Pearadise

Anissa came up with this great name in our contest, and we love it because when you drink it, you really feel like you are in paradise!

1 part Pear Vodka
2 parts home made Pear Nectar
1 part store bought Pear Nectar
1 part Vanilla Liqueur
1 fresh Lime
Lemon Juice
Chocolate Syrup (optional)

This one does take a while but it is well worth it! We took about 8 pears, cored and diced them and put them in a pan with one teaspoon of lemon juice for each pear. Pears that are overripe work the best. Heat them on medium and as they soften, gently mash them up until it all looks like apple sauce.Bit by bit, take some of the pear mixture and push through a sieve into a bowl, not forgetting to scrape the underside of the sieve as a lot of it gets caught there. What you will be left with in the bowl is perfect pear nectar! But it is extremely thick, so we purchased some organic pear nectar from Raley's and added a little of that to thin it out but retain the pear flavor. We also added Van Gogh vanilla liqueur to the pear mixture to allow it to absorb. Let this mixture chill overnight in the fridge in a sealed glass container.

When you are ready to make the martini, put ice in your shaker, add the vodka (we prefer Grey Goose La Poire Vodka but Absolut also make a pear vodka too), the pear nectar and squeeze the juice of half a fresh lime. Shake, shake, shake!!

Rim your glasses with Stirrings pear rimmer and add some chocolate syrup to the bottom of your glass. Pour your pear martini into the glass and watch it mix with the chocolate syrup to give you a beautiful chocolate pear martini. This drink can also be enjoyed without the chocolate syrup if you just fancy a plain pear martini, but we like the chocolate version the best!

Add a very thin slice of pear to the top of the glass for decoration and sit back and relax. You are now in Pearadise!