A few months ago I made a move from Manhattan across the Hudson River into Jersey City. Upon settling in, my boyfriend and I decided to host a party at our new digs.

A line from Fish’s Eddy inspired the perfect invitation theme; tunnel vision. The invitations represented the Holland tunnel line between New Jersey and New York which I designed and printed at home using Paper Source stock and full sheet labels which I cut and wrapped around the envelopes. The stamp was the perfect compliment, Ray Charles laughing, and wearing just the right color.

Magnolia branches on a tree stump, purchased from the flower District, 6th Avenue at 27th Street, took center stage on a table full of hor d’oeuvres.

The menu consisted of an artisanal cheese plate, fruit, veggie crudite, crostinis topped with fig spread, goat cheese and honey, olive tapenade, and brie and apple, caprese skewers, crabbies, shrimp cocktail, manchego stuffed dates wrapped in bacon, guacamole and salsa crude in wonton cups and for dessert homemade iced oatmeal applesauce cookies via Martha Stewart’s Cookies, and homemade bon bons by Maryellen, a family favorite.

Image from theboysclub.net

My boyfriend and I are big cocktail enthusiasts. Since we wouldn’t be able to tend bar all night and our guests, we asked a local bartender to serve up some of our favorite cocktails from the city. We rented rock glasses and bought king ice cube trays, making ice for days to get just the right effect. The glasses make a great cocktail but also service the wine drinkers and non alcoholic beverages also. Best part was we didn’t have to worry about washing them all post party.

The below two cocktails were definitely the stars, both taken from Galli one of our go-to places and home of our favored mixolist. Brian, my boyfriend made the syrups from scratch, a chili one since chili essence posed hard to find, and a ginger one. Both have found their way into many other concoctions and are worth the effort to make them. The cocktails were such a hit the menu continues to stay framed in our kitchen and gets recycled whenever we entertain. Enjoy responsibly!

Diablo’s Elbow

Ingredients
Illegal Mezcal (agave)
Espolon Blanco (tequila)
Yellow Chartreuses
Chili syrup
Fresh Lemon
Chili Pepper
Chili essence

The Clairmont

Ingredients
Wild Turkey Bourbon
Appleton Reserve dark rum
Ginger syrup
Strega (yellow Italian liquor)
Fresh lemon
Bitters
Rosemary sprig