Clearly Mai Tai

Wow, it’s already two weeks into 2018 and I haven’t posted on this blog in months! It’s not that I haven’t thought about you. I’ve taken pictures and jotted down ideas, but nothing seems to have actually made it to posting stage.

Let’s not stay mad. It’s a new year and I have an amazing cocktail recipe for you.

It’s amazing not just because it tastes great, but also because of how it looks. Who ever heard of a tiki drink that’s crystal clear? This clarified mai tai tastes just like the old favourite, but is mellower with a creamier mouthfeel, and looks so much classier than its cloudy cousin.

Green Cocktail

Sometimes things just come together. I started this cocktail with some bright green cucumber juice and decided to pair it with everything else green.

And it worked.

A Night In The Life: A Gilmore Girls Reunion Cocktail

The following is entirely made up and is not affiliate in any way with the official Gilmore Girls television show…

Scene: Rory and Lorelai are preparing to have a mother/daughter night in.

Lorelai: Oh, let’s make cocktails!

Rory: Do we know how to make cocktails?

Lorelai: People are always makin’ ‘em on TV. How hard can it be?

Lorelai rummages in kitchen cupboard and emerges with some bottles of liquor.

Grapefruit Amaretto Shandy

Though September is right around the corner, the weather would have you believe its midsummer.  The sun beats down onto sweaty foreheads.  Hot, humid people fan themselves with whatever they can find. 

The only thing keeping everyone from cowering inside air conditioned houses is that cold glass in their hand.  The condensation drips down onto sandaled feet.  The cool liquid soothes hot lips. 

This is that cold drink.

Cereal White Russians

Cereal has been on my mind ever since I had a Cinnamon Toast Crunch Sweet Jesus cone at Home of the Brave.  So good.  So genius! 

Then came the ideas. 

I should make cakes with cereal!  (Still in the works..)

I should make cocktails with cereal!  But what kind of cocktail would be good with cereal?  The White Russian of course!  I always wanted to try the Froot Loops with White Russian that they serve at Clark Hall Pub at Queen’s.  I should make something like that… except better!

The Paraglider (Not Quite Aviation)

Our kitchen reno is in full swing!  There are many holes in the walls and the floor is bare concrete.  But we’re getting by. 

Since there is literally nowhere to cook, we’ve been on a forced raw food diet.  Some days have been better (sourdough with ricotta, sea salt, honey, and a sprinkle of cayenne) than others (bag of chips), though it depends on your definition of better (the chips were very good). 

One silver lining is that drinks and cocktails rarely require the use of a stove!  And though I won’t go into reno details here, suffice to say there have been several times already where a drink was deemed necessary. 

The Aviation is one of my favorite cocktails to order when we go out, mostly because it’s delicious and almost impossible to make at home given the lack of Violette availability.  But one missing ingredient isn’t going to stop us! 

Gingerbread Old Fashioned

Once again I am making excuses for not posting in so long.  But I swear this time I have a really good one!  Three days ago I successfully completed by PhD defense!  If that’s not an excuse for being M.I.A. then I don’t know what is. 

Gin And Tonic Popsicles

I love popsicles.  I can pretty much eat one of those boxes of 30, No Name, orange, purple, and pink popsicles in a couple of days.  I have perfected the art of breaking them in half without breaking off the top. 

Hawaiian Julep

This one has been a while coming.  I wish I had a good excuse for why I’ve been away for so long, but to be perfectly honest, I just haven’t been feeling motivated for much lately.  

The Anatomy Of A Sour

Ratios are a beautiful thing both in the lab and in the kitchen.  I’ve talked about ratios on this blog before here and here, but in case you weren’t listening back then, a ratio is just a simple way of representing the proportion of ingredients in a recipe.  The ingredient with the smallest quantity is assigned as a 1 and everything else is represented as a multiple of this ingredient.  If the word ratio scares you because the last place you heard it was math class a long time ago, I don’t blame you.  But your math teacher probably never taught you with drinks.  

Grapefruit And Smoke Cocktail

I’ve recently started contributing to Pair Magazine, an offshoot of Honest Cooking.  They are a collaborative online magazine dedicated solely to drinks!  

Check out my recipe for this winter citrus cocktail over at Pair!

Fresh Cranberry Cosmo

So you were excited and bought a bag of fresh cranberries to make some homemade cranberry sauce for your Holiday dinner.  Then, you realized, you don’t have time for that!  
You don’t have time for anything!  What are you going to do with that bag of cranberries? Ahem, may I suggest a cocktail?

Pear Ginger Sparkle And Spice

It’s my birthday!  I don’t care how old I am, I still love it.  Usually I try and stretch it out as long as I can.  Birthday weekend.  Birthday week! 

Watermelon Julep

Is it a little late to be posting watermelon cocktails?  No way.  I am not bound by calendar rules!  It’s summer somewhere right?  This is for my friends in Australia and New Zealand!  

Melon Sangrias

Summer is starting slowly in Toronto this year.  We constantly seem to be at that awkward stage where it looks like it should be warm, but as soon as the sun slips behind a cloud and the cool wind starts blowing, you regret your decision to leave your sweater at home. Still, we pretend, hoping that by wearing a dress and putting on some sunglasses we will coax summer out. 

Sparkling Lavender Cocktail

Sometimes words are hard to come by.  We use words all the time.  We talk, we text, we e-mail.  But how many times can you say you read something, hear something, and it really stays with you?  Writing is easy.  Writing something powerful, something meaningful is much more difficult.  

Burnt Orange Cocktail

The calendar says March, but the weather still says full winter.  The world is full of people hurrying to get out of the cold.  Your breath steams in front of you and then a gust of wind hits you and takes it away.  Noses numb and cheeks burn.  The bright sunshine and clear skies fool us into hoping for warmth.  

We need heat.  This cocktail was inspired by my previous citrus post.  As Alex finished his portion of bruleed clementines and sipped the juices that had dripped out, he casually mentioned “this orangey sugar would be really good with some bourbon”.  And the spark was lit.  

Caramelizing the sugar for the simple syrup adds a depth that regular simple syrup cannot.  Flaming the orange peels adds a smoky note.  And that amber colour is warmth for the eyes.  

We can’t make winter go away, but we can make this drink. 

Burnt Orange Cocktail

2 oz rye whiskey, such as Sazerac
1 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz burnt sugar syrup (recipe follows)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Burnt orange peel for garnish

Combine all ingredients except garnish in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.  Shake gently until shaker is ice cold on the outside.  Strain into glass.  For garnish, peel a long, fairly thick, strip of orange zest from an orange using a vegetable peeler.  Roll tightly, squeezing some of the oils from the peel.  Place roll on a non-flammable surface and torch until black on the edges.  Do not over torch unless you want ash in your drink...

Burnt sugar syrup

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water

Over medium low heat, melt sugar in a saucepan, stirring occasionally.  At first, it will seem like it’s not doing anything.  Then it will seem like it’s turning into hard clumps.  But don’t worry, once it melts, the clumps will melt back in too.  Once the sugar is completely melted, it should be a deep amber colour.  Remove from heat and slowly add the water, stirring or whisking constantly.  The sugar will seize, but just keep stirring until it dissolves back in.  Let cool completely before using.  

Sparkling Rose Cocktail

Sparkling wine cocktails are some of my favourites right now.  Anything topped with a little bubbles is delicious. I’ve done lemon sorbet, white cranberry juice, elderflower liqueur…

White Cranberry Cocktails (Here's To 2013!)

Well 2013, we’ve had a good run.  You gave me my first PhD publication, my first photos accepted to Tastespotting and Foodgawker.  You gave me trips to New Zealand, Boston, Strasbourg, San Diego, camping trips with friends.  You gave me rainy days and sunny days, happy days and sad days. 

Classic Eggnog

So Christmas has come and gone.  I hope everyone enjoyed some traditions and maybe made some new ones.  I hope you got to spend time with loving/annoying family.  I hope you had some surprises, lots of hugs, and maybe a kiss under the mistletoe.