Summer of Spritz | Bianco Spritz (White Spritz)

    Summer is here! Ish! And there is nothing more refreshing and low ABV than a spritz. This recipe comes from a new cocktail book I recently purchased called 'Spritz: Italy's Most Iconic Apertivo Cocktail, with Recipes'. 

Paper Plane

I said this was my favorite Aperol drink. That was then, before I had a Paper Plane. This is so good! They are both great, and the spritz is far more affordable. Anything with Aperol is good in my book.

Pimm's Cup

Happy Labor Day! Never had a Pimm’s cup? It’s a delicious refreshing drink that tastes a little like a cola with some sour and bitterness. Perfect send off to pool season. I like to add a little gin to my Pimm’s cup for the added herbal flavor, but if you want to make this a single liquor drink, you could skip it! This does take a lot of fresh juices, get yourself a citrus juicer if you are interested in fresh juices and juice cocktails.

Chapala

Eons back, we made some real grenadine. Not the red colored sugar, but with actual pomegranate juice. 90% of the time, my grenadine is used to make a Chapala. This is hands down my favorite Tequila drink.

Frosé

Long time no see! I’m back with a delicious summer recipe for you. Summer is far from over, did you know the middle day of summer is August 6th this year? So plenty of time to drink frosty drinks and enjoy warm days.

Lemon Caper Tuna Salad

First of all, hope everyone had a delicious and cozy Thanksgiving! Now, how about something super quick, easy and cheap for the post holiday? When I think of tuna salad sandwiches I think of mayo and dill pickle relish. It’s a classic and I think it’s delicious*. I had no plans to “revamp” the tuna salad in my life. But I did, kind of by accident.

Yellow Rose of Texas

Lemon is a very underrated pairing for tequila. All the focus is on lime, but if you haven’t had a lemon tequila cocktail you are missing out! Tequila also pairs well with florals. I never cared much for tequila when I thought the Margarita was the only option (or shots…) If you have the same “blah” attitude towards tequila I highly recommend trying it a different way by trying this cocktail!

Blackberry & Lime Shrub

Shrubs. What to say about shrubs… A shrub is a Colonial way of preserving summer fruit. The fruit is mixed with sugar to macerate, creating a syrup. The syrup is diluted with vinegar which preserves it. Herbs, spices and a blend of fruits can be used to create a complex tart and sweet beverage base. More here. I made a cherry balsamic shrub once before and found it very heavy on the vinegar and difficult to enjoy. I do like vinegar, but it isn’t immediately appealing to drink it. I saw this Blackberry Lime shrub on Beehive Bitters Instagram account and it looked great. SO I gave shrubs another shot! This one does not disappoint!

Lemon Garlic Greek Yogurt

A quick one today! This is an amazing yogurt dip or sauce. I know that sounds like an oxymoron to some, but it really is. The original recipe is from a Skinny Taste recipe: “Shawarma-Spiced Grilled Chicken With Garlic Yogurt”. The chicken is really delicious, but the yogurt MAKES it.

Preserved Lemon Chicken Wings

Remember WAY back when we made preserved lemons, and I said a recipe would be coming soon? Well here we are four months later. I finally have something to show! It took a few different versions to get something really delicious to write about.

Blood Orange & Chocolate Old Fashioned

Happy V Day! Whether or not you enjoy Valentine’s Day, hopefully you will enjoy this drink. Today I have a twist on an Old Fashioned using chocolate Aztec bitters and a blood orange. An old fashioned is a very booze forward drink that isn’t for everyone. Though boozy, it is sweet with added sugar and fruit. If you’d like to make this but can’t do (essentially) straight alcohol, you can top with a splash of water or seltzer water… but only if you must.

Sage Goldrush Cocktail

While looking for something new to serve at Christmas Eve, I came upon this article: The 8 Drinks That Made My Career: Jim Meehan. I picked the Goldrush to try out first (#6,7 and 8 are on my to-try list) as I was recently gifted a few bottles of honey. As holiday present a vendor sent four different honeys to my work. No one was keen on the sage honey besides me. Challenge accepted.

Hot Toddy

There seem to be a lot of ways to make a Hot Toddy. I think the older a drink is, the more amorphous it becomes. I’ve had somewhat similar experiences with the Old Fashioned. There are a few rules for the Hot Toddy that can’t be broken. Hot (obvs) and whiskey. Those are the only things we all seem to agree on! I like this version with hot water, honey, spices and lemon.

Classic Champagne Cocktail

I remember years ago watching An Affair to Remember. Deborah Kerr orders a champagne cocktail with pink champagne (*swoon*). It sounded so pretty and romantic, just like the movie. This is a great cocktail to serve on New Years Eve to add a bit of glamour without much fuss.

Boston Sour

Remember way back, when I made a whiskey sour? Kind of a crappy one with powdered sugar? That was before I learned the powdered sugar is partly corn starch, and has no place in a cocktail*. Regardless of my humble whiskey sour beginnings, this remains one of my favorite drinks. If the whiskey sour was the beginners drink, the Boston Sour is the expert.

Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons. They are so easy to make, why wouldn’t you. Even though lemons are $.59 a piece at the grocery store (ugh- highway robbery!) it’s still an affordable project. Recipe for roast chicken with preserved lemons to follow- as soon as Denver weather dips into cozy territory where a blast of oven heat to the face is a nice feeling.

Ramos Gin Fizz

This is a complicated and, I’ll admit it, slightly bizarre drink. I really enjoy it, but it won’t be for everyone. You have to be ok with raw egg, ok with citrus and milk together and ok with floral notes.

It’s a dividing line.

Army & Navy

Nope not a military related post, though you wouldn't know it from the title! In looking for ways to use my homemade orgeat I found this Army and Navy cocktail. It was published in The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David A. Embury. Attributed to the author, it was presumably invented in the 40's (the book was published in 48'). I have no idea why it's called Army & Navy and I'd really like to know... Maybe I'll have to buy the book! Whatever it's name is, this is a total winner.

Limoncello

I've made liqueurs and infused alcohols before. Sometimes they are busts. Like when I made triple sec- bitter!- or herb infused vodka- rotten! and sometimes they work out just fine (here & here). I read around the internet for a while before settling on this recipe to follow. There is a lot of info on making this. Some of it is extremely precise but the basics of lemon, time and sugar are the same.

Lemon Drop & Bullfrog

The lemon drop. This used to be a cringe-worthy drink to me. In bars the lemon drop is typically vodka and sour mix, gagaliciously sweet and masquerading as a 'martini' simply because of the glass it's served in. That seems like a lot of animosity to have towards a little drink!