Cocktails

To be clear, it’s still cranberry season, at least it is to me. I first read about a Good Tidings cocktail in Esquire.  I’m not sure where that magazine has been all my life (although apparently the answer is: on my husband’s nightstand). Esquire regularly has fantastic drink features. I loved the flavors in this […]

Chances are you’ve heard of a White Russian, a rich creamy cocktail made with vodka, coffee liqueur, and cream served over ice. This beloved cocktail was created in the late 1940s by Gustave Tops, a Belgian barman who also created the White Russian’s sister cocktail a Black Russian which is simply a White Russian without […]

If you’ve never had a Hot Toddy on a cold winter night, you must. Known as a “hot whisky” in Scotland, it can mixed in any number of ways.  But typically, it is served as one is (according to Wikipedia) “retiring” for the night. Love that. In essence, it’s a true “nightcap.” Some believe the Hot […]

Holidays are all about spirit. And by “spirit” I mean the feeling of happiness, gratitude, and grace that swirls around December. Spirit is more a mood than anything religious. Anyone can have spirit no matter what one celebrates. I love the holiday spirit. The buzz, the pomp and circumstance, the gatherings, and the overall excitement […]

I consider this another fun, seasonal, Fall cocktail, based on the “Fallen Apple” cocktail I first read about in Saveur in 2015. The Fallen Apple recipe talked about in that article was from chef Anna Bogle of Summit City Lounge in Whitesburg, Kentucky (a place and a state I’ve never been). A “Fallen Apple” cocktail, either the […]

This is a Gin Rickey, and I’m calling it my “Fall transition cocktail“. Even if you have not tried one, a Gin Rickey (also known as a Lime Rickey) is a classic drink. Simple and refreshing, a traditional “Rickey” is simply gin (or bourbon), mixed with lime juice and carbonated water. Little or no sugar is […]

My husband introduced me to Sidecars a few years ago. Something new and not too sweet was an easy sell. I liked the idea of having a drink served “up” instead of over ice. I also loved the look of an elegant martini glass. After one sip, I was hooked. But they are strong. I […]

This is a Havana cocktail and I love this drink almost as much as I love the song Havana by Camila Cabello.  A rum-based drink that is served “up,” this is smooth and fruity from the very first sip.  The trick to this tropical beauty is the pineapple-flavored rum I used to kick up the tropical […]

I’ve always wanted to enjoy sake. I have tried it warm and cold, over the years, but never loved it. Friends always said, “Drink the really good stuff and you will love it.” They were wrong. Straight-up sake always struck me as too medicinal. For me, hard alcohol is always tricky.  Even when it’s the […]

I love Fridays in the summer, and I also love cocktails. To me, nothing says summer like lemonade. Sweet deliciousness. Raspberries are also a sign of warm weather and are glorious right now. In celebration of the carefree summer months I love, I developed this fun raspberry vodka lemonade cooler with fresh summer berries. Sweet yet […]

A horned melon is not your typical-looking fruit. Also called a kiwano melon, African horned cucumber, jelly melon, hedged gourde, melano, and blowfish fruit, the horned melon is native to Southern Africa and grows mainly in dry semi-arid places such as the Kalahari Desert. This fruit was later introduced to other areas of Africa, Australia, New Zealand more recently, the US. The […]

Hello Summer! Is it just me, or have you been waiting for it as much as I have?  Long sunny carefree days and no school lunches are something to celebrate in my house. After living in California for 11 years now, I need warm temperatures and lots of sunlight. Summer delivers both in abundance.  Summertime […]

Have you ever heard of a bee’s knees cocktail? I sure hadn’t, but I’m very glad I found it. The phrase “Bees Knees” has been around since the 1920s and was often used to describe something “of excellence” or that was considered to be “the best“. Bee’s Knees, the cocktail, is traditionally a gin-based “sour” […]

A pomelo or “citrus maxima” is a citrus fruit similar to a grapefruit. I don’t think I ever saw one until I moved to California.  Pomelos are native to South and Southeast Asia and are popular during the mid-autumn or mooncake festival. Pomelos are typically large, pale green to yellow when ripe, with sweet white, […]

A Greyhound is a cocktail consisting of grapefruit juice and either gin or vodka; it is traditionally served over ice.  “Greyhound” is also the nickname given to my husband by a friend in law school due to his tall, thin physique.  Although the two are unrelated, I have an affinity toward anything greyhound-related. So this […]