INNOVATIVE MIXOLOGY The “Feisty” Cheetah Cocktail

The Wedding of Melissa & Craig, April 13th, 2013

THE “FEISTY” CHEETAH The “Feisty” Cheetah was created for a wedding client whom is also a designer. The bride is very spirited, with an affinity for cheetah print. The cocktail was created to mimic cheetah print as well as her bold & bright personality. The “Feisty” Cheetah is comprised of in-house made pineapple & ginger-Infused vodka, mandarin-tangerine puree, Grand Mariner, custom crafted grapefruit bitters, Key Lime juice, and frozen blackberries to represent the cheetah spots. The fresh, delicious, and unique cocktail was a conversation starter and a huge hit with wedding guests, with many continuing to ask for the “feisty” recipe.

THE “FEISTY” CHEETAH: THE FULL STORY The bride and groom both wanted truly unique cocktails that matched their overall vision for the reception as well as their respective drink tastes. They wanted it to be memorable; the reception itself, but especially the cocktails. THE HISTORY The groom’s cocktail proved to be the easier of the two; he opted for a Dark & Stormy. We asked the bride to give us some specific ideas and flavor profiles to help us create her cocktail. She presented us with some fun options; however, this one was the hands down winner…. “One late October evening in 2006, one of my dear college friends dubbed me “Feisty”. (There may or may not have been some heavy drinking involved.) The nickname has stuck with me throughout my 20s. Explaining the nickname to Craig proved to be interesting. In December of 2011, I started working for a new company. On my first day, I wore my lucky cheetah print top. A few weeks into my new job, the staff discovered my nickname, and from that point on, I was only to be called “Feisty”. Due to my love of cheetah print, the lovely ladies in my office dubbed me “Cheetah” or “Chee Chee” for short. So, I would love it if you could create some sort of fruity, delicious, “Feisty Cheetah” cocktail using vodka if possible.” We took the brides story and ran with it. By incorporating a fun, unique story into a cocktail that guests could enjoy, would also give additional sentimental value and personalization to the event. THE CREATION & COCKTAIL DESIGN This “Feisty” Cheetah cocktail was created to parallel the bride’s lively personality as well as her palate for fruity, fun cocktails. In the beginning we devised some different options to produce a recipe that could be both aesthetically pleasing and enjoyable to drink. We decided to incorporate mandarin and tangerine flavors for both the fruit and the orangey-yellow coloring. We infused roughly 4-5 gallons of vodka with fresh cut pineapple and ginger root. The ginger-infused vodka was made in-house and marinated for 2 weeks. After the 2 weeks, we did some trial runs with the cocktail and decided to infuse for an additional 2 weeks to fully capture the flavor. The infused liquor allowed for a stronger cocktail without the drink having an overpowering full vodka taste. The day of the reception, we did mix everything in large batches. From a service aspect, we decided this would be the best way to keep the cocktails flowing and guests happy. The cocktail mixture was served from an Italian Glass Jar. Bartenders dispensed from the jar into a shaker, then added ice. Lastly, frozen blackberries were added to serve as both a chiller and color accent. Each cocktail was stirred, not shaken, and presented to the guest in an Old Fashioned Glass. All of the ingredients combined together to create a unique, freshly made cocktail.

THE CHALLENGES There were quite a few challenges that we faced in the creation of this cocktail. The biggest task for this cocktail was fashioning the “cheetah” spots. Originally, we played around with the idea of using black food coloring to produce black ice. However, in our initial trials, the black ice would not suit, as most of the staff ended up with black teeth after biting into the ice cubes. In our second trial, we attempted to incorporate black garlic into the ice. The black garlic option didn’t work due to the flavor combination as well as when the ice melted, the cocktail turned to a very unappealing color. Our last and luckily final experiment was to use frozen blackberries to serve as the spots in the cocktail. The blackberries proved to be the perfect garnish.

Recipe Cocktail to be served in an Old-Fashioned Glass Makes 4 Cocktails 8 oz house-made pineapple & ginger infused vodka 8 oz Mandarin Tangerine Puree & water mixture 4 oz Simple Syrup 1.5 oz Grand Marnier 4 Dash Grapefruit Bitters 3 oz Key Lime Juice Mix all together and serve over Frozen Blackberries and Ice

Photos- Kemper Mills Fant Photography