1800 Tequila has a new arty look

The recipe for 1800 Frio Limonada is like a Mojito with a Tequila kick. Mmm-mmm, good! (recipe is below the article)

(from Shannon O'Neill, Blast.com) 1800 Tequila is offering a chic, grown-up way to spice up your liquor cabinet: the limited edition Essential Artists Series, a collection of 12 bottles designed by up-and-coming artists from all over the country.

Eleven original, cutting-edge designs were chosen from over 15,000 online submissions. The 12th bottle was designed by a “celebrity artist” from Studio Number One, a group founded by artist Shepard Fairey (you know, the talented guy who was arrested for creating outdoor art in Boston).

The Essential Artists Series bottles are sold at an average price of $24.99. To find out more information about the featured artists and where you can find the Series, visit 1800Tequila.com. The website also has a “design your own bottle” feature, and 1800 Tequila plans to hold another contest at the end of the year. One lucky artist took home $10,000 as the grand prize winner.

1800 Frío Limonada

1.5 oz 1800 Silver Tequila
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
1 oz club soda
6 medium-sized mint leaves

Muddle mint with simple syrup in a tall glass.

Giving the Daiquiri its due (with RECIPE)

Some would dismiss the Daquiri as a "girlie" drink...but Hemingway and JFK might disagree

Giving the daiquiri its due: There’s nothing girlie about this classic cocktail

(by Paul Abercrombie, Creative Loafing) Being a geek about anything means you get The Question: “What’s your favorite (music, manga, fill in your particular passion here)?”

As a guy who writes about all sorts of cocktails, I hate to admit bibulous bias. “Depends,” I’ll lie, followed by some qualifying crap about the season, the occasion, the company I’m with.

But the answer I’m always thinking is this: Daiquiri.

Often incorrectly made (real ones don’t come from Slurpee machines), the Daiquiri has been dismissed as a “girlie drink.” That would be news to fans such as J.F.K and Ernest Hemingway, who had his own excellent take on this classic called the Papa Doble (more on that in a sec).

As with most cocktails, the daiquiri’s origins are much debated. Most cocktail nerds side with the story that a couple of American engineers stationed in a Cuban mining town called (what else) Daiquiri in the late 19th century invented the drink when they ran out of gin. Living in the land of rum, they reached for a bottle of the lighter variety, combined it with lime, sugar and ice, shook it up — and the rest is history.

Still, it’s hard to imagine the sublime simplicity of this tartly refreshing trio of ingredients hadn’t occurred to anyone earlier.

Done right, the daiquiri is cocktail perfection.

Luckily, making one is criminally simple, though you may need to play around with exact amounts of each ingredient to suit your own taste. Ciro’s Speakeasy & Supper Club in South Tampa makes a very fine daiquiri.

Here’s my perfect Daiquiri:

2 ounces white rum (I prefer moderately priced Bacardi Superior or, better yet, Matusulem Platino)
1 ounce of freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 ounce simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, dissolved).

Preparation: Combine ingredients in shaker. Add a generous amount of ice cubes and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Some folks like to garnish with a thin wedge or wheel of lime. I don’t think this brings much if anything to the drink.

The Bacardi Cocktail (aka, Santiago or Pink Daiquiri) is a nifty take on the classic daiquiri that swaps simple syrup for grenadine (equal parts pomegranate juice and sugar, dissolved), which adds some tangy depth and gives the drink a lovely pink hue.

Another fine riff on the classic daiquiri comes from rum-loving writer Hemingway. As with most cocktails, this one’s origins are as hazy as the memories of most of its fans. The more accepted origin stories credit the bartender at El Floradita bar in Havana where Hemingway was a regular. Apparently, Hemingway wasn’t too crazy about sugar in his drinks, so he asked for a daiquiri tweaked so that the amount of rum was doubled, simple syrup was replaced with maraschino liqueur and a splash of grapefruit juice was added. Whatever the truth, the result – aptly known as the Papa Doble – is one refreshing tipple. Something about the bittersweet cherry and citrus notes of the maraschino liqueur and grapefruit give this drink a neat combination of brightness and depth.

Some versions have this as a blender drink, but I think it’s easier (and tastier) served shaken and up (that is, without ice, in a cocktail glass).

Here’s a version of the Papa Doble I like:

2 1/2 ounces white rum
1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 ounce fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur (Luxardo makes a great one)

Preparation: Combine everything in a shaker and add plenty of ice. Shake thoroughly and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. To make sweeter, I think it works better to add a little simple syrup than maraschino liqueur.

Beer Cocktails to Try Before Summer Ends

One of my friends from my old 'hood (which happens to be San Francisco's Excelsior District) Tim Murphy suggests making a Bloody Mary with Guinness in it.  Not sure about that one, but I know the Michelada is a tasty beer treat.  Here's a few recipes for you, just to switch up your beer drinking habits* 

Making a Michelada

Beer Cocktails to Try Before Summer Ends

(from Fox 9 News) - Before throwing back another cold one to commemorate the end of summer, try one of these beer cocktails and you might be pleasantly surprised – even if you are a purist.

Michelada. The next time you are out for Mexican food, instead of ordering a margarita or a traditional Mexican Beer like a Corona, try this beer cocktail which is prepared differently depending on where you dine, the New York Post reported. However, most start with a hot sauce and clam juice mixed into a base called sangrita, which is added to a dark beer like Negra Modelo.

Black Velvet. If you want to class up your beer, then try the black velvet which Esquire magazine calls "A classic. The most elegant and delicious of beer drinks." The black velvet is served in a champagne flute filled halfway with a cold stout, such as Guinness, and then topped off with a good champagne. The magazine also suggests using Brooklyn Black Ops, if you can find it, to bring the cocktail to a whole other level.

The Cure. Drink your economic worries away with this beer cocktail created by bartender Gina Chersevani as a "cure" for the recession, according to Epicurious.com . It is made with a light beer like Miller High Life, plus ginger liqueur and a splash of juice.

The Saint. If you're looking for a beer cocktail with an intricate array of ingredients, look no further. The Washington Post described it as a black beer that is poured on top of a mixture of Old Tom gin, St-Germain elderflower liqueur and vermouth infused Earl Grey tea.

Groundskeeper. What to do with the Budweiser that you have sitting in your fridge? Esquire suggests pairing it with a Scotch. It raises the grade of the beer and soothes the strength of the Scotch. Simply combine 1 oz. of a smoky single-malt Scotch, such as Ardbeg or Laphroaig, with 12 oz. of a beer like Budweiser, or something similar, into a pint glass.

*(DC NOTE) Or, hell, just have a damned beer. 

Sean Snelling's Whiskey Peach (RECIPE)

Damn, this looks tasty!  Not sure who carries the peach puree (BevMo? Spec's?) but you should be able to find Rye Whiskey at any major liqour outlet.  Hell, I'll bet this tastes great made with Bourbon!

The Whiskey Peach

(from Behind the Bar Blog, Phoenix New Times)

Yesterday we met Sean Snelling, the Aussie who tends and manages the bar at Primebar in the Scottsdale Quarter. Today he shares the recipe for the Whiskey Peach.

"We have 16 cocktails on our menu, and most are made with rum or vodka," Snelling says. "This one's made with bourbon with a high rye content, which adds a nice spice note. It's not our biggest seller, but it's my favorite."

The sweet, fruity peach and spicy rye blend together so well it makes you wonder why no one else had thought of it.

The ingredients:
1 ¾ oz. Bulleit bourbon (or other rye whiskey)
1 oz. Monin peach puree
½ oz. peach liqueur
¼ oz. simple syrup
Squeeze fresh lime
Orange wheel

How to make it:
Pour all the liquids into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a rocks-filled lowball glass. Top with orange wheel. Marvel at the sweet harmony of peach and bourbon.

Pickle Back

(sung to the tune of "Sexy Back")

"I'm drinking Pickle Back
I down a few, I don't know how to act
This drink is special, please dont talk no smack
One and you're hooked, it is like liquid crack

Take 'em to the bar...."

(from mnn.com)  Pickle juice makes a natural substitute for olive juice in a dirty martini and a pleasingly sour addition to a Bloody Mary. The folks at artisanal pickle company McClure Pickles recently launched a Bloody Mary Mix that gets its spicy kick from the company's own cayenne and habanero pepper-laced brine.

The Pickle Back - a shot of whiskey followed immediately by a shot of pickle brine - is another drink that has gained favor at hipster-friendly bars. Downing one (or three) is an "only the strong survive" kind of experience, but devotees swear that brine makes the perfect neutralizer for whiskey's burn. Luckily, according to Linda Ziedrich's "The Joy of Pickling" (2009), pickle juice doubles as its own hangover cure: "(In Poland, hangover sufferers) fill a glass with equal parts chilled pickle brine and ice-cold club soda, and drink the mixture down at once."

It's Tiki Drink Time- the Mai Tai, the Zombie, and the Rum Runner

Summer Time is Tiki Drink Time! Get your drink on (then find a hangover remedy!)

(from Richard Goldsmith, Fox News) Tiki drinks are the badly behaved uncle of the cocktail world. They are a party in a glass - at least they think they are.

Just like your dad's brother who refuses to settle down and grow up, traveling the world with a woman in every port of call and no job to speak of, Tiki drinks are a party in a glass – at least, they think they are. Many even come bearing gifts like that prodigal family member - served as they so often are in souvenir mugs.

Tiki culture got its start in the U.S. with the opening of Don the Beachcomber, a Polynesian-themed restaurant that opened in Hollywood in the early 1930s. Known for strong fruit flavors, heavy use of rum, and insanely complex recipes, Tiki drinks are every bit as classic as Manhattans, Martinis and Old-Fashioneds despite so many of the recipes being up for debate.

The confusion over the proper mix of ingredients stems from the rich and heated competition between Tiki bars and bartenders during the original Tiki craze and its resurgence in the 90s and early part of the new millenium. Starting with the feud between Trader Vic's and Don the Beachcomber's over which place created the original Mai Tai, Tiki drinks have long been controversial. Everyone has a secret formula, their own take on a classic, whether it's a Zombie, Scorpion or Rum Runner.

No matter the recipe, Tiki drinks generally have far more liquor than expected. Sweet and fruity as a general rule, they're ideal party drinks and set the stage for all sorts of nights to remember, or forget, depending on how many you have. Below are FoxBYO's take on some of the classics, all of which would fit match perfectly with anything from a pig roast to a barbecue or rooftop get together.

The Mai Tai
The quintessential Tiki Drink, the Mai Tai is more hotly debated than virtually any cocktail other than the martini. Created by either Trader Vic or Donn Beach, the owner of Don the Beachcomber's, the Mai Tai is without a doubt one of the most delicious drinks known to mankind. Even if you aren't such a fan of the flavor, you'll forget about that once you down a few, thanks to the fairly strong liquors that make up most of the ingredients.

According to one story, Trader Vic first mixed the Mai Tai for a group of friends visiting from Tahiti, who shouted the Tahitian word for “very good” when they tasted it. That word sounded a whole lot like “Mai Tai,” and the name stuck. The cocktail served at Don the Beachcomber's is significantly different, but the current “standard” recipe is similar to the one first mixed at Trader Vic's. The cocktail includes rum, orgeat syrup, orange curacao, simple syrup and lime and is tangy, sweet, and masks the massive dose of booze all too well.

1 oz. rum (an aged rum like Cockspur 12 tones down some of the sweetness in the cocktail and makes it a bit more sophisticated, even though it's not the traditional Jamaican rum)

½ oz. Orgeat

½ oz. Orange Curacao

¼ oz. Simple Syrup (equal parts sugar and water heated and stirred until combined)

Juice of one lime

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake gently. Pour into a highball glass full of ice and garnish with some fruit. Or maybe a nice paper umbrella. If you must, you can add pineapple juice to top it off but know that, if you do, Trader Vic will be rolling in his grave.

The Zombie

Celebrate the undead by raising a glass of the cocktail that supposedly contains enough alcohol to add any man or woman to the ranks of the walking dead, or at least the severely hung over. Made famous by Don the Beachcomber's, the Zombie is complicated, with a variety of fruit juices and a hefty slug of no less than seven different types of booze. Not a drink for the faint of heart, but with the different fruits playing a counterpoint to the bite and spice of the liquor, it's a great, albeit complicated cocktail for anyone looking for an amazing way to kick off a great and somewhat blurry evening.

3/4 oz. Lime Juice

1/2 oz. Grapefruit Juice

1/2 oz. Falernum (Fee Brothers makes an excellent version of this sweet tropical syrup)

1/2 oz. Simple Syrup

1 ¼ oz. aged rum (Believe it or not, Captain Morgan Private Stock works really well here)

1 oz. Demerara 151 (a high proof rum – Lemonhart is the traditional brand in the Zombie)

1 oz. dark rum (Gosling's Black Seal is far from traditional here, but it brings a great richness to the cocktail and some real tropical feel)

1 oz. spiced rum – (Kilo Kai is a perfect fit, and brings some great anise, vanilla and banana flavors to the party)

1 oz. oak aged rum (Pyrat has the caramel and molasses flavors to look for, especially if you splurge and go with Pyrat Cask 1623)

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1 dash Absinthe

3 dashes Grenadine

3/4 oz. Maraschino Liquor

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker full of ice and shake briskly. Pour into a tall glass filled halfway with ice and decorate with whatever fruit you feel appropriate. This is the drink to go over the top with, so if plastic monkeys, half a banana, an orange wedge and a bowl of maraschino cherries find their way into the drink, more power to you.

The Rum Runner

A latecomer to the party, the Rum Runner was developed in the early ‘70s the mad genius bartender John Ebert at the Holiday Isle Resort in the Florida Keys. High-proof enough to easily light on fire, it's still well-balanced and tasty enough to quaff far more quickly than any drink with four types of booze in the mix should be, especially when one of those liquors is 151 proof rum. It's slightly sour with a complex molasses and toasted banana flavor that combines nicely to ease the cloying sweetness of more than a half ounce of grenadine. Even better, it's a slushy - designed to be blended with crushed ice. One couldn't ask for a better summer drink, especially within stumbling distance of home.

½ oz. black rum (Bacardi Select or Goslings Black Seal would work equally well here, depending on how sweet you want your cocktail)

½ oz. 151 proof rum (Lemonhart ups the sophistication of the Rum Runner, but Bacardi 151 works fine in a pinch)

1 oz. blackberry brandy

1 oz. banana liqueur

5/8 oz. grenadine

1 oz. lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a blender with crushed ice, pour into a tall glass and enjoy a slush better than any to be found at 7/11.

Ramos Gin Fizz- Kitchen Mixology (VIDEOCAST)

The Ramos Gin Fizz is a great cocktail.  I'll show you how to make this classic drink created by one of the great bartenders of all time, and I'm throwing in an easy, delicious knock off as well. Ice cream and booze for breakfast anyone?

To listen, click HERE.  To download .mp3 audio, right clicking HERE and "save target as..."

Sangrita- Kitchen Mixology (VIDEOCAST)

Sangrita is Spanish for "little blood".  I'm gonna show you how to make this a spicy tomato shot at home. Forget the salt-lime ritual.  THIS chaser is how the Mexicans drink a shot of tequila down in Mexico, so vamanos, muchchos!

To listen, click HERE.  To download .mp3 audio, right click HERE and "save target as..."