Tag: alcohol

  • Strawberry Bourbon Lemonade

    strawberry bourbon lemonade

    Strawberries are starting to show up here, reminding me why I chose to move to the Southern hemisphere just in time for spring. I couldn’t resist buying some up and concocting this cocktail for the increasingly hot days. Nothing like sitting on the balcony, sipping on this dangerously tasty drink, and wishing the pool below was for this apartment building instead of the next one over. I’ve been feeling nostalgic for bourbon, so that’s what I used, even though the bottle of Jack Daniels was pricey. Selection’s limited around here (the Argentine imitations are, frankly, not even close). But this recipe can be adapted to whatever liquor you have on hand, and cheap liquor works just fine, so save your high quality stuff for drinking straight. Ginger mint simple syrup was ready and waiting in my refrigerator, and the flavors are great in here, but, again, feel free to adapt – plain simple syrup will do just fine, or if you have another fancy infused one around, use that. If winter’s approaching where you are and strawberries aren’t in season, the drink’s tasty without them, and it’s a great prop for pretending you’re someplace warm, to boot.

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  • Habanero Infused Mezcal

    habanero infused mezcal

    I’ve recently become obsessed with mezcal. Similar to tequila, mezcal is made with agave, but the plant is roasted before distillation, lending a pleasantly smoky flavor to mezcal that is missing from tequila. Since I happen to love the flavors that are usually paired with tequila (lime and salt? Orange juice and grenadine? Yes, please!) and also anything smoky (bacon, good barbecue, smoked cheeses, smoked salt – all irresistible to me), it’s really not all that surprising that mezcal has grabbed my attention. Of course, I couldn’t resist taking things a step further and infusing my mezcal with habanero peppers for a spicy punch on top of the smokiness. The result is amazing with anything fruity although definitely not for those without a high spice tolerance. My habaneros may have been extra spicy (or maybe this was because I opted to only infuse half of my bottle of mezcal rather than the whole thing), but I actually needed less than 24 hours to reach a level that tested my (rather high) limits. So be careful to keep tasting the mezcal as it infuses so it doesn’t get too spicy. This technique can, of course, be used with tequila instead of mezcal and with different peppers instead of habaneros (although I like the fruity and citrusy notes they lend).

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