cold nights, hot drinks. a round up of some of my favorite hot drinks.
cocktail
Cucumber Classic Margarita
The history of the Margarita is muddled (something with such straight forward ingredients is bound to have been made in more than one place by more than one clever mixologist) so why not muddle your ingredients too?! Just remember that just like the classic daiquiri this is less sweet than something made with a mix.
SeekOut Hard Seltzer Cucumber+Juniper Paloma Cocktail
The paloma- a classic mexican cocktail with grapefruit, lime, tequila and a salt rim gets a refreshing update with SeekOut cucumber+juniper hard seltzer. Trust me on this one, it’s really good- the play between citrus, tequila, and the earthy sweet notes of the cucumber and juniper make this my go to hard seltzer cocktail. Originally […]
the not negroni: a Seekout hard seltzer cocktail w/ gin and sweet vermouth
A negroni without the negroni- instead of campari sub the refreshing slightly tart goodness of Seekout’s raspberry+meyer lemon hard seltzer and you have a brighter bubbly bigger version of the classic cocktail. I love campari- if you want a campari drink without the gin and sweet vermouth this slushie is A+ looking for some other […]
Pineapple Ginger Coconut Rum Cocktail
A bracingly refreshing coconut rum cocktail with a ginger bite and a pineapple finish. Just a little but sweet and just right boozy, loaded with fresh ginger, lulled with coconut rum, lightened and brightened with fresh lime. We have a bottle of coconut rum in our bar of unknown origin and age. A remnant of […]
SeekOut Hard Seltzer Pimms Cup
Get your Brit on while drinking local with this flavorful take on a PImm’s Cup. I’ve never been to a polo match and my extravagant hat collection isn’t what it used to be but I can get behind this British summer tradition. Light, refreshing, and complex- a Pimm’s Cup made with SeekOut’s key lime+mint hard […]
SeekOut Real Hard Seltzer Session Piña Coladas
We’ve got a long weekend ahead of us, the beginning of a long hot summer. What better way to get it started and keep it going than this light and refreshing and just barely boozy take on a piña colada made with SeekOut Real Hard Seltzer’s Pineapple+Passionfruit and coconut water.
Brandy Manhattan Cocktail with Blood Orange
Is it still a Manhattan when there is no bourbon? no cherry? Still the essence is there, the oak aged brandy, the carpano antica sweet vermouth, a dash of bitters. A brandy cocktail worth repeating. I keep one fancy vermouth and one inexpensive vermouth (sweet and dry) on hand because it makes a difference sometimes. […]
EggNog Fizz: a lighter brighter nog cocktail
Eggnog Fizz Cocktail If you’re still with me after the title than you must be ready for a holiday cocktail with just a hint of nog. Cranberry simple syrup adds a bit more holiday cheer to this bubbly frothy combination that tastes better than it looks and better than it sounds because gin and egg […]
Pear Pomegranate Amaretto Cocktail
A little nutty, a little tart, smooth and somewhat sweet. This is a frozen drink for cold days, it’ll give you chills in the best sort of of way. Because you love it, and because you want more. The only problem with this Pear Pomegranate Amaretto Cocktail is that is that if you’re not careful […]
Garden Gimlets: gin gimlet w/fresh cucumber, lime, & basil
Feel like spring in a glass? plus gin. Because. Well. Gin. Whip up a batch of Garden Gimlets: gin gimlet w/fresh cucumber, lime, & basil. When spring arrives each week at the farmers market (or in your garden, if you are so lucky) brings new revelations. Berries, basil, cucumbers of all varieties. The first week of […]
hibiscus infused vodka sidecar with a hibiscus sugar rim
Bring on the sunny days and brightly colored drinks. Refresh yourself with this easy/fancy sipper made with homemade hibiscus infused vodka. Mostly a sidecar but perhaps more like the sort of sidecar you might find in the tropics- bright pink, strong enough for the bumpy roads. Maybe like this vintage vespa 150 from Bali ? […]
Mango Colada with banana and grapefruit
Mango Colada with banana and grapefruit It’s not even that warm today but just seeing temperatures above sixty in the forecast has me in a mad scramble for drinks laden with rum and blended with tropical fruit. Bring on the mango, the banana. I’m ready for sun naps and warm toes. Even without the […]
not your momma’s meyer lemon amaretto sour
not your momma’s meyer lemon amaretto sour Amaretto sours are one of those drinks with “origin unknown” stamped across their back side. I’ve never been able to decide whether this is because it’s a basic variation of a classic or if the inventor is ashamed and unwilling to take credit. Given that the amaretto sour […]
Bottoms Up Killer!: A Winter Gin Gimlet with fresh lime and rosemary
A refreshing and subtly herbal winter gin gimlet with fresh lime and rosemary. “We sat in the corner bar at Victor’s and drank gimlets. ‘They don’t know how to make them here,’ he said. What they call a gimlet is just some lime or lemon juice and gin with a dash of sugar and bitters. […]
a holiday rum negroni for our inner surfer
Do you know how many weird and not terrible but not particularly inspiring Campari drinks I had to consume just to get one worth posting? At last I found it. Something warming but not warm, something holiday but not heavy, a drink to have before the meal. Turns out it’s best to stick with the […]
Snow on Sand: Hot Coffee Cocktail w/rum, orange liqueur, and amaretto cream
Snow on Sand: Hot Coffee Cocktail w/rum, orange liqueur, and amaretto cream Naming drinks is almost as hard as coming up with them. I began with all that follows the colon: Hot Coffee Cocktail w/rum, orange liqueur, and amaretto cream. But the bartender in me rebelled, the story writer- who can’t come up with a […]
Choc Shots- easy hot chocolate shooter or toddy
Rich, thick, and strong- balanced between booze, sweet and spicy. This little morsel is the perfect stormy day companion. This not, however, the sort of ‘recipe’ you should try if you want to get things done. Heat+Chocolate+Booze=snuggle up on the couch and listen to the rain smack against the window panes, light a fire, put […]
Fresh Blackberry Daiquirinha: a Daiquiri Caipirinha muddle
Scars and Stains Blackberry brambles, thorned arches. Dark clusters of berries, smaller and seedier than their domesticated cousins. But so much better, worth dodging webs and thorns. Free, if you count stains and scratches as rewards. Yesterday we went blackberry picking in a friends backyard. Forty five minutes in the dimming August light to bring […]
The Piquant: a Rhubarb Gin Cocktail with black pepper and grapefruit
The Piquant: a Rhubarb Gin Cocktail with black pepper and grapefruit I spent weeks at the tail end of last summer trying to come up with a homemade ‘tonic’ but was never satisfied with the results. After reading of inadvertent quinine overdoses I attempted a formula using other bitter roots ultimately deciding to leave it […]
“Old Fashioned GF Experience” fresh grapefruit pomegranate prosecco cocktail
The longest night is behind us now, a foggy morning giving way to sun. Holiday lights glimmer in the afternoon’s glow, my fingers stained red from squeezing pomegranate seeds between my eager fingers. I have made no preparations for christmas, made no preparations for the new year. I am without hope and brimming with the […]
hard ginger beer and apple cider shandy
Consider the apple. Pale flesh, vibrant skin, a star of cyanide at the core. Varied yet universal. An apt metaphor for both desire and innocence— hard, wholesome, tart, sweet. Consider the apple and consider yourself. Look in the mirror and see the wicked queen, see snow white, see your fall from grace and your salvation. […]
Cherry Amaretto Sidecar Cocktail
Almost sidecar, almost amaretto sour, this cocktail beautifully balances the cherries’ sweetness with the subtle nutty notes of amaretto and the citrus tang of fresh lemon. This drink isn’t boozy, it is- as it should be- mostly about the cherries. When the first cherries arrive they seem so grand, so dark and decadent, a reminder […]
Mango Mule Cocktail
Mango Mule Cocktail The classic Moscow Mule goes tropical with fresh mango infused vodka (copper cup optional). If you are like me you buy a mango at the store and then realize a week later that you still haven’t eaten it. Sometimes this results in a perfectly ripe, deliciously juicy snack. Sometimes I wait too […]
coffee vanilla infused vodka spritzer
coffee vanilla infused vodka spritzer With the weekend approaching I am feeling half motivated and half lazy, a combination that seems to cry out for a slightly caffeinated booze infused beverage. Something more grown up and less confused than Red Bull and Vodka (something I never tried but I’m going to be judgey about anyway). […]
raspberry sorbet and Rosé sipper
raspberry sorbet and Rosé sipper Do you remember a world before Rosé? When drinking pink wine here in the United States automatically put you in a category closely associated with acid wash denim and skittles? When pink meant sugary sweet? And then suddenly Rosé was everywhere. Pretty people of all genders sipping proudly, taking […]
Peach Granita and Vodka Ice Tea Fizz
Peach Granita and Vodka Ice Tea Fizz: Real peaches, real tea, real vodka, real good. This not too sweet ice-cold cocktail is both fancy and backyard casual. Call it a fizz or call it a float. Have more than two, call a cab. If I had company coming over I would make this in a punch […]
Earl Grey Infused Vodka and Lemonade
This is the sort of drink that I wonder why I didn’t think of sooner. But then this is the sort of relentlessly hot day where sipping cold beverages next to a fan seems the only fitting activity and I’ve had iced tea on the brain. Last weekend we met a friend for her birthday- […]
Strawberry Smash Cocktail with Gin and Basil
Strawberry Smash Cocktail with Gin and Basil At the beginning of strawberry season I composed a list of recipe ideas. With this cocktail the list is complete and I am free to move on to other things. Ah, but what a way to go out. The blush of strawberries on my lips and the flush of […]
“The Gin Gin 75”: champagne cocktail with gin and ginger
The herbaceous notes of gin, the spicy earthy kick of ginger, and the bright fizz of Brut Champagne make this a surprisingly smooth, well-balanced, and sublimely dangerous cocktail. See this pretty picture, everything is calm and happy, the pretty flowers, the muted hues, the dancing bubbles. Have one of these delicious cocktails and the work […]
Jalapeño Lime Simple Syrup: spice up tequila or spritzers
Jalapeño Lime Simple Syrup to spice up your life or, at the very least, your drink. Subtly sweet citrus simple syrup with just a bit of heat, this won’t punch you in the face with hot but may give a playful slap. No red mark. Use it to make an easy tequila cocktail or in […]
Cucumber White Wine Sangria Spritzer
Sometimes simple is best. No need to stuff every fruit into your sangria, in fact, why not skip the fruit and get cool as a cucumber? Best of all?! this cucumber white wine spritzer is a batch recipe- so whether you sip it while doing chores or serve it to friends when all the work […]
Rose Mango Daiquiris
Bright mango daiquiris perfumed with just a hint of rose. The tropics, and a healthy pour of rum, blended. Winter is over here. I’m sorry but it’s true. The trees are blossoming, the daffodils are in full bloom, and temperatures in the high sixties by Saturday. But all this means nothing when it comes to produce. […]
My Sherry Amore: Pink Grapefruit and Vodka Sour
My Sherry Amore: Pink Grapefruit and Vodka Sour This cocktail is dangerous, so smooth you hardly notice the booze. Inspired by a Pisco Sour with Vodka for kick, Sherry for a hint of herbaceous wine, Pink Grapefruit to impart a romantic pleasing color and citrus zest, egg white to make it smooth and frothy, and […]
maple meyer lemon hot toddy
Meyer lemon and maple melded with just a whisper of rosemary in a hot toddy that makes the cold a little less so.
