How to Make Fresh Beverages Profitable & New Recipes!

Culinary cocktails continue to be a top trend to watch this year.   Fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs are moving from the kitchen to the bar—and not just as garnishes anymore. 

Colorful, innovative cocktails are being concocted to complement restaurant menus, using diverse ingredients like habanero peppers to spice things up and cucumbers to cool things down.  

Monin Gourmet Flavorings, the world’s leading provider of premium syrups and flavoring products, offers an extensive array of flavorings produced with pure cane sugar and premium ingredients.  Monin products add premium flavor while reducing the cost of creating memorable fresh cocktails – as they reduce the number of ingredients needed to produce interesting flavor combinations, and decrease back-of-the-house prep and storage.

As customers have become more adventurous and interested in drinks with unusual flavors and presentations, they have also become increasingly willing to pay a premium for these cocktails that they cannot easily make for themselves at home. 

By using exotic, naturally sweetened syrups like Hibiscus, Ginger and Lavender or real fruit purees like Banana, Mango and Superfruit, mixologists can easily design signature cocktails that incorporate fresh ingredients and are also creative, convenient, and profitable.

Monin offers 200 specialty syrup, sauce and puree products, including 101 different syrups and 17 sugar-free options, as well as 1000+ innovative recipe ideas to help foodservice operators customize their drink menus and maximize their profits.

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Late Winter Wine Tips From Bull & Bear

Tis the winter dilemma in Florida – which wines to serve in a climate that is celebrated for its winter sunshine, yet unpredictable (and downright cozy) winter nights?

Certainly, as the winter evenings get colder, Manny Belete, general manager of Bull & Bear at Waldorf Astoria Orlando, finds himself looking for comfort in red wine, especially those known to be full-bodied and lush.

“We sell a lot of Cabernets in the winter months,” he said.

Winter Reds
For an excellent winter warm-up, Belete suggests you try these hearty red favorites on the wine list at Bull & Bear:

• Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet – this wine is rich and full of tannins, yet approachable. You get the full body, but without being heavy.
• Atalon Merlot – this is a merlot that thinks it’s a cab!
• For something different, try a Malbec from Argentina, which doesn’t have the fruitiness of Cabernet, or an intensely fruity and spicy red Zin from California.

Winter Whites
Although reds are the preferred wines of the winter months Florida’s milder winters open the door for white wines.

“Once we hit spring break in Florida, most of our guests have their hearts set on summer,” said Belete.  “In this case, a white wine is good for the soul.”

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Rosen Centre Announces Dates for Sixth Annual Vine & Dine Series Beginning with "An Evening in Oregon" January 27, 2012

First Event of 2012 Wine and Food Pairing Dinner Series Kicks Off with Snooth.com's 2011 Winery of the Year, Lange Estates Winery & Vineyards

Now celebrating the sixth year of its popular "Vine & Dine" wine and food pairing dinner series, the award-winning Rosen Centre hotel in Orlando is proud to announce the dates for its 2012 series. The five-event series offers a variety of creative themes, as well as a wide range of fine food and acclaimed wines designed to please every palate.

The series begins Jan. 27, 2012 with "An Evening in Oregon" featuring Jesse Lange, general manager/winemaker of Lange Estate Winery & Vineyards in Willamette Valley, Oregon.

Subsequent Vine & Dine events will take place March 23, May 18, July 27 and Oct. 26, 2012.

A family owned and operated winery started by Jesse's parents, Don and Wendy Lange in 1987, Lange Estate Winery & Vineyards sets the standard for hand-crafted Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. The winery has been named the 2011 Winery of the Year by the wine website Snooth.com, while WineEnthusiast.com proclaimed Lange Estate to be "one of the great Pinot Noir producers in the United States." Columnist Matt Kramer of Wine Spectator called its barrel-fermented reserve of Pinot Gris, the first of its kind, "a bench-mark bottling."

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Holiday Cocktail Recipes

Recipes courtesy of Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek

York Peppermint Martini

1oz Baileys Liqueur
1oz Crème de Menthe
1oz Frangelico
1oz White Crème de Cocoa
Top with half and half

Combine all ingredients; shake with ice and strain into red sugar rimmed martini glass. Top with half and half.

Mint Chocolate Kiss

1.5oz Godiva Liqueur
1oz Peppermint Schnapps
 
Combine all ingredients; shake with ice and serve on the rocks in peppermint candy rimmed glass.

Shauna’s Sweet Potato Pie Martini

Reduction
1 medium sweet potato
2.5 cups water
½ cups sugar
½ tsp Nutmeg
½ tsp Cinnamon
2 cinnamon sticks

Cut up sweet potato and place in saucepan. cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat then reduce to medium and cook 12-15 minutes, or until potato can be pierced with a fork. Transfer to blender and puree. Return puree to saucepan with spices and sticks, add remaining cup of water and cook over med-med low heat (barely bubbling in the middle) for 20-25 minutes until applesauce like consistency is reached. Cool to room temperature before using.

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Wines for the Season

By Mariya Kovacheva

Seasonality makes us take a fresher approach with our food and wine. Consequently, with the winter just around the corner, fuller bodied white and red wines are the natural choice. The presence of white truffles, seasonal legumes, game meat and rich sauces inclines one to look for wines with similar weight. Rich unoaked white wines such as Rielsing from Austria or Pfalz as well as the exotic and perfumed Gewurztraminer from Alsace can be a great suggestion for white wine lovers.

Certainly, if one enjoys those buttery and soft flavors derived from oak, Viogniers and Marsanne &Roussane blends from the Rhone Valley and California will be one’s palatte pleaser. For full experience, do not miss Café Boulud’s Executive Chef Jim Leiken’s to die for Pan-Seared Diver Scallops!

For the red wine fans, the fruit-driven and velvety Syrah from the U.S. or the Rhone Valley as well as the muscular and rich Malbec from Argentina would work very well. If one is still wondering what to pair with the just-roasted and Brussels sprouts, Grenache blends from the famous town of Châteauneuf-du-Pape will be an excellent match. Of course, let us not forget the bold Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blends from Bordeaux or Napa Valley.

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