Zoolander NYE 2011 Party celebrated with Maker's Mark Cocktails, Hendrick's Gin & Jelly Shots, Sydney (31 Dec 2011)

Favourite cocktail of 2011

Armed with a bottle of Maker's Mark I was keen to try my hand at making the Samuels Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice punch I really enjoyed at the Rochefort Christmas Party. The ingredients are simple and with a little bit of preparation time to make the Spiced Port Syrup it turned out really well and was my favourite cocktail of 2011. I also tried my hand at making the White Summer Sangria which was equally as enjoyable and lethal plus the added bonus of being even easier to prepare. My brother had a Zoolander costume party so I came as the Zoolander coal miner character. I made a helmut out of a plastic colander keeping in mind I could then reuse it after in the kitchen. We had a specialist friend in the art of making 280 jelly shots which went down a treat and Hendrick's Gin was the preferred G&T of the night. After all the different drinks I tried including Duperrey Brut champagne at midnight and a nightcap of Golden Grape Estate Old Liqueur Muscat I was fearing a bad hangover. Walking a little side-to-side back home was not particularly reassuring as well but I'd kept a sample bottle of the IVY Anti-Hangover shot and took it as my last drink. When morning dawned I thankfully didn't have a hangover so I'm not sure if it was due to the IVY Anti-Hangover shot or that my metabolism saved me in the end — either way it was happy days. I hope everyone had a fun-filled NYE as well and all their foodies dreams will come true for the new year.

Samuels Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

Samuels Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Ingredients to make Samuels Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

Samuels Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

By Jared Plummer

1.75L Maker's Mark

300mls Lemon Juice

3L Ginger Beer

300mls Spicer Port Syrup*

3 Oranges - Sliced in thin wheel for garnish

5kg bag of ice

*Spiced Port Syrup

Peel of 6 lemons and 6 oranges

1 kg Castor Sugar

6 cracked cardamon pods, 1 cracked whole nutmeg, 6 colves, 6 star anise, 4 cinnamon quills

700mls Port (Your preferred choice)

Combine citrus peel, sugar & spices in an airtight container for 24 hours, shaking a few times throughout. Add the Port and leave for a further 12 hours, stirring well.

Strain the finished compounded syrup through cheese cloth, bottle and refrigerate.

Service – combine all the ingredients in a large punch bowl, stir well and serve.

Making of the Spiced Port Syrup

White Summer Sangria

White Summer Sangria

WORTH TRYING :-)

Ingredients to make White Summer Sangria

White Summer Sangria (1.5L)

By Jared Plummer

200mls Maker’s Mark
200mls White wine – Pinot Gris
400mls Cloudy apple juice
400mls Ginger beer
50mls Fresh lime juice
Method: In a 1.5L pitcher combine all of the ingredients with 2 cups of ice and stir well. Serve in long glasses filled with ice.
Garnish: Strawberries, lime wedges, apple slices.

Zoolander NYE Party

Me as the Zoolander coal miner character

Samuels Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice

White Summer Sangria

Hendrick's Gin and tonic with fresh cucumber

Jelly shots — 280 in total ready to consume

Sydney Rock Oyster Wallis Lake bought from Sydney Fish Market

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Zoolander decor

The Prime Minister of Malaysia in Zoolander

'R U Going' to what?

It's not a real party without party pies and sausage rolls

I love glow sticks

Lounge room dance floor

Glowing ice cubes — awesomeness in a glass.

Midnight champagne drinkies of Duperrey Brut

Midnight fireworks over Sydney

Nightcap of Golden Grape Estate Old Liqueur Muscat

My sample bottle of IVY Anti-Hangover. After drinking quite a few drinks I took it as my last drink and I didn't have a headache the next morning so I was happy about that.

IVY Anti-Hangover Shot Launch, Kit & Kaboodle, Potts Point (5 Dec 2011)

33 Darlinghurst Road, Potts Point NSW 2011

http://www.kitkaboodle.com.au

Prevention rather than cure

Thanks to Megan from Polkadot PR for inviting me to the intimate launch of the IVY Anti-Hangover Shot on Level 1 of Kit & Kaboodle with its sexy Asian style decor. Apparently clinical trials of Ivy were conducted on 100 participants resulting in 80% of those who consumed Ivy immediately after drinking didn't experience any hangover symptoms. I guess that's pretty good odds although I'd love to know how much they drank, what they drank, what their alcohol blood level was and if any of them were Russians. I've had my fair share of hangovers in the past so a product like this would have been very handy at the time. I'm sure everyone has their own hangover cures. For me it's not drinking tequila, or bad quality tequila anyway and drinking heaps of water and maybe a panadol or two before going to bed. If that fails there's always the 'Hair of the dog' and McDonald's and a coke. Not mixing your drinks and staying on clear spirits is another factor I've found sometimes works.

If I stay on Gin & Tonic all night I tend to fair pretty well in the morning — maybe it's all the tonic. But I guess the best way to avoid a hangover and save your liver is to drink in moderation or not drink at all which is 100% guaranteed. If you must drink and want to cheat a hangover then perhaps a product like this might help although it's a little disconcerting when the ingredients aren't actually listed on the bottle and there didn't seem to be a used by date. Apparently it's packed with Vitamin B, C, Ginseng and Arginine which they say restores all the vitamins your immune system loses from alcohol consumption. It tasted a bit like Ribena and apple juice to me so I guess its sort of like an fruity energy drink with all its vitamins.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Possibly might save you from a hangover, Convenient size for one shot although I wonder if it could be sold in larger bottles? Will be available at premium liquor stores, bars and clubs

CONS: The bottle didn't provide any ingredient details (perhaps the packaging hasn't been finalised?), You'll have to remember to drink it rather than trying to take it once you have a hangover, I'm not sure if it'll save your liver from damage, Available only online at the moment

MUST TRY: Remembering to drink alcohol in moderation and having lots of water if you do

—

IVY Anti-Hangover Shot ($10 for a 2 pack, 90 ml each) produced by The Feel Good Factory

No supplement facts listed on the bottle which is a little strange but manufactured and bottled by Beverage Solution Tech

Vodka and ginger beer cocktail

Lychee cocktail

Duck pancakes — these were quite popular amongst the guests

Sushi

Vegetarian canapes

Vegetarian spring rolls — I LOVE spring rolls and these were pretty good

Mini quiche and Food Is Our Religion aiming up her shot

Shepherds pie

Sausage roll — an interesting take on a sausage roll

IVY is the brainchild of two young brothers

Enjoying the cocktails

Guests

Tweeting about IVY I presume

DJ Emily Scott in the house. DJ's have changed a lot since I went clubbing — they used to be mostly blokes

Pretty sexy decor — I love the old lamp shades

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