VIVA LA REVOLUTION

We are proud, and ecstatic to announce the birth of our new (and vastly improved) grenadine!
She took several goes, she did.  We had a few close ones, but now she's a perfect specimen in every way!
Whereas most grenadines are totally artificial, MB HOUSE GRENADINE is made with 100% all natural foods.
Yes, we've done it!
The first EVER clean grenadine.
But to call it a grenadine puts it in too small a box; a tiny box with only shirley temples and roy rogers in it.
Our unique blend of pomegranate & hibiscus, infused with agave and citrus is more like a m/cocktail enhancer.  It makes whatever you're drinking BETTER.  That's what it does. We can't help it.  It must make your drink better.

COCKTAILS:

GIN
The herbacious quality from the hibiscus pairs great with cucumber, lemon, lime, basil and mint.  And the richness from the pomegranite gives it some real backbone.  It can stand up to the up-frontness of some gins. Orange bitters are a nice compliment and add some nice depth.

VODKA
Remember when Sex and the City made the Cosmopolitan famous?
We're bringin it back! Only instead of the sugary, corn syrupy, lame version,  it's the upscale farm fresh mixology version.  No need for cranberry juice, just a little lemon/lime + HOUSE GRENADINE. {note: a few drops of lemon bitters never hurt anybody. It really enriches the cocktail. totally optional}

TEQUILA          
The Rubyfruit Rita is our version a Tequila Sunrise.  Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice instead of oj. AMAZING.

MOCKTAILS:

Drinking water? Add a little MB lovin to that glass! 

Meet SodaStream's new best friend!

Pairs perfectly with iced tea.

It's the best lemonade you ever had!  A pomegranate & hibiscus lemonade!!

Freeze any of these!!! And make pomegranite & hibiscus ice cubes, pops, and glacial ice!!

Or, try our fave thing: freeze a mocktail, make it a glacial cube & pour your favorite spirit over it. Voila!

Will post more pics once we get back to the MB Test Kitchen.
We're growing so much these days, it's been impossible to to get back to home base.  But we are cocktailers to our core, and we will most certainly get back to cocktailing just as soon as we're done revolutionizing.

DIRTY HERB MARTINI

What to do with our MB DILLS & PICKLED  CELERY

Sure, you can put pickles on just about anything, and make it better: sandwiches, salads, Middlebar Marys, whisky... 

Well, we are delighted to announce that our MB DILLS & PICKLED CELERY make a hell of a martini.  

If you like a dirty martini...  Or, if you don't like a dirty martini, because you dislike olives, then you might just downright LOVE the DIRTY HERB MARTINI!

DIRTY HERB #1:

1oz MB DILL juice

3oz your favorite VODKA (or GIN)

Shake w vigor (10-15 sec)

Strain into glass

Garnish with angular slices of MB PICKLED CELERY

DIRTY HERB #2

1oz MB PICKLED CELERY juice

3oz  your favorite GIN (or VODKA)

Shake w vigor (10-15 sec)

Strain into glass

Garnish with BASIL LEAF and angular slices of MB PICKLED CELERY

SO EASY!!!!!

Cheers!

c+r

FARM FRESH COCKTAIL: 5 CHILI MARGARITA

WHAT TO DO WITH AZTEC GOLD?

5 CHILI MARGARITA

PITCHER: 1 cup fresh lemon juice

                   1 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

                   1 cup fresh cutie/mandarin/tangerine/orange

                   2 cups AZTEC GOLD

                   1 1/2 cup Tequila/Mezcal

Stir in all the ingredients into a large pitcher. Pour over ice.

(or shake and strain it, if that's yo thang)

Garnish with a thin slice of fresh jalepeno, and lime.

BARKEEP'S TIP: sprinkle a little (ancho) chili powder over the lime and jalepeno, like the guys do it at the fruit carts on the corner.

We LOVE a good margarita!!
Who doesn't?!
But honestly, I'm pretty sure I know by now what a good margarita tastes like.  Let's just say, I've done my research ;)
What's a little sexier to us, is a delicious and interesting margarita.
We've done some good ones: strawberry basil, pomegranite rose, mango key lime & mint.... And we've LOVED some of the ones we've tried around town.  (That list is soon to come)
But the one that really struck us, the one that was so unique, and so friggin good that we decided to botttle it, is our 5 CHILI MARGARITA.  Technically, what we decided to bottle was our 3 CHILI LIME SYRUP aka AZTEC GOLD!!
There is nothing like this out there. And we came upon it so by accident! A couple years ago, we were messing around with chilies.  We figured, we live in this beautiful metropolis bustling with Mexican Chilies, why not get an education.  So we'd go downtown to Valeria's @ GRAND CENTRAL MARKET and learn about chilies.  Luckily Corrie is a savant chef, and off we went into Mexican heaven.  One of our favorite and EASY meals to make is MEXICAN FIESTA, which "coincidentally" pairs well with margarita "research." The research was conclusive: these chilies truly are Aztec gold!! See what you think of our 5 CHILI MARGARITA and MEXICAN FIESTA, and let us know!


If you're just making a single margarita (sad face),  just substitute OZ for CUPS:
1 oz lemon
1 1/4 oz lime
1 oz cutie
1 1/2- 2 oz AZTEC GOLD
1 1/2 oz Tequila/Mezcal

BARKEEP'S TIP: make a batch of the scratch base (lemon, lime, cutie)
That way, you can make each drink separately.

SPICY MARG:  3 oz citrus blend
                            1 1/2 oz AZTEC GOLD
                            1 1/2 oz Tequila/Mezcal

REG. MARG:  3oz citrus blend
                          1 1/2 oz Tequila/Mezcal
                          1/2 oz Triple Sec

Note: We don't put Triple Sec in our 5 CHILI MARGARITA. We've found it takes away from the FARM FRESH FEEL we require.  But others might like it that way. Let us know what you find!

CHEERS!
c+r

FARM FRESH MOCKTAIL--- What to do with our HOUSE GRENADINE

Whenever we do a mocktail at an event, we get great feedback.  There seem to be 3 main reasons people like a mocktail:

~Takes boring old juice or soda and makes it something special

~Makes ya more likely to drink (seltzer) water throughout the day

~ Has fewer carbs/calories than a cocktail (which only sometimes matters)


But what I think is so nice about a mocktail is that, unlike a cocktail, which demands precision, mocktails are very forgiving.  Today at the Warner Brothers Farmers Market, for example, we made a BASIL & BLACK PEPPER POMEGRANATE SODA.  Soooooo light and refreshing, and soooooo simple.

In honor of our dear Shirley.
Cheers!

Muddle basil, black pepper, and lemon slices with our HOUSE GRENADINE.  Add soda water.

Seriously, it's that simple.
That's what's so great about a mocktail!! You can add more or less syrup, depending how sweet you want it.  If you accidentally overdo it on the sweet, just add more soda water.  Too mild? Just add more of whatever it needs (lemon, basil, etc.)

*Barkeep's tip: Be sure to include basil in each glass, either muddled or as a fresh garnish-- the nose on this mocktail makes the whole thing. So herbacious and fresh-- a unique soda experience.
Also, you may want to strain the mocktail before serving, depending how well you cracked the peppercorns.  Or, if you like the bits, like we do, just pour and enjoy!

Another super simple, and super delicious mocktail.
The SHIRLEY TEMPLE.
Add HOUSE GRENADINE to Sprite/7-up. (approx 1:3)
Garnish with BOURBON POACHED CHERRIES
Boom.
*Barkeep's tip: fill the glass with ice before starting, pile it in there!!  The perfectly sweet mocktail really needs the chill and the bruising.  Also, a straw really makes the magic happen

cheers y'all!