20141001

APPLE COCKTAILS



Since Fall is here this is a pretty good time to share all my Apple Cocktails with you, right? And happily apples are abundant in the market place and orchards as well, if you're lucky enough to live close to an orchard.

All because you're just the apple of my eye!
AN APPLE MARTINI A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY!
October is National Apple Month.
National Apple Day is October 21st.
  
Updated 10-2025
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20140929

BLUEBERRY VINEGAR SHRUB COCKTAIL

http://themartinidiva.blogspot.com/2014/06/vinegar-shrubs-for-cocktails-mocktails.html

A while back I made a whole refrigerator shelf full of Drinking Vinegars just to use in cocktails.  The one that really rocked my world was the Blueberry Shrub.  I've used that not only in cocktails but in mocktails and salad dressings and even as a digestif!  However my favorite way to use it is with a little bourbon:

BLUEBERRY VINEGAR SHRUB COCKTAIL

2 Oz. Nice Aged Kentucky Bourbon
2 Oz. Blueberry Vinegar Shrub
Splash of Soda
Mint Leaves
Sprig of Mint for Garnish

Pour the blueberry shrub and a few mint leaves into the bottom of your glass and muddle well. Fill your glass with ice then pour on the bourbon and the splash of soda and gently stir the cocktail until the glass frosts over.  Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint and enjoy!

To your health!






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COFFEE COCKTAILS



I'm pretty into coffee. I love to wake up to the smell of fresh brewed coffee beans, I can't truly motivate without my foamy morning lattes, I adore a nice espresso in the late afternoon and I can have a coffee cocktail at any point in the day. Good thing coffee is good for you, right?
Thank goodness for Kaldi, the goatherd who discovered the lovely benefits of coffee beans! Bless his little goat wrangling heart! How would we ever get up and at it without our beloved, aromatic caffeine fix?

Of course, I can happily add booze to all my java interludes and below are the many recipes I've posted featuring versions of my favorite high octane, high proof coffee breaks.


COFFEE
COCKTAILS

EDIBLE
COFFEE COCKTAILS

KAHLUA RECIPE

And for you folks who like your coffee a little stronger, my
ESPRESSO COCKTAILS

Here's to caffeine in cocktails!

National Gourmet Coffee Day is January 18th, National Coffee Break Day is January 20th and National Coffee Day is September 29th.


Updated 9-2021
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20140926

Chocolate Cheesecake Martini

http://popartdiva.com/The%20Martini%20Diva/Martini%20Recipe%20Pages/Chocolate%20Cheesecake%20Martini%20-%20National%20White%20Chocolate%20Cheesecake%20Day.html

Yes, you heard that right, the
CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
MARTINI

This is my second version of a Chocolate Cheesecake Martini, I have two versions in my archives, white and dark, but this one I put the chocolate cheesecake pudding IN the martini itself and not just on the rim!

INGREDIENTS
1 Oz. Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
1 Oz. Dark Creme de Cacao
1 Oz. Chocolate Vodka
2 Tsp. Chocolate Cheesecake Instant Pudding Mix
1 Oz. Half & Half
1/4 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
Dash of Chocolate Bitters
Chocolate Sprinkles

DIRECTIONS
Dip your martini glass rim in some of the Godiva chocolate liqueur then into the chocolate sprinkles and place in the freezer to chill.
Add a cup of ice to your cocktail shaker than pour in the Godiva, Creme de Cacao, chocolate vodka, the pudding mix, half & half, vanilla and the chocolate bitters.  Shake vigorously to emulsify the cream with the liquor then pour into your chilled and rimmed glass and enjoy!

If you're a coffee lover you can turn this into a Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake Cocktail by adding a teaspoon of espresso powder and eliminating the chocolate bitters. How do you like them coffee beans?


 
Updated 7-2017
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20140925

DRUNKEN CHERRY MARTINI


 Yes, I said Drunken Cherries because you're going to get those little dried cherries soused!  And by that I mean you're going to soak 'em in booze or, in Anthony Bourdain - Top Chef lingo, macerate them!

Here's how you do that:

DRUNKEN CHERRIES RECIPE

Fill a small, really clean glass jar about 3/4 full with dried cherries.
Pour Cherry Vodka (my favorite is Three Olives) to the top, seal up the jar and let sit at least four hours or overnight or even a day or so longer.
Don't worry about how long they will keep, you'll eat them up long before you have to worry about that!

Now grab your tipsy cherries and make this:

DRUNKEN CHERRY MARTINI

1-1/2 Oz. Cherry Brandy
1 Oz. Cherry Heering
3/4 Oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
Dash of Cherry Bitters
Drunken Cherries

Chill your glass in the freezer.  Add a cup of ice to your cocktail shaker and pour in the Cherry Brandy, Cherry Heering, Lemon Juice and the Cherry Bitters and shake until nicely chilled.
Skewer several of your Drunken Cherries on a cocktail pick and drop in the glass and serve.

Life is just a bowl of Drunken Cherry Martinis!




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20140922

FALL COCKTAILS

http://themartinidiva.com

It's here after a long, hot summer! The Autumnal Equinox has arrived and with it falling leaves, cooler temperatures and that crisp nip in the air. Come this time of year I love nothing better than to sit out on my deck on a cool desert evening and enjoy a cocktail as I watch the wildlife scurry about and the gorgeous Arizona sunsets over the tops of the late blooming Saguaros.  Back East I would be wearing a jacket, firing up my deck fire pit and planning a trip to the pumpkin patch but here in the desert of the Southwest I am happy just to enjoy relief from the triple digit heat and harvest my prickly pear fruit!

No matter where I am located, it's this time of year my cocktail fancy turns to the fall flavors of apples, pears, pumpkins, hatch chiles, pomegranates, cranberries and cinnamon to sip.  So I have gathered together some of my favorite Fall Martinis and Cocktails featuring the flavors, fruits and produce of Fall for myself and to share with you.

FALL
COCKTAILS
    
The FALL APPLE JACK MARTINI
APPLE COBBLER MARTINI
APPLE PIE COCKTAIL, Hot & Cold
APPLE SAUCE CAKE MARTINI
BLACKBERRY BLACK CURRANT G & T
BOURBON APPLE TARRAGON SMASH
CARROT CAKE MARTINI
CANDY CORN COCKTAIL
 CANTALOUPE DAIQUIRI
CANTALOUPE MARTINI
CHOCOLATE MANHATTAN
CRANBERRY A GO-GO COCKTAIL
CRANBERRY POMEGRANATE MARTINI
 GINGERBREAD MARTINI
GINGERBREAD MAN MARTINI
HATCHCHILETA MARGARITA
INDIAN CANDY CORN COCKTAIL
JALAPEÑO MEZCAL SOUR
MELON CUCUMBER MARTINI
PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR MARTINI
OH, PEAR MARTINI
PEAR CHAMPAGNE MARTINI
PEARS HELENE MARTINI
POMEGRANATE MARTINI 
POMEGRANATE MARGARITA
SALTED CARAMEL APPLE COCKTAIL
SPICED RUM POMEGRANATE FIZZ 
ORANGE POMEGRANATE MARTINI 
SPARKLING POMEGRANATE MARTINI 
PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS MARTINI
LOADED CACTUS SLIDERITAS
PUMPKIN MARTINI
PUMPKIN PIE MARTINI
PUMPKIN SPICED OLD FASHIONED
    
You might also want to check into making some great
HOMEMADE FALL LIQUEURS & SYRUPS:
PUMPKIN LIQUEUR
GINGERBREAD LIQUEUR
CANDY CORN VODKA
CARAMEL APPLE VODKA
INDIAN CANDY CORN VODKA & COCKTAIL
CANDY CORN MOONSHINE & COCKTAIL
HOMEMADE POMEGRANATE SYRUP (Grenadine!)
  
Or check into preserving some of your late summer produce harvest in some COCKTAIL SHRUBS.

Just want a certain fall flavor?
APPLE COCKTAILS
CRANBERRY COCKTAILS
GINGERBREAD COCKTAILS
POMEGRANATE COCKTAILS
PUMPKIN COCKTAILS

Happy First Day of Fall!


Updated 2-2018
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20140919

RUM PUNCH Cocktail Recipe

RUM PUNCH Cocktail Recipe

One of Sour, Two of Sweet, Three of Strong, Four of Weak.

That is the standard punch formula dating back to before the 1600s. Originating in India where it was a spiced fruit drink called paantsch, meaning five, it was made with alcohol, sugar, citrus juices, spices and water. Brought back by the sailors of the East India Trading Company, the first printed record of an English version punch dates back to 1632 with Jamaican rum punches emerging around 1650. A single version of punch is called a sling.

With today being National Rum Punch Day a really rousing ration of rum is definitely called for and this TRIPLE RUM PUNCH or Sling cocktail recipe is the answer.

Loaded to the yardarm with THREE rums sweetened up with tropical fruit juices this ought to get your swashbuckling into high gear. My punch ratio was 1 part sour (lime juice), my 2 sweet came from the fruit juices, 3 rums (strong), and the 4 weak came from 3 juices and the ice.

Rum PUNCH Cocktail Recipe with Ingredients and Instructions

TRIPLE 
RUM PUNCH

INGREDIENTS 
1-1/2 Oz. Dark Rum
1 Oz. Light Rum
1/2 Oz. 151 Rum
1 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice
1 Oz. Fresh Tangerine Juice
1 Oz. Fresh Pineapple Juice

Garnish
Chunk of Pineapple
Lime Slice
Homemade Maraschino Cherries

DIRECTIONS
Add one cup of ice to a cocktail shaker, pour in the dark and light rums then add the juices and shake until well chilled.  Strain into a low ball glass filled with ice, float the 151 on top and garnish with the pineapple chunk, lime slice and Maraschino cherry.

VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

BEWARE:
You might want to keep away from open flames.

RUM PUNCH Photograph


Updated 9-2021
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