Create simple summer dessert with Amoretti Artisan Flavors.

When it comes to summer, few things in the world are as refreshing as a gourmet ice pop recipe – especially when it doesn’t require “gourmet” skill or “gourmet” time to pull off! We pulled our team together last week to brainstorm some ideas for an ice pop recipe that would truly blow away expectations.

We didn’t know what we’d come up with. Fruity? Chocolate-y? Cocktail inspired?

While we may, at a later date, publish some ice pop recipes to hit all of those flavor profiles, the fruits of last week’s labors turned out to be strawberry and crème de menthe inspired. Check out what we came up with…

Strawberries and Crème (de Menthe) Ice Pop

Crème de menthe (French for mint cream) is a sweet, mint-flavored liqueur.

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 oz) bag of frozen strawberries, defrosted
• 1.5 oz Crème de Menthe Artisan Flavor
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 4 tbsp simple syrup
• 12 dashes orange bitters

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until there is a super fine liquid. If foam appears on top of the mixture, scrape it off or knock the blender against the counter to level the foam. (Amoretti is not responsible for broken blenders.) Make sure to get rid of the foam one way or another. Otherwise, the ice pops won’t freeze well.

Pour the mixture into ice cube trays, ice pop trays, or freezer-friendly cups. Allow the ice pops about a half hour to become semi-frozen. Then add wooden sticks and allow the mixture to continue freezing for an additional 3-5 hours.

If you’ve never had our Crème de Menthe Artisan Flavor before, you’re in for a real treat! It’s made from natural flavors, preservative-free, shelf-stable, and contains no artificial sweeteners. But – more than that – it tastes phenomenal! If you’re a fan of crème de menthe liqueur, then you’ll definitely enjoy the taste of this artisan flavor. The only thing this product is missing is the alcohol.

When combined with frozen strawberries, a little lemon juice, and some simple syrup, the taste is simply out of this world. Orange bitters give it a little extra “kick,” taking the range of flavors up to the next level. However, if you don’t have any handy, this ice pop recipe is just as good without the bitters.

Happy summer from our family at Amoretti to yours! As always, let us know what we can do to better serve you.

Coffee & Whiskey: A Match Made in Heaven?

Coffee.

Cocktails.

Coffee.

Cocktails.

Coffee cocktails, you say? Sounds good to us. In fact, sometime there’s nothing better for dessert than a well-made coffee cocktail. Now, we’re not talking about a throw-your-Irish-cream-into-a-cup-of-coffee kind of cocktail. While that “recipe” has its place, we’re interested in creating some coffee cocktail recipes that will stick with you (well, stick with your memory, at least).

White chocolate vanilla is a unique and powerful taste, and you’ll find that it goes well in a variety of uses.

For inspiration, we took a hop, skip, and a jump across the country to Kentucky – a trip made possible by stepping into our local liquor store. We picked up two bottles: our favorite high-proof bourbon and a bottle of honey-flavored whiskey liqueur. We don’t like to drop brand names here, so we’ll leave that part of the shopping up to you. Just make sure you pick out top-shelf ingredients for this coffee cocktail…

My Ol’ Kentucky Home

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz high-proof bourbon whiskey
• ½ oz honey-flavored whiskey
• 1 pump Amoretti Premium White Chocolate Vanilla Syrup
• Hot coffee (to fill)

Directions:

Add the high-proof bourbon whiskey and the honey-flavored whiskey to a favorite mug. Add one pump of the coffee syrup and then fill the rest of the mug with hot coffee. Stir well to ensure that the white chocolate vanilla syrup is thoroughly mixed!

Pretty tasty, isn’t it? While this isn’t necessarily a dessert cocktail, it sure does help polish off the end of a dinner party. After a large meal, this is the kind of cocktail you want for a pick-me-up.

Coffee & Whiskey: A Match Made in Heaven?

Do you know just how long coffee and whiskey have been paired together as a perfect match? According to legend, Irish whisky and coffee were first popularly combined in the 1940s at Foynes Airport in Ireland. The airport’s chef found the combination to be the perfect drink for weary travelers who needed an extra dose of energy but also needed to relax a little from the stressful flight experience. We find it hard to believe that this match-made-in-heaven wasn’t made a little bit earlier than the 1940s! Either way, we’ll take it!

Don’t forget to pick up a bottle of Amoretti Premium White Chocolate Vanilla Syrup to make this coffee cocktail recipe. Our white chocolate vanilla coffee syrup is smooth and creamy, loaded with plenty of flavor. You definitely won’t want to miss out on including it in your creation of the My Ol’ Kentucky Home cocktail!

If you haven’t had a wine-tini, you’re missing out.

Alright, we’ll say it.

If you haven’t had a wine-tini, you’re missing out. Here in Southern California, the wine-tini is one of our favorite things about summer. It’s cool, it’s refreshing, and it will really help unfurl your brow after a long day of dealing with kids bored with summer vacation (– already!).

Do we have your attention?

The Ultimate Pineapple Martini

That line usually does the trick. So as your kids are winding up – and you’re winding down – try the Amoretti Tropic-Apple Wine-Tini. Here’s what you’ll need: a bottle of wine, blue curaçao, our delicious Pineapple Martini Cocktail Mix, fresh fruit, and ginger beer.

If that requires too much shopping, you can always make a wine-tini on your own using any of our tasty cocktail mixes and wine (red or white). Check out our wine-tini recipe below…

Amoretti Tropic-Apple Wine-Tini

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle (750 ml) white wine
• ½ cup blue curaçao
• 1/3 cup Amoretti Pineapple Martini Cocktail Mix
• ½ cup muddled berries (of your choice)
• 1 cup ginger beer

Directions:

Chill all ingredients prior to mixing. Add these ingredients to a large pitcher and stir well. If ingredients have not been chilled, put the wine-tini mixture in the refrigerator for several hours. Once ingredients are chilled, add ice, and serve!

Personalize Your Wine-Tini

If you really want to take your wine-tini abilities up to the next level, here are a few ways you can make the drink your own:

• Use a mixture of cocktail mixes. Who says you have to use just one? Try experimenting with a variety of cocktail mixes, and use them in different proportions.
• Rim your wine glass with sugar prior to serving. Not only does this bring an extra aesthetic appeal to your wine-tini, but it also makes for a more fun and delicious beverage!
• Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint or other herbs. While mint is the easy and obvious go-to in the world of garnishes, it isn’t the only herb that looks and tastes great in wine-tinis. A long sprig of rosemary or a bundled tuft of lemongrass can add a lot to your glass.
• Use frozen fruit cubes instead of ice cubes. Not only will this keep your wine-tini from becoming diluted with ice melt, but frozen fruit cubes will add great flavor that’s “unlocked” as you work your way through the cocktail!

Have fun and experiment with your wine-tini recipes!

Amoretti Maple Bacon Icing featured on MarieClaire.com

Our Kiwi Syrup – like all Amoretti premium syrups – is made with natural flavors and bottled right here in the United States.

You might think that kiwifruit is as American as apple pie, but you’d be wrong. In fact, the kiwifruit wasn’t even known in the United States until the late 1960s! While we might be tempted to think that the kiwi flavor is “standard” or “classic,” it turns out that this tropical fruit is… well… quite tropical, indeed!

Check out eight facts we’ve learned about this amazing flavor. Also, don’t forget to pick up a bottle of our unique tropical syrup or martini mix (made from real fruit!).

Kiwifruit Syrup: An invigorating taste reminiscent of strawberries, melons and bananas, yet with its own unique sweet flavor.

The 8 Kiwi Facts You’ve Never Heard

• Every year, growers produce more than one million kiwis (according to the Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations).
• Roughly half of these kiwis are grown in Italy!
• Kiwifruit is incredibly good for you. In fact, a raw kiwi contains 3.9 grams of dietary fiber, 1.2 grams of protein, and plenty of other nutrients and phytonutrients.
• Though the kiwi is jam-packed with nutritious ingredients, it’s also jam-packed with… latex. People who suffer from “latex-fruit syndrome” can’t eat bananas, pineapple, avocado, or kiwis, amongst other fruits.
• Next time you think about popping an aspirin for your heart health, eat a kiwi instead. Studies have found that the kiwifruit can lower risk of blood clots and heart attacks.

Enough about health. What about the plant itself?

• Kiwis grow on deciduous vines (kind of like grapes). So don’t ever ask a farmer about his kiwi trees. You might get a strange look.
• While many Americans live in regions that can produce grapes and other deciduous-vine fruits, the same cannot be said of the kiwi. The kiwi vine needs at least 200 days without any threat of frost, meaning its growing regions are very limited in the United States.
• The kiwi vine can be a labor-intensive endeavor. With vines climbing up past the six-foot high mark, lots of pruning, watering, and care is required of the grower!

Kiwi: A Unique Tropical Syrup and Martini Mix

Ready to start enjoying some delicious – naturally sourced – kiwi flavor? Amoretti is proud to offer the great taste of this tropical fruit in two forms: Amoretti Premium Kiwi Syrup, perfect for tea (iced and hot), cocktails, and more, as well as Amoretti Kiwi Martini Cocktail Mix, one of our top martini mixes.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy kiwi? Let us know!

Add Maraschino Cherry syrup to this cocktail to smooth out the bite.

At Amoretti, one of our main philosophies is that gourmet taste doesn’t have to require gourmet tools or years of experience. We make the unique drink syrups and beverage ingredients that you need to express your creativity and develop your own custom recipes. We call these the “tools of creation.”

Today, we’d like to share with you two classic drink recipes never before mentioned on the Amoretti Blog: the Greyhound and the Salty Dog. (We did, however, write a Sizzlin’ Summer Greyhound drink recipe last month – a variation on the classic.)

Maraschino Cherry Syrup

What is a Greyhound?

Wondering what a Greyhound is in the first place? The Greyhound is an incredibly simple drink: gin (these days, vodka is also popular and acceptable) and grapefruit juice. Mix these two beverage ingredients together over ice in a Collins glass at a 1:2 ratio and you’ve got yourself a fine summer sipper.

… and a Salty Dog?

For a Salty Dog, all you have to do is rim a Collins glass with salt and then make your Greyhound! (Some will argue that a Salty Dog should also have an orange wheel as a garnish, but that’s up to you.)

Greyhound/Salty Dog Drink

Ingredients:

• 2 oz gin (or vodka)
• 4 oz grapefruit juice
• 1 pump Amoretti Premium Maraschino Cherry Syrup
• coarse salt (for Salty Dog)
• orange wheel (optional garnish)

Directions:

Stir all ingredients in a Collins glass filled with ice. Garnish with an orange wheel (optional). For a Salty Dog, rim with coarse salt first.

Brief History of the Greyhound & Salty Dog

Many people believe the Greyhound to be a creation of the Prohibition Era. However, many mixologists in the know believe this to be more fiction than fact. The truth is, grapefruit juice really didn’t become commonplace in the United States until the late 1950s/early 1960s. So the theory that the Greyhound rose to popularity during the Prohibition Era is more wishful thinking from fans of the highball than anything else.

Why Maraschino Cherry Syrup?

If the maraschino cherry doesn’t actually make an appearance in the Greyhound or Salty Dog, why do we rely on it for our versions of those cocktails? Well, the reason is simple. As much as we love grapefruit juice, it’s a beverage ingredient with just a little too much bite for our palates. By adding a touch of our Maraschino Cherry Syrup, we get the perfect sweetness to round it all out. Try it for yourself, and see!

At Amoretti Premium Syrups, we love coffee as mu- … well, a lot more than “the next guy.”

If you’re new to the world of gourmet coffee, you might have a few questions. Fortunately, you’re in the right place. At Amoretti Premium Syrups, we love coffee as mu- … well, a lot more than “the next guy.”

In fact, we’re pretty crazy for coffea arabica, coffea canephora, and all the other illustrious members of the Rubiaceae family. So, why not devote a few minutes of our passion to some frequently asked questions about coffee?

“Does coffee expire?”

Yes! It’s a common misconception that coffee, when kept in an airtight container, will last forever. Coffee does have a shelf life. Have you ever opened a bag of roasted coffee and noticed how oily and rich the beans are? Of course, you have. And have you noticed how dry and brittle those same beans are a few weeks later?

That, friends, is expired coffee. Here’s how it works:

Amoretti Pumpkin Pie Syrup

• All coffee – even roasted coffee in an airtight container straight from the processing plant – has a shelf life. The coffee could last for up to a year in this packaging as long as it’s not opened.
• Whole bean coffee will last longer than pre-ground coffee.
• Once opened, coffee is only good for about one week.
• Storing coffee in an airtight container will prolong this shelf life, while storing coffee in the bag you bought it in will decrease the shelf life.

“Won’t my coffee last longer if I store it in the freezer?”

No! Coffee beans absorb the smells around them and the freezer is home to a lot of scents. Coffee that is stored in the freezer will take on those other aromas – not to mention the taste and aroma of “freezer burn.” Keep your coffee sealed in a cool, dry, room-temperature location.

“Does a darker roast mean more caffeine?”

Actually, the contrary. The darker the coffee is, the less caffeine it has. Lighter roast coffees contain the most caffeine. Learn more about the 9 stages of coffee roasting.

“Can’t coffee syrups curdle milk?”

If you’re using low-quality drink syrups, sure. If you’re worried about curdling, play it safe and choose from the 115+ premium syrups in the Amoretti Store. Amoretti coffee syrups do not curdle milk. Need a starting point? Why not give Amoretti Premium Pumpkin Pie Syrup a try? This drink syrup is great all year round.

By adding Amoretti Premium Kiwi Syrup, one of our most unique tropical syrups, we’ve turned the Sidecar into a smooth summer sipper.

At Amoretti, it’s our philosophy that every day is a chance to reinvent the wheel. Today, we decided to reinvent the wheel and the sidecar. The Sidecar is one old cocktail. In fact, it’s nearing its 100^th birthday (though no one really knows precisely when the Sidecar was first created).

While many early versions of this drink recipe called for a 2:1 brandy/cognac to triple sec ratio, many current versions of the Sidecar use a 4:1 ratio. For our Kiwi Sidecar drink recipe, we’ve opted to use the old ratio, which produces a sweeter and smoother drink. By adding Amoretti Premium Kiwi Syrup, one of our most unique tropical syrups, we’ve turned the Sidecar into a smooth summer sipper. Check out the drink recipe below…

Amoretti Kiwi Sidecar Drink

Ingredients:

• 2 oz brandy
• 1 oz triple sec
• 1 pump Amoretti Premium Kiwi Syrup
• ½ oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Kiwi: A Unique Tropical Syrup

Kiwifruit Syrup: An invigorating taste reminiscent of strawberries, melons and bananas, yet with its own unique sweet flavor.

If you’ve never tried Amoretti Premium Kiwi Syrup before, then this drink recipe is a great first introduction. Our Kiwi Syrup – like all Amoretti premium syrups – is made with natural flavors and bottled right here in the United States. However, this unique tropical syrup goes above and beyond by invoking the ripe fresh fruit flavors of real kiwi. Trust us, you’ve never had a premium syrup quite like this one! Definitely pick up a bottle today; whether you choose to create your own Sidecar or make a completely different kind of drink, you’ll enjoy its incredible flavor.

What’s Your Favorite Kind of Sidecar?

We want to know! Share your favorite spin on this classic drink recipe with us on the Amoretti Facebook page. Wondering what it takes to make a Sidecar? Here are the basics:

• Brandy or Cognac
• Triple Sec (or some other orange-flavored liqueur such as Grand Orange or Blue Curaçao)
• Citrus (typically lemon, but lime and other citrus juices are acceptable)

For more Sidecar inspiration, try another version of the classic, the Off Road Sidecar, which uses our sweet and tangy Tangerine Martini Cocktail Mix. The way you design your Sidecar is totally up to you. Have fun and don’t be afraid to experiment. After all, it’s through experimentation and innovation that some of the world’s greatest cocktails were created. What will you create?

The ‘Daisy’ is a classic late 19th century cocktail.

The other day, we introduced blog readers to our newest margarita obsession, the Texas Rose Margarita. We mentioned that the margarita is actually a variation on the ‘Daisy’ cocktail. The ‘Daisy’ is one of those classic late 19^th century cocktails that has gone through some substantial transformations over the decades.

While there are all kinds of ‘Daisy’ cocktails (Whiskey Daisy, Gin Daisy, Rum Daisy, etc.), the most famous is the Brandy Daisy. We decided to come up with our own take on the Brandy Daisy cocktail using our unique agave nectar – Amoretti Organolicious Premium Blue Agave Nectar – as a simple syrup. Try it out for yourself!

Amoretti Brandy Daisy Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 oz brandy
• 2 dashes rum
• 2-3 dashes curaçao liqueur
• 2 pumps Amoretti Organolicious Premium Blue Agave Nectar
• ½ fresh-squeezed lemon
• soda water

Directions:

Add all ingredients (except soda water) to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain and pour into a cocktail glass. Top with soda water.

What Makes a ‘Daisy’?

If you start researching the Daisy family of cocktails, you’ll find that one bartender’s Daisy may look wildly different from another bartender’s drink of the same name. While the Brandy Daisy recipe we’ve included above is fairly standard (with the exception of our unique agave nectar addition), it’s certainly not the only way to mix this drink.

If we had to nail down the Daisy as having some “core characteristics,” here’s how we would describe it:

• Base spirit (typically brandy, but not necessarily)
• Lemon juice (or other citrus)
• Soda water

Jerry Thomas’s 1876 classic, The Bartender’s Guide or How to Mix Drinks: The Bon-Vivants Companion, which contains one of the earliest (if not the earliest) versions of the Brandy Daisy, sticks to these basic “rules,” as do the early- and mid-20^th century versions of this cocktail.

In recent years, many bartenders have made the choice to forgo simple syrup in favor of the French sweetener, “gomme syrup.” Many bartenders also leave out the soda water.

At the end of the day, how you define a drink may not matter so much after all. And if you’re a fan of creating unique cocktail recipes in the vein of the Brandy Daisy, you’ve got a lot of freedom to explore your creativity!

Share your personal take on the Brandy Daisy with us on Twitter!

We enjoy coffee all day long. Especially as a dessert!

Ingredients:

• 2 shots espresso
• Amoretti Premium Caramel Syrup
• Amoretti Premium Tres Leches Syrup
• Whole milk (to taste)

Directions:

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the two coffee syrups. Pull your shots of espresso and pour them over the ice and coffee syrups. Shake vigorously for 5-7 seconds. After shaking, tap the bottom of the cocktail shaker on the counter to reduce the air bubbles. Pour the contents into a tall Collins glass, adding more ice (as necessary) until there is an inch or so of room at the top. Float whole milk (or a non-dairy milk of your choice) on top. Serve with a straw.