Things I Think Are Kinda Cool

Don’t let anyone tell you that summer is almost over. Put your fingers in your ears and scream “Na Na Na Na Na” until they shut up. Then make them this unbelievably delicious summer cocktail and I guarantee they’ll never speak those hideous words again.

Madames & Messieurs, Signore & Signori, Chicks & Dudes, please enjoy…

“The Riviera”

1. Add about 2 shots of Lillet Blanc to a glass filled with ice.  Lillet is a French apertif wine that’s fairly new to the US…and it’s très bon.

2. Add another 2 shots of Mionetto, my ultimate favorite Italian prosecco on the planet. It doesn’t get much better than this.

3. Fill the rest of the glass with Fresca, and garnish with orange and lime slices.

And…voila -

Follow it up with another Cocktail Creation…keep on drinking!

- Drunken Snowman
- El Misterio
- Bloody Demon
- Popsicle-tini
- Midnight Luxe Martini
- Summer Chiller

Best.  Bartender.  Ever.

Snomageddon, Snowpocalypse, SnOMG…whatever you want to call it, today was a good-old-fashioned Snow Day.  And nothing says Snow Day like a hot, delicious cocktail to warm your spirits and get you inebriated.

After much tipsy experimentation and careful consideration, I’d like to introduce you to…the Drunken Snowman.

Ingredients:
-Coffee
-Hot Chocolate
-Whiskey
-Cointreau
-Cinnamon
-Vanilla Extract
-Fresh Orange
-Honey
-Whipped Cream
-Dark Chocolate Bar
-Cherries

Directions:
- MUDDLE together fresh orange slices, honey, and cinnamon.

- BREW a cup of your favorite coffee and MAKE a cup of hot chocolate. POUR half the coffee and half the hot chocolate into a glass over some of the muddled Orange mixture

- ADD a shot of Whiskey

- ADD a shot of Cointreau

- SPRINKLE some Cinnamon

- TOP with a generous amount of Whipped Cream (did you know there’s a Non-Fat Reddi-Whip…awww, yeah – be generous…)

- MELT half a bar of Dark Chocolate in the microwave and DRIZZLE on top of the Whipped Cream

- ADD a few Cherries

- Sit back, watch the blizzard out your window, and ENJOY…

***Still thirsty?  Try another Cocktail Creation:
- El Misterio
- Bloody Demon
- Popsicletini
- Midnight Luxe Martini
- Summer Chiller

A few nights ago, the lovely Twanna (aka Funky Brown Chick), trekked her beautiful self to the West Village and joined me for the latest Cocktail Creation session. The only criteria we had to follow was that the drink needed to include tequila. I’m not an expert tequila drinker (like I am with vodka), so this was truly a trial-and-error experiment. (And let’s just say that Twanna and I did A LOT of experimenting…and laughing…through the process.) After she arrived, I pulled out all the alcohol and mixers I had in my kitchen – we rolled up our proverbial sleeves and got to work. We started by creating several different shots and ranked them on qualities like overall taste, uniqueness, and strength. The combo which won over our hearts and livers was then upgraded to a full-on cocktail.

Please allow me to introduce to you… EL MISTERIO

* Into a cocktail shaker packed with ice, add the following (this will make 3-4 drinks)

- 4 shots tequila (we used Patron Silver)
- 3 shots rum (we used Captain Morgan)
- 2 shots St. Germain elderflower liqueur
- 6 shots iced tea

* Do your best Tom-Cruise-from-”Cocktail” impression and shake it up
* Pour into a chilled martini glass and ENJOY!

FYI, these are the other combos that we tried, along with their ratings:

- tequila / elderflower / orange juice = 6/10
- tequila / iced tea / lemonade = 8/10
- tequila / sparkling water / fruit punch = 4/10
- tequila / iced tea / orange juice = 5/10
- tequila / rum / sparkling water / elderflower = 8/10
- tequila / rum / fruit punch / elderflower = 5/10

—–

***Want another drink? Try one of my other cocktail creations:
- Bloody Demon
- Popsicletini
- Midnight Luxe
- Summer Chiller

HAPPY BLOODY MARY DAY!!!  Quick history lesson:  76 years ago, French bartender Fernand Petiot invented the deliciously simple drink (originally called the Red Snapper) with vodka, tomato juice, and a hint of Tabasco sauce.  Years later, he packed up his life and his drink recipes and moved to NYC, landing a job at the St. Regis hotel.  The Red Snapper was then renamed Bloody Mary, in honor of actress Mary Pickford.

Since then, countless variations on the recipe have been invented and sold at bars around the world.  I’ve sampled hundreds of them throughout the years, but I wanted to get in on the action and create my own version that satisfies me 100%.  It was a long, arduous, drunken process – but I couldn’t be happier with the result.

First, a bit about the process – I wanted to be a slave to my tastebuds and not be limited in any way.  So, I bought every single ingredient I could think of to experiment with.  There was only one requirement…it had to be vodka-based.  Here’s what I had to work with (don’t worry, you won’t be using all these ingredients):

-Tomato juice
-Bloody Mary mix
-Horseradish
-Worcestershire sauce
-Hot sauce
-General Tso’s sauce
-Bleu cheese stuffed olives
-White truffle extra virgin olive oil
-Baby corn
-Sweet grape tomatoes
-Dried chipotle peppers
-Seranno peppers (finger peppers)
-Pepperoncini
-Baby dill pickles (cornichons)
-Capers
-Fresh dill
-Lemon
-Lime
-Fresh garlic
-Garlic powder
-Cumin powder
-Crumbled gorgonzola cheese
-Artichoke lemon pesto spread
-Peppercorns
-Beef jerky sticks (classy, I know)

After countless hours of mixing, matching, and majorly drinking:  the BLOODY DEMON:

1.  FILL half the glass with tomato juice

2.  POUR 2 (or 3) shots of Vodka (I’m still into Svedka these days)

3.  FILL the rest of the glass with sparkling water (this helps dilute the tomato juice, and it also adds a nice effervescent kick to the mix)

4.  ADD a heaping tablespoon of horse radish (awww, yeah!)

5.  ADD a tablespoon of hot sauce

6.  ADD a heaping teaspoon of garlic powder

7.  CUT a finger pepper into inch-long pieces, MUDDLE (to release the spiciness), & ADD

8.  SQUEEZE half a fresh lime into the glass

9.  GRIND some fresh peppercorns and ADD

10.  ADD a hint of white truffle extra virgin olive oil (literally, you only want to add 3 drops, otherwise it will overpower the rest of the drink.  It’s amazing, and a key ingredient, but don’t go overboard.  Trust me.)

11.  STIR vigorously

12.  GRIND some more fresh peppercorns and ADD

13.  GARNISH with a lemon slice

***You’re not done yet.  Instead of just adding a boring celery stalk or sliced pepper, I like to cut off bite-size pieces of treats and stick them on my favorite bar embellishment (and I’m not afraid to say it):  the Cocktail Umbrella!

14.  PREPARE your Cocktail Umbrella by adding the following on the umbrella’s stick (like a shish kabob).  Every bite is a new taste sensation:
- Pepperoncini
- Cornichon
- Grape tomato
- Bleu cheese stuffed olive
- Piece of beef jerky stick
- Baby corn

15.  ADD the umbrella to your drink

16.  RAISE YOUR GLASS and toast Fernand Petiot for inventing the original Bloody 76 years ago…

17.  DRINK your BLOODY DEMON! Enjoy!

And don’t forget to try one of my other cocktail creations:
- Popsicletini
- Midnight Luxe Martini
- Summer Chiller

It’s time for another Cocktail Creation…this one is extremely simple, and is absolutely perfect for a hot and muggy summer day.

Please allow me to introduce you to…the POPSICLETINI

1.  POUR 2 shots of Vodka (or 3 if you’re feeling wild) into a glass with ice

2.  FILL the glass with sparkling water (you don’t need to go crazy with a high-end brand…Poland Spring sparkling water is just as good)

3.  ADD your favorite popsicle and GARNISH with fresh mint.  (If you’re counting calories and carbs, there are some delicious sugar-free popsicles out there).  As you drink your cocktail, the popsicle will begin to melt, adding fruity goodness to the drink.

4.  EAT the vodka-soaked popsicle and then go ahead and make yourself a second drink!  Enjoy…

Still thirsty?
Try one of my previous Cocktail Creations:  the Summer Chiller & the Midnight Luxe…

My new hero, Angelo Cammarata, holds the official Guinness Record as the world’s longest-serving bartender. And after 77 years of making drinks behind his bar in Pittsburgh, 95 year-old Angelo is ready to retire. His bar, Cammarata’s, was sold and the new owners will be taking over in just a few short weeks. The new owners asked him to stay on, but he decided it was time to take care of his wife Marietta full-time. Angelo actually started selling beer out of his father’s grocery store at 12:01 AM April 7th, 1933, the exact moment Prohibition officially ended. Decades later, he continues to pour drinks daily for a few hours, and considers himself an old-school bartender (not a fancy mixologist). He even still has his drink of choice each day – a Jim Beam bourbon and coke. I raise my glass to you, Angelo – congrats, and cheers!

-Via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A few nights ago, I found divine inspiration from the Cocktail Gods and started experimenting on a new drink. It was late, and I wanted something dark, sweet, and exotic…something that would call to mind an Italian piazza late at night – after rummaging through my bar-cupboard, I stumbled upon the holy grail…limoncello! I suddenly realized that I had a half-finished ice coffee from Roasting Plant in the fridge. Then I remembered that there was a flask of Van Gogh Double Expresso Vodka in the freezer. The sea parted, the angels sang…it was heavenly, and devilish at the same time.

Here it is – the MIDNIGHT LUXE MARTINI. Enjoy…

1. SHAKE these up in a cocktail shaker filled with ice
-4 shots of Van Gogh Double Expresso Vodka
-2 shots of Limoncello
-Fill the rest of the shaker with your favorite iced coffee

2. POUR into a martini glass

3. SCOOP some of your favorite vanilla yogurt onto the side of the glass.

4. GARNISH with a piece of a Twix bar. As you drink the martini, feel free to dip the Twix bar into the glass…soak up some of the drink, and get some of that delicious yogurt on there too. Mmmm…

5. DRINK…and make your night a bit more luxe…

There’s nothing I like more than a refreshing cocktail – so many bars are popping up in NYC that push the boundaries with their drink menus. I love a bar or lounge with a detailed cocktail menu that mixes unusual ingredients and takes some risks. Some of my faves in NYC are Apothoke, Pegu Club, and Little Branch – not only are their cocktail menus unique and exciting, the wait staff and bartenders are all attitude-free and welcoming. The technical term for the crop of bartenders who treat their creations like delicious science experiments is “mixologists” – I personally think the term is a bit overused and has become a marketing ploy, but the workers at the bars I’ve mentioned above are definitely much more than simple pour-and-serve bartenders.

This brings us to the first in the series of “Cocktail Creation” posts that I’ll be doing. I absolutely love coming up with my own delicious science experiments. I am, by no means, a mixologist – I don’t measure anything, and I don’t do any advance research. I just throw things together that I like and hope for the best.

So, without further adieu – THE SUMMER CHILLER -

1. SHAKE these up in a cocktail shaker filled with ice
-2 shots of St. Germain Elderflower liqueur
-2 shots of Vodka (I’ve been on a Svedka kick lately)

2. POUR over ice and ADD some sparkling water

3. SCOOP some of your favorite lemon sorbet on top

4. SQUEEZE some lemon juice into the drink

5. GO OUTSIDE into the sun and DRINK