Drink Recipes

Swedish Punsch - LeNell It All

by LeNell Smothers, Posted Mar 12th 2010 @ 5:00PM

Photo: LeNell Smothers

Also known as Arrack Punch after it's Batavia Arrack ingredient, Swedish Punsch liqueur is not currently commercially available in the U.S. But importer Haus Alpenz hopes to change that by the end of this year with the launch of the Facile label in the U.S. American cocktail enthusiasts applaud this effort, as Swedish Punsch has been a hard-to-find ingredient in replicating many old drinks for more than forty years.

Swedish punsch is drank hot or cold in its homeland and can be found served alongside hearty pea soup.

Filed under: Drink Recipes, Drinks

Happy National Absinthe Day!

COMMENTS 2

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Mar 5th 2010 @ 1:15PM

Photo: J Pollack Photography, Flickr.

Happy National Absinthe Day!

Known for its mood-shifting powers, this stormy wormwood liqueur gets a bad rep - famous impressionist Van Gogh is reputed to have cut off his right ear while under its spell. But as embraced as it may have been as the hallucinogenic of choice by the Bohemians of Belle Epoque Paris, in moderation, absinthe makes for a flowery, delicate, nuanced drink.

Legalized in the United States in 2007, the "green fairy" has increasingly been showing up in cocktail menus across the country. For some inspiration, check out Epicurious' Top 5 Absinthe Cocktails -- or link to your favorite recipes in the comments.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured on the site.

Filed under: Drink Recipes, Holidays, Drinks

Happy National Margarita Day!

COMMENTS 3

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Feb 22nd 2010 @ 1:15PM

Photo: sean dreilinger, Flickr

Happy National Margarita Day!

Surely you've encountered the usual varieties of the margarita -- whether straight up, on the rocks or slushed, with a salted or unsalted rim, the standard drink usually takes a base of tequila, orange liqueur and lime juice. And while the classics are eternally refreshing and tasty, like photographer Beurremanie, we like a little more spike with these wintertime renditions.

If you're feeling adventurous, try these unique margarita recipes yourself -- or head over to your favorite happy hour joint today.

Ancho-cranberry margarita (pictured above)
Beetroot margarita
Ruby red grapefruit margarita
Jean-Georges Vongerichten's ginger margarita
Cranberry margarita
Strawberry-basil margarita
Mango-cilantro margarita

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured on the site.

Filed under: Drink Recipes, Holidays

LeNell It All - Changuirongos

COMMENTS 0

by LeNell Smothers, Posted Feb 17th 2010 @ 5:00PM

Photo: LeNell Smothers

Demián and I experienced our first Carnaval in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico this past week. The streets were full of live music and revelers drinking from terracotta cups called jarritos de barro. Booths lined the streets with colorful signs advertising drinks like changuirongos (pronounced sort of like chan-gee-don-goes].

In the U.S., you typically find a boring version of this drink as a simple highball of tequila over ice, topped with ginger ale and garnished with a lime wedge. But ginger ale is not so common in Mexico -- more people reach for lemon/lime, orange or grapefruit sodas instead.

Our guess is that the changuirongo is related to the Paloma drink that's made with lime juice, tequila and grapefruit soda served as a highball, over ice, in a Collins glass with a salted rim. In some Mexican states, the changuirongo was nothing more than a Paloma served in a terracotta cup.

Another drink called a jarrito con piquete (jug with liquor) or jarrito loco (crazy jug) is similar. This version contains a tequila base, ice, fruit liqueur and a fruit garnish that often matches the liqueur, like fresh mango with mango liqueur.

Filed under: Drink Recipes, Drinks, Features

LeNell It All - Aviation Cocktail

COMMENTS 1

by LeNell Smothers, Posted Feb 12th 2010 @ 4:00PM

Photo: Giant Sloth, Flickr

We made plans to welcome guests from New York this week; however, a snow storm prevented them from enjoying fun in the sun in our home down in Mexico. Instead of cursing the weather for canceled flights, we made a round of aviation cocktails.

Hugh R. Ensslin's book Recipes for Mixed Drinks was one of the last cocktail recipe collections published before Prohibition. Although historian-type folks like David Wondrich have found passing mentions to this cocktail in other sources, Ensslin's book contains the first aviation cocktail recipe anyone' s found thus far.

His recipe calls for El Bart gin, a brand now defunct. I have been unable to find out details of what this gin might have been like. The collector world was wow'ed when an old tin sign advertising this brand sold for $60,500 at auction.

Many post Prohibition aviation recipes do not include violette as it is not easy to find. Rothman & Winter is now available in the U.S. Maraschino is a cherry liqueur made from maraska cherries. The three brands available in the U.S. are Luxardo, Maraska and Stock.

After the jump, find the recipe for the Aviation Cocktail.

Filed under: Drink Recipes, Drinks

LeNell It All - Mae West Royal Diamond Fizz

COMMENTS 1

by LeNell Smothers, Posted Feb 5th 2010 @ 4:00PM

Photo: Vidiot, Flickr

Inspired by Mae West, I created a cocktail containing ample aphrodisiacs: goji, pomegranate, cayenne and cocoa. Mae supposedly was not a big drinker, but you can find her lapping it up in the movie Night After Night. With this in mind, I decided to make a fizz. A fizz always includes something bubbly, and when that bubbly is Champagne, it becomes a "diamond fizz."

The common ingredients in a fizz are citrus juice, a sweetener, a sparkling ingredient (like soda or Champagne) and a spirit. Fizzes often contain egg, but they don't have to. A "silver fizz" includes egg white. A "gold fizz" includes the yolk. I decided to make a "royal fizz," with the addition of the whole egg.

For a touch of sweetness, I added Pama pomegranate liqueur, since pomegranates were the fruit of Aphrodite. Either pink or yellow grapefruit work, as long as the juice is freshly squeezed. Besides being one of my favorites, Four Roses Single Barrel 100-proof bourbon seemed fortified enough for a strong-willed woman like Mae, while maintaining a touch of romance with its rose emblem.

I chose a saucer for this cocktail instead of a tall glass or a flute. The many legends of the Champagne saucer being fashioned after various women's breasts add to the romance of this drink. To go along with the diamond reference, I added a sugared rim for a little sparkle and tingle. Like Mae, I'm no angel.

Find the recipe for this romantic cocktail after the jump.

Filed under: Drink Recipes, Spirits

What To Do with Leftover Apple Cider - Tip of the Day

COMMENTS 0

by Adeena Sussman, Posted Feb 5th 2010 @ 9:00AM

Sure, it may be cider season, but the yen for one glass can lead to a large leftover jug in the fridge.

Filed under: Tip of the Day, Drink Recipes

Lovum and Leavum

COMMENTS 0

by LeNell Smothers, Posted Feb 3rd 2010 @ 5:00PM

Photo: LeNell Smothers.

I'm still having a blast with Crosby Gaige's "Cocktail Guide and Ladies Companion." Now that I'm all in love and treated like a queen by a most amazing man, my single girlfriends won't let me gripe about anything. No matter what I say, I hear, "Well, at least you've got a great guy." This is usually followed by how they wish they could find one. In essence, their hearts are weary from men who "love 'em and leave 'em."

With Valentine's Day around the corner, I figured I wouldn't get too sappy with cocktails topped with rose petals and Champagne; Gaige's Lovum and Leavum cocktail can be found on page 93 in the chapter "The Old Gin Mill." This chapter also includes classics such as the Pegu Club cocktail made with lime juice, gin, curaçao, orange and Angostura bitters that Ms. Audrey Saunders and company named their bar after.

Filed under: Drink Recipes, Drinks, Features

Happy Brandy Alexander Day!

COMMENTS 0

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Jan 31st 2010 @ 1:15PM

Photo: Chuckumentary, Flickr.

Happy Brandy Alexander Day!

This classic dessert drink spikes brandy with a chocolate flavor with the addition of dark crème de cacao in a silky blend often likened to an alcoholic milk shake. Though brandy is the most popular modern-day base, as the cocktail's name suggests, earlier versions of the quaff actually used gin instead.

The drink is typically served cold in a cocktail glass, but can also be served crushed over ice, as a frappé. For an extra indulgent adult treat, eschew the ice and cream for some vanilla ice cream to heighten the silky texture.

We suggest you decide your preferred rendition yourself -- photographer Chuckumentary's libation pictured above mixes equal parts brandy, creme de cacao and cream with a "splash of Kahlua and a dash of cinnamon" for some added flavor.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured on the site.

Filed under: Drink Recipes, Holidays

Crosby Gaige Cocktail Guide

COMMENTS 0

by LeNell Smothers, Posted Jan 29th 2010 @ 3:00PM

LeNell Smothers

Ever been bitten by the bug that has you up at 3 a.m. bidding on random books and ephemera on auction websites? Once I bid on a copy of Crosby Gaige's Cocktail Guide and Ladies Companion published in 1941 that a friend had listed on e-bay, only to get a message scolding me that he already had a copy set aside for me. This addiction to collecting old books and cocktail gear can be particularly dangerous when you have friends who share the collection illness with you.

Not only did my friend give me this book, he came over with a dinner menu inspired by Mr. Gaige and made cocktails all night. I love the names of the drinks in the Ladies Companion, including "Euthanasia," "Quickie Cocktail," "Psychopathia Sexualis," and "Let's Slide Downstairs" just to name a few. He even includes a few simple canapé recipes to keep you going, such as "Virginia": ground ham, chutney, and grated melted cheese on toast.

Filed under: Drink Recipes, Drinks