Liquid Courage

We’ve talked about my tendency toward cocktailing by season.  So when Sweet Tea Vodka became “a thing,” my deep-summer drink became Sweet Tea Vodka and Lemonade.  But as time passed and thriving became my #1 goal, I became interested in the ingredients present in the food I consume.  I wondered just what was in the Sweet Tea Vodkas I was buying at the store.  Combine that with a serious wheat allergy, and I felt it was time to learn to make this awesome Summer Spirit myself.  Turns out, I’m so sorry I didn’t learn earlier.  This is seriously.  So.  Easy.  Maybe the next thing I learn to do is make the lemonade that mixes with it!  😉

…

Read More

For years it’s been first on my bucket list to go to Italy.  As a self-proclaimed foodie and as someone who’s allergic to wheat only in the United States, I always figured it was my place to be.  This time last year, that line on my bucket list was checked off.  My parents and I went to Italy to celebrate my 35th Birthday, and it was glorious.  That’s where I discovered the Limoncello Spritz.

Of course, the celebration of this year’s birthday was quite different.  With COVID going on, and the fact that it’s not really a milestone birthday, there’s no going someplace fabulous to celebrate.  So I’ve decided to bring back a little of our Italian adventure.  I’m celebrating my birthday with a throwback cocktail to that fantastic time we got so spend in one of the most beautiful and food-centric countries in the world.

When we got to Italy, I was excited about the pizza and the pasta.  I can eat it over there when I can’t eat gluten here, so I was pretty thrilled about that.  I was also interested in the wines because they’re just so famously drinkable.

What I really wasn’t expecting was the amazing liqueurs created in Italy.  There’s Aperol, of course–which is a really wonderful balance of bitter and sweet (I reeeeeeeally like candied orange peel and it tastes a lot like that…); but if you’re looking for something sweet as candy and perfectly balanced in a great cocktail, look no further than Limoncello.  And on a warm Sunday morning, the best way to drink it is in a Limoncello Spritz.

While we traveled around Italy I drank several Aperol Spritzes.  But honestly, Aperol Spritzes are an acquired taste.  I never would have liked them as a young drinker, and I know several people who do not like them now.  But Limoncello Spritz???  Pretty much anyone could drink them and you have to be careful because they’re so drinkable they’re dangerous.

I’m missing Italy, but I love summer here.  There’s so much to do, the weather is awesome, and the outdoors call us by name.  (Not to mention that the “outdoors” are pretty much all we can do right now.)  So I figure I might as well enjoy both by bringing some of Italy home to enjoy during these long summer days.  Best of both worlds.

So cheers to the closing of my birthday week!  And this year, that also happens to be the start of Memorial Day weekend.  In my mind, both reflect the start of summer.  Limoncello Spritzes all around!

Limoncello Spritz

 

Save Print

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz. Limoncello
• 3 oz. Sparkling Wine or Champagne
• 1-2 oz. Sparkling Water

Instructions

1. Poor Limoncello over ice.
2. Add Champagne.
3. Float with Sparkling Water to taste.

3.5.3251

Several years ago, right around the time bartenders started being called “mixologists,” people started putting odd, non-food flavors in cocktails.  I have to say, I never thought I’d be one of them.  I always thought unusual flavors in cocktails was unnecessary, and oddly tasting teas were a great sign of a hippie.  I hope I’ve learned enough times not to make these hasty sort of judgments–at least when it comes to the consumption of food and alcohol.  Lol.  (Though, really, the amount of times I’ve been taught this lesson seems to indicate I probably won’t actually learn anytime soon.)

When spring rolls around, I start craving sweeter, lighter, smoother, and colder cocktails.  Suddenly, after Easter, red wine starts to feel a bit too heavy for me.  And what I learned after getting over my ridiculous objections to these “odd” flavorings, is they open the pallet available in the world of cocktails tenfold.  Of course, that does mean I end up consuming more sugar, but hey, there’s pros and cons to everything.

…

Read More

Over the years on THD, I’ve made no bones about the fact that I am a seasonal or “monthly” drinker.  This means I tend to have a different cocktail every month that’s my go-to.  And though March doesn’t always have a specific cocktail that’s the same every year, Vodka is usually the base and sweet is the taste.  In other words, I like my March drink to be the epitome of a “Welcome to Spring” drink.  This Raspberry Lemondrop absolutely fits the bill for the perfect March, welcome-to-spring, cocktail.

I really don’t remember exactly how I started drinking this.  But I definitely remember drinking lots of it right after college.  It’s sweet, stout, and easy-drinking.  All the exact things people (or maybe, to support a really bad stereotype, girls) want in the first drinking years of their lives.  Of course, in college I wasn’t drinking them like this.  The raspberry usually came from syrup or raspberry vodka (i.e., something cheap).  The lemon was likely lemonade.  And they were generally headache-er-iffic!

But once you realize that higher quality booze is worth feeling better the next day (even if it’s at the expense of a better buzz simply because you buy less–hey, actually a win-win!); you start focusing on the quality.

That’s when I discovered that some of these martinis I was ordering had Chambord and Lemon Juice in them, and some had cheap flavored vodka and dye.  I quickly realized what made the better Raspberry Lemondrop.

March is a strange month for us in Reno.  Sometimes it’s a blizzard, sometimes it’s beautiful.  Today it’s almost 70, they’re predicting snow for next week.  And because of this unpredictability, it can be difficult to choose just ONE favorite drink.  It’s not like the dead of winter where the only thing that sounds good is a toddy.  (See that recipe here).  Or bright summer where nothing hits the spot better than a red wine cooler.  (And that one here).  For March, I want something spring-y but maybe a bit heavier to make up for the winter-y potential. That way, I’m appreciating what the season is supposed to be while still admitting what is.  (i.e., impending blizzards.)  Hahaha.

Raspberry Lemon Drop Martini

 

Save Print

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

Serves: 1 Martini

Ingredients

• 2 oz. Tahoe Blue Vodka
• 1 oz. Chambord
• ½ oz. Simple Syrup
• Juice of 1 Lemon

Instructions

1. Shake all ingredients in a martini shaker with ice.
2. Strain into glass.
3. Enjoy!

3.5.3251