Ice + Clink + Drink

Although we are far from the U.S.-Mexico border here in Seattle and my kids can speak more Spanish than I can, we do have a cat named Nacho Libre and I’m always happy to lift a glass in celebration.  I think that’s enough to get my tequila revved and ready for Cinco de Mayo.

El luchador mexicano dice: "Escucha al HIELO, este es un cóctel muy bueno!"(translation: The Mexican wrestler says, "Listen to ICE, this is a very good cocktail!")

This cocktail, the St. Rosemary by mixologist Jacques Bezuidenhout, is another approachable tequila drink (more here) that is easy to make and chug, er, sip.

St. Rosemary

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the rosemary leaves with the lime juice. Add ice and all of the remaining ingredients except the garnish and shake well. Double strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with the rosemary sprig.

¡Salud, ICE

As always, check out my Glossary of Spirits page for alcohol and mixer definitions and details.

 

Remember that jalapeno brown sugar syrup from a previous post?  I created a third cocktail with this syrup, this time in honor of our wedding anniversary today, October 30th (Devil’s Night!).  

Fire With Ice Margarita

I like my margaritas on the rocks, so I filled a glass with ice, added the ingredients and stirred well. Nice to cool the jalapeno fire with ice.

Heat Miser!

Incidentally, “Fire and Ice” is the name of our maybe-someday-in-the-future boat. Fire because hubby is a redhead and, of course, I’m ICE.  We used that idea for Halloween costumes a few years back, going as the HeatMiser and SnowMiser from The Year Without a Santa Claus. I’m too embarrassed to post a picture of us, but be assured there were cocktails involved that night, too.

Happy Anniversary, Fire!

Cheers, ICE

P.S.: I saw this on a forum:” If loving Halloween is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.” Yes!

Snow Miser!

 

Let’s talk tequila, shall we? I know, I know: you had a bad experience with tequila in college/your 20’s/Tijuana/Cinco de Mayo/whatever. Yeah, yeah, we all have those tequila stories.  But I’ll bet if you’re really honest with yourself, you also had those nights with vodka, rum, everclear, spodi, Mad Dog… But now we are adults (marginally) and it’s time to put that baggage behind us. Time to put Cuervo behind us.

Trust me, there is a world of tequila out there that does not involve dual streams of liquid poured into your awaiting mouth. While tequila may have knocked me down a time or so, I’ve always been able to come back; however, only since starting my cocktail experimentation have I learned more about this spirit, so here’s a brief summary AND a great tequila-entry drink awaiting.

All tequilas are not equal

Six months ago I was unaware that there are different types of tequila.  I’ve learned enough to now seek out what I like. Here’s a rundown of tequila types and Wikipedia provides more details:

Blanco/Silver tequila: This is the “youngest” tequila, in that it is aged only a maximum of 2 months before filtered, bottled and distributed. This tequila usually has the strongest taste and sharpest bite, and is the core of most margaritas.

Reposado tequila: This is “medium” aged tequila, and can rest in wood or steel barrels from 2-11 months prior to bottling. These tequilas, called aged or rested, tend to be smoother, darker and mellower than the blanco varieties. Do not confuse the reposados with the Joven/Oro (or Gold) types, which are blancos with coloring and additives (like Cuervo Gold). Bleh.

Añejo tequila: Aged for at least one year in smaller barrels, these tequilas are very smooth and complex and often fall into the “sipping neat” category, if that’s your thing. Extra añejo tequilas are aged for 3 or more years.

Although purists might be appalled (purists are such buzz-kills, aren’t they?), I now frequently substitute reposado tequila in recipes calling for blanco because I like the mellower taste and additional flavors of the reposado (and a bottle usually costs just a couple dollars more).

Ready to put your tequila fears behind you? Try out the Purple Haze, a recipe from the DRY Soda Company, a Seattle-based provider of all-natural, more adult (not XXX adult, silly) sodas.  Red Hook thought this cocktail did a good job of moderating the tequila.

Purple Haze

Prepare a bucket glass with sugar rim and add ice. Pour lemon and lime juices, simple syrup, tequila, Chambord, and Lavender DRY into glass and stir gently. Garnish and serve.

Note: the original recipe calls for 4 ounces of “sweet and sour mix,” usually meaning 2 ounces of lemon or lime juice (or a combination of the two) and 2 ounces of simple syrup.  I broke it out here because I felt the drink was a bit too sweet, so next time I will add less simple syrup to taste.

So, try out a different, better quality tequila and a good recipe to put your tequila-phobias behind you. Then you will never have to hide on Cinco de Mayo again.

Cheers, ICE

 

Past years I’ve stuck to planting shrubs, trees and other perennials in the yard, but frankly the upkeep is pretty tedious. I’m not into tedious.  However, I figured that a few pots filled with herbs should be manageable even for me. Oh, and a Topsy Turvy strawberry planter because my kids can’t pass one on the street without yelling, “Topsy Turvy! Topsy Turvy! You should get one, Mom!” Buying a few strawberry plants seemed like better parenting than duct tape as a gag.

Who knows if my “garden” will bring forth cocktail bounty?  I will admit it has been very satisfying to wander to the patio to pick the mint, lemon thyme, basil or cilantro called for in my recipe books.  Soon I should be able to try out some pineapple mint, orange mint, thai basil and sage, too.

My cocktail garden.

In the meantime, here is a great recipe that utilizes the cilantro, as well as the blackberries that are poised to take over in my region. My friend Dee calls the Yerba Mora, “bright and lovely.” Funny, that’s how I describe Dee, too.

Yerba Mora  (created by mixologist Joaquin Simo)

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the 5 blackberries. Add ice and all of the remaining ingredients except the skewered blackberries and shake well. Strain (a small fine-mesh sieve is handy to catch the blackberry seeds) into an ice-filled highball glass and garnish with the skewered blackberries (optional).

The Chartreuse is an appealing liqueur and one of the finds that I’ve been happiest about discovering. I have the green Chartreuse called for in the Yerba Mora, but there is a also a yellow (and therefore not actually chartreuse) Chartreuse that is sweeter. Monks in France have been making it for centuries, which suddenly make monks seem far more interesting. It has also made my liquor cabinet more interesting.

Cheers, ICE

*This headline – slightly tweaked – is courtesy of writer Dorothy Parker’s quote, “You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think.”