So…2020.
Amiright?
One of the things that have helped me get through it is live video happy hours. Moseying up to my favorite bar (Dogwood, I’m looking at you) has now been replaced with launching Zoom or FaceTime to share a drink with friends and family. Just because I’m in yoga pants does not mean I skimp on the cocktails.
Below are five drinks you can enjoy as we watch the ship go down.
The Maple Manhattan
This Friday (10/16), I’ll get to enjoy cocktails with my Boozy Book Broads mates Melonie Johnson and Danielle Dresser as we chat with Diana Biller, author of the PHE-NO-MEN-OL The Widow of Rose House (a perfect Halloween read). We’ll be enjoying a Maple Manhattan during the chat, which is very much like the original Manhattan (which my Instagram friends can attest I’m a huge fan of) with one fall-friendly addition: maple.
I got this recipe from SidewalkShoes.com. Shake it up and join us Friday!
2 oz bourbon
¼ oz sweet vermouth
1 tbls maply syrup
2 dashes bitters
1 cherry for garnish
Add bourbon, vermouth, maple syrup, and bitters to a cocktail shaker. Add ice. Shake for 15 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with cherry.
Recipe courtesy of SidewalkShoes.com.
Texas Martini
In honor of my recent move to Texas, I wanted to re-create this drink I heard everybody ordering at a Tex-Mex restaurant in Austin. The Texas Martini, according to the bartender, is just a margarita -- up or frozen -- in a martini glass with olives. They are DELICIOUS!! Briney olives act like the salt on the rim!⠀
2 oz tequila
1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 lime, squeezed
3 olives on a pick⠀
Chill martini glass. Shake first four ingredients over ice. Empty into chilled glass. Garnish with olives.⠀
Instant Sangria
I love red wine. It’s a family requirement. It also might be an authorial requirement, since I based the Filthy Rich series on the production of delicious red wine. But I also love cocktails. So in honor of my many alcoholic loves and my pretend Spanish kingdom, the Monte del Vino Real, I came up with this cocktail that tastes like Sangria without all the soaking and waiting.
1 oz whiskey, bourbon, or vodka (pick your poison)
1/2 oz triple sec
1/4 oz simple syrup
Chunk of orange (no peel)
Chunk of apple (no peel)
Cheap red wine
Apple slice, halved
Orange slice, halved
Club soda (optional)
Put first five ingredients (down through apple chunk) into stemless wine glass. Mash fruit and blend with muddler or back of spoon. Fill 2/3 of glass with red wine. Add ice or large ice cube. Add orange and apple slices. Stir to combine. If it’s too sweet or thick for your preference, you can top it with club soda or sparkling water. Enjoy! 🍷🍹
(Note: I like brown liquors in this because it gives it a fuller, richer flavor, like sangria that’s been soaking for awhile. But vodka is a cleaner taste. Pick whichever you prefer.)
The Angelina
While I was slaving away this spring on Serving Sin, my third book in the Filthy Rich series, I invented this Mexico-inspired drink. Since Serving Sin spends half its time in the incredible city of Guanajuato, Mexico, it makes sense. I named it the Angelina because it is: 1) sweet, salty, spicy and tart, and because 2) I invented it. So there.
1 oz of mezcal⠀
3/4 oz ancho chili liqueur⠀
1/4 oz simple syrup⠀
1/2 lime, squeezed⠀
3 drops chocolate or mole bitters⠀
Rim glass with seasoned salt. Fill glass with ice. Put all ingredients in cocktail shaker. Shake with ice. Strain shaker into glass. ¡Salud!⠀
The Ol’ Monte
We fell in love with this drink at one of our favorite bars in D.C., Densons. But when they took it off the menu, my hubby figured it out how to make it at home. THAT was a fun (and blurry) evening of taste testing.
1 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Dolin Blanc ("Blanc" NOT "Dry")⠀
Stir with ice. Serve up in a coupe glass with a lemon swath⠀
You're welcome. We love you.
