Good Morning Darlings!
Did you have the best Christmas with the most fun? Oh, good! Me, too.
New Year’s Eve is less than a week away. Are you hosting? Need some ideas?
Here are a few ideas to get you started with beverages. Tomorrow I will share my crazy easy do-ahead dinner that I used on Christmas so you won’t be stressed out. I would hate for you to be stressed out. Think of it as my Christmas gift to you. Or post-Christmas gift. You know what I mean.
From my friends over at Nielsen-Massey, a WOW of a martini, sure to please all of those with a sweet tooth – and who doesn’t have a sweet tooth? Plus, it has my name in it, so I consider it now my signature cocktail. I have officially claimed it. If you are wondering what Tahitian Extract is, I’m pretty sure it’s vanilla extract, not the extract of someone from Tahiti. Because that would be pretty hard to get.
Nielsen-Massey Peppermint Pattitini
2 oz. Vodka
2 oz. Half & half or cream
1 heaping Tablespoon hot cocoa mix (i.e. Ghiradelli Premium Hot Cocoa)
¼ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Peppermint Extract
½ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Chocolate Extract
½ teaspoon Nielsen-Massey Pure Tahitian Extract (Madagascar or Mexican if preferred)
Ice
Chocolate syrup
Mini candy cane
Add all ingredients except the syrup in a shaker and shake vigorously. Pour into chilled martini glasses. Garnish with a swirl of chocolate syrup and candy cane.
* for a fun twist, swirl chocolate syrup in martini glasses, then place in freezer for 5-10 minutes
** garnish with a sprig of fresh peppermint for more holiday cheer
Serves 2
Yummity yum yum!
Do you have some friends that keep Kosher? Hanukkah runs through the 28th, so if you need ideas for that particular holiday, here you go. Kosher cocktails, y’all!
Shanah Tovah! (Happy New Year!)
1.5 oz Russian Standard Vodka
2 oz POM pomegranate juice (kosher parve)
Splash of lemon juice
Mint leaf
Shake Russian Standard Vodka, lemon juice and pomegranate juice gently over ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a mint leaf or lemon twist.
Shanah Tovah!
Do you have some Sailor Jerry rum hanging about? No? You drank it all? Well, hustle on over to the liquor store and pick up some more because we are about to get busy!
Horis’ Juice – annunciate please. lol
2 part Sailor Jerry Rum
.25 part fresh lemon juice
.25 part fresh lime juice
.5 part homemade cinnamon ginger syrup (1:1:1) ratio
4 part hot black tea
dash of walnut bitters
Boil tea. Add rum, juices, syrup into empty mixing glass. Slowly add tea. Stir. Add dash of bitters. Stir and sip at desired warm temperature.
That should warm you up. Where do you find Walnut bitters? Heck, I don’t know. Ask my buddies over at Our Libatious Nature – those kids know everything about cocktails. Tell them I sent you. I bet this cocktail would cure whatever is ailing you.
In the middle of all these cocktail ideas, I want to share a beverage that my own darling Eric conjured up with Hendrick’s Gin. After our Christmas party, as you might imagine, we are left with a bevy of liquor (hooray!) One night, as we sat by a fire out in the backyard, mixing up as many concoctions as we could fathom (hic!), Eric came up with this keeper. We called it The Shirley Bassey Jackson Franklin Manson. Yes, The Shirley Manson, because it is red and if you drank too many, you might feel like Garbage. Thank goodness Eric called Chioke with the recipe and left a voice mail, because we might not have remembered the next day. Don’t Judge Me!
Shirley Manson, lead singer of Garbage.
The Shirley Manson
2 oz of Hendrick’s Gin
1/2 oz of grenadine
wedge of lime
3 oz of Ginger ale
rocks
Mix, drink, rinse, repeat. Sing a bunch of songs from the 80s with all your friends.
This next libation comes from Atlanta’s very own Ludacris! We love our Luda here in Atlanta! He has just come out with his own cognac and we are whipping up beverages left and right with it. Here’s a fave.
Sunset Boulevard
2 oz. Conjure Cognac
1 oz. orange liqueur
Fresh lime juice
Splash orange juice
Grenadine
Shake Conjure, orange liqueur, lime juice and orange juice with ice, strain. Serve in a grenadine-rimmed glass and garnish with star fruit.
Worried that all these cocktails will give you a hangover? Well, that’s more than likely. But, you could try Bytox, which claims to be a swell hangover prevention patch. It sure as heck can’t hurt. Our verdict? Some felt pretty good after a night of parties, while some of us not so much. I imagine it all has to do with body chemistry. You know, how like when one perfume smells fab on one person, but not so much on another? But, you could try it and you might wake up feeling like a million dollars or 50 Cent.
Either way, I’ll meet you in da club with a bottle full of bub.
xoxo, Patti
Today blogging to 50 Cent – In Da Club