Ichbien

Ichbien

Ingredients:

2oz Apple Brandy

1 oz Curacao

1 Egg Yolk

2 oz Milk or Cream

Fill a mixing glass with ice and add the ingredients.  Shake firmly and strain into a chilled Sour glass.

Look Out Below

Look Out Below 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz 151-proof Rum
2 tsp Lime juice
1 tsp Grenadine

Fill a mixing glass with ice.  Add the ingredients and shake.  Strain into a Rocks glass filled with ice.

Kyoto

Kyoto 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Gin
1/2 oz dry Vermouth
1/2 oz Apricot Brandy
1/2 oz Triple Sec

Fill a mixing glass with ice.  Add the ingredients and shake.  Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice and garnish with a cherry.

Greyhound

Greyhound 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz Vodka
6 oz Grapefruit juice

Fill a highball glass with ice.  Add the ingredients and stir.

Silver Bullet

Silver Bullet

Ingredients:

1 1/4 oz Gin

3/4 oz Scotch

Pour the ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a shot glass. Squeeze the lemon twist over the shot the hang it on the rim as a garnish.

Screaming Orgasm

Screaming Orgasm

Ingredients:

1/4 oz Vodka

1/4 oz Amaretto

1/4 oz Kahlua

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a shot glass.

How to Make a Great Shooter

As popular as shooters are, they aren't for everybody.  In fact, many people think you have to be brave or looking for a blackout to start drinking shooters.  But the truth is there is very little difference between a shooter and a regular cocktail except that shooters are usually sweeter and richer and easier to "shoot" down!  They have many of the same ingredients and exactly the same amount of alcohol as a regular drink.  The only big difference is that you "shoot" it down rather than sip it.  This gets people drunk faster, especially if they drink several in a row.

The trick to making great shooters is to pay attention to the details.  They should be served in a "tooter", a shot glass or small glassware like snifters.  They are easier to shoot down in a tooter but the presentation isn't as seductive as a shot glass, where you can top it with whipped cream or show off layers of color.  You can create your own shooters or you can use popular recipes like sex on the beach or kamikaze.  Any popular sweet drink can be made into a shooter by reducing the measurements accordingly and adding something extra like the whipped cream or by layering the alcohol in the shot glass.  Lemon Drops are popular when you layer the alcohol into a shot glass, floating the Vodka on top and setting it on fire.  But any sweet creamy or sweet colorful drink can be translated into a shooter very easily.

Remember that the secrets to a great shooter are first the presentation, second the glassware and third the ingredients.  Silk Panties, for instance, is a creamy white drink that reminds you of white silk panties.  It is mixed into a shooter or tooter where it has a sexual implication and then the ingredients are peach scnapps and sambuca which give it a provacative smell and taste.  Watch people just shoot these down!

So do you have ideas of popular drinks that you like or that your customers like that you would like to convert to a shooter?  If you come up with a good one, email me at the link on the sidebar and I promise to add it to this blog with a credit and link to your own site or page if you like.

Ramos Fizz

Ramos Fizz

1 oz Gin
1/2 oz Cream
1 1/2 oz sour mix
2 dashes of Orange  juice
1 Egg white
Club Soda

Fill a mixing glass with ice.  Add the cream, sour mix, OJ and egg white and shake.  Strain into a chilled collins glass.  Fill with Club Soda.  Do not stir before serving

San Juan

San Juan

1 1/2 oz Puerto Rican Rum
1 oz Grapefruit juice
1 oz Lime juice
1/2 oz Cream of Coconut
2-3 dashes 151-proof Rum

Set aside the 151 Rum.  Add all the other ingredients to a blender with 3 oz of crushed ice.  Blend at medium speed for about 10 seconds or until creamy.  Pour into a goblet or a large wine glass and top with the 151-proof Rum.

Peach Velvet

Peach Velvet

1 1/2 oz Peach Brandy
1/2 oz white Creme de Cacao
1/2 oz heavy Cream

Fill a blender with 4 oz of cracked ice.  Add the ingredients and blend at medium speed for 10 seconds or until smooth and creamy.  Pour into a rocks glass and garnish with a slice of fresh Peach.

Frozen Fruit Daquiri

Frozen Fruit Daquiri

1 1/2 oz light Rum
1/2 oz sour mix
1 oz fruit flavored liqueur
1 oz Honey
1/2 oz Cream
fresh Fruit

Choose your fruit and then match the liqueur.  Use as much fruit as you like; more for a chunkier blend and less for a creamier blend.  Fill a blender with about 2 oz of ice.  Add all the ingredients and blend at medium speed for about 15 seconds.. or until smooth.  Serve in goblets or large wine glasses.

Peach Alexander

Peach Alexander

1/2 Peach (pared, pitted and chopped)
1 1/2 oz Half and Half
1 oz Peach Schnapps
1/2 oz white Creme de Cacao

Combine the ingredients with 3 oz of crushed ice in a blender.  Blend until smooth and pour into an 8 oz glass.  Garnish with a slice of fresh Peach.

Russian Coffee

Russian Coffee

3/4 oz Vodka
3/4 oz Coffee Liqueur
3/4 oz heavy Cream

Fill a blender with 3 oz cracked ice.  Add the ingredients and blend for 5 seconds or until smooth.  Pour into a cocktail glass.

Center Court

Center Court

1/2 lb Strawberries, stems removed
1/2 pt sweet Cream
2 tsp powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp powdered Ginger
Club Soda

Combine the Strawberries, sweet Cream, Sugar and Ginger in a blender and blend well.  Once creamy, pour into a pitcher.  Add Club Soda and ice.  Stir and serve.

Annas Banana

Annas Banana

1 1/2 oz Vodka
1 oz Lime juice
1/2 small Banana, peeled and sliced
1 tsp Honey

Fill a blender with 4 oz ice.  Add the ingredients and blend at medium speed for about 15 seconds or until smooth and creamy.  Pour into a chilled goblet or large wineglass.  Garnish with a slice of Lime.

Tidbit

Tidbit

1 oz Gin
1 scoop Vanilla Ice Cream
2-3 drops dry Sherry

Combine the ingredients in a blender and blend at slow speed until smooth.  Pour into a highball glass and serve.

Mint Julep

Mint Julep

2 oz Bourbon
6 Mint leaves
1/2 oz sugar syrup

In a collins glass, place the 6 Mint leaves and the sugar syrup.  Mash leaves with a spoon.  Add 1 oz of the Bourbon.  Fill the glass with crushed ice.  Pour over with the rest of the Bourbon.  Stir well and garnish with a Mint sprig if you like.

Spring Holiday Bartending

Spring is a fantastic time for bartending and serving cocktails to your customers. The month of March kicks off with Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras, both famous for parties and drinking. During this holiday season, the popular drinks are usually cajun, caribbean and/or French. The roots of New Orleans also run deep into the south and southeast of the US, adding another dimension to the type drinks you can concoct. Southern Comfort, Bourbon and Tequila are favorite liquors in the south, so serving these should be a hit. Brandy is popular with the French population while Rum is popular with the cajun and island folk. So, use your imagination.

Consider Caribbean favorites like Jamaica Cooler, Jamaica Ginger, Cool Breeze, Apple Grog, Calypso, Coco-Loco, Dominican Coco Loco, High Jamaican Wind or Jolly Roger. French drinks like the French Green Dragon, French 75, City Slicker, Fantasio, French Connection, La Jolla, Sledgehammer, Stinger and Thunder. Southern drinks like Alabama Slammer, Hammerhead, Knockout, Memphis Belle Cocktail, Scarlett O Hara and Sloe Comfortable Screw.

I have found the most popular order on Fat Tuesday is shooters. And there are TONS of tooters that can be served on this day. Consider the Purple Hooter Shooter, Russian Quaaludes, Jell-O Shots, Tequila Shots and Woo Woos to be big hits. All of these concoctions can be a big hit at Mardi Gras or a Fat Tuesday celebration. Check the blog for drinks and shooters tagged for Fat Tuesday.

Fat Tuesday will be here on March 8, 2011 so now is the time to stock up.

Also in March is St. Patricks Day, the Irish drinking fest. The most popular drink served in most bars is simple green beer. This is draft beer with food coloring. Not very imaginative! There are so many green drinks that can be promoted and offered at special prices that there's no excuse for green beer. Not all of them are made with creme de menthe, either. For instance, drinks like Green Lizard, Lollipop, Pago Pago and Save the Planet are all green drinks made with Chartreuse. Green Apple Martinis are green and made with Green Apple Liqueur, although these have been a bit overdone. Green drinks made with Midori include Magpie, Melon Ball, Slimeball and Watermelon. Trojka makes a green Vodka that can be substituted for regular Vodka in common drinks. Absinthe can be used in drinks to make them green but always use Absinthe with care and check the laws in your area; it is illegal in some parts. Sour Apple Schnapps is another choice in place of other Schnapps and Voodoo Tiki makes a lime infused Vodka called Green Dragon that can also be used in place of regular Vodka. This and the usual ingredient: green Creme de Menthe. So your choices are many and there is no excuse to retreating to food coloring and draft beer.

Please see the blog for drinks tagged for St. Patricks Day. St. Patricks Day is on March 17, 2011.

Next month: Easter. May: Memorial Day. Drink ideas and recipes to come.

Holiday Celebrations and Traditional Cocktails

Holiday Bartending

Traditonal drinks are always served at holiday celebrations and this is expected by most drinkers. Eggnog at Christmas, Champagne on New Years Eve. Although it has become the norm to serve large volumes of the cheapest possible Champagne, it was once the standard to serve one or two drinks of the very best you could afford. But none the less a good Bartender can deliver many other exciting and festive drinks to liven up holiday celebrations. There is nothing more tantalizing and profitable than offering your customers or guests something festive but unexpected.

Almost any holiday is an excuse to get creative behind the bar. Red, White and Blue concoctions are big hits on the Fourth of July, Pink drinks or drinks made with Eggs are popular at Easter and green drinks are a staple on St Patricks Day. This year, get imaginative with your holiday drinks and watch your drinkers gobble them up! There are many variations of Eggnog and I am giving a few recipes here on the blog. Cold Weather Punches are a big hit at most parties; I will give some recipes for these as well. For New Years Eve, any variation of the traditional Champagne Cocktail is an exciting offer. I have a few wine and champagne recipes I will give as well. Hot Drinks are another alternative especially if the weather is harsh on the day of the party or event. I have given quite a few recipes for delicious hot cocktails, just enter the term "hot drink" into the search engine for the blog.

Just for fun, I am going to add some drinks made up especially for Halloween and Thanksgiving, although I know those holidays have passed. They will be useful next year. I will tag all of the recipes with the holiday they are designed for so if you are looking for ideas for a specific holiday, just type in the name of that holiday to find those recipes. An example: Christmas. Another example: hot drink. Or another example: punch.

Always keep lots of seasonal treats on the bar. Candy Canes (for stirring drinks!) , Candy Pumpkins, Nuts, Tin Foil Chocolate Drops in a variety of colors and colorful sprinkles for those drinks that are topped with Whipped Cream. Push the sweet, tasty drinks because a lot of people who never drink or rarely drink take a cocktail or two over the holidays and these people prefer less intense cocktails, such as those made with sweets or sugar syrup. Drinks made with Coffee can be popular, too, for the most part because they are warming but also because they tend to keep people awake during the party. And, as always, keep an eye out for someone who is out of control, drinking too much or getting obnoxious. These people need to be removed from the bar to keep them from chasing off your other customers or guests.

During the holidays, stock the bar with Wine, Champagne, sweet Liqueurs, Whipped Cream, Cream, Kahlua, Coffee, Amaretto, Peppermint Schnapps and Baileys Irish Cream, as well as the usual array of popular liquors. Make sure you have Brandy on hand, even if you never use it during the rest of the year. Hot Brandy and Rum Toddies are very popular when it gets cold outside. Buy darker liquors, like Dark Rum, Anjeo, Bourbons, Cognacs, Southern Comfort and other darker colored liquors, which make fantastic winter fare. Shots of liqueurs like Vandermint sell well over the winter holidays.

Hot chocolate mix should always be kept at the bar. This is a great basic mixer for standard mixed hot drinks; Vandermint and Hot Chocolate, for instance. It is also a great product to have for those who do not drink alcohol and for young adults who attend the party or celebration. Marshmallows, natural Angelica and Liquorice stems and crystallized flowers are other, more imaginative offerings you might want to consider. You know your guests or your customers better than anyone. Just don't be afraid to get creative and imaginative; the holidays are the best excuse anyone ever has to have a good time.