Try these cocktails at your next dinner party

Back in the fall, I gave you two cocktail recipes that came from our wine dinner group, one to start the dinner with, and one to finish. I’ve gotten several e-mails from folks who tried them, liked them and asked for more.

This week, we once again have two, one preand one postprandial.

The first was also served as the starter for our wine dinner group. Months ago, I picked up a bottle of saffron gin from France at a liquor store in another city. It sat in our liquor cabinet because I didn’t know what to do with it. When my turn came around for a starter cocktail for our wine dinner group, I took a sample of the gin to my favorite bartender, Chris Ferri at Southward. He came up with an excellent idea: a honeydew melon gin fizz.

The saffron gin isn’t widely available, but this drink would be equally delicious with regular gin. I know there are those who think they don’t like gin, but nobody in our group complained. Give this a try before you automatically switch to vodka, as another non- gin-loving friend (who hadn’t tasted it yet) suggested.

The dessert drink came from a visit to Louisville with my sister. That’s home for us, and we try to get back once in a while. We have a friend, chef Dallas McGarity of the excellent Marketplace at Theater Square, who lets us know where we need to dine (other than his restaurant) while we’re there.

This time, he directed us to The Place Downstairs. It hasn’t been open long but already has quite a reputation. We had an excellent dinner. When we were finished, we still wanted to chat a bit but didn’t want to tie up a table on a busy evening. We adjourned to the lounge for a decaf French press coffee. The restaurant manager, Ricky Moir, treated us to a Bourbon Ball Coffee.

The bourbon ball is a popular candy-type confection in Kentucky, and lots will be served at Derby parties over the next few weeks. The coffee had all the right flavors: bourbon, of course, whipped creamflavored vodka and dark crème de cacao, and a fluff of whipped cream on top.

This was served in a large “café au lait”-size cup, and the recipe is geared toward that. That’s a lot of alcohol, so I served it to my guests in cappuccino cups, so that the recipe above made two servings. That would be your call. Alyce Mantia Price blogs about food at mantias.blogspot.com. You may reach her at alycem@ msn.com.