Flamingo Cocktail

Hey, so I'm back but with the sad news that my project is definitely not getting done on time (or on budget). I have 64 drinks to get through in 79 days, which means I have to have a new recipe every 1.2 days. My wallet simply cannot handle that unless someone cares to donate any of the following:

Chartreuse liqueur

Pernod

Galliano

Chambord

Benedictine

Cordial Medoc

Fangelico

Black Sambuca

Kümmel

Pimm's No. 1

Midori

It doesn't hurt to put it out there, does it?

Well, now we're back in the boat where I had this drink so long ago that I don't remember much about it. I know that the apricot brandy I bought had the most 70s-looking label I've ever seen (brand = Mr. Boston if you want to google). I think I was drinking it while watching either Skins or Bones (ha!) towards the end of my apartment living experience about 6 weeks ago. I seem to remember not hating it, but not being inspired by it. Take that for what it is.

1 1/4 ounce gin

1/2 ounce apricot brandy

dash of grenadine

juice of 1/2 a fresh lime

-Cocktail shaker it up and pour into cocktail glass. Ta da!

Enjoy and bottoms up!

Beachcomber

My version did look surprisingly similar to this picture, so hooray for me! Unfortunately, I haven't gotten the blending thing down very well yet, and nothing I make comes out with the right consistency of a blended drink. Is it me or is it my blender? The soul searching continues...

Beyond the texture, the beachcomber simply joins the ranks of drinks I don't remember very well and that I took no notes on. Too sweet? Too strong? Boring? Pretty good? No idea. I imagine it wasn't as delicious as the recipe makes it sound or I would've had clearer memories.

1 1/2 ounces light rum

1/2 ounce Cointreau

1/2 ounce lime juice

2 dases grenadine

-Blend with ice and pour into wine goblet.

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!

Hot Pants

Yay early morning blog post! I can almost still taste this one from last night, haha. Heading to the parents' house in a bit to make some pie, potatoes, and homemade ice cream. Then to some family friends' house for dinner proper. Also, I'm taking the day off from being vegan = yumyumyumyum!

So this cocktail is really weird but not as disgusting as the ingredients would make it sound. Not exactly the greatest endorsement, but there you go. I think someone was trying to create a peppermint margarita...that's pink? I still don't really get the thought process. Maybe they were having a south of the border themed holiday party? A Feliz Navidad party? And wanted to have a holiday margarita? Still kind of eludes me...

1 1/2 ounce tequila

3/4 ounce peppermint schnapps

3/4 ounce grapefruit juice

splash of grenadine

-Shake all ingredients over ice and stain into cocktail glass.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy and bottoms up!

Pink Lady

I should start by saying that the pink lady I made looked nothing like this. Well, it was pink but not as clean and bright. More like pepto. Not very appetizing.

1 1/2 ounce gin

1/3 ounce grenadine

1/2 ounce vanilla soy milk

-Shake vigorously with cracked ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Now, technically one is supposed to use 1 egg white as well, but 1) I'm vegan and 2) raw eggs are yuck. Thus, I didn't get the foam going that the vigorous shaking is supposed to produce. Nonetheless, the drink was still pretty good. Not something I would necessarily order, but pleasant. It's a dessert drink, so naturally I had to eat something sweet with it: I am ashamed to admit that I ate a few fun sized candy bars that have been sitting around the house in preparation for Halloween. I've given up my moral values, but boy was it delicious.

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!

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!

Bacardi Cocktail

Only one cocktail this evening, and it was a good one! Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 ounces Bacardi light rum

Juice of 1/2 a lime

Dash of grenadine

-Mix in a cocktail shaker over cracked ice and pour into chilled glass.

Now, since I couldn't really taste the grenadine, this pretty much tasted like the daiquiri I had awhile ago. Delicious, but pretty basic. Thinking about the better drinks I've had, I guess I just like lime with about any alcohol. Good to know. I should say that this is really supposed to have Bacardi rum in it, but I don't think it's that big a deal. I made it with Bacardi because that's what I had.

In other news, vote in my poll! Please? It's up there in the corner waiting for you to click on it.

Enjoy and bottoms up!