alcoholidays series

AlcoHOLidays | Cow Appreciation Day | Sweet Bessie Brown

Sips

jwalker_ss_sweetbessiebrown

So plenty of folks out there complain about manufactured holidays, especially those by corporations, often in a serious case of sour grapes. Well, today’s holiday appears to be 100% corporate but listen up: I. Don’t. Care.

I don’t care that Chick-fil-A seems to a have thought up a cute, fun, customer appreciation idea that takes place on the second Friday of July: Cow Appreciation Day. (Please note: this is not a sponsored post. Neither I nor this post is affiliated with the Georgia-based company that is awarding free food to customers who arrive dressed not in their dignity but in cow costumes.) Frankly, it just sounds like a lot of fun, and that’s excellent marketing on their part.

Also, I really do appreciate cows!

I think cows are, most of the time, beautiful creatures with big, sleepy eyes and soft, soft skin. I am a Taurus, so the bull/cow thread runs astrologically deep, along with my fascination with the Egyptian goddess Hathor (a mother-goddess often represented by a cow). In their less-than-living state I very much like my steaks medium rare, same goes for a really good burger. I also appreciate their milk (especially when companies like Lactaid make it safe for me to drink without tummy upset), butter, cheeses, and–of course–ice cream!

Because when I first found Cow Appreciation Day on a list (totally separate from anything Chick-fil-A related) what I immediately thought of was the soda fountain classic: a Brown Cow. And until I had to cut out honey, I used to get a Soy-Kreme Brown Cow at my local toy store/soda fountain, Lofty Pursuits, made with Sprecher’s Root Beer.

And, you know, those cute, English-challenged cows predate lolcats by 11 years!

Sweet Bessie Brown

3/4 oz Vanilla Rum
1/4 oz Peach Schnapps
3 small scoops Vanilla Ice Cream
Root Beer

Stir together the rum and schnapps over ice to chill. Scoop ice cream into a footed glass and top with the spirits, then fill with root beer to the top of the glass, jiggling a spoon in the mixture to get the liquids starting to play nice.

Optional garnishes could include chocolate syrup, malt powder, or some freshly whipped cream.

The only thing you’ll be tipping is your head back to get the last of the creamy float out of the glass!

I know we’ve been a bit rum-heavy, lately, so I was all set to use vanilla vodka for this one but it betrayed me. I don’t know what kinda chip it had on its shoulders but it did not want to play nice with a single other ingredient. First time that’s ever happened!

Of course, for the underage and the non-drinkers, the classic goes down just as well.

Cheers! (And moo!)

AlcoHOLidays | Pina Colada Day | Van-Pina Colada

Sips

jwalker_ss_vanpinacolada

When I was very young and we lived with my grandmother, one of the many things I remember about her house was the wet bar in the living room. Tucked away to the right of the televisions and closed off by some bi-fold doors, I just thought (still think) it was one of the neatest things. And some nights my aunt would mix-up some pina coladas for the family and I would get my own (before the rum was added, of course) in a cute little glass that sort of looked like a miniature of those old fashioned sundae glasses.

So you can imagine that pina coladas have a special place in my cocktail-loving heart (or should I say liver?).

Strangely enough, I don’t make them very often. I’m not a huge fan of blender drinks in general and I almost never have Coco Lopez (the coconut cream necessary for a good pina colada). But for Pina Colada Day (July 10) I will certainly make an exception.

What turns me off of most blender drinks, though, is the little shards of crushed and blended ice. Seldom are they truly smooth enough to be pleasant and the brightness of the melting ice sometimes interferes with the taste of the frozen drink itself. The better the blender, I’m betting, the lesser this problem, but I wondered if there was something I could use instead of just plain crushed ice.

Of course there was.

Van-Pina Colada

3.5 oz Pineapple Juice
2 oz Coconut Cream
1.75 oz Aged Light Rum
1.5 cups Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Combine the juice, cream, and rum in a blender and puree until smooth and combined. Add the ice cream and blend until smooth. If you want a thicker colada, add more ice cream.

Pina Coladas usually call for white rum but I find white rums brassy and harsh in so many cases so I took advantage of my new-found love of Aged Light Rum (like the Cruzan I review last week) and used that instead. The ice cream I used was Breyers Vanilla Bean (Lactose Free) and the result is a rich, creamy, colada-cum-milkshake that gives me the flavor I was looking for without the unpleasant texture despite having a less than top-of-the-line blender (mine was actually a thrift store purchase many years ago for all of $5).

Adding more of any one mixer would usually dilute the flavors of the drink too much, but I think with the flavor enhancing properties of vanilla in the ice cream, you could safely increase the ice cream by quite a bit to stretch this drink to several servings.

Cheers!

AlcoHOLidays | 4th of July | Patriot Punch

Sips

KB_StrokeOfMidnight2_Bowl

As promised, here is the second part of our 2-week Independence Day extravaganza!

This week’s cocktail comes to us courtesy of Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey (which we reviewed last month) and they are doing their level best to show us all the ways to include darker spirits in our summer entertaining. By combining the whiskey with juice and champagne is really a great way to lighten up a traditionally winter liquor.

Kilbeggan Patriot Punch

2 parts Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey
1 part DeKuyper Apricot Brandy
1 part Cranberry Juice
2 parts Champagne
Lemon Wheel (thinly sliced)

To Serve As A Cocktail: Build all ingredients over ice in a stemless red wine glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

To Serve As A Punch: Double the recipe and multiply by the number of guests you plan to serve. Add Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, DeKuyper Apricot Brandy and cranberry juice to a punch bowl, stir and refrigerate. When guests arrive, add champagne and lemon wheels. Serve over ice in stemless red wine glasses.

Just do me one favor, okay? Promise you won’t mix cocktails and fireworks–designated drivers and designated lighters, too! Have a safe and festive 4th!

Cheers!

AlcoHOLidays | Independence Day | Cruzan Independence Sparkler

Sips

cruzanindependencesparkler

In honor of those founding fathers’ stand for freedoms from tyranny, we’re going to feature Constitutional cocktails for 2 weeks instead of 1.

We’re going short and sweet without any preamble this week! Courtesy of our friends at Cruzan, today’s cocktail features two of their rums because, hey, twice the rum, twice the fun, right?

Cruzan® Independence Sparkler

1 half of a Lime, cut into quarters
6 Basil leaves
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 oz Cruzan® Strawberry Rum
1 oz Cruzan® Aged Light Rum
Soda Water

Method: Muddle lime and basil with sugar in a tumbler. Add rums and ice, then shake 2 times to mix. Pour into a rocks glass and top with soda. Garnish with 1 basil top and a fanned strawberry slice.

I’m actually on the road this week, so I appreciate Cruzan’s timely recipe suggestion. And I’ll be bringing you a review of the Aged and Strawberry rums next week once I get back to my home bar.

Cheers!

AlcoHOLidays | National Iced Tea Day | Hospitality Suite

Sips

jwalker_ss_hospitalitysuite

Ah, Iced Tea. It got it’s start here on American soil when an English tea merchant set up a booth at the St Louis World’s Fair in 1904 but it was far too hot for anyone to want warm tea. Even though I’ve heard it said that hot tea can can cool you off, and supposedly does so faster than drinking a cool beverage, you’d be hard-pressed to convince most of the folks I know of that.

Saturday, June 8, 2013, is National Iced Tea Day.

I’m sure you can come up with plenty of ways to enjoy your iced tea, but I’m going to pull out a particular favorite from my 50 Shots of America series: South Carolina’s Hospitality Suite. Sure, sure, sweet tea vodka blends are all over the prepared drink market, but I still think my combination of peach schnapps and strong tea is far and away better. And while you can certainly shake it and serve it as a diminutive drink as originally devised (all the better to share with), you can also stir the ingredients below together and pour them over ice and enjoy this one all on your own.

Hospitality Suite

3 oz Brewed Tea, strong
2 oz Peach Schnapps
1 oz Tan Sugar Syrup (simple syrup made with half white and half brown sugar)
1/2 barspoon Vanilla (the real thing, no imitation extracts!)

Combine over ice in a large shaker and give it a firm handshake to a count of ten. Strain into 2 chilled cordial glasses. (Or combine over a full glass of ice in an Old Fashioned glass and sip for 1.)

Cheers!