Category: 5:00
The Classic Manhattan Cocktail
The French 75
Tito’s Vodka Cocktails
Tito’s Vodka was kind enough to send me some trending cocktail recipes to share with all of you. They look like a heck of a lot of fun, and personally, I am looking forward to trying plenty of them! The names are a riot and include Grapefruit Groove, Tito’s Fire Killer, and Tito’s Thyme Out. If you can’t have fun with drinks like that, I can’t party with you.
Those with an at-home bar likely have a bottle of Tito’s on hand at all times. Why wouldn’t you? It’s perfect to quickly mix with cranberry or soda or go all out with one of Tito’s latest cocktails, like Tito’s Pear Blossom. Maybe this makes me old, but my all-time favorite use for Tito’s is the cosmo. There are so many great new cocktails, and the ones Tito’s has created are fabulous. However, we all have our go-to, and if I am in a vodka mood, cosmopolitan it is. My only complaint is that they are too easy to drink, so be careful!
Check out my favorite cosmo recipe below…
Tito’s Cosmopolitan
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz Tito’s Vodka
- 1 oz orange liqueur
- 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
- splash of cranberry juice
- 1 lime slice to garnish
Directions
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a lime slice.
Tito’s Pear Blossom
I like cocktails with sweetness but plenty of bite, and this one has that. The pear brandy adds a little spice, so this isn’t as sweet as it may sound. Best of all, it tastes fresh, as if you just hand-squeezed all the fruit. I do recommend that the lemon juice is always freshly squeezed. It just tastes better. If you enjoy elderberry cocktails or anything sweet and sour, you’ll like this one.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka
- 3/4 oz Pear Brandy
- 1/2 oz yuzu juice (tastes like a mix of lemon, lime, and grapefruit and you can buy it on Amazon.)
- 1/2 oz lemon juicce
- 1/2 oz elderberry syrup
- 1 dash bitters
Directions
- Shake it all up with some ice and strain into a martini glass.
Bucha Colada
If you dig piña coladas, you’ll appreciate this one. Buchanan’s Pineapple puts a new twist on the classic, and truly, it was made for this tropical drink.
Over crushed ice or frozen
Ingredients:
• 1.5 oz Buchanan’s Pineapple
• 2 oz Pineapple Juice
• 1 oz Coconut Cream
• 0.75 oz Fresh Lime Juice
Glassware: Highball Glass
Garnish: Lime Wheel, Angostura Bitters Float
Instructions: Add Buchanan’s Pineapple, pineapple juice, coconut cream, lime juice, and ice
into a shaker and shake until cold. Pour into a highball glass filled with crushed ice, and
top with a float of Angostura bitters. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Alternatively, you can make this frozen in a blender.
Piña Fizz
Feeling tropical, or even worse, feeling winter? Here’s what you need to do…grab some Buchanan’s Pineapple, mineral water, a little Tajin, and a lime. That’s all you need, though a spray tan and some sunglasses wouldn’t hurt.
Ingredients:
• 1.5 oz Buchanan’s Pineapple
• 4 oz mineral water
Glassware: Highball Glass
Garnish: Tajin rime, Lime Wedge
Instructions: Squeeze a little lime juice onto a plate and then some Tajin seasoning on another plate. Dip the rim of the highball glass in the lime juice and then coat the rim with Tajin. Pour Buchannan’s Pineapple into the glass, over ice, and top with mineral water. Garnish with a lime wedge.
The Perfect Lemon Drop Martini
I may be bias, but my man can make a cocktail. I sometimes feel bad for him because he’s become known for his skills so he’s often in the kitchen making drinks when we have get-togethers. He promises he enjoys it. He makes us a lemon drop martini at least once a week. The lemon is so refreshing and as always, the secret is fresh squeezed lemon juice. You’ve got to taste a little of the drink before you pour it to see how sour it is. Lemons vary and the amount of simple sugar you add might go up if the lemons are extra sour.
My first lemon drop was at a local restaurant where Damian and I used to meet before we were married. It was actually the spot of our first date. I know…sappy stuff. Once he started making lemon drops for me at my house when he’d come over, I caved to marriage.
Lemon Drop Martini
Ingredients
- 2-ounces vodka
- 3/4-ounce Cointreau or triple sec
- 1-ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 3/4-ounce simple syrup (a little more to taste if it’s too sour)
- small plate with enough lemon juice to wet rim of glass
- small plate with sugar
Directions
- Dip the rim of your martini glass in the lemon juice on the plate and then in the sugar on the other plate and set aside.
- Pour all other ingredients in the shaker, add ice and shake vigorously.
- Pour and serve.
Blood and Sand
I first tasted a Blood and Sand cocktail while visiting a favorite restaurant, Hardware. The picture on the menu reminded me of a Manhattan so I thought I’d give it a try. It was delicious, like the dangerous kind of delicious. The kind of cocktail that goes down way too easily. It wasn’t too sweet but it also had no burn. I was hooked.
We debated where the name might have come from. After hours of deliberation, we caved to Google. According to Taste Cocktails, some say the inspiration is from the movie, “Blood and Sand”, a silent film in 1922. However, others credit Harry Craddock whose Savoy cocktail book in 1930 was the first to include the recipe. No matter where it came from, this cocktail is unusual because it involves Scotch whisky. Not a lot of cocktails do.
Most of the recipes don’t call for bitters. My husband takes his cues from my ooohs and ahhhs when I take a sip, so at one point when he was experimenting with the addition of bitters, I apparently really enjoyed the Blood and Sand that evening. So, now it’s a permanent part of our recipe. It’s essential to use freshly squeezed orange juice. It’s really worth the effort. We keep a simple one in the kitchen and it works great.
Blood and Sand
Ingredients
- 3/4-ounce scotch (choose one that isn’t too peated)
- 3/4-ounce sweet vermouth.
- 3/4-ounce Heering cherry liqueur.
- 3/4-ounce orange juice freshly squeezed.
- Dash of orange bitters
- Dash of cherry bitters
- Thin orange peel to garnish
Directions
- Shake this all with 3 to 4 ice cubes then pour into a cocktail glass…remember to double this for two cocktails.
- Garnish with the orange peel.
