Category Archives: Thirsty Thursday

Thirsty Thursday | Rosemary Greyhounds

18 Thursday Feb 2016

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Here we go again with herb-infused syrups! It really is the easiest way to make a regular old cocktail a little more fancy…

I first had a drink like this at a place I used to work near…I don’t want to call it a bar, I don’t want to call it a restaurant, it wasn’t quite a chain but there was definitely more than one location in the greater Seattle area…but a guy we worked with just called it the “close and gross” and it was so true but so good at the same time. Thank God we at least had somewhere within walking distance that had alcohol. And alcohol is always good, especially after work (or during your lunch hour). The Close and Gross had a Rosemary Greyhound that blew me away when I ordered it. Luckily I was able to recreate the drink at home and conjure up some old memories from a city and job well past.

Recipe Notes: I found that using grapefruit vodka mellowed the drink out a little, but regular vodka works fine too. The rosemary syrup has a pretty strong flavor as well, so go easy on it and decide how much you like in your drink. I think this cocktail could also benefit from a small splash of cranberry juice to make the drink a little more pink and level out some tartness.

Recipe
Rosemary Greyhound
By Baked Northwest
Makes 1 Cocktail

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces Grapefruit Vodka
  • 2 ounces Grapefruit Juice
  • 1/2 ounce rosemary syrup (recipe follows)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 7-8 fresh rosemary sprigs

Directions

1. Make the rosemary syrup: In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and 4-6 rosemary sprigs . Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Let cool, then strain out herbs.

2. Add vodka, grapefruit juice, rosemary syrup, and ice to a cocktail shaker. Shake, strain into a martini or a rocks glass, and garnish with rosemary sprigs.

Thirsty Thursday | Thyme Gimlets

14 Thursday Jan 2016

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Thyme Gimlets

There’s nothing quite like a good homemade cocktail – it’s a lot more economical than going out and I’m not above drinking something fancy while wearing sweatpants.

The thing about homemade cocktails is they have to have few ingredients and be relatively simple to make. When I see a cocktail recipe I’ll typically dismiss it if there are tons of special liqueurs and ingredients. I’ll leave the flaming coffees to the professionals…I want something easy to make that is a little more elevated than mixing booze with soda. Usually all you need is alcohol + simple syrup + a mixer, the more natural and less sweet the mixer, the better!

Thyme Gimlets

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Thirsty Thursday | Autumn Gin Sour

18 Thursday Sep 2014

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Autumn Gin SourWell, the leaves have changed, the air is crisp…and all of the usual stuff everyone says about fall. However, I have never had someone serve me this awesome autumn cocktail. No, it does not reek of pumpkin spice, apples, cinnamon, or any of the fall flavors that are so overplayed now that you just kind of wince. This cocktail is just…a nice way to ease into the season.Autumn Gin Sour

Recipe
Autumn Gin Sour
adapted from Bon Appétit
Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dry gin (I used Portland’s Aviation Gin)
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • ¼  cup Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or triple sec
  • 1 large egg white
  • 2 tbsp. orange marmalade

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously, until very frothy, at least 1 minute. Strain into the fancy (or autumn-esque) cocktail glass of your choice.

Note: See link for Bon Appétit’s version, their recipe is 12 servings and takes a little more TLC. Our take on it is the need-it-now-I’m-so-thirsty version. Still Good.

Autumn Gin Sour

Thirsty Thursday | Sunset Margaritas

12 Thursday Jun 2014

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Sunset Margarita

This drink…is clearly a no-brainer. Pretty, summery, unique, a tad different than your standard margarita, uh…sold!

Sunset Margarita

I must admit, Sunset Margaritas > Tequila Sunrises. Although I haven’t really had many Tequila Sunrises in my life. Because A.) I have never been awesome enough to want tequila with my sunrise 2.) There always seems to be a better drink on the menu, and D.) My parents generation drank a lot of these, no knock on that, but let’s just say GRENADINE, and lots of it.

Sunset Margarita

Here, we use pomegranate juice instead of grenadine (we are so hipster and snotty these days, aren’t we?) and throw in some triple sec (Grand Marnier, if we are still keeping things really snooty) and there you have it, the tequila sunrise is now a more relaxed sunset.

This is how you take pictures after a few Sunset Margs.

This is how you take pictures after a few Sunset Margs.

Now, the only problem is I kind of want to have a tequila sunrise at 6AM…Mexico vacay, anyone?

Recipe
Sunset Margarita
serves 2
adapted from Sunset

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup each tequila and triple sec
  • 3-4 tablespoons orange juice 
  • 2-3 tablespoons lime juice 
  • 4 tablespoons pomegranate juice
  • 2 twists fresh lime peel (optional)

Directions

  1. Pour in tequila, triple sec, orange juice, and lime juice in a pitcher. Stir well and divide between two cocktail glasses filled with ice. Using the back of a large spoon, carefully pour about 2 tbsp. pomegranate juice down the inner side of each glass. Feel free to garnish each with fresh lime peel, crushed slightly just before adding.Sunset Margarita

 

Thirsty Thursday | Pineapple Drops

22 Thursday May 2014

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Pineapple DropsLet’s get summery up in here! These pineapple drops are a nice alternative to the classic lemon drop. They are especially awesome if you decide to throw a luau themed party! Or if you are just sitting in your backyard. You don’t have to be on a tropical island to drink these. Trust. Me.Pineapple DropThese come together super easy, you can ether bust one out in a cocktail shaker or make a pitcher for a crowd. I had to test a single one out before making them for others because well you know…research.Pineapple Drops

Recipe
Pineapple Drops
adapted from Sunset

For a crowd (about 6 martinis):

  • 1 1/2 cups pineapple juice
  • 1 1/2 cups vodka
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • Couple of lime wedges
  • About 1 cup sugar
  • Fresh pineapple, cut into 3/4-in. chunks

For one cocktail:

  • 1 oz (1 shot glass) pineapple juice
  • 1 oz vodka
  • squeeze of fresh lime juice (I used about 1 lime)
  • lime wedge
  • fresh pineapple
  • a few fresh mint leaves (optional. Cilantro would also work)

Directions

For a crowd:

  1. In a pitcher, mix pineapple juice, vodka, and lime juice, then chill until cold.
  2. Rub lime wedges around rims of 6 martini glasses. Pour sugar onto a large plate. Dip rims of glasses in sugar. Divide vodka mixture among glasses. Push a few pineapple chunks onto each skewer and set one in each glass.

For one cocktail:

Combine ice, pineapple juice, vodka, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker, shake vigorously, and strain into a sugar-rimmed martini glass. If using mint, first muddle the ice and mint in a cocktail shaker, then add juices and vodka and shake. Garnish with fresh pineapple chunks.

Thirsty Thursday | Juice of a Few Flowers

09 Thursday Jan 2014

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Juice of a Few Flowers

Back in December, we made Candied Citrus Peels and they essentially changed life as we know it. They are an amazing gift, portable, last a long time (I’m still enjoying one of our batches!) and taste freaking amazing. Oh, and you are also left with this ridiculous citrus simple syrup once you are done making the peels. Heaven knows we can’t let that go to waste!

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Thirsty Thursday | The New England Express

12 Thursday Dec 2013

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New England Express

A classy punch recipe can be hard to find. I cringe just a little bit every time I see a punch recipe with a gallon of sherbet in it. Just…why would you do that? Luckily, the good people over at Bon Appétit know making a cocktail in bulk is awesome around the holidays, and this drink was a great addition to our Thanksgiving menu.

New England Express

Although the drink was great with dark rum, I just had to try it with bourbon since that’s the universally preferred dark liquor of choice in our family…and it was even better! (According to us).

The New England Express

One of the greatest things about this drink is you can make the simple syrup way in advance, and mix the drink in a pitcher or punch bowl before everyone arrives. The recipe can easily be doubled for a larger crowd. It’s also great served warm. Leave out the club soda if you aren’t into getting fizzy with it. Geez, can we get any more versatile with this drink?!?

The New England Express

Recipe
The New England Express
adapted from Bon Appétit 
serves 8

INGREDIENTS

THYME SYRUP

  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • ⅓ cup water
  • 8 sprigs thyme

ASSEMBLY

  • 2 cups apple cider
  • 1½ cups dark rum or bourbon
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon Angostura bitters
  • Club soda
  • 8 sprigs thyme
  • 8 lime slices

directions

THYME SYRUP

  • Bring sugar and ⅓ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, add thyme sprigs, and cover. Let stand 10 minutes, then strain into a small jar. Let cool.
  • DO AHEAD: Syrup can be made 1 month ahead. Cover and chill.

ASSEMBLY

  • Mix thyme syrup, cider, rum, lime juice, and bitters in a pitcher. Divide among rocks glasses filled with ice; top off with club soda. Garnish with thyme sprigs and lime slices.
  • DO AHEAD: Thyme syrup, cider, rum, lime juice, and bitters can be mixed 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Thirsty Throwback Thursday | Homemade Limoncello

21 Thursday Nov 2013

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Here’s a #throwbackthursday for you: Homemade Limoncello! We made Limoncello as a favor for our guests at our Italian-Inspired Rehearsal Dinner in August. All photos above are from the wonderful and talented Jesse Amorratanasuchad, who did our Wedding Videography and Rehearsal Dinner Photography. You can find his website over here.

Below are a few shots I took from the Limoncello making process. Making Limoncello is not for the impatient!Limoncello

I never really saw myself making any sort of homemade booze. Ever. Drinking it, YES! Making it, waiting for it to be ready, taking care of it…No.

Bottles

At this point, I have no memory of whose idea it was to make homemade Limoncello for our rehearsal dinner favors. I mean, are you even supposed to have favors at your rehearsal dinner?!? I guess it was different, perhaps we got a little too into the whole “We both studied abroad in Italy, our rehearsal dinner MUST BE AUTHENTIC ITALIAN” theme…But hey, homemade Limoncello is an experience. The excessive amount of lemons, small bottles, and love that went into the production of these boozy little gifts was something to be proud of.

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Notes: We bought our bottles from Wholesale Glass Bottles and Jordan designed the little print-at-home stickers that went on the bottles. We still have a few bottles left…and the Limoncello is still good to go even though we made it many months ago. If you are looking for a fun and boozy project, Limoncello is a great gift for people around the holidays!

I think we tripled the recipe below, but we had about 75 people at our rehearsal dinner! (lots of out of town family…) At some point, the math got lost on me and I made Jordan figure out all conversions…So either stick with the recipe below, or I will hope you are good at math!

Recipe
Homemade Limoncello
adapted from the Cooking Channel
Makes about 1.75 liters or 2 quarts

Ingredients

  • 7 ripe lemons, thoroughly washed and dried
  • 4 1/4 cups 100 PROOF Vodka (high proof vodka is a must, if you are brave, use everclear)
  • 4 1/4 cups water
  • 1 pound sugar

Directions

Shave off the yellow part of the lemon rinds using a potato peeler. Put the lemon rinds in a sterilized large glass bottle and add the alcohol. Cover the bottle with plastic wrap to prevent the alcohol from evaporating, and let stand for 12 days at room temperature. We put ours in a dark closet.

Boil the water. Remove from heat and add the sugar. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved, and let cool. 

Drain the 12-day old alcohol and discard the lemon rinds. Add the alcohol to the sugared water. Set aside for an additional 10 days in a sterilized sealed glass bottle. 

After 10 days, the limoncello is ready. These are the ways we suggested to serve it to our guests:
Homemade Limoncello

Thirsty Thursday | Grapefruit Margaritas

14 Thursday Nov 2013

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Grapefruit MargaritasI made these for a party we threw last week, and I think they were a hit! Until we ran out of triple sec…Note to self: Never run out of triple sec again or your party is ruined (not really, but serious buzzkill).

Any drink that you can make in a giant pitcher is a winner in my book…Because entertaining is hard enough, you don’t want to be shaking up cocktails one by one, do you?

Part of me thought this drink was too summery to serve at our fiesta – pink, fruity, and tons of tequila. That screams summer to me…but I’m always eating grapefruits in the winter, so suddenly this drink just made sense to mix up. I was tempted to make the easiest margaritas ever, but I’m happy I found something a little different, and seriously just as easy!Grapefruit MargaritasIna’s recipe calls for you to bust out the blender – but I just mixed everything together in a pitcher and it was still excellent. I have never been a big fan of blended margs and getting out the blender is too much work and too much of a mess when you are hosting a party.

Recipe
Grapefruit Margaritas
Adapted from Ina Garten
Makes 6 Margaritas

Ingredients

  • 1 Lime cut into wedges
  • Kosher salt (optional)
  • 1 cup ruby red grapefruit juice
  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 4 limes)
  • 1 cup triple sec (or any preferred orange liqueur)
  • 1 cup white tequila
  • ice (about 2 cups, or enough to fill 6 glasses)

Directions

If you like your margaritas with a salt rim, rub the lime around the edge of each glass and dip the rim lightly on a plate of kosher salt. Set aside to dry.

Combine the grapefruit juice, lime juice, orange liqueur, and tequila in a large pitcher and stir. Add ice to glasses, pour in the margarita mixture, and garnish with a lime slice!

Thirsty Thursday | Cherry Vodka Limeade

10 Thursday Oct 2013

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Cherry Vodka LimeadeYou have no idea how much I agonized over what kind of signature cocktails to serve at our wedding. Yes, the fact that we got to bring our own alcohol to our wedding was amazing and saved us so much money, but figuring out all of the details stressed me out. How much wine do we need? How do we get all of this booze to the venue the DAY OF the wedding? Most of all, how do we figure out easy to make signature cocktails that are delicious and original? It was kind of crazy, and I probably over-stressed about it when it wasn’t a big deal.Cherry Vodka LimeadeBUT, I have to say, I was completely over the moon with how my signature drink turned out. I don’t know how it came to me one day, but somehow Cherry Limeade came up and it just stuck. How had I never had an alcoholic version of Cherry Limeade?!? It has to be so easy…Just Cherry Vodka and Limeade, maybe with some fancy cherries and lime to garnish? It wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to buy limeade and cherry vodka in bulk, but the drink ended up being so delicious we just knew we had to go with it.Cherry Vodka LimeadeHere are the key ingredients we used for our Wedding:Cherry Vodka LimeadeFrom left: Luxardo Cherries ordered off of Amazon. Straight from Italy, the most legit cocktail maraschino’s you could ever wish for. Three Olives Cherry Vodka, and Newman’s Own Limeade (subliminal messaging: legendary amazing husband Paul Newman). Of course, regular maraschino cherries can be substituted and you can use the cheapest Cherry Vodka you can find and it still works beautifully. Any limeade will work great too. This is pretty much a foolproof cocktail you can easily make and impress your friends.Cherry Vodka LimeadeSide Note: The Rocks Glasses were a Bridal Shower gift from my friend Alexis and they are perfect for many, many cocktails.

Recipe
Cherry Vodka Limeade
makes 1 cocktail

Ingredients

  • 2 oz cherry vodka (or 1 oz, depending on your need for booze and whether you choose to use a rocks or highball glass)
  • limeade (Whatever tops of your glass appropriately – seriously this cocktail is that easy)
  • 2-4 cherries
  • lime to garnish (optional)
  • splash of soda water (also optional)

Fill a glass with ice. Add the vodka and limeade. Stir well with a spoon. Garnish with cherries and lime. If the drink is feeling a little too sweet for you, add a splash of soda water.