50 Shots of America

50 Shots of America–Illinois

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Purple Popcorn Eater

Purple Popcorn Eater

Coming in at number 21 on the sip-by-state roster is Illinois, Land of Lincoln, which became a state on December 3, 1818.

Home to the third-largest city in the country, the state is a bit top-heavy with almost three-quarters of the state’s population concentrated in the northeast: in and around the city of Chicago. Home to the first nuclear power plant, a would-be Latter Day Saints Utopia and the first McDonald’s, the state has oil and coal in the south, corn and soybean fields in the center and industry galore in the north.

It was pretty tough to come up with a theme for this state’s drink, but with a state snack of popcorn and the state flower being the violet, I present to you…

the Purple Popcorn Eater

1 oz Raspberry Liqueur
1/2 oz Butterscotch Schnapps
1/4 oz Kentucky Bourbon

Combine over ice and shake like your stealing home plate. Strain into a chilled cordial glass over ice.

While there is a creme de violette liqueur, it can be difficult to find. I had the raspberry around so I went with that. This drink tastes a lot like having popcorn and a side of really sweet soda, if it’s too sweet and you’ve got room in the glass you can cut it with some chilled club soda. Even though all-alcohol drinks are traditionally stirred, the shaking adds a little of natural mixer via the water that gets added in this step; the ice in the glass is for all the state parks focused on rocks.

50 Shots of America–Mississippi

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Muddy Magnolia Shot

Muddy Magnolia

Entering the Union on December 12, 1817, Mississippi became the 20th state to sign on the dotted line.

Thinking of the Magnolia State brings to mind images of plantation homes, cotton fields and the eponymous river. So very strong before the Civil War, top 5 as far as wealth is concerned, it has not fared so well in the century-plus that followed. There were issues, there were changes that didn’t want to be made and when they were made it was at a snail’s pace.

Let’s just leave it at that and move on to some high points and, of course, the cocktail.

Lots of great music came out of the Mississippi Delta–Elvis was born in Tupelo, Jimmy Buffet lived in Mobile for a while… just lots of good music and influence of various sounds around the country.

Other things that started in Mississippi? Root Beer (Biloxi, 1898), lung & heart transplants (U Miss Medical Center, 1963 & ’64, respectively), Rayon fabric (Hazelhurst), the origins of Memorial Day (Columbus, 1866) and Borden’s Condensed Milk (Liberty).

Oh, yeah, you know where this is going!

the Muddy Magnolia

1 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 oz Chocolate Liqueur
1/2 oz Hazelnut Liqueur
1/2 oz White Chocolate Irish Cream

Combine condensed milk and the chocolate and hazelnut liqueurs over ice in a shaker. Shake like a rushing river and strain into a chilled cordial glass. Float the Irish Cream over the back of a bar spoon and, if you want to gild the lily, shake or shave a little cocoa over the top.

I wanted to call this the Mississippi Mud because that’s sorta what I based the recipe on, that ooey-gooey dessert. But there are numerous drink recipes with that name already so I figured we’d go the magnolia route but also pay respect to the past that Mississippi has–both the good and the bad. Silver tarnishes, magnolias might get a little muddy, but the important thing is that they are still the same inside.

Todd’s comments on the drink: very smooth, the warmth hits the back of your throat in a nice way, very nice. And that was on the first sip! Of mine, actually. This drink he actually wanted one of his own 🙂

50 Shots of America–Indiana

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The Hoosier State became the 19th state of the Union on December 11, 1816. It was in their constitution that the first state-funded public schools were called for, even if it took over 30 years to follow through with the plan.

What is a Hoosier? I still don’t know, I’ve read so many possible explanations. But Abraham Lincoln (moved there when he was 7), James Dean and David Letterman are examples of famous ones.

When I think Indiana, I think Indianapolis and the Indy 500. It’s the largest single-day sporting event in the world and just underscores the state’s place as the “Crossroads of America.” Cars, highways (more per square mile than any other state) and manufacturing that has fared better in these times of auto-industry downturns and upsets due to specialized skill centers in smaller towns are all part of what keep Indiana moving fast.

Hence….

The Quick Shot

1/2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Melon Liqueur
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
Tonic Water

Combine gin, liqueur and vermouth over ice and shake like your rushing down a court towards witness a beautiful 3-point shot. Strain into a cordial glass and top with tonic water.

Melons and grapes are two of the state’s top crops (behind feed-corn and soybeans) but as much as I wanted to use Pepper Vodka to give the drink some speed it was just too harsh so we went with a gin base–it’s got its own version of pep. The tonic water helps bring out the different flavors the same way salt enhances a sauce.

50 Shots of America–Ohio

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Ohio is the 17th state admitted to the Union but it wasn’t quite so simple as it sounds. It wasn’t until 1953 that they were official declared the 17th state retroactively.

As part of the Northwest Territory, an area became eligible for statehood once it reached a population of 60,000. In 1953 the realized there had been no formal Congressional resolution to admit the state into the Union even though President Jefferson signed the act that set Ohio’s borders in February of 1803. 153 years later it would be Eisenhower who declared the date of statehood as March 1, 1803.

That’s some serious bureaucratic back-log!

Despite having a state beverage of tomato juice (at least it’s not milk!) I couldn’t ignore the more obvious theme for this state. Ohioans are considered Buckeyes and most of us have encountered–on holiday cookie swap or another–the confection of the same name. Little balls of sweetened peanut butter dipped in chocolate but leaving a bit of the filling exposed to mimic the seeds they get their name from.

Now, to my knowledge there’s not a peanut liqueur (not that that’s a bad thing, necessarily) but we do have some other nut liqueurs to work with. And since there are two drinks already with the name Buckeye (one a gin-dry vermouth martini, the other a variation on the Irish Car Bomb) I’ve decided to call this week’s drink

the Buck-Shot

3/4 oz hazelnut liqueur
3/4 oz chocolate liqueur
1/2 oz vanilla vodka
1/4 oz butterscotch schnapps

Combine over ice in a petite shaker and shake it colder than lake-effect snow. Strain into a chilled cordial glass.

While I dearly love amaretto, it tends to overpower even in small amounts in these small drinks. Frangelico turned out to be perfect for the taste and, with the addition of the Butterschnapps you can almost fool yourself that it’s a peanut butter ball and not something more akin to Nutella.

50 Shots of America–Tennessee

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The 16th state of the Union, Tennessee is a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

Well, wait, maybe it’s a lot of each as both musical genres found their feet with Nashville holding court at the Grand Ole Opry and Elvis recording his music in Memphis. Which makes their choice of the mockingbird as a state symbol entirely fitting.

Not that it’s been all song and dance for the Volunteer State (a nickname earned during the Way of 1812), it’s seem it’s share of downs as well as ups. In response to the end of the Civil War, the original Ku Klux Klan was formed in Pulaski in 1866 and copied throughout the South. In the 1940s this state was the site of the Manhattan Project’s uranium enrichment programs as well as the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King.

Of course, the planned community, Oak Ridge, built around the atomic bomb research is now known as the Energy Capital of the World thanks to the efforts of the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) before and the continued energy research after. And the site of Mr King’s death is now the National Civil Rights Museum, preserving a crucial–if incredibly tragic–part of our history.

Now, if you walked into this cocktail blog post about Tennessee and didn’t immediately think Jack Daniel’s, shame on you. Of course this week’s cocktail is going to have a Tennessee Whiskey base! The rest, though…

‘Nanner Puddin’

1/2 oz Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey
1 oz Banana Schnapps*
3/4 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk

Combine over ice in a cocktail shaker, shake to a chorus of “Jailhouse Rock” (hip gyrations optional but encouraged) and strain into a chilled cordial glass.

Skip the pretzels and serve this one with a side of Nilla Wafers and you’re good to go!

Obviously the banana flavor is in deference to another King, Elvis Presley, and his fondness for peanut butter-banana sandwiches and banana pudding.

*We used 99 Bananas which is bottled just over the border in Kentucky.