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heavy cream

Salted Cream Earl Gray Tea Cocktail

August 31, 2019 by elana 1 Comment

Kerrygold Salted Cream Earl Gray Tea Cocktail // stirandstrain.com

This post was made in partnership with Kerrygold Irish Cream. Recipe and ideas are my own.

This weekend marks the unofficial end of summer. And to send everyone off, I’ve got one last summer drink with Kerrygold Irish Cream headed your way today. But first, a question. Have you ever had salted cream on your coffee or tea?

Kerrygold Salted Cream Earl Gray Tea Cocktail // stirandstrain.com

Kerrygold Salted Cream Earl Gray Tea Cocktail // stirandstrain.comRight now I’ve noticed a big push at some national coffee chains where they’re advertising cold foam, or sweet cream, salted or unsalted, on their iced drinks. This may be a new concept for a lot of customers at these stores (especially with the near fanatical hype I’m seeing on some social channels for the stuff), but for several years now I’ve been getting salted cream topped tea at a restaurant called Din Tai Fung (which happens to have several locations here in SoCal and more world-wide). I had never heard of it before trying it there, and I have since gotten it every single time I go there for soup dumplings (which is all I want to eat when it’s winter here in LA). It’s basically whipped unsweetened cream that has a nice layer of salt sprinkled on top (and actually it may be lightly sweetened but as I gobble it up so fast every time I haven’t stopped to think about it). I get it atop black tea, but you can also get it with green as well.

Kerrygold Salted Cream Earl Gray Tea Cocktail // stirandstrain.comAnyways, I also really love a tea syrup or tea infusion in my cocktails and the idea of adding a salted cream on top of one sounded, quite frankly, delicious to me. So, here we are today.

This is also a transitional cocktail in the sense that I’m incorporating tea into it, thinking ahead to cooler temps and warm sips by the fire; but for now I’ll enjoy that tea iced. The resulting flavor is quite unique here with a floral, bright, and fruity forwardness on the palate that finishes smooth with hints of chocolate and spice. Over ice it is light, with hits of salty richness from the cream. Bergamot, the flavor associated with Earl Gray tea, has always tasted a little like Fruity Pebbles cereal to me, and here that citrus/fruitiness provides a nice contrast to the cream found in the Kerrygold and the topping. I think this would be a nice cocktail for happy hour, enjoyed outside during these last few weeks of summer.

Kerrygold Salted Cream Earl Gray Tea Cocktail // stirandstrain.comSalted Cream Earl Gray Tea Cocktail

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1-1/2 ounces bourbon
3/4 ounce Kerrygold Irish Cream
1/2 ounce Earl Gray tea syrup (recipe follows)
1/3 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice (about half a medium lemon)
pinch black salt or pink salt, optional

  1. Make your salted cream by beating the heavy cream a few minutes until just about soft peaks form. Stir in sea salt. Set aside.
  2. Next, in a shaker 2/3 filled with ice, pour in bourbon, Kerrygold Irish Cream, Earl Gray tea syrup, and lemon juice. Shake hard about 20 seconds, and then strain into a highball glass filled with ice.
  3. Top the cocktail with the salted cream and optionally sprinkle some additional black or pink salt for added saltiness and contrasting color.

Earl Gray Tea Syrup

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
2 bags Earl Gray tea

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water over high heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Bring to just about a boil and then remove from heat. Add in tea bags and let steep, covered, for 30 minutes. Then strain into an airtight container. Use immediately or refrigerate up to one month.

Kerrygold Salted Cream Earl Gray Tea Cocktail // stirandstrain.com

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Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: bourbon, early gray tea, heavy cream, Kerrygold Irish Cream, lemon juice, make it, salt

Make It: Irish Coffee Jello Shots Two Ways

March 15, 2016 by elana 6 Comments

Irish Coffee Jello Shots 2 ways // stirandstrain.comProcrastination has gotten the better of me this week as we speed, much too fast for my liking, into the 3rd month of the year. March is looking to be the most jam packed month yet this year as I’ve said “yes” to maybe one too many events, my mother is in town, and we celebrate multiple birthdays, St. Patrick’s Day (I am a 1/4 Irish), and Easter. So of course, instead of working on projects, I’ve been covering my ears and eyes going NAH NAH NAH NAH NAH and making batches of brownies and spending copious amounts of time photographing my purse contents.

I did take the time to make you guys a little something special for St. Patrick’s Day though this year. I hope it makes up for those purse photos.

Irish Coffee Jello Shots 2 ways // stirandstrain.comIt’s like a cocktail, but you eat it: Irish Coffee Jello Shots.

Irish Coffee Jello Shots 2 ways // stirandstrain.comSo here’s the thing. I enjoy an Irish Coffee from time to time; like, a few sips and then I’m usually done. It’s a lot of hot coffee and I’m usually drinking it late in the evening when a giant hot coffee is not really what I want right then. I’m also usually drinking them at a party or an event and bless their hearts for trying, but the coffee is usually not very good either. To control this situation for myself, and hopefully for you all, let’s get a delicious coffee and miniaturize it with the right amount of booze and not force people to drink giant hot coffees at 8pm.

Irish Coffee Jello Shots 2 ways // stirandstrain.comI went ahead and created a straight up Irish Coffee version, garnished with the tiniest of lemon peel, and then bastardized it and went crazy adding in chocolate and Fernet Branca because I love chocolate mint anything including my coffee and for this one occasion, with my whiskey. Ooooh, I’m so crazy…

Irish Coffee Jello Shots 2 ways // stirandstrain.comThe original version of these has a strong, rich coffee flavor with a hint of whiskey at the finish. The cream is mixed in so you’re not trying to eat a delicate jello shot while whipped cream melts all over your fingers – gross. For the mocha-mint version, you get a lot of Fernet (a little goes a long way!) with a strong mocha finish and a more subtle whiskey punch at the end.

Irish Coffee Jello Shots 2 ways // stirandstrain.comIrish Coffee Jello Shots (Makes 24, 2/5 ounce shots)

2-1/2 ounces freshly brewed coffee, room temp
1 ounce brown sugar syrup (1:1 ratio)
1 packet of gelatine
2 ounces near boiling water
1/2 ounce heavy cream
2 ounces Irish Whiskey, Bushmills used here
lemon zest for garnish

  1. In a large mixing glass with a spout, pour in coffee and brown sugar syrup. Sprinkle gelatine over the liquid and let it sit for 5 minutes to bloom. Then pour in near boiling water and whisk to combine. Add heavy cream and whiskey and stir. Pour into molds (I like these hemisphere molds from World Cuisine) and let sit for 6 hours or overnight.
  2. To remove jello shots from rounded molds, carefully run a small spoon around the edge and slowly invert the mold to pop out the shot. If using square or straight-sided molds, run a butter knife around the edge and slowly invert the mold to pop out the shot. For other shapes or non-flexible molds, dip the bottom of the mold in warm water for 15 seconds, invert mold onto a baking sheet, and gently tap the mold to release the jello shot. Irish Coffee jello shots can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
  3. Garnish with lemon zests and serve!

Mocha-Mint Irish Coffee Jello Shots (Makes 24, 2/5 ounce shots)

2-1/2 ounces freshly brewed coffee, room temp
1/2 ounce brown sugar syrup (1:1 ratio)
1 packet of gelatine
1/4 teaspoon cocoa powder
2 ounces near boiling water
1/2 ounce heavy cream
1/4 ounce Fernet Branca
2 ounces Irish Whiskey, Bushmills used here
chocolate shavings for garnish

  1. In a large mixing glass with a spout, pour in coffee and brown sugar syrup. Sprinkle gelatine over the liquid and let it sit for 5 minutes to bloom. After the gelatine has bloomed, sprinkle cocoa powder over the mixture. Then pour in near boiling water and whisk to combine. Add heavy cream, Fernet Branca and whiskey and stir. Pour into molds (like these!) and let sit for 6 hours or overnight.
  2. To remove jello shots from rounded molds, carefully run a small spoon around the edge and slowly invert the mold to pop out the shot. If using square or straight-sided molds, run a butter knife around the edge and slowly invert the mold to pop out the shot. For other shapes or non-flexible molds, dip the bottom of the mold in warm water for 15 seconds, invert mold onto a baking sheet, and gently tap the mold to release the jello shot. Irish Coffee jello shots can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
  3. Garnish with chocolate shavings and serve!

Irish Coffee Jello Shots 2 ways // stirandstrain.comAre you guys into these? I have a few more ideas up my sleeve I’ll be rolling out over the next few months.

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Filed Under: Make It, Recipes Tagged With: brown sugar, Bushmills 10 Irish Whiskey, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, drink holiday, fernet branca, gelatine, heavy cream, holiday, homemade gifts, make it, nationalirishcoffeeday, St. Patrick's Day, whiskey, winter

Low Rent Cocktail of the Month: The Boca Shake

July 20, 2014 by elana 6 Comments

Boca Shake Cocktail - Low Rent Cocktail of the Month // stirandstrain.comFlorida always seemed to be the place where grandparents retired to on sitcoms when I was growing up. Isn’t that where Jerry Seinfeld’s parents retired? My family, living in New England, thought moving to another humid climate was stupid and find their retirement homes out in the deserts of the Southwest. But I digress. Florida still is associated in my mind with two things: Disney and old folks. (I try not to think about their politics.)

Sometime over the past year or so I picked up a bottle of Licor 43 and was completely baffled by what the owner told me when I was thinking of things to do with it. Without a hint of a smile, he told me the geriatric crowd mixes Licor 43 and milk together. Like a shake or Orange Julius. It has an ABV of 31% so it’s not like it won’t give your grandma a pick me up, but the thought of trying this just always seemed so weird to me. So, in stepped the Low Rent Cocktail.Boca Shake Cocktail - Low Rent Cocktail of the Month // stirandstrain.com

My grandparents used to have cocktail parties when they were Mad Men-ing their lives back in the early 60’s, but now when I come to visit they mainly just have a hefty jug of red wine that gets brought out when we sit down to play dominoes. It’s my belief they ply me with jug wine so that I don’t have a chance of beating them. I can totally see them sipping a few of these, only, I think they’d make it with Lactaid.Boca Shake Cocktail - Low Rent Cocktail of the Month // stirandstrain.com

Low Rent Cocktails do not always have to be the crappiest of what you have in your liquor cabinet; they can also be what you make do with. I guess for the Florida crowd, making do with with Licor 43 and cream is just something they’re Ok with. For this LRC I decided to inject some pep into it with Orange Crush because…well, it’s Orange Crush! Why the hell not?

Truth be told, it’s pretty Ok. Think about the last time you had an Orange Julius at the mall. Well, try and think that far back I guess. It’s a lot like that. But with booze. Not only does this seem a fitting drink for the Boca Raton crowd, but it’s a fitting drink for all you legal age kids trying to figure out how to make a creamsicle get you loaded.Boca Shake Cocktail - Low Rent Cocktail of the Month // stirandstrain.com

So let’s make one!

1 ounce Licor 43
4-6 ounces Orange Crush soda pop
1 ounce heavy cream

In a highball glass filled with ice. Build the drink by pouring in the Licor 43. Add soda and cream. Stir to combine. Sit back and fan away the mosquitos and try not to think about alligators in your toilet.

Check back in next month for another late summer concoction, or check back through the archives for some more Low Rent Cocktails.

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Filed Under: Low Rent Cocktail of the Month, Recipes Tagged With: heavy cream, Licor 43, low rent cocktail, soda

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