My friends are some of the wittiest, most sarcastic, and funniest people I know. We poke fun at anything under the sun, cite pop culture references, and deliver it with such a deadpan facial expression that people unused to our (often occasionally crass) humour tend to get uncomfortable after listening in.
It also helps that most of my friends are in the same industry, so our humour tends to bleed over to food and beverage (the phrase “too hard” often gets punctuated by “what she said”, so we’ve learned to exercise caution when using words that could be used as a double entendre).
That said, when one of our friends Chef Jonas Ng told me about launching his new cocktails in his pre-Valentine’s Day singles event, the wordplay on having mixers in a mixer event did not get lost on us.
So, after signing my sister up for the event (Did this have to be said? I think so. Sorry, P!), we went over to check out James and Daughters by Le Jardin’s new libations (descriptions in photos):
Skinny Jean (white wine, sprite, pineapple juice, and pomegranate) – Cute, classy, and a lovely play on a white wine cocktail
Virgin Punk (Maker’s Mark, pomegranate, mint leaves, and soda water) – I fell in love with how wonderfully refreshing it was… A total must-have
Hot Mama! (chili, tequila, hazelnut, and calamansi) – This thing totally crept up on me with its spice… Perfect for some of James and Daughters’ bar chow
Spiced Margarita (chili, tequila, almond, and Grand Marnier) – I always tease Jonas about being a nutcase, which is my theory as to nuts are incorporated in his restaurant’s cocktails… But it’s a fantastic take on an otherwise boring margarita
Amaretto Sour (Amaretto, lime drop, and grenadine) – My sister isn’t such a big fan of alcohol, but she totally sequestered this drink from me because it was an easy to drink and easy to love cocktail
J&Daiquiri (Don Papa rum, lime, and coco sugar) – Another refreshing drink with added earthy dimensions from the coco sugar and the rum
J&D Old Fashioned (Maker’s Mark, coco sugar, cherry, and angostura bitters) – I understand that one of our friends contributed the recipe to the restaurant; it’s one of Manila’s best interpretations of the classic
Pick Me Up (espresso, whisky, honey, and milk) – Again, one of the drinks my sister took for herself (after vehemently expressing her disdain for cherries)… Well deserving of the name, after having several cocktails (all in the name of R&D, of course), it did wake us up a bit
De Jardin (gin, Thai basil, and lime) – It might have been my favourite of the bunch because of the fragrance and the refreshing characteristics
Which one are you willing to try with us? Maybe you’d catch us there, cocktail in hand, enjoying a rowdy game of Cards Against Humanity (as we are wont to do). 😉 Cheers!
Cocktails conceptualised by James and Daughters’ talented bartender TJ Tolentino
Special thanks to Chef Jonas Ng
