Bee's Knees inspired by Eminem

Aloha, I am secretly a fan of Eminem. Well, not really -a secret fan- because when I remember this fact about myself I blast his music from my car and or home. He is a clever beast. I loved his last cd. So, to quote a favorite song of mine 'So Bad'.

"There aint' no body bomb as me,

I'm as calm as the breeze

I'm the bees knees, his legs & his arms"

Which makes me think of this lovely drink, a prohibition cocktail that used honey to disguise the aroma of gin.

The Bee's Knees:

Taken from Boothby's 1934 Reprint World Drinks and How To Mix Them

BEES KNEES COCKTAIL

Makes 1 drink
Note: The orange juice is optional.

1/2 jigger of gin ( I love Blue Coat gin, old Hayman Tom or Plymouth)
1 spoonful of freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 spoonful of freshly-squeezed orange juice
1 spoonful of honey

1. Combine all the ingredients and shake well with ice. Strain into a glass.

left bank

photo cred: thisrecording.com
people have been asking about this drink lately and for the record it is not my style- but i appreciate it's appeal. It's already august 20th and the earth is preparing for that amazing nostalgia inducing wind down- that i would nervously notice as kid (back to school!) and now laud as an adult (yay fall!) You can feel it happening.

Any hoot. the left bank is the paris that woody allen waxed poetic about in his most recent (aptly named movie) _Midnight in Paris_ It's the Paris of artists & writers, the Paris that makes people swoon & maybe- buy too many striped shirts..

You have two choices with this one. You may incorporate sauvignon blanc or a bianco vermouth. it's entirely your call.

GIn, St- germaine, sauv blanc of bianco

1.5 ounces of gin

1 0unce st germaine

.5 ounce of sauv blanc.

shake, stir & strain into a martini glass.

tweak and play with the amounts- whatever suits you best. just keep it to one and a half parts gin as a standard.

Connecticut Vodka?

I recently learned about Rime vodka from woodford hills distillery. It is a complex little devil in an impeccably designed and packaged glass bottle. The glass bottle even has a glass top, which is the stuff of dreams if you are a sucker for details like myself.

It's not the clean diluted backdrop that most vodkas present- it has a back bone & a sweet tooth. It basically costs the same as smirnoff or stoli, but it's local and better. So, you should try it & represent CT.

pickle back shots brought me back to the whiskey

so, if you know me in real life- you know that I do not drink brown. I did at one time, and I had a time. But, I've decided it's best for all if I refrain.

Enter the Pickle Back.

Around March of 2010 the pickle back craze began quietly in nyc.

And I was reminded of it a few months ago.

A shot of Jameson & a shot of picklejuice to follow.

The perfect companion for a gross little lady like me.

don't knock it until you try it.

triple 8 vodka from nantucket is clean!

I like vodka sodas this time of year. Wedding season!

So sososososososo good & yes boring for a cocktail blog.

But throw in some triple 888 and you won't feel as drab :)

and lemon. always always always a lemon.

i am currently obsessed... with blue coat gin!

allow me to bashfully declare that I am a vodka drinker. I know, I know, it's basically an invisible spirit. But I like it. Blue coat gin may, however make a gin drinker out of me (I'm lying, but I'll have one drink with gin this year...maybe).

An American dry gin made in Philadelphia, Pa. You've got a friend central. This is the smoothest gin you will ever ever touch with your tongue. I promise for sure. Buy it & give it to people as gifts.


click here

playing around with coconut milk!

oh you know, just playing around- having a little fun with some coconut flavors. it's been a long winter :)) but i've been loving every moment of it.

I mix one can of cream if coconut and one can of any brand of coconut milk.
that way you don't get that nutty tang after-taste that coconut may sometimes yield..

where to put it?
well, in a margarita of course.

2 oz of tequila
1.5 oz coconut milk
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lime

1/2 oz simple syrup

if you wish a little cointreau- a dab will do.


shake it up and you will be transported to the best little beachy nook of your dreams.


I'm also having loads of fun with steaming coconut milk in my boozy cappuccinos.
it is out if this world.

gin fiz

photo cred: thisnextthing.com
Gin Fiz!
I've never made a gin fiz. I did, however drink too many Sloe Gin Fizzes at a hotel bar in Athens, Greece as a teenager (16 on a school trip)- and I don't even know where I learned what one even was. I probably just liked the word fizz.

What is the story of the Gin Fiz you ask?
It was born in New Orleans.
And it gained popularity in the US from 1900-1940. The first mention of it was in the late 1800's within the Jerry Thomas Bartender's Guide

A gentleman asked me what I would put in a gin fizz this weekend- and we both agreed that It would start with Hayman's Old Tom gin. I love that stuff!

The rest would go as follows:

2 oz gin
1tsp powdered sugar (or simple syrup)
pressed lemon juice from 1 lemon
a dollop of an egg white

shake these all together in a shaker

strain into a high ball with 2 ice cubes

top with soda water.
garnish with a cherry-
spring for the AMAZING Luxardo ones.

you can add special components to fancify, like rose water, or orange water, even a dab of pear might be cool. But be aware that you are straying from the standard tradition listed above.

Oh and incase you were wondering about those sloe gin fizzes they are made the same way- sans egg white & with sloe gin. Sloe Gin is a sweet, red, blackthorn plum or sloe plum flavored liqueur with a gin base.

bourbon & milk a winter brunch staple...

photo cred bourbonfilm.com







It seems like people are really into bourbon & milk lately. I'm not really a milk drinker, though i whip up my own almond milk on the regular. But I can appreciate this hearty drink like I appreciate a bowl of ice cream (or 2).

bourbon and vanilla are like peas and carrots so consider different ways of working vanilla into your drink.

Here is my favorite version of this fun treat for brunch and bourbon ingestion.

You will need: bourbon, milk, vanilla, sugar

2 oz bourbon (basil hayden, corner creek, buffalo trace, fitzgerald 1849 is real cheap as is weller 12 year...)
3 oz milk or 1/2 & 1/2 if you're a hedonist (like me).
1 sugar cube or some type of vanilla sugar mash up.
some people use vanilla extract but why not some nice vanilla bean?
vanilla sugar? vanilla powder...seriously click here
you could infuse your bourbon over night and it would be dreamy good.
there's also vanilla paste if you want to get crazy.

You may even rim your glass with some vanilla powder.... yum.

But any way, the easiest way is to whisk your milk with come type of sugar mentioned above.

some people freeze this milk and sugar over night, but you don't have to.

Toss the bourbon and milk into a glass with ice. A nice tall glass. You may grate some nutmeg on top but I don't do that.


yum


I suggest a madagascar vanilla bean

pisco punch from Pegu

photo cred ilove212.com


the best little cocktail blog went to Pegu shortly after new years. And it was perfect. In addition to last year's belated Christmas gift to my brother (tickets to see monologue/story teller/ all around hilarious artist-guy Mike Daisey) I tagged on round trip train travel + food & cocktailing for this year's present...

We went to Pegu because it was close. But next time we plan to hit up Little Branch and Death & Company as well.

My brother drinks beer & Jameson and that's about it. I appreciate that about him. Standards, tradition, you know the drill. But I knew he'd be impressed by the cocktailery that Pegu demonstrates.

He drank a minty smash drink- much similar to a mint julep & he loved it.

I drank the Pisco Punch & I still can not get that dreamy little devil off of my mind.
So, here is how you create this beauty.

Pisco, Pineapple, Grapefruit, lime & lemon juice, ice

Before:
Infuse your pisco with pineapple, Pegu suggests about 3 days. If you are pressed for time (literally) you may muddle up the pisco and pineapple but it won't taste the same.
Take a jar, some chunks of pineapple and a bottle of pisco. Cover it & shake. Let sit in the refrigerator for 3 days. strain. use.

Make up a batch of grapefruit simple syrup. 1 whole grapefruit. Same recipe as regular simple syrup add the zest of a grapefruit rind to the already cooled sugar water. Try not to add the pith, that's the white part of the fruit. If it were your body, it'd be much similar to the fascia that binds your muscle to bones & skin (is that gross?) well, that's kind of what pith is, it holds the rind and the meaty fruit part all together, like a container. Pith is bitter. Let this sit for a day in the refrigerator.

same is true for the lemon and lime simple syrup. But I like fresh lime & lemon juice as I don't really covet the sweet.

Any way, I'm a dork.

This serves many people. As, it is a punch.

750 ml pisco
8.5 oz of grapefruit syrup
8.5 oz of lime juice or syrup
12.5 oz fresh lemon

I then add a bit of regular simple syrup to taste. I adore the tart finish of fresh lime & lemon juice, and maybe you don't- so if you want to stick to the pegu recipe do the lime syrup in stead.

refrigerate this delicious mess for a few hours.

I serve it in a little tumbler with cubes.

You may do whatever you please. It'll be good no matter what.

seco! the drink of panama

The Panamanian drink is seco, a sugar-cane-distilled alcohol produced in Herrera. It is not a trendy fancy drink, it's more cool & local. Most Panamians drink scotch, rum & beer. Panama city is super cosmopolitan. Yes, it has it's heart breaking, impoverished, tragic barrios, but it is to the back drop of futuristic skyscrapers. The ultimate dichotomy. Just like home :(

Seco is really really good on ice with lime. But you can do many things with it. It has even been served with milk.
It reminds me of all of the other sugar cane spirits, cachaca (of brasilian fame) mostly.

Oh yeah, and one more thing. When in Panama? your red wine will be served cold.

hola! the best little cocktail blog goes to Panama!

well, it's not as fancy as it sounds :) it was for a yoga retreat. But I did manage to get some drinking in during my first & last days in panama city!

first off: which of the panama beers is the best?



atlas, balboa, the aptly named panama?
for sure it is namesake cerveza: Panama!
I may or may have not have come to this conclusion during the 4th quarter of the jets vs. steelers game at a panama city hooters....maybe??

trust me I drank enough to be sure of this.

But I encourage all to decide for themselves.

this is not a paloma

Inspired by the tequila and the color of a paloma

I decided to make a reddish pink tequila drink in a snifter.

A paloma is

1 dash of grenadine

1 ounce of fresh pressed grapefruit juice

1.3 ounces of gold tequila

and it is good.

shaken and strained into a martini glass with a lime wheel.

What did we make?

oh, well, we named it a Salty Ohpiuchus

A direct result of all of the hoopli A dooooo

about this new sign. It's been around forever and guess what,

it has nothing to do with your sign changing. Whatever you are- you still are :)

so yea. Let's drink this drink and talk about something else.

What do you need?

tequila, I used silver, luxardo maraschino liquer, pomegranate puree, fresh lime dash of bitters.

• 1.5 ounces of tequila
• a splash of marashino liquer (2 if you like what it does to your mouth)
• 1 ounce of pomegranate puree.
• .5 fresh lime juice
• dash of bitters.

Shake and strain into a 1/2 salted snifter.

wow. this is really good. makes this astrology pandemonium less annoying.

xxoo

lavender blue dilly dilly

lavenders green...when you are king dilly dilly, I shall be queen.

this is one of those songs that I learned from the disney channel as a childs and need to google it to see where the heckers it's from.

But, ahhh Lavender. Let's get to muddling you.

You may put lavender in anything. And I am by no means reinventing the wheel here. Herbs are meant to be played with & sniffed...think of them as ancient scratch & sniff stickers that you can eat.

or don't.

Places to stick lavender.

In your gin & tonic.

In your vodka tonic

In a martini with vodka, a lime, & nothing else but a shake in some ice....

in a vanilla vodka soda with a wedge of lemon

yay yay dreamy yay.

pear & st germaine sparkler

• pear puree (or make your own, directions below below below)

• st germaine

• prosecco or champagne

dabble a bit of pear puree on the bottom of a champagne glass
pour in a 1/4 ounce of st germaine or enough to fill a third of the glass
top off with the bottle of sparkling of your choice.

These are the kind of drinks that make me believe that one day when I'm a mother, mixing up some unfinished babyfood with some booze...may actually be a great idea.


Hey Lady! How do I make pear puree?
it's easy.
peel your pears and you may steam, boil or microwave (cringe!) them.
mush them up in a blender with some of the leftover water from any of these approaches and there you have your very own pear puree. add sugar, honey, ginger, lemon, agave, whatever it is you like the most.

But! If you read the previous post and are fancy- may I suggest poaching them peeled pears in some water and lemon juice for about 10 minutes. Bring to a boil and then let the pears simmer. throw in an orange rind if you are feeling like it. You may even experiment poaching with red wine, white wine...fun fun fun, fancy fun. make sure you save one of them pears to eat with some type of moldy cheese& nuts.....yum yum yum.

you fancy?

Hibiscus Grapefruit Martini

What you'll need:

• Hibiscus flowers in syrup

• grapefruit

• simple syrup

• lime or fresh lime juice

ohh lala! hibiscus is fancy. Grab yourself a jar of this and pick out a few flowers. They remind me of
those little finger puppets with the little hands from the 80's. But I digress. Grab some grapefruit and a little syrup from the jar. Muddle it up with a lime. or splash of lime juice. Add ice & pour in a shot or two of vodka.

This drink is too too too too too good (& fancy).