Alabama Slammer

1 ounce Southern Comfort

1 ounce amaretto

1/2 ounce sloe gin

dash of lemon juice

-Shake and strain.

Children's cherry flavored cough syrup.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Slow Comfortable Screw and Sloe Gin Fizz

My most recent trip to the liquor store (the one downtown that is kind of shady but easiest to get to) resulted in the purchase of two new items: Southern Comfort and Sloe Gin. SoCo I've had before, mostly in the form of SoCo and Lime shots over the summer. Is alright. Sloe gin, however, is a completely new experience. Despite the name, it's actually not gin at all but rather a liqueur made from slow berries. It looks all purply in the bottle but makes most drinks look pink. The bottle I have looks something like this:

As for the taste, it wasn't bad when I just had a tiny taste by itself. Pretty sweet and syrupy but I could imagine it tasting good when mixed with other things. Kind of like a naughty Italian Soda.

The first drink I had, the Slow Comfortable Screw, is first of all a ridiculous name for a drink and a member of that completely unhelpful category of drinks in my book: drinks with naughty names. I still don't understand how that is a useful category to a bartender. Anyway, the drink is so named because it is basically a screwdriver with Southern Comfort and sloe gin added. Cute, eh?

1 ounce vodka

3/4 ounce Southern Comfort

3/4 ounce sloe gin

4 ounces fresh orange juice

-Shake with cracked ice and strain into iced highball glass.

I found this similar to a Sex on the Beach - very fruity and girly. However, since the fruity flavor is achieved more through booze than juice in this drink, it doesn't have that freshness and lightness of SotB. It's almost too sweet like strawberry and grape soda.

The sloe gin fizz is basically another version of a collins, and is one of the few that actually tastes substantially different than the original. I found it okay, but again the sloe gin is a little too sweet for me and left me feeling that my drinking palate had developed a bit beyond sweet pink drinks with fizz.

2 ounces sloe gin

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

splash of simple syrup

soda water

-shake all ingredients well in cocktail shaker and strain into iced highball glass. Fill with soda water.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Long Island Iced Tea

I was really expecting to be completely shit faced after drinking this one -- it's known for having a much higher alcohol concentration than most highballs. I planned this one out so that I wouldn't be hungover at work, which turned out to be completely unnecessary. I wasn't even that buzzed, let alone drunk. But I wouldn't take my experience to heart: proceed with caution when ordering this one.

As to the actual taste, it was like the booze version of a graveyard. You know, when you mix all the sodas together at the soda fountain. I used to love, love that circa middle school and I'm not really sure why. Really bizarre, inexplicable taste. I don't really even know whether to recommend or not because I was left very confused.

3/4 ounce rum

3/4 ounce gin

3/4 ounce vodka

3/4 ounce tequila

3/4 ounce triple sec

1 ounce lemon juice

Cola

-Mix all ingredients in cocktail shaker except cola. Strain into iced highball glass and fill with cola.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

John Collins

Two posts in one day! How amazing am I? Please, in lieu of flowers and gifts, just make a donation to the charity of your choice ;-)

I have to draw your attention to the John Collins photo. Let me tell you, if there were John Collinses sitting elegantly in mountain streams, I would spend a lot more time hiking. I feel like someone took a Coors commercial and photoshop a cocktail in -- taste of the Rockies and all. Ridiculous.

As to the quality of the actual drink, my ability to judge is diminished because I did some sketchy substitution. My soda water was flat, so I borrowed some of my roommate's (sorry B). Would've been fine except that hers was Pomegranate flavored, which didn't mix with the bourbon at all. For other types of Collins, I think the pom would have been fine, but the stronger flavor of whiskey was just really odd and off-putting. If not for my blunder, I'm sure this would've been a good drink just like other Collins.

2 ounces bourbon

splash of simple syrup

juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

soda water

-Add to an iced highball glass, soda water last. Stir and serve.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Delilah

I don't really remember this drink much, but my notes say it was tasty -- imagine a lemon drop with gin instead of vodka. You got it. I'm trying really hard to catch up on writing these up since I forget them very quickly. I could just start making things up perhaps? This drink tasted like a jungle safari from the early 20th century viewed from onboard a spaceship millions of miles away and hundreds years in the future (since it would take a long time for the light to travel there...) by humans who secretly developed the technology to leave earth in the 1960s and who also have super telescopes that allow them to still observe the planet they left while sipping on a futuristic cocktail made from the tears of unicorns (spoiler alert: they exist!), stardust, and yoijno (couldn't even begin to explain that one). The delilah is the closest you'll ever get to this experience, unless you happen upon the time vortex.

ANYWAY, the cointreau is a little wasted in this drink, and I don't see any reason why subbing triple sec would hinder it in any way. Save yourself the money on that one. Otherwise, the only problem you might have is sounding like a sissy ordering this one in a bar: it just sounds like a girly drink in a way that a manhattan or an old fashioned never will.

2 ounces gin

1 ounce Cointreau

1 ounce lemon juice

-Stir with cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Sidecar

The sidecar is a classic that I've always wanted to order, but was always a little more than I wanted to spend. If you have the money, you should definitely go for it because it's a great drink.

The sidecar was my companion the other night as I watched Jonny Depp Jack the Ripper flick "From Hell." It was a good thing I was drinking something good because the movie was not. Jonny, you're pretty to look at and a good actor, but no. Honey, no. I'm sorry, but prostitutes in Victorian London did not look like this:

Age her by 25 years, yank out some of her teeth and infect her with any number of maladies and then maybe she would look like a 19th century Whitechapel resident. Seriously.

Umm...well that was a tiny rant that had nothing to do with the booze. Here's how you can survive mediocre (I won't use the term "bad") movies too!

1 1/2 ounce cognac or brandy

3/4 ounce Cointreau

Juice 1/4 lemon

-Shake in cocktail shake and strain into cocktail glass.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Leap Year

Ah finally! A good way to do the martini! I really enjoyed this one, and if you can get your hands on some Grand Marnier, I highly recommend it.

Unlike the apple martini or crantini, this one still maintains the basic ingredients of a martini: gin and vermouth. However, it adds Grand Marnier and a little bit of lemon, which makes absolutely all the difference. It's still a strong drink, but there's enough sweet and tart to make up for the bitter and herby.

1 1/2 ounces gin

1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

1/2 ounce Grand Marnier

Squeeze of lemon juice

-Stir over cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass.

In other news, I had a lovely night out! I went with some people to the First Friday Art walk and watch some short documentaries made by local filmmakers. Afterward, we went to Cafe Perugino and split a bottle of pinor noir while having a nice chat about books, movies, and commercials. Then off to the Speakeasy for beer, food and dancing to local music. All that and I was home before midnight!

Enjoy and bottoms up!

New Fashion

For some reason, google images has not heard of this lovely little cocktail, so you are graced with another picture of a lemon drop, a very similar drink.

This version basically gives the lemon drop back some of its "martininess" by adding a bit of sweet vermouth, making for a slightly less sweet drink. When I made it, I put a little too much lemon juice in as I'd just gotten a juicer for Christmas (thanks Mush!) and got carried away, which made the drink on the too tart side of delicious. Otherwise a splendid drink and one worth mixing up:

2 ounces lemon vodka

1/4 ounce sweet vermouth

splash of simple syrup

3/4 ounce lemon juice

-Shake gently with cracked ice in cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass.

So how were your holidays? Do any epic drinking (in either quantity or quality)?

Enjoy and bottoms up!

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!

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!

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!

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!

Tom Collins

Taking a break from reading from class ("Inferior temporal neurons show greater sensitivity to nonaccidental than to metric shape differences" don't ask me what that means), I'll write up a drink that has been in the subtext of several other entries. But first, the all important back story ;-)

Yesterday was a day of productivity: I submitted my Penn application and got Columbia ready but couldn't quite press the button yet. I ran and cleaned my room. Go me! On an unrelated gripe that suddenly hit me, what's happened to netflix?! Everything used to always be available, but suddenly quite a few things are on short waits and even a few on long or very long waits. Has anyone else experienced this? Boo.

Okay, so that was more of an outburst than a back story, but I'm a little all over the place right now. To continue my emphasis on pairings, I will tell you that a Tom Collins is alright with ramen, but not great. I should say, I always eat Top Ramen Oriental Flavor because it's vegan, s that's what I will always be referring to when I talk ramen.

The Tom Collins is also a drink that I have frequently when I go out to bars. I first heard of it through lovely Lesley as it was her drink of choice after doing some cocktail research. I didn't like them at first, but now I've come around and they always remind me of her ;-) Here's how you can become nostalgic as well:

2 ounces gin

splash of simple syrup

juice of 1/2 a lemon

soda water

-Combine simple syrup and lemon in an iced highball glass. Add gin and fill with soda water.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Apple Martini

So now we are on drinks that have happened since Halloween. But one last bit of business: I never revealed what my costume was! I was Queen Frostine from Candyland, and El was Princess Lolli while two of our other friends were Mr. Mint and one of the little kids. We're pretty genius, I know.

Anyway, so my apple martini did not have a floating flower in it. A shame really. It was also not nearly so bright green in color. In all honesty, I don't really remember it that well because it's been 5 or 6 days since I drank it, which tells you a bit about how life-changing it was. Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 ounces vodka (regular or apple flavored)

1/2 ounce apple liqueur

Splash of lemon juice

-Stir over cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass.

I seem to remember that this was just a very girly way to pretend to be drinking a martini. If you want to sound cool ordering a martini, but don't want the trouble of actually drinking something that tastes even vaguely like one, go with the apple martini.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Whiskey Sour

So, I'm a little behind in the world of blogging. I'm going to try really hard to write another entry later tonight to get caught up, but I am real real sleepy. We'll see.

As to the whiskey sour: I've had the much girlier vodka sour before so I had an idea of what to expect. And it was pretty much as sweet and easy to drink as I expected. Nothing palette expanding, but good for sure. This is something one could easily order at the bar and, I know many people who live by this drink.

2 ounces blended whiskey

1/2 ounce simple syrup

Juice of 1/2 a fresh lemon

-Shake with cracked ice strain into chilled cocktail glass.

I will admit that, like the above picture, I drank this one on the rocks. However, I did do the leg work of using fresh lemons instead of buying sour mix, and it's definitely worth it. Really, squeezing lemons isn't that difficult and you should really be doing it whenever a drink calls for lemon. Really, I promise it will be better.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Ward Eight

A Ward Eight is essentially a whiskey sour with grenadine added, which means I probably should have tried the whiskey sour first, but I didn't.

1 1/2 ounce blended whiskey

1/3 ounce simple syrup

Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

1/3 ounce grenadine

-Cocktail shaker w/cracked ice. Strain into cocktail glass.

This is another in the line of "didn't love but didn't hate" drinks. I think I would have put a little less grenadine in because it just seemed a little too syrupy, not light enough in consistency. I'm really still looking for the whiskey drink that knocks me off my feet (with deliciousness not drunkenness).

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Pedro Collins

I will admit that the above picture is actually a TOM Collins, but they look exactly the same. Expect to see the same photo again when I make a Tom Collins, haha.

His friend, Pedro:

2 ounces light rum

1/3 ounce simple syrup

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Soda water

-Put lemon, syrup, and rum into iced highball glass. Fill with soda water and garnish with lemon wedge.

This drink is so nice and refreshing! It would be great in the summer: light and crisp and bubbly. I highly recommend. There are many different versions of Collins, which I will make my way through. You can really substitute almost any liquor for the rum and it will be a delicious version of a Collins. Do it!

Enjoy and bottoms up!

New York Cocktail/Blizzard

So the above picture is not what either of these cocktails looks like at all. I couldn't find a decent looking picture, so I went with a cocktail IN New York as opposed to the cocktail OF New York. Don't be surprised if you order this at a bar and it is pink, on ice, and in a rocks glass. JSYK.

So yesterday was lovely and included a few of my favorite things: talking to a friend from NY, making yummy vegan steak and potatoes for me and the roommie, and watching Top Chef with El whilst drinking. Complete perfection.

The New York Cocktail is what I made for El to drink. Here's how she goes:

1 1/2 ounce blended whiskey

1/2 ounce simple syrup

Few dashes of grenadine

Juice of 1 lime

-Shake in cocktail shaker with cracked ice. Strain and serve over cracked ice.

I only had a sip of this one, so I can't give great detail on its deepest and darkest secrets. Basically, you can put an entire lime in almost anything and I'm happy. It seemed like a very girly way to do whiskey. Maybe I should go through and make a tag for girly drinks. Y/N?

And here's what I was drinking:

Blizzard:

1 1/2 ounce blended whiskey

1/2 ounce simple syrup

1 ounce cranberry juice

Juice of 1/4 fresh lemon

-Shake in cocktail shaker with cracked ice. Strain and serve over cracked ice.

This was an okay drink. I had no problem finishing it, but it was certainly nothing to write the folks at home about. It was about the color of cola dregs when you've let the ice melt down, so not terribly appealing. Not something I would go out of my way to order/make, but not something I would go out of my way to avoid.

Preview for tomorrow's entry: my first drink from the dessert's chapter, which comes from my ancestral land, Ireland, where recovering alcoholics are just quitters.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Champagne Punch

Yay! I got my first punch out of the way! I really feel like the punch chapter has the potential to ruin this whole project for me, unless I manage to get a full time job. Sad.

Anyway, I should say that the above picture is just A champagne punch and not THE champagne punch that I made. Mine being much less beautiful but probably just as tasty. Here's what you do:

4 ounces lemon juice

4 ounces pineapple juice

3 ounces grenadine

1 cup brandy

3 ounces triple sec

1 bottle white wine

2 bottles chilled champagne

-Combine everything except champagne over ice and stir. Add champagne just before serving.

In general this was good, but wasn't nearly as flavorful as I was expecting. I really thought there would be multiple layers of delicious, complex and surprising. I think it would have tasted pretty similar with just the wine, champagne, and triple sec.

I should say that I didn't drink all this punch alone: I brought it to a house warming party for El, and I am told people drank it completely. I wouldn't know because I'm an old lady who left at 9:00 to go home and sleep.

I did some more imbibing tonight, but I'm super super tired now, so I'll save that post for tomorrow.

Enjoy and bottoms up!