Thank you for attending the Belle of Dayton cocktail tasting tonight at the Dayton Celtic Festival! We appreciate the support, not just for the festival but for the local distillery that was the base for all the wonderful cocktails you sampled.
If you want to make the cocktails at home, here are the recipes as well as the recipes for all the infusions and liqueurs I used in the process.
Spiked Peach Sweet Tea
2 oz. Belle of Dayton Vodka
4 oz. Peach sweet tea
Glass: Tall
Ice: Cubed
Garnish: Peach slice
Place the ice in a tall glass. Pour in the vodka, then the sweet tea. Stir, add the peach slice, then serve.
Peach Sweet Tea (1 gallon)
5.5 cups water, split
4 family size, or 8 individual size, tea bags (Luzianne for authenticity)
1.5 cups sugar
2 lbs of peaches (about 4 medium ones), sliced
3 oz. fresh lemon juice
Extra water to fill
Bring 4 cups of the water to a boil. Remove from the heat, then steep the tea bags in the water for 10 to 15 minutes.
While the tea is steeping, cut and pit the peaches.
Put the remaining water and sugar (equal parts) into a pot on medium heat to make a simple syrup. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Once the syrup is made, turn the heat down to medium and add the peaches. Let the peaches simmer for 10 minutes, or until the fruit is soft and you can smell peaches.
Allow all the ingredients to cool.
In a clean, one gallon container, pour the tea, syrup, and lemon juice. Top the container with chilled water, then refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
Serve and enjoy!
Cherry Cider
2 oz. Cherry infused Belle of Dayton Vodka
12 oz. hard apple cider (Magners for that true Irish pop)
Glass: Tumbler
Ice: Cubed (optional)
Garnish: None
Pour the vodka into the tumbler. Top with your choice of hard cider and serve. Some from the Emerald Isle prefer their ciders over ice.
Cherry Infused Vodka
One 750 mL. bottle of Belle of Dayton Vodka
Two dozen pitted cherries
Pour the vodka into a clean glass container. Save the bottle! Put the cherries into the vodka. Set in a cool, dry place for 3 to 4 weeks, mixing periodically. Strain the red liquid back into the bottle using a funnel.
Summer Heat
.25 oz Belle of Dayton Helle vodka
1.25 oz. Belle of Dayton Vodka
1.5 oz. Mango juice (Kroger has it in cans in the juice section)
2 oz. Grapefruit juice
Glass: Double Rocks
Ice: Cubed
Garnish: Grapefruit twist (Optional)
Pour all the ingredients into a mixing tin over ice. Shake for 20 to 30 seconds, then strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. For some extra punch, twist grapefruit zest over the cocktail, drop on top and enjoy.
Irish Nightcap
1 oz. Belle of Dayton 1775 Colonial Rum
.5 oz. Coffee liqueur
.5 oz. Brown Sugar syrup
Cold brewed coffee
Glass: Irish Coffee
Ice: None
Garnish: Whip cream
Pour the rum, coffee liqueur, and brown sugar syrup into a coffee cup. Top with cold brewed coffee. Garnish with a dollop of whip cream and serve.
Brown Sugar simple syrup
1 part brown sugar
1 part water
Combine the sugar and water over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Will last two to three weeks when refrigerated.
Coffee liqueur
1.5 cups Belle of Dayton 1775 Colonial Rum
1/4 cup fine ground espresso
2 1/4 cups water, separated
1 cup brown sugar
1 vanilla bean
- To make the cold pressed coffee (for the cocktail AND the coffee liqueur, put the espresso into 1 1/4 cup of the water. Shake well, and allow to steep overnight in a cool dark place.
- Strain out the coffee grounds through a fine strainer, pouring the cold coffee into a glass container.
- Make a simple syrup by combining the brown sugar and water over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- When the syrup is cool, add the syrup, rum, and split vanilla bean into the coffee. Store in a cool place for up to a week.
- Strain the finished liqueur into another container to remove the vanilla bean. The liqueur should last three months.
Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the festival! Slainte!