paaaaaaarty!

Photo fail! I neglected to photograph...anything last night, with the exception of this shot of Sarah finishing off the kiwi/lychee cocktail ('lycheetini'). The pitcher she's emptying out was surprisingly popular, given its less than stunning color. The tartness of the kiwis, though, disguising the surprising punch, is hard to resist.

(recipe given for approx. 3/4 pitcherfull)
in the blender, mix up:
the fruit of 3 kiwis
2 lychee
2 shots of the syrup from the lychee can
10-ish shots of vodka

pour mixture into pitcher, add approx. 1 liter of ginger ale (I busted out the new soda machine)
stir, serve over ice

Additionally, I re-visited the rum cream, made a modified Conquistador with dark rum and bitters instead of bourbon and Fernet Branca (working with what I got on hand, you know), and set out our range of rums of all colors. I ended the night with a couple of light rum, elderflower, club soda mixtures. Feeling pretty awesome this morning.

Failed to make: avocado daiquiris...maybe later in the week.

so much citrus! martini night with mom + dad

My parents have instituted 'martini night' on Fridays, which sometimes does and sometimes does not include actual martinis.  It boils down to 'cocktail night,' frequently but not always utilizing martini barware.  I went home to Iowa for the weekend without Achy, and took advantage of the citrus-positive atmosphere. 

My mom had a hankering for 'lemon drops,' so we whipped up these lil babies with the bottle of Ciroc I'd given them for Christmas.

sugar or powdered sugar rim (we did both)

1-2 shots of vodka (depending on whether you take after my mom or my dad) shaken up with ice

top off with lemonade

tarragon buck BUCK!

It seems fitting to have cocktails with fresh tarragon with Kathie B. and Nikki, as it was housesitting for them a couple of years ago where I first fell in love with the herb. I admit that I sliced a lemon for this one, on the side, and that those of us who are not allergic to it indulged for the first round. Due to the fact that we couldn't taste much liquor in these, we were too buzzed by the second round to remember about lemons.

This cocktail also gave us the opportunity to debut the pony set in its entirety -- our first use of the pitcher. Achy & I stumbled upon this little gem last winter driving back from Iowa (we had to make a purchase to use the bathroom).

The recipe was loosely as follows, but in reality I was a little more cavalier with the measurements to fill the pitcher...

Tarragon Bucks (adapted from marieclaire.com)
1 sprig of fresh tarragon, clapped between your hands to bruise, then rubbed on the inside of the glass (I also just jammed a little bouquet in the pitcher to steep; the longer the pitcher sat, the more delicious the cocktails got.)
1 shot vodka (I used the rest of the bottle of Effen in the pitcher)
1/2 shot dry vermouth
topped off with organic ginger beer

mmmmmmmm.....

Lil Filly

Yum.

The fixin's.

Ach w/ Fillies.

Me, chillin' in some rolled up Crazee Wear.

I discovered DRY Lavender Soda when Achy and I were in L.A. for her book tour a few months ago. It’s pretty much the most delicious beverage I’ve ever put in my mouth, combining two things I love: bubbly water and lavender. It’s really subtle, not very sweet, pretty perfect.

The same could be said for St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur.

And so was birthed my new fave/signature cocktail, which I’m calling a ‘Lil Filly,’ both in honor of the vintage pony glasses/pitcher that we’re debuting this summer, and as an ode to the light fresh taste with a little bit of frill.

2 shots vodka (I used Effen)
~1/2 shot St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur
dash of Angostura Bitters
fill ‘er up with DRY Lavender Soda
garnish with a coupla blackberries or other pretty thing of your choice

prepping for a summer of cocktails

we're gonna drink well this summer. the boozing is citrus-free because achy's horribly allergic, which is cool because it's a good challenge: summer cocktails sans-citrus.

things we need: lavender simple syrup, chipotle simple syrup, angostura bitters, elderflower liqueur, agave nectar

i want to make all our own syrups, infusions, and purees. this is a much bigger undertaking than december's vodka infusion project (see above).