Blair's Blog

All of these recipes are for a single serving, except the Long Island Iced Tea.

Long Island Iced Tea

• 1.5 oz rum (white)
• 1.5 oz vodka
• 1.5 oz tequila (Añejo)
• 1.5 oz gin
• 0.75 oz triple sec
• 2.5 oz lemon juice
• 2 cans cola
• lemon and/or lime slices

Preparation
Pour all the ingredients except the cola, lemon and lime slices into a shaker 1/2 full of ice.  Shake vigorously then strain into a pitcher, add the cola slowly and garnish with 4 to 6 lemon or lime slices. Serve in highball glasses over ice. Makes 3 or 4 servings.

Notes
Alternatives include substituting 1/2 the white rum for spiced rum or using tequila reposado, to adjust the taste.

Firefly

• 2 oz vodka
• 4 oz grapefruit juice
• 1 oz grenadine

Preparation
Pour the vodka and grapefruit juice into a shaker filled with ice. Stir well. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Add the grenadine. Stir again or allow the grenadine to float up from the bottom.
Notes
Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice works really well, a half grapefruit yields about 4 oz juice. Maybe I’m unsophisticated, but I usually just shake the vodka and grapefruit juice rather than stirring.

Foghorn

• 2 oz gin – London Dry or, for a more traditional drink, Old Tom
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• ginger ale or ginger beer to fill
• lime wedge for garnish

Preparation
Pour the gin and lime juice into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass. Stir well. Top with ginger beer or ginger ale. Stir gently. Garnish with a lime wedge and stir stick.

Ruby Rum Sunrise

• 2 oz rum
• ½ oz sour mix
• 1-½ oz ruby red grapefruit juice
• ½ oz grenadine

Preparation
Pour the rum, grapefruit juice and sour mix into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice. Pour grenadine on top until it covers the bottom of the glass.

Sea Breeze

The Sea Breeze is one of a family of vodka and juice mixed drinks. There are a few drinks that can be easily confused with the Sea Breeze: the Greyhound is grapefruit juice only, the Bay Breeze is pineapple and cranberry juices, and the Cape Codder is cranberry juice only.

• 1¾ oz vodka
•  3 oz cranberry juice
• 1 oz grapefruit juice
• grapefruit slice for garnish

Preparation
Pour the vodka and cranberry juice into a highball glass with ice cubes.  Stir well.  Top off with the grapefruit juice and garnish with the grapefruit slice.

Singapore Sling

• 1-½ oz gin
•  1 oz lemon juice
• ¼ oz sugar syrup
• 1-½ tsp powdered sugar
• 2 oz club soda
• ½ oz cherry brandy
• lemon slice for garnish
• maraschino cherry for garnish

Preparation
Pour the gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup and powdered sugar into a shaker with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass with ice cubes. Pour in the club soda. Float the cherry brandy on top by pouring it over the back of a bar spoon. Garnish with the lemon slice and cherry.
Notes:
If you like this cocktail, the Gin Sling or the Zanzibar are apparently similar
Notes (2): I found this recipe for a modern interpretation of the Singapore Sling, it’s easier and I like it better:

Modern Singapore Sling

• 1 oz Gin
• 2 oz Sour Mix
• 1/2 oz Grenadine
• 1/4 oz Cherry Brandy
• 6 oz Club Soda (1/2 can)

Preparation
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add all ingredients (except club soda & cherry brandy), and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled collins glass, fill with club soda and float cherry brandy.

Summer Cosmopolitan

• 1-½ oz vodka
• ¾ oz Cointreau or other triple sec
• ½ oz fresh lime juice
• ½ tsp simple syrup
• 4 oz cranberry juice
• ice cubes
• (optional) fresh or frozen cranberries (soaked in vodka, if desired)

Preparation
In cocktail shaker, combine vodka, orange liqueur, lime juice, simple syrup, and cranberry juice. Add ice and shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into chilled martini glass rimmed with sugar. Alternatively, rub orange, lime or lemon twist around rim and drop twist into glass as a garnish.  Serve immediately.
Notes
A teaspoon or so of cranberry sauce can be substituted for the whole cranberries. Dole Cranberry/Raspberry Sparkler can be substituted for ½ of the cranberry juice for a lighter taste.

Toronha

•  2 oz Tequila Tezón (…or whatever is in the cupboard)
•  2 oz grapefruit juice
• 1 tbsp grenadine
• ½ oz triple sec
• ¾ cup of ice

Preparation
Pour the ingredients into a blender. Blend well. Strain into a chilled sour glass
Notes
Toronha is derived from the Spanish word for grapefruit, toronja, and the h from the word tahona wheel (instrumental in Tezón’s production).

Le Fizz

•  1 ½ parts vodka
•  1 part St. Germain elderflower liqueur
•  1/4 of a lime
•  2 parts soda water

Preparation
Pour all the ingredients apart from soda water in a shaker and top with ice. Shake hard for about 20 seconds until well chilled, then strain into a chilled champagne flute. Top with chilled soda water add a twist of lime rind.

Whisky Grapefruit and Ginger Sparkler

• 3 parts whiskey
• 1 part honey simple syrup
  • 1:1 liquid honey and cold water
  • Warm in microwave a few seconds to dissolve honey completely
•  2 parts grapefruit juice
•  Ginger ale to taste

Preparation
Pour all the ingredients apart from ginger ale into a shaker and top with ice. Shake until well chilled, then divide into old fashioned glass(es). Top with ginger ale, add a couple of fresh ice cubes and serve.
Notes
This recipe can be easily modified – for a fruitier taste, try adding a splash of lemon juice and orange juice to the shaker and then drizzle a little grenadine into the glass (“tequila sunrise” style) before serving. This version is only a splash of pineapple juice and a tiny umbrella away from being suited for the beach!

Stuff you need:

• Simple Syrup

Easy.  1 part hot water plus 1 part white sugar.  Mix and let cool.  Keep it in the fridge in a sealed jar.  I use a small jam jar.

• Sour Mix

Also easy.  Mix simple syrup 50/50 with lemon juice.

• Shaker

It’s good to have a nice one, but you can make do with 2 glasses, sized so that the rim of one fits neatly inside the rim of the other.  I used plastic cups, but watch that they can handle the cold and the roughhousing!

No Comments »