CHOCOLATE LIQUEUR & CATCH - 22

I found these recipes on Bon Appetit. I Love chocolate and I thought these would be great for Valentine. However, I didn't notice until after I copied all the yummy goodness to my post that it takes you three weeks to make your Chocolate Liqueur. It sounds so good. There is a drink below that uses the liqueur. I really like that you are given descriptions of the different liqueurs and also substitutes and places to purchase. How educational!

Homemade Chocolate Liqueur

Forget the box of chocolates this year. Instead, make your loved one swoon with a bottle of this chocolate liqueur. Be sure to get started at least three weeks ahead so that the flavors have time to meld. Any leftover liqueur would be terrific stirred into coffee or hot chocolate. makes 1 liter Recipe by Elizabeth Falkner February 2009



Ingredients
1 1-liter bottle 151-proof rum
2 vanilla beans, each split lengthwise
1/4 cup cocoa nibs*
Preparation
Pour rum into large bottle; add vanilla bean halves and cocoa nibs. Close bottle; set aside for 3 weeks, shaking bottle every day to mix ingredients. Strain liqueur into another bottle.
*Bits of shell-roasted cocoa beans; available at many specialty foods stores and from chocosphere.com.

Ebay has a few suppliers of Vanilla Beans that are extremely reasonable.

Catch-22 Cocktail

A chocolate cocktail? You bet. This intense drink showcases the smooth flavor of the Homemade Chocolate Liqueur. The cocktail is served at Orson, Chef Falkner's restaurant, where some of the cocktails are named after films that Orson Welles acted in or directed. This beverage takes its name from the 1970 film Catch-22. To up the ante, carefully dip the rim of each glass in melted chocolate before you pour the cocktails.
4 servings

Recipe by Elizabeth Falkner
Photograph by Christopher Griffith
February 2009
Ingredients
6 tablespoons Batavia arrack
6 tablespoons manzanilla Sherry
6 tablespoons Clément Créole Shrubb
6 tablespoons Homemade Chocolate Liqueur Recipe above...
Ice cubes
4 orange peel strips
Preparation
Chill 4 Martini glasses in freezer 30 minutes. Combine all liquors in cocktail shaker; add ice cubes and shake to chill. Strain mixture into cold glasses. Garnish each with orange peel strip.
ingredient tips
Batavia arrack is a sugarcane- and molasses-based spirit that has a rum-like flavor. Look for it online at drinkupny.com and samswine.com. Cachaça (Brazilian sugarcane liquor) makes a good substitute. Manzanilla Sherry is a light, elegant style of Sherry that comes from a seaside town in southern Spain. It is dry and crisp with a hint of saltiness. Manzanilla Sherry is available at liquor stores and online at wine.com. Any fino-style Sherry (such as fino, amontillado, or Palo Cortado) would be a good stand-in. Clément Créole Shrubb is a smooth, not-too-sweet orange liqueur made in Martinique. Buy it at liquor stores or online at thejugshop.com, or use Cointreau or Grand Marnier instead.

And that my dear friends is your mixology lesson for the day...