PINEAPPLE PISCO SOUR COCKTAIL

One of the I.B.A. official cocktails, the Pisco Sour is a South American cocktail touted by both Chile and Peru as their national drink. Both countries also claim ownership of it's creation, however, most facts point to the cocktail being invented sometime between 1915 and 1924 by American bartender Victor Vaughn Morris at Morris' Bar in Lima, Peru.
Morris' original recipe has never been found but most likely it was akin to a basic sour that employed Pisco as the base. Later versions would refine this into something closer to the I.B.A. recipe for this cocktail:
1.5 Oz. Pisco 1 Oz. Lemon Juice 3/4 Oz. Simple Syrup 1 Egg White Shaken with ice then strain into an Old Fashioned glass and garnish with a few drops of Angostura Bitters.
Peru's version uses Peruvian pisco Key lime juice, syrup, ice, egg white, and Angostura bitters. The Chilean version uses Chilean Pisco, Pica lime but excludes the bitters and the egg white.
My version heads a little towards Hawaii.

PINEAPPLE PISCO SOUR
INGREDIENTS: 1.5 Oz. Pisco 2 Oz. Fresh Pineapple Juice 1 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice 1 Oz. Pasteurized Egg White 1/2 Oz. Agave Syrup 2 Drops Angostura Orange Bitters

Garnish: Pineapple Chunk and Lime Slice
DIRECTIONS: Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker WITHOUT ice and (dry) shake vigorously for 15 seconds to emulsify the egg white. Add a cup of ice then shake vigorously again for another 15 to 20 seconds. Strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass, express the lime slice over the cocktail, drop in then tap an extra drop of bitters onto the foamy cap and slip the garnish in and enjoy.

The first Saturday of February is National Pisco Sour Day.
Updated 2-2021 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

SWEET-TART Valentine Shooter Cocktail

Back in my youth I was a big fan of SweetTart candies. I still like the combination of tart and sweet but, as an adult, I like it better in a cocktail. Those flavors were the inspiration for this fun Valentine's Day shooter.
SWEET-TART Valentine Shot
INGREDIENTS: 1 Oz. Pomegranate Vodka 1/4 Oz. Lemon Juice Splash of Grenadine* Pink and White Sprinkles Lemon Twist   DIRECTIONS:
Dip the rim of a cordial glass into some Grenadine then into the sprinkles.  Add the pomegranate vodka and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake until chilled. Pour into your glass, float the Grenadine and drop in the lemon twist.
*I use my own Homemade Grenadine (Pomegranate Syrup) instead of the bottled varieties because it's not loaded with chemicals or corn syrup and it actually tastes like pomegranate. Try my recipe and see if you don't agree, it's also great on ice cream and pancakes!


Tweet

Follow me on Twitter as PopArtDiva
Follow me on Twitter as TheMartiniDiva
Friend me on Facebook
LIKE "TheMartiniDiva's Happy Hour" Facebook Page
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

POMEGRANATE MARGARITA Recipe

I have a thing for margaritas, especially fruit margaritas because it gives me another way to add fruit to my diet. Yeah, you caught me, that's boloney [sic], I just like margaritas. If you do too, today's your lucky day. I have a great one for you.
For some reason I have not posted up a Pomegranate Margarita recipe which is odd because I make them a lot at this time of year because pomegranates are in season. In addition to pomegranate juice, this recipe makes use of my Homemade Pomegranate Syrup, which is more familiarly known in cocktail circles as Grenadine. 

There is nothing similar whatsoever between my homemade syrup and those commercial syrups you find in most bars. Mine actually tastes like pomegranate and makes a superb flavor replacement for agave nectar or simple syrup in this cocktail. It also gives you a way to infuse pomegranate into cocktails out of season. Plus it's a rich, deep red color making it perfect for a deep red Pomegranate Valentine drink!

POMEGRANATEMARGARITA Dressed Up for Valentine's Day
INGREDIENTS:
2 Oz. 1800 Reposado Tequila* 1/2 Oz. Grand Marnier 2 Oz. Fresh Pomegranate Juice 1 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice 1/2 Oz. Homemade Grenadine (Pomegranate) Syrup
Garnish: Wild Hibiscus Salt Flakes for Rim Heart Gummy Candies Lime Slice
DIRECTIONS:
Dip your glass in some of the pomegranate syrup then into the Wild Hibiscus Salt Flakes. Mine were kindly sent to me by Wild Hibiscus Flower Company. This gives you a sweet, tart and salty rim that works well with this cocktail.

Add the 1800 Tequila Reposado, Grand Marnier, lime juice and pomegranate syrup to a cocktail shaker or pitcher, stir. Fill your glass with ice and pour in the pomegranate margarita.
If you're doing a Valentine version. Slide a couple of heart gummies onto a cocktail pick and serve. (Interestingly, the tart, sweet gummies pair well with this tart, sweet cocktail.) If you're serving this any other day of the year, just toss a few pomegranate arils on top of the cocktail. Yes, you can add some to the Valentine version too.
WHEN I SAY FRESH, I MEAN FRESH: I'd like to insert a little rant here about bottled lemon and lime juices or "lime cordials". I hate them. They taste awful and will make your cocktail taste the same. It only takes a couple of seconds to slice a lime or lemon and squeeze out the juice and it makes a world of difference to your cocktail! Take the time!The "cordials" also add sweeteners, mostly corn syrup. You can sweeten your cocktail with nectars, honey, reduced fruit juices or homemade fruit syrups like I did here.
There's no reason you can't have the best cocktail possible, if you're willing to put in a bit more effort and use fresh, quality ingredients. And you can do it year round. Buy the fruits on sale, juice up and freeze in ice cube trays and bag up for future cocktails, almost as good as fresh and still way beyond bottled. You can even freeze the zest! Okay, got that off my chest. I feel better, though my nice, fresh Pomegranate Margarita probably had something to do with that too....
Go enjoy your lovely, FRESH, Valentine themed Pomegranate Margarita, I'm a few ahead of you but I couldn't wait.
*QUICK REVIEW OF CUERVO 1800 TEQUILA The 1800 Reposado from Cuervo is a mid quality tequila made completely from blue agave which gives it a leg up on Cuervo Gold. Definitely not a sipping tequila, but it blends quite nicely with tart fruit juices like the pomegranate, pineapple or grapefruit. I tend to use Blanco for milder fruits like cherry, blueberry, peach or orange. The 1800 tequilas (Blanco, Reposado, Anejo) are my go-to bar tequilas, well priced for a 100% blue agave at around $25, and the bottles are kinda cool with corked glass stoppers that give them a nice decanter look.

Updated 2-2021

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

CUCUMBER INFUSED GIN and TONIC

In the middle of February, when nearly everyone else is snowed in and freezing, Arizona is often starting spring. Yesterday it hit eighty degrees, which for Arizona is spring weather as our summers hit high triple digits.
This is the kind of weather that calls for a summer cocktail, no matter where you live or what month it is. When temperatures rise I find gin and tonics very refreshing so I grabbed a cucumber and a vegetable peeler and got to work. I planned to use long slices of the cucumber as a glass accent but there was a lot of leftover cucumber. To be thrifty I took the peels and pieces and threw them into my gin for extra punch, letting that infuse for a few hours.
At five o'clock I grabbed the cocktail shaker, mixed up my drink and headed out on the deck to enjoy the beautiful weather. There's nothing like a cool as a cucumber gin cocktail for enjoying a surprisingly warm day in the desert. When your days starts to warm up wherever you are, keep this cocktail in mind.
CUCUMBER INFUSED GIN AND TONIC
Bar Tools: Ice sphere mold, vegetable peeler
INGREDIENTS:
2 Oz. Cucumber Infused Gin Tonic Water Long Cucmber Slices Ice Sphere
DIRECTIONS:
Slice long strips off the length of a cucumber and set 4 or 5 aside in a container in the fridge to decorate and garnish your cocktail.
Chop up the rest of the cucumber , drop it in a clean jar and cover it with enough gin to make your cocktails. After 3 to 4 hours your gin will be mildly infused with cucumber and ready for making your cocktail. Just strain out the cucumber chunks and grab your bar tools.
Take one of the long cucumber slices and slide it onto a cocktail pick in a wave pattern, set aside.
Grab your glass and the rest of cucumber slices and press the slices against the inside of your glass from bottom to top then slide the ice sphere inside. Pour your gin over the ice sphere, top off with the tonic, add your garnish and enjoy.
Bookmark this page. When the summer heat is on you're going to want to remember this drink.
Cheers to the end of winter!


Tweet

Follow me on Twitter as PopArtDiva
Follow me on Twitter as TheMartiniDiva
Friend me on Facebook
LIKE "TheMartiniDiva's Happy Hour" Facebook Page
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

Homemade Grenadine aka Pomegranate Syrup (or Molasses)

Homemade Grenadine (Pomegranate) Syrup or Molasses Recipe
Grenadine Syrup is, of course, made from pomegranates. It's the French word for pomegranates so that makes sense. But I had no idea what Grenadine actually was until I learned French. I never could taste the pomegranate because of all the corn syrup and chemicals* blocking the flavor in those bottles you buy. Many commercial brands don't even use all pomegranate juice, substituting less expensive juices like black currant.
Most bars have a bottle of that sugar laden Grenadine on hand for Tequila Sunrises and that cocktail ilk. I have one crystallizing somewhere in my fridge too, the cap glued permanently on from lack of use. I don't know why I don't throw it away, probably because it's hidden behind all my homemade bitters, syrups and shrub bottles. These days I make my own from the extra pom juice leftover whenever I make pomegranate cocktails! So can you.
INGREDIENTS 2 C. Pom Brand Pomegranate Juice (Yes, you can make your own pomegranate juice from fresh pomegranates, if you're a glutton for punishment.  It takes about 4 to 6 fresh pomegranates to make 2 cups.) Juice of 1/4 Lemon Optional: 1/2 C. Raw Sugar**
TOOLS: You'll need a medium saucepan, a funnel, and a sterilized bottle for storing the syrup.
1. Bring the pomegranate juice, lemon juice and sugar (if you added it) to a boil in your sauce pan.
2. For Syrup: Reduce the heat to medium and continue to simmer until the mixture reduces down to a viscosity that will coat the back of a spoon (see: Nappe), about 10 minutes or so BUT watch it closely. 
3. For Molasses: Do the same BUT continue to reduce to a consistency of honey, about 15 minutes, again watch closely because at the molasses stage you are very close to burning the sugars in the juice.
3. Allow to cool then bottle.
Your Homemade Pomegranate (Grenadine) Syrup/Molasses can be stored up to six months in the refrigerator.
YES! You can do this with other fruit juices! I've made blueberry, strawberry, apple, pineapple, peach and watermelon!
Now try out your lovely homemade Grenadine in my Pomegranate Margarita!
*Here's an example of the ingredients in a commercially produced Grenadine Syrup: high fructose corn syrup, water, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, FD&C Red #40, natural and artificial flavors and FD&C Blue #1.
**I never add the sugar. I've found that once the pomegranate juice is reduced down there's more than enough sweetness for my purpose, i.e. cocktails. I also think it's sweet enough for pouring over pancakes, ice cream or whatever.
Updated 10-2017 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

The BOURBON ALEXANDER & Kindred Alexander Cocktails

The Checkered Genealogy of The Alexander Cocktail Family    Today's featured cocktail is the Bourbon Alexander, son of the Brandy Alexander and grandson of the Alexander, a cocktail created in 1915 for World Series Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, Grover Cleveland Alexander. The patriarch Alexander recipe is equal parts gin, chocolate liqueur and cream, the Brandy Alexander son replaces the gin with brandy (or cognac) while the grandson, Bourbon Alexander, replaces the gin with bourbon.     There is also a Coffee Alexander which substitutes coffee liqueur for the gin, sort of cousin in the Alexander lineage, as well as a Blue Alexander, a family outcast which dares to replace the chocolate liqueur with Blue Curacao. The Bourbon Alexander also has a fairly unpopular sibling, Alexander's Sister, whose only accomplishment has been to replace the chocolate liqueur with Green Creme de Menthe.    All of the Alexanders bear a striking family resemblance to the Milk Punches of old which consisted of milk, bourbon or brandy, sugar, and vanilla extract, a favored holiday beverage in the 1600's. Add egg to the Milk Punch and you have Eggnog Punch or Eggnog, the great aunt of the clan.
The Bourbon Alexander doesn't seem to have so revered a history as it's ancestors, but that does not mean it doesn't have a respected position in the Alexander family. In fact, I rather prefer the bourbon over the gin, brandy or coffee (I make no mention of Blue, whose unwed mother status forever casts him as the family pariah.) I have even been known to replace the chocolate liqueur myself with Kahlua, a better tasting, wiser marriage with better prospects for the Alexander fortunes. I suppose that would be an in-law cocktail?    Many friends of the Alexander cocktail line will use ice cream in place of the cream and, if you like that idea, go for it. I consider that an entirely different genealogy of libation, one of murky lineage who keeps questionable company. Unless I've made my own ice cream I prefer the half and half or heavy cream because they don't contain the stabilizers and/or artificial flavorings of mass produced ice creams, nor the unneeded sugars. It might be tasty, but it's divorced from the dynasty.
Now that you're all caught up on the Alexander family tree, you can relax and have a cocktail:

The BOURBON ALEXANDER    1 Oz. Bourbon 1 Oz. Dark Creme de Cacao 1 Oz. Heavy Cream (or Half & Half) Pinch of Sea Salt Dark Cocoa Powder Fresh Ground Nutmeg    Fill your cocktail shaker with ice, add the bourbon, dark Creme de Cacao, sea salt and half & half then shake until chilled. Pour into a cocktail coupe, dust with a pinch of both dark cocoa powder and nutmeg.
There you have it, a Bourbon Alexander, the modern day descendant of a 17th century Milk Punch, first born of the Brandy Alexander, grandchild of the Alexander and great nephew of the venerable Eggnog! Boozy nepotism at it's best!
VOICEOVER VIDEO with Ingredients & Instructions:

Updated 9-2025 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

Super Bowl Sunday Cocktails & Food

Super Bowl Sunday is all about the game and the food and drink. For most of America that means Beer, Bloodies, Margaritas, Wings, Chips and Dips, Pizza and Nachos with a few sweets thrown in for good measure. Pretty much classic game fair but taken to super size! If you're still putting your Super Bowl party together, here's some cocktail and food recipes that will kick your play into high gear:

BEER COCKTAILS Including my Super Bowl Sunday GoTo, BEER MARGARITAS
BLOODY MARYS
MARGARITAS
For any other cocktail you could think of, just hit up my search bar up in the top right hand column here!

NOW for the food!

NACHOS
Taste of the Island Nachos
Mamma Mia Pita Nachos
Taco Salad "Nachos"
Blueberry Nachos and/or Blueberry Salsa

ALL THINGS WINGS:
 Buffalo Wings
Honey Glazed Chicken Wings 
PIZZA APPETIZERS
Crunchy BBQ Chicken Pizza Bites   DIPS
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Chicken Cheese Dip
Chicken Enchilada Dip
My favorite Blue Cheese Dip
Fresh Pico de Gallo on Four Cheese Quesadillas
AND for the
SWEET TOOTH:
Grilled Peanut Butter & Chocolate Sandwiches

As for me, it's all about the nachos, pizza and wings, a few cocktails, the ads and halftime.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Updated 2-2021 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY