It's a dark and stormy Friday night in Edmonton so we decided to stay home and try our hand at making a Dark and Stormy. First we had to buy dark rum...and ginger beer...and bitters. I forgot to buy lime. I used bottled lime juice - fresh is much better. This is a perfect drink for a cool, rainy evening - spicy and aromatic! I initially forgot to add the soda water which really gave a "hit" in the back of the throat...actually James was sputtering and coughing after his first taste. I consulted the recipe our camp friend Val gave me and realized I forgot the soda water. Much better! Cocktail Scale (out of 5*) James 4.5 * Mellissa 4.3* Recipe - here is the photo Val sent me with the recipe written on the side of the rum bottle. I used a darker rum and floated it on top of the ginger beer. The weather looks better for tomorrow so we'll likely head west to Shadybrook in the morning. Cheers!
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Last August we went to Maui to celebrate my parents' 50th anniversary. Our time in Maui is documented here. While there, I enjoyed trying the mai tai's every where we went. I found out that we could drink about 12 at the weekly pool party hosted by the place we were staying with no effect. Hmmm... This week it is hot here - though not tropical - and I have been thinking I would like to go back to Hawaii. Next best thing - a mai tai at the campsite. The best and most unique mai tai I had in Maui was at Monkeypod in Wailea. Here we are enjoying them last year. I found the recipe online but it is a little over my skill set to pull off at the campsite. I found The Royal Hawiian mai tai recipe on line and it was voted the best in Hawaii by Hawaii Magazine. Let's give it a try! Remember last week when I said I was going to use the liquor I already own? Well, I had to make a trip out to get orange curacao. It wasn't easy to find. I finally found it at Wine & Beyond and there was no price on the shelf. I decided I was not going to another liquor store so whatever the price is, I'm paying it. To be honest, the fancy french bottle had me a little worried about the price. Then at the till, the guy selling it said 'we just go that in and it is soooo good.' I was hoping for a $10 liqueur. It was about 4 x that price. Oops! And I had to buy Orgeat (fancy name for almond syrup). You can make it but I went for the easy way this time. Now I will search drink recipes for orange curacao. By the way, it smells and tastes like Grand Marnier. Cock-tail Scale (Out of 5*)
James 4.75* Mellissa 4.8* This is a strong drink with three ounces of spirits. There is no way I could drink 12 of these! The recipe worked well but I used spiced rum instead of dark rum. Dark rum would give it better colour. The Royal Hawaiian mai tai: Ingredients 1 ounce dark rum 1 ounce light rum 1 ounce orange curacao 2 ounces orange juice 1/2 ounce lime juice Dash orgeat Dash simple syrup (bar syrup) Instructions Combine all of the ingredients in the order listed in an old fashioned style glass over shaved ice. Stir with a swizzle stick. Garnish with a slice of pineapple and a cherry. We finally made it back out to Shadybrook after a three week hiatus. After surveying our ever growing, obscure collection of half empty bottles of spirits, I've decided to try cocktails with the alcohol we already own. Up this week...blue curacao. We went on a cruise many years ago and stopped in Curacao so we bought...curacao liqueur. I'm not sure if it goes bad but we drank it and survived to tell the tale of the mermaid lemonade. This drink is pretty and very sweet. After the first sip I had to add some soda water. Our neighbor and fellow Airstream owner, Val, came over to try the mermaid lemonade. She suggested it needed more lemon and/or lime. It's definitely missing something. Cocktail Scale (out of 5*) James 3.75* Mellissa 3.2* Guest judge Val 3.5* Recipe the online version is here
Ingredients 2 c. ice 1/4 c. Blue Curacao 1 c. white rum 2 c. lemonade 1 can club soda 4 lemon slices, for garnish 8 maraschino cherries, for garnish (I used fresh cherries bought at the market) 4 paper umbrellas Directions
Another drink that is like dessert in a glass...this time Strawberry Shortcake. I adjusted the recipe from what I found on the internet. Based on the experience with sparkling moscato, I decided to opt for a drier (brut) prosecco. We really enjoyed this drink and decided it would also be good for brunch. Plus it was a good excuse to use more of the Whip Vodka. Cock-tail Scale out of 5* James 4.5* Mellissa 4.6* Guest Judge Allan 4.25* Guest Judge Janice 4* Recipe
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Apparently the BBC - Bailey's Banana Colada - originated in the Caribbean. I believe it, it tastes like the Caribbean and it's a goodie! Perfect for a warm summer evening. Would also be perfect on a beach or by the pool. There are lots of recipes on the internet if you google it. Cock-tail Scale out of 5* James 5* Mellissa 5* Guest Judge Allan 6* Guest Judge Janice 5* Here's the recipe:
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We were on the hunt for sparkling moscato to make this drink. I was thrilled to find it in this beautiful blue bottle. We learned sparkling moscato is sweet. We also learned that good red wine does not come from Germany but that's another story... This drink is probably best suited for a Sunday brunch on a warm sunny day. It was good but we weren't totally feeling it today. We have guest judges this weekend to also provide their ratings. Cock-tail Scale out of 5 * James 3.5* Mellissa 3.9* Guest Judge Allan 3.5* Guest Judge Janice 3.5* I found the recipe here
Pineapple Orange Creamsicle Mimosas Servings: 4 Servings Ingredients
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This drink is like a slice of lemon meringue pie in a martini glass. The hardest part of this cocktail recipe was finding the whipped vodka. We looked at a few bigger liquor stores in Edmonton and finally found it at a small, independent store. I found this recipe here. I didn't make any adjustments to it - other than I used fat free creamer. I'm not sure if that's the same as fat free half and half but it worked for the recipe just fine!
Cock - tail Scale out of 5* James 5* Mellissa 5* We LOVED this drink. Here's James video review Here's the recipe: 2 oz. limoncello 1 oz. whipped vodka 1/2 oz lemonade 1/2 oz fat fee creamer graham cracker crumbs 1. Mix all ingredients (except crumbs) in a martini shaker. 2. Add ice and shake 3. Prepare graham cracker rim by rubbing lemon juice or simple syrup around the rim of the glass and dip it in graham cracker crumbs. 4. Strain the martini into the prepared glass, being careful to avoid the graham cracker crumbs I love dill...and dill pickles...and anything dill flavored. Except martinis. Last summer we made Caesars with dill pickle vodka. The recipe is great but I'm not a Casear lover - I don't mind them but I never think to make them. So we had a lot of dill pickle vodka left. I thought - hey dill pickle martinis sound interesting, let's give it a try. I was not a fan. At all. I took two sips and abandoned my drink. James said the taste got better after the first sip. He lied. See for yourself... Cock-Tail Scale (out of 5*) James 1.5* Mellissa 0.5* (the .5 is for the pickle) James drank his. I didn't. In fact I made myself a Kirkland margarita instead. Much better. If you want to try the Dill Pickle Vodka Martini, here's the recipe.
Ingredients Ice 6 shots dill pickle vodka 1 shot extra dry vermouth 4 teaspoons dill pickle juice Pickles for garnish
We'll use the rest of the dill pickle vodka for Caesars. We didn't make it out to Shadybrook this weekend but that didn't impede our cocktail challenge! I chose the drink this week because we happen to have fresh basil and blackberries in our fridge. I found the recipe on Lemon Tree Dwelling. There are a few drinks on the site that we intend to try. Cock-Tail Scale (out of 5*) James 4* Mellissa 4* It was a beautiful hot weekend in Edmonton and this drink was very refreshing. We didn't finish the pitcher on Saturday and the drink had much more flavour on day 2.
Recipe - 4 servings Ingredients 4 c. lemonade 1 c. vodka 1 c. water (I used soda water) 1/2 c. blackberry basil simple syrup - recipe below Simple Syrup: 1/2 c. water 1/4 c. sugar 1/2 c. fresh basil 1/2 c. fresh blackberries Instructions 1. Prepare simple syrup by bringing water and sugar to boil; remove from heat and stir in basil and blackberries. 2. Mask berries and basil with a fork or potato masher 3. Let stand for about an hour to cool, then strain through a mesh strainer 4. In a medium pitcher, combine vodka, lemonade, soda water and strained simple syrup 5. Garnish with blackberries, basil and lemon slices I love lavender, lemonade and mojitos so when I found this recipe on Pinterest I was fairly certain it would be a hit.
Cock-tail Ratings (out of 5*) James - 4* Mellissa - 5* I made the lavender syrup at home. Here is my version of the recipe. Yields 4 cocktails Ingredients: 1 cup lemon juice (I used a combination of freshly squeezed and bottled) I small bunch fresh mint 2 cups lemon club soda 1 cup light rum 3/4 cup lavender simple syrup (recipe below) Instructions: In a pitcher, muddle mint leaves and lemon juice. Add club soda, rum and chilled lavender syrup. Stir. Pour in to ice-filled glasses. Garnish with mint. Lavender Simple Syrup 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup water 1/4 cup dried lavender (I bought it at Bulk Barn) - Combine water, sugar and lavender in a medium saucepan and bring to boil. Stir. - Once boiling lower to a simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes, until thickens. - Turn off heat, cover sauce pan and let steep for about an hour. - Push syrup through a mesh sieve to strain out lavender buds and pour in to an air tight container. Place in fridge to cool. Perfect for a warm sunny day! |
AuthorEvery weekend we are out camping we try a new cocktail recipe, give you our rating out of 5 and share the recipe. Archives
September 2020
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