Raven Cheer

It's a sporting weekend - the Six Nations tournament kicks off tomorrow and there's the Super Bowl on Sunday which was what we were prepping for with this drink as we'll be supporting the Baltimore Ravens. Come Sunday evening we will not only be wearing the black and purple of the team, but we'll be drinking it too.

For these drinks you will need to play with the ingredients below - I was getting various results as you can see from the pictures but am happy to report that nothing was wasted in the making of this drink. It is based on a Cosmo with the colors blue and red making purple. You can make it long (and I suggest this as football can go on a bit!) or short & strong (if you want an early exit from the game and pass out on the couch, which yes, I have done with football on the TV).

Vodka
Blue Curacao (add this little by little like a food dye!)
Lime juice
Cranberry cocktail juice
Ice

GO RAVENS!

This one ended up black!

Ginger Wisp

Look what I whipped up in Wisp last weekend? It’s a riff on drink called the White Orchid found here

2 parts Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur

1 part Absolut Citron

2 parts white cranberry juice

Lemon juice

White of an egg

For four cocktails I used the juice of half a lemon and the white of one egg. I didn’t have a cocktail shaker with me so I whisked it all together in a blender and got some really fluffy egg whites.

What was I thinking not traveling with a cocktail shaker?

Classy shot with the pot holder and tea towel.

Snowtini

Snow is on our minds this week though there's none on the ground (what's up with that weather man?); we're also heading for the slopes this weekend so it put me in the mood to make something snowy. Or at least something white and this is what I made with what I had on hand:

2oz Rum with coconut liqueur (Malibu)

½ oz pineapple flavored vodka

1 ½ oz pineapple juice

Splash of half and half

Dab a little pineapple juice on the rim of the glass and dip it in shredded coconut

The splash of half and half is to add the white snowy color and doesn’t make it too sickly sweet (or add too many calories) like a creamy liqueur or coconut cream might and the flavor comes from the liquor instead– just the way we like it.

This could also be called a Snow Colada as in ‘it’s no pina colada’! It’S NO. Get it?

I’m hilarious.

Clementini

Clementines, mandarins and tangerines are like little pieces of sunshine in a fruit bowl so why not celebrate them in a martini glass too. This drink was kicked off with an impulse purchase at Trader Joe's but the clementine soda isn't absolutely necessary for this at all.

2 parts Absolut Citron
1 part St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1 tsp lemon or lime juice
Juice of one clementine Splash of Clementine flavored soda - optional Garnish with a thin slice of clementine

Makes January easier somehow.

Hot Whiskey

Not a cocktail per se but on these damn frigid cold evenings it’s the perfect pick-me-up-and-wrap-me-in-a-blanket kind of drink! It's rare the person in Ireland who doesn't want one when those little chills set in. Whether medicinal or not, it's definitely comforting.

For the classic Irish preparation you will need:
Glass and spoon (obviously you say but the spoon is important!)
1 1/2 -2oz decent whiskey - Irish of course i.e., whiskey spelled with an 'e'.
Tsp of brown sugar
Slice of lemon
5-6 whole cloves
Just boiled water from the kettle.
It's rare the kitchen in Ireland without an electric kettle.

Stud the slice of lemon with the cloves.
It's rare the bar in Ireland in winter that doesn't have the lemons ready.

Mix the sugar with whiskey and pour in the hot water with the spoon in the glass - this helps not to shatter the glass. The more water you use the hotter (and weaker) the drink.

It's rare the person in Ireland who calls them anything but a hot whiskey (instead of 'toddy').

Berry Merry

Whether you have a reason to get out the crystal glasses or whether you're like us and need no reason at all this is a good drink to put in it:

1 part Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
1 part gin
1 part white cranberry juice
1/2 part lemon juice
Cava/Prosecco/Champagne to top it off
(Soda water or ginger ale could work too)
Frozen cranberries to garnish

Cheers!

Egg Nog with a Spoon

Don’t know if you’ve ever noticed but we’re not fans of the creamy cocktail round here,  our bottle of Bailey’s we discovered to be long past its expiration date, so I thought long and hard about doing an egg nog concoction (Yes, I even thought about making it from scratch!) but why go to so much effort if it's something I don't really enjoy. So here's my version of egg nog or the way I think it should be served. Eamon loves the stuff by the way and delights when it’s back on the shelves in the supermarket but to me it tastes like a glass of custard and this is why I ended up making my drink a dessert instead of a true cocktail. Best enjoyed with a spoon watching your favorite Christmas movie or put it in a blender and drink it like a milkshake.

Scoop of eggnog ice cream

1oz Bailey’s Irish cream liqueur poured over it

Freshly grated nutmeg to garnish.

Other ways to top this: crushed ginger snap cookie, crushed chocolate covered Kimberly biscuit, Cadbury’s flake

P.S. I went for the mini version of the cream liqueur instead of a full bottle, large tub of the ice cream though!