The fruit most associated with Thanksgiving and the holidays is probably cranberries and it's also the time of year where it's easy to get them fresh so it follows that it's also a great time of year for cranberry cocktails. Add a little Jack Daniels, some lemon and sugar and you're ready to (pardon me for this) a-go-go.
The
CRANBERRY A-GO-GO
COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 Oz. Jack Daniels
1 Oz. Homemade Cranberry Liqueur
1 Oz. Cranberry Juice
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 Tsp. Turbinado Sugar
3 - 4 Mint Leaves
Garnish: Sugared Cranberries, Fresh Mint Sprig
Tools: Muddler, Cocktail Shaker, Hawthorne Strainer
Glass: Coupe
DIRECTIONS
Make your sugared cranberries and set aside.
Warm the lemon juice then stir it with the turbinado sugar until the sugar dissolves.
Muddle the sugar and lemon juice with the mint in the bottom of your cocktail shaker.
Fill your cocktail shaker with ice
Pour in the whiskey, cranberry liqueur, and cranberry juice.
Shake until chilled then strain into your chilled glass.
Garnish and serve.
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
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.
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
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.
National Mezcal Day is October 21st.
Updated 10-2021
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
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.
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
Despite the fact that it's Labor Day, it's still in the 100s here in Tucson, so ...
how about one last summer cocktail before fall grabs hold of the weather?
HARD STRAWBERRY
LEMON & LIMEADE
INGREDIENTS
1 Oz Whiskey
5 Fresh Strawberries
1 Tbsp. Honey
Henry's Hard Lemon Lime Soda*
Garnish: Fresh Strawberry
Tools: Muddler
DIRECTIONS
Cut the strawberries into quarters then drop in the bottom of your glass.
Drizzle the honey over the top of the strawberries.
Muddle until the strawberries are well smashed.
Fill your glass with ice.
Add the whiskey then top off with the Henry's Hard Lemon Lime.
Stir gently then garnish and serve.
P.S. If you don't like the idea of the chunky strawberry pieces, puree the strawberries with the honey in a blender instead of muddling them together in the glass.
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
Labor Day poses a bit of a dilemma for cocktail lovers. It's the official end of summer but it's not quite fall. It's a no-man's land between the sunny heat of summer and the crisp days of autumn where temperatures fling themselves around willy-nilly and you are starting to layer your clothing to accommodate the range. Thoughts of the beach are getting shoved away by visions of the holidays but you still have that last summer barbecue to plan. What to do, what to do.
As the light and heat of summer fade, your drinks need to get a little muscle in them. This is the time of year I start to restock my whiskies and brandies, buy a couple of new aged rums and sipping tequilas and add a couple of juniper/botanical heavy gins to my bar. Using these heftier spirits in a late summer's iced cocktail is a great transition to fall; they are still cool and refreshing for the heat but can face up to an evening chill. Can you can still make a Sangria or a punch for Labor Day? Sure, but trade your light white wines, peaches, grapefruits and lemons in for hearty reds with late fall berries or apples, pears and oranges.
As for Labor Day flavors, I know pumpkin mania is nipping at your heels, but thanks to worldwide
trade you might still have access to some summer produce like watermelon, cantaloupe, late
summer berries, citrus, a few late harvest strawberries as well as the
fall bounty that is showing up at the local markets. Let's let the pumpkin cool it's heels while we're still wearing short sleeved shirts during the day, we're only in September, not staring down the Pilgrims.
As you get your wardrobe ready for colder times, your kids packed off to the first days of school and you pull out the instant pot for soups and stews, why not get your taste buds primed for the season as well?
Here's a few cocktail ideas, using the above principles, for Labor Day:
APPLE SOUR
BLACKBERRY FIZZ
BOURBON (WHISKEY) CHERRY COBBLER
BOURBON CHERRY PIE SMASH
CANTALOUPE MARTINI
GOBBLED KNOB
HATCHCHILETA MARGARITA
POMEGRANATE MARGARITA
PURGATORY PUNCH
PRICKLY PEAR OLD FASHIONED
RATTLED SKULL
RED WOMAN'S BERRY WINE PUNCH
SPICED APPLE OLD FASHIONED
SPICED RUM POMEGRANATE FIZZ
STRAWBERRY JAM OLD FASHIONED
TIJUANA JACKASS
You can also try some of the tall, iced cooler style drinks from these seasonal flavors:
APPLE COCKTAILSBLACKBERRY COCKTAILSCRANBERRY COCKTAILSMELON COCKTAILSPEACH COCKTAILSPEAR COCKTAILSWATERMELON COCKTAILS
AFTER LABOR DAY
PREPARING YOUR BAR FOR FALL
Labor Day passes quickly so below are a few tips to get your fall happy hour on as summer fades
and Old Man Winter is breathing down your neck. Of course, a good host or hostess should always be prepared to serve a guest that Pina Colada
or Tom Collins if that is what they desire, but getting into a seasonal
aspect at happy hour keeps you and those you're entertaining from
cocktail boredom.
- Keep
the ice bucket full, but tuck the light rums, vodkas and gins off to
the side of the bar and bring out your whiskies, brandies, aged rums, botanical
heavy gins and anejo tequilas
- Pull out the rocks glasses, coupes and stemware and let the tall guys take a vacation
- Keep the effervescence of those tall coolers by replacing their ounces with just a splash or two
- Bring the spice to the party. Spices warm and comfort and add depth of flavor
- Take the last of your summer produce and herbs and turn them into simple syrups or shrubs. Even jams and preserves can be used in fall and winter to replace fresh fruit and sugar in your cocktails.
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
I recently bought a nice, new pint of Talenti Romance Raspberry Sorbet that was crying out to become a cocktail. Most of the time I just grab a spoon and pour some homemade Magic Shell* on this fabulous raspberry dense sorbet, but this time it was looking to get a little buzz on and I knew exactly how to go about that.
In Italy they often serve a cocktail known as a Sgroppino as a digestive or a dessert. It's a light, frothy combination of lemon sorbet and prosecco that was originally served in Venice as a palate cleanser between the fish and meat course.
Prounounced "ss-guro-peno", the word is a derivative of sgroppare, which translates to "untie" or "undo", an apt name for drink originally devised as a palate cleanser.
Some recipes add vodka or limoncello or both, but the original palate cleansing recipe was served without either. I chose to add citrus vodka to carry the lemon and switch out the lemon sorbet for the lovely Talenti raspberry.
The
RASPBERRY
SGROPPINO
Cocktail
INGREDIENTS
1/3 Cup Raspberry Sorbet
1 Oz. Citrus Vodka
3 Oz. Chilled Prosecco
Tools: Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl, Whisk, Ladle
Glass: Chilled Champagne Flute
DIRECTIONS
In a chilled stainless steel bowl, whisk together the sorbet and the raspberry vodka.
While whisking, slowly pour in the prosecco until frothy.
Ladle into the chilled flute, garnish and serve.
* Magic Shell is a chocolate ice cream topping that hardens when it hits ice cream. I make my own by mixing 12 ounces of a high quality (70%+) chopped dark chocolate with 3 tablespoons of lightly heated coconut oil.
Updated 12-2018
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
