Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year!


Who knows what 2012 will bring? But if you're going to ring the year in, you might as well do it with a tasty cocktail.


This is sake infused with candied ginger, vanilla bean, bay leaf, Thai basil and Japanese chiles.

It goes down pretty good with a crudo of ahi tuna.


It's this guy's idea - Paolo works at Blue Plate Oysterette in Santa Monica. The mixture infused for a couple of days before we were privileged to taste it.

They were working it up to sell as New Years Eve cocktails later in the evening. We were given a sample as we sat at the bar in the afternoon.


Damned fine stuff. It didn't have a name, when we tasted it. I suggested they call it a Camera Obscura, after the Santa Monica landmark just across Ocean Avenue in Palisades Park.


Blue Plate Oysterette is one of our favorite places. Fresh seafood, good drinks, friendly staff. We love going there.

How would you like a sake cocktail, with these subtle flavors?

What are you toasting the New Year in with?

6 comments:

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

We had Mumm's, I believe.

Woof, I don't usually stay up until 3 a.m. anymore.
~

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

This is sake infused with candied ginger, vanilla bean, bay leaf, Thai basil and Japanese chiles.

That sounds amazing! One of my favorite tipples is a sweet-potato -distilled shochu infused with shisho leaves which my brother's father-in-law got me hooked on... I can't get it in the States, so I dole out tiny portions for myself on occasion. I think I may have to replicate it as well as I can... shisho-infused vodka?

Happy New Year, Aunt Snow!

smalltownme said...

Yummmm! We stayed home and celebrated on east coast time with the traditional champagne.

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

I've had my share of drinking over the holidays and my husband is down with a sinus infection. So I hit a movie with a friend whose husband is a pilot and gone. Mellow, but still nice.

Happy New Year!

Janet said...

Happy New Year to you and yours, Aunt Snow :-) That cocktail looks (LOVE the tiny glass) and sounds delicious!

Dave and I went to his niece's home for New Year's Eve...planned on staying just for a bit and ended up having such a good time, we stayed til the ball dropped ;-)

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year! That drink sounds fabulous.
The 7 of us hung out in the evening, playing Apples to Apples with a friend (who went home at 10:30). Then there were dishes to be washed and competitive chess games until 1am, broken up at midnight with sparkling cranberry juice, pear cider, and egg nog (whatever your pleasure).