A Clockwork Orange Bourbon Crusta Movie Cocktail

(Cocktails inspired by the movies, Oscar nominees and winners.)
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, 1972 Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee Nominated (1972) for: Best Picture, Best Director (Stanley Kubrik), Best Writing, Screenplay (Stanley Kubrik), and Best Film Editing (Bill Butler).
Just before the Oscars every year I try to come up with a new movie themed drink. I rarely relate them to the current Oscar contenders, preferring to stick with movie classics, mostly because the puns have better possibilities and I am a huge old movie cinemaphile.
This year my punny play is on the cult SciFi movie classic A Clockwork Orange. Despite most people thinking the story was written by Stanley Kubrik, the movie is based on the 1962 futuristic, morality novel by Anthony Burgess. Like the book, Kubrick's vision is a dark, disturbing story of aimless youth gone terribly wrong in a weary socialist state, but it is a cinematically beautiful one that I admire for the visuals while cringing at the violence. I have to be in just the right head space to watch this film but the title is just too good not to booze pun.
This cocktail movie pun is a loosely based adaptation of a Bourbon Crusta which is a bourbon version of a Brandy Crusta, a mid 1899's cocktail invented in New Orleans by a gentleman named Joseph Santini. The only relationship to the movie is the addition of the blood orange and the possibility of ending up talking like Alex if you have too many.
"Well, well, well! Well if it isn't fat stinking billy goat Billy Boy in poison! How art thou, thou globby bottle of cheap stinking chip oil? Come and get one in the yarbles, if ya have any yarble, ya eunuch jelly thou!" Alex DeLarge, A Clockwork Orange

The CLOCKWORK ORANGE CRUSTA
INGREDIENTS 2 Oz. Four Roses Bourbon 1 Tsp. Cointreau 1 Tsp. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur 1 Tbsp. Fresh Blood Orange Juice 1 Tsp. Blood Orange Honey Creme Syrup* 1 Dash Orange Bitters  Ice Large Ice Cubes
Tools: Large Ice Cube Molds, Cocktail Shaker, Strainer
Glass: Old Fashioned
Garnish: Sugar Rim, Blood Orange Curl, Sugar Dipped Blood Orange Suprême (Segment)
DIRECTIONS * Prepare the Blood Orange Honey Creme Syrup by mixing 1 teaspoon of Honey Ridge Farms Blood Orange Honey Creme with 1 teaspoon of hot water. Pare the full peel off the blood orange, set aside then squeeze the juice from the fruit. Prep glass by moistening the rim with juice and dipping it in sugar. Add the large ice cubes to your glass, fit the peel around the inside of the glass, lifting it slightly outside the glass. Combine the ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake, strain into the ice filled glass, garnish and serve.
“The attempt to impose upon man, a creature of growth and capable of sweetness, to ooze juicily at the last round the bearded lips of God, to attempt to impose, I say, laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my sword-pen.” A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess, (Part 1, Chapter 2)
  
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GIRL SCOUT COOKIE COCKTAILS

Since we are smack dab in the middle of Girl Scout Cookie Season, it's probably a good time to share some cocktails I have that are basically drinkable Girl Scout Cookies. If you think the cookie flavors are delicious, just wait until you add some booze.
On my honor, I think you'll enjoy these.
GIRL SCOUT COOKIE FLAVORED COCKTAILS

Yes, I do have a cocktail recipe that tastes like the newRASPBERRY RALLY.Shake up myRASPBERRY TRIFLE MARTINI

Like Thin Mints? This is the one TIPSY GIRL SCOUT MARTINI Or try my GRASSHOPPER

Here's your drinkable Samoa Cookie BOOZY SAMOA COCKTAIL SHAKE

Is your favorite the S'mores Inspired Cookie? Drink this S'MORES COCKTAIL

Love those peanut butter and chocolate Tagalongs? Try my PEANUT BUTTER CUP MARTINI

How about just the peanut butter Do-SiDos? Sip one of these PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE MARTINIS

Remember the Toffee-tastic™? Try this ENGLISH TOFFEE MARTINI

Prefer the Savannah Smiles or Lemonade? Pucker up for this LEMONADE MARTINI or shake up one of these LEMON DROP MARTINIS

Dig those Shortbread Trefoils? The SUGAR COOKIE MARTINI

Thankful for the Thanks-a-Lots? Mix up this HOT FUDGE MARTINI

Love the Caramel Chocolate Chip? Try my CHOCOLATE CARAMEL MARTINI
National Girl Scout Cookie Day is February 8th, Girl Scout Cookie Weekend is typically held the last weekend in February and National Girl Scout Day is March 12th, the day in 1912 when Juliette Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scout Troop meeting.
*DYK? The very first published recipe for S'mores (“some mores") appeared in a 1927 publication called "Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts".

Updated 2-2023 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

MARDI GRAS - FAT TUESDAY COCKTAILS

Mardi Gras is coming and with it comes a carnival of great cocktails. Many famous cocktails have come out of The Big Easy including the Ramos Fizz, the Hurricane, the Sazerac, Arnaud’s Special, the Vieux Carré, the Brandy Crusta, the Absinthe Frappé and Café Brûlot, to mention just a few. Other cocktails with Jazz City associations, if not origins, are the French 75 (created at the New York Bar in Paris but you must have one at Arnaud’s French 75 Bar), Absinthe Suissesse (don't have breakfast at The Old Absinthe House without it) and Milk Punch (a brunch staple at Brennan's).

Each year I come up with a new cocktail inspired by Fat Tuesday, sometimes based on a classic New Orleans drink, sometimes inspired by famous NOLA dishes. It all depends on how Carnival inspires me each year. So, if you can't make it to Bourbon Street in person this year bring MARDI GRAS home with these jazzy adaptations.

MARDI GRAS

COCKTAILS

ABSINTHE MINDED LEPRECHAUN

BANANAS FOSTER COCKTAIL

CHERRY DIAMOND RAMOS FIZZ

CLOCKWORK ORANGE CRUSTA

GOLDEN RAMOS FIZZ

HURRICANE

HURRICANE MARTINI

KING CAKE FLIP

MARDI GRAS MARTINI

RAMOS GIN FIZZ

SAGZERAC (Sazerac Riff)

TERRI'S CHERRY 65 (French 75 Riff)

VIEUX CARRÉ

And always, "laissez les bons temps rouler"!

Updated 2-2019

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SAMOA COOKIE BOOZY SHAKE COCKTAIL

It's Girl Scout Cookie time and the whole country is eagerly awaiting their neighborhood Girl Scouts to be out and about selling those much loved boxes of cookie temptations. I confess to an addiction to the Samoa Cookie, that combination of caramel, chocolate and coconut is my downfall. I will buy - and bogart - several boxes whenever given the opportunity.

Sadly, I live out in the country and no bands of roving uniformed cookie dealers are roaming my hood looking to score a sale; about the only thing that roams out here are coyotes, javalina and the occasional mountain lion. If I want my Samoa Cookie fix, I have to get lucky and find an enterprising Girl Scout outside my local grocery store or feed my habit another way.
So far this year, no Girl Scouts or Samoa Cookies have crossed my path. Disappointed but not deterred, I have come up with an alternative way to get my Samoa high and it involves booze, chocolate ice cream and fake Samoas, aka Keebler's Coconut Dreams. On my honor, I will do my best to enjoy this boozy chocolate, coconut and caramel blizzard-y style shake. Take that you missing neighborhood Girl Scouts.

BOOZY SAMOA COCKTAIL SHAKE
INGREDIENTS 1-1/2 Oz Smirnoff Salted Caramel Vodka 1 Oz Malibu Coconut Rum 1 Oz Milk 2 Scoops Chocolate Ice Cream 1/4 C. Crushed Samoa Style Cookies
Garnish: Rim glass with caramel syrup then dip in MORE crushed Samoa style cookies. Top with whipped cream and add more crushed cookies on top. Yes, you can also drizzle on extra chocolate and caramel syrup!
Tools: Blender
Glass: Pint or Large Mug
DIRECTIONS Blend the ingredients until smooth and creamy, top with whipped cream, garnish, add straw and serve.
How's that for a Girl Scout Cookie hack?
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MOVIE INSPIRED COCKTAILS

I'm a huge movie fan, cinemaphile and film buff. Popcorn in hand, I dig into my vintage movie library almost daily, a week rarely goes by without a trip to the movie theater for the latest flicks and I have Netflix and Amazon Prime plugged into all my devices.
I also catch nearly every movie awards show that's televised from The Oscars and The Golden Globes to The People's Choice Awards. Mix that cinematic passion up with my love of cocktails and you had to know this was coming.
MOVIE INSPIRED COCKTAIL TRIBUTES      AN APERITIF TO REMEMBER ANGOSTURA AND OLD LACE BLACK PANTHER COCKTAIL The CASABRANCA The CLOCKWORK ORANGE CRUSTA The COCKTAIL PURPLE DRACULA'S BLOOD & SAND DRIVING MISS DAIQUIRI The GODFATHER GONE WITH THE GIN JACKASS, THE MARTINI MAKE MY DAY SHOOTER NEVERLAND COOLER PAN GALACTIC GARGLE BLASTERPINK CADILLAC MARGARITA REVENGE OF THE MUMMYTINI The Thelma & Louise OVER THE CLIFF BLACKBERRY MARGARITA James Bond's VESPER Cocktail Back To The Future WAKE UP JUICE
And we can't leave out my favorite SciFi Cocktails:  STAR TREK COCKTAILS 1 STAR TREK COCKTAILS 2 STAR WARS COCKTAILS
I would be remiss if I didn't include a couple of cocktails inspired by my favorite movie munchies:
The GOOD & PLENTY MARTINI HOT BUTTERED POPCORN SHOOTER
Bookmark this page if you're a cocktails and movies fan, I'm always adding more.

And here's a few cocktail quotes FROM the movies:
I am not gonna die sober! Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street
I'm very drunk and I intend on getting still drunker before this evening is over. Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, Gone with the Wind
Never cry over spilt milk. It could've been whiskey. James Garner as Bret Maverick, Maverick
There comes a time in every woman’s life when the only thing that helps is a glass of champagne. Bette Davis as Kit Marlowe, Old Acquaintance
A wedding? I love weddings! Drinks all around! Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean:  -The Curse of the Black Pearl
I don't think I've ever drunk champagne before breakfast before. With breakfast on several occasions, but never before, before. George Peppard as Paul Varjak, Breakfast at Tiffanys
There's a special rung in hell reserved for people who waste good scotch. Michael Fassbender as Lt. Archie Hicox), Inglourious Basterds
Beer is for breakfast, 'drink or be gone. Bryan Brown as Doug Coughlin, Cocktail
Her husband was too drunk to know he was too drunk to drive. Paul Bettany as Charles, A Beautiful Mind
I have respect for beer. I have respect for beer! Russell Crowe as John Nash, A Beautiful Mind
Don't be such a square. Everybody who's anybody drinks. Lea Thompson as Lorraine Baines, Back to the Future
SEE YOU AT THE MOVIES! 

Updated 2-2018 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

BANANAS FOSTER BOOZY SHAKE COCKTAIL

Some years ago, after my first visit to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, I was inspired by Brennan's Restaurant to create a cocktail inspired by their famous dessert, Bananas Foster. I was firmly in the throes of taking my cocktail inspiration from favorite foods so throwing Bananas Foster into a cocktail shaker as a drinkable version sounded good to me.
My Bananas Foster Martini was a pretty good result for someone as new to mixology as I was in those days, especially considering I had yet to stumble on the likes of David Wondrich, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Robert Hess and other noted cocktail gurus. In those days I was flying by the seat of my pants and relying heavily on my culinary training when the cocktail cravings hit. It wasn't a bad place to start, but a good decade later of studying the above mentioned fellows (and a few hundred dollars invested in their books), I often see how a drink recipe can be improved or updated and will have a go at a remake.
Though it tasted great in that Bananas Foster Martini, I still don't know why I added Creme de Cacao to it, the authentic Bananas Foster recipe doesn't make use of any chocolate. That's why, this time, neither do I. And, since boozy shakes are very trendy, I went decadent with a nice, Jamaican rum based Bananas Foster Milkshake.

The BANANAS FOSTER Boozy Shake
INGREDIENTS 2 Oz. Appleton Estate 12 Year Rum 1 Tsp Goldschlagger 1 Oz. Banana Liqueur 2 Scoops Vanilla Ice Cream 1 Cup Caramelized Bananas (See below* for how to caramelize bananas.)
Garnish: Whipped Cream, Slice of Caramelized Banana, Dusting of Cinnamon.
Tools: Blender
Glass:  BIG!
DIRECTIONS Add ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into your glass, garnish, add a couple of straws and serve.
If you are going to have more than two of these, put some money aside to buy some fat pants.
* To caramelize the bananas simply follow the step for preparing the caramelized bananas in this recipe for Bananas Foster from Brennan's.
National Banana day is April 19th, and National Banana Lovers Day is August 27th and Mardi Gras 2017 is February 28th.
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CILANTRO MARGARITA

I love cilantro and almost always have it in the house.  I usually grow my own but this last year I have not been able to keep it growing, so I've been buying it. This means I have to use it up within a few days. I had a bunch that needed to be used so decided to do this cilantro and tequila chicken recipe, though I make a cilantro salsa topping for mine.
Of course, I needed a cocktail to enjoy with the dinner so I thought I'd try a Cilantro Margarita. I love having my Cilantro Martini and a margarita was just a hop, skip and tequila shot away from that. It had to be pretty good too, right?
Yup, right!

The CILANTRO MARGARITA
INGREDIENTS 2 Oz. Tequila Blanco 2 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice 1 Oz. Simple Syrup 1/3 Cup Cilantro Leaves Ice
Garnish: Fresh Cilantro Sprig
Tools: Cocktail Shaker
Glass: Margarita (or something fun, here I used a decorative flower pot, one with our a drain hole in the bottom, of course.)
DIRECTIONS Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake until chilled. Strain into the ice-filled glass. Garnish and serve.
If you want a more powerful cilantro flavor, gently muddle the cilantro, lime juice and simple syrup before adding and shaking with the ice and tequila.
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