An interesting tidbit popped into my inbox from USA Pears the other day, all about using fresh pears in cocktails. Some of the recipes look fantastic, and I’m always up for trying new recipes. These sound amazing. These are the first two that caught my eye, and you can find more at the USA Pears site.
Millionaire Pear
By Louis Bustamente, Vallejo, California
The Bartlett’s quintessential pear flavor is enhanced with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice while vanilla and mandarin flavors provide further complexity and depth. A dash of finely ground black pepper finishes the drink with a subtle smoky heat.
Ingredients:
Granulated sugar
1/4 USA Bartlett pear, sliced
1/2 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
3/4 oz pear liqueur, such as Clear Creek Pear Brandy or Aqua Perfecta Pear Eau de Vie
3/4 oz vodka
1/4 oz vanilla-infused simple syrup (see recipe below)
Mandarin blossom vodka, such as Hangar One or Absolut Mandarin
Ice
Finely ground fresh black pepper
Mix:
Dip the rim of a chilled cocktail glass in sugar and set aside. In a shaker, muddle pear slices with lemon juice. Fill with ice; add pear liqueur, vodka and simple syrup. Shake well and strain into the sugar-rimmed glass. Add a float of mandarin blossom vodka and a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper. The Vipera
By Brian Miller, Death and Company, New York
The warmly spiced pear infused tequila mixes well with the deep, fresh herbal flavor of the chartreuse, offering a beautifully hued cocktail with incredible pear flavor. The infusion takes six days, but this pear flavor is well worth the wait.
Ingredients:
2 oz pear-infused silver tequila (see recipe below)
1/2 oz yellow chartreuse
1/2 oz applejack
Cracked ice
Mix:
Pour ingredients over cracked ice and stir. Strain into chilled martini glass and garnish with a thin slice of pear.
Pear-Infused Silver Tequila
3 USA Bartlett pears
1 Granny Smith apple
2 Cloves
1 Cinnamon stick
1 liter silver tequila, such as Herradura Silver or Sauza Hornitos Silver
Cut pears and apple into cubes, leaving peels and cores intact, and place in a large glass container with a tight-fitting lid. Add cloves, cinnamon stick, and tequila. Place lid on container and store at room temperature for six days, shaking periodically. Double strain to remove fruit and spices. keep infused tequila refrigerated.
Each Thursday, fancy mixologists, cocktail geeks and bartenders gather in a chat room and geek out over cocktails. They create new recipes, try and out-do one another and pretty much drink all night. All in all, it’s a pretty fantastic time.
I know this is a day late, but Kaiser Penguin had the wrap up from last night’s mixology chat, and I’ve been meaning to tell you about it for ages now. What prompted me this time was the winning drink, a Cinnamon Basil Smash, which sounds delightful, and I can’t wait to try it. I’ve just got to go get some basil. And make the cinnamon syrup.
Cinammon Basil Smash
2oz gin
1/2oz lemon juice
3/4oz cinnamon syrup
4-6 decently sized basil leaves
ginger beer, to top
Muddle basil with the cinnamon syrup and lemon juice. Fill with crushed ice, add the gin, give it a quick swizzle, and top with ginger beer.
You simply cannot throw a good Halloween party (or show up to one) without the following accessories:
Target has some fantastic cocktail shakers for your ghastly concoctions.
And, if you’ve got beer drinkers coming to your house, what better way to keep their personal brand of booze cold but in an inflatable skeleton cooler? This one’s definitely a must-have, and for only $20! Means it doesn’t matter if your buddy decides the best place for him to puke at the end of the night is into your skeleton’s lap, you could just toss the cooler.
Finally, what Halloween Party is complete without a good drinking game? Pick Your Poison, with a few additional, (fun) rules, could be just the thing:
Batty’s team examined the associations between IQ scores obtained when 8,170 boys and girls were 10 years old and their alcohol intake and any problems when they were 30 years old.
Of the 3,895 men and 4,148 women who reported drinking alcohol as adults, those with higher average scores on childhood mental ability tests were also more likely to have indications of alcohol problems in adulthood. (Image courtesy: Lacey & Cielle, under Creative Commons)
The association between higher mental ability in childhood and adulthood problem drinking became stronger among women than among men after allowing for socioeconomic factors such as social class during both childhood and adulthood.
Specifically, for every 15-point increase in childhood mental ability score, the likelihood of drinking problems increased 1.38 times for women, and 1.17 times for men. [source]
The researchers were rather surprised by the results, which makes me wonder if they’re being just a little stereotypically biased. Because, as we all know, smart people don’t ever end up with any kind of substance issue. (scoff) (hat tip to Duane Storey for pointing the story out and coining the witty title)
Halloween is now about a week away. I still don’t have a costume, but I know exactly what I’ll be serving to friends on Friday night. This is the first of the Drinks After Dark Halloween Recipes - there will definitely be more!
Vampire Juice
In a tall glass with ice mix:
2 oz Finlandia Lime Vodka
4 oz tomato juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh horseradish
Splash of steak sauce (any brand)
Splash of hot sauce
Garnish with eye ball radish
To make ice “eyeballs”. Peel radishes, leaving thin streaks of red skin on to represent blood vessels (see image). Using the tip of the vegetable peeler, or a small, knife, carefully scoop out a small hole in each radish, roughly the size of an olive. Stuff a green olive, pimiento side out, in each hole. Place one radish eyeball in each section of an empty ice cube tray. Pare the radishes down a bit to fit, if necessary. Fill the tray with water and freeze overnight.
Vampire Kiss Martini
1 ½ oz. Finlandia Vodka, chilled
1 ½ oz Korbel Champagne
¾ oz part Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
Rim the glass with red sugar (use food coloring) or drop in a set of wax vampire teeth for a real surprise.
Pour vodka and half of the Chambord in a martini glass, top with Champagne and pour the remaining Chambord over the back of a spoon to make it float.
Candy Apple Martini
1 oz Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
1 oz Finlandia Vodka
3/4 oz apple schnapps
Splash of Tuaca Liqueur
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a martini glass.
Rim the glass with caramel and garnish with an apple slice.
So, y’all in the US have an election coming up I think. I know that it hasn’t been that well publicized, and I suspect that the date isn’t really firm yet. But, speaking as a Canadian who just went through a rather random and kinda useless federal election, I think that this is a candidate you all should consider. Seriously. Mr. Morgan has got his priorities in order.
He’s got all of the major issues addressed:
THE ECONOMY: The Captain feels nothing keeps the party going like a well rested workforce, so he’s calling for five day weekends and two day work weeks.
ENVIRONMENT: While the Captain is all for Green issues, he’d like to ensure the party stays hot, hot, hot and add a little spice to clubs across America.
TRANSPORTATION: The Captain wants to keep citizens safe by asking his fellow Americans to be sure to think ahead and get a safe ride home.
So, while you’re deciding who to vote for, consider about Mr. Morgan. Here’s his campaign video:
I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for versatile spirits, and Tuaca (pronounced Two-aww-ka) fits that bill perfectly. It’s also one of the most difficult spirits to describe. In fact, I’ve gone as far as pulling the bottle out of the fridge, read the back of the bottle and also looked through all the literature I have on it. I’m still not exactly sure how to explain it.
There’s notes of vanilla, orange, brandy, and citrus, and it sometimes has been described as a Grand Marnier type spirit.
Legend has it that the origins of the secret family recipe for Tuaca dates back to the Renaissance. It was apparently crafted for Lorenzo the Magnificent, a patron to Botticelli and Michelangelo.
The Washington Postcalled Tuaca the “new Jagermeister” and said that it’s a “shot of a generation”. This is certainly true - one of the best ways to drink Tuaca is icy cold and either shoot or sip it. However, in my opinion, it’s more complex spirit for just a shot.
When I’ve got all the ingredients in stock, I prefer a “Tuaca Twister” or a “Consigliere” (recipes below) and if I don’t have everything on hand, I go simple and have Tuaca and ginger ale. There’s a million different things you can do with Tuaca though, so experiment. There’s very little that you can’t mix with Tuaca. It mixes amazingly well with Bourbon or Tequila, and provides a soft edge to drinks.
Tuaca has been available in the States for ages, and has recently launched in Canada, which just makes me happy. I don’t know what you’re doing tonight, but I’m going to have dinner, and go get the ingredients for a Tuaca Twister, and if I can find Giffard Citrus, an Italian Sour as well.
Italian Sour
In shaker filled with ice add:
2oz Tuaca
1oz Giffard Citrus Syrup
1oz Egg white
2-3 dash old fashioned bitters
Shake hard and pour into double rocks glass
Pour the Midori into the bottom of a rocks glass. Add ice. Shake tuaca, vodka, soda and pineapple juice over ice. Carefully pour into the rocks glass, ideally, not disturbing (too much) the Midori. Consigliere
In Double Rocks glass muddle orange peel (no flesh) with brown sugar (1/3
tsp) and 2-3 dash old fashioned bitters
FIll Glass with ice.
In Shaker filled with ice:
Add 1.5oz Tuaca
Add 0.5oz Jack Daniels
Stir until very cold
Strain into double rocks glass.
We spent a week in Honolulu last December, and I totally fell in love with the North Shore and surfing. My favourite beer while in Hawaii was Kona’s Longboard Lager, so it’s no surprise to me that they’ve combined two of my favourite flavours - coffee and beer.
Their new Limited Release Pipeline Porter ($9/6-pack - available from September through March) is made from a blend of premium malted barley and freshly roasted 100% Kona coffee. The end result is a smooth brew with a dark appearance that goes as well with a hearty meal as it does by itself.
Kona Brewing suggests that the Pipeline Porter is perfectly paired with hearty soups and stews, roast beef sandwiches, pot roast and mashed potatoes. It’s also a perfect beer on its own, drink it to take the chill off a windy, cold day. (image source: Kona Brewing)
Oktoberfest, the ages old German tradition, has spread it’s wings across the globe, and now it’s celebrated wherever beer is enjoyed! So, try the following recipe, from GermanFoods and enjoy Oktoberfest, at home, anytime of year!
DARK BEER-MARINATED BBQ CHICKEN
This recipe may be halved.
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1/2 cup peanut oil
1 teaspoon German mustard, preferably Düsseldorf-style
1 cup dark German beer
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh basil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 pounds chicken parts
Non-stick cooking spray
Preparation:
Whisk together peanut oil and mustard in a large bowl. Whisk in beer and lemon juice until mixture is smooth. Stir in garlic, salt, pepper, basil and thyme. Add chicken pieces and turn to coat well. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 12 hours.
In a charcoal grill, heat about 5 dozen charcoal briquettes until covered with white ash. Meanwhile, drain chicken and discard marinade.
Use large tongs to push hot briquettes to one side of the grill. Away from the grill, spray grill rack evenly with non-stick cooking spray; place on grill. Place chicken parts on grill rack, on the coals side. Cook uncovered until skin is crisp, about 10 minutes, moving and turning as needed with clean tongs to prevent charring.
Move chicken parts to the cool side of the grill; cover and cook until meat is opaque throughout and juices run clear, about 10 to 15 minutes more.
Serve with mustard and German sauerkraut, such as the Hengstenberg, Gundelsheim or Kühne brands.
For anyone who loves life and the people they share it with. Find advice, information, and observations on exciting beginnings and everyday journeys of families and relationships.
According to a study by Dr. G. David Batty, from the University of Glasgow in Scotland, and colleagues 
Vampire Juice
Vampire Kiss Martini 
I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for versatile spirits, and 
We spent a week in 
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