Drinks: Cocktails and Warm Fuzzies

With summer comes entertaining and with entertaining comes drinks. I’m not into trendy combos that exist either to see how many different kinds of booze you can combine without grossing out the drinker, nor am I into trendy drinks. I’m old and I like the classics. Here are some of my favourite libations, both cold and hot:

Mimosa
Ingredients:
Chilled champagne flute
Fresh orange or tangerine juice
Chilled dry champagne
Preparation:
Fill champagne flute half full with juice. Tilt and gently fill to the top with champagne

Passionate Mimosa
Ingredients:
Chilled champagne flute
Fresh orange or tangerine juice
Passionfruit (granadilla) juice
Chilled dry champagne
Preparation:
Fill champagne flute one third full with citrus juice
Fill it another third full with passionfruit juice
Tilt and gently fill to the top with champagne

Virgin Mimosa
Ingredients:
Chilled champagne flute
Fresh orange or tangerine juice
Chilled ginger ale
Preparation:
Fill champagne flute half full with juice
Tilt and gently fill to the top with ginger ale

Bloody Mary
Ingredients:
Tall chimney glass filled with ice
Chilled tomato juice or V-8 juice
Tobasco® sauce (optional)
Worcestershire sauce
Angostura bitters (optional)
Salt and pepper (optional)
One shot of vodka
Thin stalk of celery
Preparation:
Pour vodka over ice
Fill to near top with juice
Add one shake of Worcestershire and bitters and stir with long spoon
Add Tabasco® and seasonings
Insert celery like a stirrer

Virgin Mary
Same as above except omit vodka

Margarita
Ingredients:
Chilled Margarita or Martini glass
Mixing container and strainer
Ice
Table salt poured into a saucer
Fresh lime, quartered
1 part Triple Sec
2 parts lemon or lime juice
3 parts silver tequila
Preparation:
Run cut side of lime around the rum of the glass; turn glass upside down and place in salt; twist back and forth until rim is crusted with salt.

Pour Triple Sec, juice and tequila into mixing container. Shake or stir until liquid is chilled. Strain into salt-rimmed glass to prevent ice from getting into the glass and diluting the drink. Garnish with the lime quarter.

Gin and Tonic
Ingredients:
Tall chimney glass filled with ice
1 shot gin (recommended: Bombay Sapphire)
Tonic water (can be sugar-free, recommended: Schweppes)
Slice of lemon or wedge of lime
Stirring stick
Preparation:
Pack glass with ice and pour in gin. Top up with tonic water, run lemon or lime around rim of glass and toss lemon or lime into drink. Add stick and stir.

Sangria Blanca
Ingredients:
1 small tube frozen lemonade
3 cups white wine (sweet is best but dry works)
1 lemon, sliced
1 orange, sliced
A lot of ice
Preparation:
Mix lemonade according to package directions in a punchbowl or large pitcher. Add wine and ice. Float lemon and orange slices on top.

Sangria Rosa
Ingredients:
1 small tube frozen pinklemonade
3 cups rosé wine
1 lemon, sliced
1 blood orange, sliced
A lot of ice
Preparation:
Mix lemonade according to package directions in a punchbowl or large pitcher. Add wine and ice. Float lemon and orange slices on top.

Irish Coffee
Ingredients:
Large (8oz or larger) coffee mug
6 oz hot coffee
1 shot cognac, brandy, or Irish whiskey
Sugar or sweetener (optional)
Whipped cream
Powdered cocoa or ground cinnamon
Preparation:
Warm mug by rinsing with hot water. Pour in cognac then hot coffee, leaving 1” headspace. Add sweetener if desired and stir. Top with a froth of whipped cream and dust with either cocoa or cinnamon. Serve with long spoon.

Mocha Irish Coffee
Ingredients:
Large (8oz or larger) coffee mug
6 oz hot coffee
1 shot cognac, brandy, or Irish whiskey
1 spoonful hot chocolate mix
Sugar or sweetener (optional)
Whipped cream
Powdered cocoa
Preparation:
Warm mug by rinsing with hot water. Mix hot chocolate mix in bottom of cup with a small amount of hot coffee. Stir to dissolve. Pour in cognac, then hot coffee, leaving 1” headspace. Add sweetener if desired and stir. Top with a froth of whipped cream and dust with cocoa. Serve with long spoon.

Hot Toddy
Ingredients:
8 oz lemonade, prepared
1 tsp honey
1 shot rum or Southern Comfort
Preparation:
Heat lemonade to just below boiling and pour into a tall mug. Add honey and stir until honey is dissolved. Add rum and stir.

Mulled Cider or Wine
Ingredients:
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp whole cloves
2 tsp whole allspice
4 cups red wine or cider
Several long rolled cinnamon sticks
Preparation:
Combine first 7 ingredients in a pot with two cups of wine or cider. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from stove and strain into a pitcher. Add remaining wine/cider to the spiced mixture. Pour into individual cups and add a long rolled cinnamon stick as a stirrer.

Photo of margarita by Ralph and Jenny, Flickr
Photo of mimosas by Rick, Flickr