This drink is one of the top favorites of all my Halloween Cocktails, most likely because it comes garnished with a gummy eyeball and people love telling their guests it's a Slimy Eyeball Martini. It tastes pretty good too. However, I created this one years ago and it originally had cream in the recipe which added nothing to the flavor and clouded the drink thus hiding the whole point - the eyeball. That has bugged me for a while now so I'm fixing it.
I also added a bit of Blue Curacao to give it a creepy green color. Nothing says Halloween more than a weird colored drink with an eyeball in it. The SLIMY EYEBALL MARTINI
INGREDIENTS 1 Oz. Citrus Vodka 1/2 Oz. Coconut Rum 1/4 Oz. Blue Curacao 2 Oz. Original Sunny Delight
Garnish: Gummy Eyeball Candy
DIRECTIONS Pour the vodka, Sunny Delight, Blue Curacao and rum into your cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well blended and chilled. Strain into your chilled martini glass, skewer the gummy eyeball on a cocktail pick, drop in and serve.
I was given some beautiful, fresh jalapeno peppers from a neighbor and one of my favorite things to make from them is cocktails. I have a little problem eating chilies because they cause my mouth to break out in little blisters if they are too high on the Scoville scale. I get around this by roasting them and making syrups from them, there's something about roasting or adding sugars that makes them easier for me to ingest.
I took a few of those peppers, roasted them, then made some Jalapeno Simple Syrup, added some mezcal and made myself a few of these last night and sat out on my front deck enjoying the Arizona fall weather with Bailey.
That roasted flavor in the simple syrup was a great smoky addition to the already smoky mezcal. Perfect fall cocktail.
The
JALAPENO MEZCAL SOUR
INGREDIENTS 2 Oz. Vida Mezcal 1 Oz. Fresh Lemon Juice 1 Oz. Jalapeno Simple Syrup (recipe below) 1 Fresh Egg White (or 2 Tbsp. Pasteurized Egg White) 3 Dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
Garnish:Roasted Jalapeno Pepper Slices
Tools: 2 Cocktail Shakers, Hawthorne Strainer
Glass:Coupe
DIRECTIONS Add all ingredients, except the bitters and the egg white, to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into the second shaker WITH NO ICE, add the egg white and orange bitters then shake vigorously to emulsify the egg white and build the foam. Pour (you've already strained) into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish and serve.
VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:
JALAPENO SIMPLE SYRUP RECIPE
Ingredients 1 Large Jalapeno, seeds & placenta removed, roasted then sliced 1 C. Turbinado Sugar 1 C. Water
Directions Using gloves, strip out the seeds and placenta (white pith) from the roasted jalapeno pepper then cut into several thin strips. Do not touch your eyes or other sensitive areas while handling the peppers. Heat the sugar and water on medium until the sugar has completely dissolved. Still using the gloves, toss the jalapeno strips into the syrup, bring this to a boil on medium, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 - 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the peppers to infuse into the syrup until it's cool. Strain then store in airtight glass jar or container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
I had a bunch of celery in my refrigerator that needed to be used before it was useless and it suddenly occurred to me I could juice that whole bunch for a few refreshing cocktails. I have no idea why I have not juiced celery for a cocktail before, I love celery and the juice is very healthy for you.
I also decided to make use of the rest of the cilantro I had to make a simple syrup to go in my celery cocktail. Boom, two things that didn't get thrown away and a new cocktail for happy hour!
I know there are a lot of you out there that do not like cilantro. If that's the case, just use plain simple syrup in this recipe.
The
CELERY
COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 Oz.Hendrick's Gin
3 Oz. Fresh Celery Juice
3/4 Oz. Cilantro Simple Syrup
( recipe below)
3/4 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice
Dash Celery Bitters
Garnish: Celery Leaves, Sprig of cilantro
Tools: Mixing glass, Strainer
Glass: Coupe
DIRECTIONS
Make your Cilantro Simple Syrup ahead if time so it's cool.
In a mixing glass filled with ice, add the ingredients then stir until well chilled.
Strain into a chilled Coupe, garnish and serve.
CILANTRO SIMPLE SYRUP RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1 C. Granulated Sugar
1 C. Water
1 C. Chopped, Fresh Cilantro Leaves and/or Stems
(I often save the stems from my cilantro instead of throwing them away just for making things like flavored oils or simple syrups because they have just as much flavor as the leaves!)
DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water and heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved remove from the heat and add the chopped cilantro. Allow the syrup to cool for 30 minutes, then strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve then toss the solids. Store for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
National Celery Month is in March and Celery Day is July 21st.
