Gin Rickey

If you know what a gin rickey is, and you've been reading my blog, you probably can guess that I would like it. I love lime. I love soda water. I actually even love gin these days. It's another in a line of really refreshing but also really generic cocktails. Not so much different than a collins really, but still good. I can picture drinking this one outside on a hot day. Here's how it goes:

1 1/2 ounce gin

1/2 ounce lime juice

soda water

-Put gin and lime in iced highball glass, fill with soda water.

After having a few sips, I decided to do a bit of very amateur mixology to make it a little more exciting. I add just a splash of peach schnapps, and it was a nice little something extra. Add a little more interest to the situation. If you, like me, only have poor quality peach schnapps, I would be very very careful to only add a splash.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Saketini

This wasn't only my first saketini, it was my first time trying sake! I don't really know that much about sake, only that it's a rice wine from Japan. I went with the one that had the cutest bottle, haha. It went something like this:

The smell of it reminded me of beer at first, like halfway between between white wine and beer. It's really nice actually and am drinking it alone right now. In combination with the gin, it mostly tasted like the gin, but with a little smoother element. The sake takes away some of the alcohol's bite while leaving the spiciness. Pretty good.

1 1/2 ounce gin

1/4 ounce sake

-Stir over cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Orange Blossom

So, do you remember that time I made a screwdriver? Do you remember how I fresh squeezed the orange juice to make it extra spectacular but how it turned out really bland and unremarkable? Well, that didn't happen this time! I squeezed my own orange juice from valencia oranges at Market of Choice and there were fireworks!

This is still a pretty basic drink, but you can never underestimate the power of a simple drink made well, and I think I did it this time! Here's how you can too!

2 ounces gin

1 1/2 ounce orange juice

splash of simple syrup

-Stir with cracked ice and pour into chilled cocktail glass.

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!

Cranberry Collins

Really crazypants busy this week, so here's the gist: thumbs up. Good drink. Recipe:

1 1/2 ounce gin

1/2 ounce cranberry juice

1 ounce lime juice

Club soda

-Mix first three ingredient in highball glass with cracked ice. Fill with soda.

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Martini Royale

Part II of my Halloween drinking shenanigans: a martini with gin and champagne. Now, I haven't yet had a classic gin martini (only vodka martinis), so I can't specifically speak to how this version departs from the classic in flavor. I will say that I couldn't taste the champagne too much and it tasted almost entirely of gin for me; however, I have learned to like gin quite a bit making this one a nice experience. Strong though.

2 ounces gin

champagne

-Pour gin in cocktail glass and fill with champagne.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a third installment of Halloween drinking! I will be making the big reveal as to what my costume was! (For those of you who don't know already)

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Champagne Cocktail

I hope everyone had a fab Halloween! I'll be spending the next couple days telling you about the drinks that I had on that spookiest of nights -- all the drinks I made myself that is: I don't think you need an explanation for Bud Light at a college house party. I will say that all of these drinks were consumed while I watched the Oregon Ducks CREAM the USC Trojans! EPIC!

Here's the recipe for the first drink of the late afternoon/early evening (you're allowed to drink before 5:00 on game day, it's a rule):

champagne

sugar

bitters

-place about 1/4 tsp of sugar at the bottom of a champagne flute and saturate with bitters, fill with champagne.

This is a really nice and yummy drink, but not so much different than just drink champagne solo. If you have the other ingredients around, do it. If not, don't spend the extra money because the champagne alone should be fine.

Enjoy and bottoms up!