Firewater Friday - Moontini

I love a good martini.  I'm talking a real, honest-to-goodness martini.  Not one of those floofy cocktails that bars are trying to pawn off as martinis.  

A classic martini is made with a whisper of vermouth and a healthy pour of chilled gin or vodka.  Shaken or stirred - I like mine shake shake shaken, senora.  Served with a garnish of a lemon twist, cocktail onions or - my personal favorite - olives (preferably stuffed with sundried tomatoes, garlic or oh-my-goodness blue cheese).  If I'm feeling particularly spunky I might even throw in a pepperoncini.  

Yup, that's the way I like it.

_____________________

The other day I walked into a liquor store and there stood Jeff Conelius from Onyx Spirits offering samples of - **gasp** - moonshine.  

            Moonshine

 Free Samples

                                           Oh, hell yeah!

So, there I stood with a big, goofy grin on my face accepting a taste of Onyx Moonshine while Jeff explained its characteristics, nuances and attributes.  

It's actually quite interesting. It has a subtle whiskey like aroma.  The flavor is quite unique.  It has some of the taste profile of a good whiskey but way down low mellow.  It also has some of the qualities of a good vodka.  It goes down easy - no burn and barely a bite.  Easy enough to drink straight up or on the rocks and tasty enough to rock your favorite cocktail.

_____________________

The other day I had a bad day.  You know, one of those days where everything is crazy insane and there's a global conspiracy to irritate the bajoopies out of you.  I had one of those days.  By the time I get home from work and I had had enough.  I needed to wind down and relax.

I was thinking a martini would hit the spot.  Then I remembered that I had bought a bottle of Onyx Moonshine from Jeff.  So, I decided to try something different - a moontini.  If it was bad then that would just be the cherry on the top of my crappy day, now wouldn't it?  But if it was good . . . mmmm.

Here's how I make a nice dry martini and I make a kickin' martini!

You'll need a chilled martini glass and a cocktail shaker filled with ice.  

Fill the glass 3/4 full of gin or vodka - or Onyx Moonshine, in this case.  

Pour the our the gin or vodka or moonshine into the cocktail shaker.  Set a side.

Pour 2 or 3 drops of dry vermouth into the cocktail glass.  Swirl it around the inside of the glass and dump it out.  You don't want the martini to be overpowered by vermouth - just the slightest taste.

Skewer olives onto a toothpick and place into the martini glass.

Now turn your attention back to the cocktail shaker.  Cover it and shake, shake, shake vigorously.  Then strain the icy cold liquid awesomeness into the glass over the olives.

Cheers!  Enjoy!

How did I like my moontini?  Good.  It's different, for sure.  But, definitely, good.   

I felt a little like Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce  from M*A*S*H* sipping a martini from his homemade still while lounging on his cot reading a copy of Nudist Monthly - sans the dirty magazine.  

Firewater Friday - It's Sexy Thyme

It's Sexy Thyme

2 1/2 Ounces Gin
1 Ounces Thyme Simple Syrup
2 Ounces Tonic Water
1/2 Lime, Juiced
Candied Thyme Sprigs (Garnish)

Thyme Simple Syrup
1 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Water
8 Sprigs Fresh Thyme

Candied Thyme Sprigs
Fresh Thyme Sprigs
1/4 Cup Thyme Simple Syrup
1/2 Cup Sugar


Start by making the thyme infused simple syrup.  Combine ingredients in a small pan and bring to a light simmer. Simmer for two minutes, then remove from heat and let cool slowly to room temperature.

Strain out thyme sprigs from syrup and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Then make the candied thyme sprigs by dipping whole sprigs in simple syrup and then toss with sugar. Let dry for at least thirty minutes before using as a garnish.

To make the cocktail: add gin and simple syrup to a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds.

Pour cocktail into a tall glass and top with tonic water. Garnish with candied thyme sprigs.

Print Recipe

Firewater Friday - Strawberry-Basil Martini

Strawberry Basil Martini

A lovely, elegant cocktail.  Delicious in it's complexity yet so easy to make.

3 Strawberries, Plus One For Garnish

3 Basil Leaves, Plus One Or Two For Garnish

1/2 Ounce Simple Syrup

Ice

1 Ounce Gin, Preferably Tanqueray No. Ten

1 Ounce Vodka

1/2 Ounce Fresh Lime Juice

To make simple syrup combine equal parts granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the strawberries with the basil leaves and simple syrup.

Add ice and the remaining ingredients and shake well.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with strawberry and basil leaves.

Print Recipe

Firewater Friday - Beer makes men smarter

I heard on the news that there was a study that was done by the University of Illinois that revealed that beer makes men smarter.  Well, if that was the case then my hubby would be a freakin' genius.  Oh wait . . . his is (really he is) !  Hmmm . . . that certainly explains a lot.

The study explains that drunks . . . I mean men . . .  that have imbibed a few brewskies do better at solving brain-teasers than their soda drinking buddies.

40 men were given a series of analytical word puzzles to solve.  Half of those men had been given a couple pints of frothy goodness and the other half were told to go pound sand. 

To the surprise of many . . . the lushes were not only able to solve 40% more of the puzzles but did it 25% faster!  Go beer hounds!! 


The study went on to show that even though the bacchanalian beer buddies were better at solving creative puzzles their memories were actually worse than their stone cold sober compatriots.


Well, you can't have everything.

Godiva White Chocolate Mint Martini

1 Ounce Godiva Liqueur

3/4 Ounce Smirnoff Vodka

1/2 Ounce White Crème De Menthe

Combine Godiva Liqueur, vodka and crème de menthe in cocktail shaker with ice.  Stir.  Pour into cocktail glass.

Firewater Friday - Happy hour is a nice gesture not a challenge

On my way home from work the other the day I saw a sandwich board outside a local bar advertising “Happy Hour”.  I couldn’t help but notice that the hour was actually hours . . . from 4 to 7.  I guess that bar operates in some sort of time warp or some other such spatial anomaly.

While I was pondering the possible effects on humans of the disruption of the space/time continuum in this particular drinking establishment, my thoughts wandered to speculate as to the origins of happy hour (or hours).

Surprisingly . . . or maybe not so much . . . I discovered that happy hour began as a naval thing.  In the 1920’s stressed out, overworked sailors had time set aside to blow off pent up energy.  Often by participating in or spectating at a boxing match and . . . of course . . . knocking back a few brews.  This became known as their happy hour.

Back on land . . . no one is going to tell Americans they can’t have a martini (or three) before dinner.  So with the enactment of the Volstead Act . . . you know, prohibition  . . . happy hour came to be the hour before dinnertime where in the secretive speak-easies folks would imbibe a cocktail (or three) before partaking their evening meal.

At least nowadays we don’t have to sneak around or risk incarceration to unwind after a busy day; unless you live in Massachusetts where there is an outright ban on happy hours.  In this nanny state . . . or one of the 26 other United States that have similar laws in place . . . the public saw happy hours as a threat to increase drunken driving because of the low priced drinks being offered early in the day.

On a side note . . . Ireland and Scotland have comparable regulations.  No cheap drinks for our mates across the pond either.

Cheers!

Weerd's Cobalt Martini


A seriously good concoction!!


1/2 Measure of Lillet Blanc
1 Measure of Blue Curacao
and 3 Measures of Gin. 


Use Good gin, but there are a lot of flavors at work here, so you don’t need your best gin, Beefeater is 100% acceptable.











Garnish with Preserved Lemon (recipe as follows)

Quick Preserved Lemons

Preserving lemons typically takes 4 to 6 weeks to acquire the right consistency and flavor. However, this quick method bypasses the lengthy preservation time and is a great substitute for the real thing. Use the rind to accent a variety of dishes, from seafood to vegetable stir-fries  . . . or as an awesome martini garnish

1 Cup Water

2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt

2 Lemons, Washed And Quartered

Combine water and salt in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.  Add lemons; cook 30 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup and lemon rind is tender.  Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.