If you're looking for a cocktail to add to your Winter repertoire, learn how to make a maple Manhattan! This tantalizing concoction consists of bourbon and maple syrup. Although it's served in a chilled coupe glass, the drink is so potent, it's sure to warm you up. Watch the video to get the exclusive recipe from Jason Schiffer, owner of 320 Main in Seal Beach.
Guests attending a holiday cocktail party will expect cocktails, but to ensure that the hostess isn't tending bar all night, serve a pitcher drink or punch or set up a small bar and invite friends to pour their own beverage. Here's how you do it: Select an easy drink recipe, like this one for a bourbon and blood orange blast that's featured here. Write out the directions for the cocktail and set out an ice bucket, cocktail shaker, jigger, and the ingredients. Alternatively, place the blood orange juice alongside vodka, gin, and bourbon. Fill a small pitcher with simple syrup and one can make a blood orange martini or the blast. Remember to place plenty of napkins and fresh towels on the bar.
To get the proportions of the suggested libation, keep reading.
When thinking of Southern cocktails, the mint julep immediately comes to mind. However, for a Thanksgiving celebration, consider serving something a little more seasonally festive. This drink combines bourbon, the South's favorite spirit, with mint, brandied cherries, cherry liqueur, and black tea. Although the ingredient list is somewhat long, the resulting beverage, with its cranberry color and balanced complexity, is definitely worthy of a special occasion. Get the recipe here.
Often spirit grand tastings offer more than even the greatest enthusiast can drink. So at this year's WhiskyFest San Francisco, which boasted more than 260 whiskies in one room, I had to have a strategy. I came up with a brilliant one: ask all the experts pouring the spirits what their favorite Scotches, bourbons, and whiskies are, then go from there.
My favorite tip-off came from the reps at Highland Park and The Macallan, who pointed me to Buffalo Trace to sample the 2010 release of the distillery's George T. Stagg bourbon. This limited-release bourbon whiskey is aged for 15 years, made of uncut and unfiltered rye bourbon, and, at 143 proof, packs more of a punch than your average antiseptic.
But there's a reason why this bourbon, which is only distributed once a year, flies off shelves: it's absolutely spectacular. There was little burn — only smoothness — after I diluted the enticing molasses spirit with some water. I enjoyed the smoky-oaky, full-bodied, caramelly spirit to its last drop. Have you ever tried a high-proof bourbon?
For me, the arrival of September is always bittersweet. Bitter because it's the end of my favorite season; sweet because it's my birthday month and I like to treat myself to multiple celebrations! Since students return to school, September is also a time of getting back to the basics. The weather turns cooler and as we welcome Fall, the grill is retired in favor of more slow-cooked methods. To make the transition more tolerable, we've rounded up the items we can't live with out: here are our must haves.
This post comes from YumSugar Community member Nancyeinhart in the Kitchen Goddess group.
I love bourbon cocktails, but I wanted to try something new.
Inspired by a drink at Zare at Fly Trap, one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco, I mixed up my own Bourbon Crusta, sugar-coated glass and all. It was picturesque and yummy.
To get her recipe, read more.
Aida Mollenkamp's blog and came across two wonderful cocktail recipes. She was celebrating the launch of the Cooking Channel and her new show, Food Crafters. Since they both had cherries, this month's featured fruit, I took a closer look to see what other ingredients the drinks involved. Luckily, I happened to have all of the elements for the cherry sour at home! It's a fruity, well-balanced cocktail with a wonderful complexity that I thoroughly enjoyed. The addition of Campari makes it a delightful aperitif that pairs well with chunks of Parmesan cheese and peppered salami. To give her cocktail a try, check out the easy recipe now.
I've never been lucky enough to make it to the Kentucky Derby, but this year I am attending a Derby party! I offered to take care of the drinks for my friends, knowing exactly what I'd be serving: mint juleps, of course.
It's unclear how this beverage became the official refreshment of the Kentucky Derby, but it's served with great ceremony at the event, and has been since as far back as 1938.
Since I'm pouring the cocktail for a crowd and I don't have the right number of julep cups, I'm preparing most of the drink ahead. Then, I'll set up a self-serve bar with mason jars for a different kind of Southern charm. Get a laid-back take on the Derby classic when you read on.
Though I made cherry bounce as one of this year's edible gifts, I was sure to save a bottle for myself. Delicious on its own, this old-school cordial is also great mixed into classic cocktails.
After sipping a superb cherry bounce old-fashioned, I decided to create a cherry version of the Manhattan, which, in the spirit of the Big Apple, I dubbed the Big Cherry.
It has the same ingredients as the old-fashioned, but in different proportions. For a special touch, try using brandied cherries instead of the usual maraschino. To get the recipe, read more
Recently, I made homemade cherry bounce as one of my edible gifts this year. The liqueur is lovely as an after-dinner cordial, but I also couldn't wait to experiment with other uses for it. PartySugar discovered that cherry bounce tastes great simply mixed with some tonic water or seltzer; it takes on a refreshing, spiked cherry cola quality. But beyond adding sweetness to simple spritzers, cherry cordial also adds a soft, fruity twist to the most classic of cocktails, the old-fashioned. Make the most of cherry bounce when you read more.
