Thursday, January 31, 2013

Brandy Alexander

Day 351



Brandy Alexander
4 shots out of 5



I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that I have an appointment to register our oldest child for high school tomorrow.  


HIGH SCHOOL!!  



I can still remember the day he was born, wow.  


Boy these years go by really fast.  I have to say, I think he's ready for high school.  

He's an easy going guy, great student and very athletic.  I don't think the transition will be too hard for him at all.  He makes me happy.


I gave tonight's cocktail 4 shots out of 5.  


Today is Brandy Alexander Day!  


Learning this I decided to move the Brandy Alexander up on my list and make it today.  

I have made a Gin Alexander before which I did like, so I was excited to try this one as well.  


Glad I did!!  



I am not a huge brandy drinker.....I'm not even a little brandy drinker (I leave the brandy drinking to my husband).  I have to say, and no it's not because it's "Brandy Alexander Day", I like this cocktail, I really do!  



I would skip the nutmeg, but the rest, YUM!!  


I'm sure the nutmeg adds to the cognac in this cocktail and I'm sure for 80% of you it would be great, but I'm simply not a fan of nutmeg on cocktails.  Thank You Ross for sending me your recipe!!



Here is a photo of the end result:



Here is a photo of the ingredients:




Here is the recipe for a Brandy Alexander:
  • 2 oz cognac
  • 1 1/2 oz dark creme de cacao
  • 1 1/2 oz cream
  • dash of nutmeg

In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above except for the nutmeg.  Shake and strain your cocktail into a martini glass.  Sprinkle the nutmeg on top:



Happy Brandy Alexander Day!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Funky Cold Medina

Day 350



Funky Cold Medina
2 shots out of 5


Can I just tell you that I was thinking about how far I've come with my blog today and realized that I only have sixteen more days left of my year?  Sixteen, that's two days more then two weeks, WOW.  That is kind of amazing to me because I vividly remember making my sixteenth cocktail, The Dirty Grinch.  I remember thinking that it would be an eternity until I actually had sixteen days left.......and here we are!

I gave tonight's cocktail 2 shots out of 5.  I found this cocktail at Hampton Roads Happy Hour.  Unfortunately I didn't like tonight's cocktail as much as I liked my sixteenth cocktail, but you can't win them all.  This recipe says that you can stir in the cranberry juice if you would like, but it's your choice.  STIR IT IN!  No choice, it must be stirred.  Stirring it in will insure that you will be making less funny faces after each sip.  I totally remember this song being over-played on the radio growing up......but I can't say that I like the cocktail.

Here is the recipe for a Funky Cold Medina:

  • 1 oz vodka
  • 1 oz blue curacao
  • 1 oz Southern Comfort
  • 1 oz cranberry juice
In a shaker, add ice and the first three ingredients above.  Shake well and dump your cocktail and ice into a good sized cocktail glass.  Pour the cranberry juice on top and choose whether you want to stir it in or not, I HIGHLY recommend you stirring it in.

Here is a photo of the end result:




Here is a photo of the ingredients:




Well Tone Loc, here's to song that reminds me of my younger years and a cocktail that will make me forget.

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Moscow Mule

Day 349



Moscow Mule
4 shots out of 5

Moscow Mule


Two sickies in the house.......I feel like I'm going to be getting it soon too.  

Our second patient has had a fever since last night.  

Gosh I feel so sad for my kids when they get sick.  I wish I could take it away from them so that they don't have to suffer.  

I didn't sleep much last night, as I was giving motrin, many sips of water and going along on potty breaks all night long.  

Needless to say......I SO needed that coffee this morning.

I gave tonight's cocktail 4 shots out of 5.  

I have made a cocktail with Ginger Beer before which was a Dark & Stormy.....and I didn't like it much at all.  

I had tasted the Ginger Beer I used by itself and......de-scust-ing.  

A friend of mine, Jen, gave me her recipe for a Moscow Mule and told the name of her favorite Ginger Beer, Bundaberg.  

WOW was she right!!  

I braved it (already thinking I wouldn't like it) and tasted the Bundaberg by itself right from the fridge and it was actually pretty darn good.  

It tastes more like a ginger ale then the de-scust-ing Ginger Beer I had tried before........that beer just tasted like I bit off a piece of ginger, bleh.  

If you haven't yet noticed, I do not have a copper cup for my Moscow Mule, they were selling for $30 and I didn't feel the need to spend THAT much money on a cup, especially with all of the new glasses I have thanks to my blog.

I did enjoy this cocktail, to my surprise.  

Thank You Jen for sending me the recipe, it's so simple to make and very, very refreshing to drink!



Here is a photo of the end result:

Moscow Mule



Here is a photo of the ingredients:

Moscow Mule ingredients



Here is the recipe for a Moscow Mule:

  • 2 oz vodka
  • 4 oz ginger beer
  • juice from 2 lime wedges (I totally squeezed and measured it out.....ready for this?  It came to 2/3 of 1/2 an ounce......or 5/16 of 1 ounce)
In a copper mug or cocktail glass filled 3/4 with ice, pour in your ingredients above, stir and then drop in your already squeezed lime wedges and enjoy!

Here's to me actually enjoying ginger beer!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Monday, January 28, 2013

French Kiss

Day 348


French Kiss
4.5 shots out of 5







I had one of my children sick over the weekend.  


I kept him home from school today and now a second child woke up from their nap today with a fever.......yikes!  I sure hope it does not make its rounds in this house any more then it already has!  I have a high school registration to do on Friday and I can not risk getting sick for that.



I gave tonight's cocktail 4.5 shots out of 5.  


I have seen this one on Pinterest time and time again and to be honest......I don't know why I haven't made it yet.  



This cocktail is delicious!  I followed the pin and found this recipe on Hostess With The Mostess.  



I miss the flavor of Chambord.  Gosh I like Chambord.  Excuse me while I suck down the rest of this cocktail right now!  



Needless to say, this is a great cocktail.  I am thoroughly enjoying enjoyed it.  This cocktail is very easy to make and I have a feeling that I will be making it again, very soon.



Here is a photo of the end result:



Here is a photo of the ingredients:






Here is the recipe for a French Kiss:

  • 1 oz vodka
  • 1 oz Chambord
  • 1 oz dark creme de cacao
  • 1 1/2 oz half and half (once again I used half milk and half cream)

In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above.  Shake and strain into a martini glass and enjoy!


Here's to an early Valentines Cocktail!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Mexican Morning

Day 347



Mexican Morning
2.5 shots out of 5


Sunday is here and another weekend is just about behind us.  One week left until the Superbowl.  I can not wait to watch that game, it is going to be a good one!  I hope you all had a good weekend.  Did any of you try any new cocktails that I should know about?  If so, please email the recipes to me, I'd love to hear from you.  Oh wait......have I mentioned that I only have 19 days left of my blog?  19!!

I gave tonight's cocktail 2.5 shots out of 5.  I found this cocktail on the Finest Call website.  I really had higher hopes for this cocktail, I must say. I was excited to see what tequila and mango puree would taste like together and not that the two couldn't go together.......it's just that all of the ingredients in this cocktail kinda of make it taste like.....nothing.  It's not a super flavorful cocktail at all which is disappointing.  At least it's not a disgusting cocktail that makes me run to sink to dump it out!  

Here is the recipe for a Mexican Morning:

  • 1 oz tequila
  • 1/2 oz peach schnapps
  • 2 oz orange juice
  • 2 oz mango puree
In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above.  Shake and pour everything into a tall glass.

Here is a photo of the end result:




Here is a photo of the ingredients:




I hope you all had a great weekend and a great week ahead!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Peach Colada

Day 346



Peach Colada
4 shots out of 5


Today my grandma turns 97 years old!  

I'm really looking forward to celebrating her with the family for dinner tonight.  

My grandma is not your average 97 year old.  

Up until a few years ago she still bowled a couple times a week and she would go on trips with her group.  She doesn't do those things anymore, but she'll recall any date or detail about anything and recite them all to you.  

I love my grandma, she's a lot of fun.

I gave tonight's cocktail 4 shots out of 5.  

This is a good cocktail!  

I found it on the Finest Call website.  I love the cream of coconut mixed with the peach in this cocktail, it's a definite winner! 

This is a very nice, refreshing, fun cocktail to drink........so fun that I think I'll make another one here as soon as I'm done blogging this post!  

In past cocktails I've made with peach puree, I don't remember them being terribly peachy.  

This cocktail isn't terribly peachy, but the peach flavor does seem to stand out a bit more then I remember in the other cocktails.


Here is a photo of the end result:



Here is a photo of the ingredients:




Here is the recipe for a Peach Colada:

  • 1 1/2 oz rum
  • 1 oz cream of coconut
  • 1 1/2 oz pineapple juice
  • 1 oz peach puree
In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above.  Shake very well and strain into a martini glass.




Happy 97th birthday to you Grandma!  Here's to you!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Friday, January 25, 2013

Irish Coffee

Day 345



Irish Coffee
2.5 shots out of 5





I can't believe we made it......sometimes it seems like the shortest weeks can be the longest.  

I am super glad that this week is over and that we are onto the weekend.  


Since it has been such a long week and I feel like I lost this weeks energy yesterday, I decided to find and make a coffee (hot coffee) cocktail this evening.

I gave tonight's cocktail 2.5 shots out of 5.  


First off, I was supposed to "float" the cream on top of this cocktail.  


Yea......didn't work.  

Reason being is that I needed my cocktail to be higher up in the glass so that I could get my spoon down to the top of it while I layered the cream.  


Oh well, a quick stir fixes everything, I guess.  



I can definitely taste this cocktails potential and if I liked whiskey a bit more, this cocktail would be better.  


What I really taste is this cocktail is the whiskey.....don't get me wrong I can totally taste the coffee and cream as well, but the whiskey gives me too much of a bite which turns me off to this cocktail a bit.



Here is a photo of the end result:


Here is a photo of the ingredients:




Here is the recipe for an Irish Coffee:

  • 2 1/2 oz hot coffee
  • 1 1/2 oz Irish Whiskey
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 oz whipping cream

In a glass coffee mug pour in all of your items except for the whipping cream.  Stir them up well. Float your whipping cream on top.



Here's to a long week being over and a fun weekend on the horizon!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady



Thursday, January 24, 2013

Beautiful

Day 344



Beautiful
4 shots out of 5


The beautiful is a simple yet potent blend of cognac and Grand Marnier.



The weekend is coming, I can smell it.........unless that is tonight's cocktail I smell......oh wait, yea it is.  It's a strong smelling cocktail I must say.  


I am looking forward to this weekend though.  On Saturday my grandma turns 97 years old, I can only hope to be half as sharp as she is when I'm 97.  I'm thoroughly looking forward to celebrating her.


I gave tonight's cocktail 4 shots out of 5.  


A friend of mine, Samantha, asked me if I've done a Beautiful cocktail yet.  


I hadn't, and as she was telling me that it is one of her favorites, I wrote it on my list.  Thank You Samantha for tonight's cocktail.  


I must say, cognac is totally my husbands drink and not mine.  


He can sit there and sip it like you are supposed to......me, not so much.  My problem is that I don't "sip" cocktails......never have and it takes all that I am to concentrate enough to remember to simply "sip" them.   


I made tonight's cocktail and took a smaller then usual sip, but waaay bigger then I should have sip.  


My husband watched me, laughed and then explained the art of sipping cognac.  


Man did that BURN my throat.  


Once I had it explained to me that you simply put a "drop", yes a single drop of this cocktail on your tongue and let it sit there until the alcohol vapors and disappears, I realized my initial mistake.  


Basically you don't really even need to swallow anything, just let the alcohol disappear and as my husband explained (with the science behind it), you get drunker that way!!  Another reason why I love this man!




Here is a photo of the end result:


Here is a photo of the ingredients:




Here is the recipe for a Beautiful:

  • 1 oz cognac
  • 1 oz Grand Marnier

First take your snifter and run hot water in it and let it sit for a few seconds so that you glass gets warm.  Next pour in your cognac and Grand Marnier.  Do not stir it.  Simply (as I stated above) drink this cocktail drop by drop.......literally, trust me it will save your throat!



Thank You again Samantha for this very nice cocktail.  I am enjoying it a LOT more then I thought I would!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Nutty Irishman

Day 343



Nutty Irishman
3.5 shots out of 5





We finally tonight, just watched a Christmas movie I had recorded in December.  


Now it's time for the girls to go to bed while I blog my cocktail.  


Then my husband, the boys and I will sit down and watch American Idol and try our hardest (it won't be easy), not to be annoyed with Nicki Minaj's commentary and constant pot stirring as she "judges" .


I gave tonight's cocktail 3.5 shots out of 5.  


I have to say that the Frangelico in this shooter overpowers the Baileys, which I honestly do not like.  



I wish that the two tastes were equal, but that is the way this shooter is made so I have to make and try it that way.  I think I will amend this shooter in the future and rename it.......so stay tuned!  



That all being said, it's not a horrible shooter, especially for those of you who enjoy Frangelico I think you will really like this one.  


Hope you are all enjoying your week, two days left of school for the kids and then it's another "sport-less" weekend!!



Here is a photo of the end result:



Here is a photo of the ingredients:




Here is the recipe for a Nutty Irishman:

  • 3/4 oz Baileys
  • 3/4 oz Frangelico

In a shot glass, pour in your two ingredients and give it a good stir.



Here's to all of the Nutty Irishmen out there!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Mango Chi Chi

Day 342



Mango Chi Chi
3.5 shots out of 5


Another school week is in full swing.  We had a holiday yesterday, so there are only four days of school this week.  I was kind of tripping out today when I was thinking that this friday I take our two year old for a check up and then next friday I register our fourteen year old or high school!  There's a range if I've ever heard one.

I gave tonight's cocktail 3.5 shots out of 5.  I still have a few of my purees left in my fridge, so I'd like to use them sooner then later.  Tonight I chose my mango puree to make a cocktail out of.  I went to the Finest Call website and found tonight's cocktail.  I liked the Chi Chi I had made, so my hopes were high for a mango version.  The recipe they gave me only filled my glass a little over half way, so I doubled it, which was enough plus extra.  This is a nice mango-ey cocktail for sure.  It's refreshing and definitely one that I would drink poolside.....or even take it out to the backyard to so that it doesn't feel like I'm home drinking an outdoor cocktail.  The ingredients blend together well....but I have to admit that the more I drink, the more the mango-ey flavor is loosing it's awesomeness.  It's becoming a little much (I just totally changed my rating from a 4 to a 3.5).

Here is the recipe for a Mango Chi Chi:

  • 2 1/2 oz vodka
  • 3 oz cream of coconut
  • 3 oz pineapple juice
  • 3 oz mango puree
  • 2 cups ice
In a blender, add all of the ingredients above.  Blend until there are no more ice chunks and the cocktail is smooth.  Pour into a hurricane glass.

Here is a photo of the end result:




Here is a photo of the ingredients:




Here's to being one step....or cocktail....closer to emptying out another puree bottle and gaining that much more room in my fridge!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Monday, January 21, 2013

Red & Gold Attack

Day 341



Red & Gold Attack
4.5 shots out of 5


You didn't think I'd leave it at creating only one cocktail for my Niners now did you?  My oldest son made some smoothies with some of my purees today, which gave me an idea to use one in tonight's cocktail.  Since banana is my favorite, and the Niners colors do include gold (which is very close to yellow-ish), I decided to create something with it.

I gave tonight's cocktail 4.5 shots out of 5.  I created this one on my own and decided to go with some of my yellow juices to keep with the Niners colors.  This cocktail is very scrumptious.....very scrumptious.  I can definitely taste the banana puree in this one, but the rest of the ingredients blend so well with it that it makes this a very good, cold, refreshing cocktail.  I just may make some of these on February 3rd (Superbowl Sunday) along with some of my other Forty Niners creation I made last night, Forty Niner Fever.

Here is my very own recipe for a :

  • 1 1/2 oz light rum
  • 2 oz banana puree
  • 2 oz orange juice
  • 2 oz pineapple juice
  • 1 oz cream of coconut
  • 1/4 oz grenadine
In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above except for the grenadine.  Shake and pour into a tall glass filled half way with ice.  Pour your grenadine down the middle and enjoy!

Here is a photo of the end result:




Here is a photo of the ingredients:




Here's to another San Francisco Forty Niner created cocktail.  Can't wait until the 3rd!!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady