Drink Recipes

Vodka

Rosemary Five
from marriedwithdinner.com

1 1/2 oz. Death’s Door Vodka
1/2 oz. Pear Liqueur
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 oz. rosemary simple syrup
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Dry sparkling wine

Shake top five ingredients together in a cocktail shaker with ice. Add dashes of bitters, give one final shake and strain into a 6-oz cocktail glass with sparkling wine to fill. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Door County Cherry Drop
from Jenn De Bolt of The Old Fashioned, Madison, WI

1 1/2 oz. Death’s Door Vodka
1 oz. Door County cherry juice
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup (equal parts of sugar and water)

Shake, serve straight up and garnish with stemmed cherry or lemon zest.

Pumpkin Martini
from Kris Wachowiak of L'Etoile, Madison, WI

3 oz. Death's Door Vodka
1 1/2 oz. Pumpkin Syrup*
*Depending upon the potency of your syrup, more or less syrup will be needed. You may want to experiment with the ratios in order to insure that the final product is to your preference. Usually, I work with a ratio that is about 1 part syrup to 2 parts Death's Door Vodka.

Pumpkin Syrup
1 medium sized pumpkin
3 cups brown sugar
2 dashes of chili powder
3 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Cut pumpkin into small pieces (about 1 inch cubes), removing the skin.

Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in a large pot; add the sugar, chili powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the pumpkin and reduce heat to a simmer. Allow the mixture to reduce by 1/2 or 2/3 (depending upon how strong you want the flavors to be–When I did this, I allowed the mixture to simmer for about 4 hours).

Remove the mixture from heat. Using a large spoon, remove the pieces of pumpkin from the mixture and press them in a fine mesh strainer. (This will allow you to take the liquid out of the saturated pieces of pumpkin and return it to the end product). Once all of the large pieces have been removed and pressed, strain all of the syrup to remove any other small pieces. Refrigerate product until it will be used.

Midnight Kiss
from Dan Grandaw of The Social, Milwaukee, WI

3 oz. Death’s Door Vodka
1 oz. Dark Creme de cacao
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves

Shake and serve straight up.

Obsidian
from Ben Siemer of Firefly Grill, Effingham, IL

1 oz. Death’s Door Vodka
1/2 oz. Sambuca Black (dark black licorice liquor)
1/2 oz. Chambord (black raspberry liquor)

Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass with a half sugar rim and black raspberries to garnish. (blackberries are also acceptable)

Santa's Little Helper
from Mike McKee of The Bar Next Door, Madison, WI

2 oz. Death's Door Vodka
1 oz. Tuaca Liqueur
3 oz. fresh apple cider
A dash of cream
A sprinkle of both cinnamon and brown sugar
An apple wedge rolled in brown sugar for a garnish

Combine vodka, Tuaca, spices, cream, and cider into a shaker with ice. Shake until cold and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with apple wedge rolled in brown sugar, a little pinch of cinnamon on top, and a cinnamon stick.

Chilled Ginger Caviar Melon Martini
From Rachael Collins of Collins Caviar
Recipe Creator: Chef Rick Gresh - Chicago Wyndham's Caliterra

2 Red watermelons
1 Yellow watermelon
1 cup fresh Orange Juice
2 sprigs fresh Mint (leaves only)
1 oz Collins Ginger caviar
3 oz Death's Door Vodka
Ice (as needed)
Bar toothpicks (as needed)

Scoop yellow watermelon into parisenne, split in half. Keep halves in order for re-assembly. Gently scoop out the center of the 2 halves and fill with Carolyn Collins Ginger caviar, sandwich the two halve together and skewer with a toothpick to hold together, set aside in cooler for use later. In a blender combine yellow watermelon scrapes with peeled and chopped red watermelon, orange juice and mint. Puree until smooth and pass through a chinois..

To serve:
Combine puree with ice and vodka of your choice. You may add as much or as little as you like depending on your preference. Shake like a martini and pour; if you like serve over ice. Garnish with melon/ginger toothpicks… Enjoy

Gin

The Original Ramos Gin Fizz
Invented in the 1880s by Henry C. Ramos- one of New Orleans' most famous drinks. New Orleans, LA



2 oz Death's Door Gin
3 drops orange flower water*
1 egg white (you can get pasteurized egg whites)
1 teaspoon confectioners sugar
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lime juice
2 oz light cream
Soda water

In a cocktail shaker half filled wth ice, mix all ingredients except the soda water. Get the mixture to be a frothy, foamy consistency. Strain into a tall thin glass, or a very large old fashioned glass, and top with a little soda water- but not too much! Stir.

*-Orange flower water can be difficult to find, but is available in better liquor stores or Middle-Eastern markets,. Found in Madison at the Willy Street Coop (Baking Section, $2.99).

Ampersand
From Anita Crotty- one half of "Married...with Dinner", San Francisco, CA



1 oz Death's Door Gin (see note)
1 oz brandy
1 oz Italian sweet vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters
orange curaçao, to finish


In an ice-filled mixing glass, stir the gin, brandy, vermouth, and bitters until very cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, then add two drops of curaçao.

Note: The original spirit was Old Tom- a sweetened gin of yore, a popular ingredient in many pre-Prohibition cocktail recipes. My neighbor Erik (proprietor of Underhill Lounge) was kind enough to let us sample from his personal stash of Death’s Door gin, a product that may be the closest modern Old Tom equivalent. Its flavor is noticeably sweet, a trait that the distillers assured Eric was intended rather than accidental. Alas, it’s not widely available outside the upper Midwest.

Autumn Splendor
from Leah Caplan, of The Washington Hotel, Restaurant & Culinary School, Washington Island, WI

Makes 1 drink

1 oz. Death's Door Gin
3 oz. apple cider

In a cocktail shaker add gin and cider. Shake and pour into a rocks glass over ice. Garnish with an apple slice impaled with a juniper sprig or cocktail pick.

Bee’s Knees
from Tami Lax of Harvest, Madison, WI

2 oz. Death’s Door Gin
1 oz. honey syrup (equal parts of honey and water)
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

Shake, serve straight upand garnish with honeycomb.

Fall Festival
from Kris Wachowiak of L'Etoile, Madison, WI

4 raspberries, muddled
1/3 oz. basalmic vinegar
2 2/3 oz. Death's Door Gin

Shake ingredients with ice. Pour and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a fresh raspberry and lemon twist.

The Gin Sling
from Dr. Rachael Maddow, of The Rachael Maddow Show, Air America Radio

1 1/2 oz. Death’s Door Gin
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 oz. simple syrup
1 dash Angostura

Shake & strain into rocks-filled Collins glass, top with seltzer.

Golden Crisp
from Joseph LaFleur of Hinterland,
Green Bay, WI

1 1/2 oz. Death’s Door Gin
1/4 chopped apple
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 oz. black tea
1/2 oz. cranberry juice

Muddle ingredients, then add vodka. Shake in martini mixer, strain into tall slender rocks or narrow soda glass with ice. Garnish with apple wedge, cinnamon stick and cherry.

The Urban Revitalizer/Death Grip
from Kris Wachowiak of L'Etoile, Madison, WI

2/3 oz. Creme De Casis
2/3 oz. Cointreau (or Blue Curacao if you want the drink to be purple)
1 1/2 oz. Death's Door Gin
Couple of drops of fresh lime juice

Shake ingredients with ice. Pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lime twist (lemon with the purple version, as it has a better color contrast).

Vesper
from Kevin Daum, of Zingerman’s Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MI

3 oz. Death’s Door Gin
1 oz. Death’s Door Vodka
1/2 oz. Lillet Blanc

Garnish with a large twist of lemon.

Wicked Wisconsin Wassail
A collaboration between Mike McKee of The Bar Next Door and Chef Leah Caplan of The Washington Hotel, Restaurant & Culinary School

3 firm cooking apples such as Cortland, Ida Red or Jonathan, cut into eighths, cores and seeds removed.
3 cups fresh (or frozen) cranberries, washed
1/2 cup Wisconsin maple syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 sticks cinnamon
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
5 whole allspice berries
1 cup water

Combine the above ingredients in a stainless steel Dutch oven or soup pot. Cook over high heat for 10 minutes or until the liquid is thickened by the cooked cranberries, the kitchen is aromatic and the apples are tender.

Turn the heat down to medium and add:

4 cups fresh apple cider
3 cups cranberry juice
1 cup brandy
2 cups Death's Door Gin
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Gently stir and heat until warm (do not boil once juices and alcohol have been added).

Yield: 12 cups; 12-20 portions, depending on how wicked the wassailers are.