Thirsty Thursday ~ Coco Vodka Tonic

So Labor Day is coming up fast...and I can't wait to just sit around and DO NOTHING.  They should really call it "No Labor" Day...

I was searching in my refrigerator for some yummy ingredients to mix into cocktails this weekend, and I have an abundance of coconut water (my new obsession) and some bottles of pomegranite juice.  What to do, what to do....

I found this yummy sounding cocktail on a website called Softcup using both of my ingredients...and a few others that we just always happen to have.  They didn't make it with alcohol, but EVERYTHING is so much better with booze!  Check it out!

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Coco Vodka Tonic

Ingredients:

4 ounces coconut water

2 ounces vodka

1 ounce lime juice

1/2 ounce pomegranate juice

1 ounce basil simple syrup*

*To make basil simple syrup, combine 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup of fresh basil in a saucepan and stir. Cover and bring to a boil, let simmer for 15 minutes. Let it cool overnight at room temperature and in the morning strain out the basil. You can store this simple syrup for up to four weeks in a bottle.

Instructions:

1. Fill a Collins glass with ice.

2. Add the coconut water, vodka, lime juice, basil simple syrup, and pomegranate juice.

3. Shake.

Enjoy your Labor Day with great friends and family & some awesome cocktails!!

Alexis

Thirsty Thursday ~ April Rain

If April showers are said to bring May flowers, then with this cocktail, you're going to want to let it pour down!

April Rain

Ingredients:

Recipe courtesy of About.com Cocktails

2oz. Vodka 
1/2 oz. dry vermouth
1/2 oz. lime juice
lime peel for garnish

Preparations:

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.
Shake well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with lime peel.

Enjoy while watching your favorite spring flowers bloom....or to take away the stress of tax preparations!  

Want some more to drink?  Have you tried The Sarasota?

For more Thirsty Thursday tasty treats, hit up my girl Amanda at AntiMom Blog!


Alexis

Thirsty Thursday ~ Chocolate Mudslide Using Leftover Valentine Candy

As a teacher, I received boxes of chocolate candy for Valentine's Day.  Aside from vegging on the couch with my favorite chick flick, I'll never be able to eat all of those wonderful calories!  Why not drink them? 
Thanks to the good folks at Happy Hour Magazine, I now know what to do with all of those chocolates!!



Chocolate Mudslide Using Leftover Valentine Candy


Ingredients:

4 cups of ice
3 oz vodka
3 oz Kahlua
3 oz Bailey's
few left over chocolate candies

Preparations:

In a blender, combine 4 cups of ice with 3 oz each of vodka, Kahlua, and Bailey’s. Drop in a couple of small chocolate candies and mix until well blended.
Line martini glass with chocolate syrup,
pour in drink and ENJOY!



Now I know that this doesn't make the calories go away, but it's just a better way than eating yourself sick!!

For more tasty Thirsty Thursday beverages, visit my girl Amanda at Anti Mom Blog.

Alexis

Thirsty Thursday ~ Eyeball Martini

Goblins and Ghouls and......Martinis.....Oh my! 

I LOVE Halloween!  I love dressing up, decorating, and visiting haunted houses (even though I don't want to go in!).

For the month of October, I will feature a new "creepy" cocktail!  

Bottoms up!

Eyeball Martini

Ingredients: 

3 oz. vodka or gin
Dash dry vermouth
Olive stuffed radish

Preparation:

Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously a chilled martini glass. Garnish with an olive stuffed radish that has been scored to create the "veins" of an eyeball.

Alexis

Thirsty Thursday ~ Pink Salty Dog

A friend of mine is throwing a Quince for her daughter.  She asked me for a pink cocktail that could also be served without alcohol (mocktail) for the teenagers at the party.  I came across this refreshing cocktail/mocktail at KojoDesigns.

This beverage is mostly tart with a dash of sweet, and equally fabulous as a mocktail.

Pink Salty Dog

Ingredients:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
1 T grenadine
1 T Rose's sweetened lime juice
1 T cranberry juice
1 cup ice
2 T vodka (for the over 21 crowd)
coarse salt for rimming

Preparation:
Pour grapefruit juice, grenadine, lime juice, cranberry juice and vodka (for the grown-ups only version) into the pitcher of a blender.  Add ice.  Blend well.

Dip the rim of your glass in grapefruit juice, then into coarse salt.  Pour in the beverage and ENJOY!
 
Alexis

Thirsty Thursday ~ Dirty Martini

I love olives!  They are yummy.  And after soaking in an alcohol bath for a while, they are even better!  That's why a Dirty Martini is for me; alcohol with a pure olive taste.

 

Dirty Martini (recipe from www.Allrecipes.com) 

 

Ingredients

• 6 fluid ounces vodka
• 1 dash dry vermouth
• 1 fluid ounce brine from olive jar
• 4 stuffed green olives

Directions:

1. In a mixing glass, combine vodka, dry vermouth, brine and olives. Pour into a glass over ice. Either drink on the rocks, or strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Alexis

Thirsty Thursday ~ West Side Cocktail

A couple years ago, my sister decided she wanted to do a "girls only" weekend for her birthday.  I didn't even think twice!  


#1 It was my sister's birthday.
#2 It was NYC.
#3 It was girls only. (no kids...yay!)


We had an amazing time!  Shopping, eating, Broadway, and drinking!
This was our favorite drink of the weekend....
We went to Employees Only in New York City where Jason Kosmas (partner and principal bartender) created this yummy cocktail!



West Side Cocktail

From Bar Chef Jason Kosmas of Employees Only- New York, NY
Yield: 1 Serving

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces citrus vodka
• 1 1/2 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 ounce simple syrup
• 2 fresh mint sprigs
• Splash of club soda

Method:
Pour vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup into a mixing glass. Add mint and ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Top off with club soda.

It's kind of like a mojito, but a little sweeter. YUM!
Next time you're in Manhattan, check it out!

Alexis

Thirsty Thursday...Bold Bloody Mary

Ah, the Bloody Mary...
Is it a cocktail, a serving of vegetables, or a brunch staple?  Oh yes, it's all of the above!

This absolutely delicious concoction is one of my all time favorites!  My love for the Bloody Mary began in my college years in D.C.  We would go to a bar called Sign of the Whale.  Each Sunday, this D.C. establishment would tempt me with their Bloody Mary bar.  They would hand you a pint with vodka and tomato juice, then you would take your drink to a bar full of spices and create your own.  Ah, HEAVEN!

Since every one's Bloody Mary is unique to their tastes, I wanted to present you with my favorite flavors.

• Start with about 1/3 of a pint glass with vodka.  And then fill with ice.
• Fill the rest of the glass with tomato juice or V8.
• 1 dash Old Bay seasoning (a nod to my Maryland days...)
• 1 dash Tabasco sauce
• 1/8 tsp. horseradish (pure, never creamed)
• Squeeze half of a lemon
• Add 3 Spanish olives 
• Garnish with celery stalk.

Remember, no two Bloody Marys are alike...just have fun with your spices and your taste buds!
Enjoy any time of day!!


Alexis