alcoholidays series

AlcoHOLidays | Caramel Popcorn Day | Caramel Jack

Sips
Caramel Jack Cocktail

Caramel Jack Cocktail

In our house we’re quite divided between sweet and savory popcorn–Todd prefers his strictly savory and while I do enjoy some salt or Parmesan cheese on mine on occasion, I really adore the sweeter side of popcorn, even better if it’s got nuts and chocolate, too!

Way to make a healthy snack decided less so, right?

But Michael Pollan says you can eat as much junk food as you want, as long as you make it yourself, right? So I suppose if you’re willing to put in the work, then you deserve the indulgence. While I remember making batches of it to give as Christmas gifts many moons ago, it seldom seems worth the effort going through all that trouble these days. Which is why most of our popcorn has salt, nothing more.

A cocktail version, on the other hand, why that’s no trouble to mix up at all! Though I do think I’ll stick to one, know matter how easy they are to make.

Caramel Jack

2 oz Cola
1 oz Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey
3/4 oz Butterscotch Schnapps
1/2 oz Dark Rum

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass over ice and shake like kernels rattling in a popper. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and enjoy.

Usually I don’t call out a particular spirit without a reason and while I suppose you could use another corn-based whiskey and be fine, it’d be harder to call it a Caramel Jack, right? The play on Cracker Jack-brand caramel corn was just too enticing. The richness of the rum and butterscotch strike just the right balance for mimicking the rich caramel coating and the cola adds color, a little more sweetness, and the much needed mixer level to take this from a high-proof shot to a sippable tipple.

How will you celebrate Caramel Popcorn Day on April 6?

AlcoHOLidays | Easter | Trio of the Southern Cross

Sips

The “shadowy” origins of many Christian holidays are major bones of contention among the devout and while I’m used to the usual arguments surfacing around Christmas I admit I’m a bit surprised at the furor rampant (at least among my Facebook friends) over Easter‘s influences.

Nutshell: the bunny, chicks, and eggs that don’t really seem like obvious symbols of the Christian resurrection celebration? That’s because they’re actually fertility symbols and yet another example of the Church appropriating a holiday from the people they were trying to sway into their fold. Over time the old pagan symbols may have been assigned new meanings (the egg as a symbol for the empty tomb, for instance) and the original meanings watered down into nothingness for most people. It happened, accept it and move on is my stance, but I’ve heard of several folks adopting the less-controversial Passover rites instead.

Whether your rite of spring leans towards sunrise services, Seders, or sugary confections a nice, refreshing beverage is definitely called for. Maybe you’re trying to balance the richness of kugel, clove-studded ham, or one too many chocolate bunnies, or you’ve looked ahead on the calendar to summer swimsuit season and want to keep your cocktails light and fruity. Any way you look at it, one of these three cocktails is sure to fit the bill.

Each of these three cocktails starts with a base of KAPPA Pisco and end with a topping-off of soda water or, in my case, Perrier. For folks who are not a big fan of plain water, adding bubbles is one way to make it more palatable, but Perrier isn’t just sparkling mineral water, it also comes in a variety of lightly flavored styles. I’ve tried their Pamplemousse Rose (pink grapefruit) before and recently received samples of their unflavored, lemon, and lime styles to try in place of club soda or sugary soda mixers in cocktails. Challenge accepted.

I find club soda to taste, essentially, like “stale” water–I’m not a fan. Admittedly Perrier has a similar trait but for whatever reason the overall flavor is more palatable. Also, if it isn’t silly to say–they’re probably the same, but–the bubbles in Perrier feel smaller, more delicate, than your average club soda. Again, I realize that’s more than likely ridiculous, but perception is perception.

On to the cocktails!

A trio of light, bright drinks perfect for spring!

A trio of light, bright drinks perfect for spring!

KAPPA Fresca

1 ½ oz KAPPA Pisco
3 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
Bottled soda water (or Perrier Lemon)

Pour KAPPA Pisco and orange juice into an ice filled mixing glass.  Shake vigorously.  Strain into an ice filled highball glass.  Top with soda (optional) and garnish with an orange peel.

KAPPA Grapefruit Fizz

1 ½ oz KAPPA Pisco
3 oz grapefruit juice
1 oz bottled soda water (or Perrier Lime)

Pour KAPPA Pisco and grapefruit juice into an ice filled highball glass.  Top with soda water (or lemon lime soda) and garnish with a lime wedge.

 KAPPA Kooler

1½ oz KAPPA Pisco
½ oz simple syrup
Club Soda (or Perrier)
Squeeze a wedge of lemon and lime

Combine all ingredients into a Collins glass with ice. Top with club soda and stir. Garnish with lemon and lime wedge.

Of the three, the KAPPA Grapefruit Fizz was my favorite while, surprisingly, Todd preferred the KAPPA Kooler, even though the flavor was mostly the KAPPA itself and he hadn’t liked the pisco neat when we did the tasting. Just goes to show that it only takes a little bit to take a drink from eh to excellent. The KAPPA Fresca, while neither of our favorites, is still a nice twist on the screwdriver or mimosa classics.

Cheers!

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I received samples of both KAPPA Pisco and Perrier. All opinions expressed are my own.

AlcoHOLidays | Maple Syrup Saturday | Maple Break

Sips
the Maple Break cocktail

the Maple Break cocktail

Consider this my apology to maple syrup.

Why would I need to apologize to maple syrup? Well, the truth of the matter is that I’ve never really been all that fond of it. So when I was going over my list of holidays this coming week–and there were plenty to choose from*–it would have been perfectly in character for  me to skip over Maple Syrup Saturday (March 23,2013) and move onto something more to my personal taste.

And yet choose it I did, because I’ve come to respect maple syrup, even if it’s still not my favorite flavor.

You see, back in November I had to give up my beloved honey and agave nectars as part of going Low-FODMAP. I haven’t stooped so low as to add it to my tea over granulated sugar, but when I came down with a horrible sore throat the other week I did consider it. Briefly.

No, I’ve come to appreciate maple sugar not just for it’s glucose to fructose ratio but for its ability to flavor soups and other savory fare that honey or agave would have otherwise done. When mixed with other ingredients its harsh, bitter edges are blunted, making it much more palatable than on its own. In fact, when I was contemplating today’s cocktail I was struck by how much maple syrup reminds me of coffee liqueur.

Between coffee and maple syrup on it’s own, I was definitely thinking in the realm of breakfast, so it wasn’t much of a stretch to throw a little orange in there, too!

Maple Break

1.5 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Cachaça
3/4 oz Maple Syrup
1/4 oz Cointreau

Combine all ingredients over ice in the bottom of a mixing glass. Shake until you’re nice and wide awake, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass of your choice. Garnish with a strip of orange zest or two.

I chose the Brazilian rum mostly to be different, but the subtlety of the spirit really does this particular cocktail justice. It’s sweet, as you would expect, but not overly strong. You do, however, get the essence of the maple syrup in both the nose and the finished flavor of the cocktail. I think this would be an amazing brunch cocktail to serve alongside the usual Mimosa and Bloody Mary.

Throughout New England, now that it’s spring as the sap has begun to rise, maples will be tapped for the rich, sweet syrup that so many love. I may not consider myself in the ‘love’ column just yet, but with a cocktail like this I’m getting there.

Cheers!

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*Coming up this week, just to name a few, are Passover (3/25-4/2), the Hindu New Year (3/22), and Greek Independence Day (3/25).

AlcoHOLidays | St Patrick’s Day | Sweet Irish Coffee

Sips

jwalker_sweetirishcoffeeOn St Patrick’s Day, everybody has a touch of the Irish in them!

Granted, the day has devolved (in many areas, including my own college-anchored town) into an excuse to drink watered-down, green-tinted beer for a ridiculously long time. It’ll be interesting to see if that is at all curbed by March 17 falling on a Sunday this year, but I have my doubts.

As most folks know, St Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to the pagan Irish. Though we think of green as the natural color for St Patrick’s Day, originally the color most associated with him was blue. But (probably) because the story goes he used a shamrock to teach the idea of the trinity, so more and more people took to wearing shamrocks on his feast day, and it just sort of took off from there.

While beer, especially Guinness, is a more common drink for St Paddy’s Day (and, yes, it is spelled with d’s, not t’s, in deference to the Irish spelling of Pádraig), Irish whiskey is pretty popular, too.

One of the most excellent ways to drink Irish whiskey (if you don’t fancy it straight), is in the popular after dinner treat: Irish Coffee.

To see an really impressive way to make Irish Coffee en masse, check out this video courtesy of Concannon Irish Whiskey:

(Direct link for the feed readers: How to Make Irish Coffee)

Some  recipes for Irish Coffee I’ve seen call for only the whiskey and the coffee–no sugar, no cream. That just makes me shudder. In fact, after making one like that (but with the sugar cubes) it was still too bitter for my liking. I like my coffee flavored and sweet, with or without the alcohol, so here’s my take on this classic.

Sweet Irish Coffee

3 Sugar Cubes
4 oz Coffee, brewed strong
1 oz Irish Whiskey
1/2 oz Chocolate Liqueur
1 spoonful Vanilla Ice Cream

Prepare your Irish Coffee glass by filling it with hot water as the coffee brews. When the coffee is ready, pour out the water and add the sugar cubes and coffee to the mug, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the Irish whiskey and chocolate liqueur and top with a spoonful of ice cream.

Our local ice cream shop serves an affogato–a shot of espresso poured over a scoop of their sweet cream ice cream–which served as a partial inspiration for today’s twist on an old stand-by. Whipping heavy cream isn’t particularly difficult, but I had some lactose-free Breyers vanilla in the freezer, so I thought I’d give it a try as a substitute. For the whiskey I used Concannon Irish Whiskey (that I reviewed on Tuesday) and for the chocolate liqueur I, of course, used Godiva. The resulting drink is still a strong Irish Coffee but with a sweeter edge making it perfect for after a meal.

I had to search my local Cost Plus World Market to find where they’d hidden the Irish Coffee glasses, and the smallest I could find actually hold 8 oz, but we’ll just let that slide, right? The reason for pre-warming the glass is two-fold. First, just like chilling a glass for a cold drink, it helps the drink maintain its temperature. Second, coffee is very hot and while most coffee mugs can stand it, some of your more delicate glassware is not as tough and adding hot coffee to cold glass could lead to some bad breaks.

If you do choose to go out to your favorite watering hole this Sunday, make sure you have a designated driver or the number of a cab company handy. A DUI would sure put a damper on your day!

Sláinte!

AlcoHOLidays | Girl Scout Cookie Week | Coconut Dream

Sips

jwalker_coconutdreamcocktail

Oh, yes, it’s that time again. If you haven’t been accosted coming out of your local supermarket I’m sure someone on your friend’s list has posted, shared, or otherwise reminded you that, indeed, it is Cookie Time once again.

According to my sources, the official Girl Scout Cookie Week is March 10-16, 2013.

What started out as a single-troop bake sale (I’m sorry, service project) of sugar cookies, in 1917, has continued unabated (except during WWII when they had to sell calendars, instead, due to the scarcity of ingredients) into the high point of the cookie-loving population.

Of course, not everyone always loves the mighty Girl Scout cookie. I seem to recall a dust-up in recent years over their use of palm oil (it’s lack of sustainability and the fact that it destroys orangutan habitats), and then there’s the whole question of whether it’s good for a service group to sell cookies to a nation that is largely overweight. According to their website, though, they’ve embraced a more sustainable practice around palm oil.

Still, the Girl Scout Cookie has many more fans than detractors, and everyone has their favorites. While Thin Mints are undoubtedly the best value for the sheer number of cookies you get, my favorite was always the Samoas (aka Caramel deLites), even if you did only get 16 cookies in a box. And don’t get me started on how quickly a quart of Edy’s Samoas ice cream would be gone.

That was in the good ‘ol days, though. Before I had to give up things like wheat and certain sugars and, yeah, all that stuff. Sure, I could still eat them if I was willing to risk the consequences, but I also admit that they stopped being as good as I remembered several years ago and haven’t bought any for at least 2 years.

But what I can do is try to recreate that delicious flavor in cocktail form, and that might actually be even better in the long run!

Coconut Dream

1 1/2 oz Coconut Water
1 oz Coconut Rum
1 oz Chocolate Liqueur
1/2 oz Tuaca
1/4 oz Butterscotch Schnapps

Combine all ingredients over ice and shake or stir until well-mixed and chilled, whichever way you choose. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass (you can drizzle it with chocolate syrup if you want the extra oomph) and sip content in the idea that you can have this year round–no need to stockpile those green boxes.

Usually I’d shake a cocktail like this, one with a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic ingredients, but I have a staggering head cold right now and the idea of shaking anything is just not high on my list. Stirring worked out fine, so I suppose we could consider the shaken version Samoa-style, and stirred the Caramel deLite-style. Either way it’ll be delicious. While plenty of similar recipes use coconut milk, I opted for coconut water as it gives flavor without too much bulk. And I bet this would be fabulous blended with a couple scoops of ice cream.

Whether you enjoy your cookies baked or in cocktail form…

Cheers!