Two Drink Minimum; The After 5 Cocktail Blog

In lieu of the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day holiday, I have decided to give you guys the skinny on whiskey. Whiskey seems to be one of those things in life that you either love or hate. Strong, bold and smooth, whiskey remains one of the top alcohols after all these years. So read on and check it out….

Whisky (Scottish Gaelic: uisge-beatha), or whiskey (Irish: uisce beatha or fuisce), refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash and aged in wooden casks (generally oak).

Different grains are used for different varieties, including: barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize (corn). Whisky derives from the Gaelic word for “water” (uisce or uisge), and is called in full uisge-beatha (in Scotland) or uisce beatha (Ireland), meaning “Water of Life”. It is related to the Latin aqua vitae, also meaning “water of life”. It is always Scotch whisky, and Irish whiskey.

The first written record of whisky comes from 1405 in Ireland, where it was distilled by monks.[1] It is also mentioned in Scotland in 1496. However it is thought that whisky had already been around for at least several hundred years prior. When or where whisky was first distilled is unknown and the local, undocumented beverage production during the period makes identification of the drink’s origin difficult. Additionally, it is possible that different groups discovered processes of distillation completely independently of one another.

Some scholars believe distilled spirits were first produced between the 8th century AD and 9th century AD in the Middle East with the art of distillation being brought to Ireland and Britain by Christian monks. A popular legend is that St. Patrick introduced distillation to Ireland and Britain; however it is likely he lived around the 5th century AD. It is also possible that the distillation process was discovered in Ireland and possibly Britain (either independently or in precursor to Arabian distillation) by farmers as a way of making use of excess grain after harvest.

~ Great Whiskey Cocktails ~

Godfather
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Scotch
- 1 oz Amaretto
Glassware : Old-Fashioned Glass

Black Jack
- 2 oz Scotch
- 1 oz Lemon Juice
- 1 1/2 oz Kahlua
- 1 oz Triple Sec
Glassware: Cocktail Glass
Shake all the ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Jack Frost Manhattan
Ingredients:
- 2 parts Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey
- 1 part Peppermint Schnapps
- 1/4 part sweet vermouth
Garnish: maraschino cherry
Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with cherry.

Scotch Cooler
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Chivas Regal Scotch Whisky
- 1/2 oz vanilla liqueur
- 2 dashes bitters
Garnish: cherry
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice and stir. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a cherry. (Created by Dale DeGroff, New York, NY)

Scotch Old-Fashioned
- 2 oz Scotch
- 1/2 oz Water
- 1/2 tsp Superfine Sugar
- 1 dash Bitters
- Garnish: Lime Wedge
Glassware: Old-Fashioned Glass
Dissolve superfine sugar in scotch. Combine bitters and water, superfine sugar and scotch in an old fashioned glass over crushed ice. Add 151 proof rum and garnish with lime wedge.

B55
Ingredients:
- 1 oz Sebor Absinth
- 1 oz Irish Cream
- 1 oz Kahlua
In a shot glass, carefully layer (in this order) Kahlua, Baileys and Sebor Absinth.

Everybody’s Irish
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Irish Whiskey
- 1 oz Creme de Menthe (green)
- 1 oz Chartreuse (green)
- Garnish: Cocktail Olive
Glassware : Cocktail Glass
Shake all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an olive.

Rob Roy
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Scotch whisky
- 1/4 oz sweet vermouth
- a dash of Angostura bitters
- Garnish: Cherry
Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with cherry.

History of Rob Roy:
Rob Roy was created by a bartender at The Waldorf Hotel in New York in 1894. It was first mixed for the opening night of an opera called “Rob Roy.” The recipe first appeared in The Savoy Book, published by The Savoy Hotel of London in 1930. Having Scotch whisky as a base spirit of the cocktail, the book carried a note indicating that the cocktail was already popular among Scots, “particularly for St. Andrew’s day to open the evening for the usual enormous annual gathering of the Clans at the Savoy.”.

We have all seen it, the cheesy Bacardi commercial (<<< if you havnt click here) where a dozen different women or so are shaking there rumps to some very questionable techno beat all in rhythm to the stud bar tender mashing up a Mojito. But what the hell is a Mojito anyways? I mean come on people at first glance any human with half a brain is going to ask why there are mashed leaves in there cocktail…lets face it this is not an everyday occurrence. So the following is for all those like me out there who took the time to step back and question the foliage in his cocktail. So I hope you enjoy and hey, you just might learn a little something while you are at it.

Mojito (pronounced /m??hi?to?/ (English) IPA: [mo?xito] ((Spanish)) is a traditional Cuban cocktail which became popular in the United States during the late 1980s, and has recently seen a resurgence in popularity.

A mojito is traditionally made of five ingredients: rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime, carbonated water and mint. Its combination of sweetness and refreshing citrus and mint flavors are intended to mask the potent kick of the rum, and have made this clear cocktail a popular summer drink. Many hotels in Havana also add Angostura bitters to cut the sweetness of the mojito; while a popular variation, it is not the original version created in La Bodeguita del Medio.

To make a Mojito, juice from a lime is added to sugar and mint leaves in a tall glass. The mixture is then gently mashed repeatedly with a muddler. Crushed ice is then added, followed by rum and topped off with club soda.

The word mojito is derived from the diminutive of the word mojo.

Mojito Recipies:
Italian Mojito
Ingredients:
- 2 oz of white light rum
- 2 oz Proseco
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp simple syrup
- 1 sprig fresh mint

In a high ball glass place mint leaves, brown sugar, simple syrup and fresh lime juice and muddle. Add ice cubes, pour light rum and top with Italian sparkling wine. Stir directly in the glass. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and fresh lime wheel. (Cocktail By Francensco at Mix, New York 212 583 0300)

Apple Mojito
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 parts Bacardi Big Apple Rum
- 12 fresh spearmint leaves
- 1/2 lime
- 7 parts club soda
- 2 tsp. simple syrup or 4 tsp. sugar
- mint sprigs for garnish

Crush mint leaves and lime in a tall glass. Cover with simple syrup and fill glass with ice. Add rum and club soda, stir well.

Blue Mojito
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. HPNOTIQ liqueur
- 2 oz. Light Rum
- 3 oz. Club Soda
- 6 fresh mint leaves

Shake HPNOTIQ liqueur, light rum and mint leaves with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a rocks glass and top with club soda.

She Said, Z Said: A Brewing Debate over Music and Beer?
By Leslie Dinaberg & Zak Klobucher, Noozhawk Columnists

She: It’s finally happened. Beer is on the way out.

Z: Huh? We’re out of beer?

She: Nope. Beer is over with.

Z: I don’t know what that means.She Said, Z Said Leslie Dinaberg Zak Klobucher

She: First, wine has edged out beer as America’s favorite beverage.

Z: Who is this America of which you speak?

She: Favorite drink and most drunk. Just ’cause you drink a lot of beer doesn’t mean everyone else does. Most grown-up people understand that beer is fattening.

Z: That’s dirty, stinkin’ propaganda. Beer is filled with vitamins and bubbly goodness. It’s one of my most essential nutrients. Kind of like you with chocolate.

She: It’s nothing like me with chocolate. You buy the exact same beer at Costco every single time. There’s no variety in your beer selection. No appreciation for the subtle taste differences between a green wrapped miniature Hershey bar in December and a pink wrapped miniature Hershey bar in February.

Z: You’re saying your taste buds are better developed because you buy more chocolate every time they wrap it in different colored paper?

She: Yes. No. Maybe. That’s beside the point. I’m talking about beer. Not only are people drinking more wine than beer, but even college kids are saying, “move over, Bud.”

Z: I’m guessing that’s because they finally discovered that flavor is an exciting new aspect of beer.

She: But everything goes with Top Ramen.

Z: Then I blame it on Two Buck Chucks. When you’re a college-aged, goal-oriented drinker, price matters.
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She: Nope, it’s because they’ve discovered iPods.

Z: That’s ridiculous. iPods taste awful.

She: They did a survey — in New Jersey, I think — and almost three-fourths of the college students polled said iPods were more “in” than drinking beer.

Z: How is that a comparison? It’s like saying I like sleeping better than I like the color orange. I like butter better than getting hit with a brick.

She: Are you saying that science is wrong? The iPods are more popular.

Z: Can you imagine that frat party? A bunch of college kids sipping wine and listening to their iPods.

She: I hear they’re remaking Animal House with those guys who do the Mac/PC commercials. The Mac guy stays plugged into his iPod and bobs his head, while the PC guy gets wrecked on a Cabernet Sauvignon and then feels bad for not recycling the bottle.

Z: It won’t last.

She: What do you mean?

Z: It’s the same old story. I remember back when phonographs dethroned beer, and then it was the Betamax. College students are fickle. But not beer; beer is eternal.

She: Actually, I think wine is more eternal.

Z: Eternaller.

She: There are all those biblical references and all that mythology, both Greek and Roman. You never hear about Zeus and Apollo busting open a keg.

Z: That’s a common mistranslation of the word “Ambrosia.” If you really study the word, you’ve got the “Amb” meaning Amber, and the “brosia” meaning brewski.

She: Thank you, Webster.

Z: I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough.

She: Oh, I do.

Z: It’s not that I have anything against wine. Wine is great if you like to pretend that there’s a huge difference between grapes.

She: That should make you lots of friends up in the North County.

Z: Have you ever seen anyone taste beer and then spit it out?

She: Not intentionally.

Z: I think that’s argument enough right there, but I won’t let it stop me from making some more. Beer is bubbly, and a fraction the price of Champagne. Beer is filling, so it can serve as an entire meal unto itself. And, most important, unlike an iPod, you usually don’t have to stick anything in your ears when you drink beer.

She: Yes, dear.

Cocktail
Tequila Stinger
Ingredients:
- 2 oz tequila
- 4 oz orange juice
- 1 oz grenadine
Garnish: lime wedge (optional)

Build the drink over ice in a highball glass. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve with straw.

Cosmolito
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz silver tequila
- 1/4 oz Cointreau
- 2 oz cranberry juice
- juice of half lime
Garnish: lime wheel (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with lime wheel.

Doralto
Ingredients:
- 2 oz tequila
- 1 oz lemon juice
- 4 oz tonic water
- 1 tsp simple syrup
- dash of bitters
Garnish: lime wedge

Shake tequila, lemon juice, simple syrup and bitters in a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour into a tall glass and top with tonic water. Garnish with lime wedge.

“Tantalizing” [tan-tl-ahy-zing ]– adjective – (having or exhibiting something that provokes or arouses expectation, interest, or desire.)

…this is the only word I could think of to describe this delectable drink I discovered last night while out and about on the town. Now I’ll start off by letting you all know that I am by no means an expert in mixology nor do I boast any sort of high level knowledge in specialized drink concoctions…BUT I am a drinker and I know a great drink when I find one…an oh boy did I find one…they call it the FireTini…this hot little mama packs quite the punch by mixing habenero infused SKYY Vodka (<–great video WATCH) with a passion fruit puree and a pinch of sugar, shaking and serving with a sugar coated rim and a garnish of mint leaf. Sweet, Spicy and Smooth…a true taste of greatness.

Now for all my fellow men out there who will read this and automatically scoff due to the fact that’s is “martini” may I remind you that Mr. Bond strictly drank martinis and also…have you ever tried a habanera? Take a bite out of one of those bad boys and then tell me how “manly” you feel….Now I am sure all of you are rushing to the cabinet or your local grocery store to pick up the necessary items to make one of these fiery goddesses, but before you jump the gun, don’t forget you gotta have the proper utensils for a drink of this caliber…i.e. martini and cocktail glasses. Check out some of the stuff listed below that you might find useful or just down right cool.

Nowhere is it written in stone that you must drink martinis from thin-stemmed, delicate glassware. (Come to think of it, you can drink martinis from any kinda vessel you want, except for maybe those 44 oz. plastic tumblers you save from your local convenience store.) To wit, the New Age Thick-Stemmed Martini Glasses shatter the thin-stemmed martini glass myth by boasting thick, elegant, frosted glass bases. Each one of the 4-glass New Age Martini Glass set has a slightly different design. Set of 4, 6 oz. each. Dishwasher-safe.

Ever wondered as you get to the bottom of a martini why the end just doesn’t taste like the beginning? That’s the dreaded martini chill fade…one could argue that you were talking too much and not focusing on enjoying your cold martini…yes, more than likely… but sometimes you pour a really deep one and to finish such a mondo cocktail before it looses its chill is severe punishment for the liver. We have found a solution. Freezable liquid filled martini glasses. This is a great invention, especially for those slow drinkers. Einstein may have discovered Relativity but he didn’t manage to solve the more pressing problem of preventing ice-cubes from diluting your favorite Martini or Margarita! It’s not just a national issue, it’s full on global, but thankfully the end is in sight with our double-walled, refreezable Martini glasses. The wall of the glass is a freezable liquid filled chamber encapsulated with durable, break resistant acrylic. They are ideal for both indoor and outdoor use and stay cold for hours!

From olive us to olive you…Actually we stole that line from the Santa Barbara Olive Company, our neighbors who for generations have been growing and creating some of the best and most creative natural olive products we’ve ever tasted. This Gourmet Olive Martini Gift Set from Santa Barbara Olive includes: 8 oz. jars of Jalapeno Olives, Onion Stuffed Olives, and Martini Pimento Stuffed Olives, along with an 8 oz. jar of Martini Onions in Vermouth, and one 12.68 oz. blend of Dirty Martini Mix. Shipped in a custom gift crate.

If Virgin Coladas or Shirley Temples are your drinks of choice, there’s no reason to read on. This handsome set is for serious martini aficionados, a top-quality, welded, and fine-finished metal table and high chairs with olive and drink details, soft cushions, thick glass top, and a lifetime warranty. The table measures 43″ tall x 37″ diameter. The two chairs are 45″ tall x 18″ wide x 18″ deep. U.S. made. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery, with an additional $149.95 for shipping. Direct ship, no express delivery.

After a long wait it’ s finally here …the OFFICIAL After 5 game. This bad boy will come in handy on those long work days were actual work just wont cut it. Sharpen your hand eye coordination by navagating your player through 3 intense levels of mischief. Make your way to the bathroom to relieve your self, then navagate your self past all the bosses and out the door to the street and acorss traffic to finally make it back to the bar! Once you have sucesfuly completed al 3l levels fill out the promo information to be elidgable for great discounts on awesome stuff from our web site. Well enough said already….go PLAY THE GAME HERE

Ruby Manhattan

Ingredients:
- 2 oz Michter’s Rye Whiskey
- 1 1/2 oz Ruby Port
- dash of Reagan’s Orange Bitters
- Orange twist
- Maraschino cherry

Dash orange bitters into a chilled cocktail glass, Squeeze and treat with orange twist. Build ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice. Stir 20 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with maraschino cherry and orange twist. (Cocktail created by Michael Waterhouse, Devin Tavern, 363 Greenwich St, New York NY 10013)

Misty Winter Warmer

Ingredients:
(makes four quarts)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp whole cloves
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 2 qt cranberry juice
- 46 oz pineapple juice
- 2 cups Canadian Mist whisky
- 4 1/2 cup water

Place brown sugar and spices in a pot basket of a 30-cup coffee maker. Add juices, water and whisky to the pot. Brew as you would coffee and serve hot, directly from the pot.

Sazerac
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Straight Rye Whiskey
- Dashes of bitters
- 1/4 oz Pernod
- 1 tbsp Simple Syrup (or 1 sugar cube)
- Garnish: Lemon peel

Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a lemon peel.

Modern Sazerac
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Sazerac Rye whiskey
- dash Peychaud’s bitters
- 1/2 oz agave syrup
- dash Ricard
Garnish: lemon twist

Fill rocks glass with crushed ice and add a dash of Ricard. In mixing glass, swirl rye whiskey, bitters and agave nectar until they dissolve. Add ice, discard Ricard and crushed ice. Strain into rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. (Cocktail created by Eben Klemm, B.R. Guest Mixologist/Primehouse New York)

History:
In the late 18th century, a pharmacist, Antoine Amedee Peychaud invented this cocktail in New Orleans’ famous French Quarter where he owned his shop. The original cocktail was a concoction of brandy, absinthe and bitters. Some historians say the term ‘cocktail’ came from a tiny French egg-cup called “coquetier” that was used to serve Sazerac cocktail.