Drink Matron

Category: Recipes

  • Cocktails for Pecan Pie Day!

    It’s National Pecan Pie Day and we are ready with cocktails!  There are so many variations of Pecan Pie Martinis and other drinks, so I thought I’d bring you a few that I’ve found that I think sound and look absolutely decadent. Enjoy!

    Pecan Pie Martini

    Recipe from Daydreamer Desserts (click here for some really great pics of this drink).

    For the Garnish

    • 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
    • 1/2 ounce praline pecan liqueur
    • 2 pecan halves

    Pour the praline pecan liqueur into a shallow plate. Dip the rims of the martini glasses into the the plate with the pecan liqueur then dip them into the plate with the turbinado sugar. Place one pecan half in each of the martini glasses.

    For the Martini

    • 2 ounces Praline pecan liqueur
    • 1.5 ounces caramel cream liqueur
    • 1.5 ounces bourbon
    • .5 ounce Torani caramel syrup
    • 1 ounce heavy cream

    Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Add all liquid ingredients into the cocktail shaker, and shake for 20-30 seconds. Pour into prepared martini glasses.

    Butter Pecan

    • 1 oz hazelnut liqueur
    • 2 lg Tbsp of vanilla ice cream
    • 5 pecans

    Pour hazelnut liqueur into a double cocktail glass and add ice cream. Top with pecans.

    More pecan pie cocktails

    The Martini Diva’s Pecan Pie Martini

    EHow Pecan Rum Cocktail

     

     

  • Recipe: Piña Colada

    The piña colada, what  a wonderful phrase. Oh, wait, that’s not right. But the piña colada certainly is wonderful, and since today is National Piña Colada Day, I thought I’d bring you a delicious recipe that I enjoy, submitted by requested from our friend, Andi.

    Ingredients:

    • 2 cans Coco Casa
    • 1 package of fresh diced pineapple
    • 1 mango, sliced
    • Dark Rum

    In a blender, combine ice, coco casa, approximately two or three large slices mango, and pineapple and rum to taste. Blend until smooth. Garnish with pineapple and cherry (or mango).  Serves 3 – 5.

    Andi says “This recipes is all about trial and error and what tastes good to you- some people like more pineapple and some less.”

     

     

  • A Tribute to Andy Griffith – Lemonade Cocktails

    As a tribute to the late and great Andy Griffith who we so sadly lost today, I’d like to refresh your mind with a lemonade cocktail toast to one of the most beloved Sheriffs of all time.

    Blue Frog

    Your standard vodka and lemonade seems like exactly what Andy would be sipping while Opie sold the the more innocent version at his lemonade stand. I think the name is so perfect as well, giving one a feeling that after they enjoy their refreshing drinks, Andy will send a smiling Opie out to catch himself some frogs.

    • 2 oz Vodka
    • 5 oz Lemonade (regular or pink)
    • Lemon cut into slices

    Combine vodka and lemonade over ice in a tall glass. Garnish with a lemon slice.

    Or, if you’d like, you could always throw in an Opie’s brand cocktail cherry, for good luck.

    Cranberry Fizz

    I just imagine Andy and his other Mayberry neighbors sitting on their porches on a hot summer day, enjoying cocktails made from natural ingredients like freshly squeezed lemonade and cranberry juice.

    • 2 oz White rum
    • 3 oz Cranberry juice (or 1.5 oz cranberry liqueur)
    • 2 oz Lemonade
    • Orange cut into slices (optional)
    • Cranberries (optional)

    Combine rum and cranberry juice over ice in a tall glass. Top with Lemonade. Garnish with orange slice and/or cranberries if desired.

    Gin Shandy

    What’s a hot summer day without a shandy? And lord knows there were some hot summer days in Mayberry.

    • 1.5 oz Gin
    • 4 oz Ginger beer
    • 3 oz Lemonade

    Combine ingredients in a tall glass over ice. Enjoy.

     

    On this 4th of July, let’s remember Mayberry’s favorite son by sitting on our own porches, stoops, roofs, and decks and toasting to his good name. Rest in Peace, Matlock.

  • Recipes: Variations of the Bloody Mary

    Since the invention of the Bloody Mary, variations of the popular vodka/tomato juice cocktail have made their way into our homes and bars.

    The Bloody Caesar

    The most popular variation on the Bloody Mary is the Bloody Caesar. More common in Canada than the traditional Bloody, the Caesar uses Clamato juice as a mixer rather than tomato juice, but does little else in changing the original recipe.

    Ingredients:

    • 1.5 oz Vodka
    • 4 oz Clamato
    • Celery Salt
    • 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
    • 2 dashes Tabasco Sauce
    • Prepared horseradish, to taste (optional)

    Coat the rim of a tall glass with celery salt, fill with ice and set aside. Add the remaining ingredients to a mixing glass and fill with ice. Pour back and forth into another mixing glass a few times to mix. Strain into the prepared glass and garnish.

    A similar variation is the Bloody Eight, which replaces the tomato juice with V8.

    The Red Hammer (Red snapper, Bloody Margaret, Ruddy Mary)

    During prohibition, vodka was hard to come by. But gin sure wasn’t. Bloody Mary drinkers soon turned to the only clear spirit they could get, or make themselves, and the Red Hammer was born. In fact, after prohibition ended, people continued to call the vodka version of the drink the same name, but eventually Mary would be bloody once again. The gin version of a Bloody is now known as Red Snapper or the Ruddy Mary.

    Bloody Murder

    If you like your Bloodies hot, this one’s for you.

    Ingredients:

    • 3 oz Gin
    • 3 oz Tomato juice
    • Celery salt
    • 2 shakes of Black Vinegar
    • Wasabi sauce
    • 2 shakes of Tabasco

    Fill a pint glass with ice and add in vinegar, celery salt, wasabi and Tabasco. Add gin and tomato juice. Pour mix into another pint glass and back again. Repeat. Garnish with a cherry tomato pierced with a plastic sword stirrer.

    Bull Shot

    In place of tomato juice, add a beef bouillon or beef consume.

    No change but the garnish

    The Slutty Mary is garnished with a sausage. Ha ha

    The Bloody Charlie is garnished with simply two olives to represent a man’s balls.

    Really, really weird mixes

    The Bloody Marynara substitutes marinara for tomato juice and is served as a shot. WHY?!

    Apparently there is a frozen Bloody Mary that includes milk or cream and served like a margarita, with a celery stick and/or a shrimp.

     

     

     

  • Recipes: Irish Car Bombs

    The Irish Car Bomb is a staple of the St. Patrick’s Day diet.  This delightful bomb shot consists of Irish stout, Irish whiskey, and Irish cream, and is definitely a tasty addition to the line up of potent potables imbibed on this most auspicious of occasions.

    The Irish Car Bomb was invented in 1979 by Charles Burke Cronin Oat at Wilson’s Saloon in Norwich, CT.  Originally, Oat had crafted a shot he called “The Grandfather” which was two parts Baileys and one part Kahlua.  He felt something was missing from this and eventually added a splash of Irish whiskey on top of the shot.  Commenting on the bubbling explosion-like reaction the whiskey had on the shot, Oat proclaimed “the IRA just showed up!”  Thus, the Grandfather became the IRA.  Several years later, while Oat was drinking IRAs and Guinness, he impulsively dropped the explosive concoction into what was left of his beer and drank it.  It was a success with other patrons and now we have the Irish Car Bomb.

    In the time since then, Kahlua has been dropped from the recipe leaving only the Irish ingredients.  However, the original Irish Car Bomb is still around.  These days it’s called a Belfast Car Bomb.

    Irish Car Bomb

    • 1/2 pint Irish stout (typically Guinness)
    • 1/2 ounce Irish cream (typically Bailey’s)
    • 1/2 ounce Irish whiskey (typically Jameson)

    Mix the Irish cream with the Irish whiskey in a shot glass.  Pour the half-pint of stout into a pint glass.  Drop the shot glass into the pint glass and slam.

    Note: You should drink this as fast as possible because the way that the ingredients react to each other causes the Irish cream to curdle quickly.  The flavor isn’t affected but drinking a half-pint of curdled anything is just plain gross.

    Belfast Car Bomb

    • 1/2 pint Irish stout (typically Guinness)
    • 1/2 ounce Irish cream (typically Bailey’s)
    • 1/4 ounce coffee liqueur (typically Kahlua)
    • 1 splash Irish whiskey (typically Jameson)

    Mix the Irish cream with the coffee liqueur in a shot glass.  Add a splash of Irish whiskey on top of your shot.  Pour a half-pint of Irish stout into a pint glass.  Drop the shot glass into the pint glass and slam.

  • Applejack – America’s Forgotten Liquor

    Until the recent surge in mixing classic cocktails, Applejack had become a forgotten gem of America’s drinking culture. Surprisingly, however, this liquor plays part in some of our most traditional drinks.

    Finding new cocktails to try is something that has always intrigued me. Mixing standard liquors with odd washes like guava juice was a great way for me to find what I like and don’t like and has given me the ability to offer the best advice to those who are looking for a new taste.

    But I’d never heard of applejack. At least, I’d never heard of the liquor called applejack. I had, of course, heard of the combination of apple schnapps and Jack Daniels that made my friends and me pucker our lips and shake out the dry whiskey taste. But the two are far from the same.

    The first time I heard of applejack was when I received a comment from a reader who was offended that I would use apple schnapps in anything, and recommended that I try the old spirit by mixing up a classic Jack Rose. After that, I kept running into the booze in my readings and conversations. So I decided it was time to learn a little bit about this old colonial favorite.

    Freeze Distillation

    Applejack is traditionally made from concentrating hard cider by a method of freeze distillation. Freeze distillation is a process of concentrating the alcohol in a fermented beverage by freezing it, then removing the frozen material. Because water freezes before the alcohol, the more the beverage is frozen, the more water is removed, leaving a higher concentration of alcohol when the freezing process is complete.

    The drink tastes strongly of apples (due to the cider), and because jacking is a term used for freeze distillation, the liquor was named applejack. Because of the possible dangers of freeze distillation, this process has become less popular and is illegal in many countries. You must have a license to use this process, so please do not try it at home.

    The Origin of Applejack

    It seems that applejack was discovered by accident. In the 17th century, northern American farmers would leave their hard cider outside during the winter months to keep it cold. Any liquid that froze was removed, leaving a more potent blend behind. Once this became apparent, people began collecting apples and creating their own.

    Applejack Cocktail Recipes

    Jack Rose


    The original applejack cocktail.

    • 1 1/2 oz Applejack,
    • 1/2 oz Grenadine,
    • The Juice of 1/2 Lime

    Fill a shaker over half full of ice and pour in the ingredients. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

    Applecart

    Don’t upset it.

    • 1 1/2 oz Applejack
    • 1 oz Triple Sec
    • 1/2 oz Lemon juice

    Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

    Widow’s Kiss

    • 1 1/2 oz Applejack
    • 1/2 oz Chartreuse Green
    • 3/4 oz Benedictine Liqueur
    • 2 Dashes of Bitters

    Stir with small amount of ice and strain into a champagne glass. Garnish with a cherry.

  • How to Mix an Old Fashioned

    Brandy or Whiskey, sweet or sour, making an old fashioned is as simple as the ingredients that go into it. Read on and learn ways to make this barroom favorite.

    Possibly the first drink to be called a cocktail, the old fashioned was most likely invented in the late 1880s by a bartender at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky. The drink was simple: combine some bourbon, bitters, sugar, water and ice and bang, you’ve got yourself a drink.

    To mix a classic old fashioned you will need:

    • 2 ounces of bourbon whiskey
    • 2 dashes of bitters
    • 1 cube of sugar with a splash of water, or simple syrup
    • 3 cubes of ice
    • Old Fashioned (or rocks) glass

    In an old fashioned glass, combine the cube of sugar, water and bitters (or simple syrup and bitters). If needed, crush the sugar mixture to coat the bottom of the glass. Add the cubes of ice and whiskey. Garnish with a twist.

    Served in a glass named for itself, the old-fashioned is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, along with many of its classic compatriots. Options to making the drink are as long as its century existence, but debates on keeping the purity of the drink often negate the tasty variations.

    For most purists, the drink remains what it has always been, a whiskey cocktail with the minimum additions made. For others who enjoy a new take on an old favorite, adding a wash of sweet or sour (or in many cases soda water), mixing brandy instead of whiskey, or an added slice of orange garnish or a maraschino cherry make the drink that much more interesting. The decision, however, is always up to the drinker, to play around with the recipes and find what truly works for you.

    The following recipe has been popularized in the north central region of Wisconsin. Known as a whiskey (or brandy) old fashioned sweet (or sour), it is just one take on what has become known as Wisconsin’s state drink.

    To mix this version you need will need:

    • 2 ounces of whiskey or brandy
    • 2 dashes of bitters
    • 1 to 3 ounces of sweet or sour wash
    • 1 cube of sugar with water, or simple syrup
    • orange slice or cherry garnish (optional)
    • 3 cubes of ice
    • Old Fashioned (or rocks) glass

    In an old fashioned glass, combine the cube of sugar, water and bitters (or a splash of simple syrup and bitters). If needed, crush the sugar mixture to coat the bottom of the glass. Add the cubes of ice and your choice of whiskey or brandy. Top with sweet or sour wash and garnish with an orange slice or cherry. Sit back and enjoy!

  • The Sidecar

    Of all the basic drinks listed in David A Embury’s Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, the Sidecar has the most dubious of back stories.


    Paris

    It is said that in Paris during World War I, an American Army captain often traveled around in a motorcycle sidecar. One day, when he was under the weather, he requested a libation that would help him to feel better. The bartender, trying to find something suitable to pair with the “medicinal” brandy, added Cointreau and lemon juice as a source of Vitamin C. The drink was named “Sidecar” as a tribute to its original patron, and the rest is history.

    London’s Buck’s Club

    Many believe that the Paris story is a very big myth, and that the true invention of the Sidecar can be traced back to the London’s famous Buck’s Club in the 1920s. The creation is most often credited to Pat MacGarry, one of the Buck’s Club’s most popular bartenders.

    Or Not

    Another possibility is that the Sidecar is itself a variation of the Brandy Crusta, a cocktail made with the same ingredients and which also sported a sugar rimmed glass. The most notable difference is that the Sidecar is made with Cognac rather than standard Brandy.

    French School vs. English School

    While the origin of the drink may not be of any consequence to the drinker, the exact proportion of what goes into the drink may be very important. While everyone agrees that the three main ingredients are Cognac, Cointreau and lemon juice, the debate about just exactly how much of each goes into the drink has spawned two schools of thought: the French School and the English School.

    The French School maintains that the drink should consist of equal parts of each of the three ingredients. The English School believes that the cocktail should consist of two parts Cognac for every one part Cointreau and lemon juice. While this may not seem like it should make a difference, the taste of each of these mixes is drastically different, and can cause quite an issue when a you’re expecting your drink to taste a specific way.

    The Sidecar

    French School

    • 1 oz Cognac or Armagnac
    • 1 oz Cointreau
    • 1 oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice

    English School

    • 1 1/2 oz Cognac or Armagnac
    • 3/4 oz Cointreau
    • 3/4 oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice

    Combine ingredients in a shaker half full of ice. Shake until very cold, and strain into a cocktail glass (preferably chilled). If preferred, rim the cocktail glass with sugar before straining. Garnish with a twist of lemon or orange.

    No matter how you like your Sidecar, it’s certain that what you’re getting is something classic and pleasant. Please remember to always drink responsibly and know your limit.

  • Spent Grain Bread Recipe

    Last weekend I started home brewing again.  Being that I brewed an all-grain batch, I had a concern early on about what to do with the spent grain.  When you brew all-grain beer, all that grain you used in the process ends up being a waste product after all the starches are washed out.  So what can you do with that grain once its spent?  You could throw it on a compost heap to add some nutrients to the dirt, or you could make some seriously kick ass bread!

    I looked around online and found a recipe for it.

    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 cup whole wheat flour
    • 1/4 cup sugar
    • 2 tsp baker’s yeast
    • 2 tsp salt
    • 3 cups spent grain (ground up)
    • 1 egg (beaten)
    • 1 cup milk
    • 1/4 cup butter or olive oil

    Mix the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients, knead, put in an oiled bowl and let it rise for ~90 minutes, punch down and put in an oiled bread pan, let rise until doubled, bake for 40 minutes at 350F, let cool for 30 minutes.

    This recipe makes 3 loaves, which is WAY more than we here at DM Labs will eat in a week and if you do the math, 3 cups of spent grain isn’t nearly all the spent grain you will have after a batch of brew.  Thankfully, bread dough freezes well for later baking.  I used up all the flour I had in my house and almost used up all of my spent grain making dough for 12 loaves of bread (all frozen now), and I froze the remaining cup or so of spent grain I have for when I restock my ingredients.

    I was expecting this bread to be run of the mill, home-baked bread, but it turned out far greater than I imagined.  This is seriously some of the best bread, commercial or homemade, that I’ve ever had.  We devoured the first loaf in just under 24 hours.

  • Jagermeister Shots

    Despite its origins as a digestif, Jagermeister has become much better known for the taste addition it adds to various shots. Long before the Jagerbomb became popular, Jager was a central ingredient in many notorious (and often yummy) shots.

    Liquid Cocaine

    It sounds like it would be a rough shot, but the Liquid Cocaine is actually quite good and surprisingly subtle.

    • 1 part Jagermeister
    • 1 part Goldschlager
    • 1 part Bacardi 151

    Combine ingredients in a shot glass and serve.

    Dead Nazi

    Not sure where this shot got its name, but it will definitely knock you on your ass.

    • 1 part Jagermeister (chilled)
    • 1 part Rumple Minze (chilled)

    Combine ingredients in a shot glass and serve.

    Surfer on Acid

    Again with the name…

    • 1 part Jagermeister
    • 1 part Coconut rum
    • 1 part Pineapple juice

    Combine ingredient in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until completely cold. Pour into a shot glass and serve.

    Variations of the Surfer on Acid include Barney on Acid (replacing rum with Blue Curacao and pineapple juice with cranberry juice) and the Hawaiian Surfer on Acid which adds Chambord to the original recipe.

    Oatmeal Cookie

    If you mix this shot correctly it will not only taste like an oatmeal cookie but it will become one of your favorite shots of all time. Num Num.

    • 1/4 oz Jagermeister
    • 1/4 oz Goldschlager
    • 1/4 oz Butterscotch Schnapps
    • 1/4 oz Irish Creme

    Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a shot glass and serve.