Tasty, Colorful Brunch Cocktails
Booze for Brunch? Easy Libations for the Day's First Real Meal
Oct 9, 2008
Mimosas and bloody marys are ubiquitous for brunch. But you can put some pizzazz in yours. Instead of champagne for the mimosa, try the increasingly popular Italian "bubbly," Prosecco. Slightly sweeter than champagne, it can perk up early season oranges. The recipe? Easy.
Improved Mimosa
Squeeze 1 juice orange per drink (or use the equivalent in the best fresh packaged juice you can find.) Pour the freshly squeezed juice into a champagne flute or tulip (or use about 1 ounce of purchased juice). Fill glass up with Prosecco and stir.
Hint: If you'd like a stronger drink, add 1 oz. of orange Curacao along with the Prosecco and then add juice.
Kir Royale, Brunch Version
Here's another possibility with less juice, more "bubbly."
Ingredients:
- Champagne
- Creme de cassis
- Fresh raspberries or raspberry syrup
- An apple, if using fresh raspberries
Directions:
- Put a small handful of raspberries into a juicer, followed by two fresh apple wedges to send the juice out the spout.
- Put juice in bottom of large white wine glass or large champagne flute. Or use a slightly smaller amount of the sweeter raspberry syrup.
- Add 1/2 oz. creme de cassis
- Fill remainder with champagne.
Faux Kir
For non-drinkers, you can make a faux kir.
Ingredients:
- Fresh raspberries or raspberry syrup
- An apple, if using fresh raspberries
- White grape juice
Directions:
- Put a small handful of raspberries into a juicer, followed by two fresh apple wedges to send the juice out the spout.
- Place in bottom of white wine glass, or use raspberry syrup instead, to taste.
- Fill with chilled white grape juice and stir.
Improved Bloody Mary
Bloody marys have always required a bit more measuring and mixing...and they still all taste quite alike. They won't, though, if you vary the juice. Rather than using tomato juice, use V-8, or better still, Garden Patch from Trader Joe's. Garden Patch is thick and sweet and tangy, almost a meal in itself.
Ingredients:
- V-8 or Trader Joe's Garden Patch juice
- Vodka
- lemon juice
- Worcestershire sauce
- prepared horseradish
- freshly ground pepper
- celery stalk, leaves attached
Directions:
- Pour 4 oz. of juice into cocktail shaker
- Add 2 oz. Vodka, 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp prepared horseradish.
- Shake vigorously.
- Pour into tall glass over ice.
- Grind pepper on top to taste; if using Garden Patch go easy as the juice itself is tangy.
- Garnish with celery stalk.
Irish Coffee
While most people serve this after dinner, it is excellent--and very welcome--with brunch on a cold winter morning.
Following is the time-tested recipe developed by the Society of Ireland in Florida.
Ingredients (for each serving):
- 1/2 Valencia orange (or other juice orange, the sweeter, the better)
- 1 jigger Irish whiskey (good quality, such as Jameson's)
- 2 tsp. brown sugar
- Whipped cream, preferably home-made and not from a vacuum can
- Hot coffee
Directions:
- Hand-squeeze the half orange directly into a sturdy Irish coffee mug or heat-tolerant glass.
- Rub the remaining pulp around the outside of the mug or glass, but don't get too sloppy about it.
- Add the brown sugar and Irish whiskey.
- Stir to combine.
- Pour in hot coffee to within 3/4 inch of top of mug or glass.
- Stir.
- Add dollop of whipped cream to reach top of mug or glass or a bit above.
DO NOT add a sprinkling of crème de menthe. It ruins the flavor of the orange juice, brown sugar, coffee and whiskey.
While there are lot of Irish-named drinks made up specially for attracting the U.S. Irish drinker, Irish coffee is not one of them. True Irish Coffee was invented after World War II at the first transatlantic stop for airliners, Foynes Airfield in Ireland. Refueling was the purpose of the stop back then, and no one was sitting around trying to attract the St. Patrick's Day crowd with tarted up booze.
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