specialty drink

If you liked my cucumber-tequila cooler, you may enjoy this refreshing spring cleanse cocktail. Spring cleaning isn’t just for closets. Spring is the season of rejuvenation and renewal. Plants, vegetables, and flowers begin to grow.  Spring comes around just as we are all reaching our wits’ end.  When we can’t take the long, cold days […]

David Lebovitz is a genius.  A pastry chef by training, he is much more.  After years in the business and many at Chez Panisse under the watchful eye of Alice Waters, Lebovitz left the restaurant business and moved Paris to pursue writing. To date, he has written eight amazing books–and not just about cooking. He was […]

This beauty is a jalapeño gimlet and it’s got just the right amount of kick.  A gimlet is a classic cocktail and is known as a martini’s sweeter cousin. A classic gimlet is made with gin and fresh lime juice.  As with many other cocktails (e.g. the Tom Collins), replace gin with vodka and you have a […]

Smooth and refined deliciousness. The Sazerac, credited as being one of the first true cocktails, is a New Orleans take on a traditional rye cocktail. The Federation puts a further spin on the Sazerac.  The combination of Anejo tequila instead of rye mixed with creme de cacao leads to a sweeter, richer, cocktail with a […]

This is a cranberry-orange whisky sour and it’s a great specialty cocktail for holiday parties.  A whisky sour is a classic bourbon drink that is subtly sweet and sour at the same time.  If you ask a bartender, a traditional whisky sour is one of the simplest cocktails that you can get that is still called a […]

It’s Friday and sadly I’m not at the International Food Bloggers Conference in Sacramento, so I’ll post instead.  This is another fun and somewhat “new” tequila-based cocktail for those who want something other than a margarita or a Paloma.  Most have probably never heard of a Siesta cocktail, until recently I certainly have not. This tequila, […]

Have you ever heard of a Madras?  This beauty is my new favorite cocktail.  Technically speaking, a Madras is similar to a Sea Breeze.  Some call them cousins.  Both are made with vodka and cranberry juice.  But where a Sea Breeze includes grapefruit juice, a Madras substitutes orange juice. As I dabble with mixology and […]

A special post-shout-out to The Almanac, a local Silicon Valley newspaper, for the awesome piece they just published on me and my blog this week titled “Chef In The House“.  I am super excited.  In honor of my very first press coverage, I developed this delicious, refreshing cucumber-tequila cooler as a “thank you” to The […]

A pineapple mint martini is a twist on a classic and is worth a try if you love gin and are looking for a light refreshing, slightly tropical cocktail.  H.L. Mencken, an American journalist, satirist, and cultural critic once called a martini “the only American invention as perfect as a sonnet.”  E.B. White, an American […]

The Moscow Mule has been around for a long time, since 1941 to be exact, but has become increasingly trendy in recent years.  A relatively simple drink made with vodka, spicy ginger beer, and lime juice, it is garnished with a slice of lime and typically is served in a squat copper mug.  To be […]

Wrapping up a great trip to Alaska, I thought the salty dog cocktail was an appropriate post–not only because I love dogs, but because I got to visit the well-known Salty Dawg Saloon in Homer.  Located on the breathtakingly beautiful Homer Spit, the Salty Dawg is a historically famous building and one of the first […]

This is a twist on a traditional margarita and it is delicious!  The simultaneously sweet and tart freshly squeezed blood orange juice helps intensify the flavor of the fresh lime juice and eliminates the need for added sugar.  You can increase or decrease the amount of blood orange juice in this recipe to adapt it […]