Purple Boo

A spooky Halloween cocktail.

Purple Boo


2 oz vodka
1 oz triple sec
1/2 oz creme de cassis
1 oz lemon sour


Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Caramel Apple Shots

A whimsical drink in tune with the onset of fall.


Caramel Apple Shots


First Shot:

1/2 oz apple vodka
1/2 oz sour apple schnapps


Second Shot:

1/2 oz caramel Irish cream liqueur
Dash cinnamon schnapps


Shake ingredients for each shot together with ice and strain into a shot glass. Drink apple shot followed by Irish cream shot.

Ginger Cosmopolitan

Ginger Cosmopolitan

2 oz vodka

1 oz triple sec

Juice of 1/2 lime

Ginger beer

Shake liquors and juice together with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Top with ginger beer.

My Irish Whiskey Education

A few weeks ago I took a business trip to Dublin. Until then, my experiences with Irish whiskey were decidedly limited. After all, why should a Kentucky guy like myself get distracted with Irish whiskey in the face of so many varieties of bourbon?

Then, at a dinner with some work colleagues, I had my first taste of Midleton Irish whiskey, and my perspective completely changed. My glass certainly had the base flavors of Irish whiskey, but with a unique floral layer that was not cloying at all. The hook was set. (Auditors, please note, that no whiskey showed up on my expense report.)

I made the crucial mistake of bypassing the duty free shop in the airport. Now I am relegated to finding a bottle here in the States for less than ... well, for less than I would admit to paying for a bottle of whiskey. I may have to enlist the aid of my colleagues in Ireland -- or just pay up to get another taste of Ireland.

Image from stock.xchng (http://www.sxc.hu/)

Mixology Monday -- Food and Cocktail Pairings

First things first -- thanks to Natalie at The Liquid Muse for hosting MxMo this time around, and also to Paul at Cocktail Chronicles for getting me started on my first MxMo post. Cooking is every bit as satisfying to me as mixing drinks, so I was delighted with the theme of pairing food with cocktails.

I chose the meal, rather than the cocktail, as the starting point. Here in Northern Virginia, the weather was perfectly sunny and mild -- grilling was definitely in order. At the grocery store, a new shipment of beef had just arrived, and because the steaks were so beautiful and well-priced, the choice of meat was another no-brainer. The steaks needed a robust sauce, so I came up with a spicy spin an a sauce chausseur. The final menu: grilled strip steaks atop a jalapeno mushroom sauce, grilled corn on the cob and red-skinned potatoes grilled in packets with Vidalia onion, salt, pepper and olive oil. (The sauce recipe is on my new food blog, The Biased Cut -- still a work in process.)

Now the drink needed to stand up to the steak and its unctuous jalapeno sauce. Tequila's bold southwestern flavor was a good fit. I concocted a small, simple cocktail based on a margarita, featuring premium tequila and Grand Marnier to add layers of flavor. The drink was cool and citrusy, a great counterpoint to the rich, warm flavors on the plate. I also served a tall glass of ice water.

Mini Rita

1 1/2 oz premium tequila
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
Juice of 1/2 lime

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a small glass rimmed with salt.

Upside Down Cosmo

Upside Down Cosmo

2 1/2 oz vodka

1 1/2 oz triple sec

3/4 oz freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 oz grenadine

Shake liquors and juice with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Slowly pour grenadine into the center of the glass.

Maraschino Pineapple

While maraschino is not on the ingredient list, I could call this sweet, almondy garnish by no other name.

Maraschino Pineapple

2 pts pineapple cubes
2 C water
1 T salt
2 C white sugar
1 1/2 oz lemon juice
1 1/2 T almond extract
1/2 C amaretto

Dissolve salt in 1 1/2 C boiling water in a glass or ceramic bowl. Allow to cool to room temperature, roughly 15 minutes, and add pineapple. Cover and refrigerate 6 to 12 hours (or overnight). Drain salt water and give the pineapple and bowl a short rinse. Return pineapple to bowl. In a separate saucepan, combine sugar and 1/2 C water over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice, almond extract and amaretto. Pour mixture over pineapple and refrigerate 6 to 12 hours (or overnight).

Variation: No one could fault you for substituting cherries for pineapple.