grenadine

MxMo LXXXVI: Southern Hospitality

Sips

mxmologo_pinapple

I can’t swear it for sure, but it must’ve been more than just alliteration that made the powers that be decide upon Monday for their mixology blog-challenge. Some weeks, for sure, Monday is in severe need of a cocktail!

This month’s Mixology Monday is hosted by Thiago of Bartending Notes and our theme is pineapple!

I’m quite fond of pineapple in its many forms. Even more so now that my regular fruit consumption is limited by FODMAPs and pineapple is one of the few left standing, along with citruses and most berries. Pineapple juice makes a fabulous mixer for many cocktails and works great in marinades. In slices, spears, chunks, or tidbits it makes its way into many of our menus; sometimes taking center stage like my pineapple salsa, other times as a nice, tangy component to something larger like Sweet & Sour Pork or Bourbon Chicken.

The other thing that comes to mind when I think of pineapple is it’s long-standing status as a symbol of hospitality. Pineapple lamps and newel posts can still be seen in many hotel lobbies regardless of any other tropical themes (or lack thereof) and I just think it’s nice to have that symbol somewhere in your home, too. (Note to self: find something pineapple-y for the Dollhouse entryway.)

Since we’re moving to Georgia, shortly, and looking forward to opening our new home to friends and family once the dust quite literally settles* something I took our future-home-state’s favorite fruit (peaches) and combined it with this month’s theme ingredient and this is what I came up with:

jvanderbeek_mxmo_southernhospitality

Southern Hospitality

4″ pineapple spear, plus additional for garnish
3/4 oz peach schnapps
1/2 oz vanilla rum
2 oz pineapple juice
1/4 oz grenadine

In the bottom of a mixing glass muddle a pineapple spear with the schnapps and rum. Top with ice and the pineapple juice and shake to introduce the components to one another. Strain into a fancy glass and garnish with another pineapple spear. Add the grenadine as a float, but don’t be surprised if it sinks. Allow the guest to stir it in with the pineapple spear if they so desire.

Now, while Florida may be part of The South (and we’re here in northern Florida which is more southern-feeling than many of the cities the farther south you travel in the state) it’s not really what you think of when you say The South or the infamous southern hospitality that states below the Mason-Dixon line are famous for. [I feel comfortable in saying that especially since I still consider Louisiana–the state of my birth–my heart’s home even if it has been a few decades since I listed it as a residence.] Georgia, on the other hand, has already shown us quite a bit of hospitality and we haven’t even moved in yet!

This cocktail could easily go tiki-style–I considered adding amaretto but it would have taken it too far in that direction. Keeping it simple with the schnapps and a bit of rum made more sense in the long run. The grenadine float (aka sink, thanks to relative densities being against my desires), on the other hand, is in homage to our new-to-us, soon-to-be very pink house. There’s a good chance a pitcher or punch bowl’s worth of this will be made for the eventual housewarming party, and in that case it will just be stirred in with everything else.

Cheers!

*Seriously, there was pink sanding dust from the guys working on the exterior all the way up the bannister and staircase when we went up there this weekend. Still is, for that matter, since we didn’t have a chance to wet-mop anything other than the kitchen walls!

AlcoHOLidays | Valentine’s Day | Loving Cup

Sips

jwalker_lovingcupcocktail

Ah, yes, Valentine’s Day…

Thought by many to be a wonderful day of expressing our love for others in various public and private ways. Thought by others to be a trumped-up excuse by the candy and card manufacturers to bilk out a little more money between the Christmas holidays and Easter. I’ll never forget the time my economics professor held up the start of class because he had to go on a tirade about how silly it was that the depth of his love for his girlfriend was decided by what he did or did not do on a single day of the year.

I’ve always been of the mind that days like Valentine’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries and the like are all wonderful for reminding us to show people how glad we are they’re in our lives. Yes, it’s fabulous if we do it the other 364 days of the year, but we’re human, we get busy and preoccupied and maybe we forget to show our feelings as often as we intended.

Obviously, I’m pro-Valentine’s Day.

And for those who blame major corporations for trumping up the Feast of Saint Valentine (and I’m not saying it’s not incredibly commercial these days), giving cards, candies and flowers on February 14th goes back to the 1400s–well before Ye Olde Hallmarke Shoppe ever opened.

So, whether you go “all out” with the flowers delivered to the office, a candlelight dinner at a corner table for 2, maybe something sparkly or shiny, or prefer a more laid-back approach (picnic in the living room or backyard, depending on the weather, a favorite movie and avoiding the crowds, and a handwritten note of affection are all grand ways to mark the day), if you’d like a creative drink to serve your sweetie, try this on for size.

Loving Cup

1 oz Vanilla Vodka
1 oz Cranberry Juice
1/2 oz Grenadine
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/4 oz Goldschlager
splash of Rosewater

Combine all ingredients over ice and shake like your heart is on fire. Strain into a chilled, sugar-rimmed cocktail glass and garnish with a heart-shaped marshmallow.

The Loving Cup takes an old stand-by, the Cosmopolitan, and adds a little more sweetness, some spice, and a subtle perfume–all the things I think a perfect Valentine’s Day should contain.

Cheers!

A Hot Way to Cool Down

Sips

Ahh, rum. It was my spirit of choice back when I hit the legal drinking age (no, really, I was a goody two shoes and didn’t drink until I was 21*), probably because I grew up watching Aunt Marie mix Pina Coladas at my grandmother’s wet bar and I just thought that was the life, right there.

(*Except for that Thanksgiving we were in Louisiana and the legal drinking age was still 18. And, when unsure of what to order, my companion said “Order an Amaretto Sour–it’s what I get when I’m driving.”)

Rum and coke, fruity rum libations, rum balls, rum cake… rum and I were friends.

Funny, though, when I look back at the cocktails I’ve created over the last couple of years, not many of them have been rum-based! What’s even more shocking is that I’ve been favoring vodka and gin over my beloved rum, and I used to think vodka was the supreme evil after one disastrous night about 10 years ago. (Truth be told, it wasn’t the vodka’s fault, that night can be chalked up entirely to questionable choices on my part, only alleviated by a guardian angel with the patience of a saint.)

Still, rum and I go way back, which is why this recipe that I was sent on behalf of Cruzan flavored rums sounded worth sharing with y’all, today.

Cruzan Chocolate Covered Cherry Frozen Cocktail CRUZAN® CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRY

2 parts Cruzan® Black Cherry Rum
1 part Cruzan® Vanilla Rum
1/2 part Chocolate Syrup
1 part Milk
Splash Grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a blender with 1/2 cup of ice and blend until smooth. Pour into a chilled glass drizzled with chocolate sauce. Top with whipped cream and garnish with a cherry.

I’m not usually big on frozen cocktails these days, but even I’m intrigued by this one. And while I haven’t tried Cruzan’s Black Cherry or Vanilla rums, I was certainly pleased with their Pineapple rum back when I was on a Caipirinha kick a couple summer’s ago!

~Cheers!

Cosmic Cocktails | Aquarius | The Bleeding Heart

Sips

As we wind down our trip through the cocktail cosmos, we come to our next-t0-last sign: Aquarius.

The Bleeding Heart, Aquarian Cocktail

Symbolized by the water-bearer, Aquarians often find themselves happiest when helping others–both in face-to-face, person-to-person encounters as well as large-scale humanitarian efforts that benefit many. They also tend to be incredibly idealistic, but with follow-through: eschewing businesses that employ third-world factory labor, for instance, or even those without corporate recycling programs. With this idealism can come a rigidity, though, that we wouldn’t normally expect in an air sign.

What is in line with their air-sign brethren is the propensity to do their own thing, society be damned. Often ahead of the curve, if you find an Aquarian you click with on something, watch them! They will spot trends and spout truths yet to be proven and be off on the next thing by the time it catches on. But you have to be quick, our Aqua slips down that stream of consciousness and keeps moving right along.

Loyal friends, once you’re in sync with an Aqua you can count on them for life. They are often strikingly handsome, though not always in a conventional sense, and often so likable, even if you don’t agree with anything they say. “New Age” medicine is much more their speed, when ill, than the more Westernized “there’s a pill for that” theory, even to following not-exactly-legal sorts or regimens.

Now, if you happen to be born between January 21st and February 18th and do not recognize yourself in the above, have no fear. Probably the most over-riding feature of Aquarius is their different-ness. Not just from all the other signs, but within the sign, from member to member. It’s not even a matter of being outwardly quirky, sometimes the individuality is more subtle, in a can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it way.

The Bleeding Heart

2 oz Vodka
1 1/4 oz Banana Liqueur (like 99 Bananas)
1/4 oz Creme de Menthe (clear)
2 oz Club Soda
1/8 oz Grenadine

Combine vodka and the liqueurs in a mixing glass over ice and shake until icy. Stir in the club soda, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Pour the grenadine (preferably homemade or locally-sourced) over the back of a bar spoon or add with an eye-dropper. Swirl just before ready to drink.

I mean bleeding heart in the best possible sense, of course, but you probably already figured that out.

Making your own grenadine is not tough at all (equal parts pomegranate juice and sugar, cook until sugar dissolves and the mixture reduces by half–simmer slow or you’ll end up with more of a brown mixture–and a splash of orange flower water to finish) and worth it, especially if you like Shirley Temples and other non-cocktails.

This drink might sound a little bananas, but it’s bracing, gets straight to the point, and is definitely ahead of it’s time. Strong-willed, too.

Cheers!

What a Way to End the Night!

Sips

Conventional wisdom suggests that Santa Claus is a devotee of milk (with cookies), hot cocoa and a certain red-canned cola.

Santa's Nightcap Cocktail

But if you ask me, after circumnavigating the globe in one night I’d want something a little stronger to take the edge off.

Which is why we’re devoting the ‘S’ alphatini to the jolly dude in the red suit.

Santa’s Nightcap

2 oz Vanilla Vodka
2 oz Cranberry Juice
1/2 oz  Buttershots
1/2 oz Grenadine
1/4 oz Goldschlager
garnish of icing, coconut flakes and a mini-marshmallow

To prepare your cocktail glass: paint the outer lip of your cocktail glass with icing or a thick sugar syrup and press on coconut flakes (it helps if they’re chopped a little finer than they come in the package). Let rest upside down so the sugar can dry while you mix the drink.

Combine vodka, juice, liqueurs and grenadine in a shaker over ice and ho-ho-ho your way to an icy finish. Strain into a prepared cocktail glass and float a mini-marshmallow on top. Kick off your boots and let the night melt away.

This cocktail is like a spicy cranberry cookie in a glass, made the perfect shade of red by the grenadine, but most of the fun–I admit–is in the presentation. The drink is good on it’s own but with the garnish it looks like an inverted Santa hat and, well, it’s just more fun that way!

Cheers to the Holidays!