Cocktails

N’Ice Wine Slushies

N’Ice Wine Slushies create a hit with these refreshing recipes!

Simply blend equal parts of ice cubes with The Ice House N’Ice Wine Slushies for an amazing cocktail.

Fill your blender half way with 6 to 10 ice cubes, slowly add enough Northern Ice Vidal Icewine to cover the ice, blend until frothy and enjoy.

The tart balance of Northern Ice creates a magical transformation when ice is added to make it the most refreshing cocktail. Garnish with oranges, cranberries & frozen grapes.

The complexity of The Ice House Slushies in Vidal and Cabernet varietals help you create Classic Cocktails quickly!

The Ice House White Slushies Martini
Equal parts The Ice House Vidal Slushies, pure cranberry juice & vodka.

The Ice House Red Slushies Cabernet Sunset
Equal parts The Ice House Cabernet Slushies & cranberry juice.

The Ice House Red Slushies Sangria
2 parts red wine to one part The Ice House Cabernet Slushies.

The Ice House White Slushies Sunrise
Equal parts The Ice House Vidal Slushies & Champagne.

The Ice House White Slushies Ice Cap
Equal parts The Ice House Vidal Slushies & pureed fresh fruit, freeze slightly.

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Ice Wine Jello Shots

Icewine Jello Shots are great fun to serve at your next party. They are easy to make ahead of time so you are ready to enjoy them when your first guests arrive. The Ice House Winery has five varietals of Northern Ice Premium Icewine that each capture a unique fruit flavour so when you mix them with a jello fruit flavour like peach or cherry, the complexity of the Icewine explodes! The winery has developed flavour profiles for each one of their Northern Ice Premium Icewine varietals so you can decide which one you want to add to enhance the jello flavour you like best. Jello ads have shown us “101 ways to make us smile”. This recipe is sure to make adults smile. Sorry, kids you need to be 19 plus in Canada and 21 in the U.S. to enjoy these!

We found EZ-InjectTM Jello Shots syringes at Amazon.com and served them for “heat relief’ at The Ice House Winery this summer.

Watch how to make them in this video and order up some fun for your next party.

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Icewine Vodka Cocktail

Icewine Vodka cocktails marries the sweet complexity of Riesling Icewine with the alcohol heat of Vodka. Few wines blend well with spirits, Icewine has the intensity and complexity to create simple classic cocktails.

Our preferred Vodka for blending cocktails has no flavour; just a base structure that allows the complex, concentrated flavours of Icewine to stand in the spotlight. At 11% alcohol, Icewine has the complexity of a spirit but the alcohol content of wine. We suggest to use an unflavoured rye Vodka to make a simple Icewine Vodka cocktail using Northern Ice Riesling Icewine.

Shake ingredients with crushed ice and serve.

The History of Vodka

Like many spirits, there are a number of countries who claim Vodka was their discovery including Russia, Poland and Sweden. There is very little written material on the origins of Vodka. It is known that Vodka originated in Eastern Europe. There is debate about where the first production of vodka took place; some records say the 8th century in Poland and others site Russia in the late 9th century. The origin of the name Vodka is also not clear, but it does make sense that this simple spirit is a diminutive of the word voda, which means water in Russian.

In the 12th century, the Russians redistilled the vodka mix and later distilling techniques included honey, charcoal and different herbs and spices. Most of the best Russian Vodkas are made from wheat while in Poland they are mostly made from a rye. The discovery of strong alcohol was discovered in Poland when wine was left over during the winter to freeze; yet it was not until the 17th century that vodka was established as the national drink of Poland. Our favourite Icewine Vodka cocktail is made with Polish Vodka; bringing together the two national drinks of Canada and Poland to create a harmonious blend.

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Icewine Cosmos Cocktail

The Icewine Cosmos Cocktail with Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine is the perfect romantic cocktail; red, passionate with elegant nuances of cherry, raspberry, plum and fig.

Here is the new twist on the Classic Cosmos with Icewine!

In a cocktail shaker mix COLD Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine, cranberry, lemon juice, and lime zest. Garnish with a quarter orange slice

Try experimenting with blending Northern Ice concentrated Icewine in a wide range of cocktails. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it! We have been blown away at the versatility and complexity of Jamie’s Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon Red Icewine.

The Magic of Red Icewine

No one knows how these complex fruit notes magically appear in the frozen Cabernet Sauvignon grapes left on the vine. These grapes were frozen like marbles in January, 2014 and had the brix level of plus 35 and so The Ice House crew went out and picked them. Now, Jamie is capturing the right balance of sweetness and acidity during the wine’s fermentation process. He has a secret for creating the beautiful ruby red colour in the Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine; ask him about it the next time you visit The Ice House winery. Many doctors agree that something in red wine appears to help your heart. It’s possible that antioxidants, such as flavonoids or a substance called resveratrol, have heart-healthy benefits.

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Icewine Kir Royale

Royale: A New Twist on a Classic Cocktail

An Icewine Kir Royale Cocktail is a new version of a classic favourite made with Champagne and Kir. The Kir became popular in French cafes in the middle of the 19th century as a way to enjoy berries. Grapes had been the mainstay of wines, yet berries began to provide new flavour notes that were sweeter and more refreshing. Today, the way to increase the fruit forward notes of Kir Royale is to add the flavour complexity of Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine to a sparkling wine. The result is a longer flavour profile of fruit complexity.

Traditionally, the Kir Royale was an elegant Champagne and black raspberry cocktail. The new twist on the fruity French Kir Royale with Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon is perfect for celebrating a special occasion or as a bubbly brunch beverage. Top it off with a slice of orange or a couple of raspberries.

Mix ingredients into a flute glass with frozen grapes.

The Sensory Profile below shows the red fruit complexity of red cherry, plum, blackcurrant, honey, fig, raspberry and a slight port finish.

History of Kir Royale
The Kir originated in Burgundy, France in the 1940s, and is named after Félix Kir, who was a hero in the French Resistance during the Second World War. Felix Kir was interested in supporting the production of local products from Dijon. He made a great effort to support Kir, a drink mixed with the very acidic local peasant white wine and the local black currant liqueur Crème de Cassis, to make a sweeter and fruit forward cocktail. The brilliance of elevating a simple peasant wine with the tiny addition of a delicious sweet liqueur created “Luxury with Less”.

Now, you can make a newer version of Kir Royale with Northern Ice Premium Icewine; a luxurious choice for cocktail lovers.

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Icewine Cream Cocktail

his simple Icewine Cream Cocktail recipe has equal parts of 5% cream and Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon topped with cocoa nibs. By using 5% cream instead of a higher fat cream, the cocktail doesn’t curdle when added to the crisp acidity of Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon. The bonus is the fat content is lowered!

Pour over ice in a martini glass/add chocolate sprinkles or nibs.

When making an Icewine recipe for a cocktail, keep in mind that Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon provides a complex red fruit sensory profile that is sweet. By adding cocoa nibs to this Icewine recipe, the crunchy texture and bitter complexity creates a unique sensation. All of the nuances of fruit flavours shown in this Sensory Profile Chart are developed on the vine by Mother Nature and then our winemaker Jamie perfects the complexity with the balance of sweet and crisp acidity.

Red wine and cocoa both contain Resveratrol and many believe it has potential health benefits. Some research has found that the compound can activate a chemical pathway in cells linked to slower aging, and other studies have tied it to cardiovascular benefits and anti-cancer effects. Another bonus!

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Riesling Icewine Cocktail

CocktailFall in love with the magic of a Northern Ice Riesling Icewine Cocktail. Adding 25 to 30% of Riesling Icewine to a simple white wine builds a fresh citrus and orange fruit foundation and the long and intense flavour delivery creates a magical halo effect.

Pour ingredients over ice Into wine or Martini glass.

Adding Icewine to “unremarkable” white wine creates up front fruit nuances and provides a long, luscious crisp delivery and finish.

Among wine lovers, chefs and sommeliers Riesling wine is well loved for its food-pairing character and crisp acidity. In Riesling Icewine, this quality is maintained while expanding on its fruit delivery.

Food Pairings: When it comes to pairing Riesling Icewine and Cocktails with food, its versatility is most accommodating. From appetizers to desserts, pork, poultry or shellfish, it can handle just about anything. Be sure to include Riesling Ice wine Cocktails with the spice and zest of Asian, Mexican or Thai foods.

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Icewine Gin Cocktails

We started off using Northern Ice Vidal for our Icewine Gin Cocktails in the summer, then we paired Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon as a favourite partner to pair with gin in the winter.

When Icewine is added to gin the fruit flavours explode in the warm alcohol base. Since the history of gin was to keep the British troops warm during battle we saw it as fitting to use this base to keep us warm within the Polar Vortex winters. Yes, Icewine Gin Cocktails provide a great way to relax after battling the snow, but they are even better in the sun!

The bright, astringent qualities of this juniper-based spirit pair amazingly well with fruit and herbs, combined with Cabernet Franc Icewine the more complex fruit nuances shine even more. Enjoy the ice cold, refreshing qualities of this gin and Icewine Cocktail.

Shake all ingredients together with chopped ice and enjoy!

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Icewine Whiskey Cocktail

Icewine Whiskey Cocktail has two ingredients that we think of as yin and yang/male and female.

Together they create an astonishing flavour profile that astound both non Whiskey and non Icewine drinkers. When we’re not sipping some fine whiskey or Icewine neat or on the rock, we mix up cocktails that pack a serious punch. Whiskey is the king of classic cocktails, so we are thrilled to bring a new contender to the line up of great Whiskey Cocktails.

We combine equal parts of Canadian Whiskey and Northern Ice Vidal Icewine and add berries to garnish. We love how the smoky, smooth, warming burn of whiskey compliments the peach, honey notes of Northern Ice Vidal.

Freeze equal parts of water & Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine in round ice cube trays to make your Icewine Whiskey Cocktail sing! Add a strawberryfor garnish and dipping.

The word whisky (or whiskey) is an anglicisation of the Classical Gaelic word for “water”. Interestingly we see it as “fire” in this “fire” and “ice” cocktail. The early whisky was not allowed to age and tasted very strong and brutal compared to today’s versions. Over time whisky evolved into being enjoyed as a smooth, warming drink. Adding Icewine to whiskey makes it even smoother!

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