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Any better I couldn't stand him

One thing I definitely remember from last year's cocktail party was that it was hard to man the door, the bar and the kitchen (even with the help of my mother and step-father). So, this year, we've pressed Bob into service as a co-host. This weekend he and I did a little shopping at all the frou-frou gourmet stores, and then spent some time back at our place working on logistics -- like the all important cocktail recipes!

We'll be keeping last year's two most popular cocktails, the Moscow Yule and the Cranberry-Lime Sparkler, although this year each has been enhanced with some proprietary, top secret ingredients.

To complement these, we'd like to come up with a couple companion cocktails that can be served straight-up in a martini glass. One red and one green would be cool. I'd also like to do something with gin. I like gin and I think more people would also if they had it in the right cocktail, plus it has a scent and flavor that I think seems wintery (juniper berries). We also try to come up with recipes that can be made weak and still taste interesting, so people can try several without over-indulging.

I began by experimenting with the "red" drink, trying for something unique. I made something sort of along the lines of a Cosmopolitan, although its "upside down" and uses some of the flavors I had in the cocktails at Cyrus. Everyone agreed I came up with something pretty good: I don't want to give away the ingredients yet, but flavors of orange, pomegranate and mint are all in there. I continue to tinker with it nightly. We still need to come up with a good name for it (open to suggestions).

I (the gin drinker) then moved on to try something gin-based and "green". I made several different gawdawful concotions using various combinations of homemade rosemary syrup, fresh mint, lime, cranberry, lavender, and even Chartreuse (big mistake!)... and finally gave up to make dinner. Bob (the non-gin drinker) stepped up to the bar and knocked some things around for about 10 seconds and then said, "Hey this is pretty good!" And indeed it was. This week he's continuing to tinker with some homemade infusions to try and enhance it. Again, I won't give the ingredients away yet, but its got gin, a hint of mint (any more ruins it), lime and a very special secret ingredient. We've tossed around a few names for this one: Gin-gle Bells (my favorite), Minter Wonderland, Any Mintier I Couldn't Stand It.