Rosemary simple syrup

Thanks, Braden, for this idea.

Rosemary simple syrup:
Add 1 C. sugar (white works better than raw)
to 1. C water
and add 6 fresh rosemary sprigs (rinsed)

Bring to a boil & dissolve sugar into water. Let simmer for another minute or so. Then take the pot off the burner and let it sit for a good 20 minutes. Remove rosemary sprigs and any stray rosemary.







I used this to make rosemary lemonade for summer beer. I wish I could give you the recipe, but I was eyeballing. Something like the juice from 10 lemons with some of the pulp, maybe 1/4 cup of this rosemary simple syrup (more to taste?) and a 1/4C - 1/2 C water (or you can use 3/4 can of lemon sparkling water), almost all of a Corona Light and a 1/2 C. vodka or so. Just mix these things, adding more of some stuff or other until it tastes good. :) Oh, and serve over ice.

Moscow Mule

So since we had those ingredients, I've also whipped up another favorite drink of mine. Much simpler, no shaking involved. If I remember from my days as a bartender, this is called a Moscow Mule.

Ingredients:

Ginger Ale

Citrus Vodka

Cointreau (again, sub Triple Sec, Gran Gala or Grand Marnier)

A Lemon

Directions:

Pour 2 parts ginger ale, 1 part citrus vodka, and 1/2 part Cointreau over ice. Squeeze the juice of 1/4 lemon into the drink and give a little stir (I use my finger). Drop the lemon wedge in there if you wanna. Drink. Repeat as needed. 

Lemon Drop Martini

Melissa had a brilliant idea last week to hang out and watch the Grammy's with a few drinks. I grabbed a few ingredients and we whipped these up. Then we whipped up a couple more last night for Valentines day. I considered whipping up one for myself today (you know, to celebrate lunch) but thought maybe that would be too much.

(You'll need a cocktail shaker for this)

Ingredients:

Citrus Vodka (I like Absolut or Skyy)

Limoncello

Cointreau (Triple sec would also work, as would Gran Gala or Grand Marnier for those of you who are a bit more 'fancy-pants')

Lemons

Sugar

Directions:

1. Cut the lemon into circles and slice one of the circles down the middle, almost cutting it in half. 

2. Pour some of the sugar onto a small plate. Take the sliced lemon circle, rub the inside around the edge of a martini glass, and then press the glass rim into the sugar on the plate. Hang the lemon circle on the edge of the glass for garnish

3. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice, add 1 part citrus vodka, 1 part limoncello, and 1/2 part cointreau. Take the rest of the lemon and squeeze it into the shaker.

4. Pop the lid on your shaker and shake vigorously. If you've got a metal shaker, shake until it becomes too cold to hold comfortably. If you have a plastic shaker, shake until the mixture is cloudy. 

5. Strain into your martini glasses and drink 'em. 

Side note - I grabbed some black grapes to serve with this, and it was delicious. I made a garnish out of them, too. I took a toothpick, ran it through one edge of the lemon circle, jabbed it through the grape, and then put it through the other edge of the lemon circle. (it's hard to explain with words). An easy way would be to just drop a grape or two into the bottom of the glass so it gets cold and lemony and boozy. 

The Varley Margarita

I mentioned a margarita, and people ask me for this "recipe" all the time. I credit it to Anna Varley. My first year in grad school, I went to a party at Anne's house. Anna was going to make margaritas, but got distracted by something and asked us to do it. "What do I do?" "Pour in one bottle of tequila, one bottle of triple sec, and then squeeze these limes into it," she said, handing me about five limes.

oohhhhhhhkay.

I remember trying to drink the first one and thinking it was awful.

That's one of the last things I remember clearly. I have fuzzy visions of Anne singing "Love is a Battlefield" into a broomstick, and Anna teaching us how to shake our asses, Latin-style, in the livingroom. 

So Anna Varley gets the credit for this one and it is so named, in her honor, the Varley margarita. Despite my first "it was awful," it turns out this is one of my favorite drinks. I rarely get a margarita as good as this. It is, by the way, on ice. None of that blended stuff.

You'll need

tequila

triple sec

limes

ice

When I make this by the glass, I tend toward

2 shots tequila

2 shots triple sec

1 fresh lime, squeezed 

I very much like my hand juicer -- just a little plastic deal you can pick up from Walmart, Target, or a cooking store. It gets A LOT of juice out. If you're having people over, buy at least 9 limes.

I don't tend to make these by the pitcher -- I think they're better by the glass -- but I'm guessing it's somewhere around 

2 parts tequila

2 parts triple sec

1 part fresh lime juice

You can make it with not-fresh (bottled, or in that tiny lime-shaped thing) lime juice, but honestly, it's not nearly as good.

Somebody JUST asked me for a tequila recommendation, and my favorite right now is Hussong's. It's in a little black jug. About $38 bucks a bottle or so. 

Limoncello

Hey, all. I'm posting this because John and I are making a batch of it right now. It's fantastic. I use 100 proof vodka because, according to various sites, the higher the proof, the less flavor the vodka has.

It makes this viscous, lemony, potent alcohol that can be sipped straight or mixed with tonic/sparkling water.

C/ped from the Washington Post, with notes from me:

Limoncello

Makes about 3 1/4 quarts. Those who are lucky enough to receive this homemade lemon liqueur should keep it in the freezer, where it turns a milky white after 8 to 9 hours.

20 large lemons, preferably organic (yes, organic) (get bigger lemons with thick skins)

Two 750-milliliter bottles grain alcohol (I used 100 proof Smirnoff)

5 1/2 cups water

6 cups sugar

Wash and dry the lemons. With a paring knife, remove the ends. With a vegetable peeler, remove only the yellow rind, leaving the pith intact. (This is serious business about the pith. The peels can't have any of the white stuff on them as it will make the limoncello bitter.) (You're going to have twenty peeled lemons at the end of this, head's up)

Place the lemon peel in a 4-quart Mason jar with a rubber-seal lid (I bought mine at Michael's). Add the grain alcohol, making sure the lemon peel is completely covered. Store in a cool, dark place, shaking the jar once each day to agitate the lemon peel. (Once a week is fine.)

On the 13th day (You can go longer, just make sure it's over ten days. The longer you go, the better it will be. Don't exceed a month), bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the sugar and remove from the heat, stirring until it is dissolved. Cover and let cool to room temperature.

Place a colander on top of the saucepan and strain in the contents of the Mason jar. (This part requires more patience than you might think.) Discard the lemon peel. Stir to combine the liquids, about 1 minute. Transfer back to the Mason jar. Store for 3 (2 is fine) weeks in a cool, dark place, shaking to agitate the liquid twice a day. (You'll want to shake it more reguarly because of the sugar, but you don't have to do it every day).

After 3 weeks, transfer the limoncello to smaller bottles that can be sealed with rubber stoppers. Store bottles in freezer. Serve directly from the freezer.

(With two people, the zesting part will take 1.5 - 2 hours. Totally worth it.)

All best, biz