An Apple Drink A Day….

OK, I’m sure having an apple drink a day doesn’t have the same benefits of having an apple a day but they are yummy and with fall here, it’s the perfect time to drink them.

As I’ve said before, I grew up in New England.  Fall was my favorite time of year and I especially loved taking trips to the orchards to pick up a bag of apples and a gallon of fresh cider not to mention apple cider donuts.  Yummmmmm.

Here in Florida we don’t have apple orchards though I do have to admit to being impressed by the variety of apples the do sell here.  I recently started wondering what other kind of apple drinks are out there besides the ever popular apple martini.  I found that there are indeed quite a few and I was impressed by the variety of ingredients used to make them.

One of the first I came across in mulled cider which is popular in New England.  I make hot spiced cider quite often but it rarely occurs to me to add booze to it.  I’ll be remedying that very soon since I only need to add a couple extra ingredients.

Mulled Cider

 











4 cloves (whole)
1 1/2 oz. gold rum
1 cup apple cider
1 tsp. honey or sugar syrup to taste
Dash  Angostura bitters
Cinnamon stick
Pinch ground allspice
Lemon twist

Heat all ingredients in a saucepan and strain into a warmed mug.

This would be great for a fall themed party.  The ingredients can be easily multiplied and kept hot in a Crockpot then everyone can help themselves.

This next drink is a different twist on an apple martini.

Apple Cart

3/4 oz.  Cointreau or curaçao
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1 oz.  applejack or calvados

Mix all ingredients with cracked ice in a shaker or blender and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

This last drink sounded like it might be similar to what Zane Lamprey and Steve McKenna had at the bar they visited on their show "Three Sheets:  Kentucky."  This would be a great drink to have while sitting around a fire…not that I do much of that here.  This recipe makes A LOT so most people will want to scale down the ingredients….or maybe not!

Apple Pie In A Jar

1 gallon apple cider
1 gallon apple juice
6 (3 inch) cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 cups white sugar, or to taste
1 (1 liter) bottle 190 proof grain alcohol (such as Everclear™)

Place the apple cider, apple juice, cinnamon sticks, and sugar into a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, and discard the cinnamon sticks. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, then stir in the grain alcohol. Pour into quart-size canning jars, seal with the lids and rings, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

You can store this in the refrigerator for at least 6 months.

Even though the weather here doesn’t get that nice fall feel, I’m hoping that these drinks will help transport me back to my favorite season in New England.

When Life Hands you Lemons…Add Alcohol!

Before I even moved to Florida, I had a lemon tree.  Well, to be exact it’s a Meyer lemon tree.  My next door neighbor in CT had one she kept in a pot and it actually produced lemons so when I learned that I could buy the same type tree from Williams-Sonoma, I ordered one right away.  I kept it in the house during the winter and on our deck during the summer.  When I found out we’d be moving to FL, I was thrilled that I would be able to plant the little tree in the ground and it would have a chance to grow into a REAL tree.  So, imagine my disappointment when all the leaves fell off it the second we got here.  Luckily, that was only a minor setback.  The leaves grew back and the tree is now in the ground.  We had started to think that it would never produce any lemons but lo and behold, we have about 10 of them on there right now waiting to ripen.  We still have a ways to wait but that hasn’t stopped me from finding new cocktails that I can eventually make with lemon juice from lemons grown right in my own yard.

My go-to lemon drink is the Lemon Drop martini.  I know some people prefer the lemon drop shot but, well, I’m not into shots the way I used to be so I like the drink better.  This drink does pack a punch though so drink with caution. And for heaven’s sake, ONLY use fresh lemon juice…none of that bottled crap!

Lemon Drop Martini

3 oz. vodka (or lemon vodka…homemade is best)
1 oz. simple syrup
2 oz. fresh lemon juice(I lemon)
¼ oz. Cointreau
1 slice of lemon

Rim a chilled martini glass with sugar.  Combine the vodka, simple syrup and Cointreau in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously.  Strain into the rimmed glass and garnish with the lemon slice.

Another popular drink that uses lemon juice is the Bloody Mary.   But I prefer the Mexican version of that drink…the Bloody Maria which uses tequila in place of vodka.  Some versions call for lime juice rather than lemon juice the version I like uses lemon juice.

Bloody Maria

1.5 oz. tequila (I like blanco)
6 dashes of Tabasco (more or less to taste…I like mine SPICY)
6 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch of celery salt
1 pinch of pepper
1 tsp. horseradish
2 tsp. lemon juice
7 oz. tomato juice

Rim old fashioned glass with lemon juice and dip into a back pepper (or you can use celery salt).  Build ingredients and stir with a bar-spoon.   Garnish with thin strips of celery.

This last drink is one I haven’t had in a while but I need to add it to my list of things to make this summer.  I’ll be honest, I like the name more than the drink itself!

Between The Sheets

3/4 oz. brandy
4 oz. light rum
3/4 oz. triple sec
1/2 oz. lemon juice
Lemon twist for garnish

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes.  Shake well.   Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the lemon twist.

So there you have it…when life hands you lemons, add some alcohol and make yourself a drink!

A Honey Of A Drink

This post was originally featured on the Drinking Made Easy site here.

One of the perks of living in Florida is having farmers markets all year round. The prices are so much better than the grocery stores and of course, everything is fresher.  Another perk I discovered was cheap honey.  A local apiary has a booth at the farmers market we go to and the prices are just great.  I can get an almost 3 pound jar of local, raw honey for $11.  Heck, those little bear squeeze bottles cost around $5 at the grocery store and it’s not even local honey.

I use the honey in my tea and in Greek yogurt, mostly.  But recently I was looking at my big jar and I wondered what kind of drinks I could make using it.  So, off I went to search out some new drinks using the awesome local honey.

I am a big fan of Absolut pears.  I think it makes a GREAT Cosmopolitan so naturally, this drink caught my eye immediately.  It doesn’t hurt that it has plums in it either.  They’re one of my favorite fruits.

Absolut Smitten Pears

2 1/2 part(s) Absolut Pears Vodka

1/2 part(s) Plum Diced

3/4 part(s) Honey

1/2 part(s) Lemon Juice

3 slice(s) Ginger

Muddle the plum and ginger together. Add Absolut Pears, honey, a squeeze of lemon and ice.  Shake and strain into martini glass.

Ballylickey Bait

2 oz. Irish Whiskey

Sparkling Water (Cold)

Honey

In an old-fashioned glass, muddle the honey and a little water until it dissolves. Add ice cubes and whiskey and fill with sparkling water. Stir gently and garnish with a lemon peel.

And this last recipe is very refreshing on a warm, summer night.  To me, rum goes hand in hand with summer.

Bee's Knees Cocktail

1 1/2 oz. White Rum

1/4 oz. Lemon Juice

1/2 oz. Honey

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

So, if you can find local, raw honey I recommend getting some.  Not only is it said to be good for helping allergies, it makes one heck of a drink too!

Put The Lime In The….

The original version of this post was published on the Drinking Made Easy site here.


A couple years ago, my husband and I bought a lime tree.  Last spring, it bloomed fairly heavily but given my luck with my Meyer lemon tree, I didn’t get too excited.  I figured maybe we would have a handful of limes and we’d have better luck the next year when it was more established.  Well, I was wrong.  We ended up with more limes than we knew what to do with and I was getting pretty sick of mojitos, daiquiris and fresh made margaritas.  So I hit Google to find other libations that used fresh lime juice.  This year, we have even MORE so there may be a part 2 of this post in the future!


One of the first drinks to pop up brought me back to being under 21 and drinking in a club that wasn’t so great about checking ID’s.  Our drink of choice was the kamikaze shot although I am pretty sure back then I had no idea what was even in them.  I made a mental mote to make a couple rounds the next weekend.  Well, wouldn’t you know, that very weekend I attended a party where the host was a former bartender.  Without me even saying anything, he busted out the shaker and made a couple rounds of kamikaze shots.  Ahhh, I was back to my youth.

Kamikaze Shots

1 oz Vodka

1 oz Triple sec

1 oz Lime juice

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into an old-fashioned glass over ice cubes, and serve.

If you’re so inclined you can look for the recipe to make this into an actual drink rather than a shot.  Those are just as good.

This second recipe caught my eye because of the South Beach reference.  At the time, we were thinking of South Beach as a destination for our anniversary.  Even though the trip didn’t pan out, the drink recipe stuck.

South Beach Martini

2 oz Orange vodka

2 oz Absolut Citron

3/4 oz Cointreau

3/4 oz Lime juice

Ice

Twist of Orange peel

Shake well with ice. Strain into large martini glass. Garnish with twist of orange peel.

Now this last drink sounds, well, odd but at the same time, refreshing.  I would LOVE to have an avocado tree but we don’t really have room for one.  I like to think this drink borders on healthy…it gives a dose of vitamin C as well as a dose of good fats!

Avocado Daiquiri

1/4 medium Avocado

3/4 oz fresh Lime juice

1 cup crushed Ice

1 1/2 oz Light rum

1 wedge Lime

Crush ice in blender. Add rum, lime juice, and 1/4 medium avocado in blender. Blend until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Pour into glass and garnish with lime wedge.

Like I said above, the tree has even MORE limes this year so stayed tuned for more lime recipes both drinking related and not!