Spring Cocktail Trends From NYC Bartenders

Now that Winter is starting to go away, New Yorkers eager to ditch heavy beers and warm cocktails for refreshing drinks that scream Spring.  Trends in cocktail culture have become a quintessential part of celebrating a new season. This Spring looks like rum concoctions will be leading the pack and introducing aperitifs as the new happy hour with low ABV cocktails, allowing you to enjoy the night without the painful morning. New York bartenders have predicted decadent rum craft cocktails for the warm spring. These are not your typical Spring Break drinks you had while in college. Since then, the accolade for both “Tiki” cocktails and brown/craft spirits have grown respect, and so has the popularity of first-rate, sophisticated rums in both the Caribbean and in the U.S.A. A spirit known for its various tasting notes, these innovative libations will elevate any gathering, and highlight rum’s versatile flavor profile just in time for the spring season.

Below, are 5 fantastic spring-inspired recipes to celebrate this year’s trends, all crafted by some of the nation’s top bartenders, including Naren Young (Dante, NYC), Dan Sabo (ACE Hotel, LA) , Nico de Soto (Mace, NYC), Will Benedetto (In Good Company Hospitality),Leo Robitschek (Eleven Madison Park, NYC). Each of the recipes listed below can also be found in St-Germain’s first-ever coffee table cocktail book, How to Drink French Fluently.

Mango Basil Margarita - Created by Will Benedetto, (In Good Company Hospitality)

Ingredients

• 2 oz of Casamigos Blanco Tequila
• 1 oz of mango basil puree*
• 0.75 oz of lime juice

*Mango Basil Puree

• 1500 g of mango puree
• 300 g of basil
• 400 g of agave
• 2 oz of vodka

Shake all ingredients with 5-6 ice cubes. Without using a strainer, pour the entire contents into a Tajin rimmed rocks glass.

Voodoo Down - Created by Leo Robitschek(Eleven Madison Park in New York)

Ingredients

• 2 dashes orange bitters
• ¼ ounce ginger syrup (1:1, ginger juice:turbinado sugar)
• ¼ ounce honey syrup (2:1, clover honey:water)
• ¾ ounce lemon juice
• ½ ounce St-Germain French elderflower liqueur
• ½ ounce Trinidadian rum
• 1 ounce bourbon, preferably Elijah Craig 12-year

Shake all the ingredients with ice. Strain over ice into a double rocks glass.

Qui Oui, Created by Nico de Soto (Mace in New York)

• ½ ounce St-Germain French elderflower liqueur
• 1½ ounces Aperol
• ½ ounce kiwi syrup
• ¾ ounce lemon juice
• Pinch of Himalayan pink salt
• Prosecco, to top
• Glass Garnish Dehydrated kiwi slice or fresh
• kiwi slice

Shake all of the ingredients, except the prosecco, with ice. Strain into a wine glass with ice, top with prosecco, and garnish with the kiwi slice.

Rivington Punch - Created by Natasha David (Nitecap in New York)

• 2 ounces dry rosé wine
• ½ ounce St-Germain French elderflower liqueur
• 1½ ounces Aperol
• ¼ ounce raspberry liqueur, preferably Combier Framboise
• 1 ounce soda water
• Glass Garnish Strawberry slices and grapefruit crescent

Stir all of the ingredients in a wine glass over ice. Garnish with strawberry slices and a grapefruit crescent.

The St-Germain Cocktail - Created by Robert Cooper

• 1½ ounces St-Germain French elderflower liqueur
• 2 ounces dry sparkling wine
• 2 ounces soda water
• Glass Garnish Lemon twist

Combine all of the ingredients in a Collins glass over ice. Stir gently, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Mango Basil Margarita

Qui Oui

Rvington Punch

St. Germain Cocktail

Voo Doo

What You'll Be Drinking This Easter Sunday

'Easter is like Brunch where on a Sunday you gather to eat and drink. When joining a group it's good to be easy with what's on the menu, if there is something you want, know to bring it yourself. Our biggest concern is the drinks, while we love a good Bloody Marry, we're a little over Mimosas’, but still want to celebrate with Champagne.

There are people who love to celebrate with cocktails as the end of the night approaches and whether you are pitting the Manhattan vs. Old Fashioned against each other, Easter is a time for a lot of fizz, as it makes for a sparkling occasion, goes great with food, and can be consumed long into the night. Cocktails are great, and you will have to read the room to see if cocktails are called for, but Champagne is low maintenance, and always adds the sparkle we all need.

Being the celebratory drink it is, Champagne is perfect for the traditional, joyful festivities of Easter Sunday. Champagne can be a mystery with treasures to be discovered, well hidden from those who don’t know where to look. These secrets are part of the fun to discover.

If you’re unsure as to what to bring this Easter to Brunch look no further than Moet & Chandon’s 2008 Grand Vintage Brut. After aging 7 years in the historic cellars, this is a perfect springtime opening similar to a bouquet of floral notes of linden, honeysuckle and acacia, citrus nuances of bergamot and mandarin orange zest, and dash of anise and green tomato, give way to flavors of just-ripe stone fruit and scents of pastry and almonds with a slight hint of white pepper.

A bright pale yellow with glimmers of green, its first impression on the palate is vivacious and lively, subsequently extending itself, with an invigorating finish and lingering note of citrus fruit. Incredibly versatile and food friendly, Moët Grand Vintage 2008 is a surprising yet excellent way to elevate unexpected pairing dishes, such as truffled French fries, salted popcorn, fried chicken, and many more to go with your Easter meal. 

Chandon Sweet Star

Also in the Moet family the Chandon Sweet Star is the newest bubbly to pair with a variety of light bites with your  for any Spring and Summer Brunch. For chic sipping, grab a bottle as a hostess gift for your bestie’s rooftop soirée that will taste great with anything from spicy sushi to decadent donuts – perfect for toasting the arrival of warm weather and sundresses. This bottle goes beyond just Easter but will last you through Summer. We suggest stocking up, as you’ll want these for on the go.

If your still in the mood for a red try a bottlethat's perfect in between seasons wine Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel Mendocino County 2014. As Easter sits in before the heat of Summer this medium-bodied ripe Zin with vibrant cherry and cassis layered with notes of toasty oak shining through. Spicy clove and cardamom balance the wine, making it the perfect pair for barbecued lamb this Easter evening. Created by “Godfather of Zin” Joel Peterson, Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandels showcase the best aspects of their respective terroirs, while maintaining the winery’s “no wimpy wines” ethos.

The Benefits of Drinking Wine Out of a Can

Now I know what you’re already probably thinking. How can I turn my nose up at all my friends and act like I’m the most cultured Wino if we’re drinking wine from a can, and what kind of vintage could I expect from wine that comes out of a can? Will it have a top notes of hazelnuts or golden apples? Well if you can put all those preconceived notions you picked up at fancy wine tastings about what wine should be, I’m sure you’ll find that canned wine is simply better in many cases then bottled wine.

The first and foremost of those is the fact that canned wine is so much more simple and easy to use than bottled wine. It is easier to transport a can, it chills faster, and it can’t shatter, because I’m sure we’ve all had that experience. Where after a few glasses and all the bottles that were open, are now empty. So someone tries to open a new bottle with a corkscrew and they end up pulling too hard smashing the bottle shattering the neck, or even just splash wine all over themselves.  Either way you shouldn’t expect drunks to do complex tasks that require a modicum of self-control, and well you would have to be exceedingly drunk to mess up opening a can.

Another aspect of being freed from corks is that you simply don’t need to own a corkscrew, and if a special someone calls you over at two in the morning telling you to bring a bottle of wine. It won’t ruin the mood when you have to spend thirty minutes trying to figure out how to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew just because you assumed they owned a corkscrew when they didn’t. Put plainly canned wine fits the modern busy lifestyle, it is the kind of wine you can drink at an outdoor concert venue. Dance with it in your hand even, and it won’t slosh out of the cup like wine normally would, because this time it’s in a can.

It is also a more affordable alternative than spending at least $15 or if you like burning money upwards of $80 dollars for 750ml of wine. We here at Off the MRKT like wine as much as the next website, but spending that much every time we want to drink some of it can tend to be a little too costly.  That’s why the average $6-7 price of a 375ml can of wine is so great. You’re just paying for two and a half glasses of wine at a time instead of five at once. Most importantly during the holidays you won’t look like an alcoholic for drinking two cans of wine, but if you drink a whole bottle of wine by yourself all of a sudden your family is staging an intervention.

Finally if none of that was enough to convince you the future of wine is in cans, we will talk about taste. Skeptics might say that wine from a can will taste like aluminum, but today’s aluminum is coated inside to prevent the transfer of metallic tastes. Not to mention canning does a far superior job of preventing oxygen exchange, because a can has a perfect airtight seal unlike some bottles. The cans also do infinitely better at stopping light from getting into the drink, by way of being opaque unlike a bottle. Since light and oxygen are two of the biggest foes of preserving flavor and shelf life, it is probably a safe bet that dollar for dollar a canned wine will taste much better than a bottled wine, and yes it does come in Rosé.

Our favorite listing this week is 508 West 24th Street, Unit 5th Floor, home to NBA Player Carmelo Anthony. The ten-time NBA All-Star, has listed his New York City condo. The home is the largest unit in the Cary Tamarkin designed building at 508 W 24th that overlooks the High Line and is walking distance from world-class shopping and prominent art galleries.

251 East 51st Street, Unit 2M, listed on the market as a Compass "Coming Soon," is a recently renovated, perfect pied-a-terre (and ideal one bedroom for all the rest of us). What truly sets this pad apart from the rest is the dreamy outdoor terrace with endless possibilities and city views. Accessed by the living room and overlooked by the bedroom, this 24x12 outdoor space is an oasis in the center of the Midtown hustle and bustle.

Our last #openhouse roundup will you be checking out this #parkslope home? #nycrealestate #brooklynrealestate #milliondollarlistings #luxuryhomes #OffTheMRKT

DNA Development announced that closings have commenced at 350 West 71st Street, the successful Upper West Side luxury conversion that seamlessly combines two historic pre-war buildings into one stunning contemporary condominium with a classic façade. As construction nears completion, the seven-story building’s 38 elegant residences and bespoke amenities are coming to life, as DNA welcomes its first residents.

Our favorite listing this week is located at One West End, the sculptural glass residential tower designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli within Riverside Center. At $19.5 million, 29B offers 5,302 square feet of interiors space, with four bedrooms, five and a half baths, a media room, lofted library, and a double height great room leading out to a 3,000 square foot terrace with impeccable views.

Celebrate National Margarita Day At Norwood Club

One of our favorite holidays of the year is coming up International Margarita Day, on February 22nd bars and restaurants will be making creative margaritas all day. Cody Goldstein of Muddling Memories will be celebrating this year with his first-ever line of cocktail fizzers that will be available at Norwood by reservation only.

What is a cocktail fizzer you may ask? Well it’s nothing you’ve ever seen before…in cocktail form that is.

Related: The Search Is On: Which Patrón Margarita Will Win?

Inspired by Patrón’s Margarita of the Year competition** and created by Cody Goldstein of Muddling Memories. Those who are looking to try the specialty cocktail can get one at The Potion Room at Norwood and order one fizzer for $30 or 7 for $200

The 7 flavors include: Passion Fruit + Jalapeno, Lychee + Chia Seeds, Tomato + Thyme, Celery + Elderflower, Pickled Plum + Kelp Tea, Orange Marmalade + Sherry

How is it made?

• Drop the margarita flavored cocktail fizzer into the glass filled with Patrón Tequila
• Watch as the cocktail fizzer miraculously turns from a ball into a cocktail right in your glass
• Wait for the fizzing to stop and enjoy the margarita

·The cocktail fizzer is created with real cocktail ingredients (i.e. tomato, orange, lime, etc.) and the fizzer activates once it hits the tequila

Once the cocktail fizzer completely disintegrates in your glass your margarita is ready to drink 

Be sure to reach out to the exclusive members-only club Norwood to try the fizzers by booking a reservation at:Reservations@norwoodclub.com