The WAKE UP CALL, An Espresso & Wine Cocktail

Today was National Wine Day and it also happened to be National Iced Coffee Day. I kept thinking all day, could I? Should I?

Some said it couldn't be done, combining wine with coffee. At least not if you want to end up with a good cocktail.
You just can't say things like that to me, I take it as a challenge.
The WAKE UP CALL A Wine & Espresso Cocktail
INGREDIENTS: 4 Oz. Alamos Malbec Red Wine 2 Oz. Caffè Borghetti Espresso Liqueur 1/4 Oz. Fernet Branca 2 Tablespoons Pasteurized Egg White 1 Tsp. Orange Simple Syrup 3 Dashes Fee Brothers Aztec Bitters Ice
Garnish: Espresso powder, cocoa nibs, orange twist, edible gold stars
Tools: Cocktail shaker
Glass: Old Fashioned
DIRECTIONS: Dry shake all the ingredients except the ice in a cocktail shaker. Add the ice and shake again until chilled. Add a large ice cube to your glass then strain in the cocktail. Garnish and serve.
Yeah! So there! AND it's delicious, subtle and sophisticated. So I gave myself little gold stars.
Neener, neener, neener.
 

Updated 7-2018 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

RED NOSE DAY Watermelon Cherry Raspberry SLUSHY Drink

What's with all the red noses? What exactly is Red Nose Day? It's a campaign to "make a difference for kids in need" done with humor, comedy and fun. It's represented by wearing a big red clown nose, kind of a fun and playful version of the standard colored ribbon for other charities.
You might be asking what cocktails have to do with it, and that's a good question. Nothing. But not all beverages have to have alcohol in them and virgin cocktails, or mocktails if you prefer, are fun too. Especially for kids, because kids always want to rush to adulthood. When I was out to dinner with my parents I loved it when I got a Shirley Temple. Mom and dad would order that for me and a Roy Rogers for my brother when they ordered their Bourbon and Sevens and we loved them, those simple soda and Maraschino cherry drinks made us feel like grownups.
I love the idea and playfulness of the red nose to represent a charity for children, it's whimsical, funny and cheerful. I wanted to create a healthy, red drink for kids that incorporated that symbol and those qualities. It's for adults too, come on you don't always have to have booze to have fun!
And cats will like this drink too ....

The RED NOSE SLUSHY Non-Alcoholic Cocktail (Mocktail)
INGREDIENTS: 1 Cup Fresh Watermelon, Cubed 1/2 Cup Frozen Raspberries, Pureed 1/2 Cup Fresh or Frozen Dark Cherries, Pureed 1 - 2 Tablespoons Organic Honey, to taste. (I have a sweet tooth so ... 2. A lot depends on the sweetness of your fruit and I used lavender honey from Honey Ridge Farms) 1/2 Oz. Lemon Juice 4 Mint Leaves Dash of Sea Salt 1 Cup Ice
Garnish: MUST have a Red Nose from Walgreens the kids (and adults) can wear! Plus; Watermelon balls (to mimic the red nose), A Lemon Twist, A Sprig of Fresh Mint, Tons of Bordeaux Maraschino Cherries, because that's the best part of the drink where kids are concerned! And Bordeaux Cherries aren't filled with food coloring and chemicals.

Tools: Blender, Red Straws, Cute Cocktail Swizzle Stick.
Glass: Mason Jar Mug with Red Nose Day stickers. Ask for these stickers at Walgreens when you get your red noses, they're free!
DIRECTIONS: Chill glass in the freezer. Add all the ingredients to your blender and pulse on high until the ice is completely blended and you have reached slushy consistency. Pour into your chilled glass, add the straw and swizzle stick then garnish and serve.
Be sure to tweet this and use the hashtags #RedNoseDay #RedNose4Kids AND ESPECIALLY #RedNose25 because the Gates Foundation will donate $25 for each tweet to the Red Nose Day Fund up to 1 million dollars!
PLUS you should really Get Your Red Nose On too over at NBC! Bailey did!

Oh, okay, if you legal drinking age folks MUST add some spirits, try adding in 1-1/2 ounces of good rum, vodka or tequila - but keep it away from the kids and donate an extra few bucks to Red Nose Day to assuage your guilt, you boozer! (Shhh, a little white rum did not hurt this drink at all!)

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The RED WOMAN'S Spiced Wine Punch

"Lord of Light! Come to us in our darkness. We offer you these false gods. Take them and cast your light upon us. For the night is dark and full of terrors."
Melisandre, The Red Woman. Is she evil? Is she good? Let's do a quick checklist.
Good: she brought Jon Snow back to life. Of course she believes he's the reincarnation of legendary hero Azor Ahai, the "Prince That Was Promised", so this might have been a selfish move. Which she wasn't even sure she could accomplish. But she did and that's good. All I got for good so far. Except she looks really great in blood red.
Bad: In her effort to serve her God, R’hllor, the Lord of Light, she tried to  get Stannis (whom she originally thought was the prince that was promised) a crown by creating murderous Shadow Demons and offering up Stannis' daughter as sacrifice to her quest, amongst other evil queen-ish maneuvers.

She also uses some form of magic to stay young. You might believe it's that ruby red necklace, I think she bathes in in the blood of newborn babies, or something equally Wicked Witch-ish.

To complicate things, there might even be another Red Woman making her presence known in upcoming episodes. A mysterious woman named Kinvara showed up in Meereen this season wearing the same ruby red necklace! Does she believe that Daenerys Targaryen is Azor Ahai?

Either way, I can't see any high priestess of R’hllor drinking anything but a spiced, blood red wine punch ... probably spiced with dried baby tears or desiccated bunny tails ...

The RED WOMAN'S Spiced Wine Punch
INGREDIENTS: 4 Oz. Malbec Wine 1/2 Oz. Kirschwasser 4 Large Strawberries, pureed 10 Fresh Raspberries, pureed 1 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice 1 Oz. Spiced Simple Syrup* Ice
Garnish: Frozen raspberries, A fresh strawberry and an anise pod
Tools: Cocktail shaker
Glass: Blood red goblet
DIRECTIONS: Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake until icy cold. Straight into your goblets, garnish and serve.

* Spiced Simple Syrup Recipe
5 Cardamom Seeds 1 Star Anise Pod 1 Small Stick of Cinnamon 3 Dried Orange Peels 1 Cup Cane Sugar 1 Cup Water
Bring all the ingredients to a boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer five minutes. Cool, strain and store, sealed and refrigerated, for up to a month. This simple syrup can be used not only for cocktails, but for hot and cold tea, hot toddys and even for a spiced cocoa.
As for our Red Women, I leave it to you to work out who's good, evil or just plain fanatical, but keep this quote, from one of the good guys, in mind:
The Lord of Light wants his enemies burned. ~ Tyrion Lannister

Updated 4-2019 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

PREAKNESS BLACK EYED SUSAN COBBLER COCKTAIL

The Preakness is held every third Saturday of May at the Pimlico Race Track. Like all of the Triple Crown Races, it has it's own signature cocktail and that is the Black Eyed Susan, traditionally a vodka and citrus drink.
Named after the long-standing tradition of presenting the winner of the Preakness with a blanket of Black-Eyed Susans, which is draped across the shoulders of the winning horse, this seriously maligned drink has changed recipes over the years, much like the Belmont Stakes cocktail. Rob Kasper of the Baltimore Sun said “like a racehorse that keeps changing jockeys, the Susan has changed recipes.”
From the original vodka, rum, triple sec, orange and pineapple juice version, the Susan has been served up as recipes that added peach schnapps or a shot of bourbon and even a splash of Elderflower liqueur. It all seems to depend on the bartender or which booze is sponsoring the race each year. Orange juice is a constant, while pineapple juice slips in every once in awhile. Even grapefruit juice  was added at one time.
I've done my own cocktail versions for the Kentucky Derby as well as the above mentioned Belmont Stakes and, since no one seems to be able to make up their mind on the Black Eyed Susan, I figured I was well within my rights to toss my own recipe into the race!
Originally the cocktail started out with vodka and rum, then dropped the rum when vodka was having it's heyday at the turn of the millennium,  then whiskey snuck in and sort of stuck along with the whiskey sponsor. Despite prevailing tradition, I'm just not into the vodka for this one. With the fruit juices I really want some alcohol with some muscle and a little age on it, so I'm going with rye and rum, both of which play very well with the pineapple and the orange. I also added a dash of bitters to cut the sweetness I've included with the coconut honey.

The BLACK EYED SUSAN COBBLER COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS: 2 Oz. Templeton Rye Whiskey 1/4 Oz. Diplomatico Rum 3 Oz. Pineapple juice 1/2 Oz. Lime Juice 1 Oz. Orange Juice 1 Tablespoon of Honey Ridge Farms Honey Cremé Coconut 1 Tablespoon of hot water 2 Dashes Grapefruit Bitters Lots of Crushed Ice
Garnish: Mandarin Orange Sections, Pineapple Chunks, Luxardo Maraschino Cherries and a Lime Slice.(An edible yellow flower, like a  calendula, is a really nice touch, if you can get a hold of them, mine are still in sprout stage. I was unable to find out if Black Eyed Susans are edible in any way, if anyone knows leave a comment.)
Tools: Biodegradable Paper Straws, Bee Swizzle Stick (got my cute bee one from The Swizzle Stick Shop.)
Glass: Collins
DIRECTIONS: Add the hot water to the Honey Cremé Coconut in the glass and mix well. Fill the Collins glass with crushed ice. Pour the in the rye, rum, pineapple, orange and lime juices then stir to chill.(You can shake the ingredients with ice in a shaker if you prefer.)Pile on the fruit garnishes (and an edible flower if you have one), add a fun swizzle stick, a straw and serve.
VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

If you prefer to go with a more traditional horse race cocktail, here are a few of my variations on the Mint Julep.


Updated 5-2026PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

Rains of Castamere RED WEDDING Inspired NEW YORK SOUR

Robb ... Murdered at the Red Wedding, butchered by the Freys. I should have been with him. Where was I? I should have died with him."

~Theon Greyjoy
When I decided to do a Red Wedding cocktail interpretation for Game Of Thrones all I kept seeing in my head was a New York Sour. Once known as a Continental Sour,  later a Southern Whiskey Sour, the New York sour is a drink that starts out normal - as a Whiskey Sour - then just gets bloody as hell when the wine flows. Just like The Red Wedding when the wine is poured and the treachery begins.
A traditional New York sour consists of rye whiskey, simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, an egg white then a dry red wine float. The bloody part is when you float that red wine over the back of a spoon and it floats on top of a cocktail slowly oozing down into the drink. Tell me that's not a perfect visual for the Red Wedding!
Every time I thought about the Red Wedding I kept seeing that wine flowing blood red onto the New York Sour, so I decided to go with it, only I pulled a little treachery of my own. I killed the whiskey off and replaced it with a beautiful aged rum making my variation more of a Peninsula Sour, then added a little spice to the sweet element by using a spiced honey instead of simple syrup.
The garnish of the long orange twist represents a Celtic knot, a tradition that symbolized the bond of marriage, a ceremony which preceded the exchanging of rings of modern weddings. It also represents the tangled web of deceit which wove itself through the machinations in Westeros before and during the Red Wedding.
The way I poured in the wine float represents the flowing of blood and betrayal over the purity of trust and union.

TheRAINS OFCASTAMERE SOURA Red Wedding Cocktail
INGREDIENTS:2 Oz. Diplomatico Rum3/4 Oz. Spiced Honey Syrup*1/4 Oz. Fresh Lemon Juice3/4 Oz. Fresh Blood Orange Juice2 Tablespoons Pasteurized Egg White2 Dashes Scrappy's Grapefruit Bitters1 Oz. Malbec Wine
Garnish: Orange twist knot
Tools: Channel knife, Cocktail shaker, Strainer, Bar Spoon
Glass: Cocktail
DIRECTIONS:*Take a tablespoon of Honey Ridge Farms Honey Créme Spiced and thin to a syrup consistency with a tablespoon of hot water.Take a channel knife and carefully start at the top of an orange and channel out a very long twist. Wrap this into knots and drape over a rustic wooden stick.
Dry shake (without ice) all ingredients except the red wine to emulsify the egg and create a foam. Shake again with ice to chill and dilute then strain into a chilled glass. Float the red wine over a spoon on top, let it flow like the blood the The Red Wedding,  garnish and serve.
"Not murder. It was vengeance, we had a right to our vengeance. It was war." ~ Merrett Frey

Check out my other

Game of Thrones Cocktails Here

Updated 7-2021 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

WINE COCKTAILS

Wine can of their wits the wise beguile,

Make the sage frolic, and the serious smile. ~ Homer
Wine is any alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes or other fruits. This includes sparkling wines like Champagne, fortified wines such as sherry, amaros or vermouth, distilled wines like brandy, cognac and Armagnac.
The oldest archaeological evidence of the existence of wine dates back 9,000 years to ancient china while other evidence suggests that the cultivation of grapes and wine making began in Mesopotamia and areas surrounding the Caspian Sea sometime between 6000 and 4000 BCE. The Bible states that Noah planted vines and made wine, the ancient Romans and Greeks were wild about the stuff and poets and philosophers waxed on about it throughout history.
What though youth gave love and roses, Age still leaves us friends and wine. ~ Thomas Moore

It's a fact, wine has been around a very long time, maybe as long as mankind itself. Who's to say some caveman didn't stumble into some "spoiled" (aka fermented) grapes and tie one on after barely escaping the jaws of a saber tooth tiger? Talk about a bad day at the office.

We have it a lot easier in today's world where kind and benevolent vintners provide us with all variety of the favorite drink of Bacchus and Dionysus. Thank the gods.
Wine is bottled poetry. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

WINECOCKTAILS
A COCKTAIL OF ICE & FIRE A MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT COCKTAIL AN APERITIF TO REMEMBER BERRY CHERRY SHERRY COBBLER BRANDY ALEXANDER CHAMPAGNE COCKTAILS (30 plus recipes)  CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY SANGRIA DEM BONES DEM BONES CHOCOLATE WINE SHAKE DRUNK SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET FRESH BERRY SANGRIA KOSHER SPRITZER-TINI KOSHER WINE COCKTAILSMIMOSA RECIPES NEW YORK SOUR NOSFERATU'S REVENGE RAINS OF CASTAMERE RED WEDDING SOUR RED WOMAN'S SPICED WINE PUNCH HALLOWEEN RASPBERRY STRAWBERRY SANGRIA STRAWBERRY BASIL MOSCATO COCKTAIL WAKE UP CALL COCKTAIL WHITE WINE CHERRY SANGRIA WICKED WITCHE'S BREW WINE COOLER-TINI
I like best the wine drunk at the cost of others. ~ Diogenes the Cynic

Updated 2-2021

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GAME OF THRONES COCKTAILS

“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.”

As a history buff and fantasy fiction fan, it was the dragons and the Medievil, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, Mongol hoard influences that sucked me right in. There is a little something in Game of Thrones for everybody, lots of booze, lots of sex, intrigue, drama, killing, mystacism, and even a bloody Red Wedding. And did I mention dire wolves and dragons? Love me some prehistoric, extinct canines and fire breathing bird ancestors. And don't get me started on the banquets and drinking.
I admit it, I'm a Thronie. What's a Thronie? A ridiculously obsessed fan of George R. R. Martin's epic "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels and HBO's series "Game of Thrones". Call me a geek and whip me with a Valeryian steel sword, I was obsessed enough to do a whole slew of this fantasy world inspired cocktails.
And I did, as you can see below.

As we say goodbye to our beloved Game of Throne epic television series, let us our glasses in a toast to the Land of Ice and Fire and thank our lucky stars for reruns.
"There's no story so good a drink won't make it better."

The GAME of THRONE COCKTAILS
DRAGON'S BREATH DRAGONFRUIT COCKTAIL WINTER IS COMING COCONUT DAIQUIRIS NIGHT'S WATCH HOT COFFEE TODDY A FLAMING COCKTAIL of ICE & FIRE WHITE WALKER COCONUT MEZCAL MARGARITA RAINS OF CASTAMERE RED WEDDING SOUR The RED WOMAN'S SPICED WINE PUNCH FIRE & BLOODY (Mary) WILDLING Apple Ale WASSAIL The KINGSLAYER WINTERFELL Bourbon Apple Tarragon SMASH CERSEI'S REVENGE The STORMBORN COCKTAIL
WINTER IS HERE!

Updated 2-2019

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