Nothing Says I Love You Like A Good Zombie.......

Hello and Happy Valentines Day to all our Shaker pals. Shakers 1 and 2, being single gals, decided the very best way to celebrate this holiday would be with good friends, good tinis and of course, ZOMBIES!!!!

So we gathered a small crowd of discriminating palates, assembled a menu of zombie and valentine appropriate tinis and screened "Zombieland".

Thanks to everyone for bringing such tasty snacks. We hovered 'round the table and hoovered up the treats. Yum.

First up- The Zombie Martini:

After searching the web for zombie themed drinks, we decided to pass on all the "colorful/creative" (read gross) "bleeding brain" type tinis and just go with a classic. We basically took the recipe for a traditional zombie cocktail and shook it up martini style. A mild martini, heavy on the fruit juices. One guest said it would make a good breakfast alternative to a screwdriver. You could easily speed up this zombie by altering the booze to juice ratio, but this was a nice way to begin the evening. Guests rated this from 3 1/2 to 3 3/4 olives.


Next up was another in our Teani Series- The Chai Teani:

We infused rain vodka with chai tea (Stash Chai Spice Black Tea from Trader Joe's). We then shook that with heavy cream, simple syrup and a dash of cinnamon. This was delicious, though all agreed that we'd gone just a tiny bit heavy on the cinnamon (*Shaker 1 holds up her hand to take responsibility for this, I just can't control myself with cinnamon*). This was a very good teani, with complex spice layers coming through. I still think we need to play with the recipe a bit more and perhaps even foam up the cream first to give it more body. Though Shakers 1 and 2 agreed it wasn't up to the level of the Earl Grey Teani, our consensus rating was 4 olives.

Last up for the evening was a martini created especially for Valentines Day. We let our guests name it and the result:

The Velvet Kiss:

This is a seductive martini. Rich red color, perfumed aromas of elderflower, deep berry base; with a splash of prosecco at the end. It lived up to it's name. Delicious, layered flavors, not too sweet, a sexy drink any day of the year. We gave this 4 1/2 to 5 olives. This was the hit of the evening. In fact, as our Valentines gift to you, here is the recipe:

-Take about a cup of frozen mixed berries, add a splash of triple sec and let thaw.(why a whole cup? Because you'll want more than one of these)
-In a shaker, muddle about 1/4 cup of the berry mix (I use an immersion blender to really get the juices flowing)
-add ice to the shaker
-add the following: 2 shots premium vodka
1 shot Chambord
1/2 shot St. Germain elderflower liquor
-shake well, strain into martini glass and pour in a splash of prosecco or champagne.

Serve this to your sweetie and we will not be responsible for the results (though you will thank us later).

A special thank you to all of our wonderful guests for making this a super fun Shaker night.

Oh, and the movie? Shaker 1 gives Zombieland a double tap!

Happy Valen-braaaaaaaainnsssssssssssssssss....................

hwyl, bonjour and guten tag!

Shaker 2 here doing a little greeting from the other side of the pond. Sadly, my travels have not included martinis as I have been partaking of ciders, a few beers and lots and lots of tea.

Most of the bars - 'scuse me, "pubs" - have featured Smirnoff vodka - and unless that stuff is drowning in orange juice, I just can't drink it. I look forward to getting back to the Balcony Bar and enjoying my favorite mixologists concoctions. I was very interested to read about the new Rain flavors... mmmmmm.

I am off to Paris next and will perhaps see what they have in the City of Lights to try. I will be near the St Germain area, so they might have some lovely beverages to try with its namesake liqueur.

here is to beautiful sunsets and lovely guests

It has been a few weeks in the making, but we finally got our acts (and schedules) together for a long-awaited shaker night. As the days get shorter and fall starts to creep in, we appreciate the last of the summer nights.

This week, we have a guest in from Holland, Michigan...the fabulous MJ. This woman is not only kind, fun and an inspiration - she is also a martini virgin!!!! Oh yes, let the corruption begin. ;) What better way to cap off a weekend of the Hollywood Bowl, Disneyland and trips to Venice Beach then an evening of cold drinks and fabulous food?

(Shaker One also would like to celebrate the nail biting USC victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes - apparently USC snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat from the Buckeyes in the last few minutes of the game.. Go Trojans!!!!)

This evening started out with a Pineapple Drop martini.

{Shaker One here, seriously- I need to get on this infusion thing}

Our guest Shaker, MJ, liked her first martini. She felt it tasted a bit like a pineapple margarita - she did sample more then one baby martini (she opted to use the baby martini glass - she is not too much of a drinker, normally..) She thought it could use a bit more pineapple... or "be more pineapply.)

2.5 olives... Shaker One concurs and Shaker Two is ok with that rating.

Shaker One produced another lovely menu... oregano grilled shrimp, herbed orange salad and some lovely La Brea Bakery bread (mmmmmmm). The shrimp was amazing - perfectly marinated and grilled. The orange salad was good, but would have been a bit better served over a bed of mixed greens then alone.

Our second beverage selection of the night is a Strawberry Basil martini from foodandwine.com.

It is a pleasant combination, though consensus was that we would like the strawberry flavor to be more pronounced. Perhaps infusing the vodka a bit more with strawberries... but overall, it is a nice drink with an interesting herbal element.

MJ gives is 2 olives (she likes the pineapple more, so she could not rate this one higher) she would also like it a bit more with all strawberries and no basil. She is a self proclaimed "foo foo drinker"

Shaker One gives it 3, perhaps 3.5 with a few mods.

Shaker Two coughed up 2.75 olives

We opted for a St Germain and champagne cocktail as a lovely finish..and discussed the merits of Dave Navarro, hair bands, and future plans for a "welcome back to the country" for Shaker Two after her upcoming international European tour.

To finish off our evening.... a somewhat made-up concoction based on a White Russian a bit with some variation...namely vanilla bean ice cream and Frangelico added to the traditional Kahlua (coffee liqueur), vodka and Baileys.

This was a lovely dessert drink (served with chocolate covered strawberries)

Recipe:

1 3/4 oz vodka (we used Stoli)

1 3/4 oz Irish cream

2/3 oz Frangelico

2/3 oz Kahlua

scoop vanilla bean ice cream

MJ sez....the drink is quite tasty, a little strong (for a non-drinker) might like it a little less alcohol (more like a Kahlua and cream, then a white Russian.) She gives it 3 olives - being her favorite martini of the night.

Shaker One like the heart strawberry sliver garnish and likes (total girlie warning here) how it looks. Taste wise, for a dessert martini, was nice. It is a little sweet and a bit heavy. Pleasant and lovely, but not something she would normally order... 2.5 olives. (Shaker Two concurs)

Tri-umphant!

So, we hadn't planned to shake tonight, but we could not let Miss Sheridan's very first Triathlon go unacknowledged. Scrounging around in the pantry and bar resulted in an impromptu, but quite enjoyable celebration of Sheridan's accomplishment: The Santa Barbara Triathlon. Yay Sheridan!

And what better way to mark such a momentous occasion than with martinis? And what better martinis than our very own special recipes. Yes sports fans, these came right out of our weekend addled brains. And on the seventh day, the shakers looked upon what they created, and it was good. Soooooo good.

First off The Staciatini. All the deliciousness you desire, all the booze to soothe your thirsty spirit. Champagne sorbet, St. Germain, Vodka and a splash of champagne......it is frothy and sparkly and entices you to drink another. And another. And.....oh, well you get the idea. Yes, yes and yes. Try to resist. I dare you.

Sheridan gives this one 4 3/4 olives, I give it 5 olives~. Almost the golden olive.

Next is Mother's Rose Garden. St. Germain, rosewater and vodka. So incredibly lovely. And garnished with rose petals from the Balcony Garden . Delicious.
We give this tini a 4 1/4 olives. Lovely.
Well, it was a short shake tonight. We are looking forward to doing a fun shake theme night soon, so stay tuned. A bientot alors, mes amis!!

Strategy Session....and Cocktails!

Hello from Red Shaker headquarters. The Shakers decided to get together to plot our merchandising empire......over drinks, naturally.

As a change of pace, tonight we journey on a lovely river of bubbly: Champagne drinkies! As these are not officially martinis, we are suspending our olive rating system and just commenting on the drinks.

First off, The St. Germain Champagne Cocktail
A lovely summer drink. Slightly sweet. but not overly so. Sheridan says, "I'm in love with St. Germain". I think that's still illegal in 29 states, but we can all dream of a day when equality reigns.

Next up is the Champagne Julep.Yes sports fans, that is exactly what it sounds like- a mint julep made with champagne and cognac instead of whiskey. Ok, this one takes the triple crown! Even Miss Sheridan, who is not a mint fan, enjoyed this. I would happily drink this while sitting on the veranda entertaining my beaus. Tomorrow may be another day, but we need another bottle tonight.

In between our libations, we are actually putting together our Red Shaker Shop. Coming soon: t-shirts, boxers and a variety of products celebrating the Shaker Life!

One Technical note: in addition to blogspot, you can now reach our page at:

www.theredshaker.com

Whilst Sheridan deals with the technical side of things, I wonder what drink we should have next.............

La Vie En Rose~champagne with rosewater. Mmmmmm, this smells amazing. The rose flavor is subtle but definitely there. We like this one! Note: as I didn't have any rose champagne chilled, we made this with brut. The recipe used rose. for an enormous list of champagne based cocktails, go to http://www.wineintro.com/champagne/cocktails/index.html

You won't run out of options with this website. Really comprehensive and fun. We will be trying many more from this site in the future. I do love my bubbly.

Thanks for joining us for this impromptu strategy session. Check back soon for links to the store and be the coolest or at least the drunkest kid in your neighborhood by sporting the Red Shaker gear!

Shake ya later! ;)

le quatorze de juillet

Happy Bastille Day! We took time out on a school night to celebrate this historic day French style. Hors d'oeuvres included les fromages, la petite charcuterie, vichyssoise and a tapenade Sheridan was craving.


We began the evening with a Parisian Martini.

Admittedly, this was stepping out with some ingredients that were not normally in the Shaker repertiore: Lillet blanc and St. Germaine. This drink had us hesitantly sniffing to see if we could get a clue as to what this might taste like - it was lovely. Slightly sweet, a few hints of herbals... it made us anticipate what was to come - we were not disappointed.

The flavor reminded Sheridan of less sweet orange muscat wine. It was slightly sweet, with a depth of flavor that kept giving hints of other flavors melding together. Can you tell this was a hit? It is a lovely drink and one we look forward to bringing back as an encore - perhaps a martini showdown.

Sheridan bestowed 4 olives, Stacia 4.25.

Stripey came out to join us in the cool air on the patio.

Next up was the French Martini.

This one was pleasant, but did not stand out as anything overly original. Stacia assures me that they can be done better and with a bit of tweaking, there would be vast improvement. As is, it is still a nice drink.

Stacia gives it a 4 - though done better. Sheridan a 3.5 (she has not had another variation - so improvement is open to future experimentation. )

Our final drink of the night was French 75 .

This drink has an interesting story behind the name - in essence it is a champagne cocktail with variations (as most cocktails have.) Overall nice and refreshing with a bubbly accent.

As a sparkling end to this school-night edition of The Red Shaker blog, Stacia bestows a 3.5 olive rating on it, Sheridan a 3.25. A positive vote from both Shaker girls.

We capped the night off with a lovely champagne cocktail with raspberry liqueur. It was a light, refreshing ending to the evening.

Enjoy the rest of your week! Stay tuned for another edition soon.

End Note: we dipped into the remainder of Sheridan's cinnamon ice cream - it gets better as it matures. The cinnamon flavor really comes through with a bit of maturation.