Category Archives: Cocktails

Ladies and their gin

09 Saturday Mar 2013

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Normally gin is not my preferred method of preserving my liver. However some great ladies I know may have swayed me to the dark side. So just in time for spring, here are two gin cocktails that are easy to make and even easier to drink.

Shana Sussman’s spin on the Greenport Cooler

Shana Sussman

My friend Shana is a New Mexico transplant from Brooklyn. A friend of hers jokes that her yin and yang is her Ramones old lifestyle versus her new Gram Parsons lifestyle. So to keep her new cowboy boots in check, every now and then she has to pull out a reminder of the East Coast. This drink recipe is her latest yin move to add balance on the Ramones side of life.

Aine: I know you told me where this drink came from but I think we were drinking them at the time, so the memory is gin fuzzy. Please refresh.

Shana:  The drink was named for Greenport, Conneticut which is where the guy created it. (Later changed the name to greenwood cooler – greenwood heights is the name of the Brooklyn neighborhood where the bar is/where I lived.) The bar was called Quarter.

Recipe:

– 4 cucumber slices

-1/4 lemon wedge

-mint

-3 shots fresh grapefruit juice

-2 gin shots

-1 shot simple syrup

Muddle mint, lemon and cucumber. Add Grapefruit juice, gin, simple syrup and crushed ice. Enjoy.

The IN-FLATO

Heidi

I’ll admit that the name of this drink came not from the drink’s inventor, but from imbibers of this amazing cocktail at a holiday party. My friend Heidi Flato is the inventor of the drink, and she is far too classy to give any cocktail of hers such a ridiculous name. She makes the cocktails. We fools think of silly names. It should probably be a house rule that when one makes such classy cocktails, they don’t need a name.

Recipe:

-Gin

-Grapefruit soda such as San Pellegrino (can substitute grapefruit juice and club soda)

-Mint

-Lemon

-Lime

Squeeze half of a lime and half a lemon into a tall glass with ice. Add 1 part gin to 2 parts grapefruit soda or juice. Add fresh mint and a lime wedge. If using grapefruit soda, skip the club soda. Enjoy.

Cherry Bounce

06 Friday Jul 2012

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Since I started working with Melissa, I have been hearing about her father’s Cherry Bounce. Cherry Bounce is an old drink, a cordial if you will. Evidently Martha Washington even makes mention of the recipe. The recipe worked its way down the Eastern Seaboard and was embraced by the Southern States and then worked its way west. This is Andrew John Cebollas’ recipe for the drink, and his daughter telling stories about her dad.

Aine: So describe your dad to people who don’t know him.

Melissa: He is a BIG personality and a social butterfly. If you put him in a room, he’ll make friends with anyone. He is extremely kind and generous. If you go to his house, he’ll make you feel very welcome. That’s where the Bounce comes in. He will pour you a cup right away at his house.

Aine: Stories please.

Melissa:  My dad’s father had apple orchards. So when my dad was young he was a favorite of my Grandpa Luis. They would pick apples and take them to the farmer’s market to see. Dad would sing and dance to bring in customers, so that made him a favorite. He has always been a salesman of sorts, since an early age.

My dad is really proud of being Boy Scout. He got to travel all over and even go to Canada, that he has these stories from that. He’s really proud of his merit badges.

My dad was also a lifeguard at the swimming pool in Espanola. Once he saved a lady from drowning, and I think it really affected him. He talks about it, and how scary it was. So now he wants to make sure my kids can swim. He wants to make sure I have them in swimming lessons because he remembers that.

Oh here’s a great one. My dad loves to have a good time, and he has a mischievous streak. Once when I was in 8th grade he took my friends and I trick or treating. He had this huge truck and there were 7 of us girls in the back. We snuck eggs on the truck to egg people, and he knew we had them but did not say a thing. So here we are driving around, and my dad was waving at people and saying hi while he was driving. We were in the back egging people, and he acted like he didn’t know what we were doing but secretly he knew and thought it was funny. It’s like the mischievous kid in him loved that we were egging, but the dad in him had to pretend like he didn’t know. I laugh now thinking about him waving and us egging. You know I really love my dad. He is such a great person and such a good listener. He is always listening to other people instead of talking about himself. He’s just that way.

Aine: Tell me about the Cherry Bounce.

Melissa:  He has always made it as long as I remember. Since the ditch has always grown cherries, he has always made the Bounce. (Note: by ditch, New Mexicans are referring to their communal water system of irrigation ditches known as an acequia. Acequias were introduced to Spain by the Moors and subsequently Spanish colonizers brought them to the New World. This community water system still exists today, and wild sour cherries grow along most of them.) I don’t know where he got the recipe from, but everyone loves it. I love it when he pours a cup and you get a cherry in it. WOW. It’s pretty strong.  But you have to let it sit from the time you make it until Christmas. I have made the mistake of opening it early and NO NO NO…it was no good. So you have to be patient. (At this point other co-workers contribute that locals advise the ditch cherries are to be picked around San Juan Day and before 4th of July. San Juan day is June 24 and is a religious day to honor John the Baptist.) You have to wait until the sour cherries are dark dark in color. You cannot pick them when they are red. That is too early. But my dad says the most important part of the Cherry Bounce is being patient.

Andrew John Cebollas’ Cherry Bounce

1. Fill a bottle half-full of cherries

2. Put 1 cup sugar (or a little less) into the bottle over the cherries.

3. Cap the bottle and then let the cherries and sugar get happy happy together for 3 weeks,

4. Then get the cheapest vodka you can find and fill to the brim.

5.  Don’t open til Christmas. DO NOT OPEN EARLY!

6. ENJOY Cherry Bounce!

(humorous side note: in “researching” a friend of mine, who asked not to be quoted as a Cherry Bounce contributor because “girl Church of Christ girls don’t know a thing about making alcohol” added that “people I know use the best bourbon they have to make Cherry Bounce instead of vodka. But I am no expert of course.”)

PYNX Margarita

09 Saturday Jun 2012

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I love it when great friends introduce you to great people. This is how this recipe is being shared. I met Rachel Lee Waldrop when mutual friends of ours tied the knot in New Orleans. She was living there at the time. Fast forward to post-Katrina, she and her husband Dave move to New Mexico and we are reconnected. Rachel and I…well we love our cocktails, our music and our stories of growing up in Texas in our respective Southern Baptist and Church of Christ families. So when Rachel introduced me to Vicki Teague-Cooper and told me Vicki and her husband Steve were dear old friends of Rachel’s parents, I knew instantly I would like them. What follows is Rachel telling stories about Vicki, and then Vicki’s signature cocktail. So get to reading and then get to mixing…and make sure you toast to Vicki!

Rachel on Vicki

Vicki and Steve have been married over 40 years. They will tell you that they are the “last hippie couple that made it.” My dad Wally married them. They joke that he was the “singing hippie preacher.” Steve and my dad go back to Abilene, and they could tell you some Church of Christ stories.

When I was a kid growing up in South Austin, they lived in the Clarksville neighborhood. This was the early 70s. My parents and they were just that hippie 70s Austin crowd. They had this house on a hill, and I loved to go over there. It seemed like a Victorian house and they always had the COOLEST toys. They had collections of things, but I was obsessed with their collection of roller skates. I always wanted to go over there, and look at them and play with them.

They also had this closet with a crawl space. It was our hangout spot because we kids could sit in there, and it was our own private space. Or we would play on their front porch.  I was in love with this Black Cat fireworks poster they had. I wanted one just like it so bad. Their house was like a museum, and I loved it.

Vicki, if you didn’t know, is an amazing pastry chef as well. Steve, her husband, is also an amazing chef. But Vicki will also call herself the “green witch.” She is an amazing gardener. You really need to see the things she grows. Then she makes her own tinctures as well as her own dyes and paints for her artwork. She really has some amazing things going on, and I just love them. I mean they have known me since I was a baby.

Vicki Teague-Cooper’s PYNX Margarita

The Genesis of the Pynx Margarita:  My nickname is PYNX and has been for years. It’s an affectionate name my husband of 42 years, Steve, gave me early in our relationship. It’s sort of a fusion of Pinky and Sphinx…

So I came up with this when I was bored with the “normal” margarita recipes. I had tried Dekuper Peach Schnapps in a drink called “Silk Panties” (vodka + Dekuper Peach Schnapps on the rocks) and I loved how Dekuper had nailed the natural taste of peaches. So I substituted the usual triple sec (orange liquor) with the peach schnapps and VIOLA! It was heavenly. I can’t stress how important it is to use Dekuper Peach Schanpps (No I don’t own stock in the company!) It’s the fresh peach taste that makes this such a light flowery taste. The Grenadine is of course the PINK!

So I am giving you the recipe for a pitcher as well as the recipe for one drink though I can’t imagine who on earth anyone would make just one!

Note: along with making yummy cocktails Vicki also is an artist, a fellow blogger, and has a Etsy shop for her jewelry. They can be found as follows:

artwork:  http://www.vickiteague-cooper.com/

jewelry:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/naturalorderstudio

blog:  http://pynxster.tumblr.com/

Now onto the cocktail recipes:

PYNX MARGARITA RECIPE

For large pitcher:

– 1 liter 100 percent Agave tequila, chilled

– 4 c. Dekuper Peach Schnapps

– 2 (12-oz) cans frozen limeade mixed with 4 cans of water

– 8 cups cold water

– 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

– 1/4 cup grenadine (just enough to make it light pink)

For one drink:

– 2 oz 100 percent agave tequila, chilled

– 1 oz Dekuper Peach Schnapps

– 8 oz frozen limeade chilled and already mixed with water

– juice of 1/2 fresh lime

– splash of Grenadine

Vicki also added to make a lighter single version : ” ‘lightweight version by only using 1oz. tequila & 1/2 oz. of schnapps–not something I would do! =;~P, but there are some wimps out there….”

Beeritas: Done 3 ways in the search for Aaron Berlin.

26 Saturday May 2012

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1999. Portland, Oregon. Homesick, Craig and I see in the local newspaper rag that Honky, the band, is playing some club. We head out and run into another Texan we had lost contact with after our move from Texas: Aaron Berlin. Aaron played guitar in this Dallas band Rubberbullet. We hadn’t seen him since he left Dallas. He had moved to the Pacific NW to study winemaking. And while Aaron did, in fact, know his wine, and work for a mighty fine winemaker, he was our introduction to BEERITAS.

We were all homesick and hanging out in the backyard one Saturday. “BEERITAS,” Aaron declared. “That is the cure all.” I had no clue what a beerita even was. Aaron remedied that. And for several summers in Portland, beeritas were the summer drink of choice.

So this is an ode to Aaron Berlin, beeritas and the good stuff that comes from Texas. Beeritas done three ways: Aaron’s way (which still makes me laugh today thinking of him describing how to mix it in a cooler), the first evolution of the beerita, and the lighter less sweet current incarnation. Somehow after moving from Portland, we lost Aaron again. I keep waiting to see him at some Honky show but Honky shows are few and far between in New Mexico. So if you see Aaron out there, tell him to put the wine-making down and come on over. We are mixing beeritas.

BEERITAS by AARON BERLIN

This recipe makes a batch for a party.

You’ll need:

a large cooler with handles

one bottle (750 ml ) tequila

12 light or wheat beers (ie Corona or similar)

1 bottle (750 ml) margarita mixer

bag ice

1. Dump all ingredients into the cooler

2. Close the lid

3. Have one person grab handles on one side of the cooler. Another person grab the handles on the other side.

4. Shake cooler back and forth.

5. Open and enjoy.

SWEETER BEERITAS EVOLUTION STEP ONE

This recipe makes a pitcher of beeritas at a time.

You’ll need:

a pitcher

1 can frozen limeade

12 oz tequila (same amount as can of frozen limeade)

2 bottles of light beer (Corona tends to work well)

1. Let limeade slightly thaw.

2. Put frozen limeade in pitcher. Use can that limeade came in to measure out equal amount of tequila. Add that to pitcher.

3. Add 2 bottles of beer.

4. Stir well to mix. Enjoy.

BEERITAS THE CURRENT INCARNATION

 (slightly less sweeter than above recipe)

This recipe also makes a pitcher.

You’ll need:

a pitcher

can frozen limeade

12 oz tequila (equal amount to the can of frozen limeade)

24 oz sprite

1 bottle Corona

1. Put all ingredients in pitcher.

2. Mix well and enjoy.

Momo’s Mango Margaritas

12 Saturday May 2012

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2 women. 2 artists. Mother and daughter. The mother, and grandmother, is Carol Jones Morrissey. The daughter, and also a mother extraordinaire, is Lydia Russell. I’ll skip the usual introductions and just let these 2 amazing women speak for themselves. First Lydia tells you about her mom. And then Carol tells you some stories, and you get her cocktail recipe.

And just to give you some insight on the great sense of humor these two share, Lydia told me the following photo is of her mom, Carol, wearing an outfit she had sewn holding Lydia as a newborn. Carol’s caption read “I made the outfit, the headband AND the baby!”

By the way if you are interested in any of Lydia’s posters and Kozik prints and posters, they can be found at : www.lalalydia.com

And if you are interested in any of Carol’s quilting designs, classes, workshops you can find her at :    www.ocaroldesigns.com

Now let’s talk mom, hear some stories, and make a cocktail…

LYDIA RUSSELL ON HER MOM, CAROL JONES MORRISSEY

my mom.  where to start?  i always, since becoming an actual adult human being, feel like i owe her an apology for being such a terror during those years that she was still legally responsible for me.  yeah, it wasn’t always as great as it is now.

 my mom.  daughter, mother, wife, momo (grandmother), artist, gardener, confidante, friend, traveller, photographer, knitter, quilter, creator, nurturer, naturalist, beer-drinking, bacon-loving, all-around awesome woman. i treasure this opportunity to honor her.  although,  i do not trust in my own ability to fully express how much i love her with mere words.  she is a treasure to me.  i cannot even imagine how i could get by, day to day, without her.  she is my greatest supporter.  she inspires me like no other.  her wisdom is vast and she delivers it with such grace…she makes me feel like i thought of it myself.  my mom.  she truly is the glue that holds me together.  she is my best friend.  to say that i love her just isn’t enough.  i have her name tattooed on my flesh… “O Carol”…olivia carol…oh, carol!  written by chuck berry, but it’s the rolling stones’ version that we love…

 “now, if you want to hear some music like the boys are playing hold tight, bang your foot don’t let it carry you away don’t let the heat overcome you when they play so loud won’t the music intrigue you when they get a crowd well you can’t dance I know you would you could i got my eyes on you, baby, cause you dance so good oh,  carol don’t let him steal your heart away i’m gonna learn to dance if it takes me all night and day” i hope that someday i learn to dance as well as you do.  happy mothers day, mama.  you make a mean mango margarita.  i love you.

MOMO’S MANGO MARGARITAS

by

Carol Jones Morrissey

As far as the mango margarita goes, I used to only make margaritas on the rocks from scratch. I think the recipe was from Jimmy Buffett WAAAYYY back before he started making the “Margaritaville” mix, but it’s not exactly like that recipe.  I must have seen a mango margarita on a menu, or maybe I just thought of it because I love mangos—I can’t remember when or why I thought of it.

Anyway one day I saw some frozen mango puree at the grocery store, and thought Hmmm, who not freeze some mango nectar into an ice cube tray? I used to drink apricot nectar as a kid, and I took it to school in my thermos.  So I knew there were lots of different fruit nectars (must try the apricot in a margarita BTW, and maybe the banana, and maybe strawberry…I digress).

The first time I made them, I put the blue cacao in as usual, but it made the drink an odd color due to it being mixed with the mango. It wasn’t a particularly appealing hue, so I didn’t do that again.

As far as quilting and drinking goes…well I’ll admit that I AM the designated bartender when my quilting friends and I get together. Sometimes they ask for something different, like a chocolate martini. Like a good bartender, I don’t judge, I just mix the drinks. But remember: DON’T DRINK AND SEW.

Oh and another thing: DON’T DRINK AND BID! Once we were attending the International Quilt Market in Houston, and my friends and I had been out to dinner at the original Ninfa’s on Navigation. I had enjoyed a couple of their famous margaritas ( I WAS NOT driving!). Earlier that day at the Quilt Market, I had seen some very interesting handbags made from vintage hats. Yeah you had to be there. Anyway after returning to the hotel that evening after dinner at Ninfa’s, I decided I would check eBay for suitable vintage hats. Well, you see where this is going, and I have made my friends promise to never let me drink and bid again.

 Ingredients:

mango nectar (available in cans)

tequila

triple sec

Roses lime juice

limes

1. Freeze mango nectar in ice cube trays.

2. Put the mango ice cubes in a blender.

3. Add the following:

2-2 1/2 oz of your favorite tequila

1/2 oz triple sec

1 1/4 oz Roses Lime Juice (bottled)

4. Blend until smooth.

5. I usually squeeze a lime wedge or two on top.