Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Cocktails as promised!!

You heard it first on Bag Ladies Radio!! Fresh ways to enjoy New Amsterdam Straight Gin such as ...

Queens Cocktail Ingredients:
1 oz. liquefied honey
1 oz. fresh sweet and sour mix
Combine all ingredients in shaker w/ ice, shake vigorously and strain over ice in a rocks glass or strain into martini glass. Garnish w/ a lime wheel

Available nationwide ...A modern, new gin option and premium spirit. For those of you not already familiar, Gin is considered a strong liquor (spirit) flavored w/ Juniper berries and you’d be wise not to ask me what juniper berries are. What I can tell you is that they are not true berries but rather a berrylike cone from a shrub, evergreen. Just know that’s where the flavor comes from and actually Juniper berries were at one time widely used for medicinal purposes in other cultures including bladder infections but folks developed more of a taste for these berries than they did for treatment and thus gin was born. And gin being a spirit, refers to the distilling process and the higher content of raw material otherwise it’s the same as all other alcohol. Oh, and an added plus is that gin contains zero carbs!!!! It’s what we mix it w/ it that causes problems.

But as the name implies, New Amsterdam Straight Gin can in fact be enjoyed straight and as I mentioned Juniper berries, that is one of the reasons why this gin won over tastemakers at a San Fran World Spirits competition, there is less emphasis on the Juniper. The claim is that this gin has a modern twist and offers consumers a smoothness not normally found in gin which I thought was particularly interesting along w/ the light, citrus flavor which you definitely taste at first sip. I actually rather enjoyed New Amsterdam Straight Gin on the rocks w/ a little bit of lime squeezed in but as I was sipping for the first time, the first thing that came to mind was that I need some ginger ale and I even posed the question to my better half ...what do you call gin and ginger ale and he was like I’ve never heard of that, doesn't exist. And I was like it would be such a good collabo, there has to be drink and sure enough it’s called a Gin Buck and it’s simply gin, lemon juice and ginger ale over ice. And evidently it’s an old drink; considered a highball and the article I read offered a variation. If you like ginger, mix in a couple pinches of ground ginger and you have an even more delicious Gin Buck. One article said if you find a bartender that knows what a Gin Buck is, he/she is a keeper. If you never considered yourself a gin drinker, New Amsterdam Straight Gin might change you. And if you are a regular gin drinker, get ready for a new twist on an old fave.
New Amsterdam Straight Gin pairs nicely w/ fish, read meat and salads and definitely look to mybagladies.blogspot.com for more cocktail recipes and additional information on this sophisticated, new presentation of gin which also includes a rather attractive bottle. And Bag Ladies leaves you w/ one more recipe ...

Union Square Ingredients:
2 strawberries
Sprig of basil
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. agave nectar
Muddle strawberries w/ the basil until fully mashed, add all other ingredients, and shake w/ ice vigorously, strain into a martini glass and garnish w/ half of a strawberry.
Be sure to let Bag Ladies know how much you enjoyed your sips of New Amsterdam Straight Gin.
-- Lady Erin

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