As the weather begins to change, it’s nice to welcome fall with a hot toddy, so I thought: what better combination than bourbon and apple cider? Unfortunately, that turned out to be way too sweet and a little disappointing. I have an old book of cocktails from the 1930s that suggested boiling down the apple cider to syrup form before mixing with the bourbon, and that was a good tout. The apple flavor become much more pungent, and a squirt […]
This is just the cocktail to kick off a buzzy, bubbly party! Martinis pack an alcoholic wallop to begin with, and when you add the caffeine in a little espresso, it becomes a fast wallop. I’ve rediscovered iced coffee this summer, so a delicious and eye-opening coffee cocktail was the logical progression. Dark and frosty, and brightened with vodka and coffee liqueur, you couldn’t ask for a more satisfying summer libation. You definitely won’t be falling asleep on the porch […]
This end-of-season cooler is fruity and light. I think of watermelon as a smoothie fruit, not a milkshake fruit, but this has a tropical flavor that’s enhanced by the strawberries. Somehow the strawberries strengthen the watermelon flavor, rather than adding their own unique taste, and it’s very clean and smooth. This would be yummy at a kids’ outdoor birthday party, or it could be something you want to drink poolside with a little rum blended in to celebrate a more […]
It’s time for another of those unhealthy treats that I cannot resist from time to time. Chocolate sodas. Here’s my rationale for making them: they’re delicious, especially when you use thick chocolate milk, cold-pressed coffee, and dark chocolate and Turkish coffee ice cream to amp up the flavor. To make them less unhealthy, I made them half the size of a standard ice cream soda. They satisfy the craving, but not in a way that fills you with self-loathing afterward. […]
I was wandering in the garden, making mental notes of spots that would need planting in the spring, and was surprised to find my sage plants pushing sturdily through the snow. It was such a surprise to see something green and harvest-able at this point in the winter; this sage, I thought, deserves to be appreciated. Sage makes a particularly aromatic addition to a winter cocktail, so I put this recipe together based on what I had in the fridge. […]
