If you’re in Southern California you can check out the real thing at Raphael on Ventura Blvd in Studio City. Cheers!

Ingredients

• 2 oz vodka
• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 oz simple syrup
• 2 splashes balsamic vinegar
• 3 sliced strawberries

Preparation

Add the sliced strawberries to a cocktail shaker, muddle them together with the back of a wooden spoon. Add 3-4 ice cubes and the rest of the ingredients. Shake well, then strain into a cocktail glass. Add a lemon twist as a garnish.

Adapted from a post on the Public Kitchen blog. Recipe by Chris Parke, bartender at Raphael in Studio City, Los Angeles.

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Cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 oz vodka
• 1 oz dry vermouth
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 oz syrup

Preparation
Add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, then strain into a cocktail glass. Add a fresh basil leaf and long twist of lemon to garnish.

Vanilla Basil Syrup

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract
• 6 basil leaves

Preparation
Combine the water and sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir lightly until the sugar totally dissolves. Turn the heat to low and add the basil leaves and vanilla. Let the syrup steep for 5 minutes over the low hear, then turn it off and let steep for an additional 20 minutes.

Adapted from a post at Cook by Your Wits.

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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.

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.

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• 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.

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To celebrate her birthday and her trip, we asked our Senior Staff Madtini Intoxicologist to work late on Friday creating an original drink from scratch. He refused, so it was up to our new weekend intern Muffy to come up with something special. She managed to find a great drink recipe and mix up an Hawaiian Martini featuring pineapple and cranberry juice and just enough vodka to make us forget we’re still here in Toronto.

Hauʻoli lā hānau Grace! (means Happy Birthday, we looked it up on the interweb) If you see any Kona Gold Coffee Liqueur during your trip you know what to do.

Ingredients
1 1/2 oz Vodka
2 oz Pineapple Juice
2 oz Cranberry Juice
Wedge of pineapple

Preparation
Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with several ice cubes. Shake gently and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Serve with a wedge of pineapple.

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Tonight the folks from Madtini are heading downtown to Tequila Bookworm on Toronto’s Queen Street West to enjoy the tight grooves and rockin’ beats of Abdul Smooth and Nathan Lee, who make up the music project called People Downtown. They are hosting The Media Social, a monthly meetup for media professionals to get together, discuss their work and encourage continued collaboration. If you’re in the Toronto area drop by, hang out and say hello.

Ingredients

• 2 oz Prairie Organic Vodka
• 1/2 oz Cointreau
• 3/4 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice
• 10-12 mint leaves
• 1 English cucumber

Preparation
Carve a spear from an English cucumber to be used later for a garnish. Peel the rest of the cucumber, scrape out the seeds, then cut into it into small chunks. Add the cucumber chunks to a food processor and puree until smooth. Strain the contents through a fine sieve or cheesecloth, squeezing as much liquid out as possible.

Add the sugar, mint leaves, lime juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, then add the cucumber juice, vodka and cointreau. Shake the combined contents, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add the cucumber spear as a garnish and serve.

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Today, the folks here at Madtini are toasting the first day of spring with three great vodka cocktails. We’re using Prairie Organic Vodka from the heartland of Minnesota, where I’m sure they’ll be glad to see warmer days too.

as the common base across these drinks – and just for good measure we’ve picked up some Kiwi, strawberry and blueberry to bring some colourto the festivities.

Bring on the patios! Cheers, and happy first day of spring from Madtini.

Blueberry Basil Vodka Cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 oz of Prairie Organic Vodka
• 2 large basil leaves
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz Honey Vanilla syrup
• 1/3 cup fresh blueberries

Preparation
Tear up the basil leaves, combine with blueberries and muddle in a mixing glass. Add honey vanilla syrup, vodka and lemon juice and ice cubes. Shake vigorously, then strain into a chilled martini glass. Add whole blueberries.

Kiwi Basil Vodka Cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 oz of Prairie Organic Vodka
• 2 large basil leaves
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz Honey Vanilla syrup
• 3 slices of kiwi fruit

Preparation
Tear up the basil leaves, combine with kiwi slices and muddle in a mixing glass. Add honey vanilla syrup, vodka and lemon juice and ice cubes. Shake vigorously, then strain into a chilled martini glass. Add a slice of kiwi fruit as a garnish.

Strawberry Basil Vodka Cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 oz of Prairie Organic Vodka
• 2 large basil leaves
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz Honey Vanilla syrup
• 1/3 cup quartered strawberries

Preparation
Tear up the basil leaves, combine with strawberries and muddle in a mixing glass. Add honey vanilla syrup, vodka and lemon juice and ice cubes. Shake vigorously, then strain into a chilled martini glass. Add a sliced strawberry as a garnish.

Honey Vanilla Syrup

Ingredients

• 1/2 oz water
• 1/4 oz granulated sugar
• 1/4 oz honey
• seeds from half a vanilla bean

Preparation
Combine water and sugar at medium heat. Once sugar dissolves, add honey and contents from the vanilla bean.

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We’re keeping it simple tonight and serving up two of the most famous vodka cocktails; the Black Russian and its creamy cousin the White Russian.

After a few of these drinks I’m sure we’ll donning our big Russian winter hats and sing-shouting the lyrics to Boney M’s historically-dicey disco ode to infamous Russian nutjob ‘Rasputin’. Everybody sing “Ra-Ra-rasputin… Russia’s Greatest Love Machine…”

Nasdrovie, from the good folks at Madtini!

Black Russian

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Kahlua
• 1 1/2 oz Vodka

Preparation
Pour the two ingredients over cracked ice in an old fashioned glass. Add a straw an serve.

White Russian

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Vodka
• 1 oz Kahlua
• 3/4 oz light cream

Preparation
Pour the two ingredients over cracked ice in an old fashioned glass. Add a straw an serve.

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