BAILEY'S COMET

BAILEY’S COMET

1 measure vodka

1 measure Bailey’s Irish Cream

Remember Halley’s Comet? It’s that big, cool looking comet that orbits the sun and can be seen from Earth every 76-79 years. It last appeared in 1986 and won’t appear again until 2061 or so. Until then, kill time by drinking a scrumptious BAILEY’S COMET cocktail.

I love easy two-ingredient cocktails, especially on a Monday, and this one was both easy and delicious. To make a BAILEY’S COMET, put one measure each of vodka and Baileys into a rocks glass with crushed ice and stir. That’s it! I already loved Bailey’s plain on ice, but this makes Bailey’s better. Sure, you may see stars after doubling up on the alcohol, but I think it’s worth it. To me, plain Bailey’s was too thick. Vodka thins it out nicely and, since vodka is virtually tasteless, the cocktail still tastes predominantly like Irish Cream. In other words- good!

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

BUCK'S FIZZ- MOVE OVER MIMOSAS

BUCK’S FIZZ

Champagne

Orange Juice

Grenadine

Things I loathed about the 80s

Smurfs, big hair, shoulder pads, Vanilla Ice, wearing your collar up, high school

Things I loved about the 80s

Muppets, stirrup pants, friendship bracelets, Flashdance, Scratch n’ sniff stickers, college

The BUCK’S FIZZ cocktail. Hugely popular in the 80s, making yourself a BUCK’S FIZZ is simple. Put two-thirds champagne and two-thirds orange juice into a champagne flute. Add ¼ measure of grenadine and stir lightly. The BUCK’S FIZZ is so, like, totally awesome. The champagne tickles your nose; the grenadine keeps it sweet; and the OJ makes it healthy. It’s like a Mimosa taken to a higher level, and it should make an appearance at your next brunch event or breakfast table, very soon.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

OLD FASHIONED #2

OLD FASHIONED #2

2 orange slices (one for muddling and one for garnish)

2 maraschino cherries (one for muddling and one for garnish)
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 ½ ounces bourbon or rye
Club soda

Ever since having the original OLD FASHIONED cocktail on Wednesday, I wanted to give the OLD FASHIONED #2 cocktail recipe a try. It is similar to the other one, but this one has fruit too, so I thought I might like it better. Sometimes I need a little more interference between me and the liquor. It’s also what most aficionados have come to expect when ordering an OLD FASHIONED.

To make it, I first de-stemmed a maraschino cherry and muddled it (love muddling!) with the sugar, bitters, and, an orange slice without the rind, at the bottom of a short rocks glass. I then added a splash of soda and stirred it up, before adding ice cubes and the bourbon. The grand finale came in the form of a garnish with the remaining cherry and orange slice.

So did I like it better? That I did. I think that the OLD FASHIONED #2 was created for someone like me, who is just starting to develop a taste for brown liquor. The orange and cherry flavors really helped to balance the strong taste of the bourbon. I was able to sip it for a nice, long, enjoyable hour, and my eyes are really becoming open to the beauty of brown liquor. It can be sipped, serve it purpose — which in my case was medicinal for my toothache —and not give you a hangover the next day. There are as many ways to mix an OLD FASHIONED as there are baby boomers in Florida, but I’ve bonded with this one.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

NEGRONI

NEGRONI

1 measure Campari

1 measure gin

1 measure club soda

Orange

After being blown away by a performance by Trombone Shorty & the Orleans Ave., Hubby and I went in search of “just one more drink,” before facing the realities at home. We wandered into a place called Bricco, right across from the Playhouse in downtown Cleveland where Shorty had rocked the roof off the place, and I asked the bartender to make me a cocktail of his choosing.

He went with a NEGRONI cocktail and made it by putting Campari, gin and club soda into a cocktail glass with ice, giving it a stir, then squeezing in the juice from an orange and using a slice for the garnish. He said I had to try Campari if I never had (I haven’t.) He said that the Italian Spirit, which is made with an infusion of herbs and fruits, is popular among Italians. They drink it in between their heavy meals because it helps to settle the stomach.

While I found the NEGRONI to be very interesting tasting and I’m glad I was pushed to try Campari, I can’t say I’ve become a fan. The cocktail wasn’t fruity and it wasn’t sour. It was herby and had the taste of a digestive aid. Hubby thought it tasted like potpourri. And while potpourri in music — like the funk, blues, rock, and jazz sound of Trombone Shorty — is awesome, potpourri in a drink is not.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

PEANUT COFFEE

PEANUT COFFEE

1 ½ measures Kahlua

3 measures whole milk

2 tbsp. vanilla ice cream

2 tsp. smooth peanut butter

3 measures 7-up

Peanut butter lovers unite! And try a PEANUT COFFEE cocktail. More like a dessert than a cocktail, you don’t want to start a night off with one, but as a decadent night cap, PEANUT COFFEE fits the shell nicely.

To make, you’ll need your trusty blender. Put Kahlua, whole milk, vanilla ice cream, and your favorite brand of creamy peanut butter in the measurements above into said blender. Then blend well with about two cups of crushed ice. Pour it into a glass, then add the 7-up and stir. Adding a straw is also mandatory.

If you’re like me, you’ll love the PEANUT COFFEE. It is peanut butter paradise, but, because of the Kahlua, it also tastes of coffee. You don’t taste the 7-up, but there is a little tickle from the bubbles. It’s a filling coffee-shake, but without the caffeine side effects. Look for one of my PEANUT COFFEE stands opening in a neighborhood near you soon. Yep, I love it that much.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

OLD-FASHIONED

OLD FASHIONED

1 sugar cube

2 dashes Angostura bitters

¼ ounce cold water

2 ounces American whiskey

Lemon wedge

Happy Administrative Professionals Day! Since 2000, it’s the new way to say Secretaries Day and it’s celebrated all over the world. As an administrative professional myself, a.k.a., a paper pusher, I thought I’d celebrate with a cocktail that was popular among secretaries of the golden era of the 1960s — an OLD FASHIONED. At least that’s what it looks like from Mad Men, the AMC hit show that chronicles the drama in an ad agency in the 60s.

Mad Men has made the OLD FASHIONED popular again, bringing the cocktail out of hiding from the old-man bars, where it never really went out of style. There are many different varieties of the OLD FASHIONED cocktail, and I plan to try the other ways soon, but tonight I tried an old-fashioned OLD FASHIONED, which is the one originally called a whiskey cocktail. Making it involved muddling, which is perfect for taking out anger at your boss. You start by dropping a sugar cube into a short rocks glass, adding a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters, and ¼ an ounce of cold water. Then you muddle. Then you add the whiskey or bourbon of your choosing (I used Old Grandad), ice and a lemon wedge. Give the lemon a squeeze, then plop it into the glass.

I shared my OLD FASHIONED with two brown liquor aficionados, Hubby and my Dad. They liked the OLD FASHIONED, but they didn’t love it. They thought it was too sweet with the sugar and such, and it reminded Hubby of Southern Comfort. They prefer their brown liquor undisguised and on the rocks. I thought it was not sweet enough. It was better than whiskey straight, but not as good as yesterday’s CC & Ginger. Still, I sipped, I enjoyed, and I made a toast to all my fellow paper pushers and all we do to help make this crazy world of our go ‘round.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

CC & GINGER

CC & GINGER

2 ounces Canadian Club Whiskey

6 ounces Ginger Ale

“Alls I'm sayin’ is April 24th is my birthday and my favorite drink is CC and Ginger. If you are not familiar with those gals, they are worth introducing yourself to. They represent the brown liquor family in an excellent manner.”

That’s an e-mail from my good friend Jennifer, who was paving the way for my introduction to two of her good friends. I wish I could have shared the CC & GINGER with her in person, but she’s too busy working like a dog with her eye on the prize — Jazzfest in New Orleans. Oh the cocktails I could have there! New Orleans is the U.S. cocktail capital and I’m sad to be missing the fest this year. But I know that the reigning “rookie of the year” champion will be back.

 

I experienced my first CC & GINGER (sometimes called a CC and Dry) while with other good friends at the Terrace Club at Progressive Field during an Indians Game. To make it, the bartender simply put Ms. CC and Ms. Ginger into a cocktail glass, added ice and stirred. The Indians won and so did I, because I found a new favorite cocktail. Yes, Jennifer, I’m a believer. The CC & GINGER is a fine way to drink whiskey. It was crisp, thirst-quenching, and buzz-inducing. I can’t believe I’ve never tried one before. I had two before I left the Terrace Club, and I may just have to sneak some Canadian Club into the next concert I go to, hoping they sell ginger ale at the concession stand. Not that anyone I know does that….

 

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

EAGER BEAVER

EAGER BEAVER

2 ounces Rum

3 ounces Kahlua

1 ounce Triple Sec

Me and a fellow soccer Mom/friend decided to kill the all-too-fleeting hour while our darling children were at soccer practice sharing a cocktail across the street at a dive bar. I insisted we order my cocktail choice for the evening — an EAGER BEAVER. The original recipe found on barnonedrinks.com called for Cointreau, not Triple Sec. But the dive bar did not have Cointreau, so the bartender got creative with Triple Sec. She said she could have used Grand Marnier, but that the drink sounded gross to her no matter what was used, so she saved us money by using something cheap. Hmmm…..

She put the ingredients listed above into a shaker, filled it with ice and shook it well. She then strained it into a couple of highball glasses upon our request. And it was a request I was glad we made. One sip and we were asking for the addition of ice and club soda. For while the conversation was good, the EAGER BEAVER cocktail was not. Though it was the color of a beaver, my friend said no one should be too eager to order it. And I agreed. Still, I drank it down right quick and, God knows, I’ve tried worst cocktails. I’d describe the EAGER BEAVER as sweet, strong, and almost syrupy. I can’t help but wonder if using Cointreau would have made it better. It’s something I’ll be eager to try.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

RITE OF SPRING

RITE OF SPRING

2 measures vodka

1 measure green Curacao

4 measures lemonade

Lemon rind for garnish

In honor of Earth Day and Springtime — and despite the fact that it is 42 degrees and snow is in the forecast for tomorrow —I had to try a RITE OF SPRING cocktail. But to make it, I first needed to find the Green Curacao called for in the recipe. The book I got it from (750 Cocktails) said that Green Curacao would be hard to find, and it was right. Though Blue Curacao is in every liquor store in town, the green version was nowhere to be found.

Luckily, I talked to right person at the grocery store. She told me that when she was a bartender, she would just put a few drops of yellow food coloring into Blue Curacao to get Green Curacao, since yellow plus blue equals green. Those skills you learn in Kindergarten remain useful for life. Since Curacao is a general term for orange-flavored liqueur made from dried oranges found on the Caribbean island of Curacao, all variations have the same, slightly bitter, flavor. There’s orange, blue, green and clear Curacao, but blue is the one I see most.

The beauty of the RITE OF SPRING cocktail extends beyond its green look. To make it, just put Green Curacao and vodka into a pitcher, fill it with ice, then stir briskly to chill. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass half-filled with ice and top it off with lemonade and a lemon rind, if so desired. I ended up squeezing some juice from a fresh lemon in as well.

The RITE OF SPRING cocktail was cool looking, but plain tasting, since neither vodka nor Curacao is very flavorful. Still, it’s a rare green cocktail that doesn’t taste like mint or melon. The RITE OF SPRING is beautiful in its smoothness and simplicity. It’s beautiful as you stir it to the perfect chill, and I am fond of cocktails that are stirred, not shaken. In the end, this cocktail is so pretty that it will make you want to tiptoe through the tulips — with a RITE OF SPRING.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

ORGASM

Small, Medium or Large. How do you like your Orgasm?

ORGASM

1 ½ ounce Baileys Irish Cream

1 ½ ounce Cointreau

After years, heck, decades of pleading, I finally gave my friend Billy an ORGASM, and he loved it. Don’t worry, hubby got one too. Even my brother-in-law Joe got into the act. Afterwards, we all watched the show Cops to get some tips on how to get out of trouble in case we ever get pulled over. Plus it made us feel smart.

Other than it being fun for word play, the ORGASM cocktail is good, and it was perfect for a Saturday night at home. The ORGASM is a creamy, chocolaty, sipping kind of cocktails that will throw you for a loop. Making the cocktail is much easier than achieving its namesake. You just slowly build it by putting equal parts Baileys and Cointreau into a shaker, filling it with ice, and then pouring the thick mixture into a cocktail glass of your choosing. You don’t taste much orange flavoring from the Cointreau. The Bailey’s takes the cocktail over, and since I love Baileys, I loved the ORGASM. Try one for yourself and I guarantee, you’ll feel better afterwards.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

THE BILLY THE BARTENDER SPECIAL

THE BILLY THE BARTENDER SPECIAL
2 measures gin
2 measures Cointreau
Dash of Angostura Bitters

Have you ever been channel surfing on a Friday night and found yourself lingering on the cage fights on MTV2? I know I have, and I never in a million years imagined that I would ever be at one of those events in person. But that’s where I found myself tonight — watching two men, and once two women, going for each others’ throats martial-arts-style as part of the Bellator 66 tour, which is broadcast on MTV2. The TKOs were shocking, but it was kinda fun. I think the people watching was the best part. The crowd was full of women teetered around in ridiculously high heels and men doubling as billy goats (big muscles, bald heads and goatees.)

After that entertaining event, a cocktail was needed. So hubby and I stopped by a local bar on the way home, and I challenged the bartender to make me a good cocktail. He said his most popular cocktail was made with gin, Cointreau and bitters, then he quickly whipped one up for me on the rocks. He didn’t know what the cocktail’s name was, so I named it after him.

The BILLY THE BARTENDER SPECIAL was damn strong, but also damn good. Since it is mostly alcohol, it was one of those drinks that gets better as the ice melts. The orange flavor of the Cointreau moved the cocktail from the undrinkable category to the sipping category. And what started out as rather harsh, ended up being smooth by the time I saw the bottom of the glass. Then I was ready for my own little TKO into bed.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

PIÑA COLADA

PIÑA COLADA

2 measures white rum

2 measures pineapple juice

1 ½ measures coconut cream or coconut liqueur (Malibu)

“If you like Pina Coladas, and taking walks in the rain. If you’re not into health food. If you have half a brain.” Who can drink a PIÑA COLADA cocktail without singing that classic Rupert Holmes song Escape? Rupert both loved and hated that song. It made him famous, but it overshadowed any other music he ever wrote.

I love that song — it’s so fun to sing along with — but I’ve never liked drinking PIÑA COLADAS. Their smell always made me think I was drinking sunscreen. But it is suppose to be a fragrant cocktail and I’ve only had bad frozen ones from a mix in bars by a beach or pool. So, I thought I’d try a homemade one to see if it could change my mind. To make the PIÑA COLADA, I put the ingredients above into a shaker, filled it with ice, shook it well, and strained it into a bowl half-filled with ice. I added a cherry for garnish, but pineapple would have been better. Fresh pineapple juice, instead of canned, or better yet, a hollowed-out pineapple shell, would have been better still.

But I could only work with what I had, and that didn’t include a beach, a pool, or even a day over 75 degrees. But what I did have was still a damn good cocktail and much better than the ones in my past. It was aromatic and still smelled like sunscreen, but the PIÑA COLADA does break the mold on rum and juice drinks with its different taste and its lip-smacking flavor. It was created in Puerto Rico in 1954 by a bartender named Ramon who worked at a Hilton that was hopping at the time. In 1978, the PIÑA COLADA was named the official beverage of Puerto Rico. What’s America’s official beverage? Milwaukee beer?

I was amazed by my transformation. The PIÑA COLADA is back on my list! And when I get bored, there are 11 variations, such as an Amaretto Colada, an Iquana Colada (add Midori), or the most interesting one of all, a Lava Flow, which is half strawberry daiquiri and half PIÑA COLADA. That will have to erupt into my life someday very soon.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

THE GREYHOUND

GREYHOUND
2 oz vodka
4 oz grapefruit juice

The GREYHOUND is one of my favorites. It’s always been my “go to” cocktail. Before this year, it was my usual order to start out a night; when I had a cold; when I was on a diet; or when I couldn’t think of anything else. Most bartenders didn’t know what a GREYHOUND was, and I had to just say grapefruit and vodka.

The GREYHOUND was my go to cocktail tonight too, after a busy day that included hanging out at the local news station, working a phonebank in the background for my job. I love how the news anchors are only dressed up from the waist up and how the whole news crew really flys by the seat of their pants — finding out what they are going to talk about minutes beforehand. After that craziness, I needed my comforting GREYHOUND. It couldn’t have been easier to make either. Add vodka and grapefruit juice to a tall cocktail glass filled with ice. Stir and enjoy.

The GREYHOUND is a simple and beautiful cocktail. It’s pretty, delicious and can be sipped morning, noon, or night. Since vodka is practically tasteless, it’s really just spiked grapefruit juice, which is another reason it’s beautiful — it’s healthy! It would be ideal for a summertime brunch or a Mother’s Day breakfast in bed. Hint, hint, hubby.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie


"IT'S MOTHER'S DAY SOMEWHERE" MARGARITA

"IT'S MOTHER'S DAY SOMEWHERE" MARGARITA

2 chunks of grapefruit
Whole peeled lime
½ peeled lemon
3 tbsp. sugar
2 oz. tequila
¾ oz. Grand Marnier
¼ cup Miller High Life Beer

When I saw this margarita recipe in the May 2012 issue of Redbook magazine, I had to try it. Miller High Life is a staple in our house thanks to Hubby. He’s been living the high life from day one. He says it’s crisp and clean, and he likes how it comes in a glass bottle, so you can see it. He’s also partial to that crazy lady in the moon on the bottle’s neck. I only drink Miller if there’s nothing else in the house, which isn’t often.

But Miller High Life mixed with fresh fruit and tequila? Maybe I could lead the high life too! To make the "IT'S MOTHER'S DAY SOMEWHERE" MARGARITA (a title created by the Redbook Mommy Mixologist, which doesn’t really make sense to me), I pulled out the blender and started peeling a lime, a lemon and a grapefruit. I then put two chunks of the grapefruit, ½ of the lemon and the whole lime into a blender. I added the sugar, tequila, Grand Marnier and blended on low for a few seconds, before added the Miller High Life and one cup of ice, then blending again. The recipe above filled up two large martini glasses with some left over.

The weirdly-named margarita was fruity, easy-drinking and interesting. I could taste the beer, but if I hadn’t known it was in there, I might not of. If you make it and serve it to someone, whatever you do, don’t tell them about the Miller. For though I drank it in about 10 minutes and I was fond of it, it was hardly the High Life touted by that funny, large, African-American in the commercials. It had too many ingredients, and involved peeling, not to mention the washing of a blender. Nice try Mommy Mixologist, but around here, it’s only going to be Mother’s Day once a year.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

MIDORI SOUR

MIDORI SOUR

1 measure Midori

1 ½ measures lime juice

1 ½ measures simple syrup

It was “use up some almost empty bottles” night and a MIDORI SOUR fit the task nicely. To make it, I used up my Midori, lime juice and simple syrup by putting them in the measurements above into a shaker, filling it with ice, shaking it up and filling up some cocktail glasses. The recipe, which I creatively got from the back of a Midori bottle, didn’t call for the cocktail to be on ice, but hubby insisted his be on ice and, I must admit, it looked better. Both were topped off with a slice of lime.

Midori liqueur is a sweet alcohol made from melons that grow in Japan, where Midori is made. Midori translates to “green” in Japanese, and green it is. Any cocktail made with Midori will be green and the MIDORI SOUR is no exception. In it, the green is made even brighter with the addition of lime juice . The cocktail both looked and tasted like a green jollyrancher — the sour apple flavor. It definitely had an apple aftertaste. With lots of sugar, the MIDORI SOUR sounded sweet, but it tasted more sour than sweet. It is a cocktail that would appeal to beginning drinkers. Midori debuted in the U.S. at Studio 54 in 1978, where no doubt the place was wall-to-wall beginner drinkers. But even us seasoned veterans should include Midori cocktails like the MIDORI SOUR in our repertoire.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

ROCK AND ROLL COCKTAIL

ROCK N’ ROLL COCKTAIL

1/2 glass lemonade

A dash of blackcurrant liqueur

1 shot of vodka

It was a big weekend for Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Every three years, the New York City big wigs let us hold the yearly induction ceremony in Cleveland. This was one of those years and last night the 27^th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions were held at Public Auditorium in downtown Cleveland. Green Day played, John Mellencamp presented, Bette Midler got all emotional, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were inducted by Chris Rock, all in front of a crowd of about 7,000. Sadly, I was not one of them.

Though I couldn’t go to the Rock Hall Inductions, I could induct a new cocktail into my life. I found one online at cocktailmaking.com called the ROCK N’ ROLL COCKTAIL. Making it was as easy as a Donovan tune, one of this year’s inductees. I just filled a glass with ice, added a shot of vodka, a dash of blackcurrant liqueur, and filled the rest of the glass up with lemonade

I loved the refreshing, easy-drinking taste and make of the ROCK N’ ROLL COCKTAIL. But it was a soft rock cocktail, with a low and slow beat. It didn’t make me think of hard rocking music. That kind of cocktail would be made with Jack Daniels or Wild Turkey — something you can spit out onto the crowd. No, the ROCK N’ ROLL COCKTAIL was a mellow lemonade and vodka, amped up with a shot of blackcurrant flavor. It was a very worthy addition to the classic lemonade and vodka cocktail, and it made me wonder what else I could add to that classic cocktail combo that I know and love so well. Something to ponder these next three years, along with how to get into that next Cleveland Induction Ceremony.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie



THE LOOPY LADY

THE LOOPY LADY

2 measures Loopy Three Olives Vodka

1 measure pineapple juice

1 measure sour mix

1 measure blue Curacao

Loving tonight’s LOOPY LADY cocktail made for me by the creative bartender at Ziggys in Amherst, Ohio, where I was celebrating my cousin Kim’s birthday and hanging out with some Tough Mudderers.

I told the Ziggys bartender about my mission to drink a cocktail every night and she rose to my challenge to make me a good one. To make the LOOPY LADY, she put the ingredients above into a shaker, filled it with ice, shook it well and strained it into a martini glass, garnishing with a lime. I don’t think there is any cocktail you can’t garnish with lime.

I was a little leery of the Loopy, having no idea what type of flavor vodka that was. I haven’t had many of the strangely-named flavored vodkas, except for Bubblegum, and it was way too sweet, even for me. I was afraid Loopy flavored would also be too sweet, but I had nothing to fear. The LOOPY LADY was damn good, and it had a nice balance of sweet and sour. With pineapple juice and blue Caracao, this cocktail reminded me of a Blue Hawaiian, but the addition of the sour mix stopped it from being that sweet.

I had no problem quickly seeing the bottom of that martini glass. And after finishing my LOOPY LADY, I was definitely feeling a little loopy with a mind as fuzzy as the picture I took. Alas, it was also just the beginning of a night filled with many delicious cocktails introduced to me by Kim and her friends. For with age, comes wisdom.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

THE RESTAURANT GOLD MARGARITA

La Fiesta's Gold Margarita

La Fiesta's Regular Margarita

THE RESTAURANT GOLD MARGARITA

Gold Tequila

Grand Marnier

Margarita Mix

The margarita taste test continued tonight. I went out to your typical Mexican restaurant and ordered a margarita to compare it to the Original Margarita I made at home yesterday using simply tequila, Cointreau and lime juice. Me and the fam went to La Fiesta Restaurant in Richmond Hts., Ohio. Around since 1952, La Fiesta serves warm chips and awesome guacamole, but they also serve your typical margaritas made from a mix.

I ordered the GOLD MARGARITA frozen and the Hubby ordered their REGULAR MARGARITA on the rocks. The GOLD MARGARITA contained the ingredients listed above put into a blender with ice, and served in a margarita glass rimmed with salt and garnished with a lime. Adding Grand Marnier to a margarita certainly doesn’t stick to the classic recipe. One (OK, the Hubby) could say that the addition of Grand Marnier to the GOLD MARGARITA was a total bastardization of the margarita cocktail. The reasoning being that Grand Marnier does not come from the same family lineage as tequila and lime.

Still, I liked the GOLD MARGARITA and established that I like frozen margaritas over on the rocks. But it did have a tart aftertaste and I could taste the imitation lime juice in the mix. I think a frozen Original Margarita might be just the compromise I’m looking for. Hubby’s REGULAR MARGARITA also had a faux taste compared to yesterdays’ homemade margarita. It contained Triple Sec — another illegitimate child. As expected, the Original Margarita won out. Scroll to yesterday’s post sometime and make a margarita yourself when you have a craving, the right way. You’ll have to wash dishes, but it’s worth it.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

THE ORIGINAL MARGARITA

THE ORIGINAL MARGARITA

1 measure tequila

1 measure Cointreau

1 measure fresh lime juice

Let the margarita taste test begin! I made one at home tonight and I’ll go out for one this weekend, then judge which one I liked better. The recipe I used tonight is from the book, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. It’s a recipe from the early days of cocktails, when it was unacceptable to use an artificial, corn-syrupy mix for a margarita instead of free-squeezed lime juice. The ORIGINAL MARGARITA was more of a cocktail than a frozen drink back then. It was small, shakened and simple.

To make the ORIGINAL MARGARITA, you’ll just need the three ingredients listed above. Put equal parts of them into a shaker, add lots of ice, shake it well to chill, and strain into a glass half-filled with ice. I also added salt to the rims by squeezing a little lime juice on them before dipping in margarita salt, and added a lime slice to garnish. I only wish I had margarita glasses.

If you like margaritas, you have to try the ORIGINAL MARGARITA. It’s margaritas done right. Hubby said it’s the only way he’s going to drink them from now on. His was gone in about five minutes. I thought the ORIGINAL MARGARITA was great — strong, sour, but not too tart. And a million pesos better than a mix. Not much harder to make either. These fixins are coming with me if it ever gets warm enough in Ohio to have a drink on a beach. Maybe July…

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

MINI-BEER-LOVE IT!

MINI BEER

2 parts Licor 43

1 part Heavy Whipping Cream

When is a beer not a beer? When it’s a MINI-BEER! I love the MINI-BEER cocktail. I found the recipe on a pamphlet that came with a bottle of Licor 43. I’m learning how wonderful a source those annoying things are, and I am going to stop automatically throwing them away from now on. According to the teeny-tiny print in the pamphlet, to make the MINI-BEER, you first pour Licor 43 into a mini-mug ( I used a glass a little larger than a shot glass) about two-thirds of the way. Then, ever- so slowly, pour heavy cream on top so it floats. Part of the reason I fell for the MINI-BEER is that it is the first cocktail I’ve made that called for “floating” and I was able to do it.

Licor 43 is a bright yellow Spanish liquor made from 43 different types of citrus and fruit juices, vanilla flavoring, and other aromatic herbs and spices. Whatever it is — it’s buoyant and delicious. The first sips of the MINI-BEER are especially good, since its mostly cream, and the last part should be gulped like a shot. A shot of love… for the MINI-BEER.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

THE SAOCO

SAOCO

2 measures white rum

4 measures coconut milk

I’m not a big fan of coconut, but I’ve heard of the many health benefits associated with coconut, and thought perhaps mixing it with rum in a cocktail named SAOCO might make it more appealing to my palate. The SAOCO cocktail originated in Barbados, where the term Saoco means “rhythm.” To make the SAOCO cocktail, I just put rum and coconut milk into a shaker, filled it with ice, gave it some shakes, and strained the milky mixture into a cocktail glass half-filled with shaved ice. Adding two small straws at the end is an important part of the recipe too.

Coconut is a healthy fat that can help with weight loss, boost your immune system, combat heart disease, and give you healthy skin and hair. God knows I would love all or any of those benefits, still I couldn’t get past more than a few sips of the SAOCO. It was yuck! In Barbados they use milk straight from a coconut and oftentimes serve the cocktail in a coconut shell. Maybe that would help and it sure couldn’t hurt, because the cocktail I made was pretty gross. Unless you are a big fan of coconut milk, I wouldn’t bother. This gave rum a bad name. Save it for Barbados.

 Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

THE SHIRLEY TEMPLE

SHIRLEY TEMPLE
6 fluid ounces ginger ale, Sprite or any lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
1 dash grenadine syrup
1 maraschino cherry

When I was a child, my Dad was in the restaurant business and many a day, I sat on a barstool drinking a SHIRLEY TEMPLE — the cocktail named for the famous child actress —while waiting for him to finish talking to someone or another. I thought I was so cool sitting at the bar with my cocktail and I always thought it tasted great.

Since Shirley Temple’s birthday is coming up April 23^rd and since April is Alcohol Awareness Month, I thought it’d be a good time to evoke some pleasant childhood memories with a SHIRLEY TEMPLE non-alcoholic mixed drink. And I’m glad I did. It was easy and tasty, and it allowed my 12 year old to join in on his Mom’s cocktail for a change.

To make the SHIRLEY TEMPLE, you just need ginger-ale, Sprite, or a similar pop (I used Sierra Mist), grenadine syrup and a maraschino cherry. Fill a cocktail glass with ice, add the pop, a dash or two of grenadine, and the all-important cherry, and you’re done. When I was drinking them at the bar as a child, I had no idea how easy it had been for the bartender to whip it up.

The result is a sweet, thirst-quenching drink, that is really just fancied-up pop. Still, it can make a child, or a non-drinker, feel like part of the action. The 12 year boy in my house loved it and slurped it down quickly, “even though it’s a girl drink.” He even said he would choose it over a regular pop. Next time, I could make him a ROY ROGERS, the “boy” version of the SHIRLEY TEMPLE, by simply using cola instead of Sierra Mist.

Rumor has it that this cocktail was invented by a bartender at Chasen’s restaurant in Beverly Hills, California, in the 1930s after Temple had requested a non-alcoholic cocktail. I’m glad it caught on and has stuck around from bars in Ohio in the 1970s to living rooms in Ohio in 2012. It’s classic!

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

THE MARY PICKFORD

The Mary Pickford

MARY PICKFORD

1 ½ measures white rum

1 ½ measures pineapple juice

¼ measure grenadine

Dash of maraschino juice

Cocktail cherry to garnish

A Mary Pickford

My love of cocktails combined with my love of film and film history this fine Easter Day. April 8^th is Mary Pickford’s birthday and I felt the need to honor her with a cocktail. Pickford was a silent film star in the 1910s and 20s. As you can see, she was a really pretty and a talented actress — America’s first “sweetheart.” She was also very smart, and paved the way for Hollywood actresses with demands for a say in production and high salaries. In 1941, she was the only woman among a group of actors who founded United Artists. I fell in love with Pickford in film classes in college. Pursuing a minor in film was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I loved every class.

I also loved the MARY PICKFORD cocktail. It was a hard sell among the family members who gathered for Easter today, but the ones who passed missed out on a good cocktail in my opinion. To make the MARY PICKFORD, I put the ingredients listed above into shaker, added ice, gave it some shakes and strained it into those classic plastic glasses that define a large gathering. To finish, I added some ice to the glasses and plopped in some maraschino cherries as garnish.

I wonder if Pickford liked hanging around the pools in Hollywood, because the MARY PICKFORD cocktail is very beach or pool-appropriate. Pineapple juice is the dominate taste and the rum is barely detectable. It tastes similar to a Mai Tai or a Hawaiian Punch, and it only got better as the ice melted. The cocktail did have a strange, bitter aftertaste though, so I’m not sure how many I could drink in a row. But if I was by a pool, watching MARY PICKFORD in Coquette (1929), and eating chocolate eggs, I bet it’d be about four.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

PAPA DOBLE

THE PAPA DOBLE

1 ½ ounces white rum

¼ ounce maraschino juice or liqueur

½ ounce grapefruit juice

¾ ounce simple syrup

¾ ounce lime juice

The Easter visiting with family started today and I love an opportunity to share cocktails with loved ones. The loved ones I was with today took a little trip to Cuba with me via the PAPA DOBLE cocktail -- a drink invented at the famed Florita bar in Havana, Cuba.

I make it, I filled a large shaker with the ingredients above, gave it shome hardy shakes and strained it into the fancy, plastic cocktail glasses you see in the picture. I added some cubes and served it up. The crowd was pleased and praised the PAPA DOBLE. They found it refreshing and nicely flavored. I liked the foamy top and the sweet taste. Unlike yesterday's cocktail, this was a sweet n' sour taste I can live with. "It tastes kinda like a sweet tart," said stepson-in-law Tommy. "I really like it."

That gives Tommy two things in common with Ernest Hemingway -- good looks and a love of the PAPA DOBLE. A frozen version of the PAPA DOBLE is sometimes called the Hemmingway Daiquiri. As the story goes, Hemmingway was a frequent visitor of the Florita and once had 16 of these cocktails in one setting. I could picture myself sitting in a seedy bar in Cuba, sipping a PAPA DOBLE as the hubby smokes a cigar, and being happy. Hope your day is happy. If not, a PAPA DOBLE can't hurt!

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

KATINKA

Let’s have a drink!

Давай выпьём!

     Davaj vyp’jom!

KATINKA

1 ½ measures Russian vodka

1 measure apricot brandy

½ measure lime juice

I love Russians for many reasons, but chief among them is the vodka. They invented the stuff (though some claim it was really Poland) and made it popular in Europe. It took a while for Americans to catch on, but once we figured out that vodka pretty much tastes like whatever it’s mixed with- look out! Vodka is number one in sales and there is what seems like a 100 different flavors of vodka on the average liquor store shelf. Has anyone had the “Dude” flavored vodka and can tell me what it tastes like?

The KATINKA cocktail could possibly have benefited from the Dude or any other flavored vodka, because what it mostly tasted like was lime. To make the KATINKA, I put vodka, apricot brandy and lime juice into a shaker, filled it with ice, shook it up and strained it into a glass filled with a nice pile of crushed ice. I garnished with a slice of lime, but I regret squeezing some of the lime juice in, because the KATINKA was too sour for me. The description in the cocktail book said it had a nice balance of sweet n’ sour, but I couldn’t taste any sweet from the brandy at all. I love to say this cocktail’s name, but other than that, I was disappointed. But if you like your cocktails to taste more sour than Statlin’s smile, give it a whirl.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

PARAGON MARTINI

PARAGON MARTINI

Absolute Citron Vodka

White Grape Juice

Triple Sec

A splash of Chambord

Thank God for the rise in popularity in wine and martini establishments. I love these kind of places. The lights are usually dim, the barstools are comfy and the guests are happy. On nights when I want a break from making a cocktail, I have at least eight such places within a 15 mile radius of my house.

Tonight was one of those nights and I met my sister at the Paragon, a sorta new wine and martini bar in Euclid, Ohio. We both ordered their signature martini, aptly named the PARAGON MARTINI. As you can see, it has an interesting and intriguing mix of ingredients. The bartender shook them together in a shaker with ice, strained it into our martini glasses, and garnished with wedges of lemon.

“At least it’s drinkable,” said sis, as she squeezed her lemon over the top of her martini glass. I liked the PARAGON MARTINI’s tangy taste and hint of Chambord, but after each sip I was left with an odd taste in my mouth. The grape and citron give the cocktail a sourness that I didn’t like and I don’t think I’ll rush to order it again. Still, the PARAGON MARTINI is refreshingly different from all those sweet martinis out there.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie

CRANBERRY KISS

CRANBERRY KISS

1 measure cognac

2 measures cranberry juice

2 measures pink grapefruit juice

¼ measure marsala wine

Cranberry juice is high in vitamin C and potassium, and it’s good for your heart. Add cognac to it, and it’s good for your mood too.

The CRANBERRY KISS cocktail was a pleasure to drink. It was a weird and wonderful combo of flavors that tasted like a good spiked punch. To concoct the CRANBERRY KISS, I just put cognac, cranberry and grapefruit juices, in the measurements above, into a shaker. Don’t add the marsala wine to the shaker. Instead, add it to the bottom of a chilled cocktail glass. The one I used was too small — think bigger. I then added ice to the shaker, shook, and strained the slightly foamy mix into the glass. You can garnish with redcurrants. Unfortunately, I’m not even sure what those are, let alone where to find them in a grocery store. But they sound delicious.

As for the cocktail itself, if you like cranberries, you’ll be in heaven. The CRANBERRY KISS was like a sweet kiss on the lips — a good, strong one that mellows nicely at the end. The juices hide the cognac well and it’s one of the few cocktails I’ve tasted that will enable you to guzzle cognac. And remember, good for the ol’ticker!

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie