Crude Bitters, Sodas & Shrubs

There is a new company in town that I am super excited about and have to share with you guys...Crude Bitters and Sodas...a Raleigh-based small-batch bitters and artisan soda company. I first came across these guys at the Western Wake Farmers Market, and quickly became a frequent buyer! I started with the Bitterless Marriage Bitters, a beautiful blend of hibiscus, lavender and oak. This bitters is a fantastic addition to the 007 Martini.

Not only are Crude's bitters fantastic, they also offer shrub syrup concentrates, which are traditional soft drinks blended from fresh fruit, sugar and vinegar. When mixed with water or soda water, the shrubs make a delicious drink, or layer for a cocktail. After buying a few of the bitters, the Hubby and I were inspired to start experimenting with new cocktails. We even came up with a Cocktail Mixer date night...which we quickly realized couldn't be a long date or we would end up on the floor!

After following Crude for a while on social media and asking questions about the company every time I stopped in, I learned about their Kickstarter campaign raising money for their first brick and mortar shop!! The Hubby and I immediately wanted to help, so we contributed (which you should all too), and reached out to the team to collaborate on a blog post!

They were so awesome and sent me two of their favorite recipes that you can't find on the website. The two drinks below feature their Big Bear Bitters, which is an infusion of coffee and cocoa. We tried both recipes and enjoyed them immensely! 

Crude's Kickstarter campaign goal is to build out a new production space in downtown Raleigh, including a small tasting room. They will craft more batches of seasonal bitters made from local ingredients. The money will also assist in building the new kitchen and tasting room, allowing them to offer cocktail mixing classes in-house!

Help Crude hit their stretch goal so they can continue to spread their amazing, creative and flavorful bitters and shrubs! Go to their Kickstarter campaign and support your local small business!

Early Morning Boulevard

Yields: 1 cocktail
Prep Time: 5 minutes

1 oz bourbon

.75 oz Campari

.75 oz sweet vermouth

1 dropper Big Bear bitters
fresh rosemary for garnish (if you are feeling fancy)

Combine all ingredients except bitters in shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass and top with bitters and garnish. 

Find more drink recipes on the CRUDE website.

Nor'Easter

Yields: 1 cocktail
Prep Time: 5 minutes

1.5 oz whiskey

.5 oz fresh lime juice

.5 oz maple syrup

ginger beer

1 dropper Big Bear bitters

Combine all ingredients except bitters in shaker with ice. Shake and serve over ice in rocks glass. Top with ginger beer and bitters.

Find more drink recipes on the CRUDE website.

30/30 - #19 Martini

Monday's are usually rough at work - first day back after a nice relaxing weekend, and catching up on emails that seem to stack up and multiply over the weekend. I always go in earlier on Mondays to prepare for the week and Monday meetings, then usually stay longer since I spend most of the day in meetings.

Needless to say, a refreshing cocktail is VERY enjoyable at the end of a long work day. I am a big fan of martinis and have been for a while. Something about an ice cold, strong drink in a sculpted glass makes you feel sophisticated and mature. Considering I am counting down to my 30th birthday and getting older, a sophisticated and mature drink is very fitting.

Vodka martinis are usually my drink of choice, but recently I was introduced to a vodka and gin mixture that is a perfect pairing. This martini even has a sophisticated name, The 007, shaken, not stirred. 

As I get older, the contents of my liquor cabinet tend to get a bit better. I like nice liquor and am not ashamed of it. Since I don't drink a lot, the one drink I have tends to last the entire night, so top quality is preferred. For this martini, the best vodka is Skyy Vodka because of its slight peppery taste. Then for the gin, I prefer Hendrick's because it doesn't have as much of a bite to it like most gins can have. You combine these together with a little sweet vermouth and lemon rind in a shaker and you have yourself one fancy cocktail.

007 Martini

Yields: 1 cocktail

1.5 ounces gin
1.5 ounces vodka
1/4 ounces sweet vermouth
lemon twist

In a shaker full of ice, mix the gin, vodka and sweet vermouth and shake well. Run the lemon twist around the edge of a martini glass and then drop in the bottom. Pour in the gin mix and drink while chilled.

Valentine's Day Menu Ideas

Ryan and I don't like to go out for Valentine's Day anymore. Restaurants tend to be more crowded and there is so much pressure to have the perfect meal. Instead, we discovered a few years ago that we have much more fun coming up with our a menu together to cook at home.

Much like our One Year Anniversary meal, we like to make it special, but simple. Our meal planning always starts around the protein, which in this case will be Alaskan King Crab Legs if we can find them. Don't worry, we will share pics and recipes!!

Here are a few menu ideas for a nice home-cooked date night.

Cocktails

Valentine's Day usually involves a drink of some sort. Whether it be a really good bottle of wine from the cellar, crisp champagne or a fancy cocktail, it is nice to begin the meal with a wind-down and toast to your relationship. Since I am starting to find blood oranges around, Ryan requested that we start with a Blood Orange Martini or Old Fashioned.

We will probably pull out a bottle of wine to finish the night and hope to not be feeling it the next morning! 

Appy

Next up is a nice appetizer to keep your appetite at ease while making dinner. This is also a good way to prolong the evening and slow the meal down. We just picked up some yummy goat cheese from the Farmers' Market, so we will probably make Roasted Grapes with goat cheese and crostini. 

A simple cheese and crackers are a good choice too, but don't eat too much and ruin the star of the show! 

Main Course

We usually like to get seafood, something that we don't purchase a lot. We are straight up seafood snobs, and not afraid to admit it! My regular readers know from previous posts that I rarely spice up seafood. If it is fresh, then none is needed! Lobster tails are a great idea for main course because they take very little time to cook. The prep work (cutting of the shell) can all be done ahead of time, so your attention can be on your date or loved one and not the food! 

We tend to stay away from attention seeking dishes that fall into the "labor of love" category, like risotto. Same goes with the side dishes. A simple vegetable or rice pilaf works great. Occasionally we will spruce up something with a sauce, but most of the time we keep it light so we aren't painfully full at the end of the meal either. This just better prepares us for the best part - dessert! 

Sweets for my Sweet

Yes, I love saying that and LOVE making desserts for Ryan. I always offer to make the dessert for our special meals. This year we are going to take a crack at a chocolate soufflé. My advice would be do any chocolate dessert such as:

• Chocolate Cherry Brownies
• Chocolate Stout Cake with Macerated Blackberries or Raspberries
• Chocolate Raw Brownies (for the gluten free fare)

We are looking forward to having a nice date night at home with delicious food. Hopefully we can find the Alaskan King Crab legs! 

Happy Valentine's Day :)