The Background

As a thank-you to longtime readers of my weekly cocktail column, I wanted to create a special Valentine’s Day cocktail just for them.

The Thought Process

Since it was Valentine’s, after all, red was the over-riding theme of this cocktail. Something sweet and spicy was called for and if it took a few more ingredients than usual, that’s okay–special occasions call for a little extra effort.

The Inspiration

Roses are red… and I don’t care much for violets. One way of getting a really red drink is to start with a red mixer, like cranberry juice, and throwing in a little grenadine for a depth-of-color boost. Roses smell sweet, and a splash of rosewater adds a little something extra to this cocktail. Only a splash, though, or it will overpower even the pushier notes from the cinnamon schnapps and orange liqueurs. The Loving Cup is enough like a Cosmopolitan to get a shy socializer to try it, but different enough to keep it from being boring.

The Art

Sometimes the cocktail is all that needs to take center-stage. The image of the finished drink, dressed up for the party, was surrounded with a painted, black background, the recipe and tied up with a pretty red bow.

The Background:

Nicole Fende, the Numbers Whisperer™, was getting ready to launch her book: How to Be a Finance Rockstar. I’d been working with Nicole for almost a year doing mascot illustrations for her site and book, so it was a natural progression to create something she could give out to the folks who pre-ordered her book.

The Inspiration:

Fluffy the Finance Feline, Nicole’s main mascot, was going to be doing a series of “Fluffy Sightings” (a la Elvis) leading up to the launch of the book. I’d already drawn a version of Fluffy with the Elvis pompadour for the sightings so we decided to continue the theme into the cocktail.

Going through Elvis’ discography yielded an unknown-to-me song, Money Honey, that struck just the right chord for this project. From there the rest of the cocktail might as well have jumped into the glass of it’s own accord.

The Thought Process:

I love a good title, and this one was better than most at conjuring flavor profiles. Most folks are aware of the King’s penchant for peanut butter and banana sandwiches (and banana pudding), and the song title had me thinking of a relatively recent spirit on the scene: honey bourbon. Jack Daniels, to be specific, for the town where so much of Elvis’ career took shape.

So we’ve got Tennessee Honey (bourbon) and 99 Bananas liqueur and a very Elvis-y drink, what about the money, again? Two more ingredients were needed to round this cocktail out: Goldschlager (important for its little flakes of gold swirling about, as well as it’s punchy cinnamon flavor) and Cream Soda–because every balanced cocktail needs a mixer and the cream, even in finance, always rises to the top.

The Art:

Originally we created a free download for her pre-order clients to receive as a thank-you gift. This also included a redesign of Fluffy complete with leather jacket, microphone and swiveling pelvis. As the launch plans grew, an official launch party complete with bar was planned and signage was required, so there are 2 versions of the promo poster for this Corporate Cocktail.

in-person signage for Finance Rock Star launch party

The Background:

A Mary Kay Holiday Open House hosted by a trio of consultants, one of which is a good friend from high school, who requested a non-alcoholic drink because people would be coming and going, plus there’d be young ones around. My friend and the other two consultants, lovely ladies all, are fun and bubbly so I had a pretty good feel for their personalities in relation to the type of party they wanted this to be.

The Thought-Process:

So right off the bat I’m thinking pink (I mean, Mary Kay: what else is there?) and possibly cranberry since it’s a fairly popular flavor and a good base for a mocktail but where to go after that? I could do a cranberry-orange mix that’s sorta like a virgin Cosmopolitan, but that wasn’t special enough; this drink needed to be truly unique so a non-alcoholic version of any regular cocktail just seemed like a cop-out to me.

Another thought flitting through my mind is the skin-care  classes the consultants host, so if I could make the drink frothy or milky, reminiscent of a lotion maybe, that would be even better. Being November a smoothie seemed a little much and most frothy cocktails involved egg whites and that’s a tough sell to a stranger even if it is a component of many classic cocktails. I briefly considered experimenting with the powdered pasteurized egg whites but ditched it just as quick. That leaves milk, but with potential diary allergies or intolerance, was that really the best option? And would it even combine nicely with the cranberry juice?

The Inspiration:

I let this mull over in my mind for a few days when I suddenly had an epiphany: Bubble Tea!

A sweet combination of tea and milk with, usually, a fruit flavor added and large black tapioca pearls (the bubble part of the equation) in the bottom of the cup, it’s served with a wide straw so that the pearls, which are cooked to a gummy consistency, can be sucked up and enjoyed as well. Now, I’d never seen a cranberry bubble tea and I certainly didn’t want to use the powders (both for the tea and flavorings) that seem to be the norm, but I really liked the idea and thought it had potential.

Thinking Asian got me thinking about another milk alternative: coconut milk. Not coconut cream like you use in a Pina Colada, but the type used in Thai curries. I considered using other dairy alternatives (almond, rice and soy milks) but when I started to do some digging into the health properties of each, coconut milk was the surprising winner. Even though it contains saturated fats (usually a bad thing), the saturated fat of the coconut is unusual in it’s makeup and not harmful like the ones from animal sources. Plus I found out that coconut milk is anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-carcinogenic, anti-bacterial and has been used in studies to lessen the viral load of AIDS patients!

If regular facials are good for our skin, a drink inspired by one should be somewhat good for our bodies. So, as I experimented with the various ingredients (green tea and cranberry juice, both good things!) I tried to keep that in mind. And experiment I did. It took several trials combining different teas (regular green and flavored), the coconut milk, juice and brown sugar syrup to get a drink that was tasty and had the right color and consistency.

Once at the party, the ladies in charge renamed it The Miracle after the company’s core skin-care set.