cocktails

Here’s The Perfect Cocktail To Bid Adieu To Summer

Published

1 year ago

September 9, 2023

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For many, Labor Day weekend signals the last hurrah, the week after starts to feel like the true end of summer. The beginning of fall. The start of a new school year. For the rest of us, it signals another reason to drink. Thankfully, author and cocktail maestro Warren Bobrow, a good friend of The Fresh Toast, has created the perfect cocktail to bid adieu to summer.

The cocktail, which Bobrow calls “Syncopation,” is anything but sweet. If you didn’t get the memo, we are done with sweet summer drinks. “Our palates call out for depth, balance and flavor,” says Bobrow. “With a little help, it will be fall in the glass.”

Syncopation

2 oz Mezan XO Jamaican rum
4 oz coconut water
2-3 dashes Peychaud bitters – bright red in color
Splash seltzer
Fresh mint
Coconut water ice (frozen coconut water)

DIRECTIONS

Add coconut water ice to a tall glass
Add coconut water
Pour Mezan over the top
Add Peychaud’s
Slap mint (to release the fragrant oils) and garnish
Serve

If you drink a few too many of these, Bobrow has just the cure — New Orleans style. It’s a milk punch that could not be quicker to pull together. Here’s what you do: mix together equal parts brandy, simple syrup, vanilla, heavy cream, milk, ice, and nutmeg. Shake. Serve. And then remember that your hangover is proof that you lived up the last days of summer like someone who was never going to see the sun again.

Warren Bobrow, a.k.a. The Cocktail Whisperer, is the author of four books, including his latest: Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails and Tonics.

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brandy

These Strong Cocktails Will Help You Forget Politics

Published

3 days ago

September 13, 2024

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The election is near and the chatter is non – stop. Need a break? Try one of these strong cocktails and unwind.

Local and national politics seem to be sucking up all the energy in the room. Unity seems to be a bit short and everyone is on edge. What the people need is a little break and maybe a drink and these strong cocktails will help forget politics and perhaps aid in making a few friends, or at least common ground with the bartender!

Long Island Iced Tea

This drink has been the introduction of hangovers to many a college student. Slow and go is perfect for the Long Island Iced Tea. There are competing thoughts on the invention of the drink, but what is clear – it was invented in Long Island. Flavor rich, this drink is best served with a snack.

Ingredients

½ fluid ounce vodka
½ fluid ounce rum
½ fluid ounce gin
½ fluid ounce tequila
½ fluid ounce triple sec (orange-flavored liqueur)
1 fluid ounce sweet and sour mix
1 fluid ounce cola, or to taste
1 lemon slice

Create

Fill cocktail shaker with ice
Add vodka, rum, gin, tequila, triple sec, and sour mix over ice
Cover and shake.
Pour cocktail into a tall glass
Top with splash of cola or tea for color
Garnish with a lemon slice

Martini

Manhattan

A classic drink with a nod to the days of back room political deals, the Manhattan is a classic – the brown water version of the martini. The legend of this drink is it was born in an election. Said to be developed at the Manhattan Club by Ian Marshall for a dinner hosted for presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden. The host, Winston Churchhill’s mother, Lady Randolph Churchill, the former American Jennie Jerome.

Ingredients

2 fluid ounces rye whiskey
½ fluid ounce sweet vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 cup ice cubes
1 maraschino cherry

Create

Combine whiskey, vermouth, and bitters in a cocktail mixing glass
Add ice and stir until chilled
Strain into a chilled martini glass
garnish with a maraschino cherry

La Louisiane

Another gift from New Orleans, the best drinking city in the US. It was a house cocktail of the late restaurant La Louisiane. The eatery was famous for their bouillabaisse, strong drinks and sad demise. But this cocktail is a toast to good times.

Ingredients

2 ounces rye whiskey
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
1/2 ounce Benedictine
3 dashes absinthe
3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
1 maraschino cherry

Create

Add the rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, absinthe and Peychaud’s bitters into a mixing glass with ice
Stir until well-chilled
Strain into a chilled martini glass
Garnish with a maraschino cherry

The Chicago Cocktail

The history of this cocktail is unknown with early versions showing up in London, Chicago and the South of France. What is clear, Chicago has a long history with politics, so what not imbibe in a drink to make you leave it behind.

Ingredients

1.5 oz brandy
1 dash of Grand Marnier
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Splash of sparkling bubbles

Create

Combine all ingredients in pitcher
Add ice and stir well
Strain into cocktail glass rimmed with superfine sugar
Top up with sparkling wine

May you muddle through through the rest of the election season with the cocktails.

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amaretto

The Best Cocktails For A Fun Labor Day Weekend

Published

3 weeks ago

August 30, 2024

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Nothing is better to toast the twilight of summer than these easy cocktails.

Summer fun is dwindling, but there is a three day weekend to celebrate and enjoy the last bits. Whether at a bbq, camping or just hanging at the house, these are the best cocktails for a fun Labor Day weekend. The holiday was an organized to celebrate the working man. As labor and union movements grew, their leaders proposed that day celebrate labor. Oregon was the first state ti make it an official public holiday. And when it became a federal holiday in 1894, 30 states had recognized it and made it a thing. Now you can kick back and enjoy a cool drink and a relaxing three day weekend!

Mai Tai

While it is a huge travel weekend, not everyone can slip away. But this cocktail will let you mentally escape to the tropics. It is said it was concocted in 1944, according to Victor Jules Bergeron, aka Trader Vic, the owner of a tiki restaurant of the same name and one of the founders of tiki culture. Apparently he took a flavorful Jamaican rum and needed to mix it with something, so he took a fresh lime, some orange curaçao, a dash of rock candy sugar, and a bit of French orgeat syrup. He shook the mixture with shaved ice, placed half the lime shell on top of the drink and added a branch of mint to it to represent an island. The guest tasted it and declared, “Mai Tai-Roa Aé,” which means “Out of this world-the best” in Tahitian. There is where he decided to call the drink Mai Tai. Here is an easy version to enjoy.

Ingredients

1 cup ice cubes
3 fluid ounces pineapple juice
2 fluid ounces orange juice
1 (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger spiced rum
½ (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger coconut-flavored rum
1 teaspoon grenadine syrup
1 Maraschino cherry

Create

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes
Combine pineapple juice, orange juice, spiced rum, coconut rum, and grenadine in the shaker then shake vigorously
Strain into a glass full of ice
Add cherry for garnish

Soju

The Amazon

Soju is Korea’s most iconic and consumed alcohol. While the average Korean downs 53 bottles a year, it is just becoming popular in the US and Canada. Made from distilled grains, it has 12 to 25 percent ABV (although there are stronger ones). It’s the best-selling liquor in the world, with 100 million nine-liter cases sold in 2022, which out-sold Smirnoff vodka. This is a popular drink in cities across North America and named after the company whose employees made it so.

Ingredients

2 oz Soju
1 oz Sprite
1 oz Grapefruit juice
Orange slice

Create

Fill cocktail glass with ice
Pour in Soju, Sprite and grapefruit juice and mix
Add orange slice as garnish

The Paloma

Known as the working man drink, what better thing to drink this weekend? It’s believed the drink was named after the 1860s folk song “La Paloma,” Spanish for “the dove.” And who doesn’t need a little peace after a long day’s at work?

Ingredients

2 oz tequila
1/2 oz grapefruit
1/2 oz soda

Create

Fill rocks glass with ice
Combine ingredients in glass, stir
Enjoy

The Godfather

“I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse, a delicious, strong drink which will make you forget about the fall. The Godfather can deliver the goods with its namesake cocktail. It peaked in the 70s and 80s, but still delivers the goods.

Ingredients

2 ounces blended scotch or bourbon
1/4 ounce amaretto

Create

Fill a mixing glass 2/3 full of ice. Add the scotch and amaretto and stir until well-chilled.
Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.

Sip into the weekend with these drinks and have a great time.

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Bloody Maria

The Best Simple Tequila Cocktails

Published

4 months ago

May 5, 2024

admin

Perfect for Cinco de Mayo, weekends, long lunches and just to enjoy while hanging out…tequila will treat you right!

Tequila is very popular for good reason…good tequila can treat you right. 2021 was its year when it passed whiskey as the second most popular liquor. It only stands behind vodka. Celebrity tequila’s have been a huge help with George Clooney selling his Casamigos brand for $1 billion.

If you are thinking about staying in swimsuit shape, tequila is your friend – chilled and straight up is great. At 97 calories a shot, its is one of the best to drink. And it has 0g of carbs, 0g of fat per serving, and 0g of saturated fat.

So to celebrate its success, here are the best simple tequila cocktails. And for your information, all tequila is mezcal. The term mezcal refers to spirits made from the agave plant, while tequila refers to a specific type of mezcal that can only be made from blue Weber agave in five Mexican states. Reposado tequila stays in the barrel for a duration of 2 months to a year, depending on the flavor profile a distiller is looking to achieve.

Margarita — Photo by Flickr user slgckgc

Paloma

This is a classic simple cocktail to make you happy. The oragin is a bit murky but is generally credited to Javier Delgado Corona, owner of the oldest bar in Jalisco – La Capilla. More importantly – you will be just thankful for this drink and it its refreshing feeling.

Ingredients

2 ounces tequila
2 ounces fresh grapefruit juice, plus wedges for garnish
2 ounces sparkling water
½ ounce lime juice
¼ ounce agave nectar or simple syrup, or to taste
Coarse sea salt, for the rim of the glasses
Ice

Create

Salt the rim of the glass by rubbing a grapefruit wedge around the edge and dipping it onto a small plate of salt.
Mix the tequila, grapefruit juice, sparkling water, lime juice, and agave nectar into the glass. Fill the remainder of the glass with ice. Adjust sweetness to taste. Garnish with grapefruit wedge.

Mexican Mule

The Moscow Mule is a go to for some…but what about a warmer more flavorful replacement?

Ingredients

1 ½ oz. Tequila Silver or Reposado
1 lime wedge
1 wedge pineapple
4 oz. ginger beer

Create

Combine the lime wedge and pineapple (if using) in the bottom of a chilled glass or moscow mule mug
Muddle the lime with the pineapple
Add tequila and stir
Add ice and top with the ginger beer

Bloody Maria

While it is credited to have been created as a Bloody Mary alternative, it truly appeared on the scene in the 1940s. Bartender Fernand Petiot is credited with

Ingredients

Tequila Reposado or White
Mexican hot sauce
Celery salt
Black pepper
Tomato juice
Lemon juice
Worcestershire sauce
Horseradish
Celery salt
Black pepper

Create

Chill the tomato juice/mix and tequila first
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker without ice
Strain and if time, chill. Straining removes the chunks of horseradish from the drink
Rim the glass and garnish
Serve over ice with the garnishes of your choice.