Tag: vodka

Cocktail of the Week: Mudslide

Mudslide

I ran Bay to Breakers today. I did a fairly good job considering how little (read none) training I did for the run. When it was all over I left the foggy, cool bay and returned to the sunny central valley and Davis. It was warm, I was hot, and I had a long week of work coming up. The Mudslide seemed like a nice cocktail to drink on the porch as I watched the sun set.

mudslide
The ingredients

Mudslide

  •  1 oz. coffee liquor
  • 1 oz. Irish cream liquor
  • 1 oz. vodka (or Irish whiskey for a McSlide)

Combine ingredients in shaker with ice. Shake thoroughly. Swirl chocolate syrup along sides of a Martini or Hurricane glass. Strain drink into glass.

mudslideThese were delicious but they were also boozy. Or I’m still not hydrated enough after having run 7.4 miles today. I made a Mudslide and a McSlide, the latter has Irish whiskey in it instead of vodka. Both of the cocktails are tasty, they make great desserts, but I preferred the McSlide. The Irish whiskey adds a delicious butterscotch flavor to the cocktail. Both are good though.

 

Cocktail of the Week: Black Russian

black russian

 

The plan this week to was make a Mudslide but after a long week and then a weekend full of reading and being lazy, the thought of mixing more than two liquids together just seemed exhausting. So I looked around for something similar and the Black Russian seemed like it would do.

The funny thing is that I’m not really a fan of vodka or coffee. I was only looking for something simple, but I was pleasantly surprised! Turns out the Black Russian is delicious!

black russian
The ingredients

Black Russian

  • 5 parts vodka
  • 2 parts Kahlua

Put ice into old-fashioned glass. Pour vodka and Kahlua into glass. For a Dirty Black Russian top glass with Coca Cola.

black russian
Dirty Black Russian on the left, the original on the right.

Because the Black Russian was so simple, and I happened to have some real Coca Cola lying around I decided to also make a Dirty Black Russian. It’s just like the original except you top it off with the Coke.The cola helps with the sharpness of the vodka. People are more used to the burn of carbonation than they are with burn of pure liquor going down their throats anyway…

The Black Russian is sweet and bitter at the same time with the slight burn of alcohol on the way down. The Black Russian is a perfect cocktail for… Just about anything. The Dirty Black Russian mellows out the alcohol aftertaste and replaces it with the bite of Coke and the slight burn of carbonation. This was the perfect cocktail to wind down this weekend and prepare for the upcoming work week.

black russian
black russian

Cocktail of the Week: Le Fizz

Le FizzLe Fizz seemed like the perfect spring cocktail. Limes, elderflowers, some vodka all with a little fizzy. Light and easy. Just the thing you need to start a hectic week and to end an simple weekend.

Le Fizz
The ingredients

Le Fizz

  • 1 1/2 oz. vodka
  • 1 oz.  elderflower liqueur
  • 3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
  • 2 oz. soda water

In a cocktail shaker, mix together vodka, elderflower liqueur and lime juice. Add ice, cover and shake vigorously. Pour into Collins glass or champagne flute. Top with soda water. Garnish with lime.

Le Fizz

This was good. I think, depending on the size of the Collins glass, I might want to make it a double in the future. The recipe above worked but it was a little light on flavor. I will admit though that while sipping this I wished I had a poolside to be sitting at instead of getting ready for work…

Cocktail of the Week: Anna’s Banana

Anna's Banana

It’s been unseasonably warm this month. This weekend the weather got into the high eighties! That isn’t very hot, it’s downright pleasant, but it isn’t the weather I normally associate with March but with the May or June. With the weather as warm as its been I didn’t see any reason to wait until the Summer to start making summer drinks. I also happened to have some bananas that were getting ripe and so I started looking for something that would be cool, refreshing, and have some bananas in it. I found Anna’s Banana

Anna's banana
The ingredients

Anna’s Banana

  • 1/2 banana
  • 2 oz. vodka
  • 1 oz lime juice
  • 1 tsp. honey

Slice banana and put into blender. Add vodka, lime juice, and honey to blender. Add cracked ice to blender and blend on medium for about 10-15 seconds. Serve in a chilled white wine glass. Garnish with lime wedge.

Anna's banana

Anna’s Banana was cool and refreshing. It was also very smooth. There isn’t much more I can say about it though. It hardly had any taste at all. I might have put in too much ice or not enough honey? I did notice that when I pored the drink out of the blender there was honey below the blender blade. In the future I think I will use honey simple syrup instead of pure honey; I think it would blend better. For my first blended drink this was kind of a bust. I’m hoping future cocktails will be more noteworthy!

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