Signature Cocktails

The signature cocktail has become a hot trend over the past year. Lately our stylish brides have been requesting a signature drink that goes with their specific theme or color scheme. So we've put together this little list of easy to assemble cocktails in a variety of colors. Here is the rainbow of signature cocktail recipes for you to choose from.

The Champagne Ruby
3 ounces high quality champagne
1 ounces raspberry juice
1/2 ounces lime juice
fresh raspberries

Add all ingredients to shaker filled with ice and shake well. Add to chilled champagne glass and garnish with fresh raspberries.

Raspberry Mojito
2 oz rum
.5 oz Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
6-8 fresh mint leaves
2 lime wedges
1/2 tsp sugar
club soda
Add sugar, mint leaves, lime wedges and a splash of club soda to a tall glass. Muddle until sugar is dissolved. Add ice to glass. Add rum and Chambord. Stir to mix. Top with a splash of soda.

Mandarin Orange Cocktail
4 ounces mandarin orange flavored rum or vodka
Simple Syrup
Thin strips orange rind or half-moon orange slices, for garnish

Combine liquor and simple syrup. Shake or chill until cold. Serve in glasses with ice, garnished with orange slices.

Centenario Cat's Eye

1 1/2 ounces Gran Centenario Plata Tequila
1 ounce sweetened passion fruit puree
1 ounce fresh orange juice

Blend all ingredients well with ice and pour into a chilled glass.

White Sangria

20 ounces fruity white wine
1 1/2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce sweet 'n sour mix
2 ounces ginger ale
2 ounces 7-Up
1/2 ounce sliced lime
1/2 ounce diced green apple
1/2 ounce sliced lemon
Fill a large pitcher with ice. Add all the ingredients and stir well. Serve in a large pitcher.

Blue Sapphire Martini
2 ounces Bombay Sapphire Gin
1 ounce Cointreau
splash Blue Curacao
splash Sour Mix
Shake over ice and strain into martini glass

Kir Royale

4 ounce creme de cassis
5 ounces Champagne or sparkling wine
1 twist of lemon
Pour the liqueur into a champagne flute. Fill the glass with Champagne or sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon twist.

In addition to these colorful cocktails, we've provided a list of traditional new orleans cocktails. After all, we did invent the thing...

The Sazerac Cocktail
1/2 teaspoon Herbsaint
1 teaspoon of simple syrup
4 dashes Peychaud's bitters
1 scant drop, of Angostura bitters
2 ounces rye whiskey.
Strip of lemon peel
Swirl the Herbsaint in the glass and pour out the excess. Add syrup, bitters and whiskey to shaker and shake until chilled. Strain into glass. Twist lemon into glass.

Brandy (or Bourbon) Milk Punch
1-1/2 ounces brandy or Bourbon
2 teaspoons simple syrup
2 dashes vanilla extract
4 ounces whole milk or half-and-half
Nutmeg
Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with cracked ice and shake like hell for half a minute, until very cold and very frothy. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice, and top with some grated nutmeg.

Café Brûlot
8 ounces good brandy
4 ounces Grand Marnier
8 teaspoons dark brown sugar
16 curls orange peel
16 curls lemon peel
10 whole cloves
butter
ground cinnamon
4 cups strong New Orleans coffee & chicory
Mix brandy, Grand Marnier, sugar, fruit, cloves, and butter in a heated pan. Flambe. Add coffee to extinguish. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

The Hurricane
1.5 ounces light rum
1.5 ounces dark rum
1 ounce orange juice
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1/4 cup passion fruit juice, or 1 tablespoon passion fruit syrup
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 teaspoon grenadine
Cherries with stems, and orange slice to garnish
In a cocktail shaker, mix the rum, passion fruit juice or syrup, the other juices and the sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add the grenadine, and stir to combine, then add ice and shake. Half-fill a hurricane glass with ice, then strain drink into glass; add ice to fill. Garnish with orange slice and cherries.

The Mint Julep

4 fresh mint sprigs
2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 tsp powdered sugar
2 tsp water

Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a collins glass. Fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig. Serve with a straw.

Ramos Gin Fizz
2 ounces gin
1 egg white
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
3-4 small dashes orange flower water
Soda

Shake all ingredients except the soda water WITHOUT ICE quite vigorously for at least one minute, preferably longer — the longer the better. Then add ice and shake for 1-2 minutes, as long as you can manage, until extremely cold and frothy. Strain into a tall thin glass, or a very large old fashioned glass, and top with soda water.

Enjoy!