Lemon Drop

Another drink with friends! I had a few people over on Saturday night, and I played bartender even setting up a legit bar area and making a menu. Most of the drinks on the menu I had already made before at some point, but the lemon drop was an addition since I now have lemon vodka.

I had one first, then an amiga did, and we both really enjoyed it. I've had lemon drops at bars a couple times before, and they have always been too sweet. Syrupy even. But homemade with fresh lemons this drink is something to be reckoned with.

1 1/2 ounce lemon vodka

3/4 ounce lemon juice

splash of simple syrup

-Stir over cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass.

I'll also say that my new glassware makes drinking look so much classier. Thanks mom and dad ;-)

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Gin and It

I drank this "cousin" of the martini (more like identical twin, I'd say) with a few of my friends, and it was variously described as tasting like "cough medicine" "herby" and "something you might clean floors with." Apt on all counts.

One of us only kept drinking it because she would forget how awful it tasted and go in for another. By the end, I didn't totally hate it, but I'm pretty sure that's just because my taste buds were drunk and making poor decisions. Here's what you do:

1 1/2 ounce gin

1 1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

-Stir over cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass. Add dash of bitters if desired.

In other news, I got glassware for Christmas! As well as some additional bottles for my bar, including small bottles of cognac and Grand Marnier and larger bottles of lemon vodka and amaretto!

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Vodka Collins

Pretty much just see any other collins because they more or less taste the same. Or, at least, I have the same general reaction: simple, refreshing. Make or order at your local bar to find out.

I don't have my book with me now, so for the recipe, look at another collins entry and sub vodka for the alcohol.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Matador

We have a winner! The matador is one glass of complete delicious and gets four thumbs way up (I shared this one with an amiga)! It's definitely tropical and girly, but why does that have to be a diss? 'This drink actually tastes good, must be for light weights!' Bah, I like it.

I have to admit that I've been a very bad blogger of late, but I've still been doing the drinking, so I'll catch up eventually. I've had some friends back in town, some of my friends who actually drink, so I've had a chance to re-make some drinks of the past, and even did a bit (very small bit) of mixology. Masha was adorably impressed with my cocktail shaker, a I love her for it ;-)

Now I'll spend the next couple days immersed in Christmas prep at my parents' house, and hopefully catching up on a couple drinks I've yet to post about. Hope everyone's having a great holiday!

2 ounces tequila

1 ounce lime juice

4 ounces pineapple juice

splash of simple syrup

-Shake ingredients in cocktail shaker and strain into iced highball glass.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Tequila Sunrise

I've not been writing here for the past couple of days because I've been S-I-C-K. I actually drank the tequila sunrise quite a bit ago, right as I was heading down for the count (and not on account of the tequila). I don't even remember very well what it tasted like, just that my throat was sore so I didn't want to swallow it.

On the cocktail project more generally, 1) I'm a little unenthused these days which is leading to 2) bad bartending. I've become such a poor pour that I often end up with a significant portion of the booze on the counter. I'm also a little tired of just making drinks for just myself, so hopefully having people back during the break will reinvigorate me!

Well, the roomie and I are putting up the Christmas tree tonight finally, so that should be yay! Happy holidays!

1 1/2 ounce tequila

6 ounces orange juice

1/2 ounce grenadine

-add tequila and orange juice to iced highball glass. Float grenadine.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

French 75

At the very beginning of this project, nay BEFORE this project even began, I flipped through my recipe book and saw this little gem. I saw it and knew deep within my heart that it was going to be the best drink ever. I looked forward to the day when I would have all the necessary ingredients and I would be able to have my first taste of what I was sure would be my cocktail life partner. Well last night, the universe aligned and...

...I was a bit disappointed to be honest. Part of the problem was that I used Brut champagne instead of Extra dry like the directions say. Oops! But the bigger problem was that it was too lemony, which I suppose is an easy fix for next time, but I still don't know if the French 75 would be quite the drink I had imagined. It just sounded so luxe on paper and tasted a little meh in real life.

Based on some minimal reading online (usually I like to pretend that I'm the first person who's ever thought to make a cocktail blog and ignore all others except when stealing images), I found that this is usually made with gin instead of brandy, but my book lists that as a champagne collins. I like my books version better: more variations, more betterer.

1 1/2 ounce brandy

1/2 ounce simple syrup

1 ounce lemon (don't use this much!)

Extra dry champagne

-add simple syrup and lemon to iced highball glass, then add brandy. Fill with champagne and stir gently.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Frozen Margarita

Boo, this was a blending failure for me. I've really had mixed results with my blended drinks (the strawberry daiquiri being my highest achievement), and I can't figure out what I do wrong sometimes. I guess I'll have to have people over during break and practice a bit more ;-)

I actually had this one two nights ago after doing who knows what. I can't remember back a whole 48 hours! Last night I stayed at my parents' house and helped them host a party for my mom's work. Basically, I made a pizza that I couldn't eat (salami and roasted peppers with goat cheese) and mulled wine. I was kind of hoping my parents would offer the rum to me after the party (they're not big hard liquor drinkers), but no. I've just got a little bit left too, and I'm getting rather low on gin and whiskey as well. Yikes!

ANYWAY, the frozen marg is the same as the basic marg except you add 4-5 ice cubes and blend it. Have fun with that: I hope you do better than I.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Medium Martini

Ugh, it's official: I don't like martinis. Vodka martinis are only marginally offensive, but proper gin martinis are terrible. I don't know why anyone would choose to drink this if it weren't part of a year-long cocktail project.

I had this one after watching the Ducks beat the Beavers to go to the Rose Bowl!!! I was also celebrating my first day of training for my new job!! However, every time I took a sip, I made a reflexive "ick" face and it left a really bad taste in the back of my throat. I still have several versions of the classic martini to go, and I'm not particularly looking forward to it.

What I am looking forward to: people coming back for winter break! First up? Game night at my parents' house among their Christmas decor!

2 ounces gin

1/2 ounce dry vermouth

1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

-Stir over cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Blue Margarita

The blue margarita is kind of a silly drink. It basically tastes like a margarita except that it's blue. Does what it says on the tin? Warning: will leave your tongue stained!

1 1/2 ounce tequila

1/2 ounce blue curacao

3/4 ounce lime juice

-Shake over cracked ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into an iced highball glass.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Gin Buck

Oh, yesterday! I was in a really mopey mood so I spent the whole day sitting around watching Ally McBeal and eating massive quantities of food (chocolate chips out of the bag). It was also family portrait day, so I went over to the padres' house for a bit: I'm expecting some new entries for Awkward Family Photo. After all that, I came home, did some reading, and watched Popular, the teen melodrama that puts all others to shame. I was drinking this bit of yummy while we watched.

It was good, but I put a little too much lemon in. It was fine in the beginning, but by the end, I was making strange noises after each sip. The sad thing is, I've been living alone for so long that I made these noises without noticing or explaining, despite my roommate's presence. Sigh, oh me. Here's to learning what it's like to be around people again!

1 1/2 ounce gin

ginger ale

lemon juice

-Add gin to an iced highball glass, fill with ginger ale and add a splash of lemon juice.

Enjoy and bottoms up!