varietal, a Blood Orange olive oil, and a Lemon Meyer olive oil. They are all unique and wonderful, and were served with wine, fresh bread, cheese and produce from the Valley. This was a divine treat, and suffice it to say I came home with a large stash of their products. 


In addition to the olive oils and wine, they also produce two types of citrus syrups--a Blood Orange Syrup and a Meyer Lemon Syrup. These syrups had very intense, fresh, bright flavors, and as soon as I tasted them, I knew they would be fabulous in a cocktail. So of course I emailed Round Pond and asked them to send me some recipes. And they did! 


Here are four tasty cocktails using these syrups....enjoy!

Round Pond Estate Citrus Syrups

Cocktail List

Meyer Lemonade

2 – parts – Charbay Meyer Lemon Vodka

2 – parts – San Pellegrino

1 – part – Round Pond Meyer Lemon Syrup

6 – Lemon Verbena Leaves

( muddle the six leaves at the bottom of a pint glass – add ice – all of the liquid ingredients )

( then transfer the entire contents into an empty pint glass, and back again )

( garnish with a Meyer lemon wheel )

Blood Orange Manhattan

3 – parts – Makers Mark Bourbon

1 – part – Punt a Mes Sweet Vermouth

1 – part – Round Pond Blood Orange Syrup

2 – dashes – Pechaud Bitters

( fill a martini shaker with all liquid ingredients and ice then shake gently for ten seconds )

( pour into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a blood orange twist and a brandied cherry )

Meyer Lemon Sidecar

3 – parts – Remy Martin VSOP

1 – part – Round Pond Meyer Lemon Syrup

1 – part – Fresh Meyer Lemon Juice

( fill a martini shaker with all liquid ingredients and ice then shake gently for ten seconds )

( pour into a chilled martini glass with Demarara sugar on half the rim )

( garnish with a Meyer lemon twist )

Blood Orange Negroni

3 – parts – Charbay Blood Orange Vodka

1 – part – Campari

1 – part – Round Pond Blood Orange Syrup

2 – dashes – Angostura Bitters

( fill a martini shaker with all liquid ingredients and ice then shake gently for ten seconds )

( pour into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a blood orange twist ) 

Yum! Who's ready for Happy Hour? Huge thanks to Round Pond for providing these luscious recipes.

Happy Sloshy Sunday,

Penelope

It's The Asian Invasion, Baby!

Odd and ends....

1.) As many of you know, I have a Filipino-American hubby, and 2 great adopted Filipino kids. So, basically, I'm the odd (white) man out in our family. Needless to say, we cheer for Asian basketball players (my hubby is currently obsessed with Jeremy Lin), eat tons of Asian food (Thai and Vietnamese are our favorites), and also hope that the Asian contestants on Top Chef will win (we were totally stoked when Hung won Season 3). SPOILER AHEAD (if you haven't watched the latest episode of Top Chef, stop now!): We are pretty excited that not only Paul Qui (2nd from the left, above photo--he was born in Manila! yay!) made it to the finals (I'm rooting for him!), but also Beverly Kim, the slightly Asperger-ish girl who everyone loves to hate (I personally like her). Unfortunately, Edward Lee got booted last night....too bad, because that would have been a 75% Asian final! Sorry, Ed. Note to Ed: NEVER use the canned oysters. That's the kiss o' death.

Go Paul!!!!!!

2.) I finished Kill and Tell by Linda Howard, recommended to me by Julia Barrett. She told me it had the most incredible seduction scenes ever. And she was right. Romantic suspense is not my favorite sub-genre, but this book is sex-ay! Hot and sultry, like a summer's night in New Orleans. If you're looking for a book with intense chemistry between the hero and heroine, a complex suspense storyline, and one of the sexiest love scenes ever, check it out. Grade: A (still fanning myself....whew!)

3.) I just wanted to give a shout-out to Round Pond Estates, the charming small vineyard I toured in Napa Valley. Julia and I had a private olive oil tasting that was wonderful. I came home with four kinds of delicious olive oil (Italian Varietal, Spanish Varietal, Blood Orange and Meyer Lemon). I have been using them every day in my cooking and salad dressings. I also got their Blood Orange Citrus Syrup and Meyer Lemon Citrus Syrup.....I'm going to figure out some kick-ass cocktails to make with these. Stay tuned. If you are looking for a great gift for a foodie in your life, I can't recommend these products enough. Superb!

4.) And last but not least....Valentine's Day! Yep, it's coming up next week. On Feb. 14, I will be posting my review for Dana Stabenow's Restless in the Grave. I will also be giving away a copy of this incredible book to one lucky commenter. So be sure to stop by on Tuesday for the review and give-away. Now, murder might not seem like the most romantic theme for Valentine's Day, but I guarantee anyone reading these books will fall madly in love with Liam! A big, hunky Alaskan state trooper. Schwing!

That's it for now! Have a great day,

Penelope