Smile & Blush
Some of you may have seen Green With Envy, a sad-faced drink I posted on Valentine’s Day. It seemed only right to balance the Mood of my page with a happier face. While this face isn’t an accurate depiction of mine (I go much lighter on the makeup😉), this drink was delicious and definitely made me smile.
Plant Lovin’
We are in Full Spring Mode here in Texas, so this is a drink to celebrate. Or commiserate, if you are one of the many unfortunate souls whose nasal passages can’t tolerate the insane amount of neon yellow/green pollen that is being constantly dispersed into the air. This drink is an ode (?dirge) to the life cycle of the plants responsible for our collective sneezing.
Vespermania
This sounds a bit like a bunch of cocktail nerds got out of hand and held a WWF-style brawl. Don't lie, you would totally watch that, wouldn't you? What I actually have for you today, as with many of my drinks, is something born out of curiousity and availability. What was available: a LOT of barrel-aged (pink) vesper (check out my post from 1/5/22 for details). It turns out that when you barrel-age a cocktail, you get... (checks notes) a barrel FULL of cocktail. As someone who infrequently makes the same drink more than a couple times, that is a *lot* of vesper.
Riggs and Murtaugh
I am on a mission to convince you that rhum and tequila are a really, really good pair. They complement each other better than partners in a buddy cop movie (Lethal Weapon anyone?). They’re as natural as PB&J. You get the idea. Recently I brought this dynamic duo starred in a stirred, martini-esque format. If that’s not your style, then how about a fruit-forward sour?
Rose Colored Glasses
First of all, happy National Cocktail Day to all my fellow drinkstagrammers and cocktail enthusiasts! I would be remiss if I didn’t post today, of all days, a cocktail (with a bonus mocktail version!) to celebrate. Today I have a very pink drink quite literally served in rose colored glasses, but hopefully you won’t have to wear yours to see what makes this drink delicious [Dad joke alert🤓].
Hophead
Before becoming a cocktail nerd, I was a beer nerd. I know, shocker. I still enjoy beer, especially a really hoppy IPA. I tried @leopoldbros Fernet (as part of my R&D for @homebarawards finals— congrats @denisgor!), and my initial impression was…that is was very bitter. I don’t say that very often, but I also don’t back down from a spirit that seems challenging at first impression.
Luckiwi
Before you ask, I’m not really sure how to pronounce the name of this drink. As my wife can begrudgingly attest, I love combining words, so today we have a Lucky Kiwi drink in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. Kiwi has a distinct enough flavor and some acidity that lends itself well to cocktails (amiright @cocktail.complex?). And it’s green, so it’s perfect for today.
Lucky Lime’rick
This drink brings lime, mint, and chocolate together in a boozy green sipper. The lime peel rhum infusion provides a surprisingly strong limey presence thanks to the prolonged infusion (2-3 days), which gives a touch of bitter that plays perfectly with the grassy notes of the rhum. The homemade cordial gives an enormous depth of real mint and chocolate flavor that is complemented nicely by the remaining ingredients. The drink finishes with a welcome minty note that grows slightly as the ice melts. It’s an amazing flavor combo and well worth the effort!
Apologetic
As a general rule I really try not to be “that guy”. You know who he is. Blissfully unaware of his jerk-iness, not treating his partner well, always needing to make things right. Do flowers and wine say I’m sorry without saying I’m sorry?
Roasted Cauliflower Pizza
There’s this cauliflower salad that I adore in my one my favorite cookbooks (though in reality it’s wayyy more than just recipes), The Food Lab, by J. Kenji López-Alt. It has roasted cauliflower covered in a lovely dressing with olive oil, capers, sherry vinegar, hot honey, toasted pine nuts, and raisins, garnished with parsley. It’s seriously delicious. As with many delicious things, I wondered: could we make it into a pizza?