Boney Wench

One of the lightest and freshest tasting rum drinks you’ll find — this one is actually a combination lock — with both rum and MeKhong, the Thai spiced rum-whiskey.  It’s a lot of  tall, icy drink on a summer day — for not so many calories.

1/2 oz Captain Morgan’s spiced rum
1/2 oz MeKhong
4 oz pineapple juice
dash Burlesque bitters
dash sea salt
1 t lime juice
1 t marischino cherry juice
10 oz La Croix Coconut sparking water
1 c crushed ice
+
cherry to garnish
1/4 c lime sherbet to garnish
powdered nutmeg to garnish

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake until icy cold.  Strain into a tall chilled glass with a small scoop of lime sherbet floated on top, with a cherry and a dusting of nutmeg.

175-190 calories, depending on sherbet

Lumberjack’s Beard

A White Russian is vodka, Kahlua, and cream, right?  Well, this one is definately all-American, with an emphasis on the Pacific Northwest.  In other words, a white Lumberjack’s Beard.  That would be a white beard — rather than a white lumberjack.  Or either will do, I suppose.

1 oz Stoli Cinnamon vodka
1 oz Kahlua
1 shot of espresso
3 oz organic cream — ice cold
Mexican Coca Cola (sweetened with cane sugar) to finish
dash of chocolate mole bitters
1 c crushed ice
1 Organic Ranier Cherry (fresh or preserved) to garnish

Pull a strong 1-oz shot of espresso and pour it into a cocktail shaker with the vodka and ice cold cream.  Add bitters, Kahlua and ice and shake vigorously.  Pour into a chilled 16oz glass, and fill the glass with Mexican Coke and garnish with a cherry.

There are lots of hat-tips to the NW US here — organic cream, non-HFCS soda, small-batch bitters, and the organic/locally-sourced cherry.  And possibly a couple more…. I guess I could add a few bay shrimp, or a shot of Pinot Noir lol.  Probably better to serve them on the side, though.

Wheeeeee-eeeee!

Camper Coffee

You know that strong, sweet, slightly smoky coffee you make when you’re out camping?  On the beach, in the woods, at the lake — wherever you camp.  This is not exactly that coffee — but an homage to it. 

6 oz strong, hot coffee
2 small chocolates, like a Hershey’s Kiss or miniature Hershey bar
2 t molasses
1 oz Jim Beam whiskey
2 dashes Napa Distillery Coffee-Pecan bitters
2 oz milk

Stir molasses and chocolates into coffee until thoroughly mixed, then add whiskey and bitters.  Pour into a (preferably clear glass) coffee mug and top off with milk or cream.

Tom & Jerry

I was served a Tom & Jerry at a New Year’s party many years ago.  I remember it because it looks so different from most “cocktails” — and I remember this specific one because it was terrible.   When I asked what I was drinking, the party’s host proudly held up a jar of “Tom & Jerry Mixer” — further evidence that pre-packaged mixers aren’t worth the cheap glass they’re package in most of the time.

Like most “classic cocktails” — a real Tom & Jerry is so simple, it’s hard to image why somebody would try to sell a middle-man pre-fab version, but there’s no accounting for greed and profiteering when selling to people who think any convenience is worth the sacrifice.

This is simple, easy, and yummy — and makes a good hot punch.  Think Egg Nog — without the egg.

1 oz rum
1/2 oz brandy
1 oz honey
6 oz steamed milk
fresh grind of nutmeg for garnish

In a warm cup, stir the rum, brandy and honey together until mixed — then add the steamy milk (or half & half)  Dust the cup with fresh ground nutmeg as a garnish.

 

 

Snowline Cocoa

My first trip to Oregon was spent in Ashland, which is a tiny little town nested in a ski area (Mt. Ashland, and nearby California’s Mt. Shasta.)  Ashland is also home to the decades old Oregon Shakespeare Festival (the UK has the Globe in London and the Shakespeare theaters of Stratford on Avon; the US has Broadway, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival… go figure.)  But they also have Funagain Games, a variety of vinyards, and Dagoba Organic Chocolate.  Which makes for a wonderful way to spend a cold winter’s evening — playing games, drinking cocoa, and planning the next days sporting or theater going….)

Dagoba’s Xocolatl Drinking Chocolate is the chocolate used in this wonderful Hot Chocolate recipe.  You can use another hot chocolate as the base, but it won’t have the bite at the back of the tongue you get from the Xocolatl.

Use a 12oz coffee mug for this one!

7 oz steamed milk
1T Dagoba Xocolatl Drinking Chocolate powder (or more to taste)
1 oz Frangelica Liqueur
1/2 oz vanilla vodka
dollop of whipped cream
chocolate powder as garnish

Dissolve chocolate powder in steamed milk, then add the Frangelica and vodka.  Top with a small dollop of whipped cream and a dusting of the chocolate powder to garnish.

Alternately, dust with a second dusting of cinnamon to finish.

Macaroon Steamer

I’ve included a few steamer recipes just to show the versitility of this hot drink, so perfect for cold winter evenings.  The one thing all these recipes have in common is steaming milk — which can be achieved either with a pan on the stove — or the steamer wand of an espresso machine.  Either way — the result is steaming hot and slightly frothy milk or light cream.

Pick your milk — whole, half & half, cream, 1%, 2%, almond — almost anything but completely fat-free will work here.  I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing goats milk would work for some steamer recipes, too.

This recipe will work with a 12-13 oz coffee mug.

5 oz of steamed (frothy) milk
1 oz Amaretto
2 t brown sugar
1/2 oz Pearl coconut vodka
2 drops double strength vanilla
Shaved Chocolate to garnish

Stir brown sugar and vanilla into the Amaretto + vodka, then pour it into a warmed mug.  Add frothy steamed milk and garnish with shaved chocolate

Kahlua Steamer

I’ve included a few steamer recipes just to show the versitility of this hot drink, so perfect for cold winter evenings.  The one thing all these recipes have in common is steaming milk — which can be achieved either with a pan on the stove — or the steamer wand of an espresso machine.  Either way — the result is steaming hot and slightly frothy milk or light cream.

Pick your milk — whole, half & half, cream, 1%, 2%, almond — almost anything but completely fat-free will work here.  I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing goats milk would work for some steamer recipes, too.

1 oz Kahlua (any flavor, but the original is what the recipe is based on)
1 oz strong hot coffee or espresso
3 drops of vanilla extract
6 oz steamed milk
2 t brown sugar
whipped cream

Using a 12+ oz coffee mug, stir sugar into milk combined with coffee, then add Kahlua.  Finish with a dollop of whipped cream flavored with vanilla or coffee.
200-320 calories, depending on the milk you use.

Peach Blitz

This is a drink blended smooth then poured over ice — with lots of flavor and body.

The flavor profile is interesting and somewhat unique to cocktails as far as I can tell — but it’s a combination that’s been around a long time outside the bar.

You’ll need a 12 oz chilled glass for this — a huricane or lg champaign/dessert goblet

Though the recipe says to peel the peach — my personal preference is to leave the peel on for the added flavor and texture —  If you do choose to leave the peel on, be sure to wash the peach thoroughly, or better yet — just buy organic peaches.  The fuzzy surface of a peach tends to hold on to pesticides and other chemicals — so be aware of where and how your fruit is grown.

1 med  chilled freestone peach; peeled, pitted, and quartered  (about 4-5 oz of useable fruit)
2 oz (4 T) sour cream
1 T honey
1 oz organic coconut vinegar (sub rice vinegar if necessary)
1 oz Amaretto
1/2 oz light spiced rum
1/4 t Vietnamese cinnamon
pinch powdered clove
pinch sea salt
1/2 c crushed ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and whip until smooth and frothy.  Add more honey to taste if necessary.  Pour into a tall chilled glass with a couple of ice cubes — and top with a dusting of cinnamon.  Serve with a straw and a long spoon.
(about) 525 calories (!)

Great Balls o’Fire

I love the idea of tiny drinks.  I’d love to serve (or be served) from a whole tray of tiny shot glasses with different colors and liquors….  It would be a big ol’ box of chocolates because you never know what you’re gonna get.

This shot requires that you make up a cup of Harney’s Hot Cinnamon tea in advance so it can be chilled and cold when you pour — but it’s worth it.  This tea comes in Black, Black decaf, Green or Rooibos — so pick you caffeine level.  (go with the black if possible.  It has an excellent flavor for mixing.)

If you’re unfamiliar with this product — it’s a treat.  Unlike most cinnamon flavored teas, it’s not a background cinnamon — but instead tasted remarkably like those cinnamon-soaked toothpicks that freshen your breath, burn your lips, and cold so much hot cinnamon flavor that you can chew on one for an hour and still not reach the bottom of the spicy goodness.  Or — think Red Hots candy…..

1 Harney’s Hot Cinnamon teabag + 5 oz boiling water
made in advance and chilled

1 oz Harney’s Hot Cinnamon tea — chilled
3/4 oz Fireball Cinnamon whiskey
1 T heavy cream

Bormioli Rocco Shot Glass

Pour the cream into the bottom of the shot glass, then add the Fireball and top off the shot with ice cold tea.  (pour the whiskey and tea in gently to create an unmixed swirl/marble appearance.)

Apricot Knot

Bormioli Rocco shot glass

This shot is almost a dessert — or maybe it’s an appetizer.  Either way — It’s a bite and a sip of sweet and creamy fruityness.  Try it with a berry instead of a banana slice — or if you’re fixing a tray of them, use different fruits in each so they become little surprise shots!

1 oz apricot nectar
3/4 oz Amaretto
1/2″ slice of banana
1 T heavy cream

Just put the fruit in the bottom of a large shot glass and cover it with the heavy cream; then combine the nectar and amaretto and pour ton top.