Last week we had the pleasure to attend the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival in San Francisco.

Skyy Vodka supplied the cocktails created and served by several of San Francisco’s top mixologists.

The weekend was a wonder of gastronimic delight. It started with rooftop party at The Hotel Vitale, followed by a dinner of SF street food at the Ferry Building. And that was just Friday, the next day began with brunch at the Ferry Building Farmers Market.

Next, it was on to the afternoon tasting at City View Room in the Metreon, imagine a room awash with cocktails, micro-brews, amazing food and products. That night, Greenleaf Produce Warehouse hosted a dinner and awards ceremony. The event wrapped up with a nice Sunday brunch, complete with a DIY Bloody Mary Bar, which came in handy after Saturday night.

At the Metreon we ran into Dominic, who was shaking up batches of a savory cocktail called the “Dolce Rosso”. Made with muddled SKYY Vodka, Mezzetta roasted peppers, fresh strawberries, fresh basil, agave nectar, orange juice and spices, the Dolce Rosso comes out a dark orange or red depending on strawberry content. The peppers and basil give it quite a savory kick that plays well with sweetness of the strawberries.

Take a look as Dominic makes the Dolche Rosso in this video.

I’m working on getting the exact recipe, stay tuned…

Related articles:

• Skyy’s The Limit Cocktail Competition (drinkoftheweek.com)

Drink up, the Earth needs you to! Now when you drink, you can say you’re doing it to help the environment.

Finlandia has some specially marked bottles that can be redeemed for a donation to plant one tree in your honor, through non-profit Trees for the Future. So drinking one bottle of vodka means adding one more tree to the planet.

In stores, look for bottles of Finlandia original, lime, mango, wild berries, grapefruit, and tangerine vodkas with pictures of trees on them. This promotion runs through the end of the month.

Finlandia Vodka
Trees for the Future
Via Mother Earth News

It’s cold! So the folks at Tito’s Handmade Vodka figured they’d warm us up with this Texas treat. Created by mixologist, Russell Davis, this hot chocolate is a boozy mixture of Tito’s, Paula’s Texas Orange Liqueur, chocolate chips (yum), sugar and milk. It is all topped off with marshmallows, grated chocolate and and orange slice.

Texan Hot Chocolate

1 oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka
1/2 oz Paula’s Texas Orange Liqueur
1/3 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2-1 teaspoon Sugar to taste
8 oz Whole Milk
Marshmallows
A Fresh Orange

Combine Paula’s Texas Orange, chocolate chips, sugar and milk in a pot and bring to a slow boil over low-medium heat as to not burn the Milk. Remove from heat and add Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Pour into favorite coffee/cocoa/tea mug and top with marshmallows. Garnish with an orange twist and shaved/grated chocolate

Created by Russell Davis, Peche
Recipe & photo courtesy Tito’s Handmade Vodka
more Drink of the Week cocktails

The 42Zombie

1 tsp brown sugar
1 part lemon juice
1 part Bacardi Oro
1 part Bacardi 151
1 part 42BELOW Passionfruit
1 part unsweetened pineapple juice
1 part fresh lime juice
1 part Passionfruit syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters

Dissolve sugar and lemon juice, then add all other ingredients and shake well with crushed ice. Pour entire contents into a Collins glass and garnish with lime wedge.

more Halloween Cocktails and Punches
Recipe & photo courtesy 42 Below Vodka

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• Halloween Cocktails from Skyy Infusions (drinkoftheweek.com)
• Sour Witch (drinkoftheweek.com)
• Spirted Punch (drinkoftheweek.com)
• Jack-o-Lantern Punch (drinkoftheweek.com)
• Berry Scary Sour (drinkoftheweek.com)

This tasty Halloween cocktail may look a little complicated to make, thanks to the foam top. However, it’s not much of a challenge and the extra texture looks great for Halloween. Spooky!

Berry Scary Sour

2 oz Belvedere IX
4 blueberries
½ oz ginger syrup
Dash lemon juice

Muddle berries with the ginger syrup and add Belvedere IX.  Shake with cubed ice and strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass.  Garnish with Aperol foam - ingredients and recipe below.

Aperol Foam Recipe

500g 100% Pressed Pomegranate juice
230g Aperol
100g cold water
60g simple syrup (1:1)
6.5 sheets gelatine (200 bloom count)
Simple syrup (combine 200g of white sugar with 200g boiling water.  Sitr until sugar is fully dissolved.  Cool in fridge.)

Soak gelatine sheets in cold water for 5 minutes.  In a separate bowl add all remaining ingredients and mix well.  Fine strain out any bits of pith as these will clog up the siphon.  Heat gelatine and 1/3 of the mix on stovetop but do not boil.  Take off heat, combine with remaining mixture.  Mix thoroughly. Pour into soda siphon and charge with NO2.  Chill in fridge.

more Halloween Cocktails and Punches
Recipe and photo courtesy of Belvedere Vodka

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• Halloween Cocktails from Skyy Infusions (drinkoftheweek.com)
• Vampire Ritual (drinkoftheweek.com)
• Spider’s Kiss (drinkoftheweek.com)

Skyy Infusions has sent this creepy collection of Halloween cocktails for you to enjoy this Halloween. Don’t let the fruity goodness fool you, those eyeballs on the Red Zombie are real.

Trick or Treat!

Jack-O-Lantern

2 oz. SKYY Infusions Citrus
1 oz. Mango Nectar or Juice
1/2 oz. Orange Juice
1/2oz. Fresh Sour*
 
Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake vigorously and pour into a goblet glass and garnish with a slice of orange and a mint leaf laid flat on top.
*Combine 1/4 oz fresh lime juice and 3/4 oz simple syrup.

Vampire’s Elixir

1 1/2 oz. SKYY Infusions Raspberry
3/4 oz. White Chocolate Liqueur
1 oz. Half and Half
Strawberry Syrup

Dress strawberry syrup on the inside and rim of a chilled martini glass.  Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass.  Garnish with vampire teeth.

Black Widow

1 1/2 oz. SKYY Infusions Raspberry
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
2 oz. Pomegranate Juice
Squeeze of Fresh Lemon Juice
Raspberry Syrup

Draw a spider web on the inside of a chilled martini glass with raspberry syrup.  Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into chilled martini glass.  Garnish with plastic spider.

(more…)

With a zombie-green pallor, the Spider’s Kiss is a sweet Halloween cocktail treat with a spooky appearance.

Spider’s Kiss

1 oz. Midori melon liqueur
1 oz. vodka
Squeeze of fresh Lemon
Grenadine (optional)
Chocolate syrup

Draw a chocolate web into a cocktail glass. Place in freezer and chill. Shake Midori, vodka and lemon juice and strain into glass. For a blood effect, drizzle grenadine down the side of the glass. Garnish with a chocolate-dipped orange slice.

Recipe created by Mixologist Victoria D’Amato-Moran
more Halloween Drinks
Courtesy of Midori