I love a good martini. Who doesn’t really?

My photographer friend, Ms Jessica Yager, came up with the idea recently to host a cocktail club. The idea is that we have friends get together and use it as an excuse to dress up, make fancy cocktails, and eat lots of delicious appetizers. Love it! So, we recently hosted the first party and it was a great success. And by success I mean that everyone was full of yummy food and drunk from yummy cocktails and laughing our butts off by the end of the night. A grand success indeed. 
We made a number of cocktails that night (some invented on the fly), but this one was my favorite. The Rosemary and Pear Martini was sweet, but not too sweet, and had a great herbal note to it. It was very strong and very tasty. It was easy to assemble in advance, and got rave reviews from the crowd. And, as it turns out, I love having pear brandy in my liquor cabinet. Ever since this party I’ve occasionally added a splash to my favorite whisky when enjoying a simple drink at the end of the day. It sweetens it up and adds a great fruity layer. Did I mention how pretty this drink was?

This excellent cocktail came from a very fun cookbook I have, Entertaining with Booze. This cookbook is broken down by event. It is perfect. There are more than a dozen events listed in the cookbook with menus and cocktails to accompany them all. I think this cocktail came from a party suggested to impress your boss. There is also the “I’m sorry” dinner, St. Patrick’s day celebrations, Mardi Gras, and many more. The book is entertaining to read and full of great recipes for food and drink. As someone who likes to entertain with booze, it is right up my alley.

I hope you make this cocktail for a party soon. It is so handy to be able to make drinks in advance that are this good. The last thing you want at your party is to be stuck behind a bar with a shaker. Making cocktails in advance is a great thing to be able to check off your list. This drink would be great for a brunch, cocktail party, Easter, or hey, just because you’re worth it.

Rosemary and Pear Martini

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

3 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish

1 1/2 cups nice vodka

1/2 cup pear brandy or pear liqueur

Juice from 1/2 a lemon, About 2 TB

Combine water, sugar and 3 sprigs rosemary in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring to mix in sugar. Remove from heat and cool. Discard rosemary.

In a pitcher, combine rosemary syrup and all other ingredients. Place in a freezer for 2 hours or until well chilled. Add a handful of ice, stir to chill, strain into martini glasses. Garnish with rosemary and serve.

Photographs by Jessica Yager