Ingredients:

• 3 oz Tanqueray Gin
• 5-6 basil leaves
• Jucie of 1 lime
• 1/3 of a red bell pepper sliced

Preparation:

Add the slices of red pepper, basil leaves and lime juice to a cocktail shaker. Muddle the ingredients until the slices of pepper are soft. Add gin and 2-3 ice cubes. Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of red pepper.

Adapted from the Beautiful Red Bell Cocktail on the Cookie + Kate blog.

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Cheers!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Hendrick’s Gin
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 5 large basil leaves

Preparation
Drop 4 of the large basil leaves into a cocktail shaker and gently press into them with a muddler or back of a wooden spoon. Add the simple syrup, gin, lime juice and fill with several ice cubes. Shake then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a fresh basil leaf.

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Let the games begin. First up, the Dirty Rhubardtini!

Ingredients

Drink

• 2 1/2 oz Hendrick’s Gin
• Splash of dry vermouth
• Fresh strawberry for garnish
• 2 oz of Rhubarb syrup

Rhubarb Syrup (makes a few cups)

• 4 stalks of rhubard
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 6 oz agave nectar

Preparation

Rhubard syrup (you can use this for multiple drinks): Cut up 4 rhubarb stocks into 2 inch chunks. Add them to a pot with a cinnamon stick. Cover them with water and bring to boil. Let the pot simmer for 3-4 minutes. Strain the mixture through cheesecloth into a pitcher. Let the mixture cool in the refrigerator, you should have around 2 cups.

Once the mixture cools stir in half a cup of agave syrup, or to taste.

The drink: Place a martini glass into the freezer for a few minutes. Combine the gin and strained rhubarb syrup in a cocktail shaker with several ice cubes. Add a splash of dry vermouth to the chilled martini glass, swirl and discard the excess. Shake the cocktail shaker a few times then strain into the chilled martini glass. Garnish with a fresh slice of strawberry.

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So, as anyone knows there’s nothing like a solid holiday beat down to clear the air and make everyone feel a tad bit better about things. Wolfgang will no doubt recover and be back to his ice cube tray re-filling duties soon.

The rest of the Madtini gang is on duty and here are 5 cocktails that are sure to make your Easter egg hunt a heck of a lot more fun. May your long weekend be full of chocolate.

1 / White Rabbit

Ingredients

• 1/2 oz Amaretto
• 1/2 oz Baileys
• 1 oz white rum
• 1/2 oz Kahlua
• 1 oz Half & Half

Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake then strain over ice cubes in an old fashioned glass.

2 / Blue Cottontail

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces vodka
• 1/2 ounce triple sec
• 1/4 ounce blue Curaçao
• Flamed orange peel (for garnish)

Preparation
Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Flame an orange peel over the glass and add to the drink.

3 / Chocolate Caramel Easter Egg

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Baileys Caramel
• 1 1/2 oz crème de cacao
• 1/2 oz butterscotch schnapps
• Mini creme egg

Preparation
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well then strain into a chilled martini glass. Drop a chocolate mini creme egg into the drink.

4 / Easter Bunny Cocktail

• 2 oz vodka
• 1 1/2 oz brown creme de cacao
• 1 tspn of cherry brandy
• 1 tspn of chocolate syrup

Preparation
Combine the vodka and creme de cacao in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well then strain into a chilled martini glass. Carefully a teaspoon of chocolate syrup and cherry brandy. Don’t stir these in, just let them settle within the glass.

5 / Pink Bonnet

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
• 2 dashes crème de framboise
• White of 1 small egg

Preparation
Combine the ingredients in a shaker with no ice. Shake well to emulsify egg whites. Add ice and shake again. Strain into a chilled martini glass and serve.

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Bunny photos by LexnGer.

• 1 1/2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
• 2 dashes crème de framboise
• White of 1 small egg

Preparation
Combine the ingredients in a shaker with no ice. Shake well to emulsify egg whites. Add ice and shake again. Strain into a chilled martini glass and serve.

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The theatre features a wall-to-wall screen, advanced sound system, large rocker seats and our favorite feature; reserved seating. Being able to reserve a seat in advance takes a lot of the stress out of searching for a seat or arriving early to beat the crowd. It would also minimize the “Is that seat taken?” questions or lost couples searching for their partners with whispers of “Honey?” in the dark theatre after a mid-movie washroom break.

The TRON movie may have suffered a bit in the acting and story department (as did the original) – but the pumping soundtrack produced by Daft Punk and stunning 3D visuals made up for any shortcomings.

Later that night (after coming home from another party) we served ourselves a tribute drink, the Gin & TRONic. A slight twist on the popular cocktail usually served with a wedge and squeeze of lime. We gingerly cut ourselves a long twist of the lemon skin to represent the yellow trails of the light cycles.

Gin & TRONic

Ingredients

• 2 oz Hendrick’s Gin
• 3 oz Schweppes Gin & Tonic
• A very, very long slice of lemon zest (to represent the light cycle trails)

Preparation
Slice out a very long piece of lemon zest. Best idea is to use a lemon zester, I sliced in circles around the lemon and then peeled away the extra inner layer. Add ice cubes to a rocks glass, then pour the gin and tonic over the ice. Stir gently and serve.

Create your mad eyeball with a peeled radish and an olive stuffed with pimento, instructions are below.

Cheers and Happy Hallowe’en from Madtini.

Ingredients

• 3 oz Gin
• Splash of Dry vermouth
• Radish and olive eyeball

Preparation
Peel the skin from a radish leaving traces of red to resemble veins. Carve out a hole in the radish big enough to place an olive into. Pour vermouth in to chilled cocktail glass

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And now for the history lesson…

The Kir is named after Cannon Félix Kir, a priest who became a hero of the French resistance during World War II. He enjoyed the local white wines combined with Creme de Cassis. He was also mayor of Dijon from 1945 to 1968 and the the Kir became the official apertif at town hall receptions. The drink had previously been known as ‘vin blanc cassis’, but thanks to Cannon Félix Kir the drink became known as Kir.

Ingredients

• 3 shredded fresh basil leaves
• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz dry vermouth
• 2 oz creme de cassis

Preparation

Combine gin, dry vermouth and creme de cassis in a cocktail shaker half filled with ice. Shake, then strain into a chilled martini glass.

cheers… à votre santé!

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Ingredients

• 2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• basil leaves

Preparation
Muddle basil and simple syrup together in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, the gin and lemon juice and shake well. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a fresh basil sprig and a slice of lemon peel.

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Ingredients

• 1 cucumber
• 3 shredded fresh basil leaves
• 1 1/2 oz of gin
• 1/4 oz of fresh lime juice
• 1/4 oz of agave nectar

Preparation

Slice 3 slices of cucumber. Muddle the cucumber slices, basil, lime juice and agave nectar in the cocktail shaker. Add ice, gin and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a long slice of cucumber and a basil leave.

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