Pegu Club Cocktail

A cocktail that surprised me! The first two sips, I was very unsure: I was leaning toward dislike. With the third sip, I was sold. Because it contains lime, I was expected that flavor to be stronger, but it was really the gin and bitters that I tasted. The triple sec just made it a little smoother I think. I will say that this is definitely a strong drink -- I felt it after only a few sips --not for the faint of heart.

1 1/2 ounce gin

3/4 ounce triple sec (curacao works too and cointreau is great if you can get it)

1/3 ounce lime juice

2 dashes of bitters

-Stir w/cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass.

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!

Silk Panties/Cuba Libre/Rum & Coke

Okay, I didn't drink all three of these in one night...I just forgot to post about my experience last night, which was particularly special.

Silk Panties-

1 1/2 ounces vodka

1/2 ounce peach schnapps

-Mix with ice and pour into shot glass.

Well, I don't actually own a shot glass so I just had to use the regular glass I had available. I really doubt the proper glassware would have made this any better though: it was the worst so far. I'm not really that into shots, but SoCo and Lime is okayish. This burned my throat and lungs, which is not the alcohol experience that I'm personally looking for. Worst of all, it was definitely more than one shot's worth, so after I took one painful gulp, I had to go back for seconds. Just please, don't do this to yourself.

Now we go from the worst to some of the best!

Cuba Libre-

2 ounces light rum

Juice and fruit of 1/2 lime

Cola

-Squeeze lime and throw into chilled glass with ice. Add rum, then fill with cola.

Rum and Coke-

1 1/2 ounces rum

Cola

-Add rum to iced glass. Fill with cola and garnish with lime.

Both these drinks were pretty ballin', let me tell you. These were the first that actually tasted better when I made them than when I ordered them at a bar, which is quite the accomplishment I think.

Some info: I bought some pretty basic Bacardi rum...it was clear so I was pretty sure it was "light" rum. I didn't really see anything labeled as light rum, but I mostly just assumed anything that wasn't marked as "dark" must be light. Dark rum has more molasses in it, so it's sweeter, whereas light rum has a drier taste. I can tell you more about the different experiences when I get to some drinks with dark rum.

Also, you'll notice that these two drinks both include lime, so what's the big difference? Well, truthfully, they weren't that different. However, when a recipe calls for a "squeeze" or a "garnish" of lime (or lemon) that generally means 1/8 of said fruit. To do this properly, one cuts of the ends of the fruit and cuts into parts. The bartender should not do the squeeze herself but should cut a slice through the section and stick the lemon/lime on the rim to let the drinker do it him/herself. Therefore, the difference between 1/8 and 1/2 a lime is certainly discernable, even to my novice tongue.

Aside from all these technical details, I will tell you that I was not drinking alone tonight! Well, nobody else drank alcohol, but I was in the presence of other people while I was drinking. Betsy, my lovely roommate, and I hosted a game night in our apartment. Sure, it was just the two of us plus Ben and Eleanor, but we had an absolutely splendid time. There were snacks (including some failed chocolate chip cookies) and two new games! We played "In a Pickle", which none of us had ever played before, and we read the instructions incorrectly. We ended up playing the game completely wrong but still having fun. We also played "Oodles of Doodles": a Pictionary-esque game, but easier. This was an event that is sure to be repeated.

Hope everyone had a nice Labor Day Weekend! Bottoms up!