recipe

  • Relax, mellow out, and don’t stress…it must be 2009!

    In keeping with our turbulent times anti-energy drinks have emerged to help us try to take the edge off. We tried a few of the following at this years annual Las Vegas Bar Show.

    Drank, (www.drankbeverage.com), which uses melatonin, rose hips, and valerian root, is a purple elixir whose sole purpose is to help you relax. With the added melatonin probably best used after you get home.

    Blue Lotus, (www.bluelotuslifestyle.com), incorporates the blue … Read more

  • The Cholive Chocolate Cocktail Garnish

    Does your cocktail need some chocolate? A Cholive could be just what you’re looking for.

    Cholive = chocolate + olive … get it? Don’t worry, they are not actually chocolate-covered olives.

    They are olive-shaped chocolate truffles. Skewer them and you have a delicious cocktail garnish.

    Here’s one recipe that sounds like a good use of chocolate!

    Dirty Grasshopper Ingredients

    1 oz Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate Vodka
    1 oz Green Creme de Menthe
    1.5 oz White … Read more

  • Mardi Gras 2009

    Mardi Gras, French for Fat Tuesday, is the day before Ash Wednesday but can fall anywhere from February 3 to March 9. The floating date is always 47 days before Easter. This Mardi Gras we keep the Hurricanes flowing and forget the economy if only until Wednesday. Learn more about Mardi Gras.

    SoCo & Lime Hurricane Ingredients

    3 oz Southern Comfort
    1.5 oz sweet and sour mix
    ½ oz blue curacao
    ½ oz sweetened lime … Read more

  • Valentine’s Day Potpourri

    Happy Valentine’s Day! We assembled some fun Valentine’s Day links to some of our favorites.

    Why? Because we love our readers!

    Cheers!

    How to Open a Champagne Bottle with a Sword [Drinks After Dark]
    Green Gifts for Valentine’s Day [Best of the Green Web]
    Dark Chocolate Raspberry Kisses [DOTW]
    Classic Romantic Cocktails [About.com]
    Chocolate & Whisky [Scotch Chix]
    Maker’s Mark Bourbon Chocolates [DOTW]

    Valentine’s Day Cocktails… Read more

  • Is He Into You or Not?

    To celebrate the new film He’s Just Not That Into You, Skyy Vodka created two new cocktails—one sweet, one sour. These cocktails mirror the ins and outs, ups and downs and the good and the bad of finding true love.

    Inspired by the outrageously popular self-improvement book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, He’s Just Not That into You showcases the diverse love lives of a group of Baltimore-based twenty- and thirty-somethings. Each storyline features … Read more

  • Grapefruit Campari Sorbet

    Chef Jamie Oliver created this refreshing granita as an easy, light and elegant dessert. Yummy!

    Ingredients

    1 & 3/4 pints fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, strained

      14 oz superfine sugar 7 oz Campari Juice of 2 lemons Juice of 2 oranges

    Instructions

    Whisk together the grapefruit juice and sugar. Add the Campari, lemon and orange juices. Freeze in an ice cream maker, or in a metal container for a granita texture.

    Photo & recipe courtesy Campari.… Read more

  • Campari Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce

    Recently arrived from the folks at Campari, a perfect end to any holiday party. Created by chef Nancy Verde Barr.

    Ingredients

    2 cups cranberry-raspberry juice drink
    1 ¼ cups sugar
    1/2 cup Campari
    3 3xl-inch strips orange peel (orange part only)
    6 Bosc pears (each about 7 ounces)
    1 lemon, cut in half
    1 10-ounce package frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed
    4 tablespoons orange liqueur
    2 tablespoons red currant jelly
    1 cup mascarpone cheese (about … Read more

  • (ri)1 Rye Whiskey Review

    Beam just introduced (ri)1 in the midst of rye whiskey’s comeback from more than 70 years in the shadows.

    In the 19th and early 20th century, rye was the go-to liquor. Many traditional cocktails–like the Manhattan and the Old Fashioned–originated as rye cocktails.

    But after Prohibition ended in 1933, American distillers turned all their attention to bourbon.

    No one knows for sure why, but it could be because corn was cheaper than rye. It … Read more

  • Black Vodka for Halloween Cocktails

    Mixing a Halloween cocktail that looks dark and sinister without the aid of sweet additives like grape gelatin is a challenge. Enter black vodka.

    You won’t find American black vodka, because US government regulations say domestic distillers can’t call a spirit vodka unless it is “without distinctive character, aroma, taste or color.”

    Other countries aren’t as strict in their definitions. Among the international black vodka offerings are Russia’s Eristoff wild berry vodka and Znapps black … Read more

  • Absolut Los Angeles Review

    The latest in Absolut’s City Series, Absolut Los Angeles is a vodka infused with the flavors of açai, acerola, pomegranate and blueberry. In a continuation of both the city series and their Global Cooling campaign, Absolut is donating $250,000 to Green Way LA, a group dedicated to improving urban life.

    I am not a huge fan of flavored vodkas, but this one is wonderful. The nose is fruity and sweet, but not too sugary. You … Read more