Lifestyle – Moose & Malbec

White Wine Sangria… Yes Please!

This weekend I was on the hunt to find a simple and refreshing cocktail recipe to celebrate the summertime! The weather here in D.C. was less than stellar on Friday and Saturday ( it rained for 48 hours straight essentially) so I wanted something to bring the sunshine inside. After some Pinterest digging, I landed on what looked like an amazing White Wine Sangria Recipe on The Lemon Bowl and tried it out…

It was so so so SO tasty.

White Wine Sangria by Liz Della Croce

Ingredients

2 bottles dry white wine i.e. sauvignon blanc or chardonnay
Ginger Simple Syrup see below
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
24 ounces ginger beer
slices orange lemon and lime – garnish

Ginger Simple Syrup

1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
6- inch piece ginger root cut in large chunks

Instructions

To make Ginger Simple Syrup, place water, sugar and ginger root in a small sauce pot and bring to a simmer. Stir for 60 seconds or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let ginger steep while syrup cools.
Place white wine in a large pitcher and add in orange, lime and lemon juice. Add additional orange, lemon and lime slices to the pitcher for garnish and added flavor.
Once ginger simple syrup has cooled, strain ginger root from the mixture and add the syrup to the pitcher of wine and citrus juice. Stir well and let mixture chill for 4 hours or up to overnight.
To serve, pour mixture over ice until glass is 3/4 full. Top each glass with ginger beer before serving.
Garnish with extra citrus slices if you wish.

Isn’t it beautiful? And it tastes as good as it looks! I highly recommend using Gosling’s Ginger Beer, it was just wonderful. I put mine in a stemless wine glass to feel a little fancy but I could also see this drink looking amazing in a mason jar for an indoor or outdoor party!

If you are a ginger fanatic like me, I recommend simmering it a tad longer than recommended to really get that flavor in the sangria. Also, more is MORE when it comes to the lemon, lime, and orange slices. Not only do the citrus slices make the beverage gorgeous, they also infuse the sangria with more flavor the longer they soak!

Try it, drink it, love it!

Super Simple Margarita Recipe

You know when you get an overwhelming craving for Mexican food and your body is like “QUESO. NOW.”? If you don’t you’ve probably never lived in a place where amazing Mexican food or Tex-Mex is available. If this is you I suggest you travel somewhere where you can experience the delights of melty cheese in a bowl served with chips ASAP.

For me, this Mexican food craving is accompanied 99.9% of the time by the need for a margarita. I run into an issue though every time I try to order one at a restaurant, most use some sort of margarita mix. This is a problem for me because each sip I take tastes like a sugar bomb mixed with a powdered lime sports drink. In other words, an insta-hangover. The flavor of the tequila is totally lost, my taste buds go into shock, and I’ve already consumed a day’s worth of calories before my tacos even arrive! Unacceptable.

Not to worry though, I have a solution to this problem that doesn’t take hardly any time at all! Over this past weekend while my parents were visiting, we got a hankering for Mexican food and decided to do a taco bar at my apartment. To accompany this food fiesta, we chose a margarita recipe out of our Death & Co. Modern Classic Cocktails book and it was so simple and delicious I had to share!

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The Margarita Cocktail

2oz Blanco Tequila (Siempre Azul)
3/4oz Cointreau
1oz Lime Juice
1/4oz Agave Nectar

Shake all ingredients with ice and then strain into a rocks glass filled with ice cubes and rimmed with kosher salt. Garnish with a lime wedge.

We used the tequila that we had on our bar, Jose Cuervo Especial Tequila Silver, and it was absolutely delicious. I did not rim my glass with salt but most everyone else did! You do you, not everyone is into the salt.

So if you are like me and don’t care for margarita mixes (aside from Skinny Girl for when I’m at the lake), make your own! This super simple recipe is a great place to start.

Happy Shaking- let me know what you think! 🙂

Hamilton & Willard: Dynamic Decor Duo

I have absolutely LOVED going out to eat ever since I was little girl. While exploring different types of food is a huge part of this love (duh), I am also drawn to the ambiance of a restaurant. The same holds true for my favorite bars!

When I go somewhere to eat or drink, I am looking for a “vibe”. What are they trying to communicate to me, as a patron, with lighting and decor? This vibe may speak to me, in which case I will remember that feeling and want to come back to re-immerse myself, OR it won’t and I won’t. I will say though, that as long as there is a good vibe created with thoughtfulness (even if that reads as “chaos”), I will respect it! For me, the dining experience is as much about this feeling as anything else.

I tend to favor restaurants on the cozier side and there is no shortage of those in D.C. The Hamilton is one of my favorites! Despite the fact that the restaurant is enormous, they still manage to make each dining area feel private using well placed booths/partitions, ornate lighting, and colorful decor. I would describe my favorite room as Tropical Traditional…

SEE! Tropical Traditional. I’m making that a thing if it’s not already. The food is wonderful and if you’ve never been you should definitely pop in! MAKE A RES though if you are going for dinner, they are always slammed because the restaurant is so close to the White House.

Another wonderfully cozy place to go on occasion* (it’s a tad pricy) that is right across the street from The Hamilton is the Round Robin Bar in The Willard Intercontinental. The hotel is a perfect place to take out-of-town guests which is exactly what I did this weekend! The Willard common areas, like The Hamilton, are huge but feel cozy all the same. It is ornate but warm…

The Willard is an amazing place that is quintessential D.C. in my eyes. Both of these establishments, The Hamilton and The Willard are perfect examples of places that inspire feelings of warmth and comfort that draw me back again and again. I think you will find this common thread in many of the restaurants and bars I feature on my blog! I’d love to know what you look for in a bar or restaurant aside from wonderful food…what vibe draws you in?

Weekend Wine Recap!

I’ll be honest, I drink quite a bit of wine on the weekend. This past weekend (including Wednesday and Thursday) was particularly wine-filled as my parents were in town visiting and let’s just say my love for this beverage runs in the family.

I did not meet a wine this weekend that I didn’t truly enjoy so I though I’d share them with you!

Wine Wednesday…

2015 Pinot Noir – The Divining Rod – Oregon

279-665-bottle-pn — blackberry, rose-petal, slight earthiness

2014 Pinot Noir – Educated Guess – California

A Thirsty Thursday Indeed…

2015 Chardonnay – Simi Winery – California

Pineapple, white peach, hints of butter and Smoke

2016 Altitudes Rosé – Ixsir – Lebanon

b40000054729 — Strawberry, almond blosson, nutmeg

Friday Frivolity…

Chateau de Sancerre Cuvee du Connetable 2010 – France

marnier-lapostolle-chateau-de-sancerre-cuvee-du-connetable-sancerre-loire-france-10529015 — apricot, quince, vanilla

2015 Sauvignon Blanc – Ten Sisters – New Zealand

SATURYAY… no wine here remarkably! We made the tastiest Margaritas from a brand new cocktail book we bought. Stay tuned for a post including that recipe and more fun cocktails later in the week.

Sunday Sparkles… for Mimosas OBVI.

Sonoma Brut Sparkling Wine – Gloria Ferrar- California

So when you are standing in the wine section of your fave grocery or liquor store this week, trying your best not to zero in on your go-to and feeling the burden of beverage choice that our amazing nation bestows upon us, grab one of these bad boys and let me know what you think!