Bloody-tini

 

Gearing up for Halloween around here but this drink was actually inspired by all the rain last weekend - which really begs for (well, ok, begs me) to have a bloody Mary (or Maria) first thing.

I held out till the evening and made this instead.

2oz Stollichnaya Stolli Hot (Hot pepper vodka)
1/2 Molly Prat dry vermouth
1 oz bloody Mary mix
A squeeze of lime
Old bay seasoning for rimming the glass (rub lime around glass and turn upside down on saucer of old bay)

Mix all in cocktail shaker with ice and pour into rimmed cocktail glass. Bloody hot and bloody good.

Government Shutdown

 

This government shutdown is nothing but inspiring - in a glass that is.

2oz Absolute Citroen infused with tea*
1 tsp lemon juice
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
Tonic water to taste
Lemon slice for garnish

Mix first 3 ingredients together with ice and shake (if consensus is reached you've shaken it for too long). Pour into a chilled glass and top with tonic water.

There's nothing sweet about this drink and it definitely needs a good dose of tonic. Or a good kick in the pants.

*You know this drink is going to happen so steep a tea bag in 8 oz of vodka and after 4 hours or so and keep the infused vodka in the freezer for future emergencies.

G & T I

 

If you could have created any drink what would that be?

For me it's the gin and tonic. I love the botanical flavors and scents, it's refreshing, slightly bitter and has an iridescence about it. It appeals to all my senses. 

And depending on the gin (and tonic) you use it can vary greatly so I'm going to feature a few I really like - first up is this one  - the most delicate of them all. 

2 oz Hendrick's gin
4 oz or so quality tonic water
Slice of cucumber
All served in a Collins glass with ice and stirred.

Apple Pickin' Punch

 

2 oz Goslings dark rum
1/2 oz Goldschlager cinnamon schnapps
1/4 oz St Elizabeth allspice dram
4 oz apple cider
1 tsp lemon juice

The taste of the autumnal equinox right there in the glass.

Apropos

 

1 oz gin
1 oz Aperol
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz orange juice
2 dashes orange bitters
Orange twist for garnish

Light on alcohol and just enough to whet your appetite.

Mon Ark

A riff on the drink called the Monarch - we replaced the lemon juice with grapefruit and left out the sugar.

2 oz Tanqueray gin
3/4 oz St. Germaine elderflower liqueur
1 oz grapefruit juice
4 mint leaves
Twist of lemon

Tear the mint leaves into a shaker and add the gin, liqueur and juice. Shake with ice and double strain into a cocktail glass. Add twist and mint leaf to garnish.

Optional: Add to Collins glass with ice and top off with club soda. The first went down too quickly we wanted the second one to last!

 

March on Washington

 

Lots of people are in town this week to mark the 50th anniversary march on Washington and we thought we'd mark the occasion with a little drink. What else do you do with out of town guests!

1 oz Makers Mark bourbon
1 oz Tanqueray gin
1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 oz Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
Dash of Angostura bitters
Reeds ginger ale

Mix the first 5 ingredients together with ice in a shaker. Please note the equal measure of bourbon, gin and lime juice - equality is important after all! Pour over ice in a Collins glass and top off with ginger ale and a slice of lime.

It was hard to wait for this one - I was barely able to take a photo of it . Maybe I should have told them to prove how much they needed refreshments and have them band together and march on the capital or something.