Down By the Bay, Where the Watermelons Grow …

National Watermelon Day was on August 3rd, but in my world, it’s always watermelon day! (I love watermelon, especially in the summer. I’ve even started eating it like a Texan; by adding salt to it!)

What else pairs well with salt and watermelon? Tequila! I was sent a bottle of Sauza Blue Silver Tequila, made from 100% blue agave, to try it out and create a few cocktail recipes using it. Sauza Blue Silver Tequila is really great tequila, and I love tequila to begin with, so doing a product review was obviously a pleasure.

On its own it has a smooth, clean, citrus finish. Also Sauza mixes wonderfully in cocktails. For those of you who aren’t huge tequila fans, you might like this one, because it is very smooth and easy to drink.  

Sauza Tequila and Watermelon Cocktail Recipes

Do yourself a favor and get a watermelon and some Sauza tequila and try out some cocktail recipes like the ones below! I guarantee they will cool ya down!

Watermelon Sangria (makes 2)
3 ounces of Sauza Blue Silver Tequila
1-2 cups of watermelon, diced small
1 orange, squeezed
1 lemon, squeezed
1 lime, squeezed
White wine
Soda water
Ice
Lemon and lime garnish
Muddle the watermelon in a shaker, then add the tequila, orange, lemon and lime and add ice. Shake like there is no tomorrow. Strain into glasses over ice, top off with white wine and a splash soda water and garnish. photo copy

Watermelon Spritz
1½ ounces of Sauza Blue Silver Tequila
3 ounces of watermelon juice (to make your own … cube watermelon, quickly blend, and then strain)
1 lime, squeezed
1 lime, cut into wedges
Soda water
Ice
Fill glass with ice, add tequila, add watermelon juice, lime juice, and add cubed limes, top off with soda water.

If you don’t want to whip up your own cocktail, you should try Sauza’s sparkling margaritas.

According to their website: “Our ready-to-serve sparkling margarita is made with real tequila, and comes in Original Lime, Mango Peach, Wild Berry flavors and now Watermelon!” 

DISTILLED IN MEXICO Sauza® Tequila, 40% alc./vol. DRINK RESPONSIBLY

Kanaracuni Cocktail Club – The Perilous Botanical Quest

Hendrick’s Gin recently embarked upon a real journey to find a botanical element that they could add to their traditional Hendrick’s Gin that would bring out its flavors and take the tried and true spirit to a new level. Lesley Gracie (Master Distiller), David Piper (Global Brand Ambassador), Charles Brewer-Carias (an old school explorer), Francisco Delascio (botanist), and a local Indian chief and guides ventured to Venezuela’s jungle to the Kanaracuni River to find the elusive flavor (to set up the  Guyana’s first cocktail bar).

Each day, the team took a different direction from base camp to search and brought back samples of the plants they found. Each evening, Lesley distilled the plants using the small copper still they took along. The adventurers found an element that played perfectly with Hendrick’s flavor notes on the seventh day of searching, the Scorpion Tail, a plant native to the Venezuelan jungle. They were able to transport 8 liters of the Scorpion Tail distillate back to Scotland (though customs was understandably a bitch) to create 350 liters of Hendrick’s Kanaracuni. Since only 350 liters were made, it won’t be available for sale. The entire journey was purely for the art of making an exquisite spirit.

Local bartenders were invited to the Dallas Zoo’s Flamingo Room to taste the Hendrick’s Kanaracuni and test some recipes. We started with a toasted cinnamon and pineapple cocktail and appetizers, some dried and seasoned crickets and mealworms (I kid you not). The group was treated to a video about the trip and then were given the chance to try the spirit. It has the usual herbal flavor of Hendrick’s with a certain bite that mellows into a spicy heat thanks to the Scorpion Tail.

The night wore on an delicious bites and a traditional martini was served which featured the Hendrick’s Kanaracuni (omg it was amazing). We met some animals native to the area they explored and were even treated to a blow dart competition where we were able to shoot the Global Brand Ambassador with paint balls. I, unfortunately, was a little too good at it and hit him square on the protective eyewear he was wearing. (Half and inch lower and I’d have been taken off the Hendrick’s media list!!!)

I personally am delighted to see a liquor company out there pursuing the art of distilling instead of the money behind it. I’d like to see more distillers follow suit!

Check out more about the Hendrick’s Perilous Botanical Quest at www.hendricksgin.com/perilousbotanicalquest.

Ocean Prime(d)

Sometimes being me is tough (I know … wah wah wah … getting free alcohol is sooooo hard. But bear with me here).  Trying new places all the time is really nice, but it keeps you from revisiting some of the tried and true awesome places that you’ve always enjoyed.  Case in point: Ocean Prime.

They asked me to stop in and try some of their classics again and some new offerings.  Since they told me I was in for 11 full-size cocktails on this adventure (which I limited to nine), I took along a friend.  Here’s how it went …

We walked into the posh Uptown restaurant and the familiar smell of steak, liquor, and truffle wafted from the bar.  We were seated and immediately greeted by John, our server, and he was attentive and courteous all evening.  My kryponite, truffle butter popcorn, was delivered to the table (and the heavens opened up and angels sang), then the drinks started flowing.

  • CHERRY NEGRONI (Plymouth Gin, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Cherry Heering, fresh orange, lemon juice) – I’m not the biggest fan of the traditional negroni (Campari, gin, and sweet vermouth), but even though the recipe it incredibly different than the traditional cocktail, it had a nod to the traditional cocktail with a smoother note thanks to the Cherry Heering and lemon juice.
  • PEACH BOURBON COOLER (recipe not available) – as a HUGE bourbon fan, this was my favorite drink of the evening.  It was really light and perfect for summer yet incredibly potent thanks to the bourbon (duhhh) and fresh peach liqueur
  • CARIBBEAN MULE (Bacardi 8 Rum, Domaine de Canton, house made sour, old fashioned bitters) – this fun (and entirely too easy to drink) take on the mule is light and perfectly balanced.  The old fashioned bitters and ginger liqueur were such a fun, fresh flavor when mixed.
  • CUCUMBER GIMLET (Bombay Sapphire Gin, muddled cucumber, lime) – another dangerously easy to drink cocktail, this was very strong, but refreshing thanks to the muddled cucumber.  I do love a cucumber cocktail, and this was delightful.
  • BERRIES & BUBBLES (Belvedere Cytrus Vodka, marinated blackberries, house made sour, Domaine Chandon Brut, dry ice) – this spectacle of a cocktail was a nice drink, but is more interesting thanks to the dry ice.  It’s pretty simple and a nice go-to, but I’d only order it again to watch it bubble!
  • WHISKEY CLOVER (Gentleman Jack Whiskey, Hennessy VS, honey water, lemon juice, orange juice) – the flavors of this delight really played well together.  The honey water is a perfect touch and makes this cocktail just the right amount of intriguing.
  • BLACK ORCHID (Belvedere Black Raspberry Vodka, St. Germaine, lemon juice, white cranberry juice) – this cocktail is an old friend.  It’s one of my favorites in Dallas because it’s just a perfect balance of light and doesn’t get old thanks to the black raspberry (because … yum) and looks as exquisite as it tastes thanks to the ice ball that has an actual orchid frozen inside.

All cocktails are $12-14, and have enough punch to make the price tag almost worth it.  (The truffle butter popcorn is what makes it more than worth it!)  All cocktails that are served over ice have either ice balls or giant Sonic ice (you know what I mean)–and that’s just awesome.  They have “Award-Winning” cocktails, but also have some dynamos behind the bar that will shake, stir, or muddle whatever your heart desires.

Since we were at Ocean Prime, we thought it’d be a sin not to eat since their food is pretty … pretty good.  Aside from the three bowls of truffle butter popcorn that I downed all by myself (don’t judge me), we tried a new happy hour offering, Salmon Rillette, which is a light and fluffy salmon rillette served with toast and spicy pickles (yummmm).  Meryl (my +1 for the night) ordered the Goat Cheese Ravioli … and I was kind of pissed I didn’t order it myself.  It.was.delicious.  I also couldn’t decide between the French Onion Soup and the Lobster Bisque, so John made it easier on me and brought a cup of each.  Best choice ever?  Perhaps.  The Lobster Bisque is kind of epic hanks to the chunks of lobster on top and its exquisite texture and crunchy corn.

Some other high points: I love their bathrooms (is that weird?), their bread is delicious and perfectly crusty, they have great live music in the bar, staff is attentive, and it’s mostly business people in the bar and they clear out around 8pm.

Stop into Ocean Prime and check out some of their new offerings … but don’t forget about their old favorites!

OCEAN PRIME
www.ocean-prime.com
Facebook | Twitter: @oceanprimeCMR | Instagram: @OceanPrimeDallas
2101 Cedar Springs Road
(214) 965-0440

HAPPY HOUR (available in the lounge) | 4-7pm, Monday – Friday: Select discounted appetizers, $7 wines by the glass, $3-4 select beers, $7 select handcrafted cocktails

Sunday | 3-course menu for $39 (featuring crab-stuffed lobster)
Monday, 4-7pm | 1/2 price oysters
Tuesday | discounted select champagne on the terrace and lounge
Wednesday | half-priced select bottles of wine
Thursday-Saturday, 7pm | live music

BLUE CHAIR BAY BANANA RUM GIVEAWAY & RECIPES

Another SDD Blue Chair Bay giveaway! (LUCKY!) This time we’re giving away a bottle of Blue Chair Bay’s latest flavor, Banana Rum! Enter to win ye a bottle o’ rum, me matey, and check out some recipes Laura whipped up using the delicious banana rum (and only a few banana-related puns and catchphrases).

My take on Blue Chair Bay Banana Rum:
In my experience, flavored liquors are very hard to do right… but Blue Chair Bay did it right with their Banana Rum. Blue Chair Bay Banana Rum has a rich flavor and a real banana taste. First, I tried it straight up, and it tasted exactly like Bananas Foster, evident by its buttery, caramel finish. It doesn’t taste artificially sweet either. I even tried it as a twist on the old standard rum and coke, and it was actually pretty darn good.

My Recipes:
I’m not typically a dessert or sweet drink person, save for the occasional espresso martini, so I knew I’d be my own toughest critic. But not to toot my own horn (toot toot), but these turned out pretty darn delicious. All of them are best served ice cold, which should be pretty appealing since we are smack in the middle of a Dallas summer.

photo 2Not Your Nana’s Banana Crème Pie Martini
3 oz Blue Chair Bay Banana Rum
2 oz clear crème de cacao liqueur (I used Hiram Walker brand)
3 oz half-and-half
Garnish: Graham cracker rim (to make: first rim martini glass in honey and then in graham cracker crumbs)

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake, and pour into graham cracker rimmed martini glass.

 

photo 1Frozen Chocolate Banana Martini
1½ oz Blue Chair Bay Banana Rum
1½ oz white or dark crème de cacao liqueur (I used Hiram Walker brand)
1½ teaspoons of chocolate syrup
1 cup of ice, add more if necessary
Maraschino cherry for garnish

Combine all ingredients (except for cherry) in a blender with ice, blend until slushy. Pour into martini glass, garnish with a cherry, add chocolate syrup for garnish or to make even more chocolate-ly. (Because … chocolate.)

photo 3Banana Rum-ssian
1½ oz Blue Chair Bay Banana Rum
¾ oz coffee liqueur (I used Kamora brand)
¾ oz half-and-half
¼ oz of Icebox ice coffee concentrate (you can find this at Central Market or online) or CoolBrew Coffee

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake, and pour over ice.

For a refresher on the rum recipes Susie came up with before with the Blue Chair Bay White Rum, click here.

Enter to win a bottle of Blue Chair Bay Banana Rum!!!

Win a bottle of your very own by doing any (and all) of the following BEFORE NOON on Sunday, August 10 and tell us which one of the recipe above that you’d like to try using Blue Chair Bay Banana Rum (or make up one of your own!!).  

(One entry per platform per person will be accepted.)

Yo ho and a bottle of (banana) rum! Enjoy and good luck!

About Blue Chair Bay Rum:
Blue Chair Bay Rum is born on the beach for the times you just want to let go and live in the moment.Blue Chair Bay Rum is a collection of premium-blended rums created on the shores of the Caribbean and inspired by multi-platinum singer-songwriter’s Kenny Chesney’s love of the island lifestyle. Each of Blue Chair Bay Rum’s four varieties, White, Coconut, Coconut Spiced and Banana is 100% beach-made and mellowed in casks at one of the oldest, most respected distilleries in the Caribbean. Imported from Barbados and bottled by Fishbowl Spirits, Rochester, NY. Blue Chair Bay White Rum 40% ABV, Blue Chair Bay Coconut, Coconut Spiced Rum and Banana 26.5% ABV. Available in 750ml and 1.75L bottles

Please enjoy Blue Chair Bay Rum responsibly.

Laphroaig 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whiskey

Do you know what a good day is? Getting home to find a bottle of Laphroaig 10-Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whiskey waiting for you. (Talk about a good way to unwind from a rough day.) Having had (and greatly enjoyed) Ardbeg Whisky (Scotch) before, I had a guess what Laphroaig was going to taste like. Since they’re both on the southeastern coast of Islay, part of the Hebridean Islands off the west coast of Scotland, I had high hopes.

I opened the bottle and took a quick smell, and my nose immediately picked up smoke. I poured myself a glass, neat (obviously), and took another whiff. The aroma opened up a bit and I caught the typical earthy/peaty smell that scotch from Islay often bares. (One might question what peat smells like, and I really can’t explain it. But, for those interested here is your science lesson: peat is simply decayed vegetation that occurs in natural areas. Some call those areas peatlands, but just imagine a bog. Very wet, spongy ground, that allows vegetation to decay over time.) Alright, enough science, back to the scotch. It had a heavily peaty aroma because distilleries in this area of Scotland often use peat fires to dry their grains. The scotch then takes on that smoky flavor, which is VERY distinct. The first sip brought the exact same flavor, peaty/earthy, and it was VERY bold.

I put a few ice cubes in the glass to chill the scotch, and as it chilled I noticed a slight spice to the scotch, which really complimented the smokiness. As the ice melted, I added a little bit a water to finish it off, which brought out the spices completely and really opened up the entire bouquet. While the smokiness was still the headliner of the scotch, the spices were just as bold on the finishing end of the drink.

This is Laphroaig’s original “basic” scotch, it has been distilled the same way for 75 years. I would highly recommend this as a staple in your liquor cabinet. Head to the website to see your other options from Laphroaig.

*Side note: last year SDD Contributor Rico reviewed the 2013 Laphroaig Cairdeas: Port Wood Edition. Each year, Laphroaig releases a limited edition to celebrate friendship, Cairdeas in Gaelic. Without going into too much detail that bottle went under a double maturation process in both bourbon and port wood casks to create a unique flavor. For a review of the 2013 limited edition click here.

Twitter: @Laphroaig
Facebook: www.facebook.com/laphroaig

Located at fine retail locations nationwide for around $50/bottle. (BONUS: This also includes a unique code inside each bottle that allows you to register as a “Friend of Laphroaig” and receive a lifetime lease on one square foot of land on the island of Islay, right next to the distillery. How awesome is that?)

**Disclaimer: I received this amazing bottle for free from Laphroaig**

An Open Letter to Suburbia from a Suburbian

To Whom it May Concern:

One of the best parts of living in the ‘burbs has been my slow realization that living out here is not the end of the world socially. Every time you look up, there’s a new import of a Dallas favorite, a side project from a chef you already love, or places that have helped us move beyond the downtown/uptown view that we’re all watching MMA fights at wing restaurants between trips with the kids for unlimited breadsticks and a dip in a chocolate fountain.

As this has happened, I’ve noticed two distinct feels for these northern concepts. The first (let’s call it the “right way” to do business) is to create a restaurant that will be part of the neighborhood with a great dining/drinking experience that stands on its own. This seems like a really easy concept to grasp and a general key to success … right?

There’s a second troubling approach I’m starting to notice and it can be summed up as “Hey, you suburban Neanderthals, put down your slop for a second and come have the honor of dining on what us city folk eat.” Sometimes this comes through from a server; other times you can just feel it permeating the entire restaurant the moment you walk in. It’s not limited to second locations – in fact, most of the biggest offenders I’ve encountered are places that have opened out here only. For a few of these, you can almost circle the date on the calendar in 12-15 months when the novelty will wear off and everyone moves on to the next big thing.

Now, I’m not going to name names or turn this into a list – different places have bad days, sometimes a waiter from the Dallas location who feels this way takes a shift and does a poor job of hiding an attitude or, being frank, there are (gasp) exhausting suburban stereotypes in suburbia that reinforce the whole outlook. I love that I can hop over to a second Lockhart’s and walk out with ribs and some of the most underrated turkey you’ll ever see at a BBQ joint and I certainly don’t want to seem ungrateful, especially as someone who spent my childhood in a town that didn’t get a Chili’s within 30 miles until I was in high school.

So, why am I ranting? Because as a person who moved out here after 7 years in Dallas “proper”, it’s exciting to me to not only kill my own misconceptions and judgments, but bring friends out here and have them do the same. I won’t pretend to not still venture to Dallas when I can, but it is very satisfying to have a community feel up here that also captures some of the best things about living near the city. There are people who plan their lives around the Lakewood house and the job downtown, which is awesome, but there are also plenty of great opportunities (and parking spaces, yards, less congested roads, etc.) outside of the bubble as well.

There’s nothing worse than convincing a person to come out all this way, taking them somewhere that sounds great on paper and then watching them get so turned off they either find a way to never come again or just suggest making a few drinks and ordering in at your place. So, please, if you’re an owner of a restaurant, bar, cocktail lounge, house of wine, illegal moonshine bathtub or anything else that lets us eat, drink and be merry, please remember to keep treating customers the way you would want to be treated and help us to continue to build up a real food and drink scene north of 75.

Yours (somewhat ungratefully),

Brian

Do It #ForKidd

Check out this awesome campaign from Kidd Nation:

On the anniversary of Kidd Kraddick’s untimely passing, we all feel that it is important to honor Kidd and his strong belief in the power of “Paying It Forward.”

So, this weekend (July 25-27), we want you to: “DO IT FOR KIDD.”

What does this mean? The memory of Kidd Kraddick should inspire you to continue his legacy of giving, through performing random acts of kindness.

do-it-for-kidd-text

When you’re asked why you did something nice for someone else, you can simply reply: “Kidd’s memory inspired me” or “I did it for Kidd.”

for-kidd-social

To further honor Kidd, on Monday, July 28, we’ll share our favorite memories of the man who gave so much to so many people for so many years.

And at 8:30 ET/7:30 CT, the show will observe a special “Moment of Noise!”

keep-lookin-up-kidd

Cubierto’s

Hi. My name is Brian, and I have a confession that will be hard to hear for most Texans: At some point in the last 5 years, I gave up on Tex-Mex/Mexican. I didn’t stop eating it or anything, but after hopping from place to place, it all was beginning to run together to the point where seeking out new places or menu items lost all appeal. I think this came about from excessive exposure – especially when every night out in Uptown had to be started with a group of 12 (8 girls, 2 beaten-down dates, 2 single guys usually) headed to Primo’s (RIP), MiCo’s or Chuy’s. It’s not that I don’t like it – I just sort of realized that if I went limp and stayed real still, Mexican food would still find me.

Picture courtesy of Cubierto’s

Picture courtesy of Cubierto’s

That’s why when Susie asked me if I’d tried Cubierto’s, I made a note of it, but didn’t rearrange any immediate plans. To her credit, she didn’t give up, and kept telling me that I wouldn’t regret the trip. Finally, as the polar vortex welcomed me home to DFW from a work trip, I felt the long-dead Tex-Mex craving knew it was time … time for Tex-Mex.

As I walked up to the building, I had hesitations. The patio looked great and expansive, but it was still early in the evening and the happy hour crowd hadn’t quite been replaced by the night diners. Then, there was a note on the door about following a dress code. This was obviously a chance to write my own Addison/North Dallas joke, but instead, I opened the door and found a very happy hostess, a great atmosphere and live music going on by the bar. The service was extremely welcoming and pleasant (not always a given during this time of night on a weekend as folks recover and gear up for the second wave.)

For drinks, I tried two different margaritas – the house-made frozen one as this experiment’s constant, and then the higher end offering on the menu. The frozen one was good – not too sweet, the tequila came through and it was very refreshing, but there’s only so much you can say about a frozen house margarita. The top shelf one with cointreau was perfect. The overbearing sweetness that usually limits me to a margarita or two every few months had been replaced by a balanced taste of tequila, lime and orange that was equally enjoyed by my margarita-eschewing fiancée. I found myself wishing I had just started with this one and couldn’t even bring myself to try the sangria or the pepper cocktail, but have both of those on my list for next time.

For a meal, we had the chicken mole and the tenderloin quesadillas, which were both excellent. I had a friend in college who had family in Mexico City and was obsessed with finding the perfect dish, and this was about the closest I’d seen anything come to the homemade attempts we’d all split after being disappointed elsewhere. The quesadillas were also fantastic and replaced the ones at Tupinamba’s as my favorite, rarely-mentioned quesadillas in Dallas.

I owe Susie for convincing me to check this place out and definitely recommend the trip to anyone looking for something a little bit different than the usual Dallas spots.

Drink strength: 4.5 of 5 (that top shelf will get you)
Food: 4.5 of 5 (everything from the salsa trio to the entrees was excellent – and there’s a lot more to try we missed)

Cubiertos Gourmet Mexican and Margarita Bar
www.cubiertosdallas.com
facebook | Twitter: @CubiertosDallas | Instagram: @CubiertosDallas
18020 Dallas Pkwy, Dallas, TX 75287
(972) 381-7779