Join Martha Stewart for a stylish Happy Hour as she shares five classic cocktail recipes perfect for any occasion! Learn how to craft timeless favorites like the Martini, Margarita, and Whiskey Sour, along with some other beautiful and iconic recipes. With Martha’s expert tips, you’ll mix cocktails like a pro and impress your guests.
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00:00There are many stories when it comes to the origin of Mexico's most famous drink,
00:04the margarita. And they all have one thing in common, a beautiful woman named Margaret.
00:08And while no one is certain who the real Margaret was, I am certain that the best margarita is made
00:14by my friend Tori, who lives in Maine. Her version is frozen and the secret is infusing
00:19the simple syrup with lime rind. And here it is right here. Margaritas are comprised of many
00:26flavors. There is the tart and sour flavor of the freshly squeezed limes, the bittersweet of the
00:31orange liqueurs, the complexity of the agave, that's the tequila, and the slightly salty edge
00:37provided by the salting of the glasses. Now this is called the Skylands margarita. You cut one
00:44lime into six wedges. You've already squeezed a couple of limes so that you have fresh lime juice
00:52and you've made your infused syrup of sugar, water, and lime rind. It's one cup of sugar to one cup
01:00of water to the rind, taken off with a stripper of at least one lime. And use one of these wedges for
01:08each of your glasses and gently rub the exterior of your glass with the fresh lime juice. And Tori
01:17always uses a very coarse sea salt on the outside of her glasses. I think she'd approve of these very
01:27pretty little depression glass ringed glasses. And she lets them dry like that. Oh, don't forget,
01:34put your wedge of lime in the glass. And if you don't like the salt, you can omit this step, of course.
01:41But salting the rims is a very traditional, and I think a very important part of the margarita.
01:48And now fill your blender jar three quarters full of ice.
01:59At a quarter of a cup, a freshly squeezed lime juice. A half a bottle, one and three quarters cups of
02:12Sousa Commemorativo or Cuervo 1800 tequila. Now the choice of your tequila is very important. One and
02:21three quarters cups. Tori has gotten very fond of this wonderful Commemorativo.
02:33And your sugar syrup. Start off with about three tablespoons of your syrup. You can taste it after
02:44you've done the first blending for sweetness. Some people like them very sweet. Some people like them
02:50a little bit tarter. And you're going to use a quarter of a cup of Cointreau and a quarter of a cup
02:57of Grand Marnier. Mixing the two just pleases everybody.
03:11And now blend on low and then blend on high.
03:15Something about margaritas that just makes you smile. And now I'm going to taste
03:23a little bit of this mix.
03:33I'm going to add a little shot more of the syrup.
03:36And you're ready to pour your margaritas right into your salt-encrusted goblets.
03:53Fill them right up to the brim. Serve them. And you'll get those glasses back empty real quickly.
04:00It's a very delectable margarita. The Skylands.
04:06And there's another drink that I love to make. It's also a margarita. It's a beautiful blue version
04:12from the newest book called the Hordeaux of Handbook. And this margarita gets its luminous
04:17color from Curaçao. Liquor flavored with the dried bitter peel of oranges.
04:22So to prepare the margarita, cut a lime in half and salt the rims of your glasses. Now for this
04:32margarita, use a great big impressive looking glass. The bigger the glass, kind of the prettier
04:37the presentation. And I'm just rubbing the cut side of the lime on the edge of the goblet.
04:44And I'm dabbing it into kosher salt. That looks very pretty.
04:51And I'm going to be using a Cuervo 1800 tequila. It's a very tasty, rather expensive tequila,
05:00but the flavor is worth it. And we're going to shake this margarita, not blend it. And I'm going
05:06to use a cocktail shaker. I've been collecting these old silver cocktail shakers at tag sales. You'll be
05:13surprised how many of these you can find. And they're just so pretty. So now we're going to add
05:19into here a half shaker full of ice. And to the shaker, I'm going to add four ounces of tequila.
05:31That'll give us two blue margaritas this size. And we need one ounce of triple sec. That's an orange
05:44flavored liqueur. You can of course use Cointreau or Grand Marnier. And we're going to need two ounces
05:53of that beautiful, brilliant blue Curacao.
06:04Legend has it that that blue color originally came from the crushed carapace of blue beetles. Oh,
06:12I've never seen those blue beetles. So I don't know. And a quarter of a cup, don't forget, freshly
06:17squeezed lime juice. And one teaspoon of super fine sugar.
06:26Shake hard for about 30 seconds.
06:31I have to shake really hard for 30 seconds.
06:33Oh, it's cold. And now just pour this beautiful drink into your beautiful glass.
06:49Isn't that pretty? It's a wonderful summertime drink and very colorful at the beach. Have a good time.
06:56And buy. I've always said that what makes a really great party is, well, the guests, you, the food,
07:05and one great drink. Today, I want to show you how to make a mint julep, which is the quintessential
07:10drink for the lazy days of summer. And I have a great recipe. Now, don't laugh about it because it
07:15starts with 17 lemons. I made this fabulous mint julep down in South Carolina about four years ago for
07:25Richard Jenrette, founder of Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette. One day, he was saying, I really would
07:30like to have a mint julep. I said, oh, I have a great recipe, but we need 17 lemons. So we've
07:36squeezed 15 lemons. I have to now squeeze the last lemon. And we are going to save all the rinds. So
07:47before you start to squeeze your lemons, make sure you wash them very well in cold water, rub the skins a
07:53little bit. And I have just put three cups of water into this pan with three cups of granulated sugar
08:00and give it a stir. You want to dissolve the sugar. And we are going to add all the lemon rinds. We're
08:07going to cook this until it becomes syrup. And that takes about 15 minutes. And then you cool the mixture
08:16to room temperature. This can be the base not only for mint juleps, but it also can be the base for a
08:21really good lemonade. You'll strain it. You'll take the rinds out because ultimately the rinds might get
08:26a little bit bitter. But if you take them out after the syrup cools, you'll have a wonderfully flavored,
08:34delicious lemon syrup. And now here's the lemon juice here. And that's lemon juice made today.
08:42Oh, four cups of juice. And in this four cups of juice, we're going to add three cups of the simple
08:49lemon syrup that we just made here. And we have that all ready.
08:58So there you have your basic liquid for the mint juleps. It's sweet, but not too sweet. And then
09:08sugar rim the glasses. Mint julep cups, of course. Take a wedge of the last lemon and just rub the edge of
09:17the glass. Now, I did this for Mr. Jenrette. He was very happy to have his glasses sugar-coated.
09:24I even chilled these in the refrigerator before we poured the mint juleps into them.
09:29Now, into the bottom of each cup, we want to put some mint, one nice big sprig of mint. Now,
09:36I just got this new tool today from the man who owns the Shanty Biffy Nursery that specializes in,
09:42of all things, bonsai, right in North Stamford, Connecticut. And he had met me at a party the
09:48other day and said, oh, Martha, don't you have a masticatory? And I didn't really know what he was
09:53talking about. This came in the mail. Look at this fantastic tool. It's our tool of the week.
09:59And this actually masticates. It kind of juliennes the leaves very nicely. I have a little pile of mint
10:06leaves in my fingertips. And you just do this without crushing. It actually sort of
10:12chiffonades the leaves. Perfect for mint juleps. So I'm going to use my new tool, the masticatory,
10:21and do this right before serving. You don't want the mint leaves to get black.
10:25If you cut them with a carbon steel knife, they will really blacken and that is not attractive in a
10:30drink. You could use a muddler, which we have right here, a plastic one for silver cups,
10:38so you don't scratch the silver. This is a muddler. So you can just go like that to your mint leaves
10:45so that they emit. Really what you're trying to do is get the mint to emit its great flavor.
10:51Now fill each of these glasses with ice. Getting thirsty? I hope so. I'm thirsty.
11:06So here is that. And now you pour a cup of the simple lemon syrup over the ice. To do this, I'm
11:13going to use a half a cup measure so I don't spill. Now this isn't going to hold a whole cup anyway. So
11:27there. Don't mind the mess on the tray because the sugar really does kind of fall off the rim.
11:36And you can make a big tray of these. Get it ready with the ice and the lemon. Add the bourbon at the
11:45last second. And then bourbon to your heart's content. My favorite, Maker's Mark. I just love
11:56the flavor. And notice I'm not adding that much bourbon, not even a jigger.
12:06And just let it sit. Garnish with a mint leaf on top or a sprig.
12:16And you have perhaps
12:21the most beautiful and delicious mint julep you've ever tasted. And you don't have to be
12:26from the South to share this style of hospitality with your guests.
12:31So you may remember my friend and banker, Jane Heller. Or is it my banker and friend,
12:37Jane Heller? Well, today, her colleague Bryn Rose is visiting and she's going to show us
12:42perhaps the most famous bar drink of all. Perfect martini with blue cheese and olives. Hi, Bryn.
12:47Hi.
12:48I'm very glad you're here today.
12:49I'm glad to be here.
12:50I love martinis in moderation. But I've never had Grey Goose and I've never had olives stuffed with
12:58blue cheese. So I'm anxious to see how you make a martini.
13:01Great.
13:02Now, why Grey Goose?
13:03I just find it's the smoothest vodka. It's a wheat grain base instead of a potato base. And it's
13:08actually a French vodka and not a Russian vodka. It smells wonderful.
13:13It is good.
13:14Yeah. Okay. So pointers, hints. Lesson number one.
13:18Well, the biggest thing about any martini is for it to be well chilled. So we have ice water in our
13:23glasses.
13:24Now, you brought those cute glasses, didn't you?
13:26Yes, I did.
13:26Now, these are oversized glasses. So I think one martini per person.
13:30That's correct. That's also correct.
13:32You're so tiny. How can you have anything more than one of these giant glasses? But
13:36those are so pretty. What are those?
13:37These are World Danube crystal. So they're French as well.
13:40Oh, great.
13:41And these I just got in a boutique in Palm Beach.
13:43Very cute. Okay. So you have to have the right glass, a martini glass. Okay. So the
13:49glasses are chilling.
13:50Right. And the secret is the olives, pitted green olives. And we stuffed them with blue
13:54cheese.
13:55So those are giant olives.
13:55Giant green pitted olives. Right. If they do have the pimento in them, you can pull them
14:00out with one of our picks or something else.
14:03So blue cheese, any kind of blue cheese, roquefort cheese, blue cheese, what do you use?
14:06Right. Either of those would work.
14:07Okay. What do you like?
14:09I like the red fruit, actually.
14:11Oh. Okay.
14:12And you can neaten these olives up.
14:14And let's do that, right?
14:15Just a little bit.
14:16Okay. Shine your olives. Make sure that the blue cheese won't fall out, right?
14:22That's right.
14:23Oh, very cute. And so how many of these do you make? How many olives?
14:26One for a drink?
14:27Three. No.
14:28Three for a drink.
14:28Oh, three for a drink.
14:29We'll have big glasses.
14:31I could just eat a dozen of just the olives. That's a very nice little hors d'oeuvre.
14:35Okay.
14:36Okay. So we're ready to shake.
14:39Okay. So my shaker is full of ice and your shaker is full of ice?
14:41Right. It shouldn't be full. It should be about halfway full.
14:43Well, halfway.
14:44And you don't want to fill...
14:46Now, should I check if there's any water? I don't want any water in there, right?
14:49No.
14:50A little bit. Okay.
14:52Okay. Okay. So now, how much vodka?
14:57Um, if you're going to make two, probably a good half from my glass. Those are three quarters.
15:03And I'll make one.
15:09Wow.
15:11That might be enough.
15:12Okay.
15:12You have a big shaker?
15:15That's a very big shaker.
15:17They're big glasses. They are big glasses.
15:19Yes, they are.
15:19They're definitely oversized.
15:21Mmm. So now, cover.
15:25Okay, and the secret is...
15:26How do you like my shaker?
15:27I love it.
15:28See?
15:28I love it.
15:29It has an S on it.
15:30I feel it.
15:31The secret is, most martinis, they need to be cold, and most martinis are shaken 17 or 21 times.
15:38My friend Dave taught me to shake them 30 times.
15:40So get ready to shake.
15:41Oh, good job.
15:43So get ready to shake.
15:44Three shakes.
15:45Three.
15:48Secret starting.
15:4916, 17.
15:51One, two.
15:53Ah, it's cold.
15:54It's just really cold.
15:55That's the secret.
15:5635 times.
15:57Okay.
15:5735 times.
15:58All right, look.
16:00Yep.
16:00Oh, an M.
16:01Well, I'll do a B.
16:02You know it's cold, because you can put...
16:03Okay, there's a B.
16:04Put your initial in it.
16:05Okay.
16:06All right, then we're going to quickly dump out our glasses.
16:08Okay, I'll do that for you.
16:09And then this is a vermouth mister.
16:14Oh, a mister.
16:15A mister, and the vermouth is in it.
16:17And...
16:18Where'd you get that?
16:19Restoration Hardware.
16:20Oh, how cute.
16:21And you spray two times, two mists per glass.
16:26And if you want a dryer martini, only one mists per glass.
16:31And if you want really dry, you just spray the air?
16:32Yes, or don't use it at all.
16:35That's right.
16:36Spray it behind your ears.
16:37Right.
16:37That would be good.
16:38All right.
16:39Okay.
16:41Just pour.
16:43You can pour around to sort of mix in the vermouth.
16:46Mmm.
16:49So three of these.
16:51Oh, so you have snack while you drink.
16:53Mine's the polka dot.
16:54Okay.
16:55So here comes Jane.
16:56Come on, Jane.
16:57And you're surprising me.
16:59You told me you were just going to have Brynn here.
17:02Well, thank you very much.
17:03Well, here is our afternoon cocktail.
17:08It is afternoon.
17:09What are you talking about?
17:09It's late.
17:10What time?
17:11What time?
17:11It's five o'clock.
17:12Oh, it's ten to five.
17:14Okay.
17:14Well, that's all right.
17:15Then it's acceptable to be having such a large and beautiful cocktail.
17:19Thank you very much, Brynn.
17:21What?
17:21Cheers.
17:23The proof is in the tasting.
17:25I'll give you a report in one second.
17:31Yum.
17:32Mmm.
17:32That's good vodka.
17:33How that?
17:33When I serve my guests a drink,
17:35I like that drink to be a very special one.
17:38Iced vodka is one of my favorites,
17:40and I like to make a very beautiful presentation of the bottle of vodka encased in a block of
17:46flower-studded ice, just like these.
17:49This one has little Narcissus in it, and this one has flowering quince.
17:56Ah, this one has sweet peas.
17:59Isn't that pretty?
18:00It's real easy to do.
18:01All you need is a half-gallon container.
18:06A milk or a juice container will do.
18:08Wash it out very well, and open the top like that so it's square.
18:13Choose a very good vodka.
18:15I like to use a Russian or a Polish vodka.
18:18A fifth of vodka fits perfectly into a half-gallon container like this.
18:23And you have to have a freezer, too, that this combination of bottle and container can fit in
18:30upright.
18:31Take the labels off and insert flowers all around the bottle.
18:36I'm going to use a combination of cherry blossoms and some pieces of quince branch with a flowering
18:44quince.
18:44I'll put some in each corner.
18:47If you don't have flowers, you can insert citrus slices like lemons and limes, oranges.
18:53You can also use holly and its berries.
18:55You can use evergreens.
18:57All of those components will make a very beautiful iced vodka.
19:02Insert the flowers down into the corners of the box.
19:08That'll make for a more beautiful presentation when it's done.
19:16And have cold water to fill the container with.
19:20And it's very important when you're pouring the water
19:24in around the bottle that you bring the water as high as possible up the neck of the bottle.
19:29If you just go to the shoulder of the bottle, the ice, when it melts, will just slip off and
19:34cause a problem when you're serving it to your guests.
19:39And do this at least two days before you want to serve the vodka.
19:45It takes that long for this big block of ice to freeze.
19:50Take it as high as you can.
19:53And once it's frozen, leave it in the container until you're ready to serve.
19:58Then peel it off.
20:02And put a little cloth underneath the bottle.
20:05You can see I have this on a little napkin.
20:07This will prevent it from sliding all over your tray.
20:10I have it on a porcelain tray here.
20:12You can do it on a silver tray.
20:13It's good to have a little edge on your tray because as the ice melts,
20:18the water won't just drip all over your table.
20:21Before you put this whole thing in the freezer,
20:23make sure that you loosen the cap of the bottle.
20:26That will make opening the bottle a lot easier after freezing.
20:31To serve, take off the cap and hold this block of ice with a towel or a napkin.
20:38Pour the vodka, which has become thick and syrupy with its freezing,
20:42into small glasses like this.
20:50The freezing really does enhance the flavor of this almost tasteless liquor.
20:55Now I'm going to mix you up really quickly my new northern drink,
21:00which is my old northern drink, which was my father's favorite.
21:04Oh, great.
21:04And it's just the old-fashioned whiskey sour.
21:08And so it doesn't take too long to make.
21:11And that's what I like about it.
21:12All you have to do is make sure though, like you, use only the freshest ingredients.
21:17So lots of ice.
21:20And this is an Angèle pitcher.
21:22I love the fleur-de-lis.
21:25It's really great.
21:26And I have two cups of fresh squeezed orange juice.
21:33And this is a whole cup, but I'm going to add about half a cup of lemon juice.
21:37And some super-fine sugar, about, oh, like a third of a cup.
21:45You can add more sugar if you like.
21:48And Jack Daniels to taste.
21:53Sounds great.
21:53So that's it.
21:54I mean, that's my father's favorite drink.
21:58And that's about, Jack Daniels will love this.
22:04But I prefer the taste of Jack Daniels.
22:06I love how that taste.
22:08And now you have to have a sample.
22:11And I don't even strain it, but that is my new old drink for this summer.
22:21And I'm going to mix it all summer long with all of your drink.
22:24And I think we will have the most festive summer.
22:28Cheers to you.
22:29Cheers.