Cocktails

Practically Perfect in Every Way – The Mary Poppins of Cocktails

~ Angela ~ 2 Comments

If you read my last post you would know how excited I am about Pinnacle Vodka‘s newest flavor – Pumpkin Pie.  While everyone else was anxiously awaiting the iPhone 5, me and my old LG Optimus were waiting to wander into a liquor store and find that blue bottle with a slice of pumpkin pie floating enticingly on the label.

Find it I did, and it is soooooooooo good.  I’ve been ready for fall since the beginning of June, and now that it is finally near there is no better way to usher in the season than with my Caramel Pumpkin Pietini.  Not only is this one fabulous drink, it is also a tribute to these pumpkin cupcakes topped with caramel butter cream which I just learned today that I will NEVER be able to buy again because the bakery that makes them is closing.  Please pause for a moment of silence while you drool over the deliciousness…

Oh, Pumpkin Cupcakes. How I will miss you…

Sniffle, sniffle.

What better way to drown one’s sorrows than with a nice drink?

Like Mary Poppins, I pulled numerous goodies from my bag of tricks to make this martini.  Aside from the obvious Pinnacle Pumpkin Pie, I knew I was going to use RumChata in this recipe – it’s a rum cream with a nice cinnamon flavor (you have to have cinnamon in your pumpkin pie!).  Since I wanted to add some caramel flavor to the drink I had to look no further than my dwindling bottle of Baileys Caramel.  Lastly, I don’t know about you but I can’t have pumpkin pie without whipped cream on top, so added a splash of Pinnacle Whipped to the mix.  A little half & half to up the creaminess factor, a crushed graham pie crust rim and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice were the finishing touches.

Caramel Pumpkin Pietini

2 parts Pinnacle Pumpkin Pie
1 1/2 parts Baileys Caramel
1 part RumChata
1 part half & half
splash of Pinnacle Whipped
ice
crushed graham crackers/graham pie crust and pumpkin pie spice for garnish

Combine all the liquids and ice in a cocktail shaker and shaky shaky shaky!  Crush graham crackers/graham pie crust and rim glass.  Pour drink into glass and sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice.  End up with this…

Just in case you are wondering, I used these little mini graham pie crusts from Keebler.  I like the taste better than a dry old graham cracker, and the size is perfect.  You get enough crumbs to rim a few glasses without having a ton left over.

We’ve got months of pumpkin weather ahead and I’ve got a pretty full bottle of Pinnacle Pumpkin Pie vodka.  Anyone have any suggestions for other things to mix it with?  I’d love to hear your ideas!!

Name that drink!

~ Angela ~ 4 Comments

Seriously, I need help.  No, not that kind of help.  I swear, I’m not an alcoholic.   The last drink I made was last weekend (Key Lime Martini– yummy!) and I haven’t had one since.  Until tonight.

I had some bananas ripening on top of the fridge that I needed to do something with and lots of rum leftover from the Rum and Coke cupcakes, and since I am off from work tomorrow and Tuesday (woohoo! four day weekend!) I decided to mix up a new cocktail.  It’s really good.  The only problem is that I don’t know what to call it.

Here’s the recipe:

As Yet Unnamed Cocktail

Ingredients:

1  cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk, due to some bizarre adult onset lactose intolerance)
1 ripe banana
1 shot dark rum
1 shot Bailey’s Caramel
1/2 shot Creme de Banana
ice

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

 
And then, after you’ve had one, tell me what I should call it!  I was thinking of all the typical monkey type names…bananas and all that jazz, but I think they’ve all be done.  Then my boyfriend said I should call it BananaFanaFoFana (is that how you spell that nonsense?!).  Cute, but when this recipe goes viral and drunk people everywhere are ordering it at bars that’s going to be quite a mouthful.  “Can I have another BananaFanFo…aww, just make me some more monkey juice bartender!”

So, any thoughts?  Or are you too busy busting out the blender?  ; )

Key Lime Time

~ Angela ~ Leave a comment

I had a bunch of key limes leftover after using some to decorate my Rum and Coke Cupcakes.  It being a Saturday night and all, I decided to make a cocktail.  My new best friend, Pinterest, quickly offered up a recipe for a Key Lime Martini and it just so happened that I had all the required ingredients.

I doubled the recipe so the boyfriend could partake as well, so I needed one shot glass full of key lime juice.  As I stood squeezing my eighth tiny lime I thought to myself, this better be worth it.

It was most definitely worth it.  Creamy, sweet and a little tart.  The only way it could have been better was if I had some graham crackers to crush and rim the glass with.

Key Lime Martini from Sandra Lee on the Food Network Website

Ingredients

  • Ice
  • 2 shots vanilla vodka
  • 1/2 shot key lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons cream of coconut  (I put in an extra tablespoon – I LOVE cream of coconut!)
  • 1 shot pineapple juice

Directions

Add all ingredients to a martini shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a martini glass. Serve.

So I have my drink, I get to sleep in late tomorrow, and Ian Somerhalder has a spot on this old episode of Law & Order: SVU that I am watching.  Aside from the fact that a mosquito just came into my house and bit my elbow (seriously, isn’t there a way to eradicate these spawn of satan?!), life is good.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!  Here’s one for the ladies…

Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder (Photo credit: emz_m)

Black and Bloopy

~ Angela ~ 8 Comments

I never would have thought that a cocktail could look like a bruise, but tonight I have succeeded in creating one.  I don’t know if this is an accomplishment to be proud of, but here it is… the Black and Bloopy!

I bought this lovely little tub of Electric Lemonade Slush Mix from Tastefully Simple.  Add water, vodka (I used Three Olives Loopy) and then stick it in the freezer.  I did this a few weeks ago, and then promptly forgot about it.  Then today happened, and today was one of those days that needs to end with a cocktail.  After I hacked out enough to fill my glass I gave it a taste.  Good but VERY sour!  So I decided to add some grenadine for a little extra sweetness.  The end result was a very good, although oddly colored alcoholic slushy.

This one is pretty easy!  Buy some of this slush mix from your area Tastefully Simple rep (support your local business while you booze!), add water and the vodka of your choice per the instructions on the container and freeze!  When serving, if you want your drink to look like its been in a bar fight drizzle in some grenadine.

Sangria for the Sneezy Soul

~ Angela ~ 4 Comments

Last weekend was perfect.  Sunny weather, an extra day off from work, the unofficial start to summer… Instead of going “down the shore” as we say here in Jersey, I came down with a cold.

When I get sick, I go all out.  I don’t spend a  day or two feeling like crap and then bounce back.  I get bring-in-the-CDC-and-maybe-a-voodoo-healer-for-good-measure sick.  The highlight of every day this week has been bedtime, except for that one night there was a freaking giant spider running around on my bed.  Unfortunately it was real, and not some Nyquil induced hallucination.

So now it’s another lovely Saturday and I STILL feel like garbage!  In order to cheer myself up (and in hopes that some alcohol might kill of the super germs that have taken over my body) I decided to make myself some sangria.

At first I browsed some recipes online but a lot of them required ingredients that I didn’t have, nor did I have the energy to put on some respectable clothes and go to the store.  So I decided to just wing it with stuff I had in the house.

Not only does it taste great, I just LOVE the colors!

I am now back in my Angela-shaped indentation on the couch with my tissues, sangria and a package of Twizzlers that my wonderful boyfriend picked up for me, watching Tough Love New Orleans.  I feel better already.  : )

Summer Green Sangria

Bottle of white wine (I used Smart Cookie Sauvignon Blanc)
20 fl oz lemon lime soda
6 fl oz pineapple juice
1/2 cup melon liqueur
Agave nectar to taste (if you want a little extra sweetness)
Blueberries, one orange, one kiwi

Combine wine, soda, pineapple juice and melon liqueur.  If desired, add agave nectar to taste.  Give it a good stir, then add blueberries, orange slices and sliced kiwi.  Let sit in the fridge for a least an hour to let the flavors combine.  Then…enjoy (preferably in a nice sunny spot on the porch)!