GINGER BOURBON SNAP COCKTAIL

It's the holidays and, yes, I went and visited Gingersnap Cocktails again, only this time with bourbon and coffee. Why? Because I was eating one of my favorite gingersnaps one morning and happened to dip it in my coffee. I discovered gingersnaps are way better dipped in creamy coffee than they are in milk.
I figured creamy coffee with booze would be even better. I was right. Yes I dipped that little gingersnap man in my cocktail and sent him to gingersnap man heaven. Then followed him by finishing the cocktail.

The GINGER BOURBON SNAP Cocktail
INGREDIENTS 2 Oz. Knob Creek Bourbon 1 Oz. Homemade Gingerbread Liqueur 1/2 Oz. Coffee Liqueur (My goto coffee liqueur is Café Borghetti) 1 Oz. Half & Half
Garnish: Whipped Cream, Gingerbread Man
Tools: Cocktail Shaker
Glass: Cocktail or Coupe
DIRECTIONS Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with  ice. Strain into a chilled glass. Garnish and serve.
Bailey was outside watching the quails and missed the whole thing. That's what saved my whipped cream topping.

Looks nice with my Make Some Magic Today Necklace from CocktailsAndJewelry.Com.

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CRANAPPLE PUNCH - A Cranberry Apple Rum Cocktail

This cocktail is the result of using what you have available and not wanting to get complicated. I wanted a cool drink because, despite the fact it is Thanksgiving weekend, it is 89 degrees here in Tucson. For most people that's summer, for me it's summer enough to want a refreshing drink even though I still have a Thanksgiving turkey carcass in my refrigerator.
I peeked into the fridge, past the turkey, saw some apple juice and spied the nefarious leftover jellied cranberry and thought, why not?

The Not Christmas Here Yet CRANAPPLE PUNCH
INGREDIENTS 1-1/2 Oz. Dark Rum 1-1/2 Oz. Apple Juice 2 Tablespoons Leftover Jellied Cranberry Sauce 2 Dashes Regan's Orange Bitters
Garnish: Dried Apple Slice, Rum Soaked Dried Cranberries
Tools: Cocktail Shaker
Glass: Low Ball or Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONS Chill your glass in the freezer. Nuke the cranberry jelly just long enough for it to liquefy. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice, add the rum, the apple juice and the liquefied cranberry sauce then shake until well chilled. Strain over a large ice cube into your chilled glass, add the bitters on top then garnish and serve.
Bailey approved.

If it was cold I would heat this, add some mulling spices and serve it in a nice mug in front of the fire. Sadly, the only fire we have right now is the last blasting rays of a beautiful desert sunset. I can't complain, at least I'm not shoveling snow off a driveway.

Updated 12-2018

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PRICKLY PEAR ( Cactus Pear) CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

I have been promising my friends and followers for YEARS I was going to start a line of handmade cocktail picks. I have made them for many years for myself and my cocktails and, when people kept asking me if I sold them or if I would make some for them, I threatened to start my own line of what I referred to as my "cocktail jewelry".

Yesterday I finally got the first ones up for sale. I thought that deserved a little celebration so I popped open a bottle of bubbly.
Of course there's one of them in my drink!

The PRICKLY PEAR CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS 1 Split of Champagne or Prosecco 1 Tsp. Prickly Pear Syrup 2 Dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
Garnish: Prickly Pear (Cactus)Candy, Lemon Twist
Glass: Champagne Flute
DIRECTIONS Chill a Champagne flute in the freezer for a minimum of half an hour. Pop the cork on the bubbly.  Add the Prickly Pear Syrup to the glass. Gently float the Champagne on top. Add 2 Dashes of the bitters. Garnish and serve. Guests may stir in the syrup as they desire.
Now settle in with your cocktail and go buy some of my fun Jewelry for Cocktails!

You might also enjoy my

Prickly Pear Martini

Prickly Pear Old Fashioned

Loaded Cactus Pear Sliderita

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SPICY MOLE RUM OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL

I was on an Old Fashioned kick last week for Old Fashioned Week but I wasn't quite ready to let go of my Old Fashioneds until I had one with rum. Being who I am I couldn't just switch out bourbon for rum, I had to go a few steps further.

Since I had worn my Petroglyphs Rock Paper Necklace (see photo above) to a meeting with a jewelry buyer earlier that day, it inspired me to go a little Southwestern so I added in a bit of spice to the mix.

The SPICY MOLE RUM OLD FASHIONED
INGREDIENTS 2 Oz. Appleton Estate Reserve Rum 1 Tsp. Spiced Turbinado Rich Simple Syrup* 3 Dashes The Bitter End Mexican Mole Bitters 2 Orange Wedges 3 Homemade Maraschino Cherries*
Garnish: Orange Peel, Homemade Maraschino Cherry
Tools: Muddler, Cocktail Shaker
Glass: Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONS Chill your glass in the freezer. At the bottom of your cocktail shaker, muddle the simple syrup, orange slices, bitters and cherries. Fill the cocktail shaker with ice,add the rum and shake until chilled. Strain into your chilled cocktail glass, garnish and serve.
* Spiced Turbinado Simple Syrup
Ingredients 2 parts turbinado sugar 1 part water 3 dashes of Cholula Chipotle Sauce 
Directions Heat the ingredients on medium until the sugar dissolves. Then remove from heat, let cool to room temperature and transfer to a clean glass jar. Cover and keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
MORE OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL RECIPES

Visit PopArtDiva.Com for this

One-Of-a-Kind Statement Necklace.

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The PRICKLY PEAR (Cactus Pear) OLD FASHIONED Cocktail

Living in Tucson, it was almost a prerequisite that I do a Prickly Pear Old Fashioned for Old Fashioned Week. So I did.
I think I know exactly where the rest of my prickly pear syrup is going.

The PRICKLY PEAR (Cactus Pear) OLD FASHIONED
INGREDIENTS 2 Oz. Bourbon 1 Tsp. Prickly Pear Syrup 2 Tsp. Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice 2 Orange Slices, cut in half 2 Dashes Dash of Bitter Bastards Chipotle Bitters
Garnish: Cactus Candy, Orange Peel, Homemade Bourbon Cherry
Tools: Cocktail Shaker, Hawthorne Strainer
Glass: Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONS Chill glass in freezer. Add the ingredients to a cocktail shaker and shake until well-chilled then strain into the ice filled chilled glass. Garnish and serve.
Yes, Bailey was all over this one.

If you like prickly pear you might want to try out my Prickly Pear Martini and my  Loaded Cactus Slideritas.
This cocktail paired nicely with my handmade, one-of-a-kind DREAM BIG Paper Necklace.

MORE OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL RECIPES

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TELEVISION COCKTAILS - Drinks Inspired by TV!

   I love watching television. I watch TV shows on my actual televisions, on my computer and on my phone. I  watch via cable, Netflix, Hulu, Crackle and other streaming services. Blame the fact I grew up in the Golden Age of Television, when TV was new and it was a status symbol to have a hulking RCA or Zenith smack dab in the living room, but TV is a part of my personal cultural history. It was, and is, a window to the world, albeit a kind of dirty, smudged window these days, but there are still gems if you wipe off that grime. The gems inspire my foray into bespoke TV cocktails. 
At the end of a long work day I often mix up a cocktail, flip on a screen and shut my brain down by watching a few hours of the Boob Tube. It's like a small screen happy hour and, not surprisingly, I've come up with a few TV special drinks for viewing time.
TELEVISION INSPIRED COCKTAILS   BOARDWALK EMPIRE COCKTAILS
BREAKING BAD BLUE CRYSTAL MARGARITA
DOWNTON ABBEY COCKTAIL
GAME OF THRONES COCKTAILS
HAVEN DROWN YOUR TROUBLES MARTINI
MAD MEN COCKTAILS
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK CANTALOUPE DAIQUIRI
TWISTED FAIRYTALE for Once Upon A Time
ROMULAN ALE
ROWDY ROY ROGERS
SEX In The CITY COCKTAILS
SIMPSONS DUH-OH COCKTAIL
SONS OF ANARCHY SAMCRO BOILERMAKER
STAR TREK COCKTAILS 1
STAR TREK COCKTAILS 2
STRANGER THINGS SLUSHY
EMMY COCKTAILS
Then, of course, there's that children's virgin cocktail:

"Television is a weapon of mass distraction."

Updated 20-2018 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

The ELDER FASHIONED - A Gin & Elderflower Old Fashioned Cocktail

Here's a riff on an Old Fashioned cocktail that will please gin lovers and elderflower liqueur lovers alike. Using Hendrick's Gin with the elderflower liqueur made this a very floral forward cocktail. A little Lavender honey simple syrup blended nicely and a dash or two of grapefruit bitters added just the right amount of citrus to balance out the drink.
Hendrick's is a true floral gin and loves bring paired with Elderflower which is one of its botanicals. I just kept going merrily on down that flower path with the lavender honey and a garnish of dried butterfly pea flowers.

The ELDER FASHIONED Cocktail
INGREDIENTS 2 Oz. Hendrick's Gin 1/2 Oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur 1 Tsp. Lavender Honey Syrup* 2 Dashes Grapefruit Bitters
Garnish: Dried Butterfly Pea Flowers, Grapefruit Twist
Tools: Cocktail Shaker, Hawthorne Strainer
Glass: Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONS * Prepare the Lavender Honey Syrup by mixing 1 teaspoon of hot water with 1 teaspoon of Honey Ridge Farms Honey Créme Lavender. Chill the glass in the freezer. Add the ingredients to an ice filled cocktail shaker and shake until well chilled and blended. Strain into the chilled glass, garnish with a few dried butterfly pea flowers and serve.
MORE OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL RECIPES
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BRANDY & COGNAC COCKTAILS

Brandy: A strong alcoholic spirit distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice.

Categories include: Cognac, Armagnac, American Brandies (Apple Brandy was the very first distilled spirit made in America.) and fruit brandies.

Brandy began being distilled as a medicine in France around 1313 with commercial distaillation of drinking brandy beginning in the 1500's. According to Wikipedia, "Brandy" is a shortening of brandywine, which was derived from the Dutch word brandewijn, which literally means "burned wine", (derived from the process that most brandies are made with by applying heat, originally from open flames, to wine.)   Brandy has a defined rating system, the most common of the ratings include:
V.S. (very superior) or V.S.P. (very special) or three stars designates a blend in which the youngest brandy has been stored for at least two years in a cask.
V.S.O.P. (very superior old pale), Reserve or five stars designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least four years in a cask.
XO (extra old) or Napoléon designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least (recently upgraded to) ten years.
Hors d'âge (beyond age) is a designation which is formally equal to XO for Cognac, but for Armagnac designates brandy that is at least ten years old. The term is used by producers to market a high-quality product beyond the official age scale.

Though I am not as well versed in brandies as I would like to be, I do enjoy a good snifter of very excellent (hidden and hoarded) Cognac and I love brandy in cocktails.  I generally opt for a good mid-range VSOP for my cocktails, leaving my much pricier Cognac as a treat for very special occasions.

BRANDY COCKTAILS
  B & B  Equal parts Brandy and Benedictine served in a snifter.
BRANDY COCKTAIL  2 ounces brandy,1/2 ounce orange curacao liqueur
2 dashes  each of Angostura bitters and Peychaud's bitters with a lemon peel garnish
1492 COCKTAIL
AN APERITIF TO REMEMBER
BLACKBERRY FIZZ
BLACKBERRY CAIPIRINHA
BRANDY ALEXANDER
BRANDY OLD FASHIONED
CHERRIES JUBILEE MARTIN
CHERRY CLAFOUTIS MARTINI
CHERRY PIE MARTINI
CHICAGO COCKTAIL
CRÊPES SUZETTE COCKTAIL
DRUNKEN CHERRY MARTINI
END OF THE WORLD MARTINI
IRISH STINGER
METROPOLITAN  A brandy version of a cross between a Manhattan and a Martini with 2 ounces of Brandy, 1 ounce of sweet vermouth, a bit of simple syrup and a few dashes of Angostura bitters
NOSTERATU'S REVENGE
PURGATORY PUNCH
RATTLED SKULL
ROSH HASHANAH COCKTAIL
SAGZERAC
SIDECAR
SPARKLING PEAR MARTINI
SPICED APPLE OLD FASHIONED
STINGER
TANGELO BOURBON TANGO WITH COGNAC FOAM
VIEUX CARRÉ
WICKED WITCH'S BREW
  You might also like to make some homemade BRANDIED FRUIT.
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SPICED APPLE OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL

I wanted an Old Fashioned but I didn't have any fresh oranges which are kind of an essential part of a classic Old Fashioned cocktail. According to the I.B.A., an Old Fashioned is basically a bitters soaked sugar cube muddled in the glass (with a bit of water to help dissolve the cube) then topped off with ice and whiskey and garnished with an orange and a cocktail cherry. Most of the time, when you order an Old Fashioned in a bar, they will muddle the orange slice and cherry with the sugar to release their juices into the cocktail. Though this is heresy to some, I happen to like this application of the muddled garnishes, it brings back fond memories.
But, again, no oranges. What I did have was an apple, fresh ginger and spices and I'm never shy when it comes to mixing things up, especially basic recipes like an Old Fashioned. There are tons of Old Fashioned recipes replacing the brandy or whiskey with rum, tequila and even vodka and moonshine. You can also replace the sugar with flavored liqueurs or simple syrups and even switch out the orange for another citrus.
Of course, by that time, you end up with a new cocktail, one that can no longer be called simply an "Old Fashioned". My thought is that if you only change out the spirit you add that spirit, as in "Rum" Old Fashioned (like a "Vodka" Martini). In my opinion, if you start messing with more ingredients an ingredient precise moniker is called for.
So, meet my:

SPICED APPLE OLD FASHIONED
INGREDIENTS 2-1/2 Oz. Brandy 1/2 Fresh Apple (I used a Gravenstein), chopped fine 1 Tsp. Cardamom Ginger Simple Syrup (Recipe Below) 1/2 Oz. Fresh Lemon Juice 3 Dashes Orange Bitters
Garnish: Apple Cube, Homemade Maraschino Cherry, Orange Twist (if you have an orange ...)
Tools: Muddler, Cocktail Shaker, Hawthorne Strainer
Glass: Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONS Chill the glass in the freezer. Muddle the apple pieces and lemon juice in the bottom of the cocktail shaker until the apple pieces release juices. Fill the shaker with ice add the brandy, cardamom ginger simple syrup and bitters then shake until well chilled. Strain into the chilled glass, garnish and serve.
Cardamom Ginger Simple Syrup
Ingredients 2 Tablespoons of Thinly Sliced Fresh Ginger 15 Cardamom Pods 1 Cup Turbinado (Raw) Sugar 1/2 Cup Water
Directions Bring all the ingredients to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Immediately reduce the heat o low and and let simmer for 15 minutes. Let it cool and allow it to steep for an hour or longer. Strain and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Yes, Bailey was all over it.

Old Fashioned Week is November 2nd through November 11th.
Check out my other signature Old Fashioned Recipes here.
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OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL RECIPES

It's time to celebrate the classic Old Fashioned Cocktail. 
Lucky for me because I happen to love an Old Fashioned, it's actually one of my first "signature" cocktails, having been introduced to it by a very great lady back in my early college days. It became a weekly ritual with us after I finished classes on Thursdays, one week at her house, next at mine. Mrs. Smothers, my neighbor, made hers the way they were expected in those days, with lots of Maraschino cherries and several orange slices muddled together before tossing in the ice and her brandy. Though many consider this a blasphemy in this age of bespoke cocktails, I ignore the critics and will still make an Old Fashioned this way occasionally (though I skip the toxic chemical loaded "Maraschino cherries" found on your local grocery shelf and use my own Homemade Maraschino or Bourbon Cherries instead.)
Below is my animated video recipe, complete with voiceover instructions and list of ingredients for the classic Old Fashioned:

This recipe is exactly what is defines a "cocktail" making the Old Fashioned one of the first drinks to be called a cocktail.

FUN VARIATIONSON THE  OLD FASHIONED   BOURBON OLD FASHIONED BRANDY OLD FASHIONED DOOMSDAY OLD FASHIONED ELDER FASHIONED HONEY OLD FASHIONED PUMPKIN SPICED OLD FASHIONED PRICKLY PEAR OLD FASHIONED RHUBARB GINGER OLD FASHIONED   SPICED APPLE OLD FASHIONED STRAWBERRY JAM OLD FASHIONED SPICY MOLE RUM OLD FASHIONED
If you've never had an Old Fashioned, now is the time to try one. June 14th is Old Fashioned Day and Old Fashioned Week is celebrated somewhere between October 2st and the end of November, depending on who you ask.

Updated 6-2021

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FERNET CADILLAC COCKTAIL

I was on a quest to add some more fernet drinks to my cocktail list and stumbled on a recipe for a Fernet Alexander. That recipe is not only in the Alexander family of drinks, it's similar in ingredients, ratios and taste to a Golden Cadillac. Where a Golden Cadillac is typically made with equals parts Galliano, crème de cacao and cream, the Fernet Alexander employs Fernet Branca, another herbal liqueur, in place of the Galliano.
Fernet is an Italian amaro and one of the more aggressively herbal liqueurs, definitely an acquired taste. Though typically served as a digestif, it can add some serious aromatic herbal essence to a cocktail if used judiciously. Usually made with the basic components of saffron, myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom and aloe, the recipes vary from brand to brand and all are heavily guarded secrets. My personal favorite is Fernet Branca and over the last few years I have developed a fondness for it's bitter, minty licorice forward flavor, especially when mixed into the right cocktail.
Here I have replaced the white crème de cacao with dark crème de cacao, added a dash of orange and adjusted the ratios to create a fernet infused Golden Cadillac / Alexander which I've called a Fernet Cadillac.

The FERNET CADILLAC Cocktail
INGREDIENTS  3/4 Oz Fernet Branca 1-1/2 Oz Dark Crème de Cacao 1-1/4 Oz Half & Half 2 Dashes Angostura Orange Bitters Dash of Sea Salt*
Garnish: Dusting of Dark Cocoa Powder, Orange Twist (express over top of cocktail)
Tools: Cocktail Shaker, Hawthorne Strainer
Glass: Coupe
DIRECTIONS Chill the coupe in the freezer. And the ingredients to an ice filled cocktail shaker and shake vigorously (to dissolve the salt) until well chilled. Strain into cocktail glass, garnish and serve.
* Why the salt? Because it tames the very aggressive herbal nature of the Fernet a bit and it brings up the chocolate.
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