The First Round Upset – March Madness

On March 20, 2015March 20, 2015 By The Boozy NewsieIn OriginalsLeave a comment

It’s that time of year again! The time of year where I pretend to care about sports, and more importantly basketball, when all I really care about is gambling and looking at statistics. Or something. In any case, although my alma mater is already out of the running (it was not, sadly, a first round upset), I’m enjoying this wholeheartedly so far. Lots of upsets, lots of weirdness, and great close games.

So what better way to celebrate than to drink! Although this particular cocktail came out pretty well, its connection to March Madness is a bit of a stretch… Basketball… The ball itself… Round, and kind of orange… Oranges! And, well, that was it.

The First Round Upset

1.5 oz gin (I used this amazing gin we found in Prince Edward Island, which is smooth and not super-junipery. If you’re ever there, go here!)
3/4 oz amaro (It was in a jar, but I swear that’s what it was)
4 oz fresh squeezed orange juice
3 dashes cardamom bitters (not pictured… reason to be discussed below)
orange peel

Combine elements in a mixing glass and stir. Pour out (strain if you haven’t strained the orange juice already) into a martini or rocks glass, and garnish with the peel for a little extra bitterness.

Tasting Notes:

BN: I liked this! In the end, that is. I first pulled it together without the bitters (as pictured in the ingredients shot) and it was just a little too sweet. This may be because of the drink, but I actually have a sneaking suspicion it was because of the oranges. One of the ones I juiced was super red and I think a lot sweeter than you would normally want a plain orange to be (I don’t think it was a blood orange…). The drink needed something to cut that sweetness, and my thought went to the cardamom bitters I don’t generally use enough. When I added them in it was much better, and with a more complex flavor. Still would have liked a little more bite, I think, but it was a pretty nice drink overall.

PiC: This is very drinkable. It’s super tasty, but could maybe use a tad more punch. Maybe the orange that was used was a bit sweet? I do like it, though, and the aftertaste of the bitters adds nice complexity.

The Red Carpet – The Academy Awards

On February 22, 2015 By The Boozy NewsieIn OriginalsLeave a comment

It’s the Oscars! Time for me to lose $10 with my extremely researched ballot that never manages to win. In the meantime, let’s drink to all of the nominees, and the winners-to-be.

When I think of the Oscars, I think of gold, red, and actors and actresses drinking weird health drinks. I also wanted to try alcoholic kombucha, and this was an excuse. Not that bad!

The Red Carpet

1/4 oz ginger syrup (I’m still trying to use this up)
1 oz strawberry kombucha (I used GT’s Strawberry Serenity Kombucha, which is presumably one of the few that exist)
2 oz champagne
red glitter/sprinkles

Dip a champagne flute in the ginger syrup, and rim it with the sugar sprinkles. Mix the kombucha, champagne, and syrup in a separate glass (lightly stir, since they’re bubbly), and then pour it into the glass over the back of a spoon (this makes it easier not to mess up the rim).

Tasting Notes

BN: I really liked this! It was sweet and strawberry-y, and brought together the three tastes in a surprising way (I thought the kombucha was very strawberry itself, but it wasn’t really, not without the other flavors. They actually built on each other very nicely. It’s a tad sweet for something I would drink every day, but for a special, movie-related occasion, it was perfect!

PiC: This was awesome – so pretty and sweet but not too sweet with just a tiny hint of the ginger. I would drink a thousand of these and then be dead. In fact, make me another one right now.

The Cherry Tree – Presidents’ Day

On February 16, 2015February 17, 2015 By The Boozy NewsieIn OriginalsLeave a comment

Hey everyone, I’m back! It’s been a while, but I’ve been distracted with things. Anyway, for my first – poor (you’ll see) – attempt at getting back into writing this blog, I figured I’d start with an easy one – Presidents’ Day!

If there are two things the leaders of our country are known for, it’s never telling a lie and bourbon. Clearly. Therefore, cherry juice (see what I did there? Washington? Cherry trees?) and, uh, bourbon. Because it’s American. Or something.

The Cherry Tree

3 oz bourbon
3 oz cherry juice
6 shakes orange bitters
orange slice for garnish

Combine, serve on the rocks.

Tasting Notes

BN: Oh man, this was not good. I thought it didn’t have enough cherry so I added more and then it was just as bad. Tasted at first just like pure bourbon, and then like medicine. It needs some other flavor to distinguish it, maybe a vermouth or a brandy or something? Not a good first showing of 2015, but I’ll improve! Maybe I’ll make a better version of it for next year. We’ll see.

PiC: When you said cherry and alcohol, I thought cough syrup. And it tastes like cough syrup. But like, fancy cough syrup, at least.

The Freebeard – End of No-Shave November

On November 30, 2014November 30, 2014 By The Boozy NewsieIn OriginalsLeave a comment

I’ve somehow always missed No-Shave November, because I forgot to shave until a few days in, and that kind of defeats the purpose… But this year I remembered! I didn’t raise money for anything yet, but it was a fun experiment to see how much beard could be grown in a month, and the answer was a fair amount. But today is the last day, and unlike NaNoWriMo I actually got to the end, so I made a drink to celebrate the occasion.

I figured it should be something manly, and what’s more manly than scotch? I put some other things in there to keep it interesting (not that I would be opposed to just drinking the scotch…), and I called it the Freebeard because puns. It’s based off of a Rob Roy, sorta, but with a slight twist.

The Freebeard

2 oz peaty scotch (I picked Oban)
1 oz triple sec
6-7 dashes rhubarb bitters
orange twist for garnish

Combine all ingredients (except for the orange peel) in a mixing glass over ice. Stir, and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a twist of orange.

Tasting Notes

BN: I liked this a lot more than I planned to. The flavors actually melded pretty well, and it wasn’t too orangey. I was a bit worried about the rhubarb bitters because they smelled like medicine, but the taste was weirdly completely different. Hurray for scotchtails!

PiC: I suspected from the start that this would not be the cocktail for me, and though I could tell it was a good cocktail it is not something I’d go drinking. That said, the Oban was a key choice here, as it was smooth but added a really good smokiness that even I appreciated, and if I had to drink something this strong, this might be it.

The Sagetini – Thanksgiving

On November 27, 2014November 27, 2014 By The Boozy NewsieIn OriginalsLeave a comment

Happy Turkey Day! In honor of the day — and the best part of the meal, stuffing — I have made a drink based on sage, which is the primary spice in stuffing. And is delicious.

Interesting note in the preparation of this drink: I wanted it to be like a martini and even though it’s not, it’s still very small. You might want to double it to make it more of a normal size, but keep in mind that then there’s a lot of alcohol. Not the worst thing after a day of eating, but still. Why are martinis usually the same price as other cocktails? They’re so alcoholic, so you’d think they’d cost more. I’m confused. Anyways, on to the drink.

The Sagetini

2 oz gin
a bunch of fresh sage (I used all but one of the leaves in the picture above, and that one I used as a garnish. so 10-15 leaves?)
.5 oz simple syrup
7-8 dashes orange bitters (to taste, and if you don’t have bitters you can substitute triple sec)

Muddle the sage in the bottom of a mixing glass. Muddle it real good! Pour in the remaining ingredients, stir, and strain into a chilled martini glass. You can double strain if you want to get rid of all the herb bits but I kind of like them. Garnish by floating a sage leaf on top of the drink. Tasting Notes

BN: I really liked this. I was worried a little about how simple it was, but the orange and sage worked really well with the gin, and it had the right amount of sweetness to counteract the fact that I don’t like gin. I loved the way it looked, with such an interesting shade of green and the floating leaf (though it does slowly sink which is a little awkward) and would be interested to see how a full-sized version would hold up. Not that I meant for this to be a mini size, but that’s how it turned out. I would make this again!

PiC: I appreciate that this is probably a good drink, even if I don’t like it – too alcoholic for me. Still, I can tell it has the right amount of sweetness to temper the gin-ness, and the sage is a nice flavor. In summary, it’s probably perfect for your more boozy relatives (read: most of mine) pre-turkey dinner.

The Cozy Cup – Blizzards in the Northeast

On November 19, 2014November 19, 2014 By The Boozy NewsieIn Originals1 Comment

Apparently there’s been a lot of snow in the Northeast. Upstate New York especially, and having seen pictures it does seem like a little much. (For anyone except me who wants all snow all the time but that’s besides the point). It’s the kind of weather that makes you want to stay in for forever, sit by the fire and have a mug of something warm, reading a book. So, I tried to make something that would be that warm mug. It’s very simple, but delicious, and also reminds me (not the alcohol bit) of my childhood back in the snow. Ah, winter.

The Cozy Cup

12 oz milk (whatever % catches your fancy)
2 heaping tablespoons classic Ovaltine (I didn’t use tablespoons but a literal table spoon but either works)
1.5 oz Kahlua

Note: This entire recipe is really “to taste,” as you might like more alcohol or less Ovaltine, or have a smaller mug that can’t fit 12 ounces. Anyway, heat up your milk in the microwave for about 1:15. It should be hot, but not boiling or anything. Add in the other two ingredients, stir.

Tasting Notes:

BN: I think this is one of the best drinks I’ve made so far, even though I hardly did anything. It’s very basic, but really delicious, and I don’t usually like Kahlua but it blends really well with the malty chocolatey flavor. That being said, I generally think Ovaltine tastes awesome so it may be just that I like Ovaltine so much. Either way, I could see drinking about twenty of these over the course of a cold day and then realizing I was extremely extremely drunk. Maybe I’ll try it this Christmastime.

PiC: I do not like warm milk, but I do love malt, so I enjoyed this drink. It feels very fall/wintry and a nice alternative to the ever-present hot chocolate. The Kahlua cuts through the sweetness a bit, too, and melds well with the Ovaltine. In summary: yum!

The Space Harpoon – Philae Lands on a Comet

On November 17, 2014November 19, 2014 By The Boozy NewsieIn OriginalsLeave a comment

While we haven’t heard from the probe for some time, it’s still an important thing that we put a probe on a comet! Little old Philae, who is incommunicado at the moment, launched off of Rosetta and landed on a comet on the 12th, though it had some trouble. Because the main way it was supposed to attach was by using harpoons. HARPOONS!

Hence, this drink, which is based on a random recipe I found for grog, which they would have drank on whaling trips back in the day. Maybe. I have no idea. Note: I’m trying to do one every day this week, so this is the first of a bunch! Enjoy.

The Space Harpoon

1.5 oz rum (you probably want to use dark rum, but I was out)
3 oz water plus more for boiling raisins (see below)
about two tablespoons of raisins
1 tsp dark brown sugar
juice of one half lime (my limes are a bit small, so it might be a little less than that

This one uses a made up technique I call “boiling raisins.” Put the raisins in a small saucepan and cover them with water, barely. Then boil them for a while until the water looks kinda brownish. Let it cool, and pour it into the bottom of a glass (there should be around 1 tablespoon left, at least there was for me). Put the rest of the ingredients in (along with most or all of the raisins), stir, and enjoy! You can garnish with a lime slice if you like.

Tasting Notes:

BN: I liked this, mostly. It was a little watered down, which is fair because it had plain water in it, but it was easy to drink and had enough flavor to make it work. There was a bitter aftertaste that showed up partway through drinking it, but then it went away. Not sure what that was? In any case, the raisin and lime and sugar all worked really well together. I bet it would be even better with dark rum.

PiC: Although I was warned that this was odd before tasting it, I actually really liked it – it combined sour and sweet, which as a diehard Sour Patch Kids addict I am a steadfast fan of (though note that this does NOT taste like Sour Patch Kids). The raisins were kind of gross looking, but the taste was yummy.

The Autumn Mix – Halloween

On October 30, 2014October 31, 2014 By The Boozy NewsieIn OriginalsLeave a comment

My favorite candy is, shockingly, candy corn. Well, maybe not my favorite. But at least the one that I find most addicting. In any case, I like it so much that I thought I should make a drink out of it. In honor of Halloween, I made some candy corn vodka out of, you guessed it, candy corn and vodka (recipe below). It was bright orange, and not actually all that sweet (surprising, given that the beet vodka I made a year or two ago was super sweet, and yet this was made out of pure sugar), but it certainly tasted like alcoholic candy corn.

I made a drink, tried it out, and then thought — well, one just isn’t enough. The only thing that vodka is good for (at least the easiest thing) is shots, and it seems lame to write a post about only a single shot. So, I made three! I mostly did them for looks, not taste, and although two turned out surprisingly well, the third was terrible. I’ll still put the recipe here, but word to the wise — skip the Pumpkin. It’s disgusting. But, it does look cool.

Here is the autumn mix. I took a bag of good old mixed candy corn (not as good as the original standby, but hey) and made a drink for each one. Enjoy! (Except, again, the Pumpkin. Don’t enjoy that.) Note: these measurements will all be in “parts” instead of actual ounces, etc., because they’re shots, and it’s up to you how big you want them to be. Most of it’s pretty easy to tell by looks, anyway.

The Autumn Mix

Candy Corn Vodka (stolen from various places on the internet)

1 part candy corn
3 parts cheap vodka

Combine ingredients in a sealable glass container. Close it up and shake it a little, just to loosen the corn. Let sit for anywhere from 3-4 hours to a couple days, but really you just need to wait until all the candy corn dissolves. Strain any remaining bits out and store — it’s ready to drink!

The Bad Seed

1 part candy corn vodka
1 part dark beer (a stout or a porter, something thick and chocolatey/coffee-flavored. I used Guinness but would have liked something a little thicker)

Pour the vodka into the bottom of a shot glass, half way up. Pour the beer in slowly over the back of a spoon. This is super important to do for layering, and we’ll be using this technique for all three recipes. It’s pretty easy, just put the spoon as close as you can get it to the top of the liquid, and kind of dribble the new ingredient over it. I touched the spoon to one of the sides of the glass, so it fell down there too, but I’m not sure that was necessary.

The Candy Corn

1 part apple juice (I used apple “nectar” because it was thicker than normal apple juice, but ended up less yellow which was disappointing. So up to you!)
2 parts candy corn vodka
2 parts whipped cream

Pour the apple juice in first. Layer on the vodka, but go super slowly because these guys do not separate on their own. I had to try a few times before I got it right. Finally, top with whipped cream, which I thought was going to mess up the layering but it was really fine, so don’t worry about it too much.

The Pumpkin

1 part creme de menthe
4 parts candy corn vodka

These “parts” are obviously smaller than the parts above. Also, don’t make this drink. But if you do, pour in the creme de menthe first, then layer the vodka on using the technique above. Don’t worry if you mess up, this one separates out pretty quickly by itself. Final step: after you’ve finished layering, throw it in the trash.

Tasting Notes:

BN: Let’s go through these in order. The Bad Seed was my first idea, which is why it has the best name. I actually liked this a lot; the beer flavor complemented and tempered the sweetness of the vodka. A nice, easy shot. And, to be perfectly honest, I didn’t realize it looked like the chocolate candy corns in the mix until after I made it. Happy coincidence! The Candy Corn was great too, though I wish I could taste the apple a little bit more. The flavors matched, and, like the beer, the whipped cream tempered everything else and brought it together. I also wish the apple was more yellow. Come on Jumex, fix my shot for me. Finally, The Pumpkin was god-awful. But, it really did look like those little pumpkins. Even so, the creme de menthe was heavier than the vodka so I couldn’t even get the green on top. Ugh. Well, two out of three ain’t bad. And the candy corn vodka mixed overall a lot better than I thought it would, so I’m not as worried about still having a massive quantity left over.

PiC: The Bad Seed: Eh, ok. It’s not terrible as a shot but neither is it something I’d hardcore try to be drinking (cause I hardcore try to be drinking shots at all times, clearly). I’d take the Candy Corn over this, but I wouldn’t straight up run from this (see The Pumpkin) either. The Candy Corn: My favorite. This is a great shot because it’s sweet and pretty much kills the taste of alcohol, plus it’s cute! And whipped cream is always tasty. The Pumpkin: Nope. Tastes like a combination of Robitussin and Listerine. NOPE.

Happy Halloween everyone!

The Naked Homer – Simpsons World Launches

On October 20, 2014October 21, 2014 By The Boozy NewsieIn OriginalsLeave a comment

Tomorrow is a great day for humanity. No longer must we resign ourselves to watching pirated versions of old episodes of The Simpsons online. No longer do we need to mourn the lost 4th season box set that somehow didn’t make it to California (ahem ahem). For tomorrow, we dine in Simpsons World! That’s a weird 300 reference, in case you didn’t catch it. FX and Fox are releasing a website where you can watch every Simpsons episode ever, as well as all sorts of other content. And I think it’s available to anyone with a subscription to that channel, though I’m very unclear on that at the moment (I’ll have to find out tomorrow!)

As with the Safina, the drink in my head did not quite match the drink I could create in reality. Doh! I could not find blue cotton candy to put on top, to make Marge’s hair, so I had to settle with naming it Homer. Naked. Still, it’s got donuts and beer, and what else do you need in a Simpsons drink? Obviously, the yellowness is for the Simpsons’ skin. Hence the nudity. It’s pretty simple, just a basic shandy, but I’ll take it. Enjoy!

(N.B.: The Flaming Moe has already existed for a while in real life, in various forms, so I chose to avoid it for that reason. Also it sounds horrible.)

The Naked Homer

8 oz mango juice (Because it’s yellow!)
8 oz Bud Light (Because if Duff were a real beer, it would be that.)
1 donut (Because donut.)

Mix the liquids together in a glass. Top with a donut, the best garnish ever. I cut a circle into the bottom of the donut so it would fit onto the top of the glass. In retrospect, this was a horrible idea – it fit so perfectly that the bottom went into the drink and got really gross. Just keep it as a side, maybe.

Tasting Notes:

BN: I like this! Simple, but good. Would probably be even better if, you know, the beer was actually a good beer. Still a lighter one, certainly, not a stout or anything, but something with a little more flavor. Also, you should stir it every now and then because it’s starting to separate, as I write.

PiC: I like it – it’s a good twist on a shandy and you can actually taste the beer which I didn’t think you’d be able to. It maybe could use a little bit of acidity, but it would be good with Indian food [N.B.: APU!] because it’s almost like a mango lassi.

The Safina – A Message From Hawaii

On October 19, 2014October 20, 2014 By The Boozy NewsieIn OriginalsLeave a comment

I came across this story this weekend, and although it’s clearly not of international or even national significance, it seemed like a fun inspiration for a drink. Basically a Californian man came across a real-life message in a bottle when he was looking for his lost shoe on the beach. The message was an invitation to a child’s birthday party in Hawaii four years ago. (Her name is Safina, hence the name of the drink.) Logistically, I don’t quite get how this is an effective way to invite people to a party but hey, it’s the thought that counts. The couple that found it are now trying to get in touch with the family, to see if they’ll still honor the invitation…

Making this drink was a bit of a trial-and-error process. I had high expectations of what I could do at the beginning, and most of those expectations fell a little flat. Have you ever tried making coconut milk from scratch? Easy, I said! Nope. It’s not. I got to the point of slowly carving away the meat from the coconut husk with a spoon when I gave up and went to the supermarket for a carton of the milk (not pictured, to preserve my dignity). Secondly, my preparation method for the ingredients was not altogether effective — I’m adjusting the directions here to be what I think is the best method, though I haven’t tried it so I could be totally wrong.

Still, I actually very much liked the finished product, and with the changes listed below it should hopefully be even better! It’s light, flavorful, and has elements of both Hawaii (coconut, Kahlua) and the long ocean voyage that the bottle took (salt, rum).

The Safina

1.5 oz golden rum (dark might actually be better, but I was out…)
1/2 oz Kahlua
1/2 oz salted caramel sauce (Got this from Trader Joe’s, delicious for all occasions)
6 oz unsweetened coconut milk (You can make this from scratch yourself! Or, just buy it. Pro tip: Just buy it.)
3-4 shakes chocolate bitters (Scrappy’s is awesome, a gift from the Partner in Crime)

As I said, I made a bunch of missteps when constructing this. Here’s what I think should be the best method. Warm the caramel sauce in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Stir together all ingredients. (I had poured them in together, but not mixed. I also saved the bitters for a garnish, but they should be put in at the beginning.) Once they are well enough mixed, pour them over crushed ice. This is the important step — I tried shaking the drink with crushed ice, but as soon as the caramel touched the ice, it hardened up and wouldn’t mix with anything else. So the drink definitely needs to be combined before getting cold. Top with a drizzle of caramel and a sprinkling of sea salt (like a Starbucks latté!).

Tasting Notes:

BN: I actually liked this a lot more than I thought I was going to. I wish it was a little sweeter, and the different flavors a little stronger. They melded well enough together, but it was definitely primarily coconut and Kahlua tastes; I wanted to taste more of the caramel, salt, and bitters. I think the preparation changes I made above should fix this problem and, overall, it was a nice, easy, tropical drink.

PiC: Ditto.