 Garnishes Try Something New The purpose of a garnish is to enhance the visual aspect of a drink as well as add a hint of flavour to your drink. Now everyone has heard of the standard maraschino cherry, olive or pineapple wedge. But what about something a little more daring to add some subtle nuances to your drinks? I've heard of bleu cheese, capers, sun dried tomatoes and anchovies being used as garnishes. I thought I would go slightly more exotic with a couple of different drinks. I have served up some non traditional martinis in the past with some unusual garnishes, to "mixed" results (pun intended.) How about a grass jelly and lychee martini? Grass jelly is exactly what it sounds like. It is solidified after boiling down grass in the mint family and letting it cool. It is popular in Asian countries and you can probably find it in your local Chinatown in drink form. I'm not really a big fan of the grass jelly drink, but I was feeling adventurous. The real interesting part of this drink is the texture because it has thick jelly blobs in it. 2 oz of Soho Lychee Liqueur .5 oz of chilled grass jelly drink 1 oz of vodka lychees (optional) Carefully strain out .5 oz of the grass jelly and set aside the jelly bits. Add all the ingredients and give it a shake. Pour it into your chilled glass and garnish it with your separated grass jelly. If lychees are in season, peel and seed a couple and also add it as additional garnish. Personally, I didn't find this drink appealing, but my friends who like grass jelly thought the drink was pretty good. They made the comment that it was a combination martini and gelatin shot. Like I said before, mixed results. Slow Burn Martini 2 oz of vodka .5 oz of vermouth 5 drops Tabasco Pepper Sauce 1 slice of jalapeno pepper I found this recipe a while back after I had a Prairie Fire (tequila shooter with a couple of dashes of hot sauce) and was interested in findind other drinks that had a spicy kick. Shake all the ingredients together with ice and strain it into your glass. Garnish it with the slice of jalepeno, seeded of course. You could go with Absolut Peppar Vodka, but how often are you going to be using that as a drink base? You'll get more mileage out of unflavoured vodka. If you've heard of any other unusual garnishes, please leave a comment, or contact me. I love to hear about new and interesting drinks.
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