The SCREWDRIVER, A classic highball drink

A timeless highball classic, the Screwdriver is a drink that, like many of our cocktails, has a murky, debatable history. Most stories range back to the early 20th century with mentions of Turkish intelligence agents and engineers in clandestine bar meetings, World War II soldiers adding vodka to their reconstituted o.j., and even oil workers in the Persian Gulf mixing their vodka into their juice with a screwdriver because they lacked another convenient stir tool. 
Personally, I think it was invented by a overworked, under appreciated, bored and hungover mid-twentieth century housewife who spied a nearly empty bottle of vodka on the kitchen counter the morning after she and her hubby had thrown a cocktail party. "Waste not, want not" and that dribble of vodka went into her morning o.j. before the bottle went into the trash can. From that point on a little vodka in the juice was as accepted an accessory to her breakfast as her pearl choker was to her shirtdress.
The I.B.A recipe calls for 10 parts orange juice to 5 parts vodka. I like my Screwdriver a little less like diesel fuel and fresh juice is a must.

The SCREWDRIVER
8 Oz. Fresh Orange Juice 1-1/2 Oz. Vodka
Glass: Highball
DIRECTIONS Fill a chilled highball glass with ice cubes. Add the vodka, add the orange juice, stir. Garnish with an orange slice, serve. 
My Variations SONIC SCREWDRIVER DEATH BY SCREWDRIVER
Other Variations HARVEY WALLBANGER Fuzzy Navel: Peach Schnapps and orange juice. Hairy Navel: Vodka, Peach Schnapps and orange juice. Brass Monkey: Vodka, Dark Rum and orange juice. Cordless Screwdriver: Shot of vodka, shot of orange juice. Tang Banger: Vodka and Tang. Poor Man's Screwdriver: Vodka and Sunny Delight. Electric Screwdriver: Vodka, Tequila, energy drink and orange juice. Slow Screw: Slow gin and orange juice. Slow Comfortable Screw: Southern Comfort and orange juice. Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against the Wall: Slow Gin, Southern Comfort, Galliano and orange juice. Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against The Wall Mexican Style: Slow Gin, Southern Comfort, Galliano, Tequila and orange juice. Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against a Fuzzy Wall: Slow Gin, Southern Comfort, Galliano, Peach Schnapps and orange juice. Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against a Fuzzy Pink Wall: Slow Gin, Southern Comfort, Galliano, Peach Schnapps, Sparkling Rosè and orange juice. (I know ... but I didn't name them!)
National Screwdriver Day is December 14th.
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GAZPACHO MARTINI COCKTAIL

This cocktail was inspired by leftovers from a Mexican dinner. I had homemade pico de gallo and after sitting for a day I noticed there was quite a bit of juice from the tomatoes and cucumbers in the bottom of the pico de gallo container. I suddenly wondered how that would taste as the mixer for a cocktail and, boom, this gazpacho martini was born.
The GAZPACHO MARTINI
INGREDIENTS 2 Oz. Tomato Vodka 1 Oz. Pico de Gallo "Juice"* 1/2 Oz. Fresh Lime Juice 5 Drops Chohula Lime Hot Sauce
GARNISHCilantro SprigLime Slice
DIRECTIONS * Make some homemade Pico de Gallo. After it sits for several hours or overnight there will be some lovely juices you can strain out. How much juice will determine how many cocktails you can make.Chill your glass.Add the ingredients to an ice filled cocktail shaker, shake until chilled then strain into your chilled glass.Garnish and serve.

VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

National Gazpacho Day is December 6th.

Updated 12-2021

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The BABY GROOT COCKTAIL - I AM GROOT!

I have a very close friend who is madly in love with Baby Groot, the miniature but growing incarnation of Groot from Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy series. She collects anything Baby Groot and, for fun, is placing hers in a variety of locales and scenarios.
I decided she needed a special cocktail for those moments.
Merry Christmas, Melodieann! (Don't worry,  you will get a package too 😘.)
The BABY GROOT COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS 1 Oz. Seagram's Whiskey 1/2 Oz. Dark Crème de Cacao 1/2 Oz. White Crème de Menthe 3 Oz. Warm Cocoa
Garnish: Dollop of whipped cream, drizzle of Green Crème de Menthe, chocolate sprinkles, mint leaves
Glass: Old Fashioned (Rocks)
DIRECTIONS Add the Whiskey, Dark Crème de Cacao, White Crème de Menthe to your old fashioned glass. Pour in the warm cocoa. Spoon on a large dollop of whipped cream.  Drizzle with some Green Crème de Menthe. Top off with a few mint leaves and some chocolate sprinkles.
I am Groot. I am GROOT! (Groot is buzzed.)

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Sparkling Pumpkin Cocktail Recipe

Yes, I know, I have a bunch of Pumpkin Cocktails already but I didn't have one that included bubbly. Plus I have a couple of bottles of Homemade Pumpkin Liqueur to play with again this year so, fizzy pumpkin cocktails here I come.

The SPARKLING PUMPKIN COCKTAIL    INGREDIENTS: 1 Oz Chilled Spiced Pumpkin Liqueur 2 Oz. Dry Sparkling Wine (Champagne, Cava or Prosecco) Pinch of Pumpkin Pie Spice and Sugar
Garnish: Toasted Marshmallow 
Glass: Champagne Flute    DIRECTIONS: Chill your glass in the freezer, then pour in the spiced pumpkin liqueur and top off with the sparking wine of your choice. (I prefer a brut Champagne, but the others are nice too and bring their own flavor profile to this cocktail.)  Stir gently, dust with a little pumpkin pie spice and sugar then garnish with a toasted marshmallow.
Enjoy.
VOICEOVER VIDEO for the SPARKLING PUMPKIN COCKTAIL with Ingredients & Instructions:

Updated 3-2021 PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

CRANBERRY A-GO-GO THANKSGIVING COCKTAIL

The fruit most associated with Thanksgiving and the holidays is probably cranberries and it's also the time of year where it's easy to get them fresh so it follows that it's also a great time of year for cranberry cocktails. Add a little Jack Daniels, some lemon and sugar and you're ready to (pardon me for this) a-go-go.
The CRANBERRY A-GO-GO COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS 1-1/2 Oz. Jack Daniels 1 Oz. Homemade Cranberry Liqueur 1 Oz. Cranberry Juice Juice of 1 Lemon 1 Tsp. Turbinado Sugar 3 - 4 Mint Leaves
Garnish: Sugared Cranberries, Fresh Mint Sprig
Tools: Muddler, Cocktail Shaker, Hawthorne Strainer
Glass: Coupe
DIRECTIONS Make your sugared cranberries and set aside. Warm the lemon juice then stir it with the turbinado sugar until the sugar dissolves. Muddle the sugar and lemon juice with the mint in the bottom of your cocktail shaker. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice Pour in the whiskey, cranberry liqueur, and cranberry juice. Shake until chilled then strain into your chilled glass. Garnish and serve. 
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SLIMY EYEBALL MARTINI HALLOWEEN COCKTAIL

This drink is one of the top favorites of all my Halloween Cocktails, most likely because it comes garnished with a gummy eyeball and people love telling their guests it's a Slimy Eyeball Martini. It tastes pretty good too. However, I created this one years ago and it originally had cream in the recipe which added nothing to the flavor and clouded the drink thus hiding the whole point - the eyeball. That has bugged me for a while now so I'm fixing it.

I also added a bit of Blue Curacao to give it a creepy green color.  Nothing says Halloween more than a weird colored drink with an eyeball in it.

The
SLIMY
EYEBALL
MARTINI

INGREDIENTS
1 Oz. Citrus Vodka
1/2 Oz. Coconut Rum
1/4 Oz. Blue Curacao
2 Oz. Original Sunny Delight

Garnish: Gummy Eyeball Candy

DIRECTIONS
Pour the vodka, Sunny Delight, Blue Curacao and rum into your cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well blended and chilled.
Strain into your chilled martini glass, skewer the gummy eyeball on a cocktail pick, drop in and serve.

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JALAPENO MEZCAL SOUR COCKTAIL

 I was given some beautiful, fresh jalapeno peppers from a neighbor and one of my favorite things to make from them is cocktails.  I have a little problem eating chilies because they cause my mouth to break out in little blisters if they are too high on the Scoville scale.  I get around this by roasting them and making syrups from them, there's something about roasting or adding sugars that makes them easier for me to ingest.   I took a few of those peppers, roasted them, then made some Jalapeno Simple Syrup, added some mezcal and made myself a few of these last night and sat out on my front deck enjoying the Arizona fall weather with Bailey.    That roasted flavor in the simple syrup was a great smoky addition to the already smoky mezcal. Perfect fall cocktail.

 The JALAPENO
MEZCAL SOUR

INGREDIENTS
2 Oz. Vida Mezcal
1 Oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Oz. Jalapeno Simple Syrup (recipe below)
1 Fresh Egg White (or 2 Tbsp. Pasteurized Egg White)
3 Dashes Angostura Orange Bitters

Garnish: Roasted Jalapeno Pepper Slices   Tools:  2 Cocktail Shakers, Hawthorne Strainer   Glass: Coupe
DIRECTIONS
Add all ingredients, except the bitters and the egg white, to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well chilled.
Strain into the second shaker WITH NO ICE, add the egg white and orange bitters then shake vigorously to emulsify the egg white and build the foam.
Pour (you've already strained) into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish and serve.
VOICEOVER VIDEO WITH INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

JALAPENO SIMPLE SYRUP RECIPE

Ingredients
1 Large Jalapeno, seeds & placenta removed, roasted then sliced
1 C. Turbinado Sugar
1 C. Water
Directions
Using gloves, strip out the seeds and placenta (white pith) from the roasted jalapeno pepper then cut into several thin strips. Do not touch your eyes or other sensitive areas while handling the peppers.
Heat the sugar and water on medium until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Still using the gloves, toss the jalapeno strips into the syrup, bring this to a boil on medium, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 - 12 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow the peppers to infuse into the syrup until it's cool.
Strain then store in airtight glass jar or container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
National Mezcal Day is October 21st.

Updated 10-2021
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