Satsuma Vodka-tini

• 1 cup fresh cranberries 
• 1 cup vodka 
• ½ cup sugar 
• 4 satsumas 
• ¾ cup Grand Marnier 
• ¼ cup lime juice 

Combine cranberries, vodka, sugar, and satsumas in a food processor; process until pureed. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. 

Strain mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a bowl, pressing to extract juice. Discard solids. Stir in Grand Marnier and lime juice. 

Place 1 cup satsuma mixture in a martini shaker with 1/2 cup crushed ice; shake. Strain mixture into 2 martini glasses. Repeat procedure to yield 10 cocktails.

Serves 10; 187 calories.

VERDICT:  Made with only things already in the house, and delicious!  (I did use Cointreau, and then Triple Sec in place of the Grand Marnier.)  Would be a good Christmas/Thanksgiving cocktail--make-ahead and batched.  Keep.

The Witty Comeback

• 2 ounces rye whiskey (preferably Old Overholt)
• ½ ounce Averna amaro
• ½ ounce fresh lemon juice
• ½ ounce ginger simple syrup
• Orange twist (for serving)

Combine rye, Averna, lemon juice, and ginger simple syrup in a cocktail shaker; fill shaker with ice. Shake until outside of shaker is frosty, about 30 seconds. Strain into a coupe glass or a rocks glass filled with ice and garnish with orange twist.

Ginger Simple Syrup

• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup chopped peeled ginger

Bring sugar, ginger, and ¾ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and let sit 20 minutes. Strain into a jar, cover, and chill.

Yield: 1 drink.

VERDICT:  These were meant for dinner for Jen and Beth, which got blizzarded out--they turned out to be the perfect drink for a snowy day.  John and I drank them until the Old Overholt ran out (not as long as you'd think).  Keep!

Jalapeño Paloma

• 2 oz jalapeño simple syrup (recipe follows)
• 1 oz lime juice
• 4 oz mezcal
• 4 oz grapefruit juice
• 4 oz club soda

Combine all the ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously and pour into two glasses. Garnish with grapefruit and jalapeño slices.

Jalapeño Simple Syrup: 

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ water
• 2 jalapeños, coarsely chopped

Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, about 15 mins. Strain and reserve.

Serves 2.

VERDICT:  Mezcal is not for the faint of heart; we dialed it back a bit.  The recipe says you should include the club soda in the shaker, but that seemed odd, so we shook up the rest of the ingredients and then topped off with club soda.  Delightful--keep.  From What Should I Make For....

Rhubarb Gin and Tonic

For rhubarb syrup:

• 1 pound rhubarb
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water

For 1 cocktail:

• 1 1/2 ounces gin
• 1 1/2 ounces rhubarb syrup
• 3 ounces tonic water
• ice
• lime wedge

To make rhubarb syrup:

Cut rhubarb into 1-inch chunks, making sure to discard any leaves. Combine rhubarb, sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then cook until rhubarb is soft and beginning to break down, about 3 minutes.

Strain through a mesh strainer and reserve solids to make jam or a pie. Chill syrup in the refrigerator until ready for use.

To make cocktail:

Fill a tall glass with ice. Add gin and rhubarb syrup, then fill the glass with tonic. Stir, garnish with lime wedge and enjoy immediately!

VERDICT:  Delightful!  I tossed a couple of strawberries in while I was cooking the syrup to get a pretty, pretty pink syrup.  An excellent, slightly fancy G&T.  Keep!  From Mario Batali.

Celery Tonic

• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 2 ounces gin
• Lemon twist (for serving)

Muddle celery with sugar and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker, 1 minute. Add gin, fill shaker with ice, and shake until outside of shaker is frosty, about 30 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice and garnish with a lemon twist.

Serves 1.

VERDICT:  This is refreshing and a good way to use up leftover celery.  Keep.

Pear Ginger Champagne

Simple syrup:

• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 pear (peeled and cored)
• 3 pieces of ginger (broken off from ginger root, peeled with vegetable peeler)
• 1 cinnamon stick

Boil all of the ingredients together until sugar has melted, about 5 minutes. Cool and put in container in fridge. Will keep for up to 2 weeks. (This makes a great gift on its own!)

To assemble drink, add a double shot of pear, ginger & cinnamon simple syrup to a glass.  Fill the remainder of the glass with champagne.  Top with frozen cranberries if you’re feeling festive!

VERDICT:  I made these to use up a hunk of leftover ginger.  The pear didn't come through as much as I'd hoped for, and they were frankly a little odd.  Toss.  From  Design*Sponge.

Blueberry-Cucumber Smoothie

• 2 large garden cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks (2 cups)
• 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1–2 Tbs. honey or agave nectar
• 1 Tbs. lemon juice

Place all ingredients in blender, and blend until smooth.

 

Serves 4; 102 calories.

 

VERDICT:  Used up the BOGO blueberries and cucumber and was surprisingly good.  Further proof you can throw anything in a smoothie and have it turn out relatively well.  Keep. 

Frozen Coconut Limeade

• 2 1/2 cups crushed or small ice cubes
• 1 cup coconut milk, well-shaken if from a can
• 1/3 cup lime juice (from about 3 limes)
• 3 tablespoons granulated or superfine sugar (more or less to taste)
• Lime slices for garnish

Blend every thing until it reaches your desired consistency — almost smooth, for a crunchier effect, or fully smooth, for a milkshake/creamier effect. Pour into glasses, garnish with lime.

Serves 4 (8 oz).

VERDICT:  Tart and refreshing--keep.

Melon-Lime Slushy

• 6 cups diced honeydew, cantaloupe or watermelon
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
• 1/2 cup silver tequila or mezcal (optional)

Spread melon pieces on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Freeze until just hard, about 1 hour.
Transfer melon pieces to a food processor and add lime juice, sugar, thyme, 1/2 cup water and tequila, if desired. Pulse until smooth and slushy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add water if you prefer a thinner consistency. Add lime juice and sugar to taste.

Divide among serving glasses and garnish with thyme sprigs. Serve immediately with spoons, or let melt slightly to serve as a drink.

Serves 4; 257 calories.

VERDICT:  This wasn't especially thyme-y or boozy, but still refreshing on a hot day.  Good for using up an overripe melon fast.  Keep.

Bourbon-Rosemary Sour

• 2 cups fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups rosemary syrup 
• 1 1/2 cups bourbon

In a pitcher or other convenient pouring container, combine lemon juice, rosemary syrup and bourbon. Mix well. Fill glass with ice. Pour 1/2 cup mix into each glass. Stir well.

Serves 8.

VERDICT:  We used up some rosemary simple syrup we had in the fridge on these, with possibly a little extra syrup.  Delicious!  A boozy, slightly herby lemonade.  Keep.  (From At Home By Steve.)

Biscoff and Bourbon Milkshakes

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/3 c. Biscoff spread
• 4 large scoops ice cream
• 1/2 c. bourbon

Blend.  Garnish with whipped cream if desired.

VERDICT: These are mighty strong, but good.  I might prefer a little less milk, a little more Biscoff.  From Southern Souffle.  Keep.

Rhubarb, Grapefruit and Thyme Cocktails

• 2 fl oz (60 ml) Rhubarb-Grapefruit syrup (recipe follows) 
• 2 fl oz (60 ml) vodka 
• 2 fl oz (60 ml) freshly squeezed grapefruit juice 
• ice

Rhubarb-Grapefruit Syrup

• 2 cups (220 g) rhubarb chopped into ~2-inch pieces 
•  rind of half a grapefruit, peeled into ~2-inch strips 
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme 
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar 
• 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) water 

Place the syrup, vodka and grapefruit juice into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake for 15 seconds. Strain the mixture over ice into two glasses. Garnish with the grapefruit zest and thyme sprigs, if desired.  

To make the syrup combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over a high heat stirring just until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat and leave to simmer until the rhubarb is falling apart. Push the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer placed over a bowl. Discard the pulp left in the strainer and transfer the pink syrup to a clean jar fitted with a lid. Store in the fridge until needed.

Serves 2.

VERDICT:  These are fantastic--more grapefruity than rhubarby, sweet and a little tart.  We used rhubarb and thyme from the garden.  From Top With Cinnamon.  Keep.  

Maple Egg Cream

• 3 cups cold whole milk
• 6 cups cold seltzer
• 1 1/2 c. pure maple syrup

Divide the milk among 8 tall glasses, letting it foam up the sides. Add seltzer, dividing equally among the glasses. Pour 3 tbsp. maple syrup into the center of each glass. Gently stir in the syrup, moving your spoon only at the bottom of the glass so you don't disturb the foam.

Serves 8.

VERDICT: Delicious!  I had leftover whole milk and club soda, which turned out to be fine in a pinch.  Keep.

Horchata de Coco

• 1/2 cup flaked unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 cups rice milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine coconut and rice in a blender. Add 2 cups boiling water; let stand 15 minutes. Blend 1 minute or until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a pitcher, pressing mixture with the back of a spoon to remove as much liquid as possible. Discard solids. Stir in remaining ingredients, stirring until sugar dissolves. Serve over ice.

Serves 6 (2/3 c.); 178 calories.

VERDICT: The recipe said you could decrease the sugar to 1/2 or 1/3 cup--I went with 1/3 cup, and it's not quite sweet enough.  It also still pretty much  tastes like rice milk from a box.  On the whole, it's fine, but I can't really see making it on a regular basis.  Toss.

Pear-Brandy Cocktail

Pour 1 tablespoon brandy into each of 6 flutes. Put 2 teaspoons bitters in a small bowl. One at a time, add 6 sugar cubes to the bitters, turning to coat; divide among the flutes. Add a few thin pear slices to each glass and top with champagne.

Serves 6.

VERDICT:  These are a wonderful winter drink--well worth having sugar cubes around.  Keep.

Northwood #2

• 3 tablespoons gold rum
• 2 tablespoons brandy
• 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup (preferably Grade B)
• 3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• Ice cubes 
• 2 thin apple slices 

Combine first 5 ingredients in cocktail shaker; fill with ice. Cover and shake vigorously until cold. Strain into 2 coupe glasses. Cut slit in each apple slice and attach to rim of each glass.

Serves 2.

VERDICT:  Tiny, but strong!  Maybe amp up the cider, and serve in little glasses.  Nicely fall-like.  Keep.

Dark Moon

• 1½ cups cold-brew coffee
• ½ cup coffee liqueur
• ½ cup spiced rum
• 1 12-oz. bottle Coca-Cola, preferably Mexican
• ½ cup heavy cream 

Combine coffee, liqueur, rum, and cola in a large pitcher. Divide among rocks glasses filled with ice; add cream, dividing evenly. 

DO AHEAD: Cold brew, coffee liqueur, and rum can be combined 4 hours ahead. Cover.

Serves 8, 240 calories.

VERDICT:  Good.  The Coke is the crucial ingredient, I think.  Keep.

St. Germain and Ruby Red Cocktail

• 1 ounce St. Germain elderflower liqueur
• 1 ounce gin
• 1 ounce Ruby Red grapefruit juice
• 1/2 ounce cranberry juice
• lemon peel for garnish

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the St. Germain, gin, and juices. Shake well. Strain the drink into a chilled martini glass, and garnish with lemon peel. Serve.

Serves 1.

VERDICT:  From The Merry Gourmet.  Quite delicious, even without a lemon peel garnish.  Keep.

Genever Sour Apple

• 1 1/2 shot Bols Genever
• 3/4 shot Bols Sour Apple
• 1 lime wedge
• Sprite

Build in a long drink glass with ice.  Top with Sprite and garnish with squeezed lime.

Serves 1.

VERDICT:  This recipe was suggested to us by the magic video bartender at the Schiapol (i.e. World's Best) Airport.  It took us nine months to make it, which is a shame--it is the perfect drink for skiving off work early and having happy hour in the back yard.  Keep! 

Cold Remedy

• 1 oz. sliced fresh ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 lemon slice
• 1 pint water

Simmer 15 minutes; strain.

VERDICT:  Super astringent.  It probably works, but I did not enjoy it.  Toss.