Lately we’ve been enjoying Bailey’s Irish Cream with a Hint of Mint. Very tasty. Like mint chocolate chip ice cream. Just be careful how much you drink.      

Tonight we opened a half-bottle of Inniskillin’s superb Icewine. It’s a 2006 Vidal. Very sweet and complex, yet smooth as silk. Excellent dessert wine.

Tonight it was margaritas made with Jose Cuervo Citrico. I usually shy away from buying any high priced brand if I’m going to be making a mixed drink, but the JC Citrico was on sale for a really good price, so I gave it a shot. It does make a really smooth ‘rita with a little extra lime oomph. I like it. Maybe there is something to using the good stuff in mixed drinks after all.

My ‘rita recipe:

1) MinuteMaid Limeade (large size) with 3 cans of water added instead of the recommended 4-1/3. This is the mixer.

2) Add a good couple of shots of tequila and a shot of triple sec over a good amount of ice and fill remainder with mixer.

3) Squeeze a lime section and drop it in, then stir. Enjoy.

For frozen ‘ritas:

Fill a blender 3/4 with ice, add the container of limeade and a good portion of tequila and tripl sec. For a starting point, try filling the limeade container half full with tequila, then add triple sec to 3/4 full. Dump into the blender. Next time, adjust the tequila and triple sec to taste. Blend thoroughly until pourable. Personally I don’t like a salted rim, but if you do like it, use coarse sea salt or dedicated ‘rita salt. And remember to salt the rim before you fill the glass.

After a year and a half away, I’m back at it. I’ve decided  to take this blog in a slightly different direction. I’ll be talking about all drink recipes and reviewing some wines and beers. No sense painting with just one brush, eh?

Tonight I made up some White Sangria. It’s a recipe told to me by the staff at Escobar’s, an excellent restaurant in Champaign, IL. You start with ice, lots of fruit (I used lemon, lime, orange, and strawberry), a couple shots of peach schnapps, and fill with Riesling wine. Vary the sweetness by adding more or less schnapps. It’s very refreshing but also fairly strong. Nearly a full glass of wine and two shots of schnapps. You can also make it by the pitcher for a group. Add everything except the ice and let it sit in the fridge for a while. If you add the ice too soon, it melts and dilutes the sangria. Wait until you’re about to serve it before adding the ice. Experiment with it first to find the right balance of schapps and wine. It’s a great drink for a cookout.

I’ve finally gotten back to vodka. Aside from a few martinis while dining out, I’ve been drinking mostly wine or dark beer lately. But this past weekend I stopped in to Friar Tuck’s to grab some wine and picked up a bottle of Grey Goose vodka. Grey Goose is French vodka distilled from wheat and filtered through limestone. They claim it’s the “World’s Best Tasting Vodka,” but that’s a pretty arrogant claim considering all the excellent choices out there. And as I sit here now with an ice cold martini, made in the Richard Nixon style (vermouth shaken with ice then dumped before adding vodka), I’m thinking I don’t like it nearly as much as Ketel One or Level. It’s got a strong, biting after taste. Maybe it’d be better straight up, but I’m glad I didn’t buy the 1.75l bottle.

Update: I ended up dumping the remainder of my martini. Something was definitely not right. I’ll give Grey Goose the benefit of the doubt for the time being until I try it straight up. Maybe it was the vermouth. Further updates to follow.

Update – 2/22/07: I tried Grey Goose ice cold and straight up. Still got a nasty after taste. I ended up using the rest to make a few vodka tonics. Yet even with the lime and tonic water, I was still getting an unpleasant after taste. I could chalk it up to a poorly stored bottle. Or it could be that Grey Goose is just not my type of vodka. Either way, I won’t be buying another bottle. Too many other brands to try. :v:

Ok, so maybe I should be back to martinis by now, but saw this Winterfest beer at Trader Joe’s and had to try it. I love dark beer and this is a true double bock. Very good indeed. Dark and fairly bitter, but surprisingly not too heavy. I had one with a cheeseburger for lunch and it went down so nicely. I should have bought a case.

While visiting Costco in Indianapolis today, I got the bright idea to check out their vodka prices, with the thought that I’d bring home a bottle or two. The good news is, top shelf vodka and gin are pretty darn cheap at Costco. The bads news is that they only sell 1.75l bottles. And they’re not the basic jug handle bottles either. The Grey Goose bottle was a good 16 inches tall. Much too big to tuck in the corner of the freezer. The shortest bottle was the Ketel One. I was sorely tempted. Just over $32 for 1.75l is really a good price. But as I have mentioned recently, I’d rather start buying more varieties in smaller bottles so I can easily keep them in the freezer. Either that, or I need to buy a dedicated freezer just for vodka.

Hmm. Now there’s  an idea.

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I’ve been finishing the vodkas I had and also opting for Yellowtail Merlot on some weekends. I think henceforth I’ll buy pint bottles if they’re available so I can try more brands without filling up my freezer and cupboards.

A couple of months ago we were in Schaumburg outside Chicago and we stopped in at the Weber Grill for dinner. We had endured a grueling ride out from Lakeshore Drive and I really wanted a good drink before dinner. We had a few minutes to wait for a table, so we slid into the bar and I ordered a very dry Stoli martini with lemon peel. It was perfection. Just what I needed. I complimented the bartender and he said the secret is to keep all the ingredients, and the glassware, ice cold. I don’t have enough space in my freezer for glassware, so before I start mixing a martini I fill the glass with crushed ice. Just before I pour the drink, I dump the ice. This usually serves to get the glass quite cold. I do store my vodka in the freezer, so I end up with a pretty frosty drink. Makes all the difference.

By the way, the steaks at Weber Grill are incredible. Treat yourself to a visit sometime.

After a walk tonite I was really in the mood for a tall, cold drink. I’ve always liked vodka tonics, so at the risk of offending any martini purist who may stumble upon this site, I decided to see if top shelf vodka (Level) can really make a difference in a mixed drink. The first thing I’ve noticed is that the vodka really stands out, as opposed to cheap vodka that gets buried in the tonic water and lime. And as always with V-&-T’s, I could see where it would be very easy to overindulge, as it makes a really tasty thirst quencher.

I decided to take the weekend off and revert to an old favorite, Yellow Tail Merlot. I’ve tried pricier wines, but I always come back to Yellow Tail. I just like it best. After being a German white wine snob for decades, I stumbled upon Merlot, and specifically, Yellow Tail Merlot, and have never looked back. I still enjoy a good spätlese from time to time, but Merlot is my preferred drink when I opt for the grape.