Distinctively Delicious, Distinctively You
Food doesn't get to have all the fun. With seasonal flavors and fresh ingredients, signature drinks are adding another level of personalization to the big day
Image courtesy Culinary Institute of America, Keith Ferris
For the bride who set Halloween for her wedding date, the perfect cocktail was a glowing lime-green concoction. A silver-dusted orchid floating on another cocktail paid homage to a bride's Japanese heritage.
Sure, you can serve classic cocktails at your wedding reception, such as a Manhattan or Old-Fashioned, but why not create a distinctive cocktail instead?
As more couples are discovering, you can put your stamp on a drink just as you do with other aspects of your wedding.
"The signature cocktail is huge," says Lisa Hawkins, spokeswoman for the Distilled Spirits Council in Washington D.C.
She's seeing unusual drinks that reflect the wedding theme or pick up the colors of the wedding party.
The ways in which you can personalize a cocktail are endless, from an orchid-topped vanilla martini to announce your romantic Tahitian honeymoon to a variation on a mint julep because you and your fiance met at the Kentucky Derby.
You also may share a private moment by your drink choice. Maybe your loved one gave you a ginger-and-honey concoction when you weren't feeling well and now a ginger-and-honey-flavored vodka cocktail shows how you care for each other "in sickness and in health."
Your choice of distilled spirits, mixers, garnishes and origin of the ingredients also can reflect some aspect of your relationship.
Although you're not restricted when designing a signature cocktail recipe, as you would be for, say, the classic Cognac-based Sidecar, some guidelines may help you.
Experts suggest you consider trends, food compatibility and seasonal ingredients.
"Red is big. Everyone wants something red," says Lisa Bigley, who designs and sells personalized cocktail recipes and drink guides through her Web site, SignatureCocktails.com.
Nothing says red as vividly as pomegranate juice.
"I just did a party where pomegranate was used in alcoholic and nonalcoholic cocktails. The bride was Egyptian and pomegranate is good luck in her culture," says Jim Weitzman, manager for The Upper Crust catering concern in Manhattan.
Blue also is a recurring color. At a wedding catered by The Upper Crust, the hue showed up in a blue Cosmo, according to Weitzman.
Edibles in cocktails are in demand, as well, and bartenders are moving beyond olives and pearl onions.
For example, how about a cucumber stick instead of the typical onion?
"Gin and cucumbers go great together," says Douglass D. Miller, lecturing instructor at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.
Gin and fennel is another flavor match, according to Miller. Instead of a pedestrian lemon wedge, use a fennel slice to garnish a gin-based drink.
Factor seasonal availability into your cocktail recipe.
One of the hot new drinks for autumn is a pear-apple martini, according to Hawkins.
Miller takes his clues from cranberries and apples and suggests either in a fall drink.
If tomatoes are still in season, Bigley suggests an elegant drink using tomato water, cucumber and basil. As a variation she recommends garnishing a martini with a miniature fresh mozzarella ball, basil leaves and cherry tomatoes.
"It's a martini with caprese salad," says Bigley, who's based in Las Vegas.
With all those solids in the cocktail, mixologists are inspired to pair drinks with food courses.
As general guidelines, vodka and gin both go well with fresh seafood, while the brown spirits like Scotch and bourbon are a match for meat and cheese, according to Hawkins.
Think about how your menu fits into these flavor groupings.
Maybe you're planning fish or seafood sushi appetizers.
"Sushi is wonderful with a cucumber gimlet [typically made with gin or vodka]," Bigley says. "The cucumber is cooling mixed with spicy ahi tuna."
Hawkins also sees bourbon and barbecue matches.
Station to Station
If you're featuring food stations at your reception, add a special cocktail at each stop.
A sushi station begs for a sake cocktail, an Italian antipasto assortment is complemented with a dry vermouth drink while charcouterie would have the French accent of Cognac or marc, a potent fruit-based spirit.
Don't forget dessert when you're designing cocktails. A luscious chocolate wedding cake, finger-deep with mousse filling, deserves its own cocktail. Bigley would start with Godiva chocolate liqueur and build from there.
Instead, you can make the cocktail the dessert, again working your own preferences into the formulation.
"If you're known for loving Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, which I do, you can make a chocolate martini," Miller says.
Bev Bennett, a veteran food writer and editor, is the author of "Dinner for Two: A Cookbook for Couples" and "30-Minute Meals for Dummies"
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