Posts

Vanilla Espresso Martini

 The snow is falling, the fire is roaring and you’ve got a delicious vanilla espresso in hand! Yup, it’s winter in New England and the only way to get through it, is well, with fancy cocktails of course.

The first thing you need for a good vanilla espresso martini is all the ingredients (and good music doesn’t hurt either).

Ingredients:

  • 1 ounce of Deliciously Light Bailey’s (All the deliciousness of Baileys, with 40% fewer calories and 40% less sugar than Baileys Original Irish Cream.)
  • 1.5 ounces of Kahlúa
  • 1 ounce of Coffee Liquor
  • 1.5 ounces of Stoli Vanilla Vodka

Make:

  • Shake together in a shaker with ice
  • Strain into a fancy martini glass
  • Option to add foamed milk

 

This is a tasty blend with delicious hints of vanilla and coffee… it’s a sure crowd-pleaser!

Let us know how you like your espresso martini?

/by
,

Holiday Food & Wine Pairings

Not sure what to pair with those tasty holiday dishes this year? We can help with these pairing suggestions for veggies, red meat, and turkey!

Veggies:

  • Trimbach Riesling (Alsace) Its delicate bouquet, the fine balance between its dry personality, its distinguished fruitiness and its natural vitality contribute to its exceptional richness. $21.99
  • St. Michael-Eppan Sauvignon Blanc (Italy) Gooseberry nose with grapefruit hints. Medium structure but nicely fresh and juicy, Off-dry, $16.99
  • Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino (Sardegna Italy) Costamolino is produced with the Mediterranean table in mind. Vermentino’s herbal flavor can also highlight vegetables such as fava beans or fennel. $14.99

Red Meat:

  • Torbreck Shiraz: A dark cherry, the central core of fruit gives way to an intense textural mid-palate full of blueberry, cocoa, spice, and dark chocolate. $19.99
  • Chateau Lanessan Haut-Medoc (France) Winery notes. Multilayered, elegant nose. Lovely Structure on the palate with fleshy tannins and a long finish. $24.99
  • Oberon Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa) Supple tannins, and vibrant black cherry, candied blackberry, and spices. A hint of coffee and dark chocolate create a lingering and delightful finish. $23.99

Turkey:

  • Boen Pinot Noir (California) The first sip of this tri-appellation Pinot Noir envelopes the mouth with a velvety richness. Flavors of bright cherry, dried herbs, and hints of vanilla, is supple and sumptuous, to the finish. $19.99
  • Argyle Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley Oregon) Red and dark fruit with savory spice and delicate floral notes. A lively, fresh middle palate along with classic Argyle silky texture and persistent length. $22.99
  • Frederic Esmonin Les Genevrieres Pinot Noir (France) Sumptuous aromas of red berries and cherry are supported by light notes of wildflower. On the palate, there are flavors of red fruit, spice, and floral accents. The tannins and acidity provide a delightful structure. $15.99
/by

Apple Cider Cranberry Margarita

It’s officially Fall, and we couldn’t be more excited for the foliage, trips to the farm, pumpkin beer, and hardier cocktails. This month we wanted to take a cocktail we love, the margarita, and make it fall-themed. Cause, why not!

We used one of our very favorite tequilas for this cocktail – Milagro. Not only is it smooth, but it’s reasonably priced. Great value, indeed. The Apple Cranberry Margarita would be perfect for small gatherings this Halloween. Just add a few fake spiders into the glasses to make it festive and spooky.

Ingredients:

  • 2  ounces of Milagro tequila, or something equally as delicious
  • 1/4 cup of apple cider (or juice)
  • 1/4 cup of cranberry juice
  • Splash of soda water
  • One apple slice for garnish

Make: Pour tequila, apple cider, and cranberry juice together. Mix and strain into glass. Add soda water and garnish.

Love ice? Keep it in a fancy mug!

 

Thanks for following along! Cheers!

/by

Frozen Piña Colada Cocktail

Summer isn’t over yet! In fact, we have a month left of HOT and sunny weather. So pull out your blender and mix up this month’s tasty and sweet Frozen Pina Colada. You, and your quarantine crew, won’t regret it!

This delicious cocktail recipe comes from Vera, our cocktail guru at MWS.  What makes this recipe so great? The ice cream… of course!

Ingredients:

  • Coconut Gelato | we used Häagen-Daz’s Pineapple Coconut | 1 scoop
  • 1 Oz of pineapple juice
  • .25 oz of Coco Lopez
  • 1.5 oz of Bacardi Silver
  • .25 Doc Brown Really Bad Dark Rum (more if you want to add a floater)
  • 1/2 cup ice
  • Maraschino Cherries and whipped cream for a garnish

Make: Add all ingredients into a blender and mix well. Garnish with a cherry and whipped cream

Want to make it a little more fun? Add a dark rum floater to the top of your drink!

We hope you LOVE this recipe! Thanks for reading!

Your friends, Mystic Wine Shoppe

/by

April Cocktails of The Month

This month one of the newest members of the Mystic Wine Shoppe team, who also happens to be a bartender, is sharing his favorite go-to cocktail with us for the April Cocktails of The Month. That’s right, COCKTAILS, Ben is giving us TWO of his favorite cocktails!

First up, the Rum Manhattan Cocktail. Ben loves using the delicious Zaya Rum in many of his creations, and this cocktail he mixed up for us, sure packs a tasty punch.

Ingredients/Make:

  • 2 oz Dark rum (we love Zaya Rum! It has a mildly sweet aroma followed by vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oak barrel spices)
  • 1 oz sweet vermouth
  • 2 dashes bitters
  • Stir add an orange twist

 

Next up, the Contessa Cocktail:

Ingredients/Make:

  • 1 oz dry vermouth
  • 1 oz Plymouth Gin
  • 1 oz Aperol
  • Stir add a lemon twist

Let us know what you think of these mouth-watering cocktails! Thanks, Ben, for sharing these with us.

Photo Credit:

/by

The Cranberry Kiss Cocktail

Just in time for Valentine’s Day is our February Cocktail of The Month: The Cranberry Kiss Cocktail. This is one tasty cocktail that was designed up by Bartender.com who sent us a really cool daily cocktail calendar & recipe guide.

IMG_7062 IMG_7058

Ingredients:

IMG_7047 IMG_7048

Make The Cocktail:

  • Mix all ingredients together and enjoy!

IMG_7055 IMG_7050

This is one tasty cocktail that you should mix up for your loved one for yourself! Happy Valentine’s Day!

IMG_7063

/by

Lemon Gin Mule Cocktail

Looking for a delicious gin cocktail that’s easy to make?! We’ve got you covered with this Lemon Gin Mule Cocktail. We used just a few ingredients, including Vermont’s Barr Hill Gin, and the result was outstanding. Cheers!

DSC_0327

Ingredients:

  • 2 Ounces of Barr Hill Gin: Each batch is distilled in our custom-built botanical extraction still. The juniper-forward botanicals are brought to a perfect balance by the floral depth of the raw honey.
  • 4 ounces of Ginger Beer
  • Lemon
  • Bitters

DSC_0284

Make the cocktail:

  • Pour gin over ice
  • Add ginger beer
  • Squeeze a lemon into the drink
  • Add bitter
  • Mix together
  • Top with lemon garnish

DSC_0293 DSC_0300

DSC_0302 DSC_0309

This cocktail is SOOOO GOOOD! Maybe one of our favorites so far!

DSC_0314 DSC_0321

DSC_0316 DSC_0320

We hope you enjoy this delicious cocktail featuring locally-made gin! Let us know what you think.

Taylor

 

 

 

 

/by
, ,

5th Annual Scotch Tasting Recap

We just wrapped up our 5th Annual Whiskey Tasting featuring Single-malt Whiskies and we’re still smiling from the event. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and made this a night to remember.

MWS Dec (138 of 83) MWS Dec (146 of 83)

Stu was pouring and educating guests on each single-malt.

MWS Dec (143 of 83) MWS Dec (142 of 83)

Guests tried five scotches and were treated to delicious food from Diana who knows a thing or two about what food pairs well with scotch! These were SO tasty!

MWS Dec (134 of 83) MWS Dec (132 of 83)

MWS Dec (133 of 83) MWS Dec (150 of 83)

These are the five single-malts we tasted –

• Dalwhinnie 15 Year: Smooth, aromatic, heather and honey sweetness. Great chilled.

• Lagavulin 16 Year: Aged in oak casks for at least sixteen years, this much sought-after single malt has the massive peat-smoke that’s typical of southern Islay – but also offering a dryness that turns it into a truly interesting dram

• Talisker Storm: An intense and vibrant whiskey. Well balanced waves of smoke and sweetness. Savor Talisker Storm’s peppery sweet and salty flavors neat, or draw them out with a little water.

• Oban 14 Year: Flavors of orange peel, smoke, sea salt, and honey distinguish this full-bodied highland malt

• Cragganmore 12 Year: The taste is quite light compared to the scent, mixing honey with a basket of nutty flavors. The finish starts off a little peppery, and rolls out into pleasant, smoky warmth. It’s a pleasant, and only slightly complex sipper, just the sort of thing for a go-to single malt for everyday drinking or to use as a starter or next step Scotch.

MWS Dec (163 of 83) MWS Dec (164 of 83)

MWS Dec (165 of 83) MWS Dec (160 of 83)

MWS Dec (159 of 83) MWS Dec (144 of 83) MWS Dec (158 of 83)

Thank you again to everyone who stopped by! We had a blast!

MWS Dec (149 of 83) MWS Dec (141 of 83)

MWS Dec (147 of 83) MWS Dec (145 of 83)

/by