End of Summer Cocktails to Celebrate Labor Day with Friends

How have we already reached Labor Day?! I feel like it was just 4th of July. Well, I am totally a summer girl and I'm having a hard time accepting this, like I do every year. On the bright side, there's fresh and festive cocktails to be made to celebrate Labor Day and beyond with friends. Especially here in SoCal, it may be summer till November. LOL. Here are my 3 faves for celebrating with a group - total crowd pleasers!

Carrot Pineapple Punch

Ingredients: 

2 cups NOLET’S Silver Gin 

2 cups Carrot Juice 

2 cups Pineapple Juice 

1/2 cup Lemon Juice 

1 tsp. Fresh Grated Ginger 

2 cups Ginger Beer 

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients together in a punch bowl and stir gently. Add ice and garnish with edible flowers and citrus wheels. Make ahead: freeze an ice mold adding citrus fruit or edible flowers. Makes 8-10 cocktails.

Sweet Heat Margarita

Ingredients:

2 oz Tanteo® Jalapeño Tequila

1 oz Fresh Lime Juice

¾ oz Agave Nectar

4-5 Raspberries

Tanteo Jalapeño Salt Rim

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice

Shake well and strain into a salt-rimmed, ice-filled Rocks Glass

Garnish with a raspberry or jalapeño slice

Bushwick Punch

Ingredients: 

4½ cups Smoke Tree Rosé

2 cups unsweetened black tea

¾ cup lemon juice

½ cup bourbon

½ cup raw cane sugar syrup

1 cup blueberries

1 lemon sliced

Directions:

Fill a punch bowl with ice

Top with Smoke Tree Rosé, unsweetened black tea, lemon juice, bourbon and raw cane sugar syrup.

Stir to chill and combine ingredients

Top with lemon slices and blueberries

Sweeten Your Day with This Recipe for National Watermelon Day

If there's one fruit of the summer, it is hands down, watermelon! And it just so happens that National Watermelon Day falls on an extremely hot August 3rd. With watermelon in one hand, the only proper thing to do is to have a watermelon cocktail in the other, right? My kind of double fisting! Watermelon and gin is my new favorite combination, and surely one which I know you will love. Here's my recipe for a Silver Watermelon Cooler! 

Silver Watermelon Cooler

Recipe: 

1.5 oz. NOLET’S Silver Gin

.5 oz. Elderflower Liqueur

.5 oz. Lemon Juice

.5 cup Fresh Watermelon

4 Basil Leaves

Directions:

Muddle basil and watermelon in the bottom of a shaker. Add ice and all other ingredients to the shaker. Shake and strain into a goblet. Garnish with a basil leaf.

Race Day Ready: The Perfect Cocktail to Celebrate Kentucky Derby

If there's one iconic union that ever was, it's the Kentucky Derby and the mint julep. Just thinking about the big day gets me giddy.... up! Had to... hehe. Don't get me wrong, I love the traditional mint julep, but sometimes you've got to switch it up to something a little more next level. I am loving Bank & Bourbon's Jersey Julep recipe because it's not only unique, but its tantalizing ingredients blend perfectly with the mint sprigs for a cool, refreshing and certainly potent sipping experience! Viewing party with one of these in hand, anyone? 

Cheers to this year's Kentucky Derby!

JERSEY JULEP

Ingredients:

 1 oz. Applejack Brandy

1 oz. Rittenhouse Rye

Dash Benedictine Liqueur

3 sprigs mint

½ oz. pear syrup

Directions:

To make pear syrup combine equal parts sugar and water and cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add 1 sliced pear and let sit for 1 day. Strain through a fine mesh sieve to separate pear from syrup. 

Rip off bottom half of mint and briefly muddle in copper mug with pear syrup. Add liquors and fill ½ of mug with crushed ice. Agitate with bar spoon until half melted and fill to mound until full. Garnish with mint sprigs and lime or sliced pear.

The Jitney Negroni | A Campari Cocktail for The Legend of Red Hand Viewing Party

Award season is in full swing, and it is hands down one of my favorite times of the year! One of the things I look forward to most is sitting on my couch with friends with a cocktail in hand watching the shows and all the glamorous stars that grace the screen. Not to mention, the Oscars are rapidly approaching so these last few weeks I have been in total “movie on the screen, remote in one hand, and cocktail in the other” mode… and yes, that’s a thing!

I don’t know about you, but I am always on the search for a great cocktail. Especially one that’s yummy and fabulous enough to enjoy in my own home. One thing I’ve found? A fabulous Campari cocktail never disappoints.

Coincidentally, actress Zoe Saldana and I share that same feeling (that I am quite excited about!!).

Zoe Saldana stars in Campari’s latest launch, The Legend of Red Hand.  The film is the second installation of Campari Red Diaries and follows Zoe’s character, Mia Parc, in her pursuit of the perfect Campari cocktail made by the elusive “Red Hand” character.

The Legend of Red Hand was directed by Stefano Sollima, regarded for his work in Italy on Gomorrah and the upcoming movie, Soldado.

Can you imagine Zoe Saldana on a mission to find that perfect cocktail? I can’t be the only one who has that same goal!

What better way to check out this enchanting film than to watch it with your closest friends enjoying your own Campari cocktail?  Such an occasion calls for a The Legend of Red Hand Viewing Party!!!  

Wondering what cocktail recipe to concoct that will qualify as the perfect cocktail?  Well… look no further! Leo Robitschek created the Jitney Negroni for Campari Red Diaries (PS – it’s available at NoMad Hotel Los Angeles for all my LA friends!) and it is the perfect fit for watching Zoe’s film!

It’s a sultry mixture of smooth Campari and with smoky, potent notes that will leave you craving the next sip with your eyes locked on the screen as Zoe Saldana is on her mission!

Grab your friends, get in on making this impeccable Campari cocktail together, sip, grab a seat and watch the film HERE! At least you’ll have your perfect cocktail in hand.

Jitney Negroni

Created by Leo Robitschek for Campari Red Diaries and available at NoMad Hotel Los Angeles

Ingredients:

¾ oz. Campari

¾ oz. Sombra Mezcal

½ oz. Cinzano Extra Dry Vermouth infused with Coffee*

½ oz. Cinzano Bianco Vermouth

2 dashes of Absinthe

*Coffee-infused Vermouth: Macerate 5 oz. of coarsely ground coffee in 750 ml of Vermouth for 10 minutes. Strain and refrigerate.

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass, add ice, stir and strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Upgrade from a #PSL to a #PSN with the Pumpkin Spice Negroni

Halloween may be over, by the Pumpkin Spice season is still in full swing. With Thanksgiving coming up, the pumpkin spice cravings are going strong. But, let's be honest - who's getting kind of tired of the traditional Pumpkin Spice Latte? Sorry Starbucks, us pumpkin fanatics are in need of something a little less expected.

Have no fear, the ultimate new Autumn cocktail is here - The Pumpkin Spice Negroni! Created by Mia Mastroianni of Bar Rescue and Soho House West Hollywood, the PSN is a festive and delightful concoction that you won't be able to put down after just one sip! It's the perfect marriage of a Negroni and a Pumpkin Spice Latte in one.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images

Upgrading the #PSL game, this drink has got the kick we all need from Campari, Frangelico and Bulldog Gin, combined with pumpkin puree infused syrup and egg white. Who says capturing the crisp, pumpkin-y flavors of fall need to stop at coffee?

I got the chance to ask Mia a few questions on the inspiration behind her new pumpkin drink that's been all the talk this season, and got the recipe to make at home!

1. What was your inspiration behind the Pumpkin Spice Negroni?

This cocktail was initially inspired by the popular seasonal staple, the Pumpkin Spice Latte. For a variation on a seasonal Negroni, that was the first thing that came to mind! By substituting traditional Sweet Vermouth with Frangelico and adding some pumpkin puree I think this cocktail screams "Autumn!" I felt it was important to use an egg white for texture, which again was a nod to latte foam, and a tiny pumpkin serves as the perfect vessel.

2. Why a PSN over a PSL?

As everyone knows, PSLs are now a near-iconic fall drink. However, I thought a boozy and fun twist on a classic cocktail that highlights the pumpkin spice flavors took the trend to the next level.

3. How and why does the flavor of each liquor in this concoction combine so well to create this perfect fall cocktail?

There was a lot of trial and error as I experimented with variations that would balance the bitterness of Campari with pumpkin spice, all while maintaining the integrity of a Negroni. Ultimately by swapping the Sweet Vermouth with Frangelico, I was able to highlight a bit more of the fall season with Frangelico’s hazelnut flavor. As I mentioned earlier, texture was very important for me with this drink, which is why I also incorporated the egg white.

4. Were there any other liquors you were considering to include in the mix that didn't make the cut? If so, why?

Given that this is a Negroni, I didn't want to veer too far away from what the traditional recipe calls for: Gin, Campari and Sweet Vermouth. I had several variations with Sweet Vermouth and really tried to keep it in there, but it just wasn't necessary. I also played around with some Allspice Dram, but that was a bit overpowering.  

Temped? Here's how to make it:

Pumpkin Spice Negroni

Created by Mia Mastroianni, Soho House West Hollywood and Bar Rescue

1 oz Campari

1 oz Bulldog Gin

3/4 oz Frangelico 

1/2 oz Pumpkin Puree Infused Syrup

Egg White

Combine all ingredients and dry shake. Reshake with ice and strain into a small pumpkin (or coupe). Garnish with a light dusting of cinnamon and pumpkin seeds. 

Mia has totally upped not only the PSL, but the traditional Negroni game too. Say bye-bye to basic and hello to a new fall cocktail obsession!