Drink recipes: Blue Hawaiian – Part 3

The Blue Hawaiian is a cocktail that is a has all the great flavors we love about Hawaii. Of course pineapple, coconut make this drink a favorite of mine. The combination goes together so well, it is hard not to fall in love with this drink.

When you are drinking it, it is hard to tell there is alcohol in it (at least that’s what I think). So it is easy to drink many of these and then realize just how it has altered you until you stand up. SO try to sip it slowly, if that is possible. Here are three different recipes that I have tried myself and love.

Blue Hawaiian ~

3/4 oz rum

2 oz pineapple juice

3/4 oz blue curaao

3/4 oz creme de coconut

Add the ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice.

Shake well.

Strain into a glass filled with ice.

Garnish with a piece of pineapple and a cherry.

Enjoy!

Blue Hawaiian ~

1 Shot Dark Rum

1 Shot White Rum

2 Shots Blue Curaao

2 Shots Orange Juice

Combine the ingredients into a mixer filled with ice.

Shake well.

Strain into a glass filled with ice.

Garnish with a orange slice, cherry, or piece of pineapple.

Enjoy!

Blue Hawaiian ~

1 1/2 oz Vodka

1/2 oz Blue Curacao

1/4 oz Creme de Coconut

4 oz Pineapple Juice

Combine all the ingredients into a mixer filled with ice.

Shake well.

Strain into a glass filled with ice.

Garnish with a piece of pineapple, or cherry. (maybe both)

Enjoy!

If you want to enjoy a great alternative approach to the Blue Hawaiian, mix the ingredients in a blender with ice until slushy like. Usually like 20 second is ideal. Then pour into a glass and garnish the same.

There are many different variations on the Blue Hawaiian, as with almost all cocktails. So trying different recipes is the way to find the perfect one for you. Blue Hawaiians are always a great hit at pool parties!

Drink recipes: Summer vodka

Well ladies and gentleman we all know that when we have a day off to ourselves and the weather is beautiful than ever and we will rather spend our evening in the backyard with a couple of friends I have the most beautiful recipe that will help make the evening even more lovely than before

Citrus Berry Cocktail

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of frozen bacardi limon

1/2 cup of chilled orange juice

1/2 cup of superfine sugar

1/3 cup of strawberry, raspberries, blueberries

1/2 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice

1 lime/orange, thinly sliced for garnishing:(optional)

finely crushed ice

HOW TO PREPARE DRINK

Take the top of each martini glasses and carefully dip only the top of glass into the freshly squeezed lime juice then follow by placing the glass in the sugar repeat this step with each glass, then carefully place a couple of each set of berries into the bottom of the glass. Next you want to pour the Bacardi limon and the orange juice into the cocktail shaker filled with the finely crush ice. shake lightly just to combine all the flavors and pour into the frosted martini glasses. If you want to give the glasses a little decor thinly slice the lime and orange in place slightly in the glass and off the edge of the martini glass

Drink recipes: Vodka gimlet

The Vodka gimlet is a variant of traditional gimlet cocktails. It substitutes the gimlet’s primary gin ingredient with vodka.

The Vodka gimlet recipe requires the use of a cocktail shaker and a cocktail strainer.

The ingredients are:

Ice cubes

1 1/2 oz Vodka

1/2 oz Rose’s West India Sweetened Lime Juice

1 lime wedge

Ice cubes are better than crushed ice for a Vodka gimlet. A certain amount of water will need to accumulate in this mixed drink while you are preparing it, but crushed ice floods it too much.

Some customers will specify which brand of vodka they want in their Vodka gimlets by saying things like “I want a Stoli Vodka gimlet” when they order. People who routinely drink Vodka gimlets typically do not like harsh alcohol flavors. For this reason, this author selects vodkas that are produced with mineral spring water such as SKYY or Grey Goose because of their smooth flavors. For regular customers who really favor citrus, I use flavored vodkas such as Absolut Citron or SKYY Citrus in my Vodka gimlet recipe.

Also known simply as Rose’s, Rose’s West India Sweetened Lime Juice is a brand of sweetened lime juice that is used in many mixed drinks. If you do not have Rose’s Lime Juice on hand you can mix your own using one ounce of lime juice and one teaspoon of powdered sugar in a separate container. Both types of lime juice need to be refrigerated once they are opened.

The use of sweetened lime juice and lime wedge give the Vodka gimlet its unique tart flavor. As a rule, it is important that you have fresh limes on hand if you are going to serve cocktails. Your limes should always be washed, sliced, and kept cool prior to opening your bar.

Once you have selected and gathered your ingredients you are ready to make a Vodka gimlet. The shaker first needs to be filled with 2/3 ice cubes. The vodka and lime juice are then added. Shake this mixture for fifteen to twenty seconds and then allow it to sit.

While the shaken mixture is settling, rub a freshly cut lime wedge along the rim of the martini glass and then drop it in to the glass. Shake the mixture up once more and pour it through the cocktail strainer over the lime wedge.

The Vodka Gimlet is traditionally served “straight up”, or without ice in a standard six ounce martini glass. The martini glass should be chilled with ice water while you are mixing up the Vodka gimlet. If the customer wants her drink “on the rocks” then it should be served over ice in a rocks glass, which also averages 5 to 6 ounces. If the customer wants her drink served “neat” then it should be served at room temperature in a rocks glass without ice.

If the customer specifies that she wants her Vodka gimlet “stirred”, stir this mixture vigorously with a bar spoon once it is in the cocktail shaker. The stirring turns the recipe in to what’s known as the Haacker Special. If lemon-lime soda is added to the above mentioned ingredient list the recipe becomes a Vodka Ricki.

Gimlets are great cocktails for beginners to make, either at home or behind the bar. Always remember that practice makes perfect and to serve responsibly.

How recipes bring back memories

Looking back, I never could have guessed that the one thing that would connect all the relationships I have lost and gained would be pasta. Yes, you heard me right, pasta. We are all creatures of habit to some extent, and I guess it’s not surprising that I would serve the same dish to all of the important women in my life, with various results. As my life progresses, my attitudes and habits in relationships evolve and refine, as does my recipe for penne a la vodka.

Take Kelly for instance. She was the first to eat the penne, which at the time was little more than canned sauce with heavy cream. My relationship skills were no better. I missed all the connections, the small things. It is no surprise then that we failed.

The first serious revision to the recipe came when I was dating Caitlyn. I began using fresh tomatoes and basil, making this what I would call a real recipe. It was the first time I ever lived with a woman. It is a bittersweet reminiscence at best, as it ended terribly, with betrayal and anger. It was however, my first serious relationship.

Then came Molly. We were away from each other for most of our relationship, with me being away for the Army, so I guess that explains why it took so long for us to figure out we didn’t get along. By then, we lived together and had been dating for a year. I never made the penne for her, we became strangers to each other.

The pasta incident was next. Now this was a sauce! I reconnected with an old friend after a decade apart, and many nights we would drink wine at her kitchen table and cook delicious food. Those were great times, and the sauce reflected it. The flavors became more complex, with bacon and a hint of cayenne pepper. We eventually settled on being friends, and are to this day.

Perhaps the most unexpected was Kate though. This one came out of nowhere. The ex-girlfriend of a close friend, and my ex-girlfriends best friend, I never expected to be with her. Things are easy and slow now, and happiness has become a subtle day to day event, unlike the intense but short lived passions of the past. She is a vegetarian, so the ever adaptable sauce has again changed. Caramelized onions add flavor, while butter and Romano cheese lend richness and savor. It is the best sauce yet.

Many of us can look back and see the progress we have made toward being happy and at peace with another person, and I hope that I continue to evolve in this regard. Like recipes, our attitudes and habits change over time, and if we are careful, it can be a positive change. As for the vodka sauce though, I believe I have found the perfect recipe.

An introduction to vodka – Part 1

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE! Vodka is a term of endearment in Russia meaning “little water,” from their word voda’ which means water. Whether it was originated by the Russians or the Polish is a question that is still being debated today. This simple little spirit has been called the closest thing to perfection ever created because it tastes like, well, nothing. It is, almost exclusively, pure alcohol and as such, it rarely causes a hangover.

The first vodkas were much different than the tasteless products of today and techniques for improving the flavor have only been in use since the early 19th century. It was virtually unknown in America and Western Europe until the beginning of the Cold War where it was primarily seen as a dissident drink of the Beat Generation mainly in California. When a Russian refugee named Smirnoff sold a recipe to a U.S. company just before the dawn of WWII, Vodka’s popularity exploded in the West.

Historically, vodka was made from potatoes and other vegetables. The present day varieties are made almost entirely from grains, mainly rye. The grains are malted which causes them to ferment with cultured yeasts and then distilled numerous times in a column still before it is finally filtered through charcoal, which removes any remaining flavors. Specialty vodkas may be aged in a wood cask or imbued with nuts, spices or flowers.

As with other spirits, which found their beginnings in medicinal uses, vodka went on to establish its place in the ranks in the “spirit world” by its use in religious events as well as everyday rituals and customs. Most sources will say that vodka and everything it comes in contact with are best when served ice-cold. While the spirit is often served as is and sipped slowly or thrown back in one shot, there are a variety of combinations that make for delicious vodka cocktails.

Smirnoff offers three strengths of vodka designated by their different colored labels, blue, black and red. Finlandia and Absolut are popular brands from Scandinavia, as is the silky-smooth Stolichnaya from Russia. Zubrowka, or bison-grass vodka, is one of the most popular of the flavored vodkas and usually comes with a blade of bison grass in the bottle. Other flavors include Linonnaya (lemon), Kurant (blackcurrant), Wisniowka (cherries) and Pieprzowka (chili peppers). Okhotnichya, also called “Hunter’s Vodka” is a Russian product infused with ginger root, coffee beans, orange rind, juniper berries and a drop of white port.

Nowadays, vodka sales account for 20% of the U.S. market and almost completely dominate the Russian and European markets. From the ritual washing to promote good health to the famous “Moscow Mule,” from disinfectant to anesthetic, vodka has grown to become one of the most popular spirits in the world. “Little water” has become big business!

Sources:

http://www.the-authentic-barte nder.com/Vodkahistory.html

http://www.barrelsandbottles.c o.uk/acatalog/dont_kick_the_vo dka.html

http://www.cocktailtimes.com/v odka/moscowmule.shtml

Drink reviews: Three Olives Citrus Vodka

You may have seen Three Olives Vodka in Cosmopolitan, People, Lucky, Glamour, Elle or InStyle magazines or at your local liquor store. Three Olives Vodka is one of the leading English Vodkas on the market. It is made using a three hundred year old recipe and Three Olives Vodka is quadruple distilled and quadruple filtered with charcoal filtering. Three Olives Vodka also comes in 13 different flavors. This review is of the Three Olives Citrus Vodka.

Taste

Three Olives Citrus Vodka is said to be “Ultra Premium. Ultra Citrus,” by its makers and that may be a valid statement. The vodka does taste like a premium vodka, not like one of the ones on the bottom shelves at your liquor stores and the citrus flavor is done very well; not too much, not too little.

The citrus flavor in the Three Olives Citrus Vodka is not overwhelming. The combination of the lemons and the limes makes a nice little citrus flavor that accentuates the taste of the vodka and it does not detract from it.

Three Olives CitrusVodka is rather smooth but it is not a vodka that you would want to drink straight without something to take away from the sharpness of the taste of it.

Three Olives Citrus Vodka is definitely a nice sipping vodka. The citrus flavor takes away from the harshness of the taste of the vodka. This is certainly a great vodka to add ice and a lemon or a lime wedge to and sit and sip. The ice will take a little of the harshness away from the vodka.

Three Olives Vodka markets itself as the perfect martini vodka. Three Olives Citrus Vodka definitely makes a great citrus martini. The subtle but satisfying citrus taste really adds a little something to a regular vodka martini and makes for a nice change in pace.

Price

I found Three Olives Citrus Vodka at my local liquor store for $19.95 for 750 ml, but the price may vary depending on the store that you go to. This price is on par with the mid-range priced vodkas like Skyy. Also, until the end of the year Three Olives Vodka is offering a $9.95 mail-in rebate on some of its vodka flavors, so now might be the time that you should try it, if you are so inclined.

Presentation

Three Olives Vodka’s presentation does not leave much to be desired. The slim, elegant bottle attracts anyone’s eye as they walk down the aisle and you will not be ashamed to show off this vodka in your collection.

Wrap Up

I fully recommend giving this vodka a try if you are a fan of citrus flavors. With its decent price and premium flavor, Three Olives Citrus Vodka would be a great addition to any vodka drinkers rotation. Three Olives Citrus Vodka is a premium tasting vodka at a mid-ranged price.

What They Say

“We combined the taste of tart, juicy lemons and limes with our top-rated, quadruple distilled, quadruple filtered vodka for a mouth-watering taste that refreshes the spirit.”

- From the back of the Three Olives Citrus Vodka bottle

Ratings:

All ratings are given on a scale of 1-5 glasses with 5 glasses being the best and 1 being the worst.

Cost: 4 Glasses ($19.95 for 750 ml)

Value: 5 Glasses

Taste: 4 Glasses

Look: 4 Glasses

Overall: 4.25 Glasses

Pros:

Premium Vodka, midranged price

Smooth Vodka Taste

Citrus flavor not overwhelming; adds to vodka

Very good sipping vodka

Looks Great

Cons:

A little harsh as a shot

Has a slight burn

Drink recipes: Strawberry daiquiri

Strawberry Daiquiri cocktails are the slushy of the alcoholic cocktail world and are among some of my favorite fruity cocktails to drink at parties. These rum and fruit based daiquiri delights come in a variety of flavors and the recipes are very versatile.

Suave and sophisticated, the daiquiri is also a fun cocktail to experiment with. Like all good cocktails, the recipe should be simple and inspiring, and this is no different. I’m going to show you how to make a delightful strawberry daiquiri both simply and elegantly. Here’s how:

Ingredients

1 1/2 parts white or light rum.

1 part strawberry liqueur, creme de fraise or strawberry schnapps.

1/2 part fresh lime juice.

1/2 part sugar syrup.

1 1/2 parts strawberry puree.

Crushed ice and an optional slice of strawberry to serve.

Set aside some frosting sugar and some lime juice to decorate the rim of your glass if you desire.

Method 1 – elegant

Take a cocktail glass and dip the rim of the glass firstly into the spare lime juice and then into the spare frosting sugar, then set it aside until you serve your drink.

Now put some ice cubes into a cocktail shaker and add the alcohol, shake it to chill it, then add the lime, strawberry puree and sugar syrup and shake it gently to mix it. Fill your glass 4/5 full of crushed ice and strain the mixture over the ice, serve with a short straw and a slice of strawberry if you like. Enjoy this divine daiquiri but don’t keep it to yourself, these are too good not to share.

Method 2 – simple

Measure a glass full of ice and tip it into a blender and add all the other ingredients at once. If you don’t have sugar syrup you can use a teaspoon (5ml spoon) of fine or frosting sugar, and if you don’t have strawberry puree you can use 3-4 fresh strawberries. Blend the whole lot until it has the consistency you desire and pour out into your glass. Serve with a straw and a smile, you’ve just made one of the best drinks under the sun.

Try different flavors by changing the fruit base and matching liqueur to suit your personal tastes.