Alissa and I have both been under the weather for the past week and with HORNE, our friend’s wedding and day-to-day life, we haven’t had an abundance of time to take care of ourselves. The one thing we did do, which really helped, was drink a lot of green tea with honey. So, when our sister, Jillian, told us she recently had an amazing drink that prominently featured green tea and honey we thought sharing the recipe with everyone would be the perfect way to pay homage to the multitudes of people suffering through cold and flu season.

[photo by Jonathan Levitt for the Boston Globe]

This martini hails from the lovely city of Portland, ME and can be found at the bar of the wonderful restaurant Evangeline. Evangeline is a French inspired restaurant with a seasonally driven, daily changing menu. Stephen, the general manager, created this drink when he was inspired to use Italian Plums he found at a local market. As with all of his creations, he wanted this drink to be fun, creative and approachable. Most importantly it had to go well with the French cuisine while still standing on its own as a cocktail.

CLICK HERE for the full drink recipe after the jump!

read more …

Sadly we are home from our glorious honeymoon and oh, what a perfect honeymoon it was! A special “Thank You” to everyone who sent us suggestions of things to do and see while in France. We met amazing people, ate incredible food, drank delicious wines, discovered beautiful shops and even had the chance to buy some exciting new products for HORNE.

Every evening while staying in Provence (at La Bastinde de Marie), our inn laid out the most amazing spread of olives, radishes, breadsticks, tapenade, tomatoes and meats to enjoy with our aperitifs. While eating my nibbles, I discovered Pastis. Pastis is traditionally served alongside a pitcher of water that is used to dilute the liqueur to the drinker’s preference. I found I liked to also add ice but I was later informed that some purists refuse to do so, instead using only cold spring water to dilute the drink and nothing else (not even cold tap water is acceptable).

I so enjoyed pastis that I thought I would share a pastis-based cocktail for this month’s column. I must warn you, not everyone will like this drink. It isn’t as carefully balanced as our previous drinks and the flavors are a little more abrupt (I think the only reason Alissa agreed to let me do it was because of how pretty it looks). What it does do well is complement the pastis in a unique and interesting combination – which is surprisingly tricky to accomplish.

CLICK HERE for the full drink recipe (and more photos) after the jump!

read more …

Tomorrow, Alissa and I fly to France for our honeymoon (and a buying trip for HORNE) so we thought it would be appropriate to feature a French-influenced drink that we served at our wedding! French Lavender Lemonade is a specialty cocktail created by the lovely people at the San Ysidro Ranch and is perfect for those few precious remaining summer days. We served this cocktail at our rehearsal dinner which was held in the main gardens at the wedding) played bocce ball and croquet, cocktails in hand, while soaking in the natural beauty of the Montecito countryside. We finished the evening with a Texas-style barbecue and a little music. It was the prefect way to get ready for the events of the following day.

Oh, one quick note – the Ranch is lucky enough to have an enormous field of French Lavender on their property (in addition to several other organic gardens) but for those of us not living in blissful paradise, dried food grade lavender will also do the trick.

If you aren’t drinking alone (not that we’re judging) we have also included the proportions for making a pitcher of the cocktail. We hope you enjoy!

CLICK HERE for the full drink recipe (and more beautiful photos) after the jump!

read more …

Hello everyone! We are alissa and ryan. We live in Philadelphia and together co-own/operate the online boutique shop HORNE. We are very excited to continue our “Behind the Bar” column on a monthly basis and want to thank Grace for asking us to join the fabulous and talented design*sponge team – what great company to be in!

After a recent re-visit of the movie Chocolat, we both fell in love with the idea of outdoor dinner parties. This month’s drink, selected with the help of the wonderful people at APO, is a surprisingly refreshing cocktail that is perfect for any meal served alfresco. In order to do it justice, we decided to arrange our very own “garden” party. Mixing and matching silverware, plates, cups, chairs, napkins, et al. really gave our small fête a more interesting and dynamic atmosphere. Adding an unsuspecting element (like a painting hung in ivy or a chandelier hung from a tree branch) added a nice whimsical touch. It is really very easy to transform the most mundane space into a magical setting for your family and friends (our dinner party took place in our parking lot behind our home) so go and take advantage of the warm weather while it is still around to enjoy!

The Ich, Ni, San, Shi cocktail will be part of the new menu at APO and they have graciously offered it to all D*S readers as a sneak peek.

CLICK HERE for the full cocktail recipe after the jump!

read more …