Happy Hour: The Red Queen

I'll admit it: I'm a glassware snob. Only when it comes to wine and cocktails, though! One of my best friends took a wine class in college and enlightened me to the wonder that is quality glassware. I could devote a whole entire post to my thoughts, but what it really boils down to for me is how thin the rim of the glass is. My friend has Riedel brand wine glasses; we drank from them at her house the day that she was imparting her glassware knowledge upon me, and the rest is history. I went out and got a set of red wine Riedel glasses as soon as I could, and no other glassware measures up to me anymore.

So I'm sure you're asking: "What up with the wine glasses? Are those not martini glasses I see in the photos?" And you're RIGHT! After I reached wine glass nirvana with my now-prized Riedels, I obviously had to brag to my mom about how uppity and sophisticated my tastes had become... and as it turned out, she ALREADY knew the wonders of quality glassware, and that she had a set of new-in-box Riedel martini glasses in her very basement that she never uses! Obviously I had to pinpoint their location, which ended up being on a shelf behind a bunch of canning jars. I found this recipe on Pinterest that I was wanting to try, so it was going to be the perfect maiden voyage for my new-to-me martini glasses.

The recipe is a version of a gin cosmopolitan with lemon and cranberry juice, which calls to my soul. I kept all of the ingredients of the original recipe the same, but altered the amounts slightly. Today I'm sharing that recipe, along with a STRONG recommendation that you invest in some quality wine/cocktail glassware of your own! I promise you'll love it, and give glasses at every restaurant/bar you go to for the rest of your life the side-eye.

The Red Queen

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz 100% cranberry juice*
• 1 1/2 oz gin (I prefer Hendricks, you can also use vodka)
• 1/2 oz St. Germain
• Juice from 1/2 lemon**

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake thoroughly, until frost begins to form on the shaker. Strain into a chilled martini or coupe glass.

* I recommend using 100% cranberry juice rather than cranberry juice cocktail, but if you prefer a slightly sweeter cocktail, then feel free use cranberry juice cocktail instead (how many times can I use the word "cocktail" in one sentence?)

Cheers!!
xoxx, Laura