The idea of a lemonade with the right amount of heat and the right kind of booze is a tricky thing to come by. To be honest, I was surprised at how well this particular experiment turned out, but it’s a perfect storm of flavors. The lemonade and Bourbon go remarkably well together, and the habañero flavor kicks in right at the end. The great thing about using the habañero is that it gives you distinctive “spice” without a pronounced vegetable flavor often encountered with jalapeño infusions.

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During the recent warm spell we had a week or so ago, I came across some blood oranges at the grocery store the other day and like every single red blooded alcoholic I thought, “Man, those would go great with alcohol!” So I picked up a half dozen of those, plus a few different mixers and set out to do some experimentation when I had some free time.

For my case, I chose gin because it lends itself to strong-flavored mixes better than vodka. A decent gin has an herbal, aromatic quality that vodka lacks entirely. If used in the right proportions, you’ll notice this, and not the sharp, acrid bite that most people associate with gin. And this is the only thing you’ll have to buy at the liquor store! Although Cointreau or Triple Sec (both orange liqueurs) would both be great ingredients to use in a concoction featuring blood oranges, I wanted to keep this cheap and simple. Plus, I have a nearly full bottle of Chambourd on my shelf that’s been mocking me since I did the “If a Cosmo tasted Good” article in January – the last thing I need is more liqueurs taking up space.

To start, I poured blood orange juice together with regular Bombay Gin (not Sapphire) and a bunch of ice into my blender and hit pulse a few times. Separately, I tried mixing this with soda water, 7-Up, and Orange Crush. After taking the Pepsi Challenge on each, the winner was the Orange Crush mix.

The soda has just enough sweetness and fizz to round out the stickiness of the blood oranges and harshness of the gin. You could easily make this more “gourmet” by using orange juice instead of the Crush and adding a splash of soda water and Cointreau, and even some orange bitters. But, I’m satisfied with my creation; for the price of a bottle of gin and $5 worth of groceries, you’ve got yourself a pretty bitchin’ afternoon.

Here’s the final recipe: 4oz Bombay Gin Juice of 4 blood oranges (hand-squeezed) Juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime wedge At this point, add all this to your blender with plenty of ice and go to town. Keep in mind that the longer you blend for, the closer to liquid it will become. It just took a few seconds for mine to be the consistency of a thick Slurpee (or mashed potatoes) , which is what I wanted. When you add the soda in the next step, this will thin out considerably. This drink actually tastes better when you can feel the texture of little ice chunks as you’re sipping it! Next, divvy up the slush into your glasses (or glass) until it’s 2/3 full. Fill the remainder with the Orange Crush. Stir and drink, preferably outdoors.

Cin Cin!

I was inspired to create this drink after a recent trip to Chicago, where I happened upon a bar that was still using egg whites and powdered sugar in their mixes. Up until then it was only something I’d read about and it seemed archaic, but after the first sip I was sold. I don’t know who was first inspired to use egg whites in a cocktail, but they deserve a medal, because it was a stroke of genius. The egg whites make the drink taste creamy and rich; think of it as the whipped cream on your sundae.

While at the bar I had a Tom Collins and a Gimlet that utilized both of these ingredients, and they each went down smoother and tasted better than any I’d had before. The sugar and egg kill the harsh qualities of the alcohols being mixed, which is probably why they were such a necessity years ago.

Although the Tom Collins I had was good, I’m just not a big fan of that drink to begin with. The Gimlet, on the other hand, hit the bull’s eye. It was my drink of choice for a while, and during that time I discovered there is a very thin line between a good and bad Gimlet. The key is using just the right amount of lime juice, which varies with the kind of vodka or gin you are using. However, even with a properly made Gimlet most people wouldn’t have more than one before switching to something else. Fortunately, adding sugar and egg whites not only takes the guesswork out of the process, it makes the drink taste …good. Think: lime smoothie.

For my recipe, I used Skyy vodka that was infused with ginger for one week. You can’t get away with using a rotgut-quality vodka; use something that you’d be able to have straight. Anything without a feral animal on the label should be fine. To infuse, simply peel one ginger root as you would a potato, slice, and place in a container with a standard 750ml bottle of vodka. You definitely want to use a fresh ginger root , and not the powdered stuff. I wrapped my ginger in cheesecloth so I wouldn’t have to dig out the pieces later on, but it’s not necessary. I let mine infuse for a week, but you could shorten that time by adding more.

Now that we have our vodka, let’s make the Gimlet.

Wipe the rim of your glass with lime, then coat with powdered sugar ( I used Sugar in the Raw for the picture, but powdered sugar will give a better flavor.) Fill the glass with ice and add: 2.5 parts ginger vodka 1 part egg white (I’d recommend Egg Beaters) .5 parts of Rose’s Sweetened Lime Juice to taste – if you use the unsweetened variety, or fresh-squeezed juice, you’ll need to add powdered sugar or simple syrup to the mixture. Shake or stir vigorously, drink in a dimly-lit room. Cheers!

Here’s my interpretation of a drink I had while traveling a few years ago. After a hectic day of suffering though mass transportation and shopping for gifts, I found myself in a nice lounge in the high-rent district, fully prepared to unwind with some drinks. As a prelude to something more serious, I decided to try a cocktail made with vodka, sparkling wine, and Chambourd, a French liqueur made from black raspberries and herbs. And goddamnit if it didn’t taste good! Once I returned stateside from traveling I was determined to reverse-engineer the recipe. I think it turned out as good, if not better than the original.

This recipe is fairly precise in that you ABSOLUTELY must use Chambourd, a decent vodka, a mediocre sparkling wine, and lemon juice (oddly enough, the lemon is a crucial ingredient) in my exact proportions. And although Chambourd is EXPENSIVE ($35/bottle), it’s fairly intense – so a little is all you need for most drinks. Unless you’re having cocktail parties on a weekly basis, that bottle’s gonna stick around for a bit. I made the investment thinking that I could pass on the remainder of the bottle to my grandchildren. As far as the vodka is concerned the Chambourd, sparkling wine, and lemon juice should kill any harshness – but stay away from anything in a plastic bottle, or anything with “WILD” in its name or a feral animal on the label. I used Skyy and was very happy with the results.

Sparkling wine. I’m not calling it Champagne because only wines from Champagne, France that meet certain restrictions can be called Champagne, and are therefore very pricey. All that’s required for this drink is a sparkling wine made in the Champagne style, unless you’re looking to kill some leftovers from New Year’s Eve. Just stay away from the sweeter varieties; most Brut or Extra-Dry types will do (between the two, Brut is the dryer, but Extra-Dry is by no means sweet). You really need a dry sparkling wine in this case – Champagne or not – to really make this work; something as sweet as an Asti Spumanti will ruin the drink. I used an extra-dry Cava and it did the job just fine. Your local wine and spirits shop should yield a wallet friendly candidate. In short, no Champale.

The portioning on this will make one awesome drink if you have big martini glasses like I do, or two normal-sized drinks if you don’t. In a glass filled with ice, combine the following: 2oz Chambourd 5oz sparkling wine (extra dry or brut) 3oz vodka squeeze half of one lemon into the mix Next, wipe the rim of the glass with a lemon wedge-it makes a noticeable difference-strain in the mixture, and you’re done! Although I can’t take credit for the inspiration, this borders on cocktail perfection: the sweetness of the Chambourd and tartness of the lemon are balanced by the yeasty-dryness and fizz of the wine, with the vodka warming it all up at the end.

Cheers!

With the weather becoming colder and grayer, I’ve been craving whiskey drinks more – and my standby, a frosty beer, less and less. And while you can’t beat a top shelf Bourbon (Woodford, Makers Mark, Bakers, etc.) at room temperature in a glass with nothing else, the downside is that it’s an expensive way to catch a delicious buzz. I wasn’t too keen on moonlighting at the docks to support my cocktail fetish, so I came up with a cheaper alternative.

A good Bourbon has a full flavor that is less evident in it’s more wallet-friendly brethren. You can easily dull the sharpness and bite of any harsh liquor by adding some tonic, soda, or water, and Bourbon is no exception. But these cocktails usually taste too much like the ingredient they’re mixed with (more on this later). I was hoping to enhance the “Bourbonness” of the drink rather than mask it.

So, after some experimentation, here’s my solution to drinking even more of the bottle of expensive Bourbon that’s already half-empty…

Mix some Jim Beam with honey, maple syrup (actual maple syrup, not pancake syrup!) and a splash of water. Toss it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, and you’ve got a winner! You want the end result to be hot, but not boiling. The heat helps dissipate the honey and syrup and just makes it taste really, really good. As for the proportions, it’s roughly: 3 parts bourbon 1 part syrup 1 part honey 1 part water

I say “roughly” because depending on your personal taste or the mood you’re in, (or the brand you choose) you may want it sweeter, stronger, or lighter. The first time I made it exactly 3:1:1:1 and loved it, but each subsequent time altered the ratios very slightly at the end.

Also, go ahead and use a different Bourbon if you want, but Jim and I were roommates in college, so I called him up for the occasion.

Furthermore, while I was at the store picking up the honey and maple syrup, I also grabbed some ginger beer and ginger ale. Bourbon and ginger go well together, and I thought I’d do a little compare-and-contrast between the two as a potential mixer for my budget Bourbon.

Even though they each have ginger as the predominant flavor, there is a difference between the two, especially as a mixing ingredient. Ginger beer has much less carbonation than its counterpart. It has the “fizz” of well, a beer. Ginger ale, on the other hand, is all about carbonation-you can still taste the ginger, but it’s in the background. Based on that comparison, I decided to use the ginger beer as my main ingredient (next to the alcohol of course) in the next cocktail.

I made a few variations of just ginger beer and Bourbon, but they all tasted too plain. But after adding a couple old standby’s, it really came alive: 2 maraschino cherries, muddled in the glass 2oz Bourbon 2oz ginger beer squeeze of lime The result is a Bourbon cocktail I can live with: not too strong, not too fizzy, and all the flavors complement each other. You can even taste the Bourbon.

Cheers!