Friday, May 30, 2014

Apple Cider Margarita




Happy Friday everyone!  

We've made it, another week in the books.  

This week in our home our oldest completed his last day of his Freshmen year of High School.  We officially have a Sophomore!  

WAIT...........what??  

I just can't believe how quickly these past 15 1/2 years have gone by. 

Also on Saturday our second oldest tests for his brown belt in Tae Kwon Do!  We're all super excited about that!  

He also only has 2 more weeks of school left until he becomes a 5th grader....breathe.

My girls love drinking apple cider.  

We always have an open container in the fridge so I thought, why not use it in a cocktail?  

My husband and I have had margaritas on the brain lately, so I decided to try creating an apple cider flavored margarita.

I learned that with this cocktail I had to add more apple cider then I initially thought because the flavor of it just doesn't come out as well as I had thought.  

As a last minute idea, I threw some cinnamon into the mixture, which greatly improved it.  

This margarita is good.  

Not my favorite flavored margarita, but still good.


Here is a photo of the end result:



Here is a photo of the ingredients:



Here is my recipe for an Apple Cider Margarita:

  • 1 ounce tequila
  • 1/2 ounce cointreau
  • 1/2 ounce orange juice
  • 3 1/2 ounces apple cider
  • 1 pinch of ground cinnamon
On a separate plate put equal amounts of super fine sugar and ground cinnamon.  Mix it up well and rim your cocktail glass with the mixture.


In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above.  Shake and dump everything into your rimmed cocktail glass.



Here is to a fun filled weekend!  I hope you all enjoy it!

Cheers!

The Cocktail Lady

Friday, May 23, 2014

Irish Coffee Balls






Here we are, Day 5 of 5!  


What a Fireball-ey kind of week, huh?  



Today I decided to set aside the Fireball recipes I had found on their Facebook page and create my own.  I must say.....Ding Ding Ding......winner winner, chicken dinner!!


Besides the fun part of naming a new cocktail (especially when you are working with an ingredients by the name of Fireball) I think drinking this one is even better.  


This shooter will definitely be one of the newest additions to our "Everybody have a shot!" parties for sure.  The three ingredients in this cocktail are Ah-maze-ing together and it goes down pretty darn smooth.

I hope you all have enjoyed these 5 Days Of Fireball I have done.  


I know that some of you are waiting to see all of the recipes that I make before you decide which one to have (Jan if you like Irish Cream Liqueur and Kahlua....you might want to make this one the one you try).  



If any of you do try one of these 5 recipes, please let me know which one/s you try and what you think of them.  I would love to hear from you.




Here is a photo of the end result:

irish coffee balls cocktail shot, fireball whisky, cinnamon whisky, kahlua, coffee liqueur, baileys, irish cream liqueur


Here is a photo of the ingredients:

irish coffee balls cocktail shot, fireball whisky, cinnamon whisky, kahlua, coffee liqueur, baileys, irish cream liqueur


Here is my recipe for an Irish Coffee Balls:

  • 1/2 ounce Fireball Whisky
  • 1/2 ounce Kahlua
  • 1/2 ounce Irish Cream Liqueur


In a shaker, add ice and the ingredients above.  Shake and strain into a shot glass and enjoy!!




That concludes my "5 Days Of Fireball"!  I hope you have enjoyed them.  

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Sun Burn

Two simple ingredients, one great shot!  You should totally try a Sun Burn tonight!






Question.....can we start adding another day onto the weekends?  

Seriously, I would love to have a 4 day week and 3 day weekend every week.  

Knowing that the end of the school year is just around the corner, I am starting to get antsy for it to end.  

I am completely ready for summer to start......now.  

It is Day 4 of my 5 Days Of Fireball!  

For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you may have seen that I had re-posted one of Fireballs recipes which is today's cocktail, Sun Burn.  

I love Malibu rum.....so if a recipe calls for it, yea I'm pretty much going to make it.  

This shooter is half Fireball and half Malibu and it's pretty darn good!!  

The rum cuts the cinnamon-ey burn from Fireball enough to where I can handle it better then others I've tried.  Don't get me wrong, I like Fireball.....it's just that it's a bit too hot/cinnamon-ey for me straight out of the bottle.

Another great recipe from Fireball.....which had me log onto their website and they have a few pages of recipes submitted from readers and some of which sounded pretty tasty.  

I think in the future I will be trying some and creating some of my own as well.



Here is a photo of the end result:

sun burn cocktail shot, fireball whisky, cinnamon whisky, coconut rum, malibu rum


Here is a photo of the ingredients:

sun burn cocktail shot, fireball whisky, cinnamon whisky, coconut rum, malibu rum


Here is the recipe for a Sun Burn:


  • 1 ounce Fireball Whisky
  • 1 ounce coconut rum
In a shaker, add ice and the ingredients above.  Shake and strain into a shot glass.



Here is to Day 4.  I have a feeling that at our next friend gathering we will be recreating most of these Fireball cocktails.

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Bananas Foster (Fireball Version)



It's Wednesday, Day 3 of my "5 Days Of Fireball".  

Tonight we have our second oldest's Open House at school.  He is excited to go and very excited to check out the 5th grade classrooms for next year.  He already knows who he wants as his teacher, so we will cross our fingers and hope he gets his choice.  

Tonight is a good opportunity to show our oldest daughter the kindergarten classrooms as well.  

Yes......3 of 4 will be starting kindergarten in the fall...breathe.....just breathe......can you tell it's all happening a little too quickly for us?


Today I am making Fireball's Banana Foster shooter.  

I have to admit that I have been looking forward to trying this one out for a while now......yes solely because it has banana liqueur in it.  

In this shooter the Fireball is the main thing you will taste.  I absolutely do taste the banana liqueur (phewph) as well, which is a very nice compliment to the Fireball.  The whipped cream vodka adds a creamy smoothness to it, which works perfectly this cocktail.  

All in all it was a good shooter......personally I would cut back a little with the Fireball so that it wasn't as overwhelming as it was.....but I did enjoy it.



Here is a photo of the end result:

bananas foster cocktail shot, fireball whisky, cinnamon whisky, banana liqueur, whipped vodka


Here is a photo of the ingredients:

bananas foster cocktail shot, fireball whisky, cinnamon whisky, banana liqueur, whipped vodka


Here is the recipe for a Banana Foster:

  • 1/2 ounce Fireball Whisky
  • 1/2 ounce banana liqueur
  • 1/2 ounce whipped vodka

In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above.  Shake and strain into a shot glass.



Here is to Day 3 of my 5 days mission.  I am having fun and I hope you are all enjoying it as well.

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Tennessee Apple




Welcome back for Day 2 of my "5 Days Of Fireball".  

Tonight I have a softball game, which should be a lot of fun.  I absolutely look forward to my Tuesday nights out with the girls on the field.....as well as the beers we have afterwords.  

For that reason, I am doing this post earlier in the day then I did yesterdays.....I do want to be able to see the ball when it's being pitched to me.

What's on the menu for Day 2 you ask?  

Well a Tennessee Apple of course.  

I will say that this little shooter does taste like a sour, cinnamon-ey apple for sure.  

The sour apple flavor does come out stronger then I thought it might, which is a good thing.  

These three ingredients together are a nice blend when you shoot it.  

I will admit that about a minute (or less) after I shot this cocktail...I did in fact make "That Face".....you know the one.  

The face where you take a shot and then inside your head you say, "I got this" and you confidently lay down your shot glass.  Then......all of the sudden.....you feel the shudder creeping up your spine and the next thing you know, you're making "That Face".  

Yup....I made it.


Here is a photo of the end result:

Tennessee Apple cocktail, fireball whisky, cinnamon whisky, sour apple schnapps, cranberry juice

Here is a photo of the ingredients:

Tennessee Apple cocktail, fireball whisky, cinnamon whisky, sour apple schnapps, cranberry juice


Here is the recipe for a Tennessee Apple:

  • 1 1/2 ounces Fireball Whisky
  • 1 ounce sour apple schnapps
  • 1/2 ounce cranberry juice

In a shaker, add ice and the ingredients above.  Shake and strain into a shot glass.



Here is to Day 2 of my "5 Days Of Fireball".  

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Monday, May 19, 2014

Cinnamon Latte



If you have not already heard, I am dedicating today and these next 4 days to Fireball Whisky.  

When I find a yummy sounding shooter or cocktail that they post on Facebook, I re-post it on my Facebook page A Year Of Cocktails.  (If you haven't already, go ahead and "like" my page)  

I now have 5 that I want to try, so I thought this would be a great way to try them.  

I call it:




Today I start off these 5 days with one of their shooters they call Cinnamon Latte.  

I do taste the Fireball the most in this shooter, but it is not overwhelming enough to set my mouth on fire.....which is a good thing.  

Don't get me wrong, I like Fireball......but I can't make a Fireball on the rocks and enjoy it, it's just too hot for me.  

I have made a few Fireball Whisky cocktails in the past and have enjoyed them all, so I fully expect to enjoy these "5 Days Of Fireball" a lot too.


On a side note, school is coming to an end.....yes I said it.....can I believe it?  


Maybe?  

Our oldest's Freshman year will be over next week and he will only have (sniff, sniff) 3 more years of High School to go.  

He is growing up so fast.....actually they all are.  

That being said, I am selling customized teacher/school wine charms at my Etsy Shop if anyone is stuck on what to get your child's teacher.  

I know "wine" charms might not sound like the right gift, but if they were called "Coffee Mug" charms I think that would sound better, ha ha.  

I am also now making customized favors (which you can check out here) for Bachelorette Parties, Baby Shower, Wedding Showers, Weddings, Birthday Parties, etc.  

Check them out here at my Etsy Shop as well.  

Spread the word, you never know who is looking for sometime new and totally customizable!  

OK, OK, back to today's cocktail.

Here are my links to Days 2-5:


Day 2 ~ Tennessee Apple

Day 3 ~ Bananas Foster
Day 4 ~ Sun Burn
Day 5 ~ Irish Coffee Balls


Here is a photo of the end result:

cinnamon latte, cocktail, fireball whisky, cinnamon whisky, coffee liqueur, baileys irish cream liqueur

Here is a photo of the ingredients:

cinnamon latte, cocktail, fireball whisky, cinnamon whisky, coffee liqueur, baileys irish cream liqueur


Here is Fireball's recipe for a Cinnamon Latte:

  • 1 1/2 ounces Fireball Whisky
  • 1 ounce coffee liqueur
  • 1/2 ounce Irish Cream

In a shaker, add ice and the ingredients above.  Shake and strain into a shot glass and enjoy!!


Here is to a week of Fireball!  Let me know if you try any of them!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady

Monday, May 5, 2014

Cran Chili Margarita & Zulka Pure Cane Sugar






Happy Cinco De Mayo!  

I am late on this post......sorry.  


We had to travel away for the weekend for our oldest High School baseball game.  My goal was to post this yesterday, but between driving home (ok, so I was a passenger), insane allergies and too much sun......yea I went to bed super early last night.  


Better late then never!

Today I created a Cran Chili Margarita.  

I was honestly a little scared to mix in the chili powder.  


I know it's not the same thing, but I had a habanero martini once and YIKES....HOT...TOOOO HOT......for me at least.  My folks and husband loved it though....and drank all of mine.  That martini has scared me ever since......therefore I have never tried to add peppers of any kind to my cocktails...and in a wussy way, I thought chili powder would be my first step.

I really like this cocktail. 

The chili powder was a great addition.  


I also mixed it into the sugar rim on my margarita glass, very good call.  


I think I may start experimenting with a pepper in the future......a very very mild pepper to start with.


(This week is teacher appreciation week.  Our school does not celebrate it until the week of the 19-23.  I am selling Teacher Wine Charm sets at my Etsy store and I'd love for you to check it out!  Here is a link to that listing: Teacher Wine Charm Sets  Here is a link to my Etsy store in general JPDesigned.  I can do custom orders for just about anything you have in mind.  Convo me through my store and let's create something together!)



Here is a photo of the end result:



Here is a photo of the ingredients:



I was contacted by Zulka Pure Cane Sugar and they wanted to send me a bag of Zulka Pure Cane Sugar to try out.  I was not paid for my opinion.  All opinions are my honest ones.

She thought it might be something that I could use in an upcoming cocktail.  She was right!  

I tasted the sugar by itself and I have to say I like it.  It is not super sweet/sugary.....you know what you think of when you think "sugar".....that face you make when something is too sweet....well at least that is what I think of when I think of sugar.  

Zulka was not that.  

I think this sugar was a perfect accent to my creation today.  

If I would have gone with a sweeter tasting sugar....I'm not sure if it would have worked as well.





Here is a quote from an email I received from Zulka Pure Cane Sugar, "Zulka Pure Cane Sugar is an unrefined, vegan, Non-GMO Project verified "Morena" style sugar that is minimally processed and comes straight from freshly-harvested sugar cane."

I think I'll try it next time I bake something.  Perfect excuse to make some cookies....or....oh boy....I'd better head to the store!


Here is my recipe for a Cran Chili Margarita:

  • 1 1/2 ounces cranberry cocktail juice
  • 1 ounce silver tequila
  • 1/2 ounce triple sec
  • 3/4 ounce lime juice
  • 1/16 teaspoon chili powder

Rim a margarita glass with an even mixture of sugar and chili powder.  In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above.  Shake well and dump everything into your rimmed margarita glass.


I hope you are all having a great Cinco De Mayo.  Here's to chili powder, and not being a wuss and using it!

Cheers!!

The Cocktail Lady