Introducing Kelly’s Cosmo and Other Cocktails to Pair with Tillamook Maker’s Reserve Cheddars

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Last night, The Man and I paired Tillamook Maker’s Reserve Cheddar with Kelly’s Jellies and three cocktails that each have a back story, dear to us.

Our first cocktail pairing of the evening was an homage to one of my favorite TV series, Sex and the City (and as you might guess, to celebrate the premiere of the sequel that airs today on HBOMax… And Just Like That). The Cosmopolitan aka Cosmo… but not just any old Cosmo… I created The Kelly’s Cosmo:

• 2 ounces Ketel One Vodka
• 1 Ounce Grand Marnier or any orange liqueur
• 1 ounce Simply Cranberry Cocktail Juice or any cranberry cocktail juice – but once you’ve had Simply… there’s no going back
• Splash fresh lime juice
• 2 Teaspoons Kelly’s Cranberry Vanilla Fruit Spread – slightly warmed

Add ice to a martini shaker. I used the one we own from the Lana Turner estate**.

Add all  ingredients  and shake. Strain into martini glass. Turn on And Just Like That… a drink to remember.

The vanilla in Kelly’s Fruit Spread adds a new, mellow dimension to the drink.   We paired the Cosmo with the Cranberry Vanilla Spread and each of the Maker’s Reserve Cheddars. The savory, nutty cheese was a perfect accompaniment for the drink and spread.

The classic Cosmopolitan recipe can be found here.

My posting tomorrow will go into more detail on each vintage pairing with three drinks.

In 1957, The Man headed to NYC to seek his fame and fortune on Broadway. His widowed grandmother, Winnie, lived in the St. Moritz on Central Park South (now the Ritz-Carlton Central Park). Winnie and Lulu, a friend who was a concert pianist and lived up Fifth Avenue, invited The Man for drinks at the St. Moritz. The Man, being a sophisticated 21-year old, had martinis while the ladies drank him under the table  enjoying Old Fashioneds. It is one of his fondest memories of Winnie. I used a mix I found at a liquor store in South Carolina and a small-batch, Wheated Kentucky Bourbon, Larceny. Click here for the classic Old Fashioned recipe. 

Instead of the classic recipe, I took a shortcut and mixed the bourbon with Elijad Craig Old Fashioned Syrup and added a couple of maraschino cherries.

Bourbon always has an earthy edge to me, I guess from the aging in oak barrels, but I’m no expert. (I rarely drink hard liquor; I don’t agree with it… The Man has some explicit comments on what happens when I’m mixed with too much liquor… it’s not pretty.) But for a taste I found the earthiness went well with the cheddars and the new Kelly’s Cherry Rhubarb Fruit Spread smoothed the pairings into sublime pairings.

The last cocktail of the evening came from France. In 2019, I was a guest of Comte USA on their summer press junket. One of our visits was to an organic Absinthe maker, Bourgeois Distillery (Distillerie Bourgeois). The makers graciously gave us a tour of their still and gardens and followed with a tasting of three of their absinths. Our tour leader gifted each of us with a bottle of La Verte Absinthe.

Absinthe originated in the Franche Comte region as an elixir. Dame Henriod de Couvert, a bonesetter and healer in the late 18th Century used it for her patients. One patient’s associate, Henri Louis Pernod, opened the first distillery in Switzerland. By the beginning of the 1800s the drink became popular in social circles and another distillery was opened in Pontarlier, France. As the drink rose in popularity, so did alcoholism in France… enter the National League against alcoholism. The Green Fairy (Absinthe) was deemed a witch and in 1915, it was banned in France. Bootleggers continued to make it and keep the recipe alive. Today Absinthe is again legal. (During its prohibition, Pernod was sold as an acceptable substitute.)

Absinthe is generally drank with water (and sometimes sugar) added. There is a specific ritual for preparing the drink which includes the use of an Absinthe spoon. The explanation of the ritual can be read here. Absinthe is clear until you add liquid and then it becomes cloudy.

Ernest Hemingway is one of my favorite writers. He spent many years in Europe, including several in Paris where he created a cocktail which he named Death in The Afternoon. (Which came first: the drink or his book of the same name?) This drink consists of one part Absinthe and three parts Champagne. Hemingway was known to have 4 or 5 many afternoons at his favorite bars in Paris with included Harry’s. I had a bottle of LaMarca Prosecco DOP and the unopened bottle of Absinthe from the 2019 visit to the farm in France… ta da… cocktail #3 which has become known worldwide as The Hemingway. (Drinking 3 to 5 of these every afternoon might explain why Hemingway was known as being a dick, especially when drunk.) This is a powerful drink which I paired with each Cheddar Vintage and Kelly’s Pineapple Habanero Jelly. The spiciness of the jelly added quite a kick to the pairings.

**Back in the 90s, The Man and I lived in Palm Springs. The summers were tough but October to April were sublime. During these times, many businesses closed for the summer, including restaurants. Then gambling came along and the Coachella Valley exploded with visitors. One of our favorite pastimes was checking out consignment shops in the Valley; a treasure trove of upscale items from estates of the wealthy. You never knew what you might find. One day, The Man and I happened upon a shop with items from the estate of Lana Turner.  (Ms. Turner was discovered in a malt shop in Hollywood in 1936 at the age of 16. She made more than 50 movies including The Postman Always Rings Twice and Peyton Place, for which she won Best Actress Oscar.) One of the items we could afford was her martini shaker, which had a plaque attached with her name. The purchase included a COA. The Man just had to have it and it became a prominent part of our bar utensils.

Selections of Kelly’s Jelly and Tillamook Cheese are available at my Amazon Influencer Storefront. Thanks for supporting my efforts to keep the passion for cheese and specialty foods alive!!

Order your holiday platters now – by 12/17 for Christmas and by 12/27 for New Years!!!

My friend and fellow Cheese Professional, Babs Hogan, is offering Cheese Jerseys – just in time for the holidays. Shop Local!!!

In addition to being a member of the Internationale Guilde des Fromagers (Jura and Garde) and an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Instructor and Proctor. I am available for cheese events, cheese program development, cheese training, food safety training and 3rd party food safety auditing. See my About Me and Resume pages for more details or call me at 360 921 9908 to discuss availability.

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