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The days are getting colder, leaves are falling and carving pumpkins is on everyone’s to-do list… fall is officially here!  We’re not sure about you, but we love this time of year!  If you’re looking for a warming cocktail to enjoy this fall, try our Spiked Hot Cocoa. It’s delicious and easy to make.

MWS Oct Cocktail (2 of 11)

We used The Irishman Irish Cream to make this cocktail and it didn’t disappoint.  You could also replace with Bailey’s Irish Cream and possibly add some Kahlúa (yum).

Ingredients:

  • 2 ounch of  The Irishman Irish Cream
  • Hot Chocolate Mix
  • 1 cup of milk
  • Handful of Marshmallows (or more if you’re really crazy.. :))

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Directions: Combine all ingredients and enjoy! We suggest grabbing some fun Halloween decor to create a fun and festive evening!!

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Do you love making themed cocktails? Tell us, what is your favorite?

Stop into Mystic Wine Shoppe and grab all your cocktail needs!

Ketal One Grapefruit & Rose Vodka is the perfect liquor to end summer with!  This delicious smelling and tasting vodka makes a great cocktail, especially when you add fresh basil and grapefruit soda to the mix. Keep summer going with this tasty cocktail –

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Ingredients:

Mix it up:

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As 4th of July quickly approaches we’re getting more excited for all the upcoming celebrations.  We’re not sure about you, but we have a lot of great cookouts and parties posted on our calendar.  If you’re hosting a celebration you know it can fun, but also a lot of work!  We designed this cocktail with the hostess in mind… easy, refreshing and delicious!

Enjoy this month’s bonus cocktail – 

Mystic Summer Cocktails (28 of 38)

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 ounces of vodka (we love Titos or Grey Groose for this cocktail)
  • Fresh strawberries and blueberries
  • Soda water

Directions: Mix together and enjoy (easy, right?!)

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What is your go-to 4th of July cocktail?  We also found these tasty cocktails that certainly look tasty, but are nowhere as easy to mix-up.

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Cheers and happy 4th of July!

New to Mystic Wine Shoppe is the fancy and oh so drinkable, Pommery POP Rose Champagne 4-Pack. These fun champagne bottles make a lovely Mother’s Day gift as well as the perfect addition to any spring celebration. We love these little Pommery Pop bottles not just because they’re adorable, but they’re also delicious, bright and lively.

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Host a Mother’s Day Brunch with POP!

We think Pommery Pop Rose Champagne would make a killer addition to your Mother’s Day brunch… So, this month’s cocktail is more of a ‘make-your-own’ cocktail bar. Check it out and get some inspiration for your Mother’s Day gifts and celebrations.

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What you need:

  • Setting up a Pommery Pop Champagne Bar is really one of the easiest options you can offer your guests. Not only do you not have to make the drink, but guests can customize their drink the way they want it.
  • We purchased fresh juices (OJ and apple juice) and fresh fruit (strawberries and blackberries) to create a nice display for our guests to choose from. You can use whatever juice or fruit you would like at your bar!
  • Thinking about feeding your guests? We recommend some delicious baked french toast and/or quiche to go with the champagne bar.

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Feeling inspired for Mother’s Day?!  Enjoy your day and don’t forget to stop into Mystic Wine Shoppe to grab all your champagne, rose, beer and liquor needs.

Thanks for reading –

Mystic Wine Shoppe

We’re choosing to ignore the snow on the ground and celebrate the arrival of spring!  All we can think about is fresh bananas, coconuts, pineapples, tropical music and of course, delicious cocktails. Join us in ignoring the New England weather and say “hello” to our April Cocktail of the Month – The Banana Bacardi Cocktail.

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Want to make it yourself… um, of course, you do.  Keep reading for the recipe and just make sure to set your Pandora Station to Beach Radio for the full tropical effect.

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Ingredients:

  • Fresh Fruit:
    • 5 Pineapple slices
    • 2 Strawberries
    • 1 Blood Orange/Orange
  • 2 Ounces of BACARDÍ Banana:  Aroma notes of fruit and candy banana, sweet brown, caramel and vanilla with an aftertaste of sweet banana with burnt sugar, sweet brown notes, and butterscotch
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 cup coconut water

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Directions:

  • Use a blender to mix fruit, juice, coconut water, ice cubes and Bacardi Banana
  • Blend until frothy
  • Pour and enjoy

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Do you have a favorite summertime cocktail? Head into Mystic Wine Shoppe and grab a bottle of your favorite liquor and get mixing!

Thanks for reading,

The Mystic Wine Shoppe Team

 

We have all read the novels where a British matriarch insists on the family dressing formally for dinner and beginning the evening with a round of sherry.  Before I ever tried sherry, I always pictured it as a very sophisticated tipple that only the most refined people can enjoy. Then, in my youth, I was introduced to cream sherry, a sweet syrupy concoction that seemed likely to induce a headache when followed by wine at dinner.

It has only been in recent years that (here in the US), the entire range of sherry, from bone dry to sweet, has emerged from the dusty drawing rooms of the china tea set crowd to shine as an aperitif, but also as a wine that can be paired with food and mixed into cocktails.  It is a very versatile wine that while making one feel quite sophisticated and international, can still be enjoyed just for itself.

There are several types of sherry one can choose. The lightest and driest style is “Fino” from Jerez or sometimes, Xerez in Spain.  On the open, it has a nutty flavor – is it almonds?  pecans? and perhaps a bit of salty creaminess?  Then one gets a better sense of how it is made – in humid cellars with a mild mushroom note.  Then as one continues to contemplate what this is doing to your palate – you get an amazing, yeasty breadlike flavor all over that makes you want to take that next sip and experience it all over again.

Sherry is quintessentially a winemaker’s wine.  It is made from the Palomino Fino grape in the town of Jerez de la Frontera in Spain.  The British, reluctant to pronounce “jerez” simply called it Sherry.  The Palomino grape can withstand drought well – a boon in the arid land of southern Spain – and “produces a reliable crop of slightly low acid, low sugar grapes whose wine may oxidize easily – in short, perfect raw material for sherry.” (JancisRobinson.com)  Because it oxidizes so easily, fino sherry is produced in humid, hot cellars that are an ideal breeding ground for a type of mold called “flor.”  The flor creates a crust over the wine that imparts a wonderful, cheesy flavor while also protecting it from oxygen by creating a largely impermeable barrier over the liquid (if this barrier of flor is intentionally broken to create a more oxidized style, it is called “oloroso;” if it is unintentionally broken and then further aged, it is called “amontillado”).

One of the coolest aspects of making sherry is the way it is aged and blended.  The youngest wines are used to top up the newest barrels of what is known as the solera.  It is system by which the wines can be “fractionally blended,” meaning that some wine is new, some is old and these are blended in parts over the course of several years to create a wine of great consistency and relatively high average age.  The closest analogy is an escalator.  The young wine goes into the barrels on the top level, but only makes up about 50% of that barrel.  After a year or two, 50% of this wine is moved to the next level for further aging while 50% of the second level wine is moved to the third level and so on. Usually, there are about 5 to 8 levels on the escalator and each level has a higher and higher average age.  Some part of the wine in the last level will still be the very original wine you started with – whether that is 30 years or 50 years old.  It is like an extended family tree, with all the character and ructions of each vintage smoothed out to create a unique flavor profile.

Unfortunately, it is wine to be drunk in small quantities or blended into cocktails (see below for two fabulous recipes!).  We have enjoyed sherry as an aperitif with marcona almonds, fried calamari and avocado & shrimp salad.  But anything salty like olives, any seafood such as oysters, clams, mushrooms caps stuffed with crabmeat or mussels in white wine sauce and most anything fried, like corn fritters would pair beautifully with Fino.

Sherry Cocktail Recipes To Try:

The Sherry App:
1 1/2 ounces Aperol
3/4 ounce fino Sherry
1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/4 ounce honey simple syrup

Directions: Combine in shaker with ice, shake and strain

The Rye Witch:
1 1/2 cups Kentucky rye whiskey
3 tablespoons Strega (herbal liqueur)
3 tablespoons Fino Sherry
2 tablespoons simple syrup
12 dashes orange bitters
12 orange twists

Directions:

  • Combine first 5 ingredients in a large pitcher. Add ice; stir for 15-20 seconds. Strain the mixture into 6 chilled coupe glasses.
  • Pinch an orange twist over each drink, then rub around rims of glasses to release oils from peel; discard peel.
    Garnish each with a fresh twist.

St. Patties Day isn’t just about chugging Guinness, it’s about enjoying delicious creamy cocktails too.  We wanted to give boring iced coffee a spin and create something unique, drinkable and fun. Behold the Green & Dreamy Iced Coffee Cocktail!  This cocktail is beyond easy to make and boy is it good!

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Ingredients:

  • The Irishman Irish Cream – We love this award-winning Irish Cream Liqueur for this tasty cocktail
  • Milk (just a splash)
  • Coffee ice cubes (prep in advance)
  • Green food coloring

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Directions:

  • Prep coffee ice cubes ahead of time by freezing the coffee of your choice into an ice cube tray
  • Once cubes are frozen place 5-6 into cocktail shaker
  • Pour 4 oz of The Irishman Irish Cream into the shaker
  • Add a splash, or more, of milk
  • Add in 4-5 drops of green food coloring and shake all together
  • Pour into a festive glass cup and enjoy!!!
  • We topped off our drink with a few more drops of food coloring to make it more festive looking.

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This drink was absolutely devine! You can pick-up all your liquer needs at Mystic Wine Shoppe.

We hope you enjoy it this month and remember to drink safely on St. Patties Day!

Thanks for reading!

 

Valentine’s Day is just next week!  What are you treating your sweetie too? We suggest making our special concoction that is SO EASY to mix up, yet has a very special feel to it. We used Flama D’Or Rosé Brut in our drink, as it’s reasonably priced and has notes of dark red fruits on the nose with a beautiful, dry finish.  Affordable and delicious =perfection!

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Ingredients:

  • Flama D’Or Rosé Brut
  • Frozen Cherries
  • Sugar and honey for the rim

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Directions: This one’s an easy one!

  • Choose a fancy glass
  • Dip rim of glass into honey and then into sugar (see photos below to see how to do it)
  • Drop in 3-4 frozen cherries (or berry of your choice)
  • Poor in Flama D’Or Rosé Brut to the top
  • Make a glass for you and your sweetie and enjoy!

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We wish a lovely Valentine’s Day,

Your friends at  Mystic Wine Shoppe