Drink | I Can Cook That

Review of Routin 1883 Gourmet Syrups & Cocktails

One of my favorite parts of blogging is when I’m given the opportunity to sample products and give my honest review of them. I love the chance to try something new and to incorporate it into recipes. So when Routin 1883 contacted me to sample some of their gourmet syrups, I was excited to dust off my bartending kit and concoct some tasty beverages. The company produces gourmet flavors for use in cocktails, specialty coffees, Italian sodas, etc. The syrups, manufactured in the French Alps, have no preservatives, GMO’s, or high fructose corn syrup (they are even gluten free). Routin 1883 was kind enough to send me a bunch of different samples so I tried to highlight each of them to review.

To try the vanilla, I added the syrup to a traditional White Russian (I thought it sounded like it would be delicious, I was right!)

Ingredients:

2 ounces vodka

1 ounce Kahlua

1/2 ounce vanilla syrup

Top with cream

To make, add ice cubes to a glass. Pour vodka and Kahlua over the ice. Add the vanilla syrup and stir. Fill with light cream and serve.

The vanilla syrup held up nicely to the strong coffee flavor of Kahlua and was an awesome complement to this already delicious drink. After a sniff of the syrup I decided to go with a 1/2 ounce instead of an ounce because it seems to be quite strong.

The coconut syrup meant I could pretend it is summer. I added it to rum and pineapple juice for a taste of the islands.

Ingredients:

2 ounces light rum

1 ounce coconut syrup

fresh pineapple juice

Add ice cubes to a tall glass. Pour rum and syrup over the ice. Fill with pineapple juice and serve.

This is so refreshing. It’s a perfect escape from the winter weather and would also be perfect as a pitcher in the summer months. Coconut and pineapple just go so well together.

I decided to use the raspberry syrup to make a raspberry rickey: a gin rickey with raspberry flavoring.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounce gin

the juice of 1/2 a lime

club soda

1 ounce raspberry syrup

Add ice to a short glass. Add gin, lime juice , and raspberry syrup and top with club soda.

This was another really refreshing drink. The syrup wasn’t sugary so it didn’t take away from the bite you’d normally get in the original version of this drink. You could also serve it straight up (no ice) if you’d like. Just mix it in a shaker and pour into a glass.

For the caramel syrup, I thought it might be fun to try a flavored martini. I happened to have sour apple liqueur in my apartment (I have no idea why) so a Caramel Apple Martini immediately popped into my mind.

Ingredients:

2 ounces sour apple liqueur

1 ounce vodka

1 ounce caramel syrup

Add ice to a shaker. Pour in apple liqueur, vodka, and caramel syrup and shake. Strain into a martini glass rimmed with a cinnamon-sugar mixture.

This tasted exactly like a candied apple. The caramel’s sweetness really helped tone down the sour apple flavor of the liqueur.

Next up, a frozen strawberry-champagne daiquiri. I had some champagne left over from New Years Eve that I just put into an ice cube tray. I thought this would be a perfect use of those champagne ice cubes.

Ingredients:

2 ounces light rum

1/2 ounce triple sec

1 ounce strawberry syrup

6 strawberries

juice of one lime

1/2 teaspoon sugar

5 champagne ice cubes

5 normal ice cubes

You’ll need normal ice in there too because champagne doesn’t freeze entirely. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until frothy. The champagne might bubble a bit. Pour into a glass and serve.

I think champagne should be the base of every strawberry daiquiri from now on. The strawberry syrup added a much bolder flavor to the daiquiri than strawberries alone would without adding a typically syrupy, sugary taste to it. It really enhanced the daiquiri!

Last but not least, I made what I’ve dubbed a Toasted Martini.

Ingredients:

2 ounces chocolate liqueur

1 ounce espresso (cooled)

1 ounce roasted hazelnut syrup

Add ice to a shaker. Add the chocolate liqueur, espresso, and syrup and shake. Strain into a martini glass rimmed with cocoa powder.

Do I even have to mention how amazing this was? I could drink this all day. It was like a grown up chocolate milk, definitely my favorite. The hazelnut flavor was amazing!

Overall I think I gravitated more to the syrups that would go nicely in coffees (which is next on my list to try): Roasted Hazelnut, Vanilla, Caramel, and Coconut. But the fruit flavors were really nice as well! They are actually flavored with real fruit juice which is very noticeable. They don’t have that normal “syrupy” taste at all. Routin 1883 has tons of different flavors on their site so be sure to check them all out. They also have plenty of recipes if you’re looking for inspiration!

Homemade Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Hearts

The simplest actions can really make your day. Sometimes all you need to turn a day around is a simple pick me up. This hot chocolate is a really easy way to put a smile on your, or your loved ones, face(s). It’s also a perfect Valentine’s Day drink! I found this cute recipe on Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:

(this makes 2 cups)

4 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
4 tablespoons finely chopped dark chocolate
2 marshmallows

Continue reading Homemade Hot Chocolate with Marshmallow Hearts

Rose-Scented Berry Prosecco

New Years Eve is a great time to add a little bit of glitz and glamor to your life. I, naturally, feel the need to do that to my drink. This is actually a take on a local restaurant’s delicious champagne option. I hope I remember it correctly, but when I first had this drink at Farmicia in Old City Philadelphia I fell in love. It’s such a girly drink so I had to save it for a special occasion.

Ingredients:

Rosewater

Blueberries

Prosecco

Add about 1/2 teaspoon rosewater to the bottom of a fluted glass. I apparently do not own any champagne glasses (who knew?) so I actually made mine in the martini glass with a bit more rosewater.

Add blueberries or any berry of your choice to the glass. If you’re using a traditional glass, three should be plenty.

Open your sparkling wine and pour into the glass, filling to the top.

Enjoy 🙂

I absolutely love the smell of rosewater. The taste can only be described as what you’d expect a rose to taste like (sorry). The berries add a nice little touch too; I love saving them for last!

I’d suggest adding rosewater to taste. I am very fond of it, so I might have a heavy hand with it. Start with 1/4 teaspoon and work your way up.

Have a wonderful New Years!

Pumpkin Pie Milkshakes & Making Your Own Pumpkin Puree

After visiting several supermarkets in search of pumpkin puree only to find they were sold out, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Amy’s Cooking Adventure had instructions on how to make my own puree using pie pumpkins so I tried it out. To test out my finished product (and as a nice pat on the back) I made pumpkin pie milkshakes to celebrate.

Godiva Coffee – Pumpkin Spice & Caramel Pecan Bark

I am in love with fall, it is by far my favorite time of year. It is the only time of year I can give into my love of all things pumpkins and not get funny looks. Sadly, I feel like the autumn season seems to be getting shorter and shorter, so I need to get as much “fall” food and drinks as I can. As a member of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program, I was lucky enough to receive two different limited edition fall coffees from Godiva: Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Pecan Bark.

The coffees are based off of Godiva’s Pumpkin Spice Truffles and their signature Caramel Pecan Bark. The Pumpkin Spice coffee has a wonderful pumpkin pie taste, with hints of nutmeg and cinnamon. The Caramel Pecan Bark has notes of toasted pecan and caramel. I couldn’t wait to try them!

I decided to make two different recipes for each coffee to really test out their flavor. The weather in Philadelphia has continued to be pretty darn humid, so I made a few chilled coffee drinks. I also decided to use some of the coffee grounds to make my own Caramel Pecan Bark.

First to make the Caramel Pecan Bark. Making bark is really simple and makes a great gift or easy party dessert. I incorporated some of the coffee grinds to enhance the flavor of the chocolate.

Ingredients:
16 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons whipping cream
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Begin by chopping your chocolate. I was feeling particularly lazy so I just used my food processor.

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Line a pan with parchment paper and spread the chopped chocolate evenly on top. Bake for 5 minutes or until melted. Using a spatula, spread the melted chocolate evenly so that it is the same thickness throughout.

While the chocolate is melting, make the caramel. Add the sugar to a pan over medium high heat. As soon as it begins to melt, begin to whisk vigorously until mostly melted. (see photo) Take care not to burn the sugar!

Add the butter and whisk to combine. Be careful, it will bubble!

Remove from heat. Wait 10 seconds and add the cream, whisking to combine.

If you’re not feeling particularly gutsy, feel free to just purchase caramel sauce. Making the caramel can be tricky, it took me two tries. I burnt the first one so badly that my entire condo filled with smoke! Oops.

Chop the pecans. I used raw pecans; for extra flavor use toasted.

Sprinkle the pecans over the melted chocolate.

Sprinkle on the coffee grounds and top with the caramel.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to allow to harden.

Break into uneven pieces, so as to resemble bark.

Yum! I think next time I make this, I think I would add just a bit of sea salt to finish it off. However, this was delicious on its own!

On to the drinks. First up is a Pumpkin Spice Martini, adapted from a recipe sent to me by Food Jaunts. She was nice enough to let me post it on here, so thank you very much! If you have a minute, be sure to check out her blog, it’s fabulous!

Ingredients:
3 oz brewed Pumpkin Spice coffee, cooled
1 oz vanilla vodka
1 oz Godiva chocolate liqueur
Ice

Begin by brewing your coffee. Set it aside and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Add ice to a shaker. Pour in the vanilla vodka, Godiva liqueur, and coffee. Shake and strain into a martini glass.

If you don’t have a shaker, you can use anything that has a secure lid. Just be sure to use a strainer over the martini glass so that no ice enters the glass.

I absolutely loved this drink, I wish more martinis tasted this good! The vanilla, chocolate and pumpkin spice flavors delivered a smooth and tasty drink.

You can add whole coffee beans to the martini glass for some extra flair if you’d like. They’ll float to the top!

In my attempt to be creative, I’m pretty sure I ended up making a chilled Caramel Pecan Bark Vietnamese Coffee. Either way, it was tasty!

Ingredients:

6 oz brewed Caramel Pecan Bark coffee, cooled

2 tablespoons condensed milk

2 tablespoons milk

A few ice cubes

Whipped cream

Extra coffee grinds or chopped pecans for garnish

Begin by brewing your coffee and allowing it to cool.

Add the coffee, condensed milk, and milk to a blender.

Add ice and blend until pureed. Pour into coffee mugs and top with whipped cream, coffee grounds, or pecans if desired.

Condensed milk is already sweetened with sugar, so I personally don’t think you need any more sweeteners in this. If you have a big sweet tooth, sub out the milk with more condensed milk.

I love how this tasted! It was more of a dessert drink than a coffee drink but I’m ok with that. The caramel and pecan flavors still shown through, making a really delicious treat.

No coffee post would be complete without Iced Coffee. This recipe takes some make ahead time, but is so worth it, so that your coffee isn’t watered down. I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman and was really impressed with the results!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Caramel Pecan Bark coffee grounds
2 cups cold water
Ice
Milk, cream, or half & half (whatever you prefer)
Sweetener, if desired

Note: you will need a cheesecloth for this recipe.

Add the coffee grounds to a container that has a lid.

Pour in the cold coffee and mix to combine.

Allow to “brew” for at least 8 hours. Place a fine mesh strainer over a medium bowl. Place a few layers of cheese cloth over the strainer and pour the coffee mixture into the strainer. Give it a while to strain through. Use a spoon to press through the remaining liquid.

Add ice to a glass.

Pour the coffee into the glass, filling it just over half full.

Add your milk/cream/half & half. Stir to combine.

Sweeten the iced coffee if desired. (Note: the Caramel Pecan Bark coffee has some sweetness to it, so I didn’t think it needed any sugar)

This is perfect to serve with the bark!

I don’t think I will ever make iced coffee another way again. The flavor of this was amazing, not even a little bit watered down!

Last but not least, I decided to try a recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Latte, right off of the GodivaCoffee.com website.

Ingredients:
6 oz brewed Pumpkin Spice coffee
3 teaspoons pure maple syrup, divided
4 oz warm milk
Whipped cream, if desired

Begin by brewing your coffee. Add the coffee to a mug of your choice and keep warm.

Heat the milk over medium heat until warm. If you’re feeling fancy, use a whisk to whip the milk until frothy. Add 2 teaspoons maple syrup and the milk to the coffee. Stir to combine.

Top with whipped cream and drizzle with the remaining 1 teaspoon of maple syrup.

This is a great “fancy” coffee drink to make at home when, like me, you don’t own an espresso machine. The flavors are very similar to popular pumpkin spice lattes out there and is so simple to make!

I hope some of my experimentation will inspire you to come up with some of your own recipes. The Godiva fall coffees make for a great base. I am so excited to enjoy this coffee for the rest of the season!

Sangria

For Father’s Day, I wanted to make my dad a somewhat traditional sangria. He is a man who has nothing and wants nothing (which is probably a result of having two daughters and a wife who want everything), but he does love a good sangria. I hope he likes it!

Ingredients:

1 bottle of Rioja wine

1/2 cup brandy

1/4 cup triple sec

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup cranberry juice

3 table spoons simple syrup

1 apple, cored

1 orange, cut into thin slices

1 lemon, cut into thin slices

1 lime, cut into thin slices

1 peach/nectarine, pitted and cut into wedges

Ginger ale, to taste

Combine the wine, brandy, triple sec, orange juice, cranberry juice and simple syrup. Stir.

Prepare all of your fruit.

Add the fruit to the wine mixture and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

When ready to serve, pour sangria into a glass and top with the ginger ale to taste.

I took only one sip of this, so my dad will have to be the true judge of this recipe. It seemed to taste good to me: not too sweet and still a hint of actual wine. You can make a bunch of substitutes for this recipe. If you don’t have the time to make simple syrup, just use 3 tablespoons sugar and stir until it dissolves in the wine mixture. Feel free to substitute or eliminate some of the fruit choices: blackberries would also be a nice addition in the sangria.

Berry Sangria

I have a bunch of fruit left over from my Berries with Lemon Mint Syrup. It’s a lovely warm weekend in Philadelphia which immediately made me think of sangria. What a perfect way to use more of these berries!

Ingredients:

A bowl full of mixed berries (strawberries, hulled, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries)
1 1/2 cups of triple sec
1 1/2 cups cranberry juice (I used cran-raspberry juice)
1/2 cup simple syrup (left over from my Mojitos)
1 bottle of white wine
1-2 cups ginger ale or club soda, to taste
Ice cubes
Mint, optional

Continue reading Berry Sangria

Strawberry-Mint Mojitos

There are few things more refreshing on a hot summer day than a mojito. My CSA share came with mint this week as well, so mojitos sounded like a perfect drink for this little heat wave we are experiencing in Philadelphia. I didn’t want to just make a classic mojito so I was happy that the CSA share came with strawberries as well.

Ingredients (per serving):
1 teaspoon simple syrup
2 fresh strawberries, halved
Mint leaves from 1-2 sprigs
Sparkling water (club soda)
1/2 lime
2 ounces light rum
Ice

To make simple syrup, combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water in a saute pan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Cool.

Prepare your strawberries. Remove the stem from the strawberries and cut in half.

Add the juice from 1/2 a lime, two strawberries (4 halves), 1 teaspoon simple syrup, and the mint leaves to a glass.

Using a muddler or the back of a spoon, muddle the ingredients together. Muddling is crushing ingredients to allow the flavors and oils to be released and combine.

Add two ounces rum and ice, and shake to combine. Fill with sparkling water.

This is so refreshing. I made mine with very little simple syrup; I prefer my mojito to be more minty than sweet. Feel free to adapt the amount of each ingredient to your tastes. This recipe can also be changed to use watermelon, raspberries, or whatever else sounds good to you.