Beverage Academy - Valentine's Day

Love is in the air!

This St. Valentine’s Day, join our beverage team as we explore the history of this holiday and we learn how to incorporate chocolate and strawberries into cocktails, featuring a Strawberry Mojito and The Chocolate-Lovers Margarita. This is a great class for couples.

Treat your Valentine to a refreshing Strawberry Mojito drink at The Grand Beverage Academy at the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club, & Spa in Point Clear, Al. Our beverage academy on Feb. 14 is one of the Top 10 Things to do in February according to Mobile Bay Magazine. The class is $10 and starts at 5:30 p.m and is adjacent to The Saltwater Grill seafood restaurant, overlooking Mobile Bay. For more information and to make reservations call The Grand Hotel at 251.928.9201.

Mobile Bay Monthly:
Top 10 Things to Do in February



The Beverage Academy at The Grand Hotel

Each month, our Beverage Manager at the Grand Hotel Marriott will be teaching classes at the resort’s Beverage Academy located at the entrance to The Grand Steakhouse. The classes are aimed at expanding the participants’ knowledge of beverage basics while also incorporating more advanced techniques. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, the classes are fun, hands-on experiences that will have people raving about your beverage skills. In each Grand Beverage Academy, you will receive a one-hour beverage demonstration, recipes, beverage sampling and a diploma. Classes are on Fridays at 5:30pm and are limited in size. Most Grand Hotel Beverage Academy classes are $10 and participants must be at least 21 years old to attend, unless otherwise noted.

Click here for a PDF of all 12 classes schedule for The 2014 Grand Beverage Academy.

New Belgium Brewery Alabama Rollout

+New Belgium Brewing has made it to Alabama and the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club, & Spa is a featured rollout venue.

The Grand Hotel, located in Point Clear, Al, just south of Fairhope, Al will be offering free samples of Fat Tire, Ranger IPA, and Spring Blonde.

The event will be held on January 31st 5:30pm - 6:30pm at the entrance to the two restaurants Saltwater Grill and the Grand Steakhouse. The two restaurants will also be featuring $2 New Belgium beers this night only as part of the promotion.

Homemade Amaretto

Recipe

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

3/4 cup hot water

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1.5 cups vodka

1 TBSP almond extract

1 TSP vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine hot water with sugars in a bowl or pitcher and mix well till sugar is dissolved.
2. Add corn syrup to sugar water and stir well
3. Finally add vodka, almond, and vanilla and still.
4. Bottle and Enjoy!

Cheers!

Salted Whiskey Caramel Cream

The holidays are approaching and you are trying to decide what to give everybody on your list. How about a homemade Salted Caramel Canadian cream? Sounds delicious right? Well the recipe is super easy, so give it a go.

Recipe
6oz Heavy Cream
14oz Sweetened Condensed Milk (1 can)
12oz Whiskey
1 TBSP instant coffee granules
2 TBSP Caramel Syrup ( such as +Torani Salted Caramel)

Combine ingredients in a blender to mix. Pour into clean food safe containers and store in the refrigerator for up to two months.

Salted Caramel Irish Cream

The holidays are approaching and you are trying to decide what to give everybody on your list. How about a homemade Salted Caramel Irish cream? Sounds delicious right? Well the recipe is super easy, so give it a go.

Recipe
6oz Heavy Cream
14oz Sweetened Condensed Milk (1 can)
12oz Irish Whiskey
1 TBSP instant coffee granules
2 TBSP Caramel Syrup ( such as +Torani Salted Caramel)

Combine ingredients in a blender to mix. Pour into clean food safe containers and store in the refrigerator for up to two months.

Homemade Irish Cream

The holidays are approaching and you are trying to decide what to give everybody on your list. How about a homemade Irish cream? One of many variations that we have tried, with Salted Caramel, Whiskey, etc.

Recipe
6oz Heavy Cream
14oz Sweetened Condensed Milk (1 can)
12oz Irish Whiskey
1 TBSP instant coffee granules
2 TBSP chocolate syrup ( such as Monin)

Combine ingredients in a blender to mix. Pour into clean food safe containers and store in the refrigerator for up to two months.

Cheers!

Morgenthaler Amaretto Sour

Ok so I was scouring the web reading everything about the Beverage world and I came across a post from +Jeffrey Morgenthaler titled "I Make the Best Amaretto Sour in the World"... naturally I had to check this out.

The essence of the improved Morgenthaler Amaretto Sour is that the traditional recipe is too sweet, and amaretto isn't strong enough on it's own, and therefore it needs cask proof bourbon, in this recipe he uses Bookers bourbon.

Morgenthaler Amaretto Sour
1½ oz amaretto (I love the Lazzaroni amaretto, but DiSaronno works well here, too)
¾ oz cask-proof bourbon (I use Booker’s, from the Jim Beam distillery)
1 oz lemon juice
1 tsp. 2:1 simple syrup
½ oz egg white, beaten
"Dry shake ingredients to combine, then shake well with cracked ice. Strain over fresh ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with lemon peel and brandied cherries, if desired. Serve and grin like an idiot as your friends freak out".

This cocktail is the real deal. Mix this up and enjoy!

So we actually tested this cocktail and altered it slightly since we are in the deep south and the locals are still nervous about egg whites in their cocktails... We also substituted with +Maker's Mark to see how the cocktail changed, and then let guests sample the 3 (traditional, Makers, Bookers) and the feedback was 1. Bookers  2.Makers 3. Traditional

We followed the above recipe and removed the egg whites and used 1:1 simple syrup and DiSaronno.

Cheers!