In Between Days......

So we find ourselves in between Christmas and New Year's Eve......all done with candy canes and eggnog but not quite ready for champagne cocktails (ok, Shaker One is always ready for champagne cocktails). We decided to try out a few new 'tinis, nothing holiday specific.

Tonight's special guest shaker joining us from wintery Philadelphia: Welcome Cyndy!
After an enjoyable dinner of take out vegetarian Indian food (from Samosa House East in Culver City), we begin our martini meandering with-

The Spicy Big Apple

(New York Martini glasses courtesy of Beverly~thanks!!)

First we made it as stated in the recipe. We were not repulsed, but certainly not impressed. Too much orange, not enough cinnamon. We all thought it tasted like a sweetened screwdriver. No.

So we made a few alterations- infused the brown sugar simple syrup with cinnamon, cut the orange juice back to just 1/2 shot and upped the apple cider a bit. The result? Tasty! This would be really enjoyable as a partner to Grandma's caramel corn. Full of fall flavor, you could drink two.

As written- 1 1/2 olives (Shaker One would give this 1/2 olive, generously)


Shaker Style-3 olives


Next up is the French Pear Martini

Following the recipe, we found the St. Germain overwhelmed the martini. So we increased the pear vodka and added an extra float of champagne. A lovely true pear flavor, not at all synthetic tasting. Well done Grey Goose Pear Vodka. The champagne float give it a wonderful depth. Overall an enjoyable martini.

As written- 2 1/2 olives


Shaker Style- 3 1/2 olives


Then we move on to the Red Square Espresso Martini

When we visit Red Square at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas we always enjoy this martini. Even Cyndy- who does not enjoy coffee- loves this drink. We found the recipe online without quantities, so we experimented a bit here. We went with equal parts of the five ingredients. The result resembles the original pretty closely. Not too strongly coffee flavored, not overy sweet, a non-coffee drinker's coffee drink. Delicious! And even better paired with gulab jamun-an incredible Indian dessert ball in a honey sauce.

We give this drink a 3 1/2 olives.


We close out this Shaker night full of food and martinis. Join us again soon for more 'tini fun.

Happy Holidays From The Red Shaker

......may your holidays be full of good cheer and better cocktails.

Standard Definitions

Anyone who has spent any amount of time trying various beverages in bars and at home knows there are few constants in this world.

Sure, you have some classic drinks that even the most adventurous mixologist won't mess with (assuming they have a clue about their craft): Screwdrivers, Tom Collins, Sidecar, Manhattan, etc... there are also a few terms that are sacred and do not vary from region to region like recipes are sometimes wont to do. This means you should be able to go into any bar, any where and have some consistency.

For example (and educational purposes):

Float: small amount of liquor poured over other ingredients so as to "float" atop the drink (the truly gifted can layer ingredient upon ingredient for a beautiful presentation.

Muddle: crush and mix an ingredient in the glass - like mint in a mojito.

Neat: unmixed drink served without ice.

On the Rocks: Served on ice (rocks..ice... get it?)

Shaker: a tool used to mix drinks by shaking (in a non-drink sense, it also refers to the two authors of this blog)

Shooter: a mixed drink usually shaken then served neat then gulped.

Straight Up: plain drink served neat with no rocks

Twist: piece of fruit peel squeezed over a drink then used as garnish.

Virgin: non-alcoholic version of a mixed drink.

Zest: small piece of lemon, lime or orange peel

Now.. based on this short and nowhere complete list of definitions, were you to order a Belvedere up with a twist, would that drink include olives? No.

It should be a pour of vodka with a bit of lemon. What was served was a glass of chilled vodka with a little plate of both olives and some lemon. Subsequent requests for another round of Belvedere up with a twist resulted in Belvedere with olives dumped in. *sigh*

Is this somewhat of a rant? Yes.

If your drink is not correct, don't hesitate to send it back.

Conversely, if it is done well, reward the bartender accordingly.

Shaker Two on a Rant OUT.

The Stripe Report- Holiday Style

Stripe here. Just checking in to let you thirsty RS fans know that though the busy holiday season schedules make for brief and infrequent postings, The Shakers are by no means finished sampling and creating tasty festive 'tinis. They don't call it getting into the "spirit" of the season for nothing, so let's get to shaking. Soon. Santa won't be expecting a plate of cookies at your houses and you better have something good for him when he comes.

Now, there's something under there for me, right?
Stripe out.

Run, run as fast as you can.....

......you're gonna want to taste this gingerbread man! The Christmas season has inspired us to make merry once again with a holiday themed tini. Forget visions of sugarplums, visions of martinis dance through our heads. And we welcomed a friend for his first Red Shaker tasting-hi Ref!

Another friend sent us a link to this recipe (thanks Diane!)

The Gingerbread Martini:



We first tried this as the recipe stated and the unanimous verdict was ok, but not "gingerbready" enough. So we did what the Shakers do and tweaked and twisted. Gingerbread perfection! Basically, we replaced the gingerbread Monin syrup (too sweet from past experiences) with an interesting liquor:Hiram Walker Gingerbread liquor, doubled the quantity and cut the kahlua (overkill and gets lost in the flavor profile). This naughty little man gets blended up with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Garnish with some freshly grated nutmeg and a gingersnap cookie, you have a very enjoyable dessert martini. Creamy, not too sweet, one is perfect for a holiday treat.

Shakers One and Two give this 4 1/2 olives

Ref threw in a solid 4 1/4 (he's a gin drinker, so don't hold it against him).

As we wrap up a quick Sunday night shake we send out a special holiday wish to our Shaker friends:

May all your spirits be bright and your martini glasses full.

Sometimes, the classics are best

This evening's get together was unplanned. It ended up being a result of new technology not working as well as promised. In other words, the digital transmissions to Shaker 2's place sucks and she was unable to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" so Shaker 1 offered to open up the Balcony Bar for a special screening.

Could we leave it at just watching this fabulous holiday classic? Of course not.

While Shaker 2 thought it would be perfectly fine to have tried and true classics like dirty and twisted.... Shaker 1, as usual, raised the bar a bit higher. She was again inspired and created:

The Mistletoe-tini!

A combination of Rain vodka, champagne sorbet, pomegranate juice and triple sec.

All I gotta say is "well done, Shaker 1!" {*blush*thank you}

Not too sweet, a slight fruity undertone balanced with the dryness from the champagne. Lovely! This puppy would even rock in the summer. 4 1/2 olives! And it's a pretty festive color.

As the twinkle lights cast a festive glow on the Balcony Bar, the Shakers enjoyed "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and the ushering in of the holiday season.

Deck The Halls......

.....with Christmas 'Tinis! It's never too early to start celebrating the holiday season (well ok, anytime before Thanksgiving is too early). Tonight we've decided to test out a couple of party friendly Christmas martini recipes.

First up is our own creation: Frosty's Revenge

Made with Shaker 2's Snowman Soup hot cocoa mix, vanilla vodka (Stoli), amaretto, golden rum and heavy cream infused with a cinnamon stick. This one is creamy, not too sweet, with a hit of warmth from the rum/amaretto.....delicious! We give this one 4 1/4 olives as is, next time would add some nice cocoa or shaved quality chocolate for a richer result. Frosty you can come over and play again. We promise not to steal your magic hat.



Next up: The Peppermintini


We got this one from the Edy's Ice Cream website. Peppermint ice cream, vodka and white cream de cocoa blended up. Usually I don't enjoy the chunky rimming garnishes, but the crushed candy cane rim on this really makes the magic happen. Pair that with a spiral of chocolate syrup drizzled inside the glass, you've got happiness in a glass. This tini slides past 4 3/4 olives to perilously close to a 5 for Shaker 2. A solid holiday/dessert tini treat. If you only give yourself one gift this holiday season, give yourself the gift of creamy pepperminty boozy happiness. It will bring out your inner drunken child. Finding new ways to love candy canes is a beautiful thing.


It's a school night, so Shakers 1 and 2 will call it a night, before we float away on a boozy sweet cloud of Christmas cheer.

Don't worry shaker fans, we'll be back soon with more happy holiday themed martinis.

Good night and remember, there are only 22 drinking days left until Christmas.