Now that we’ve entered into the month of May– we’re getting excited for all things Royal Wedding! We’ve been busy putting together ideas for the viewing party we’re hosting alongside our friends at The White Dress by the shore. As we prep for Price Harry and Meghan Markle’s spectacular wedding on May 19th, we want to encourage you to host your own Royal Wedding viewing party! Thankfully, we’ve taken the guess work out of what drinks to serve as you all gather ’round and watch the magic unfold. The GREAT Britain campaign which showcases the best that the UK has to offer has partnered with The Martini Club (Toronto, Canada) to create wonderful cocktails utilizing a variety of British gins. These drinks are perfect to toast a wedding couple on their special day!

Royal Wedding Viewing Party Cocktail Ideas

THE WINDSOR KNOT COCKTAIL

• 1 ½ oz Bloom gin
• ½ oz orange liqueur
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 oz white cranberry juice
• 3 cucumber slices
• 3 oz club soda
• Cucumber slice, for garnish

Fill a wine goblet with ice. Add gin, orange liqueur, lemon juice, cranberry juice and cucumber slices. Stir to mix. Top with club soda. Garnish with a cucumber slice.

WEDDING BELLE COCKTAIL

• 1 ½ oz Portobello Road gin
• ½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 oz Whittard golden chamomile tea syrup (see recipe below)
• 2 to 3 oz Fever-Tree tonic water
• Mint sprig or 2 tsp silver dragees (edible cake decorating balls), for garnish

To a stemless wine glass filled with ice, add gin, lemon juice, chamomile tea syrup and tonic. Stir gently to mix. Garnish with a mint sprig or gently add dragees.

Chamomile Tea Syrup

Add 1 cup (250 mL) granulated sugar and 4 chamomile tea bags to a resealable, heatproof container. Pour in 1 cup (250 mL) boiling water. Stir until sugar dissolves. Allow to cool, remove tea bags. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Makes 1 cup for 8 servings.

G & TEA COCKTAIL

• 1 ½ oz Sipsmith gin
• 1 tbsp Tiptree orange marmalade
• 1 oz Whittard Earl Grey tea, chilled
• Dash orange bitters
• Orange twist, for garnish

 

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add gin, orange marmalade, chilled Earl Grey tea and bitters. Shake and pour into a rocks glass filled with ice. Add more ice and garnish with orange twist.

Are you planning a Royal Wedding viewing party? We want to know! Leave us a comment and let us know what you’ve got planned. Looking for more signature drink inspiration?

 

Summer is just around the corner… and I know what you’re thinking: I need a new gin signature cocktail! We love when our clients have fun with the signature cocktails for their wedding. As their wedding planner, they’re always asking for our advice on what to serve as a signature drink. Let’s be honest: we never shy away from cocktail hour AND we feel its part of our job to research cocktails, we’re always up to do a little digging to find  the perfect gin signature cocktail for your wedding.

We came across this fabulous cocktail while getting lost on the Waiting for Martha blog. After a thorough taste test (and we mean thorough) this gin cocktail became one of our new favorites. Perfect for your summer-time Connecticut wedding, we styled this drink with some nautical flare.

Ginny Gin Gin Punch

recipe courtesy of Waiting on Martha

 

 

 

Porter Creek Winery will always have a special and meaningful place in my heart! My husband and I spent a week in the Russian River Valley on our honeymoon at the tremendous Farmhouse Inn which was only a mile away from Porter Creek. We had the most memorable afternoon there driving up the dirt driveway to the tasting room, playing with the wine makers dog who sat outside at the front door, and of course, tasted quite a bit of wine! We had several special bottles shipped home to us and always reminisce over our trip whenever we uncork one. So, for our first series of Friday Favorites I thought we would share our love for Porter Creek with you! I hope you are all getting together with family and friends over the weekend so bring a bottle of Porter Creek with you wherever you go!

I chose a lovely 2005 Fiona Hill Pinot Noir– which I am obsessed with. It is SO yummy! From the winemaker: This meticulously planted, steep hillside vineyard is situated along Westside Road at the entrance of Porter Creek with an ideal southern face. Hard clay top soil with a fractured stone bedrock places continual stress on these Pinot vines, resulting in a very expressive, unique vineyard designate wine. The nose has aromas of wild berries and forest floor, a weighty mid-palate and long silky finish.

A second choice of mine but Lindsay’s choice would be the 2009 Chardonnay: The growing conditions of this terraced, hillside vineyard, with mature vines and low yields produces a very unique Chardonnay. George’s Hill vineyard extends from the hilltop down a steep terraced slope of approximately 30% grade. The soil profile consists of Franciscan, metamorphic hard clay with a bedrock of fractured stone material. The bedrock layer allows the roots to penetrate, but only slowly over time. Parts of the vineyard yield only one and a half tons per acre. The grapes are harvested in the early morning hours in order to preserve and capture the fruit at perfect ripeness. The wine undergoes natural fermentation in barrel as well as natural malolactic fermentation, and is aged sur lees. The 2009 vintage is extremely well-balanced. Aromas of lemon, lime and pear. Richness and mineral notes on the pallet, yet restrained with a long finish.

Diana’s 2009 Zinfandel pick would be a wonderful choice for your Thanksgiving dinner table: A classic example of Sonoma County Zinfandel. Aromatically, it has the explosive cherries and berries jam and on the palate it is rich and textured on the finish. Produced from hillside grown vines and blended with 10% Carignane for texture and overall harmony.

Cheers! xoxo

Image via Philly Mag

Oh, Thanksgiving! Full of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and of course cocktails. I know many of you are prepping for your holiday feast, and why not start it off right with a signature drink? Let’s face it, we all need a drink when it involves spending a long weekend with family!

The Gobble-tini

– 1 1/2 oz Smirnoff cranberry twist vodka
– 1/4 oz Chambord
– 1/2 oz cranberry juice
– 1 tsp lemon juice
Garnish: 3 cranberries on stick

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with 3 cranberries on stick.
Source: The Cocktail Times.com

I love this drink because most of us already have the ingredients stocked in our bars! There is nothing worse than having to buy $75 worth of liquor to make ONE signature drink.

This is a perfect cocktail for an autumn wedding or cocktail party. Are you in the fall spirits yet? I’m so sad to see summer go, but fall is my favorite season. I love the changing of the leaves, comfort food, warm sweaters and scarves, plus all the fun fall activities.

Autumn Sunset

1 tsp minced pumpkin puree
1 oz brandy
½ oz Calvados
2 oz apple juice
¼ oz grenadine
splash soda
garnish cinnamon stick

Put all ingredients except grenadine and cinnamon stick into cocktail shaker, shake vigorously and pour into a tall martini glass. After pouring, drizzle grenadine on top so it falls to the bottom of the glass to create the effect of an “autumn sunset.”

If you wish to drink this beverage hot, omit the splash of soda. Pour ingredients into 8 oz glass coffee mug, add 6 oz hot water, stir vigorously to blend. Add grenadine as above. Garnish with cinnamon stick plus three whole cloves.

Recipe courtesy of cocktail.com and photograph by Martha Williams.

Wild Berry Mojito

Ingredients:

1-1/2 oz. Bacardi Light Rum
3-4 each of fresh blackberries, blueberries and red raspberries
8-12 fresh mint leaves
juice of one lime
1 oz. simple syrup
soda water
mint sprig for garnish

Directions:

In a 12-oz. highball glass, muddle mint, simple syrup, wild berries and lime juice.

Fill glass with crushed ice — it is very important to use crushed ice, not cubed — then add rum.

Stir well until the ice is reduced by 1/3, then top with more crushed ice, stirring until the glass begins to frost on the outside.

Spritz with soda water and stir one last time to incorporate.

Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint that has been dusted with powdered sugar and two long straws to avoid tickling your nose with the garnish.

Tips: To muddle the mint against the bottom of the glass, use just enough pressure with your muddler to release the oils from the mint without tearing it. The back surface of a wooden spoon will serve as a muddler stand-in if needed. Use a lime squeezer to fully extract the lime’s juice. To make simple syrup, dissolve an equal amount of granulated sugar in boiling water and then allow syrup to cool. Store in a clean bottle in a cool place.

Candice’s Idea: Display your signature cocktail in various vintage glass pitchers on a specialty table. Include a description of your signature drink and the ingredients — and to tie it all together have the printed description match your invitation / menu cards.

Cocktail recipe courtesy of The Modern Mixologist.