Nothing is more festive and playful than a big fluffy cloud of cotton candy, unless it's a big fluffy cloud of it in a martini glass just waiting to play with some booze. This is a particularly fun cocktail for birthday and bachelorette parties because it can be a great interactive party cocktail:
Set up a Cotton Candy Martini Bar
complete with individual cocktail shakers, martini glasses, a bucket of ice, different flavors/colors of cotton candy, assorted mixers, garnishes and a fun assortment of flavored spirits.
Print out the Ingredients and Directions below and set them in a visible location on the serving area.
(Pre-rim enough glasses with some multi colored sprinkles.)
Set out an assortment of flavored vodkas and rums and some fun shot glasses. (The shot glasses could be a party favor for each guest.)
Don't forget some fun, colorful cocktail napkins, paper plates and paper coasters from The Martini Diva Boutique!
Have chilled pitchers of the various unsweetened fruit juices including fresh lemon, lime, orange, pineapple, and cranberry juice, along with some chilled cans of plain and flavored soda waters.
Add an assortment of fruit and fun candy garnishes and some colorful cocktail picks then let your guests shake their own combos and watch the merriment ensue.
The fun part is watching the cotton candy melt as the cocktail mixture is poured over.
If you really want to go all out you can buy a small cotton candy machine.
Tip: You can buy pre-bagged cotton candy in a large variety of colors and flavors from Walmart, other superstores and online.
COTTON CANDY
COCKTAILS
INGREDIENTS
1 Oz Flavored Vodka
1-1/2 Oz. Juice
Juice of 1/4 Lime or Lemon
1 Cup of Cotton Candy
Splash of soda
DIRECTIONS
1. Add ice to the cocktail shaker.
2. Add the vodka then the lime or lemon juice and shake well.
3. Add any sodas AFTER shaking.
4. Pile your chilled glass high with cotton candy.
5. Strain the cocktail directly over the cotton candy.
6. Add the fun garnish.
7. Enjoy!
Updated 12-2018
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So, you forgot someone on your shopping list or need a last minute hostess gift?
My Christmas Candy Liqueur Recipe will save you! You can have a fun, yummy and boozy bottle of Holiday Spirit ready to stick a bow on in just a few hours.
You can use all kinds of Christmas candy like candy corn, any hard candies, candy canes of all flavors, peppermint sticks and even caramels or red hots. Yes, you can also use flavored vodkas and - with the right candy - whiskey, gin or rum.
You are only limited by what you can get your hands on and your imagination!
CHRISTMAS CANDY LIQUEUR RECIPE:
(Makes One 750 ml Bottle)
Ingredients:
1 - 750 ml. bottle of vodka
1 Cup of Christmas candy of your choice
Tools:
1 sterilized quart sized, lidded jar
(Mason, Ball, old mayo jar)
Cheesecloth
Large metal strainer
Optional: Decorative bottle with cap or cork
Instructions:
Crunch up your larger candies (candy canes, sticks) to speed up the infusion.
Add the cup of candy to your sterilized jar.
Pour in the bottle of vodka.
Allow the vodka and candy to get all happy with each other in the fridge for as long as possible; a minimum of 8 hours is preferable, overnight is best.
Let it infuse for several days if you have the time.
Shake bottle vigorously every time you open the fridge or at least once an hour.
While your candy and vodka get to know each other, soak the label off the original bottle if you're using it.
Taste after 4 hours for flavor level.
When your infusion has reached the flavor level you like, strain through the cheesecloth lined strainer back into the original vodka bottle or a pretty decorative bottle.
Add a festive Christmas label and bow and you're set!
I did this with Chocolate Peppermint Candy Canes!
Updated 12-2018
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Frappé "frap-ay": Noun.
A partly frozen drink made with milk or fruit juice, or a strongly alcoholic drink served with ice.
I covered all the bases of the definition of a frappé with this cocktail simply to use up some stuff in my fridge! I had an opened can of pineapple juice from another cocktail experiment, some orange juice for the same reason and about half a dish of vanilla ice cream and surprise guests who showed up at my door unannounced. I figured I could clear out my refrigerator and turn it into an impromptu happy hour at the same time.
I wanted to doll up this tweaky Pina Colada with an interesting garnish but had none of the actual pieces of fruit. What I did have was my trusty jar of Maraschino cherries and some Wild Hibiscus Flowers packed in syrup. Good enough! The Hibiscus syrup added a nice pink glow and the flowers were an exotic little nest for the cherry garnish.
I tossed the ingredients into my blender with some ice and frappeed away. Not bad mixing on the fly!
HIBISCUS COLADA FRAPPÉ
(Makes 4 Cocktails)
4 Oz. Vodka
1Cup Pineapple Juice
1Cup Orange Juice
2 Lg. Scoops Vanilla Ice Cream
1/2 Tsp. Freshly Grated Ginger
Pinch of Salt
2 Cups of Ice
Hibiscus Flower
Hibiscus Syrup
Ground Ginger
Half an Orange Slice
Maraschino Cherry
Serve in a martini glass or coupe.
Add your ice to a blender then scoop in the ice cream, grate in the fresh ginger and pour on the vodka, pineapple and orange juices and toss in a pinch of salt. Blend to a slushie, frothy consistency. Pour about a teaspoon of the hibiscus syrup into each glass, gently pour in the cocktail mixture, sprinkle on a dusting of ground ginger and garnish with the cherry tucked into a hibiscus flower and the orange slice.
My guests were fascinated by the edible flower garnish and loved the tropical, gingery drink. For folks who dropped in with no notice (oh, okay, they called me but my wonky phone* sent them to voicemail) it was kind of a leftover-cocktail triumph.
(*P.S. Samsung, we need to have a talk.)
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The first time I heard about the secret bartenders ritual of "boomerang cocktails" I was in New Orleans hanging at a friend's bar. I watched as he crafted up an interesting looking libation and then, instead of placing it in front of a customer, he put some of that clingy kitchen wrap over the rim, scribbled something on the plastic with a Sharpie, packed it in a gift bag, poured some bar mix around it and handed it to one of his bussers who promptly hurried out the back door with it.
He had this little smile playing around his lips that piqued my curiosity even more so I stuck my snoopy nose in and asked what was up with the bag of booze and bar snacks. He said, "Boomerang Time." So I bit and said, "Boomerang Time?" (WTH?)
Turns out there was a nifty little "thang" going on between local bartenders where they sent each other drinks as a friendly gesture, sort of a cocktail industry Amuse Booze. Perfectly legal in New Orleans where they have an open container law that allows alcohol to take to the streets. Not so legal in other places where I understand this practice also occurs, but much more sub rosa.
It's also supposed to be some big bartender clique secret, but not so much anymore as I've found several references to it since. So I feel a bit less guilty about tattling on the covert practice and ratting out my friend. . .
All this brings me to today's cocktail, the Boomerang. No association to the boomerang cocktail practice of gifting fellow bartenders that I'm aware of, the recipe has been around considerably longer than the practice. But thinking of my friend, now a restaurateur in another part of the world, brought to mind that night and reminded me of the cocktail.
There are two versions of the Boomerang, don't ask me why; one gin and one bourbon. I was in a martini mood so went with the gin. The bourbon version is more like a very sweet lemony Manhattan, also good!
GIN BOOMERANG COCKTAIL
Ingredients:
2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
2 dashes Bitters
1/2 tsp Maraschino Liqueur
1 Maraschino Cherry
Lemon Twist
Directions:
Chill a high ball (old fashioned)* glass in the freezer. Add the gin, dry vermouth, bitters and Maraschino liqueur to a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake until chilled then strain into a chilled glass filled with an ice ball. Garnish with a twist of lemon and a Maraschino cherry.
*Traditionally, the Gin Boomerang is served up in a martini glass, but I find it more pleasant slightly diluted by some ice and served in a high ball glass.
BOURBON BOOMERANG COCKTAIL
Ingredients:
2 oz Bourbon
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
2 dashes Bitters
1 tsp Maraschino Liqueur
1 Maraschino Cherry
Lemon Twist
Same directions as the gin version, glassware too. I pour this "over" as well, but I've also made it "up" in a martini glass
So, there you go. A little bartender Easter egg, an Amuse Booze with secret society panache and a couple of versions of a nice cocktail. Cheers and enjoy!
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You like those Caramel Macchiatos? Well, hold on to your coffee cups, I've upped the ante and added booze! Take that and brew it, Starbucks.
The
SALTED CARAMEL
MACCHIATO MARTINI
INGREDIENTS
1 Oz. Salted Caramel Vodka
2 Oz. Chilled Espresso
1 Oz. Heavy Cream
Rim: Caramel Syrup, Course Sea Salt
DIRECTIONS
Dip the rim of a cocktail glass in some caramel syrup. Sprinkle a bit of the coarse sea salt onto the caramel (not too much, this is not a margarita), then chill your glass in the freezer.Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, pour in the salted caramel vodka, chilled espresso and heavy cream then shake until well chilled.
Pour into your chilled, rimmed glass and serve.
National Macchiato Day is November 19th.
Updated 4-2021
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Why slave over a hot stove any longer than necessary on Thanksgiving? Grab a cool cocktail shaker and DRINK your dessert(s) instead! That's right! Shake, Don't Bake!
Unless you're lucky enough to have a professional style kitchen in your home (or, at the very least, a double oven), you'll be spending another hour or more over said oven baking pie(s) or some traditional dessert, plus the prep time for each sweet treat. If your guests are anything like my guests, then you have to make more than one type of pie too! Pop has to have "Mom's" apple, Aunt Agnes won't eat anything but her "special" cherry, and dear Cousin Joe Bob insists on pumpkin! (You're just the cook, but wouldn't you really just love a slice of your favorite key lime?) Then there's always the cake lovers and non-traditionalists hoping for the latest au courant sweet.
Naturally, not a one of them volunteers to BRING their pie, opting instead to re-gift you with a bottle of Chateau Gas Station some other wanker left at their last party. You'd have to open a bakery to please everyone. The mind - and Kitchen Aid - reels!
So, why not make it easy on yourself and set up a Thanksgiving Cocktail Dessert Bar? After the cocktails you might even get a few of those guests to help you with the dishes.*
Pick out a few of the cocktail recipes below and batch up the ingredients ahead of time. Set out your martini glasses, a bucket of ice and a few cocktail shakers and send your freeloaders to the bar after dinner!
As for the kiddie table, just set up a few plates of (store bought) cookies or cupcakes, some frosting in a can, assorted toppings and let 'em have at it! The tryptophan in the turkey will balance out the sugar rush and they'll be entertained while the adults sip their dessert.
CLASSIC THANKSGIVING DESSERTS
AS COCKTAILS
NOT ENOUGH?
Then check out these
CAKE, COOKIE & PIE COCKTAILS
*Be responsible with the Thanksgiving Dessert Cocktails. Only one per guest (after all they only eat one piece of pie!) and no driving for an hour after!
Updated 8-2016
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