Strawberry Balsamic Smash

Some time ago Adam and Josh came over and we watched Elvira and had these drinks. They were a little weird, but it was a fun experiment. Elvira, of course, was fabulous.

Strawberry Balsamic Smash from Serious Eats:

Serves 1

For the strawberry syrup-

2 c. strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/3 c. sugar

3” piece of lemon peel

For the cocktail:

4 strawberries, hulled

1 round slice of lemon, cut in half

1 oz. strawberry syrup

½ oz. balsamic vinegar

2 oz. bourbon

Garnish: additional strawberry

To make the syrup, combine the strawberries, sugar, and lemon rind in a saucepan. Cover and let sit for 1 hour at room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Once the sugar has dissolved and the strawberries have released their liquid, bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring gently, until the berries are tender, about 3 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the strawberries to a pint jar. Continue simmering the syrup until it thickens to a syrupy consistency, about 2 minutes. Discard lemon peel and pour syrup over berries. Let cool to room temperature, then store in the fridge for up to 1 month.

To make the cocktail: muddle 4 strawberries and the lemon in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice, then add the strawberry syrup, balsamic and bourbon.

Shake vigorously. Using both the cocktail strainer and a fine mesh strainer, strain the cocktail into a glass. Garnish with a strawberry.

The strawberry syrup was the winner here. I’ll definitely do that again.

Hot Toddy

Something magical happened to me recently. I started liking whisk(e)y. Mostly bourbon, actually, but also other whisk(e)ys. Anyway, this means that some drinks are even more wonderful. It used to be that hot toddies were the only way I could stomach whiskey. Now I love them just that much more and even though it stopped being ridiculously cold out here in Portland, I had to have one this past weekend. I am fortunate enough to have fantastic friends and one of them came up for Thanksgiving and left a bottle of Maker’s Mark. And that’s how I got my hot toddy, which is doubled from the original recipe I found here.

Hot Toddy from drinkstreet.com:

Makes one fantastic beverage

3 oz. whiskey
2 oz. honey
2/3 oz. lemon juice
6 oz. hot water (or tea, if you feel like it)



Stir honey and lemon juice into hot water, allow it to cool slightly, and add the whiskey. Garnish with a cinnamon stick. Enjoy and be warm.

Pineapple Sangria

Finally! The last party post from my birthday party that was over a week ago.

What party would be complete without some sort of fabulous cocktail? I first made this sangria blanca last summer and it was so delicious, I had to do it again for my birthday party. Because I knew I was making pineapple salsa, I decided buying a whole pineapple was the way to go. Half for the salsa and the other half for the sangria. Perfect. This is fairly easy to throw together, especially if you just buy pineapple chunks, but even with a whole pineapple it’s not too difficult and the results are well worth it.

The original recipe, found here, calls for pineapple soda. I took a hint from the comments on said recipe and went for lemon-lime soda instead because I don’t know if I’ve ever seen pineapple soda and if I have, it was probably in Europe, which is not exactly helpful. If there isn’t enough fruit in here for you, find some other melon or something tropical and toss it in. Last summer saw the addition of watermelon along with the orange and pineapple. Go crazy! It’s sangria!

Pineapple Sangria from Cookie via epicurious.com:

Makes 8 servings and some very happy people

3 c. pineapple juice
1 bottle dry white wine, such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc
1 c. brandy (pear brandy is nice but not required)
½ ripe pineapple, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup lemon-lime soda
1 bunch fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 orange, sliced



In a pitcher, combine the juice, wine, brandy, pineapple, and soda with ice and stir. Pour into large wineglasses and garnish with the mint and orange.

Crisp Cinnamon Apple

To celebrate this New Years Eve, I decided to create a cocktail. It's based on wanting something sparkly because it's NYE and wanting something boozy...because it's NYE.

Here's what I did:

3 oz. hot cinnamon schnapps
Enough sparkling apple cider to fill glass
Crushed ice

Fill most of champagne flute with crushed ice. Add hot cinnamon schnapps. Fill glass with sparkling cider. Enjoy!



Happy 2009!

Chai Martini

In 2005 I was subscribed to Jane magazine and while most of it was kind of “eh”, there were some highlights, including this chai martini recipe. I’ve been casually looking for Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur since then. Today I went out in our actual snowstorm and got it. Now I’m inside, warm and happy and drinking this amazing cocktail.

The “I’ll Be Bombed for Christmas” Chai Martini from Jane Magazine (Dec. 2005):

2 oz. vodka
2 oz. Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur
Splash of milk (I used soy)



Pour all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice and shake. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Now, as Jane mag says, go help your mother.