cointreau

50 Shots of America–Idaho

Sips

The Sweet PotatoWhat I know of Idaho is what I saw on the 5# sack of potatoes as a kid: what it’s shaped like and potatoes come from there. It’s one of the few states I could pick out on an unlabeled map, thanks to their simple but straightforward marketing plan. No surprise, there’s a lot more to our 43rd state than I realized.

After being excluded from the official boundaries of first Oregon and then Washington, The Gem State (so named as every known gem has been found in the state, including the rare star garnet) got it’s very own statehood on July 3, 1890. And, being mountainous doesn’t seem to to hamper it’s production of three varieties of wheat and close to a third of the country’s potatoes–the spud is the state vegetable, as one would presume, and the Annual Spud Day has been celebrated in Shelley since 1927.

The Sweet Potato

3/4 oz Vodka
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1/4 oz Cinnamon Schnapps

Combine all ingredients over ice and shake, vigorously, as if you’re shushing down the mountainside. Strain into a chilled cordial glass.

It doesn’t taste like a sweet potato, with or without the buttery cinnamon topping, but it is sweet and, if you’ve got it handy, using potato-based vodka will make it that much more authentic.

50 Shots of America–Florida

Sips
Liquid Sunshine

Liquid Sunshine

Oh, hey, did you think we were done with the East Coast? That we were at least finished with the Southeast, moving as we are through the Midwest and all?

Not exactly.

See, while the rest of the country was becoming locally-owned, the Spanish were still holding on to Florida with a pretty good grip until after the First Seminole War in 1818 and, even then, only lost the Eastern portion.  West Florida wasn’t signed over to the US until 1819 for $5 million and the understanding that the US would give up any of it’s Texas holdings. (And how long did that last, you wonder? The fact that *spoiler!* Texas is next week’s state */spoiler!* should give you a clue.)

Still, Florida didn’t have the oomph to become a fully-fledged member of the Union until 1845 (March 3rd, to be exact) and we’ve grown to be the 4th most populated state with our eye on New York to take 3rd place sometime soon.

Lots of folks retire to Florida for the lovely weather we have. News flash, folks: Florida is hot. And it’s a wet, sticky, humid heat that there is no escaping from. I remember 106-degree summers with no air conditioning as a child and wonder how we survived. Winter (with a few notable exceptions) is reserved for a week or so in January or February. We wave as something spring-like passes by on the fast-track to summer and hurricane season and again as a fall cool-snaps hits in October but heads for the hills just in time to make choosing Halloween costumes difficult since it could be 70s or 90s that day.

We’re also prone to afternoon precipitation that can range anywhere from lightening and thunder-storms with a side of hail to out-of-nowhere rain from a practically cloudless sky, the latter known as sun-showers or, you guessed it, liquid sunshine.

Liquid Sunshine

1 oz Lemon-Lime Gatorade
1/2 oz Rum
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Cointreau*

Combine over ice and shake like your running through raindrops. Strain into a chilled shot or cordial glass and try and cool off.

*I don’t normally specify a specific brand but you really don’t want to use a basic Triple Sec for something like this (or many other things, really)–it’s prone to overpower and you just don’t have room for that in a small drink like this.

Florida is, of course, known for it’s oranges and grows more than half of the nation’s citrus fruit (oranges, tangerines and grapefruit). Sugarcane, tomatoes, strawberries and celery round out our many agricultural achievements.

In addition to the natural juice we produce, all those fitness drinks on the market? Yup, they all started with one–Gatorade–developed by the coaching staff and physicians in 1965 at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, whose mascot is the Gator.

And if you’re not feeling the mixed drinks, you can check out the amazing San Sebastian Port available from the monks in St Augustine (the oldest European settlement in North America). The grapes are grown and processed in central Florida at the Lakeridge Winery (excellent tasting tours available pretty much any time–ask for Christy, if she’s there!) and finished up in St Augustine. It’s an amazing cherry Port in a bottle whose design dates back to the Middle Ages.

XYZ and so forth

Sips

Okay, barflies! I’m going to wrap up this little trip through the Alphahol in one fell swoop of a post for a couple of reasons.

a) we’re at the “difficult” letters, and
b) I wanna talk about the Zombie before Halloween instead of 2 weeks after.

So indulge me: 3 cocktails in rapid fire!

XYZ Cocktail

1.5 oz Rum of your choice
3/4 oz Cointreau
1/4 oz Lemon juice

Shake over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Whew! This one is strong–of course, it’s mostly booze. If you like a softer drink, try this with caution, and because there is so little to work with substituting a generic Triple Sec for the Cointreau is going to result in a sub par Xperience.

Your Favorite Aunt

1 oz Gin
1 oz Brandy
1 oz Sweet vermouth
1/2 oz Lemon juice
1/2 oz Simple syrup

Shake over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Discovered this one while trying out sweet vermouth recipes and it’s actually quite tasty. It is, again, high on the alcohol and short of mixers but it’s a good sipping drink.

And, finally…

The Zombie

1 oz White rum
1 oz Amber rum
1 oz Dark rum
3/4 oz Lime juice
3/4 oz Pineapple juice
1/2 oz Apricot brandy
1/2 oz Papaya juice
1/2 oz Simple syrup
1/2 151-proof Rum

Combine all but the 151 in a cocktail shaker over ice and shake vigorously–as if you were running from a zombie–then pour into a very tall glass (don’t strain). Float the 151 on top of the drink and garnish elaborately–a spring of mine, lime wheels and cherry all dusted with confectioners sugar; orange and pineapple slices or some other tropical fruit. Serve with a straw–sipping from the top will give you a mouthful of the 151 and not much else, not the desired result.

A bit complex but the taste is worth it. If you have trouble finding papaya juice, puree or nectar (as I did) juicing your own isn’t as difficult as it seems. Sure, it’s not like a citrus fruit that’s juice is easily available, but if you don’t have an electric juicer, here’s how I got it done.

Juicing a Papaya

  1. Slice the papaya in half, lengthwise, and remove the black seeds and any light-colored membranes.
  2. Slice each half into quarters to make it easier to separate the pink flesh from the skin and lighter rind.
  3. Cut up the long slices and place in a decent-sized bowl with high sides.
  4. Crush the fruit with a muddler, pestle or wooden spoon until no longer solid.
  5. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a smaller bowl, working the mash gently with a spoon to get the maximum juice out.

Now, I got about an ounce of juice from a quarter of an 8-inch papaya and it was a bit pulpy so, as I sipped the resulting drink, did get a bit separated but it didn’t make the drink at all unpleasant to imbibe. I’ve read that you can also substitute orange juice but I think I’d go with mango juice (something generally easier to locate) before going with the more mundane OJ.

Of course, this year’s Pumpkin Party is going to be a brunch, so I think I’ll leave the Zombies off the guest list. Instead, for those who wish to imbibe, I’ll be serving Bloody Marys, Mi-moan-sas, and Boo-linis. Have a good holiday, folks, stay safe and drink responsibly.