Midnight on November 18th marks the long-awaited premier of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part I. For those of you who haven’t guessed, I have a bit of a vampire fetish. I will admit that I watch True Blood and The Vampire Diaries. I even loved that canceled series Moonlight. And, yes, I really love Twilight. I’ve read all the books multiple times (that isn’t saying much as they are an … Read more
The scent and taste of cinnamon conjure warm holiday memories. And since everything is better with booze, why not add the magic of cinnamon to your vodka?
You could use it in place of plain vodka in recipes where cinnamon would be a desirable twist, such as ones with apple, cranberry, pear, honey or cream flavors. Maybe try it in some Yule Tide Punch. (To learn how to design your own recipes, check out our … Read more
Winter is almost upon us and, for some reason, I associate butterscotch schnapps with winter. I guess it’s because of those buttery, toffee, butterscotch flavors. And, it may also be because on my 21st birthday, which occurred in December, I celebrated with a number of butterscotch flavored drinks. It must have been the bartender’s specialty because I don’t remember specifically ordering butterscotch drinks that evening. Many years later, I still recall that evening fondly.
We … Read more
Some people are really attached to having can-shaped cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. This year, you can save the canned stuff for the kids’ table. Why not add a little creativity—and booze—to your turkey dinner?
This sauce keeps for several weeks, so it’s an easy thing to make ahead of time. Hit the sauce!
Ingredients:12 oz fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup vodka
2 tbsp Grand Marnier
1 tbsp orange juice
Orange twist, garnish… Read more
Pears are in season! They have a lovely sweet flavor that can’t be beat, so mix ’em up in your cocktails.
Pears pair well with whiskey, vodka and gin. If you want to experiment with your own creation: Ginger, apples, cranberry and pomegranate all make excellent partners with pear.
Here are some fantastic pear recipes to try today:
The time of year for cranberries is here!
Thanksgiving is around the corner, and plan on celebrating without a cocktail, don’t you? (Or maybe instead of celebrating, you’ll just be coping with relatives. Either way, a cocktail is in order.) Here are some fabulous cranberry cocktails for your holiday:
There are certain words that are just fun to say and Effen happens to be one of them. Supposedly Effen means smooth in Dutch but its close proximity to another word probably doesn’t hurt its reputation either. But, all kidding aside, the folks at Effen take their Vodka very seriously and the Vodka, itself, shouldn’t be overshadowed by its name.
Effen Vodka is a Dutch wheat Vodka based on a 125 year old recipe and … Read more
A few weeks back, we headed up to Portland, Oregon for Portland Cocktail Week an amazing three day festival of drink seminars, cocktail competitions and parties! The event was put on by our friends at Lush Life Productions.
Some of the best and brightest in the cocktail world gathered for Portland Cocktail Week and it went by in a blur. We met up with old friends and made many new ones as we boned up … Read more
When the weather turns cooler I find myself drinking more and more red wine. I still love whites and rosés but something about colder weather has me reaching for the red. This week’s Wine Wednesday pick is a red blend from Spain. Wines from Spain can offer some of the best values available and this is a perfect example. I purchased this wine for $8.99 and found it listed at several retailers for a similar … Read more
It’s Fall, dammit! Time to get cozy with some autumnal booze.
The great thing about this simple apple-vanilla bourbon is that it’s so flexible: You can drink it alone, in a Manhattan or in a new creation of your own. (To learn how to design your own recipes, check out our book: DIY Cocktails.)
Granny Smith apples give a bright, pie-like flavor to the infusion. You can use any kind of apple, but sweeter apples … Read more