DRUNK ELF on a shelf COCKTAIL

I'm not really a grinch, I'm usually most jolly, but I feel really sorry for those sad little dollies.
You shove them on shelves, hang them off of your holly, and those bored little elves need a cocktail, by golly!
I'm down with fun memes, I'm cool with webz humor, but this elf nonsense ends with a drunk elfen rumor ...

The DRUNK ELFon aSHELFMARTINI
INGREDIENTS: 1-1/2 Oz. Chocolate Candy Cane Vodka 1/2 Oz. Irish Cream Liqueur 1 Oz. Half & Half 1 Oz. Chilled Coffee
Garnish: Chocolate Candy Cane Red Sugar Crystals
DIRECTIONS: Dip your cocktail glass rim in some of the Irish Cream Liqueur and then into the red sugar crystals, then chill your glass in the freezer. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice then pour in the Chocolate Candy Cane Vodka, the Irish Cream Liqueur, the half and half and the chilled coffee then shake until well chilled. Garnish with a chocolate candy cane and serve.
VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

Updated 12-2021
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MAPLE WHISKEY SOUR

THE MAPLE WHISKEY SOUR

2 Oz. Good Whiskey
3/4 Oz. Real Maple Syrup
3/4 Oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Orange Twist
Homemade Maraschino Cherry

Fill your glass with ice, add a drop or two of Angostura bitters, then pour in the whiskey. Add the maple syrup and the lemon juice and stir. Garnish with a Homemade Maraschino Cherry and an orange twist.

Whiskey or Whisky?

The word itself comes from the Gaelic "usquebaugh", (uisge beatha in Scottish, uisce beatha in Irish), with "uisce" being from the Old Irish for "water" and "beatha or bethad" for "of life". Ergo, whiskey is "the water of life"!

When whiskey was being exported from Ireland and Scotland to America in the late 1800's the Irish wanted to distinguish their whiskey from what they considered inferior Scottish whisky so they added and "e". Today most Americans and Irish spell it "whiskey" while the Scots still spell it "whisky".

History and Provenance

From the historical cocktail class of sours, a recipe for a Whiskey Sour was first published in Jerry Thomas’ How to Mix Drinks (1862), but the first printed mention was purportedly in January 4th 1870 in a Wisconsin newspaper called the Waukesha Plaindealer. A Peruvian newspaper called El Comercio de Iquique states that Elliott Stubb created the "Whisky Sour" in 1872.

Variations

Add egg white and it's a Boston Sour, add a float of red wine (Claret, Bordeaux, Cabernet) and you have s New York Sour.

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Chocolate Covered Cocktails

December 16th is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day!   You know where I'm going with this? Right to the bar, of course! Below are my favorite ways to enjoy chocolate covered, alcohol infused treats.
CHOCOLATE COVERED COCKTAILS    Happy National Chocolate Covered Anything Day!
Updated 12-2017 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
 

The ARMY NAVY Cocktail

Today is the annual Army-Navy Game so I thought it appropriate to share this recipe for the traditional Army Navy Cocktail. Though not a big football fan, this is the one game I watch every year in honor of my father, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Army.
Though Dad passed in 1996, I will mix up a batch of these Army Navy Cocktails and watch the game to commemorate those Saturdays of the past where I shared the couch and a few hours of gridiron with my dad.
A Little Army-Navy Game History: The Army-Navy Game is a football game between the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point and the United States Naval Academy (USNA). The first game was played in 1890, was first aired on radio in 1920 and was first televised in 1945.
Now played on the second Saturday in December (though prior to 2009 it was played on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving) it is a traditional college game between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen.
THE ARMY NAVY COCKTAIL
2 Oz. Gin 3/4 Oz. Lemon Juice 1/4 Oz. Orgeat Syrup Lemon Twist
Chill your martini glass in the freezer. Fill your cocktail pitcher with ice, add the gin, lemon juice and Orgeat syrup and stir until chilled. Strain into your chilled glass, twist the lemon over your cocktail to express the oils, then drop in and serve.
Enjoy!
#GoArmy
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Updated December 2016

PEPPERMINT PATTY Hot Cocoa and Mint Cocktail

A classic Peppermint Patty cocktail is made from hot cocoa and a splash Peppermint liqueur, typically a peppermint schnapps. That's a time honored recipe, but you know me, I can't leave well enough alone.
I have my own special recipe for hot cocoa using the addition of a luxurious dark cocoa powder and a little spicy kick and during holidays I often use this cocoa recipe to make my version of a Peppermint Patty:
The Peppermint Patty, Part Deux 3 Oz. of my Dark Hot Cocoa BUT... ...no chili powder and cinnamon! 2 Oz. Crave Chocolate Mint Liqueur 1/4 Tsp. Espresso Powder Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane
Prepare the cocoa as directed in my recipe, except leave out the chili powder and cinnamon. Add the quarter teaspoon of espresso powder and stir. Allow this to cool slightly, you want it still warm enough to drink but not so hot it could damage your glass. Pour into your cocktail glass and add your chocolate peppermint candy cane stir stick.
Don't leave out the espresso powder, you really won't taste the coffee all that much but it adds a nice accent and balance to the sweetness of the cocoa and the chocolate mint liqueur. I wanted a slight bitterness to balance the sugars, but did not want to bring the herbal qualities of chocolate bitters into play and the espresso powder worked perfectly.
Updated 12-2018 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

SHANDY COCKTAIL with MINT!

A Shandy cocktail is beer, ale or lager typically mixed with lemonade, ginger beer, or ginger ale mixed in half to half ratios. It's a great way to enjoy a refreshing cocktail when you're hot and thirsty because it's fairly low in alcohol. 
I always think of them as a guy's version of an Arnold Palmer, which is half lemonade and half iced tea. Both are very refreshing, but one includes a form of beer!
A Turbo Shandy is a Shandy turbocharged by using an alcohol based lemon ingredient like a hard lemonade. I think this defeats the purpose of what is Shandy is, namely a light alcoholic refreshment which is perfect for a hot day. In fact, Shandies are so light in alcohol that in some locations around the world they are exempt from the laws governing alcoholic beverages!
Below is my favorite recipe for a Shandy:
MINT SHANDY
4 Oz. Anchor California Lager 2 Oz. Hansen's Natural Ginger Ale 2 Oz. Minute Maid Lemonade Mint Infused Ice Cubes* Maraschino Cherry
*Make your mint infused ice cubes ahead of time by simply bruising some mint leaves and adding to your ice cube tray or mold before adding the water.
Tip: Chill your mugs in the freezer when you freeze the ice cubes so the mugs will be icy cold and frosty when you're ready to mix your Shandy.
Mixing directions for my Mint Shandy:
Pour the lager, ginger ale and lemonade over the mint ice cubes then garnish with a lemon slice, sprig of mint and a Maraschino cherry.
Enjoy!

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Updated 3-2026

BROWNIE MARTINI COCKTAIL

Brownies are one of those foods that can make everything better. They're chocolatey and rich and chewy and they can take the sting out of a bad day, especially if they're 40 proof.
I want you to feel better, I want you to feel great, I want to take the sting out of your bad days, so I made up this special chocolatey, rich, chewy and boozy chocolate brownie inspired cocktail.

The BROWNIEMARTINI Just for you, because you deserve it.
INGREDIENTS 1-1/2 Oz. Chocolate Vodka 1/2 Oz. Irish Cream 1/2 Oz. Dark Cream de Cacao 1/2 Oz. Butterscotch Schnapps 1 Oz. Half & Half2 Drops Chocolate Mole Bitters Pinch of Sea Salt
Garnish: 2 - 1" Sq. Brownie Bites
DIRECTIONS Chill your glass in the freezer. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice then pour in the chocolate vodka, Irish cream, dark creme de cacao, butterscotch schnapps, sea salt, bitters and the half and half. Shake until well blended and chilled then pour into your chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a couple of brownie bites on a cocktail pick and sip your bad day away.
VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

P.S. If you need a little cheesecake too: CHEESECAKE BROWNIE MARTINI
and, if you're feeling a tad blonde: BLONDE BROWNIE MARTINI
There now, doesn't that feel better?
National Brownie Day is December 8th.
Updated December 2021 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY