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Mrs. Cola, Mountain View, CA Age and Occupation: 27, Product Communications and Promotions Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Managing Partner and Senior Designer Engagement Date: March 5, 2009 Wedding Date: June 2010 Venue: The Mountain Terrace, Woodside, CA About Me: I’m a Washington State native, enjoying life in Silicon Valley California with my fiancé, our three kitties and one leopard gecko. I like reading wedding blogs, Photoshopping wedding design mock ups, making lists, and planning, planning, planning! I’m a bit of an anomaly, on one side I’m a very girlie girl, I collect shoes, I lay out my outfits 4-6 weeks in advance, and I’d never leave the house without my hair curled and makeup on. But on the other side, I’m a total tomboy, I love to go camping and hiking, play drinking games (hey, I’m Irish!) and most of my closest friends are guys. My fiancé and I are planning a DIY-focused wedding with a balance between easygoing (what he wants) and chic and stylish (what I want), and are tying it all together with elements in lavender, sage, butter cream and chocolate.
About Mrs. Cola

Thirsty for a Cocktail?

December 27th, 2009 @ 10:00 am by Mrs. Cola

I’ve been trying to think of what we’ll do for our signature cocktails, which will really just be cocktails made with the on-hand bar selection, but something that we can think up a cute name for.

I really want lavender martinis, and the bar manager at The Mountain Terrace is going to look into getting the lavender mixer for me, but that’s all that I’ve been able to think of that fits our color scheme. There’s a serious lack of purple drinks it seems, unless you want to do something with grape juice or food coloring.

One drink that I did try to make up with ingredients in our house was vodka, black raspberry liquor (it’s a dark purple color), then half sprite and half pineapple juice. It was purple and yummy, but an ugly, milky purple from the pineapple juice.

My mom also found a drink called an Aviation, which is 1 1/2 ounces gin, 1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur, 1/2 ounce creme de violette, and1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice. It’s pretty, but after doing some research, creme de violette is pretty impossible to find.

Thirsty for a Cocktail? :  wedding alcohol Aviatio  {Source}


I also LOVE this idea from Martha, lavender infused champagne, with little sprigs of lavender as a garnish, but I also worry it might be too difficult (Would we have to supply the lavender sprigs? Can the bar manager find the dried lavender? Are the sprigs of lavender really clean enough to put in your drink?)

Lavender Champagne: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon dried lavender, 4 bottles (750 mL) dry Champagne or sparkling wine, chilled, and fresh lavender sprigs, for garnish.

Thirsty for a Cocktail? :  wedding alcohol Mwd1022  {Source}

I also tried making Chambord and Champagne, to see what color it would turn out to be, hoping the champagne would dilute the Chambord enough to make it more purple. It was really yummy, just put about 1/4 ounce in the bottom of a champagne glass and then fill with champagne, but turned out a more red/pink color.

(Don’t judge my only champagne flutes! We got them for free when Mr Cola. bought my engagement ring from Steve Padis… but now that I think about it, maybe I should add nicer ones to our Amazon registry!)

So that drink was really good, but still not the right color, so the search for signature drinks in purple or sage green is still on. I’m also considering St. Germain and champagne, since it’s super yummy (seriously, go try it! It’s made with Elderflowers, and tastes sort of across between flowers and lychee… mmmm!) but it doesn’t do anything to the color of the champagne, and I kinda doubt it’s included in our bar package. But couldn’t hurt to ask, right?

What are you doing for your signature cocktails? Know any good recipes for purple drinks? (And not Dave Chappele’s “Purple Drink“… we need something a little better than “sugar, water, and purple”!)

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26 Responses to “Thirsty for a Cocktail?”

1 2 

1.
Gilneas
Member
Gilneas (message)  1,393 posts, Bumble bee

I’m a huge fan of chambord + champagne (delicious!!), as well as creme de violette (though it is SUPER hard to find). For a green drink, have you tried making drinks with Chartreuse yet? There is yellow Chartreuse and green Chartreuse (different chocolate contents), and I’m sure you could find a mixer that would dilute it enough to get a good color.

Have you considered buying violet or lavendar syrup instead of creme de violet, and maybe using that in place of the sugar in a champagne cocktail? I think you’d need to buy it and give it to the bar, but you can get it off of Amazon… shipping is expensive for one bottle, but more than one may alleviate the costs AND you don’t need that much per drink. http://www.amazon.com/Monin-Natural-Lavender-Syrup-750ML/dp/B000T6AHW6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1261927021&sr=8-3

 
2.
Dillybar
Member
Dillybar (message)  24 posts, Newbee

I also have been looking for purple cocktails! Try googling “purple haze martini.” Can’t wait to see what you end up doing.

 
3.
bkgrahamwedding
Member
bkgrahamwedding (message)  84 posts, Worker bee

Hang on - let me dust off my rusty college-job-bartending skills…

Have you tried mixing chambord with blue curacao? The result would be a pretty dark purple, if that’s the color you’re going for. There’s a shot called an “Acapulco Bay” (Absolut citron, blue curacao, chambord, and triple sec) that you could pretty easily turn into a mixed drink or martini. Bonus: you could name it where ever you’re honeymooning. I believe there’s also a martini that mixes blue curacao, chambord, and vanilla vodka.

 
4.
bree72
Member
bree72 (message)  2,086 posts, Buzzing bee

The only one that comes to mind is a Grateful Dead…not exactly wedding appropriate. Good luck!

 
5.
Member Icon
Member
clairehui (message)  8 posts, Newbee

If you wanted to do the lavender champagne, your caterer or florist shouldn’t have any trouble finding dried lavender. If you ask your florist, just make sure you specify that you’re using it for a drink so that it’s ready for food. But dried lavender that’s used in drinks/food shouldn’t be hard to find.

 
6.
Guest Icon
Guest
xkcy

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/393401
^ this thread is from someone in your exact situation! A lot of people sent in suggestions, might be worth checking out.

Also, there is a (non-alcoholic) drink called Purple (www.drinkpurple.com) that is a nice dark shade of purple that you could mix with liquors to get a sort of purple punch.

 
7.
peachesandtulips
Member
peachesandtulips (message)  408 posts, Helper bee

You could try a blueberry mojito, or there’s a champagne cocktail at one of my favorite restaurants called a Crushed Black Velvet, which I believe has blackberry liqueur and champagne and is a gorgeous purple color!

 
8.
Guest Icon
Guest
xkcy

Another fun idea is this: http://www.lazybride.com/lazy_brides_blog/2009/11/cocktail-friday-lollipop-n-tonic.html
Have your drink be something simple like a gin and tonic (you could do whatever you wanted) and then use a purple lollipop as a stir stick in the drink!

 
9.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Scissors (message)  7,343 posts, Bee Keeper

@bree72: I was about to suggest Grateful Dead too! You could just classy it up by not telling people what it really is?

 
10.
Guest Icon
Guest
ms mac man

1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz Peach schnops
1/2 oz amaretto almond liqueur
1/2 oz DeKuyper® Razzmatazz liqueur
1/2 oz sweet and sour mix
1/2 oz 7-Up® soda

Combine vodka, southern comfort, amaretto, razzmatazz and sour mix in a mixing glass half-filled with ice. Shake, and pour into a collins glass. Top with 7-up, and serve.

I also suggest going the route of blue liquor mixed with cranberry. It has a crass name but search for “purple mother f*cker” drink recipes. They are very yummy and are great over ice instead of as a shot.
Of course you can name it whatever you want!

 
11.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Guinea Pig (message)  1,377 posts, Bumble bee

Wow, who knew there were so many purple drink options! I love chambord & champagne - maybe if you just add a splash of chambord it will be more like the purple you’re going for? Excited to see the tasty cocktails you end up using :)

 
12.
JennaErica
Member
JennaErica (message)  2 posts, Wannabee

I used to love this drink called a Grape Crush:

1/3 oz vodka
1/3 oz Chambord® raspberry liqueur
1/3 oz sweet and sour mix

This comes out to a purple color, since the other pieces of the recipes are clear. Yum! Good Luck!

 
13.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Cheeseburger (message)  1,020 posts, Bumble bee

I have this one saved… but I don’t know the amounts of the ingredients:

Blue Curacao Liqueur
Coconut Rum
Grenadine
Sprite

I have a picture of it… I’ll send it to ya! :)

 
14.
zhongliqiu
Member
zhongliqiu (message)  96 posts, Worker bee

Just a thought, but have you ever tried Monin syrups? They are amazingly flavorful and both the lavender and violet syrups are a beautiful purple. A pump or two of those in champagne would be delicious and add lovely shade of purple, I think.

 
15.
Guest Icon
Guest
Annette

Why not just add grape koolaid to watever ur making? That stuff is so pigmented u can even use it to dye ur hair (and it wont come out!)!!

 
16.
Champagne Wishes
Member
Champagne Wishes (message)  1,187 posts, Bumble bee

There is a wine called Lilac Hill made by Casa Larga Vineyards (it tastes purple but it’s a blueberry note).

I just to tell people this punch recipe:
1 Bottle Lilac Hill
1/2 liter of Sprite or Club Soda
1 Tray blueberry juice ice cubes

But you can float pansies (purple ones) in each glass instead of blueberry ice cubes but those would turn it purple.

 
17.
DollyLava
Member
DollyLava (message)  181 posts, Blushing bee

I would say work with the grape juice. Make a cosmopolitan but instead of using a splash of cranberry juice, use a splash of grape juice. I worked at a restaurant that substituted grape juice for other juices in cocktails and they were pretty good!

 
18.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Rainbow (message)  1,535 posts, Bumble bee

LOL @ the Dave Chappelle skit. Man, I wish he would come back to TV.

 
19.
Member Icon
Member
Truc (message)  42 posts, Newbee

BevMo sells creme de violet–there’s some in my parents’ cupboard right now! (My mom’s a fan of Aviations.)

 
20.
heather25
Member
heather25 (message)  2,355 posts, Buzzing bee

St. Germaine is literally my favorite thing. My mom is actually drinking rose cava right now. That and St. Germaine gives you a nice color and great taste!

 
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Mrs. Cola
Mrs. Cola

Mrs. Cola, Mountain View, CA Age and Occupation: 27, Product Communications and Promotions Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Managing Partner and Senior Designer Engagement Date: March 5, 2009 Wedding Date: June 2010 Venue: The Mountain Terrace, Woodside, CA About Me: I’m a Washington State native, enjoying life in Silicon Valley California with my fiancé, our three kitties and one leopard gecko. I like reading wedding blogs, Photoshopping wedding design mock ups, making lists, and planning, planning, planning! I’m a bit of an anomaly, on one side I’m a very girlie girl, I collect shoes, I lay out my outfits 4-6 weeks in advance, and I’d never leave the house without my hair curled and makeup on. But on the other side, I’m a total tomboy, I love to go camping and hiking, play drinking games (hey, I’m Irish!) and most of my closest friends are guys. My fiancé and I are planning a DIY-focused wedding with a balance between easygoing (what he wants) and chic and stylish (what I want), and are tying it all together with elements in lavender, sage, butter cream and chocolate.

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