Peppermint Cranberry Moscow Mule

I was sent a bottle of Smirnoff Peppermint Twist Vodka to sample.  I was not paid for my opinion.  All views and opinions are my own.

'Tis the season for peppermint flavored sweets and cocktails!

I was sent this bottle of peppermint vodka to try along with a couple recipes.

The first thing I noticed was a slight aroma of peppermint.

Was I going crazy?  Was the candy cane looking bottle making me think I was smelling peppermint?

Nope, it's actually a Scratch & Sniff bottle!  Well that's fun!

The cocktail I decided to try from the list I was given is a Peppermint Cranberry Moscow Mule.  

Why?

Cause I was suuuuper curious how peppermint, cranberry and ginger would go together.

I braved it and added the vodka.

Then the cranberry juice.

Shook it up.

Strained it into my cup and added the ginger beer.

The end result?

Surprisingly good! 

I tasted each of the ingredients, but none of them overpowered the other.

The peppermint flavor (which I was most worried about) was nice, not over done.  It gave a nice hint of peppermint.

I am looking forward to creating some more holiday cocktails with this flavored vodka!

Peppermint Cranberry Moscow Mule

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces Smirnoff Peppermint Vodka
• 2 ounces cranberry juice
• 6 ounces ginger beer

instructions:

1. In a shaker with ice add vodka and cranberry juice.
2. Shake.
3. Strain into copper mug filled with ice.
4. Pour in ginger beer.
5. Stir.

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I hope you get a chance to try a new holiday cocktail this year!

Berry Patriotic

I was sent a bottle of Smirnoff Red, White & Berry to try.  I was not paid for this post.  I am here to tell you what I think about it and the awesome cocktail I made with it.  All views and opinions are mine.

Ready or not, Memorial Day weekend is coming full steam ahead!

But don't worry!  I made a brand new cocktail in celebration!  I call it Berry Patriotic!

I was contacted and asked if I would like to have a bottle of Smirnoff's Red, White & Berry vodka to make some cocktails with.  Um.  Heck yes I would LOVE a bottle!

Not only did they send me a bottle of vodka, they also sent me two bottles of their Red, White & Berry Smirnoff Ice!  WIN!!

Let's start with the vodka. 

OH MY!!

When you open up that bottle does it ever smell DELICIOUS!!!!

The berry aroma is great!  I couldn't wait to create a cocktail with it.

So.......I went a little overboard and.......well sort of created 3 cocktails in one.

They had sent me some recipes that others had created and one of them was layered, so I knew I wanted to create my very own layered cocktail with this bottle.

I wrote down what I thought would work and started blending each layer AS QUICKLY AS  I POSSIBLE COULD!

Yes, I totally could have stuck my glasses in the freezer between layers, but honestly I had all of my ingredients out and it really doesn't take much time to whip up the next layer so I decided to go for it.

It worked...until it was time to take a million photos of these fantastic cocktails......on a warm day......out in the sun.

Needless to say they started to melt a little, but that took NOTHING away from their taste or awesome layering!

I have got to say this cocktail is REALLY good!

I haven't had a sweet cocktail in quite some time and this one right here.......WOW!

Don't you just want to dive in?

OK, maybe it's just me?

Maybe it is.......

Anyways, what are your plans for the weekend?  Any holiday celebrations you are throwing or attending?

We have a party this weekend which should be a great time!  You can't beat family, friends, warm weather, food and of course cocktails!!

Now onto the Smirnoff Ice bottles they sent me!

I will admit, it's been years since I've had a Smirnoff Ice.  Actually the last time I had one, they only came in their original flavor.  Gasp.  I know.  Horrible.

So........these smell........delicious too!  Oh that berry smell is great.  

But how do they taste?

FREAKING AMAZING!  I need to see if I can find these at the store because these are absolutely necessary for this weekend!  Absolutely!  PLUS, they're blue!  I mean what could be better?

Did you notice their cap?  Little stars!!  How adorable is that?

OK, so let's get you that 3 in 1 recipe for the Berry Patriotic!

Author: The Cocktail Lady

Berry Patriotic

ingredients:

Blue Layer

• 1 1/2 ounces Smirnoff Red, White & Berry Vodka
• 1 1/2 ounces cranberry juice
• 1/2 ounce grenadine

White Layer

• 1 1/2 ounces Smirnoff Red, White & Berry Vodka
• 1 ounce lemonade
• 1/2 ounce peach schnapps

Red Layer

• 1 1/2 ounces Smirnoff Red, White & Berry Vodka
• 1 1/2 ounces lemonade
• 1/2 ounce blueberry schnapps

instructions:

Blue Layer

1. Blend ingredients for blue layer with ice until ice chunks are gone.
2. Pour into the bottom of the glass.

White Layer

1. Blend ingredients for white layer with ice until ice chunks are gone.
2. Layer on top of the blue layer.

Red Layer

1. Blend ingredients for red layer with ice until ice chunks are gone.
2. Layer on top of the white layer.

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There you have it!  A fun looking layered cocktail for Memorial Day weekend!

I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend!

Spring Breeze

It is officially spring, which means that I can officially make my Spring Breeze!  This cocktail is perfect for a nice spring day.

There is something about a cocktail in a martini glass being this color, usually from the cranberry juice, that makes me want to drink it up....fast.  I just love the color of this fun cocktail.

The weather here has been so back and forth I never know from one hour to the next how the day is going to play out.

I find myself looking at my weather app to "try to" plan out the week.  Then reminding myself that whatever I am seeing on my app right now most likely will not "really" be what the week will be weather wise. 

I've been so confused on whether or not it was going to rain this week, then if it is supposed to....when?

At least I know it's not raining right now and my daughters softball game is still on!

So we survived Easter!  How was yours?  Did you celebrate Easter, Greek Easter, nothing at all?  Better question, Did you have a cocktail??

Easter this year was actually one of the easier Easters we've had.  We made it easy.

Bought a ham from Costco.  Stick it in the oven.  Done.

I made my homemade creamy mashed potatoes ahead of time.  Done.

I made my DELICIOUS creamed corn in the slow cooker in the morning.  Done.

My husband made his brussel sprouts right before dinner.  Done.

I was able to sit, chat, relax and enjoy a couple cocktails with our guests!  I looooved it!!

Tonight's cocktail is pretty simple to make.

There is not a whole lot of ingredients, which is nice because it gets you THAT MUCH closer to enjoying your cocktail!

Measure.

Shake.

Strain.

Enjoy.

See how simple that was??

Oh and don't forget the MOST IMPORTANT step of all.

Repeat!!

Isn't the color of this cocktail just fantastic?  I just love it.  So much that I should probably make another one.

With these simple ingredients right here!

Author: The Cocktail Lady

Spring Breeze

ingredients:

• 1 ounce vodka
• 2 ounces cranberry juice
• 1/2 ounce amaretto
• 1 ounce pineapple juice

instructions:

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

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There you have it.  It's just that simple.  It's just that delicious!

Chocolate Covered Cranberry

Did I have you at chocolate?  I'm going to sweeten the deal and say cranberry too!  This Chocolate Covered Cranberry is the PERFECT cocktail to help you celebrate Valentine's Day.......or any day really!

A new year is upon us!  

I for one am very excited about it.  

Last year wasn't the best for me or my family with the loss of my mom.

I do believe in fresh starts though!

I was funny because of course the holidays were hard, but something clicked in me on New Years Eve and I was actually excited for the celebration and what it brought.  A BRAND NEW YEAR!

Something inside of me has been turned back on and I've already started cleaning, tried new recipes (I got an Instapot a year and 2 months ago, and FINALLY opened the box and used it), and just started enjoying life more!

Feels pretty darn good too!

Today I want to give you a recipe I created.  

It's pink, which reminds me of Valentine's Day.  

Not that we're big Valentine's Day celebrators over here, but sometimes a pink cocktail is just called for.

This cocktail is an easy one to make and it packs a good amount of flavor too.  You can really taste the chocolate and cranberry flavors inside.  Yum!!

You can't go wrong with chocolate whipped vodka.

Cranberry juice just seals the deal on the yum scale!

Here is my recipe, which I know you'll enjoy especially if you enjoy cranberry juice in your cocktails.

Author: The Cocktail Lady

Chocolate Covered Cranberry

ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces chocolate whipped vodka
• 2 ounces cranberry juice
• 1 ounce creme de cacao (light)
• 1/2 ounce heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 ounce grenadine

instructions:

1. In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above.
2. Shake and strain into a tall cocktail glass.
3. Shake what ever is left in the shaker real well and strain onto the top of the cocktail to give it a frothier top.

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Here's to a New Year and a new fresh start!  I hope this year is the best ever for you all!

Tropical Hawaiian Kiss

Tropical Hawaiian Kiss

Last Friday I had one of my amazing friends call and say, "Hey, I know it's pizza Friday at your place, so can we pick up a pizza and come over?".  

Great minds because I was literally online adding toppings to our pizzas we were going to order.  

See, at our house Friday used to mean "Pizza Friday", then it turned into "Pizza and Beer Friday".  

Last Friday was "Pizza, Beer & Cocktails Friday"...........which I think is kinda cool.  

Needless to say I needed some good 'ole fashioned drinking and laughing therapy that night.  I decided that I was going to grab some stuff from my bar and just create something completely new.  

Did it.  

It was a winner..........like so much that we each had 3.  

Don't judge me.......it was a long week!

I am a HUGE fan of banana liqueur.  

Like HUGE!  

I love the way it smells, I love how it adds such an amazing flavor to my cocktails, I just love everything about it.  

Now my friend had never had it before........I KNOW RIGHT?  

Simply crazy talk!  
I mean she's a friend of The Cocktail Lady and she's never had banana liqueur?  

I must be slipping!

Needless so say, she's in love with it........almost as much as I am!  Like I said, she's an amazing friend!

This cocktail was SO delicious!  

Like I said above, we had 3.........each.  

As we sat there drinking our cocktails we went through a handful of names to call this cocktail.  In the end, the 3 words that kept on popping up were the three I chose.  

Here is my recipe for a Tropical Hawaiian Kiss:

print recipe

Tropical Hawaiian Kiss

June-9-2016

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces coconut rum
• 3 ounces pineapple juice
• 1 1/2 ounces cranberry juice
• 1 ounce banana liqueur
• 1/2 ounce grenadine

Instructions

Fill up a cocktail glass half way with ice. In a shaker, add ice and all of the ingredients above. Shake and strain the cocktail into your glass and enjoy!!

yield: Makes A GallonAuthor: The Cocktail Ladyprint recipe

Tropical Hawaiian Kiss

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 1/4 cups coconut rum
• 6 1/2 cups pineapple juice
• 3 1/2 cups cranberry juice
• 2.166 (just under 2 1/2 cups) cups banana liqueur
• 1 cup gredadine

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Fill gallon sized container with all of the ingredients above.
2. Stir up ingredients very well (unless you can seal the container and shake them up).
3. Pour over ice and enjoy!

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Here is a photo of the ingredients:

Here's to good friends and cocktails!  Some friends are good because of the cocktails, others are good no matter what!

Cheers!

The Cocktail Lady