Today's topic for Blogust is comfort food. Since we already had a post devoted to that, however (see Comfort Food Haiku), I decided to change it up a little and talk about my favorite drinks.
I love mixing cocktails. It makes me feel a bit like I'm in a Hogwarts potions class. You measure and stir and shake, and hopefully by the end you have a delicious, magical drink!
There are millions of cocktails, and some are very complex. Ignore those; you can have a professional bartender make them for you. A true classic cocktail is simple and has between three and four ingredients. Here are some of my favorites:
- Martini--I take my martinis old skool style, basically equal parts gin and dry vermouth. Most martinis these days are really dry, like 2 drops of vermouth in the glass. From my perspective, why not just drink straight gin? Blech. The great thing about martinis are that they're like PB&J sandwiches: there are two ingredients, you stir them together with ice, strain, and drink. You can't screw this one up.
- Sours--You can turn any alcohol base into a sour. And I mean ANY--I've done absinthe sours, amaretto sours, sours with flavored liquor; you're only limited by your bar stock. Shake together 1 1/2 ounces of the base alcohol, 1 oz simple syrup (mix 1 part sugar to 1 part warm water until the sugar is dissolved), and 3/4 oz lemon juice with 3-4 ice cubes. You can also add egg white if you want, but it's a pain in the ass. If you pour the sour on top of ice and add club soda, it's a fizz.
- Sidecar--Sidecars are AMAZING. These are my absolute favorite cocktails. Once again, I prefer the old skool proportions: 2 parts brandy or cognac, 1 part triple-sec (like Cointreau, although if you're using cognac you should go for broke and use Grand Marnier while you're at it), 1 part lemon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a glass. Drink and feel like a boss.
- Toddies--Hot toddies were probably the first cocktails I made, and I love them! My favorite toddy recipe comes from Epicurious: 2 tbsps brandy (the recipe calls for bourbon, but I use brandy because it's my fave), 1 tbsp honey, and 2 tsps lemon juice. Mix with boiling water, drink, and feel 100% better.
What are some of your favorite drinks?
This post is part of Blogust, a meme where we post every day in August. For more information, topics, or to sign up, visit Beyond Elsewhere.
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