Recently in Cocktail Critic Category

Absinthe is a drink surrounded in mystery and has become some what of a hot topic lately. The belief that there are "special" properties, to this green liquor, is an attraction to many. This has created a new market for the "green fairy" drink and with the increase in cocktail popularity, it was inevitable that the two would meet one another. This meeting resulted in the creation of an absinthe based cocktail by Christopher S. called the "Moloko Plus."

The first edition of the cocktail critic was a success, but there were some questions on how the ratings were determined. The criteria for how the submitted cocktails are rated, is layed out in the following post to help clarify the issue. Scoring a Perfect 10 will be extremely difficult, as it should. The challenge is to create something new and unique. Many of the classic cocktails have used common ingredients in a cocktail, that are both widely available, taste good and are easy to prepare, which would have resulted in a high score. The best example is a Manhattan, which would probably score very high. Use that as template and your score will go up. Everyone is welcome to submit a recipe, and if you have one,please feel free to submit it to dsoneil@gmail.com.

With "martini's" being all the rage these days, it's not hard to identify the trend setting cocktails. The Cosmopolitan was a big trend setter, but the Chocolate Martini is also a contender. The Cosmo, as it is now know, was a fairly inventive cocktail, combining principals of old, with modern tastes. With the classic Chocolate Martini (1 part Vodka & 1 part Creme de Cacao) there isn't much to appreciate, nor is it a particularly complex drink. What it does have is chocolate, and who doesn't like chocolate. The key to a great Chocolate Martini, is a creative imagination, and David McCarthy is one of those people. David has submitted a couple of recipes, for the Cocktail Critic, that take the basic drink to the next level. Let's see if he hits the mark.

This new section will be a regular feature on the Art of Drink website, which will be published every Thursday of the week. A user submitted cocktail will be review and rated. Each cocktail will be rated on the ingredients, preparation, taste, uniqueness and a bartender rating. The bartender rating is to indicate whether this cocktail is appropriate for a bar environment or just with friends at home. Some cocktails are great, but the cost and ability to make the cocktail in a bar environment are important issues.

The introductory review will be of a cocktail sent in by David McCarthy. David created a number of cocktails to bring the chocolate martini to a new level. Please feel free to submit you original creation, for review, to dsoneil@gmail.com. When possible, I will try to acquire the correct ingredients in the recipe, but some items may not be available, so I may have to substitute with similar ingredients. All comments and suggestion on these drinks will be appreciated and I’m sure the submitters would like to hear your opinions.