A Dinner Party with Fonseca Siroco

Ever since the weather has gotten warmer, I've been looking forward to enjoying dinners on our porch and in our backyard. Usually it's just my husband and I taking advantage of these springtime evenings, but I've always thought an outdoor party with friends would be a lot of fun. So when I was invited to host a dinner party with cocktails made with the Fonseca Siroco White Port, I jumped at the chance to throw the backyard soiree I'd always wanted. I had big plans: white tablecloths, candles, cafe lights, flowers, the works.

Then it rained.

Looking on the bright side, at least this meant we didn't need to carry all our food and supplies down three flights of stairs. It did mean a bit of frantic apartment cleaning and shoving baby gear into closets. But that evening, our friends braved the weather and joined us for a beautiful dinner party with Portuguese food, cocktails, and plenty of Fonseca Siroco.



Let's quickly talk about Port, since it's not something I've used in any recipes on the blog yet. Port is a fortified wine made in the Douro Valley of Portugal. Fortified means that a distilled spirit has been added to the wine, which increases its alcohol content, extends its shelf life and affects its flavor. Other common fortified wines are vermouth, sherry and Madeira. Fonseca is one of the most widely available brands of Port, and their products are consistently very high quality.

When you think of Port, you probably picture a red Port like a tawny or ruby port, which are quite sweet and typically enjoyed after a meal. But white Port like the Fonseca Siroco is generally quite dry. Fonseca Siroco is crisp, fruity, and bright, perfect as an aperitif or with a meal. It's also fantastic in cocktails. The simplest option is just to mix it with tonic water and serve it with a slice of lemon, as it is commonly served in Portugal. Using it instead of vermouth is another easy way to work it into some of your favorite recipes.



For my Port 'n' Party, I made two cocktails with the Fonseca Siroco that I batched ahead of time so I wouldn't be mixing while my guests were here. The first was a simple spritz made with white Port, Aperol, club soda, and an orange slice. Bright, citrusy and just a bit bitter, it made a great pairing for appetizers. For the second cocktail, I wanted to make something more spirit-forward but still appropriate for spring, so I made a martini with gin, white Port, St. Germain, and chamomile citrus bitters. I absolutely love this one - it's just the kind of cocktail I enjoy sipping on. The St. Germain lends this drink a bit of floral sweetness, but it's still dry enough to have before dinner. We also made some white Port and tonics. The recipes for all three cocktails are below!



For dinner, we had Arroz de Tamboril, a rice stew made with monkfish and shrimp that reminded me a lot of the Shrimp Creole we make at home in Louisiana. It's easy to prepare and great for a crowd. Dessert was Serradura, a spectacularly simple combo of sweetened whipped cream and shortbread cookie crumbs. Both recipes came from The Girl Loves to Eat. Our friend Chris of Socktails also brought Pasteis de Nata, which are amazing Portuguese custard tarts. We had plenty of Fonseca Siroco with dinner, and it paired very nicely with the seafood. It had been a long time since we had hosted a party like this one, and we really enjoyed the excuse to get together with friends, even if it was indoors! Maybe a garden party will have to happen later on in the summer. There will definitely be Port cocktails involved.

White Port and Tonic

1 1/2 oz. Fonseca Siroco White Port

3 oz. tonic water

Build in a glass over ice, stir gently, and garnish with a lemon slice.

Porto Spritz

1 oz. Fonseca Siroco White Port
3/4 oz. Aperol
1 oz. club soda

Combine Port and Aperol in a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube. Top with club soda and stir gently. Garnish with an orange slice.

Lisbon Martini

2 oz. gin (GrandTen Wire Works)
1 oz. Fonseca Siroco White Port
1/2 oz. St. Germain
1 dash Bittermen's Boston Bittahs

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a coupe. Twist a lemon peel over the cocktail, rub it along the sides of the glass, and discard. Garnish with chamomile flowers.

This post was made in partnership with Fonseca Port. All recipes and opinions are my own.

Mocktail: Just Beet It

Guys, we're in the home stretch! I'm officially in my final month of pregnancy, and because baby is staying stubbornly head-up, I've got a C-section scheduled for the end of this month. Unless he decides to flip, I'm exactly three weeks away from parenthood! (And cocktails. But parenthood is the bigger deal.) The weirdest part is, I think we're ready. We've got all the baby stuff, the house is basically in order, and other than making some meals to freeze and getting the dog a much-needed haircut, my to-do list is pretty short. The biggest thing is finishing up my postdoc research, which I should probably be working on right now instead of making mocktails. Oops.

When I first announced my pregnancy, a lot of my cocktail-making friends told me that shrubs would be my go-to drink for the next few months. If you're not familiar with shrubs, check out my brief intro to them here. They're basically tangy mixtures of fruit, sugar, and vinegar that can really add a flavor kick to any drink. And since they're non-alcoholic, they're great for mocktails. I expected to be making a lot of them, but between being sent some great pre-made shrubs from Element [Shrub] and Shaker & Spoon and having lots of other mocktail ideas, I didn't really get around to experimenting much. But with my pregnancy almost done, I figured it was high time to get into the shrub game.



There are so many potential flavors for shrubs, I almost didn't know where to begin. But I've been wanting to do something with beets for a while, and a shrub is a perfect way to work them into a drink. Why beets? Besides their unusual but really delicious flavor - despite being root vegetables, they're quite sweet - they add an absolutely gorgeous color to drinks. (And cutting boards, and kitchen towels, and fingers....)

My go-to guide for shrub making is this article from Food52. It makes it really easy to design your own shrub recipe, which I think is the best way to go. There can be a lot of variation in flavor and sweetness between batches, and it's important to tailor your recipe to your ingredients and your taste. Last time I made shrubs, I did a "cold process" recipe where the fruit and sugar are combined in a bowl and left out for a couple of days to produce a syrup. This time, I went with the "hot process" on the stove because it was quicker. Basically, I simmered my sliced beets with water and sugar, added some vinegar, and strained the mixture into a jar. Really easy. Check out the recipe below for the exact proportions.

For my finished mocktail, I combined the beet shrub with honey syrup, lemon juice, fresh tarragon, and tonic water. It was so, so tasty - tangy, vegetal, and sweet, with the perfect bitterness from the tonic water at the end of each sip. Definitely the kind of drink that (almost) keeps you from missing cocktails!

Booze it up: I'd add some gin to this one!

Just Beet It

2 sprigs fresh tarragon
1 oz. honey syrup*
1 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. beet shrub (recipe below)
3 oz. tonic water

Combine tarragon and honey syrup in the bottom of a shaker and muddle gently. Add lemon juice and beet shrub. Fill the shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass or Collins glass filled with ice and top with tonic water and another sprig of tarragon.

*For honey syrup, combine equal parts honey and water in a saucepan, bring to a low simmer, and stir until honey is dissolved. Let cool before using.

Beet Shrub

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup beets, peeled and diced

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the beets and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes, until the syrup is bright red and the beets are softened. Add half of the vinegar, stir, and taste - see how you like it and add the rest if desired. Bring briefly to a simmer and then strain. Let cool before using. Can be stored in the fridge for several weeks.

Mocktail: Juniper and Tonic

A quick pregnancy update! Our recent ultrasound revealed that we're having a boy, and everything looks good. I'm now 25 weeks(!) and sporting an obvious bump, but it's not so big yet that I'm uncomfortable. The little guy is kicking like crazy, and it's both completely bizarre and very, very cool. (Except when he kicks me in the bladder, which is decidedly uncool.) Everything is going really well, and I honestly have only one complaint at the moment: I miss gin.

Maybe it's the warm weather, but for some reason I could take or leave the bourbon and rum cocktails that pop up on my Instagram feed or my favorite cocktail blogs, but every Martini and G&T makes me drool. And don't even get me started on Negroni week.

What's a pregnant girl to do? I resigned myself to plain tonic water until I saw this post from On the Sauce Again, which suggests making a juniper syrup as a non-alcoholic substitute for gin. Genius. I whipped up a batch using Inka's recipe, but I think I used a bit too much orange zest, because what resulted was more of an orange syrup than a juniper one. To properly satisfy my gin craving, I revamped the recipe to be extremely juniper-forward. As Inka suggests, I also include a bit of orange peel, cardamom, and bay leaf. You could throw in any additional gin botanicals you like - coriander, angelica root, lavender, allspice, orris root, chamomile, cassia, and other types of citrus peel would all be at home here.

I mixed my juniper syrup with some tonic water and lime, and soon I was drinking the best gin and tonic I'd ever had - without any gin. An extra fancy garnish of chive flowers and chamomile made it feel even more special. This mocktail is revolutionary, guys. I'll be drinking these all summer.

Juniper and Tonic

1 oz. juniper syrup (recipe below)
1/2 oz. lime juice
5 oz. high-quality tonic water (I used Fever Tree)

Combine juniper syrup and lime juice in a rocks glass. Fill with ice and top with tonic water. Stir very briefly. Garnish with a slice of lime, some juniper berries, edible flowers, and anything else that strikes your fancy.

Juniper Syrup

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. dried juniper berries*
1 strip orange peel
1 cardamom pod
1 small bay leaf

Combine juniper berries, sugar, and water in a saucepan. Muddle the juniper berries to release their flavor. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Let cool. Transfer to a jar or other container and refrigerate a few hours or overnight. Strain before using.

*Dried juniper berries were surprisingly easy to find. My local big-chain supermarket sold them in the organic spice section, but I ultimately went to a small natural foods store that let you scoop your own for much cheaper. Indian groceries are another good place to check. And there's always Amazon!

Dillionaire

I came across the Dillionaire while looking for recipes that used Bittermen's Boston Bittahs. When I saw the ingredients, I knew I had to try it. Any recipe that mixes Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur with fresh dill has got to be interesting. Plus, an adorable name? Sold.

Dill is not something you see in cocktails very often. Or in anything else, for that matter. I've only used it once in my entire life, when I made pickles. But a small packet of dill seeds came with a set of herb seeds I bought, and I figured why not plant them? I'd find a use for a dill, or else just make a bunch more pickles. I didn't expect it to end up in a cocktail, but I'm glad to put my little shrub of dill to good use.

I had to make some substitutions in order to pull this one together. I don't have any tonic syrup and wasn't really ready to spring for a bottle, so I replaced the 1/2 oz. tonic syrup and 3 oz. club soda with 3 1/2 oz. tonic water (Fever Tree). I also don't have Hendricks Gin, so I used Wire Works. Finally, I don't have Cocchi Americano, so I substituted Lillet. I don't think any of these changes affected the final cocktail too grievously.

The Dillionaire has a decidedly savory flavor and aroma. The tonic and dill flavors comes in strong at first, but then give way to sweetness in the middle of your sip. That's when you taste the maraschino liqueur and the chamomile. Then it's all bitterness. A really complex, interesting cocktail. And very refreshing! It's a really unique twist on your average Gin & Tonic.

History: The Dillionaire was invented by Nick Caruana, who writes the awesome cocktail blog The Straight Up - be sure to check it out. I want him to teach me how he takes those awesome cocktail photos.

Dillionaire

2 oz. gin (Hendricks recommended)
1/2 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
1/2 oz. Cocchi Americano (I used Lillet)
1/2 oz. lime juice
2 droppers Bittermen's Boston Bittahs
3 slices cucumber, 1 reserved for garnish
3 sprigs dill, 1 reserved for garnish
3 1/2 oz. tonic water

Place two cucumber slices and two sprigs of dill in the bottom of a shaker. Add Luxardo and muddle. Add Cocci Americano, gin, one dropper of Bittermen's, lime juice, and ice. Shake until well chilled. Double-strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Add tonic water and the second dropper of Boston Bittahs. Garnish with the remaining cucumber slice and sprig of dill.

Recipe adapted from The Straight Up.

Gin & Tonic

Writing so much about gin yesterday had me craving a Gin & Tonic. It's a delightfully simple cocktail (the entire recipe is in the name, after all), but it's classic and refreshing, and certainly deserves a place in your repertoire.

With a cocktail this simple, the ingredients you use take on more importance. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, every gin is going to be flavored with different botanicals and so will give your Gin & Tonic a slightly different taste. Different brands of tonic water also have slightly different tastes and may pair better with certain gins. I've never splurged beyond the usual Schweppes or Canada Dry before, but for this post I went out and bought a pack of Fever Tree, which G&T aficionados swear by. I don't know if it's just the trendy packaging and tiny bottles, but I think it really elevates the drink to something special. It's got a milder but more complex flavor. It's not that I'll never buy a bottle of Schweppes again, but Fever Tree is a worthy splurge. As for gin, I usually reach for Tanqueray, but I'm looking forward to trying out some others.

Huffington Post did a fun taste-test of a number of different combinations of gin and tonic brands. Their favorite was Gordon's with Fever Tree. For more expensive gin, they preferred Canada Dry tonic, which didn't overwhelm the gin's flavor. What I like most about this analysis is that it really shows how the flavors in both the gin and tonic can really change the cocktail. Even the garnish can do a great deal. I've always reached for lime, but when I broke into the second bottle of tonic I used lemon instead and liked it a lot better. Less conventional options include cucumbers, herbs, and even olives or tomatoes. Some gin lovers say to compliment the botanicals used in the gin, while others say to try and contrast them. I say try it all and figure out what you like.

History: I love a good cocktail story, and the Gin & Tonic has a fantastic one. It begins with the Quechua people of Peru. They used the bark of the cinchona tree, which they called quina-quina, as a muscle relaxant that stopped shivering. They would mix it with sweetened water to make its bitter taste more palatable. A Jesuit priest named Agostino Salumbrino sent some of the bark to Rome, suggesting that it might be used to ease the shakes of feverish malaria patients. In a remarkable coincidence, the bark did not just stop the shivering of malaria patients; it actually cured them, through an entirely different mechanism. Two French scientists eventually isolated the medicinal compound in the bark, naming it quinine after the Quechua word for the tree.

As the British expanded into India in the 19th century, quinine became used as a malaria prophylaxis, meaning it was taken before exposure to the disease to prevent infection. Even on its own, the quinine was still bitter, so British soldiers mixed it with sugar, soda water, lime, and their gin ration. So the Gin & Tonic was born. By 1858, tonic water was being produced commercially and marketed to the growing number of Brits in India and other tropical countries. It was apparently something of an acquired taste, as it became a popular cocktail. Once it was not being consumed for medicinal purposes, the amount of quinine in tonic water was reduced to its current levels for a taste that is much less bitter (so, on your next tropical vacation, please don't consider a daily G&T a viable alternative to your usual dose of malarone).

Gin & Tonic

1.5 oz. gin
3.5 oz. tonic (or to taste)

Pour gin into a rocks glass. Fill glass with ice. Top with tonic water. Garnish with a lime or lemon twist. Avoid malaria.