Cocktails with Quady Dessert Wines

Dessert wines definitely belong in cocktails. I have always enjoyed having a bottle of dessert wine in the fridge for the occasional special late-night tipple, but have found it to be a great addition to cocktails lately. When I first checked out the tasting notes for these dessert wines from Quady Winery, I couldn’t believe how delicious they sounded, and once I had a taste I immediately knew what I wanted to mix with them. The Essensia, for instance, with spicy orange-apricot-pear flavors made from orange muscat grapes, was the perfect replacement for a dry triple-sec in a margarita. A little modification to the recipe for balance was required, but the result was fantastic. And the Elysium was perfect just with some sparkling wine, but I wanted to also mix a Whisky Sour with it, as the black muscat grapes have a wonderfully dark, rich, earthy red fruit flavor to them. Try out the recipes below and let me know what you think.

Essensia Margarita

Ingredients:

• ½ ounce Quady Essensia Orange Muscat
• 1.5 ounces tequila
• 1 ounce lime juice
• ½ ounce agave syrup

Method:

1. Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice
2. Shake to chill and combine ingredients
3. Double strain into a coupe with a salt rim
4. Garnish with an edible flower

Elysium Spritz

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Quady Elysium Black Muscat
• Soda, tonic, or sparkling wine to top

Method:

1. Add all ingredients to a wine glass
2. Stir to chill and combine ingredients
3. Garnish & Enjoy!

Scotch Sour

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce Scotch
• 1 ounce Elysium Black Muscat
• 1 ounce lemon juice
• 1 ounce honey syrup

Method:

1. Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice
2. Shake to chill and combine ingredients
3. Double strain into a coupe glass
4. Garnish with lemon peel