Three French Hens - a cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

You may have been expecting this one...

It's made with French (Vive La France!) sourced ingredients - Lillet, Grey Goose Vodka, and Grand Marnier.  To build the cocktail add the following to a shaker filled 1/4 with cracked ice:

2 1/2 ounces of Lillet Rose Apertif Wine
1 ounce of Grey Goose Vodka
1 ounce of Grand Marnier liqueur

Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with an orange twist.  If you'd like the cocktail more on the dry side, increase the Lillet by 1/2 ounce and decrease the Grand Marnier by the same.

Lillet is a nice apertif served over cracked ice on its own - especially the white or rose - in the warmer months.  As in this case, it can also make a nice base for a cocktail.

Bonus holiday cocktail - the Candy Cane cocktail by Sandra Lee from Food Network (a past favorite of my in-laws!):
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/candy-cane-cocktail-recipe.html 
Note:  I have substituted unflavored vodka in place of the vanilla flavored rum and it worked very nicely.  Try to find the old fashioned candy canes made with sugar (no corn syrup).

As always, enjoy responsibly.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Two Turtle Doves - a cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

This is easy and more of a dessert cocktail.  Just layer 10ml each in a tall shot glass of 1) Chocolate Liqueur (I used Godiva brand), 2) Smirnoff Kissed Caramel flavored Vodka, and 3) Frangelico (hazelnut flavored liqueur).  It will taste very much like the candy!  Ho, Ho, Ho!

A Partridge in a Pear Tree – a cocktail recipe by Michelle Hartsell Cocktail Engineer

Have you ever noticed how many different birds are mentioned in the holiday classic "The 12 days of Christmas"?  Well, here's a cocktail to the first one.  I have two versions for you.

To build the cocktail add to a shaker with crushed ice:

2 1/2 oz of Absolut Pear Vodka
1 oz of either Pear Brandy (for a more traditional martini flavor) or 1 oz of Pear Liqueur (if you like a sweeter cocktail)
Juice from 1/2 a well ripened meyer lemon

Shake and strain into a martini glass

Garnish with a dash or two of cinnamon

That's the cocktail!

You can read more about the traditional Christmas song on wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_(song) 

Happy holidays