Dublin to Kentucky

With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, it's time to let you in on one of my favorite cocktail discoveries - dairy-free Irish Cream. Have you ever tried an Irish Car Bomb? The concept is to drop a shot of Irish Cream into a pint of Guinness and chug it down before the dairy in the Irish Cream curdles. The roasty flavors of Guinness blend beautifully with the creaminess of Irish Cream, but you can't pause to savor the taste without your drink turning into sour milk.

Also, you get drunk really quickly (which may or may not be your end goal).

My husband, being of Irish descent and particularly fond of the Guinness/Irish Cream blend, asked me to see if I could find a way to turn the flavor combination into a cocktail that can be slowly enjoyed rather than consumed at lightning speed. The search began with a focus on homemade, dairy-free Irish Cream that wouldn't react to the acidity of the Guinness. After much research and multiple tests, I'm happy to say I've found the perfect recipe! It’s absolutely delicious, natural and decadent (yet healthier than bottled Irish Cream).

I chose to do half coconut cream and half almond milk for the base to lighten it up and make the coconut flavor less dominant (you’ll just get a hint of coconut with this recipe). The Grade B maple syrup adds delectable caramel sweetness while espresso establishes the roasted depth with the added benefit of caffeine. Bourbon mixes in smoothly, leaving less bite than other types of whiskey.  

Dublin to Kentucky

  • 14 oz can coconut cream
  • 14 oz almond milk (use the empty coconut cream can to measure)
  • ½ cup espresso or strong brewed coffee (4 tbsp ground coffee to ½ cup water)
  • ¾ cup Kentucky Bourbon
  • ¼ cup Grade B maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 can of chilled Guinness

Allow espresso/coffee to cool, then mix with other ingredients (not including the Guinness) in a blender until texture is consistent and frothy. Transfer Irish Cream mixture to a glass container that is easy to pour from. Whatever you don't use that day can be refrigerated for a few weeks (though you'll most likely consume it before then). Pour Guinness into your glass of choice and top with 2 oz of Irish Cream (stir if you like - the texture will appear slightly "grainy" due to the different physical properties of coconut cream and Guinness). Enjoy with friends while sharing tales of yore from the Emerald Isle. Sláinte!

 

Mountain View

This past Friday, I got some amazing news - I discovered that I had passed my latest actuarial exam, meaning that I am now only 1 exam away from total freedom and a fancy pantsy professional designation. Total freedom meaning more time to focus on things like cocktail adventures. Needless to say, I was a slightly hyperventilating, prancing mess of a person. When I finally made it home that evening, I was greeted with a congratulatory bottle of goodness from my wonderful husband. He had noticed me excitedly mentioning apricot liqueur on multiple occasions and thought it would be a great way to mark the occasion. It certainly was.

Why was I so excited about apricot liqueur? I had tried it in cocktails when going out and had always been impressed at how accurate and bright the apricot flavor was. Some flavored liqueurs stray very far from the original fruit and end up tasting more medicinal than fresh. Apricot liqueur is not part of that unfortunate category. Will picked up this particular bottle at our local Binny's - which we love due to the vast selection and knowledgeable staff. Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot Liqueur is a delicious Austrian-made mixture of eau-de-vie apricot brandy and ripe apricot juice. Not going to lie, we couldn't resist just drinking some of it on ice - and I highly recommend that you buy it if you enjoy fresh apricots in booze form.

I chose to mix the apricot liqueur with a sweeter liquor - and bourbon fit perfectly. Basil Hayden's Kentucky Bourbon worked especially well because it added a hint of spice. I also experimented by adding basil to enhance the freshness of an otherwise strong cocktail and balanced it out with some lemon juice and water. Bitters are optional but I found that including a few drops of aromatic bitters highlighted the spice element I was looking for in this cocktail. The result was pleasantly sweet and spicy with a lovely hint of herbal bitterness.

The Mountain View

  • 2 oz bourbon 
  • 1 oz apricot liqueur
  • 1 oz filtered water
  • 1/2 oz lemon juice
  • Sprig of fresh basil
  • Couple drops of aromatic bitters

Set aside one small basil leaf for garnish and place the rest of the basil in the cocktail shaker. Add bourbon and muddle the basil and bourbon mixture. Add remaining ingredients and several ice cubes, then shake vigorously until the shaker is frosted. Strain into a stemmed glass, making sure you have shaken the cocktail enough to form a light froth. Top with the small basil leaf and enjoy at a cozy chalet overlooking a glorious mountain view.

 

Valcohol Holiday Punch

If there's one lesson I learned about mixing for parties, it's to choose 1-2 cocktails and create them in bulk to accommodate your guest count. My cocktail journey started with making drinks for my friends on big events like New Year's Eve, graduation and, you know, the occasional Thursday night in college. I loved focusing on the process and making sure everyone got a beverage that fit their palette, but I found that I had very little time to partake in the festivities myself. Granted, sometimes mixing one drink at a time is a nice escape from a large party - you focus on something you love while people come to you and chitchat when they're ready for another drink. You also get to look after everyone's levels of drunkenness and make sure they're getting water if they need it. It all depends on the event and what role you're looking to play.

Last weekend, Will and I traveled back to Minnesota for the annual O'Connor family Christmas, hosted by his parents. Socializing with his family is always a blast so I knew it would be best to whip up a large batch of Valcohol goodness and then sit back to enjoy the quality company. I had never before used a bowl for serving cocktails in bulk, but Will's mom discovered a beautiful punch bowl and glasses that had belonged to her grandmother, and so commenced operation Valcohol Holiday Punch.

My considerations in creating the Punch recipe were to:

  • Stay away from colors that would stain clothes, carpets and furniture (always a safe bet for a large get-together),
  • Stick with a liquor that is likely to appeal to the most people,
  • Use ingredients that are easy to find in bulk, and
  • Mix with flavors that made me nostalgic for the holiday season.

Given these considerations, I landed on the following general ingredients: vodka, apple, ginger, lemon and thyme.

Nom.

I highly recommend using Trader Joe's when you're looking for juices to mix with as they tend to have interesting flavor combinations and less sugary options than your typical grocery store. Another perk is that TJ's juice is usually way cheaper for the quality. For this cocktail, I chose their Honeycrisp Apple Cider because it actually tastes like apples and mixes wonderfully! TJ's also has great deals on ginger beer - they have Reed's brand available for cheaper than most grocery stores and their private label is just as good. When it comes to vodka, you don't need anything fancy for something this flavorful - just a decent bottle that will mix well. I used Kirkland Signature brand from Costco which would roughly be on par with Absolut. 

Now let's talk ratios. When making a cocktail in bulk, I start with the ratios for a single cocktail, figure out roughly how many cocktails I expect to be consumed (1-2 per drinking adult is a good start) and then do some multiplication (I may or may not use Excel). The key is not to blindly trust your math. Always sample your creation before serving as you never know if it'll taste slightly different when made in bulk versus on the individual scale. Lucky for you, I've already done all the math for this punch and can tell you exactly what and how much to buy. All you need to do is mix it up and be the hero of your next holiday party!

Valcohol Holiday Punch

(Makes roughly 25 cocktail servings)

  • 2 64 oz bottles Trader Joe's Honeycrisp apple cider
  • 4 12 oz bottles ginger beer
  • 6 cups vodka
  • 12 oz lemon juice
  • Fresh thyme (for garnish)

Mix all liquid ingredients (preferably chilled) in a large punch bowl (it may be a good idea to start with half the quantity to see if more will fit in your bowl or if you need to split it up between multiple containers). Prep punch glasses with a couple sprigs of fresh thyme. If you have an ice bucket, set that out for guests to use as they prefer, otherwise, also prep punch glasses with ice. Sit back and enjoy your party!

Clementine Old Fashioned

You know what's delicious? The timeless combination of the oh-so-complementary flavors of orange, cherry and bourbon or brandy (who says you have to choose). You know what's not delicious? Drinking syrup. All too often, I find bars serving Old Fashioneds that taste sweet and processed beyond belief. So how do we give this classic cocktail the respect it deserves? We use a decent bourbon or brandy, fresh ingredients and low sugar options. This post is about one of my favorite spins on the timeless Old Fashioned cocktail but I encourage you to try your own!

Why did I get so inspired to make a cocktail on a Sunday afternoon while catching up on work in pajamas? Because I found Amarena cherries at Eataly and was overly excited about finally hunting them down. I came across this amazing alternative to Maraschino cherries at a cocktail class with Eat, Drink, Educate and have been trying to find them for sale in the US ever since. Amarena cherries are made from smaller, sour black cherries, are not saturated with corn syrup (yipee!) and actually have an authentic sour cherry flavor. Thank you, Italy. I have since then found out that the same cherries are available on Amazon if you want to give them a try for yourself.

The fresh squeezed clementine juice makes this cocktail wonderfully refreshing while the Izze soda and Amarena cherry syrup are sweet enough that you don't need to use any added sugar. The result is dangerously drinkable:

The Clementine Old Fashioned

  • 2 oz bourbon (or brandy)
  • Juice of 1 clementine
  • 1 Amarena cherry with 1 tbsp syrup
  • 3 dashes of Angustura bitters
  • 1/2 clementine Izze

Add bourbon, clementine juice, bitters and several ice cubes to shaker. Shake until frosted and strain into rocks glass with a couple of ice cubes. Add Amarena cherry/syrup and stir. Top with clementine Izze and enjoy while partaking in your favorite mustachey activities.