Tag Archives: cocktail

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Maple Brown Derby Cocktail Pops

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Guys, I maybe made these while big, fluffy, frigid snowflakes drifted from the sky. I maybe wore shoes without socks that day too…my mind has been thinking spring, even if the elements are insisting it’s not time just yet. I couldn’t help it, I wanted to turn my favorite cocktail of the moment into an ice pop before citrus season ends. Enter the Maple Brown Derby Cocktail Pop!

A Brown Derby is a bourbon drink combined with grapefruit juice and honey syrup. I’ve been using maple syrup in my Brown Derby’s as of late, and I love the flavor–plus it’s already the perfect viscosity for cocktail mixing. I also like to add a few dashes of bitters for that extra little somethin’. These pops are sweet and almost smoky from the whiskey and maple, yet refreshing from the fresh ruby-red grapefruit juice. I may even love the color of these ice pops even more than I like eating them…I’ve been smitten with blushy/peachy/sunset colors. I think it has to do with these late-winter doldrums, but the next season is on the horizon and there warm-weather ice pops in our futures, friends.

Maple Brown Derby Cocktail Pops

Makes about 10 ice pops. I use THIS mold.

A traditional Brown Derby uses a syrup made of honey and water and doesn’t necessarily include bitters. I’ve tailored this recipe to my taste, so definitely do the same and make it your own…ratios are just a suggestion! However, upping the alcohol by too much will prevent the ice pops from freezing solid, so use a lighter hand and serve these with a shooter on the side if ya wanna get crazy.

2 1/2 cups fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice (about 4 medium grapefruits)

1/3-1/2 cup pure maple syrup (depending on how sweet your fruit is)

1 ounce bourbon

a few dashes of bitters (I did about 6)

In a mixing bowl whisk together all of the ingredients to combine. Divide the liquid between the 10 ice pop molds and freeze for 1 hour* before inserting popsicle sticks. Continue to freeze for several hours until frozen solid.

*You can soak/saturate the sticks in boiling water before making the pops, so you can insert the sticks immediately without waiting for the pops to set up. I always forget, though!

 

 

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Rose Lemonade Cocktails

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I’m a girlfriends kinda gal. Don’t get me wrong, I love the men in my life, but I cherish the company of other women. I love lady dates, lunching, shopping with a trusted ally, and, probably most of all, chatting the day away. I talk a lot, wonder out loud, take and give advice, muse about whatever, gossip about celebs and the like…etc. I tend to be a shy, awkward, weirdo upon first meeting, but my true nature is talker….not to be confused with walker.

If you give me a cocktail and pair me up a lady friend…before you know it, hours will have gone by and we will have covered a range of topics and bonded over rambling hours of conversation. This is exactly what happens anytime I get together with my pal, Megan. We happen to talk A LOT about blogging, drinks, pretty things, cupcakes, whether Ryan Gosling is hanging out around Detroit, puppy love, and pizza/burgers/tacos/food. It’s just what happens.

A few weekends ago we found ourselves snacking on charcuterie and chatting over cocktails. I was drinking Rose Lemonade with vodka. It was floral, refreshing, slightly boozy, and about the most romantic lemonade I’ve ever had. I told Megan I wanted to recreate it but it needed to be pink. She agreed. We share a lot of things in common and have similar personalities (friendly-awkward with a side of snark), and we both–unashamedly–love pink. So, I knew that if I was going to remake the prettiest tasting cocktail I’d ever had, I needed to make it pink and I wanted it to be a natural pink beauty. This cocktail gets it’s pink hue, naturally, from a few crushed raspberries in the syrup–not enough to impart a berry flavor, just enough to make this drink the rose-toned beauty of my dreams. There’s gin or vodka for a boozy kick, fresh lemon juice for tang, and a touch of rosewater for that floral, romantic something else. These drinks mix up perfectly in a pitcher and would be the best foil for an evening of patio-sitting and girl talk.

Rose Lemonade Cocktails

Makes about 4 large cocktails.

Feel free to leave out the booze and make these drinks friendly for everyone. As for the Rose Water the floral sweetness can quickly become soapy. A little bit goes a long way, so I suggest 2-4 teaspoons–depending on your taste. I found the bottle pictured above at my local Asian market in the Indian foods section. I don’t always love buying a specialty item for a single recipe and though I only used the teeniest bit, the bottle was under $2, so it was worth it. PLUS…I now have a whole bottle of rose water to play with in other recipes. 

For the pink syrup:

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup water

a handful of raspberries, about 10 (fresh or frozen)–crushed

2-4 teaspoons rose water

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, and raspberries. Heat over medium high to dissolve the sugar and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute, remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature before straining through a fine mesh sieve. Discard any raspberry seeds and solids. Stir the rose water into the cooled syrup. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Makes about 1 1/2 cups syrup.

For the Lemonade:

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (I used about 8 lemons)

3 cups water

1 cup rose water syrup (use more to taste as desired)

Gin or Vodka

In a pitcher mix together lemon juice, water, and rose syrup. Stir well to combine. Best served with 1-2 ounces of gin or vodka (per drink) over ice.

 

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Cocktail: Simplest Margarita

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So, I know that America’s favorite Mexican food and booze holiday has passed, but margaritas aren’t just appropriate for Cinco de Mayo…and I know it’s only Monday, but a girl can dream of the weekend, right?

Sean and I aren’t major party-people, we’re the stay-at-home type…but that doesn’t mean we’ll pass up any excuse to enjoy Mexican food (arguably one of our favorites) and cocktails. These margaritas are super simple–in both execution and ingredients. I mixed these up in a carafe so we had our cocktails ready to pour. One could easily double or even triple this recipe for a crowd. I’m not much of a blended drinks kind of gal–I like my margaritas on the rocks with a crunchy salted rim. I used flaky Maldon salt for these, to up the crunch factor…kosher salt is also a good choice, or that margarita salt sold in that sombrero shaped box.

There aren’t any fancy additives like bitters or top-notch tequila–though, I’m sure this cocktail would be elevated by either–just lime, water, honey, and booze. Fresh lime adds that tell-tale tang and cuts the sharpness of the tequila, while the honey brings it’s floral sweetness. Simple and refreshing.

Simplest Margarita

Makes plenty of cocktails for 2, just enough for 4. 

This is more of a ratio situation that recipe. It’s a 2:2:2:1 sort of concoction, 2 parts each Lime/Water/Tequila to 1 part Honey–Agave would be an appropriate substitution for the honey. I have also made these with grapefruit, subbing half of the lime juice for grapefruit. Also, if you can stand it, use fresh squeezed juice. 

1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (6-7 limes)

1 cup silver tequila (I used Jose Cuervo)

1 cup water

1/2 cup honey

salt for rims and lime wedges for garnish

In a glass measurer, dissolve honey in water. Pour lime, tequila, and honeyed water into a pitcher or carafe. Stir. Using a wedge of lime, moisten the edge of your glasses of choice and dip into a plate of salt to rim. Place ice cubes into the glasses and pour margaritas over the top. Toast and enjoy!

 

 

 

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So, this is the New Year…

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Dear 2011,

It’s been fun, strange, and terrifying, but most of all, exciting.

It’s been a year of change and discovery.

Thanks for everything.

Dear 2012,

I’m not big on resolutions, I feel like they’re just a set-up for failure. So, I’m keeping my goals for the year simple:

patience, patience, patience. learn some. 

eat a few new vegetables

be nicer to my body

get back into arts/crafts

learn to temper chocolate

try to remember that comparison kills joy

I’m looking forward to this new year. Let’s get into it.

Dear Friends,

I can’t even begin to get into how much your comments, and the fact that this little blog is even on your radar, mean to me. It’s a big, bad world of blogging and there’s a ton of things to look at, read, and be inspired by. Your support means the world.

I thank you from the deepest reaches of my little, ol’ heart. Truly.

So, to cap of 2011, I say we have a drink. I know many of us will be popping the corks off of some bubbly tonight and toasting to a brand new year with the ones we love the most.

My favorite guy and I will be staying in, after a long and much needed trip back home for the holidays. We’ll be lounging and sipping these cocktails with our pups. Soda water makes it bubbly, rosemary + ginger syrup bring aromatic, herbal sweetness, there’s a little squeeze of lime for some tang, and gin makes it all boozey and right.

Cheers!!

XO Cindy

Rosemary-Ginger Gin Cocktail

makes 1 drink

ice

2 ounces gin

1 tablespoon rosemary-ginger syrup

1 lime wedge

soda water to fill

Fill a rocks glass with ice and pour in the gin, syrup, squeeze the lime over the top, fill the glass with soda water and stir to combine. Toast and drink.

Rosemary-Ginger Syrup

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

2 inches ginger root, peeled and sliced

2-3 sprigs rosemary

Add sugar and water to a small saucepan and stir to combine. Add ginger and rosemary, heat to dissolve the sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, then remove from heat. Allow ginger and rosemary to steep in the syrup as it cools to room temperature. Once cooled, remove ginger and rosemary (strain if needed) and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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iced tea cocktail

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it is summer in the northern hemisphere. if you are like me and you melt into a grumpy puddle in the summer heat…i may have something for you.

something refreshing, just barely sweet and a little boozy too.

something you can make by the pitcher and that can be sipped through a straw.

let me introduce you to my iced tea cocktail.

last week sean and i ventured north to vancouver, bc, where we biked and walked and ate and drank to our hearts content. one day at lunch, at a restaurant whose name i have forgotten (but, i do know it is on granville island), we ordered a pitcher of liquored-up iced tea. ohmygoodness was it good! refreshing, light, not too sweet and dangerously easy to drink. right then and there i decided we would be recreating this perfect summer cocktail at home.

also, while in vancouver’s yaletown neighborhood, i found my new favorite store…the cross. i’d like to move right in, but i settled on buying a few fun things, including the bejeweled stir stick pictured :)

iced tea cocktail

since we’ve been home…a whopping 5 days…i have made it twice. it’s nice, try it!

i have used tart cherry and cranberry juice in this recipe so far…both are lovely and not too sweet. i can see this being made with any juice of your choice. when we had this in vancouver the alcohol was raspberry flavored vodka. i made it with plain Kettle One and with bourbon…get crazy and do your own thing if you want.

5 cups fresh tea, chilled

3 cups juice

sugar or honey to taste

2 cups (or more!) vodka

pour all ingredients into a pitcher and stir! fresh raspberries or wheels of lemon or lime make a nice garnish :)