Welcoming 2012

As New Years Eve approaches and we all start preparing for a night of debauchery that we leave in the past year and a hangover we'll remember until the next one. I am a big fan of the old school traditional new years eve, usually involving the following: sparkles, dresses, heels, and drinks you'll only ever order on that night. Take full advantage of that open bar, whever you are, and do yourself a favor... order the traditional drinks done right. When was the last time you ordered or made yourself a gin martini? Enjoy one and feel oh-so-extra fancy in those new heels :)

 

 

 

Traditional Gin Martini

 

Pour a little bit of Dry Vermouth in a chilled martini glass, swirl it around so as to coat the glass with the Vermouth. Pour any excess inside a shaker.

Have the shaker about half full of ice. Pour in two ounces of the gin of your choice and swirl or stir gently before straining into your martini glass, do yourself a favor and DO NOT SHAKE. Garnish with an olive or lemon twist and feel so extra fancy.

(Note, if you prefer a vodka over gin, just substitute for a traditional martini)

 

 

Traditional Cosmopolitan

 

Combine in shaker full of ice:

 

1.5oz of Vodka

.5oz Triple Sec

splash of lime juice

slapsh of cranberry juice

 

shakeshakeshakeshake, strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a lime on the rim.

 

 

Traditional Manhattan

(a Slavin family favorite)

 

2oz of Rye Whiskey (Segrams VO, Canadian Club, Bulliet Special, Wild Turkey, etc.I personally like Bulliet)

1.5oz of Sweet Vermouth

2-3 dashes of bitters

garnish with a cherry

 

Combine ingredients into your shaker, stir, strain and garnish. Another DO NOT SHAKE.

 

 

And finally, to have some fun and celebrate 2012, which is not only the year the world ends, but more importantly, a leap year, welcome it with this drink

 

 

The Leap Year

 

2oz of Gin

1/2oz sweet vermouth

1/2oz Grand Marnier orange liquor

squeeze of lemon

 

Combine in a shaker, stir and strain. Garnish with a lemon twist.

 

 

 

 

Raise your glass for an exciting and wonderful New Year!!

Things to keep you extra warm

Some of us grew up without the awesomeness that is a fireplace during the cold winter months. And many of us like to turn to whisky to keep those chilly bones warm. How, you ask, can we get the best of both worlds? A friend asked me to explore the wonderful new world of cinnamon flavored whisky, and boy is it fun! If you're looking to try this type of whisky, I would recommend Fireball Whisky. I know Southern Comfort just came out with a Tobasco flavored liquor, but I wouldn't try these drinks with that. The flavors would probably not cross over well.

Remember a few posts ago I made my version of a hottie toddy, the sleepy toddy? good news, you can make an even more fun version with cinnamon whisky!

Spicy Toddy

1.5 oz Fireball
fill the rest of your mug with hot water
1 teaspoon of honey
squeeze of some fresh lemon juice
a few cloves
and a cinnamon stick.

ohh yes! you can even make a very dangerous coffee drink

Cafe Risque

1.5oz Fireball
.5oz raspberry liquor
squeeze of chocolate
fill with coffee
top with whipped cream and melt into that couch.

and for those of us still enjoying cider-type drinks, here's a yummy way to add some spice

Spice Cider

1oz Fireball
1oz Sweet Tea Flavored Vodka
1oz Apple Schnapps
Fill with soda
garnish with a lemon

And finally, a bar favorite...

Dead Nazi #2

.5oz Fireball
.6oz Jagermeister

Tastes like college.

Your Holiday Drink Guide

Tis the season for wonderfully flavorful drinks! I find the most fun in creating yummy drinks to keep you warm on the chilly winter evenings. I'll keep the chatting part down, the important part is the drinks!

My personal favorite. One time Harrison and I were alone at the bar, I was working and he was visiting and we wanted to make a festive drink. Little did I know this was actually a pretty popular drink! We started with just the vodka, peppermint liquor and milk, but decided it needed a little lightness to it and added the sprite and grenadine.

Candy Cane

.5 oz Vodka
1.5oz Rumple Minze (or any peppermint flavored liquor)
Milk
splash of Sprite
splash of Grenadine

Make sure you stir or shake this drink due to the milk content. But serve on ice.

Something about the touches of grenadine and sprite will literally remind you of the red coating on the candy cane. So perfect for the holidays!


Chocolate Mint Eggnog


A friend asked advice on some yummy eggnog recipes. Now, I prefer not to make eggnog at home, I think Wawa makes the perfect version of it. However, sometimes you can make it more delicious than just adding rum.

1 oz of your new Peppermint infused vodka (remember, from the last entry?) Or, like before, any peppermint flavored liquor
Eggnog to fill
and a nice helping of Hershey's Chocolate Syrup.

Oh yeah, deliciousness!

Peppermint Hot Chocolate


Our little indulgence tonight.

Warm up 8oz of milk (or rice, help, almond milk if you are a vegan household) with 4 tablespoons of hot chocolate mix. We chose Ghirardelli's double hot chocolate mix, oh it is sooo delicious.

stir while warming, and add 1.5oz of your new peppermint infused vodka to your mugs. Pour hot chocolate in and enjoy. It is enough to make you taste the peppermint, but not enough to struggle through a heavy drink. And oh-so scrumptious.

Peppermint Patty


Rim your shot glass in chocolate syrup
chill and pour your peppermint infused vodka into shot glass
lick and drink!

You could even put an additional squirt of syrup in the bottom of the glass for an added treat. I owe half of this one to Bridget. We tested it the other night with just the syrup in the bottom of the glass, but you still have the harsh taste of vodka. The rim of the glass helps make the shot actually enjoyable.

Peppermint Mocha


1oz Peppermint Infused Vodka
1oz Pinnacle Double Espresso Liquor
.5oz Godiva Chocolate Liquor (Or any chocolate flavored alcohol)
Add milk, shake and strain into martini glass. Prior to serving, you can have some fun with the chocolate syrup and add a design to your glass like you see in the magazines. The more chocolate the better, right?



These are just some of my favorites. I am actually enjoying the flavor of the infused vodka over any schnapps or flavored liquor because it's less sugar and thus making it taste more like peppermint rather than a peppermint flavoring, if that makes any sense. Plus, it really is just fun to pour out of a mason jar!



Here's hoping we get snow pretty soon!