ALCOHOL INFUSED FLAVORED WHIPPED CREAM

I pretty much booze up everything, from puddings, candies and cupcakes to baked beans and, yes, I   even turn whipped cream alcoholic. I'm just a booze infusing fool and folks have come to expect to have a little alcoholic kick in whatever I serve them. I make no apologies, it's part of my job ... and it's fun.
If you're looking for a way to spike up your next cocktail or dessert, try this recipe:
BASIC BOOZY WHIPPED CREAM 
INGREDIENTS: 1 C. Heavy Whipping Cream 1/3 C. Powdered Sugar 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract, optional 2 Teaspoons to 1-1/2 Tablespoons Liqueur or Liquor (amount depends on how boozy you want it.)
TOOLS: Large stainless steel bowl, hand mixer, measuring spoons
DIRECTIONS: Make sure all your ingredients AND tools are as cold as possible. I chill my stainless steel bowl and my mixer blades in the freezer for 20 minutes before whipping my cream. This helps you not to over beat the cream into butter. Combine all your ingredients then beat on high until soft peaks form. Serve immediately or within 30 minutes.
Need your whipped cream to last longer?
Here's a little trick I learned in culinary school; add some bloomed gelatin to the whipped cream.
Follow the instructions above THEN: Put a teaspoon of unflavored gelatin powder into 1/4 cup of cold water in the bottom of a small sauce pan.  Allow the gelatin to absorb into the water for about 3 or 4 minutes. Heat over medium just until the gelatin dissolves then allow to cool slightly.  When cool, gently fold into your whipped cream then re-whip to soft peak consistency.
This stabilized version of whipped cream not only lasts several days in the refrigerator, but is great for when you want to take a dessert or recipe with whipped cream to a party.
Try some of these boozed up whipped cream combinations:
Cointreau with a little bit of orange zest and a teaspoon of orange juice added to the recipe.
2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree and some pumpkin pie spices.
Lemoncello with some lemon zest and teaspoon of lemon juice.
Chocolate liqueur and a teaspoon of dark cocoa powder.
Espresso liqueur and a teaspoon of instant espresso powder.  
Spiced rum with a tablespoon of mango (or papaya, pineapple, etcetera) puree and lime zest.
P.S. This recipe works for non-alcoholic flavored whipped cream as well, just leave out the booze and add some of your favorite spices, purees, extracts and/or flavored powders.
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Top 10 Google Cocktail Searches for 2015?

 What were the top 10 Google searches for #cocktails in 2015?

You might be surprised, I certainly was. Here you go and don't blame me, I'm just the messenger ...

1.  Sangria
2.  Moscow Mule
3.  Gimlet
4.  Cosmopolitan
5.  Long Island Iced Tea
6.  Margarita
7.  Mojito
8.  Aviation
9.  Sex on the Beach
10.  Daiquiri    Nearly everything on this list surprised me except the Margarita, Mojito and Moscow Mule. The Moscow Mule, don't  ask me why, was the darling of the cocktail scene throughout last year, no surprise there.  Margaritas and Mojitos are respectable and always popular drinks which can be tweaked with all sorts of fruits and flavors, I'm good with these. Gimlets are classic, easy drinks but I'd have expected them to switch places with Daiquiris which deserve to be much higher on the list.

As for Cosmopolitans, I suppose they will always be on the list as long as women are watching reruns of Sex in the City. Not one of my top 10, but it's an innocuous little pink drink made with cranberry and vodka that can't be totally ruined by amateurs.

Sangria in the number one spot? Hmmmmm. Yes, this fruit infused, sweet and often bubbly punch is seeing a resurgence from it's heyday in the seventies, but number one? Do people really have that much left over wine?

And speaking of the seventies, WTH?? Long Island Iced Tea and Sex On The Beach??? Both are cocktails that should have been buried under the sand along with disco balls and leisure suits. Their high alcohol content and ability to reach "I'm young and stupid and want to get drunk and stupid fast" can be the only factor adding them to the list.

What took me by complete surprise and made me do a little happy dance was seeing the Aviation, a beautiful cocktail that can only truly be made properly with a hard to find, rarely used Crème de Violette liqueur. It's a sophisticated gin drink with subtlety and balance and a thing of beauty. This gave me back some hope for the future drinking habits of humanity.

Happy New Year and here's to a more cocktail enlightened list for 2016! Cheers, M'Dears!  
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MACCHIATO EGGNOG & DRUNKEN OREO TRUFFLES

A few days ago I invited some lady friends over for an end-of-the-year holiday cocktail. When I invited them I asked them what they like to drink, like a good hostess does. The answers were bourbon, bourbon and coke and coffee. Yep, that's pretty much all they said they drink. Of course, being who I am, I wanted to do something more festive and complicated than tossing a shot of whiskey in a cola or a cup of coffee.
How creative can you get with those options and still make your guests happy? Well, I happen to know they do drink eggnog as well because they served me some last year. And I just happened to have some eggnog ice cream and a little bit of my Homemade Caramel Liqueurs tucked away so ... 

The MACCHIATO EGGNOG COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS: 1/2 Oz. Homemade Caramel Liqueur (I used my Cafe Noir Courvoisier recipe here.) 1/2 Oz. Caffè Borghetti 1/2 Oz. Bourbon 1 Cup Egg Nog Ice Cream Pinch of Fresh Grated Nutmeg Dash of Sea Salt
Garnish: Caramel Candy (I used the same McCrea's Cafe Noir candy used in the caramel liqueur), Dusting of Nutmeg
Tools: Blender
Glass: Punch Cup, Coupe or Cocktail (Martini), Cocktail pick for caramel.
DIRECTIONS: Combine all the ingredients in your blender and mix until smooth and creamy. Pour into your punch Cup, garnish with the caramel candy and a dusting of nutmeg and serve.

I served them up with some DRUNKEN OREO CHEESECAKE TRUFFLES:
INGREDIENTS: 1 Package of Double Stuff Oreos 8 Oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature 1 Tbsp. Instant Espresso Powder 2 Oz. Coffee Liqueur 1/8 Tsp. Salt 1 C. Dark Chocolate Pieces 1 C. White Chocolate Pieces Tools: Food processor or something to grind up the Oreos with, toothpicks, mixing bowl, double boiler(s) or microwave safe bowl(s), cookie sheets, parchment paper.
Garnish: Ground up cocoa nibs, sparkly cake decorations, whatever you want to decorate them with that will stick to the chocolate coating. I had some cool Wild Hibiscus Salt from WildHibiscus.com that I sprinkled on top.
DIRECTIONS: Grind up one package of double stuff Oreo cookies, blend this with the softened cream cheese, instant espresso powder, salt and coffee liqueur. Roll these into one and a half inch diameter balls, stick a toothpick in each one then freeze them on a parchment lined cookie sheet for about 30 minutes. Most recipes for the Oreo Cheesecake Truffles say to freeze for 15 minutes, but because you have added liquor  you will need to keep them in the freezer a little longer . While the truffles chill, melt the chocolate you're going to dip them in, either in the microwave or a double boiler, until smooth and creamy. Take your truffles out of the freezer and grab them by the toothpicks and dip them in your melted chocolate(s) until covered. Gently tap off the excess chocolate and place them on another parchment lined cookie sheet. I simply flip the parchment paper over and use the same one. Sprinkle on some ground up cocoa nibs and/or some sparkly cake decorations and chill in the refrigerator until time to serve.
I got low on my melted dark chocolate at the end so I grabbed a bit more of the instant espresso and some dark cocoa powder and rolled the last few in the espresso then in the dark cocoa. These were my favorites, I really liked the bitterness of the coatings because they balanced a pretty sweet treat.
Sit back and accept the accolades.
Updated 6-2018 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

CANDY CANE COCKTAILS & BOOZE

When I first found out that National Candy Cane day was the day after Christmas I thought, "well that's kind of a day late and a dollar short." After all, by the day after Christmas I figured most people would be pretty tired of candy canes, in any form. We'd been inundated by pictures of them and pummeled with candy cane flavored everything from coffee to chocolate bark to cookies and candy since the day after Halloween. Enough with the candy canes already.
Then on second thought, I realized what better day for having Candy Cane Day? The day after Christmas was the day your mom would finally let you eat the candy canes off the Christmas tree! If you were the mom or dad, you gave yourself permission to take the candy canes off the Christmas tree and make some candy cane infused booze with the broken canes the kids didn't like. National Candy Cane day on December 26th finally made sense to me!
So kick the piles of crumpled wrapping paper under the couch until tomorrow, avoid the after Christmas sales melee, yank those candy canes off your Christmas tree and have yourself a restful day of peppermint booze and cocktails:
BOOZY CANDY CANE RECIPES Classic Candy Cane Martini Peppermint Patty Cocktail The Drunk Elf on a Shelf Chocolate Candy Cane Vodka and Martini Recipes
National Candy Cane Day is December 26th.

Updated 12-2018 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

The WHITE CHOCOLATE MARTINI Cocktail Recipe

If you're looking for a beautiful white cocktail you can't find one that is more elegant than my classic White Chocolate Martini. It's a delicious and rich combination of vanilla vodka, white chocolate liqueur and cream. 
For the white chocolate liqueur you can use a white crème de cacao, but I prefer the smoother Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur. The chocolate bitters I used were from Scrappy's and my vanilla vodka was Absolut. 

The WHITE CHOCOLATE MARTINI
INGREDIENTS: 1 Oz. Vanilla Vodka 1-1/2 Oz. White Chocolate Liqueur 1 Oz. Heavy Cream 2 Dashes Chocolate Bitters
Garnish: White Cake Pearls, Finely Shaved White Chocolate 
DIRECTIONS: Dip the glass rim in some white chocolate liquor and then into the white cake pearls and shaved chocolate then chill the glass in the freezer.  Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice, shake until chilled, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish and serve.
VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

National White Chocolate Day is September 22nd

Updated 9-2021 

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MAPLE COCKTAILS

I am always looking for ways to make my cocktails healthier. Because many recipes call for simple syrup, granulated sugar or another sweetener in them, one of my favorite ways to make my drinks healthy is to replace these sugars with a sweetener that is better for you. Maple syrup happens to be one of those healthier sweetening options.
Aside from the health benefits that maple syrup brings, it also adds its own unique flavor that is particularly delicious in whiskeys, especially bourbons. I've not only infused bourbon with maple syrup, I use it often as a sweetener in my crafted cocktail recipes. Below are some of my favorite cocktails and recipes that employ maple syrup or maple infused bourbon.
MAPLE COCKTAILS BLUEBERRY PANCAKE MARTINI GOBBLED KNOB COCKTAIL HOMEMADE TOASTED WALNUT MAPLE BOURBON  MAPLE LEAF COCKTAIL MAPLE WHISKEY SOURMOMMY'S CHOCOLATE BOURBON SIPPY CUP PUMPKIN BOURBON COCKTAIL PUMPKIN SPICED OLD FASHIONEDSTRANGER THINGS BOURBON SLUSHY TANGELO TANGO COCKTAILTOASTED WALNUT MAPLE BOURBON COCKTAIL WHEN PIGS FLY COCKTAIL     You can celebrate National Maple Day with some of these cocktails on December 17th.
Updated 12-2021 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

GHOST OF MY PAPPY Van Winkle & Cherry Tobacco Infused Cocktail

I rather like the Fancy Free cocktail recipe I found on Serious Eats**.  I've done a couple of riffs on it too, but one day, when I was feeling especially celebratory, I decided to try a tobacco infused cocktail and went and grabbed my bottle of (cue heavenly music and little drunken angels flitting about) 23 year old Pappy. RELAX! Sanity set back in and I put My Precious back in its shrine and grabbed the 15 year Old Pap for my experiment. Sorry if I just gave any Pappy fan a heart attack, it was a momentary aberration.

 I'm thinking of buying this for my Pappy 23.
Pappy Van Winkle is the "be all, end all" bourbon. The 23 year is the penultimate bourbon lovers possession and not to be messed with. Sip it, thank the gods you are blessed to have a friend who has excellent taste, connections and a fat wallet and do not besmirch the Pappy 23 with ANYTHING. Some would be loath to use the 15 year as well, but I was treating myself. Besides, my generous, fat walleted friend always brings his own bottle and leaves me the leftovers. Leftovers, what a word to apply to old Pap.
As for the tobacco addition, it was a whim based on seeing all the buzz lately in the cocktail world about tobacco in cocktails and I was in just enough high spirits from a new design contract to go for it and risk two ounces of Pappy in the attempt. Besides, the 15 year Pappy, a wheated bourbon with a woody, brown sugar and cherry nose and a nutty, vanilla and orange taste, had the right notes to go with the tobacco and the cherry. And Pappy 23 was safely back in his secret domain, safe from any further possible insanity. Of course, what I didn't know at the time and since found out from my friend, the darned 15 year is also hard to get ahold of. Thank the gods, the cocktail turned out great and no Pappy was ruined in the process.

I want to hand out some props to my Twitter friend @TheDiveWhisperer for inspiring the name of this cocktail. I have held off posting it for want of an appropriately great name, and fear of the wrath of the Pappy community, but this gave it to me:

Yes, folks I have succeeded in bringing back the aromatic essence of my dad with this one.  I said "ghost of my father" then realized Dad was the first "Pappy"in my life so ....
GHOST of My PAPPY
Cherry Tobacco Smoked Old Pappy Cocktail

INGREDIENTS:
2 Oz. Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Old Bourbon
1/4 Oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
1/4 Oz. Aromatic Cherry Tobacco Infusion*
2 Dashes Orange Bitters
Large Ice Sphere or Cube
Garnish:  Orange Twist, Pappy Soaked Luxardo Cherry
Glass:  Old Fashioned (Low-Ball)
Tools:  Cocktail Mister, Bar Spoon
DIRECTIONS: Prep:
In the morning of the day you are going to try this cocktail take one Luxardo Maraschino cherry (per drink) and drop it in just enough of the Pappy to cover the cherry. Let that get nice and drunker all day.  Next, prepare your cherry tobacco infusion*.
Chill your glass ahead of time in the freezer. For the Cocktail:
Mist the glass with a quick spritz of the Aromatic Cherry Tobacco Infusion. If you don't have a cocktail mister, simply wash the glass interior with the tobacco infusion.
Add your ice cube or sphere then pour in the Luxardo, then the Pappy and give this about 12 stirs with the bar spoon to chill.
Drop the orange bitters on top of the ice then garnish with the Pappy soaked Luxardo Cherry and serve.

*Aromatic Cherry Tobacco Infusion Recipe
I took a teaspoon of  Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Top Black Cherry tobacco and dropped it into a bit of Pappy in a very small glass bottle.
I let that infuse for a few hours, just until I got that hint of cherry and tobacco. I didn't want it too powerful, just enough to lend the smoky tobacco and a little extra cherry into the cocktail as a teaser. When the cherry and the tobacco hit your nose your infusion is ready.
Strain the tobacco out of the infused bourbon and pour the infusion into a cocktail mister. There should be just enough to mist two cocktails.
I loved this cocktail and I really loved how the extra Pappy, Luxardo and juice from the cherry dripped down a bit to the bottom making my last sip have a little extra kick. To be honest, I didn't get a big tobacco hit from this, a little whiff at first sip and just a little extra hint of smoke, and that's probably not such a bad thing, after the fact. Yes, at the end I also tossed back that little dram of Pappy that I soaked the Luxardo cherry in. I'm no fool.
By the way,  my above mentioned generous friend threatened to take back all of the leftovers when he heard of this "folly" and vowed never to leave a bottle in my hands again. Then I made him one and he shut up about all that nonsense. I love you, JP, but you can be a pill.

   Here's a great post on the timeline of how Pappy Van Winkle became the most popular bourbon around. 
 ** Dear Serious Eats, I love you but I will no longer link to you because all the video ads and scripts on your website crash my browser and I don't want to pass that issue on to my readers. Let me know if you ever kill them and I'll link again.
Updated 2-2019 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY