Category: Cocktails

Not surprisingly, most cocktails have their own histories. It’s almost never clear cut, but it’s always fun. Let’s find out a little more, shall we?

Slushy weather? Slushy cocktails.

I don’t know how the rest of you are doing, but today in Brooklyn it’s slushy and gross. Instead of feeling bad about it, I’ve decided to take this opportunity to share some slushy cocktails with you. Sure, it’s not really the time of year for slushy, cold drinks, but why not take advantage of the snow and make some cocktails. Just make sure the snow is white and clean. Nobody wants dirt cocktails.

Brandy Slush

Brandy is meant to warm you up, even in the snow. Try this brandy slush to cool your winter stress and warm your bones.

Ingredients:

4 individual green or black tea bags
9 cups water, divided
2 cups brandy
1 can (12 ounces) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 can (12 ounces) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
EACH SERVING:
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda, chilled

Place tea bags in a small bowl. Bring 2 cups water to a boil; pour over tea bags. Cover and steep for 5 minutes. Discard tea bags. Transfer tea to a large pitcher; stir in the brandy, lemonade concentrate, juice concentrate and remaining water. Pour into a 4-qt. freezer container. Freeze overnight or until set.
For each serving, scoop 3/4 cup slush into a rocks glass. Pour lemon-lime soda into the glass; garnish with orange or lemon slice.

Banana Slush Punch

This time of year, fresh produce isn’t exactly impressive, but the one thing that won’t let you down is bananas. Crank the heat, try this slushy punch, and put yourself in the summer mindset.

Ingredients:

4 bananas (ripe)
2 cups white sugar
3 cups water
46 ozs pineapple juice
24 ozs juice concentrate (frozen orange)
12 ozs frozen lemonade concentrate
3 cups water
3 liters ginger ale

In a blender, combine bananas, sugar and 3 cups water. Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl and stir in pineapple juice. Blend in orange juice concentrate, lemonade concentrate and 3 cups water. Divide into 3 plastic containers and freeze until solid. Remove from freezer 3 to 4 hours before serving. Using one portion at a time, place slush in a punch bowl and pour in 1 liter of ginger ale for each.

Bourbon Milk Punch

This recipe by Anna Monette Roberts from yumsugar.com is perfect for winter boozing. Just looking at this recipe warms me up.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
1/4-1/2 cup bourbon, depending on desired strength
1/2 cup powdered sugar, or more to taste
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Ground nutmeg, for garnish

In a freezer-safe container, stir milk, bourbon, powdered sugar, and vanilla together, until well combined. Taste and add more powdered sugar if necessary. Cover and freeze overnight.

When ready to serve, remove punch from freezer and scrape up frozen bits with tines of a fork. It should appear slushy. Use a ladle to divide punch into glasses and garnish with ground nutmeg. Serve immediately.

February 5, 2014
Jim Beam History and Recipes

From its invention in Kentucky in the late 1700’s to the renaming of the company in 1933, Jim Beam has been a must have in any home bar or drinking establishment.

In 1795, Jacob Beam sold the first barrel of Old Jake Beam Sour Mash bourbon whiskey, beginning the roots of the Jim Beam brand. In 1820, he passed on his bourbon distillery to his son, David. Thirty years later, David M. Beam inherited the business from his father as well. By 1880, Beam’s Old Tub bourbon, due to railroad expansion and the telegraph, had become a national brand.

In 1894, the man best known for Beam brand whiskey, James B. Beam, would take over the distillery and turn the drink into the brand we know it as today. Although he was forced to sell the distillery in 1920 due to the prohibition, he wasted no time after the passing of the Volstead act, rebuilding in 120 days. It is during this time that the name off the whiskey brand officially became Jim Beam Bourbon.

The popularity of the brand has remained through three more generations of the Beam family, and with the addition of Booker’s, Baker’s, Basil Hayden’s and Knob’s Creek small batch bourbons, is the top bourbon distillery in the world.

Agent Orange

Ingredients:

1 oz Jim Beam
1 oz Yukon Jack
1 oz Apple Schnapps
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Light Rum
1 oz Triple Sec
1/2 oz Grenadine Syrup
2 oz Orange Juice

Add the ingredients to a shaker. Shake well and pour into a cocktail glass over ice Garnish with a cherry and orange slice and serve.

Kentucky Wildcat

Ingredients:

1/2 oz Jim Beam
1/2 oz Southern Comfort
1/2 oz Yukon Jack
1/2 oz Jack Daniel’s
2 oz Sweet and Sour mix
2 oz Cola

Pour the ingredients over ice in a cocktail glass, and stir gently. Garnish with a twist of lemon, and serve.

Beam Me Up

Ingredients:

1 oz Jim Beam
1 oz Amaretto
6 oz Cola

Combine Jim Beam and Amaretto over ice in a cocktail glass. Add the Cola on the top and stir. Garnish with a cherry and serve.

Sunbeam

Ingredients:

1 oz Midori melon
1 oz Jim Beam
1/2 oz Creme de Bananas
2 oz Mandarin juice
2 oz Pineapple juice
1/4 oz Grenadine

Add all the ingredients but the Grenadine in a shaker. Shake well and strain over ice in a cocktail glass. Add Grenadine. Garnish with a slice of orange or cherry and serve.

Smooth Dreams

Ingredients:

2 oz Jim Beam
3 oz Cola
Splash of Grenadine

Combine the ingredients into a cocktail glass over ice. Garnish with a cherry and serve.

BeeGee OJ

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Jim Beam
3 oz Orange juice
1 splash Grenadine

Pour Jim Beam into an old fashioned glass over ice cubes. Add the orange juice, and a splash of Grenadine. Serve.

February 3, 2014
Superbowl Cocktails: Colorado vs Washington

We’re coming up on Superbowl Sunday, and this year, the Denver Broncos will go up against the Seattle Seahawks for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. There will be plenty of beer drinking, punch swilling, and crowd screaming to go along with what will be a great night of football and expensive adverts.

A great way to make your Superbowl party special is to serve drinks popular in Washington, Colorado, or both! No matter what, if you’re serving these, your party is sure to score all seven points.

Colorado

The Tree Line

This “signature cocktail” of Colorado was developed in 2011 to celebrate the state’s centennial. A contest held by the Colorado Distillers Guild and the Colorado Bartenders Guild pitted mixologists against one another to see who could come up with the best Colorado based cocktail, and Marnie Ward of Denver’s Avenue Grill came out on top with the Tree Line.

Ingredients:
2 Bing cherries
2 oz Leopold’s Small Batch Whiskey
.5 oz Leopold’s Three Pins Alpine Herbal Liqueur
.5 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
.5 oz simple syrup

Muddle cherries, lemon juice and simple syrup; add whiskey and Three Pins; add ice and shake. Serve up. Garnish with round slice of lemon peel (to replicate the Colorado sun). Drink and enjoy!

Beer

The number one brewing state in the United States, Colorado is home to 139 breweries, including top craft brewers, Left Hand Brewing Company, New Belgium Brewing, and Oskar Blues Brewery.

Washington

Washington Apple Martini

A popular drink in Washington due to its use of, and taste similar to, the Washington Apple. I may not be the official drink of Washington, but it’s certainly close enough.

Ingredients:

1 oz Crown Royal
1 oz Sour apple liqueur
1 oz Cranberry juice

Combine ingredients in a shaker and shake well. Serve in a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with sugar and cinnamon. Garnish with a slice of Washington apple.

Hawk Bomb

Why not take shots for every touchdown? The folks of Seattle love to do so with this tasty blue and green bomber. In fact, it’s so popular it’s literally on the menu in some Seattle bars.

Ingredients:

1 part mandarin or orange vodka
1 part blue curacao
Red Bull

In a cup, pour 3-4 oz of Redbull (depending on how much the drinker prefers). In a separate shot glass, combine vodka and blue curacao. Drop the shot glass into the cup and drink.

January 29, 2014
Boozey Tea (for you and me)

When tea comes to mind, seldom does one think of booze as well. It’s a relaxing drink, made to cure ailments, calm nerves, and make the British highly tolerant of bullshit. However, like anything that people love, booze can be added to make it even more intoxicating. Keep calm and booze on.

Tea Toddy

1 cup Earl Grey tea
1 tsp sugar
1 shot Baileys Irish cream
1 dash Scotch whisky

Make tea as you usually do. Mix it with the sugar to taste. Add Baileys and, if desired, whisky. Enjoy.

Bourbon Slush

7 cups water
3 cups bourbon whiskey
12 oz frozen lemonade
6 oz frozen orange juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups strong tea

Mix all ingredients together in a freezer safe container and freeze overnight. When ready to serve, put desired amount in blender and blend until slushy. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

Artillery Punch

1 qt strong black tea
1 qt rye whiskey
1 bottle red wine
1 pint Jamaican dark rum
1/2 pint brandy
1 jigger benedictine herbal liqueur
1 pint orange juice
1/2 pint lemon juice

Combine all the ingredients in a large punch bowl with a block of ice. If found too dry, sugar syrup may be added. Decorate with twists of lemon peel. Enjoy.

Cranberry Tea Hot Punch

8 bags tea
4 cups boiling water
2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice
2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp ginger
4 cloves

Make strong tea with teabags and boiling water. Add cranberry juice, apple cider, brown sugar, and spices. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Garnish with orange slices, and enjoy.

Indian Tea

1 oz gold rum
3/4 oz amaretto almond liqueur
5 oz hot black tea
1 tsp sugar

Gently simmer tea and peel in a small saucepan for 1 – 2 minutes. Add liquors and pour, with peel, into a cup. Enjoy.

January 22, 2014
The Galileo Cocktail

Today marks the 404th anniversary of the day that Galileo discovered the four moons of Jupiter. Seems like as good of a reason as any to go ahead and drink. In fact, I’ve got a cocktail just for the occasion!

Galileo

Ingredients:

1 part Galliano
1 part triple sec
1 part vodka
10 oz orange or pineapple juice
1 oz grenadine
1 lime, wedged

In a shaker, combine Galliano, triple sec, vodka, juice, and juice from one wedge of the lime. Shake well and pour into a glass over ice. Top with grenadine. Garnish with lime wedge.

January 7, 2014
Cuddle up and stay warm with Tom and Jerry

I’d say it’s pretty apropos that today is National Cuddle Up Day, given that in most of the U.S., the temperatures have plummeted to ridiculous lows. Here in New York City, we’re expected to have a low of -8 tonight, officially ruining the day of everyone tricked by the warm 49 degree morning that melted away most of the weekend’s winter storm.

The good news about cold weather is that it’s really the best excuse to drink tasty warm cocktails. Of course, there’s hot buttered rum, mulled wine or cider, a good old Irish coffee, or if you’ve got some friends or a whole lot of roommates, crock pot cocktails, but I think the best way to warm away all the cold weather is a midwestern favorite of mine – The Tom and Jerry.

The Tom and Jerry has nothing to do with the beloved cartoon cat and mouse, and it’s not a vague reference to the cocktail king of old, Jerry Thomas. The name is taken from a book written by Pierce Egan, Life in London, or The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn Esq. and his Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom , and the subsequent stage play Tom and Jerry, or Life in London. The drink itself was invented to promote the play.

Similar to homemade eggnog, the Tom and Jerry is quite popular in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and you might be hard pressed to find anyone who knows what it is outside this region. This is only a problem if you have no interest in making your own batter, or if you don’t drink cocktails of which you’ve never heard.

For those of you who have some time or a grocery store that carries ready-made batter, let’s get started, shall we?

Tom and Jerry

Ingredients for batter:

12 eggs, separated
1 pound sugar (if you’d like it sweeter, add more)
2 ounces aged rum
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice

Ingredients for Serving:

Brandy
Aged rum
Hot milk
Boiling water

Beat the egg yolks well, then gradually whisk in the sugar. Add the rum and spices. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the yolk mixture until well mixed. Keep batter refrigerated until serving.

For each drink, put 2 ounces of batter into a mug. Add 1 oz each of brandy and aged rum, and fill with equal parts hot milk and boiling water. Top with grated nutmeg. If using a small coffee cup or classic Tom & Jerry mug, you can cut the serving size in half. Serve with a spoon.

Just a note: While this recipe is for making your own Tom & Jerry mix, in case you have no time or no urge to make it, frozen batter can be found in bakeries or the dairy coolers at grocery stores, in liquor stores or on the internet.

January 6, 2014
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Drink Matron gave to me: Christmas cookie cocktails!

Courtesy of our friend Andi, I give you five cocktails that are guaranteed to taste just like your favorite Christmas cookies.

From all of us here at Drink Matron, have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Snickerdoodle

Ingredients:

1 part amaretto
1 part Irish cream
1 part buttershots
splash of Hot Damn

Combine amaretto, Irish cream, and buttershots in a glass over ice. Add hot damn and serve.

Gingerbread

Ingredients:

1 part gingerbread liqueur
1 part half & half
1 part Kahlua
1 part vanilla vodka

Combine ingredients in a glass over ice. Serve.

Sugar Cookie

Ingredients:

1 part Godiva white
1 part Irish cream
1 part milk
splash of buttershots

Combine ingredients in a glass over ice. Serve.

Oatmeal Raisin

Ingredients:

1 part Irish cream
1 part buttershots
hint of Hot Damn

Combine ingredients in a glass over ice. Serve.

Double Chocolate Chip

Ingredients:

1 part chocolate vodka
1 part Irish cream
splash of Half & Half
1 squirt Hershey’s syrup

Combine ingredients in a glass over ice. Serve.

December 25, 2013
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Drink Matron gave to me: Other Christmas Cocktails!

We’ve featured lots of drinks over the last week, most of them warm and traditional. What about the other drinks? The cold martinis, bubbly champagne, and traditions that range from family to family? We’ve asked around and come up with a handful of good ones for you to try at your Christmas Eve party.

Peppermint Martini

Ingredients:

1 1/4 ounces vanilla vodka
1 1/4 ounces white crème de cacao
3/4 ounce peppermint schnapps
Garnish: peppermint candy

Combine vanilla vodka, white creme de cacao, and peppermint schnapps in an ice-filled shaker. Shake vigorously, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with peppermint candy.

Cranberry Champagne Cocktail

Ingredients:

2 well-chilled bottles champagne
1 cup well-chilled cranberry juice cocktail, or to taste
3 Tbsp triple sec

In a large pitcher combine champagne, cranberry juice cocktail and triple sec. Serve in champagne flutes. Garnish with cranberry, if desired.

Grinch Cocktail

Ingredients:

1 part vodka, rum, or champagne
2 parts sprite
2 parts pineapple juice
lime sherbet
whipped cream
green sprinkles

Combine booze, sprite, and pineapple juice in a pitcher. Float Lime Sherbet on top. Serve in a large glass. Top with whipped cream and sprinkles. (For kids, leave out the booze. You already know how I feel about giving kids alcohol.)

Hot Peppermint Cocoa

Ingredients:

1 pouch of hot cocoa
1 oz Irish cream
1 oz 100 proof peppermint schnapps

In a mug, combine packet of cocoa and hot water. Add Irish cream and peppermint schnapps. If desired, top with whipped cream or marshmallows. Serve.

Boozey Cider

Ingredients:

Warmed hot cider
1.5 oz rum
.5 oz bourbon
cinnamon
nutmeg
whipped cream

In a mug, combine hot cider, rum, and bourbon. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg.

December 24, 2013
On the ninth day of Christmas, Drink Matron gave to me: Chocolate Covered Brandy Cherries!

Chocolate Covered Brandy Cherries

Ingredients:
1 pound butter
2 pounds of powdered sugar sifted
2 tsp Vanilla (can be replaced with 2.5-3 tsp brandy, if you prefer)
One large jar of whole maraschino cherries
Several bars of good chocolate

Preparation:
1. Drain the juice from the cherries and replace with brandy. Let them sit to develop flavor, the longer they sit, the stronger they’ll be. When you are ready to make the cherries drain (save the brandy for drinking). Place the cherries on a paper towel to let them dry.
2. Soften your butter and gradually knead as much powdered sugar as you can until the dough is really stiff. Add a teaspoon of vanilla (or brandy). Continue to knead more powdered sugar until dough is stiff again. Repeat adding liquid and sugar.
3. Take a small circle of dough and flatten in the palm of your hand. Place a cherry on the dough and wrap around until in a ball. If you don’t completely cover the cherry it will leak. Place cherries on a tray and chill as they will be warm from your hands.
4. In small batches, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring each time. Do not allow the chocolate to get too hot, or it will become grainy.
5. Dip cherries in the melted chocolate, covering completely. Remove from chocolate with toothpicks. Set on wax paper on a cookie sheet and chill until firm. Enjoy.

December 22, 2013
Stocking Stuffer! Found on the Internet: How to Make Holiday Punch Without a Recipe

Not sure if you have exactly what you need for punch? Well, Food 52 wants you to know that as long as you have some wine and booze, you probably do. Check it out!

From the article:
“For the booze, use your favorite; for the wine, bubbles are best, white wine works, hard cider is nice with apple and rye; for the sweet, use your judgment. We like to use simple syrup, or you can add a sweet liqueur, like St. Germain if you’re making gin punch, or Domaine de Canton if your batch wants a gingery kick.”

See more at How to Make Holiday Punch Without a Recipe

December 21, 2013