How could anyone forget Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktail! This latest contribution from our resident Sex Chef, Rocky Fino gives you some simple cocktails to make for that special date in…or out!

Greetings. This is Dr. Letitia Wright with IDCdating.com. IDCdating.com is where we are creating multicultural relationships every day.

And we’re on the line with our sexy sex chef, Rocky Fino. He is the author of Will Cook for Sex, and he’s gonna give us some great recipes, some great ways to feed our date and impress our date.

How are you doing, Rocky?

I’m doing great today. How are you doing?

I’m great. Great. So let’s say you’re gonna hook up and go out. So you’re not gonna make dinner. Maybe you’re going to the theater; you’re going to the movies, but maybe we wanna have like a few drinks before we go out.

Sounds good to me.

Is there something I could make at home that would be pretty impressive before we hit the road?

Yes. Absolutely. There’s a bunch of things you can make at home. The cocktail is always a great — it’s an aspect of entertaining that falls right there in line with great food –

Okay.

— and great wine. You always wanna enjoy. It’s part of the entertaining mantra that a nice, cool, refreshing drink gets the evening started right. It relaxes the mood, everything is good.

Okay. What would be a good idea? We’re gonna have a little bit of a kind of sophisticated evening. I mean, we’re not going to play pool, but –

Oh, yeah, no.

— we’re not going to the opera either.

On the night of pool, it’s just a good cold lager and you’re fine, but a little something better than that. No, it’s funny; a good cocktail is similar to like a good meal at the restaurant. You always — you leave wondering, Why is it so much better at the restaurant than what I do at home?

Yes.

And it’s very similar to — I mean, there’s professionals behind — in the kitchen that’s just the same as the professionals behind the bar; that they know a little something more than you do at home. So we try to pick a little piece of their mind and get a little — an edge on what they do to make it a better drink.

Okay. That’s what I want, a better drink at home, something delicious, tasty, impressive, looks good, smells good, the whole bit.

Presentation is real key in the world of cocktails. It’s definitely something that provides the whole experience — your eyes, the smells, the feel of the glass, the chill, all that.

Now, we’re gonna look at two different drinks — two different drinks that are kind of unique.

Okay.

And they’re fun to make. One thing that’s a key with any drink, just like when we talk about food, take a little extra time, buy the good stuff.

Okay. So we don’t need to necessarily always get the Two-Buck Chuck, as we call it here in America.

You got it. You don’t want to buy that plastic drum of vodka and expect the drink to come out as good as if you used a high-end brand.

Now, some of those fruity-mix blended drinks, you can get away with that because there’s a lot of mix on there and you’re not tasting the straight alcohol as much. But if you’re using a shaken drink like a Manhattan or some type of martini drink or a cosmopolitan, you’re gonna want to use the good stuff because the major part of the drink is the flavor of the booze.

Right. So, if we’re using a vodka or a tequila, we want to really go for the good stuff.

Go for the good stuff. And there’s a ton of different brands. Have fun shopping; get advice from the counter. The guys behind the counter at the liquor store, wherever they – that’s their job. They’ll be happy to steer you in the right direction.

Dr. Wright. Okay.

And everybody has their preference. I’ve gone from bartender to bartender, and you’ll hear one say, “Oh, you’re gotta make it with this.” And another will say, “How to use that” So you have fun doing your own shopping there.

Okay.

But we’re going to do two different styles. One is very unique. It’s very – it’s popular right now, it’s an age-old drink, and that’s the mojito.

Yeah, the mojito is definitely coming back. And America has even got its own commercial now.

Yeah, I know. I was driving and I see billboards from the — you know Bacardi puts up billboards for the drink.

It’s a fun one. And it’s a great one. I mean, it’s very flavorful. And it takes a little bit of work, but that’s part of the fun, too. It’s when she sees you putting your game on, taking a little time to make this drink, which, obviously, is more special than crack and open a can of beer for her– you know, we’re going to put a little style into it.

So we’re gonna start with the shopping list of a good rum — a light rum, that is. So a Clear. And then we need limes. We need to buy some fresh mint leaves. You could get them at the produce section in little small packs. And some sugar.

And sugar. Okay. Just the white granulated sugar?

Yes, just white granulated sugar. And some club soda.

And club soda. Now, club sodas are kind of generic. Do we wanna do –

Sodium water.

Sodium water. Okay.

Sparkling water.

We can even use a Perrier maybe?

Certainly.

Okay.

And get the bubbly.

What makes this drink unique is — most drinks are made — you put ice in a cup, and you’ll see the bartender pour a shot of some type of alcohol and then follow it up with a mix and hand you over your drink.

But the mojito, there’s a lot more to it. We’re gonna start by – we’re gonna actually take the mint leaves — take the mint leaves off the stems of the sprigs. And about literally like a handful, a small handful of leaf, you’re gonna put at the bottom of the glass.

Okay.

You can use a collins glass, which is a tall, slender glass, you can use a bucket rocks glass. Your choice. Either way. That’s gonna work fine.

And what you’re gonna do is you’re actually gonna crush those mint leaves in the bottom of the glass. Now, you can – it’s a little tricky without the right tool. You might have some type of — I actually can use the blunt end of, the handle end of like a spatula.

Oh, okay. So we don’t have to go out and get a special tool.

No, we don’t have to buy something special. What do they call that? They’ve got a little round tool. A pestle. That’s a pestle?

Uh-huh.

But we’ll just use the blunt end of a spatula, whatever you’ve got that’s round that you can get in the glass. You’re actually crushing the mint leaves to release the flavor.

Okay.

Whenever you chop an herb, it releases the flavor. So we’re crushing it at the bottom of the glass, and they’ll stay right there in the glass. And then we’re gonna add a tablespoon of sugar onto that. Just scoop a tablespoon of your white sugar right on top of the leaf.

Wow.

Now, you do have to get one tool, and it’s pretty prevalent now because Martinis are so popular that you should get yourself a shaker – a shaker/strainer.

Okay. A shaker/strainer.

Yeah. It really — when I mentioned earlier about how does the bartender make it? Why is it better at the bar that it is at home? The strainer is a big play — the shaker.

Oh, okay.

Many drinks — and we’ll talk about a couple that we use the strainer — the shaker today. But many drinks, the flavor comes from that. The hard mixture between the mixes and the booze in that shaker. And that’s where you get that super chill, too.

Got it.

So, now, in our shaker, we’re gonna put — we’re gonna fill it with ice.

All the way to the top?

No, do about – do it about half full.

Okay. Half full of ice.

Because the shaker is a good 20-ounce cup and we’re making — we’re just talking about one drink right now. If you’re gonna make doubles, you could probably do them both at the same time. But for one drink, we’re just going to fill it with half ice, add one-and-a-half ounces of rum.

Now, in the drink world, a shot is an ounce. So, if somebody refers to a drink as a shot, they’re asking you to put in an ounce.

Okay. That’s good to know, because if we’re not up on that…

Yes. And behind the bar they have speed pours, and they actually count it out. It’s a quarter ounce per second. So you’ll see the guy not looking at his drink, but he’s pouring and he knows when to stop. It’s because in his mind, he’s one, two, three, four, pull.

Okay.

But we don’t have speed pours at home. So get yourself a little jigger, one of those little measuring jiggers when you buy your shaker.

Okay.

Now just add in and — measure out an ounce and a half of rum. And then cut your lime in half, and squeeze the juice from half a lime into the shaker.

Right over the ice?

Right over the ice.

Drop that lime in there, into the shaker. Add a splash of club soda. And a splash is just give it a splash — quick, quick, pow.

Quick, pow, P-O-W, pow.

I was asked, “How do you explain — or define splash.” I’m like a splash is a splash. A pishhh. A pour.

Okay

And then we’re – now, put the cap on that shaker and shake those ingredients real hard. And you’ll feel that — if you’ve got a metal shaker, you’re gonna feel that thing get cold on your hand.

Okay.

And that’s what you’re looking for. It’s combining all that — all the flavor together, and it’s chilling it real hard.

And then take the lid off. And in this particular case, take the strainer off and pour the entire ingredients, with the ice, right into that glass that you’ve already got the fresh mint and sugar. Garnish that baby with a little bit of mint sprig for looks and serve chilled.

Wow.

It is sweet. It is minty. It is refreshing. And it is good.

Okay. That sounds so simple, but I know it’s gonna look great when I serve it up.

It’s a fun one because the look of the drink, you got produce in the middle of that glass. And it’s really flavorful, and they’re a lot of fun, and it creates a lot of conversation.

We have our vegetable for the night.

That’s right. We’ve got part of the four food groups.

Okay. The mojito — now we know how to make a great mojito at home. We don’t have to just be out and think that’s the only place we can get a great mojito.

You’ve got it. And then just to take a step back, when we’re talking about the world of cocktails, the quintessential cocktail-making, entertaining drink for a couple or a party or whatever, it’s the martini, something served in a stemmed glass. But we’re gonna do a sweet one, which is basically the cosmopolitan.

Okay. So the cosmopolitan is really a martini that tastes more fruity.

It’s in the martini class.

Okay. It’s in the martini class.

You bet. And it’s so funny that when you go — it’s so popular, martinis, that you go to bars now and they have — the menus’ve got a thousand and one different martinis. And they refer to anything that’s shaken and poured in a stemmed glass, as a martini now.

Exactly.

You can have a “jalapeno-tini” –

Jalapeno-tinis, I think I’ll leave those alone.

But we’re gonna do just an old classic, which is the cosmopolitan. And what makes this drink, again, is the preparation –

Okay.

— that shaker.

So we definitely do need those beautiful martini glasses though. That really does make a difference.

This is for certain, yes, you cannot get away with this one in a bucket. You need to have the stemmed glass. Anybody who has been living on their own for more than a year out of the house has probably been given a set as a housewarming gift. Time to use them.

Time to use them. Dust those babies off.

You bet. Clean it well. You got it exactly. Get the dust off. That’s not gonna help the drink.

What you want to do first is get that glass chilling. So you want to put it in the freezer. A trick I like to use: Rinse the glass off and then don’t dry it, but straight from rinsing it off, place it in the freezer. What you get is a fine film of ice all the way around your glass.

Okay. Cool. That makes for a great little extra chill and look.

Extra chill and extra look.

Extra chill and look.

So, while that glass is chilling, we’re gonna take one ounce of vodka. A nice vodka is key here. One ounce of — you’re gonna have to get me here on the pronunciation — Cointreau.

Okay.

Which is a liqueur. It’s kind of a berry-flavored liqueur. We’re gonna need a lime. And then we need cranberry juice.

Okay. That sounds delicious. Lots of fruits, and if you like a sweet drink, this is for you.

No, no. This one’s sweet, served up chilled. It’s beautiful.

So what we’re gonna do is take our shaker, fill it half to three-quarters full of ice. Add that ounce of good vodka, ounce of Cointreau, which, again, is a liqueur. Add your lime — squeeze lime into there, drop your wedge into the shaker.

That’s a trick I learned from a professional. It’s really great. Not only do you squeeze the juice into the drink, but you throw that lime wedge into the drink. And anytime they ask for a lime or lemon wedge, throw it into the shaker. And when you shake real hard, what it does is it really breaks into that pulp of the lime and provides that extra flavor, that extra citrusy pow from the lime. And included, when you go to strain it, you actually have some pulp floating around in the liquid, which just really adds to that professional touch.

Okay.

And then we add about an ounce-and-a-half cranberry juice.

So, once again, we’ve got one ounce vodka, one ounce Cointreau, squeeze of the lime, and one-and-a-half ounces of cranberry juice.

Cap that shaker and shake it real hard. Again, till you feel your hand freeze into the edge of that metal shaker.

Now, do we have ice in this shaker?

Yeah, we filled it with ice.

Okay.

Anytime you’re using a shaker it’s –

It’s always got ice in it.

It’s always got ice in it. That’s what – that’s how you –

Okay. That makes sense. You can tell what a big boozy drinker I am.

Not everybody makes them. It’s one of those deals. People eat certain foods all the time yet they’ve never made it.

Yes.

They look back and they go like — what’s funny is — I’m getting off on a tangent here, but you go to cook a prime rib. Everybody’s had a prime rib, but they’ve never actually cooked one.

Exactly.

And the essence of cooking a prime rib is baking a piece of meat. There’s not much more to it. But being that you’ve never done it, you never think about it. Same thing with cocktails. Everybody’s had one, seen it at a bar, seen somebody else talk about one, yet they’ve never actually gone — many people don’t actually go home and do it up at home.

Exactly.

But when it is that time that you’re having somebody over and you wanna get the evening started and it sounds like a fun thing — a nice, end-the-work week good time — you need to know a few of these little tricks to be able to pull it off at home.

Okay.

So now we’re shaking that drink real well. Get it shaken. You’ll feel your hand getting cold on that shaker again. And as opposed to the mojito, we’re gonna actually strain this one.

Okay.

The shaker comes with a little strainer on top that you hold on top when you pull that – pull your chilled glass out of the freezer, and then strain the liquid, retaining the ice in the shaker, so it’s just straight liquid into the stemmed glass. If done right, you should have little ice crystals and a little pulp floating around in your — what is a pinkish liquid. And it is another one that’s just completely different than mojito but delicious nonetheless.

Delicious and looks great in that frosty glass.

It’s a beautiful glass and it’s very — it’s a very elegant drink. That’s one thing about the martini. It’s such an elegant drink for a lady to just sip on and/or a guy that — there’s an aura of class when you’re drinking something out of a stemmed glass as opposed to sliding over a pint of lager.

And do we need to be concerned about mixing cocktails with certain meals? Do certain cocktails go with certain things the way wines do, or cocktail is much more flexible?

I actually say less flexible. Wine works with food. Cocktails are not something that I would recommend you drink with food.

Okay.

Appetizers, yes, but not like with a meal. Cocktails are something I’ve always considered that you start the evening off with or you enjoy after a meal. But when you’re actually — during — sitting down to a dinner, it’s a very hard play to come up with the right cocktail that would — cocktails are very sugary and very sweet and overpowering. They’ve got a very strong flavor in their own right, but don’t – they would — many times they’re gonna contrast what you’re eating.

Okay. So we wanna stick closer to wines and just set up our cocktail for ahead of time.

You bet. Wines are designed to go with food. And cocktails are more designed to just go by themselves and/or a finger food, something of that nature. But it’s something that you do typically prior to the dinner or after.

Okay.

It would be odd to sit down to your cosmopolitan and a pasta.

Cosmopolitan and a pasta, yeah. That would be a very rich, rich evening. You would be laid out on a couch after that.

And by dessert, you’re like laid over, barely making it to the couch.

These sound delicious and I can’t wait to try these recipes.

We’ve been talking with Rocky Fino. He’s the author of Will Cook for Sex at willcookforsex.com. And this is Dr. Letitia Wright for IDCdating.com where we’re creating multicultural relationships every day. And we’re also creating great dishes. So thanks for listening and we’ll talk to you soon.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.