The 4th of July is the apex for summer parties here in the States. Barbecues, beergaritas, fireworks; and of course, the red, white and blue. Since tomorrow is Independence Day, and we’ve been doing so well with layered shots recently, we felt it was a good time to break out the Red White and Blue Shot. This pousse-cafe style shooter is the most common red, white, and blue drink that I know of, so let’s go over how to make it.
There are only a few drinks that capture the essence of the Southern United States: sweet tea, the Sazerac, and the Mint Julep. The ritual of preparing and consuming the Mint Julep is built into the drink itself. Drinking a Mint Julep is the diametric opposite of pounding a line of Jager Bombs at the bar. The julep is a sippin’ drink, and of course, it is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby, but much more on that in a minute.
Tearing through bars and watering holes like the wind of God, it’s the Kamikaze shot! The Kamikaze combines vodka, triple sec, and lime juice to make a shooter that everyone loves.
One scorching Friday night this June, my best friend and I were sitting on my front porch having our normal discussion of our crappy week. I had managed to get lost going to see the dentist that day, and I was in tears. My dentist had to walk over to the next parking lot and jump in my truck to rescue me from being lost. (What dentist does that? Thank you!) Back to the front porch: I had come up with a brilliant plan out of the clear blue sky, to head to Sutter Creek, in Amador County, the following day. I said it would be an adventure; we could go get lost together since the women in my family are so directionally dysfunctional. Did I mention my best friend is also my cousin? We planned on browsing the shops in this sleepy gold country town, and hitting some of the wine tasting stops.
The Mojito is one drink that conjures up images of laying on a beach, drink in hand, and not a care in the world. This rum based cocktail is the official alcoholic beverage of Cuba, and is one of the most popular drinks in bars all over the world. Like any truly great drink, it has a whole history of conjecture and lore centered around its origin. After all, who wouldn’t want to take credit for creating a drink as amazing as the Mojito? So grab your bar tools and your rum and let’s get to making some Mojitos!
Summer is almost here, and it’s time to unwind with the most popular tequila drink in America. Of course, I’m talking about the Margarita. Today, there are almost as many varieties of Margaritas as there are grains of sand on the beach, but for now we’ll simply examine the original Margarita on the Rocks recipe. All derivative margarita recipes come from this one, so this is a good cocktail recipe to understand. After the recipe, we’ll delve into the heated discussion about who exactly first created the Margarita, and when.
Recently, I was scouring the Internet for recipes for Apple Pie Cocktail, or at least something similar. There turned out to be a ton of drink recipes that were nothing at all alike. Before I finally came up with a concoction that satisfied my original quest, I started experimenting with some of the liquors and mixers I had compiled into a list of potential ingredients. What I accidentally came up with is a brand new drink that I am now dubbing the Sacramento Cider. This mixed drink tastes just like an alcoholic version of mulled cider, and I’m excited to share our Sacramento Cider recipe with you today.
