favorite drink (alcholic or otherwise) put your recipes here

[Jessica Sant]

I saw a thread like this here a while back and thought it might be fun to get a new list of favorites going... here's mine, what's yours?
So -- I'm now addicted to a good Mojito (for you non-native english / spanish speakers its pronounce moe-hee-toe). I went to this great restaurant in Philly called Cuba Libre and they've got killer Mojitos, expensive but DAMN tasty.
the recipe they give on their website is as follows:

from: http://www.cubalibrerestaurant.com/recipes.php#mojito
Ingredients
1 � oz light rum
1 � oz fresh squeezed lime juice
2 � oz guarapo*
4 sprigs fresh mint
splash of soda water
Directions
Combine all ingredients except soda in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Pour into tall glass and top with soda water.
* Buy a jar of fresh guarapo at Cuba Libre. Simple syrup may be substituted for guarapo.

guarapo is freshly pressed sugar cane syrup. I hear powdered shugar makes a good substitue.... but the ones we made at home didn't come out quite the sae...
[ April 19, 2004: Message edited by: Jessica Sant ]

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

Well, we've got a nursing mother at home, so our current favorite:
Virgin Pina Colada
4 oz pineapple juice
4 oz Coco Lopez
1 cup ice cubes
Maraschino cherry
Put everything but the cherry in a blender, and pulverize it. If you forget and put the cherry in too, that's OK, just get another one out. Pour into a glass, and put the cherry on top. We have some straws with little paper hula girls on them, and these go a long way towards enhancing the effect.

[Max Habibi]

Guinness, straight from the tap, and warm to boot
M
[ April 19, 2004: Message edited by: Max Habibi ]

[Manish Hatwalne]

Virgin Pina Colada is my favourite too!!!
I have a diff receipe though...
(1) 1 litre pineapple juice, canned one. Chilled!
(2) 250-300 ml coconut milk. Chilled!
(3) 500 ml Vanila ice-cream
(4) Few cherries
Mix ingredients (1), (2) and (3) properly. Serve in tall glasses, cut cherries decorate and serve.
I looooooove it!
- manish

[Ellen Zhao]

my favourite's green tea with complete tea leaves, without any milk or sugar.
[ April 19, 2004: Message edited by: Ellen Zhao ]

[HS Thomas]

The original Dale DeGroff can be found serving the original Cosmopolitan at Matchbar
And the book Craft of the cocktail is written by him.
Mail on Sunday
"Dale DeGroff is probably the best cocktail bartender in the land of the free, and in the world for that matter, and his The Craft of The Cocktail is the only cocktail recipe book you are ever likely to need."
[ April 19, 2004: Message edited by: HS Thomas ]

[James Swan]

Jess,
have you tried a caipirinha? (similar style to a mojito, and pretty fun to make)

- 1 lime quartered
- 1 tablespoon of sugar (brown sugar is good)
- 1 shot of cacha�a (Brazilian sugarcane liquor)
- 1/2 Cup of ice cubes with water
Place the lime and sugar in the bottom of a glass.
Using the handle of a wooden spoon, crush and mash the limes.
Pour the liqueur and ice. Stir well.

[Dirk Schreckmann]

Tequila!

[Anand Jayaraman]

Tequila Sunrise - Tequila is a great spirit for celebrating, but not everyone likes it straight. Try this easy to drink classic. Add a large (60ml) shot of tequila to a highball glass, top up with chilled fresh orange juice and stir. Add a couple of dashes of grenadine down the side of the drink, and garnish with a cherry.
This recipe is a favourite with the poms. Infact, it has gone down as one of the Top 10 Celebrity Cocktails. Although, I haven't tasted it, my friend here desparately wanted me to post this. Oh.. I forgot to add that he too is a pom.
Cheers

[HS Thomas]

Only Irish Coffee provides four essential food groups - alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat

Alex Levine

[John Dunn]

Guinness - (but only if the taps are clean and set properly )

[Michael Ernest]

A proper Guinness as well.
Any one of a wide variety of single-malt Scotches. Currently in the cabinet: Balvenie, Macallan, Old Pulteney, Glenlivet, Glenlivet Dark Oak, Dalmore. Two open spaces, one reserved for either Oban or Laphroaig, and another being rented by this amaaaaaazing Irish whisky called Midleton.
Asahi for when a dry, crisp lager is the thing, but US. I hear doubleplusungood things about Asahi beer in Japan. But Japanese brewing process and Canadian ingredients? Been workin' for me.
For white wine, a chardonnay from Michaud Vineyards that when chilled enough strikes a hypnotic yellow tone. For reds, there's an Australian winery called Aaku, which because I dig Samurai Jack I had to try. Their shiraz is verrrry noss.
So, all those things mixed in a bucket, in whatever proportions speak to the moment. Mm.
[ April 21, 2004: Message edited by: Michael Ernest ]

[Richard Hawkes]

Non-alcoholic : cold ginger beer
Cocktail : Long Island Iced Tea. Never made it myself though so don't know the recipe
Beer : De Bassus micro-brewery in Seoul serves a really refreshing and tasty dunkles (dark german style beer). I only discovered this recently and its now my favourite beer

[Richard Hawkes]

Originally posted by Michael Ernest:
Any one of a wide variety of single-malt Scotches. Currently in the cabinet: Balvenie, Macallan, Old Pulteney, Glenlivet, Glenlivet Dark Oak, Dalmore. Two open spaces, one reserved for either Oban or Laphraiog, and another being rented by this amaaaaaazing Irish whisky called Midleton.
That's alot of whiskey! I've only ever tried one single malt. I went for a beginner's one - 17 yr Bowmore from Islay. Its has a smokey flavour which I really love and its suprisingly smooth. Next time I'm at Heathrow airport I'll be getting the 21 year old version. It gets pretty pricey

[Jeroen Wenting]

take glass, fill with water (cold preferred), drink.
Simple, tasty, refreshing and low on calories

[Pradeep bhatt]

Originally posted by Jeroen Wenting:
take glass, fill with water (cold preferred), drink.
Simple, tasty, refreshing and low on calories

Thank you very much. I am going to try it now.

[Joe Pluta]

RH: Non-alcoholic : cold ginger beer
Is ginger beer what we would call ginger ale in the states? I've always wondered, especially since it was Dr. Who's favorite.
Personally, I like all different things, but lately I've been making a juice out of grapes, strawberries and mangos that the family likes. I mix that half and half with some sort of diet lemon-lime beverage (like Sprite) and a lot of ice.
Back in the day, I liked Long Island iced teas (equal parts rum, vodka, tequila, gin and triple sec - sweet and sour to taste and a splash of Coke for color). When I took the commuter train from Chicago I also liked something called, I kid you not, a "brave bull". Tequila and kahlua. The first one was rough, but after that they were like chocolate milk. Except chocolate milk didn't usually make me get on the wrong train and get off at a stop 60 miles from my house.
Joe

[Joel McNary]

Ginger beer is not ginger ale. I like ginger ale; I can't stand ginger beer. Ginger beer is much stronger than ginger ale and is not to my liking.
Since I don't like alcohol, my favorite drink is as follows:

approx. 4 oz. blueberries
approx. 4 oz. raspberries
approx. 4 oz. blackberries
approx. 4 oz. strawberries
1 1/2 cup water (use boiling water if frozen fruit is used)
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup cran-grape juice
Dissolve the sugar in the water.  Place all ingredients in a
blender and whir at whatever speed your heart desires until
smooth or as close thereto as you may wish.
Fruit selection may be varied.
If desired, add ice cream instead of (or in addition to) the
cran-grape juice.
Makes 1-4 servings, depending on how you follow the instructions.

[ April 20, 2004: Message edited by: Joel McNary ]

[Richard Hawkes]

Ginger Ale
In Britain it's a non-alcoholic fizzy drink flavoured with ginger or essence of ginger and coloured with caramel.
In North America it's a non-alcoholic, lemon-flavoured fizzy drink.
Ginger Beer
A drink made by the fermentation of root ginger, sugar, water and yeast with a very low alcohol content.
From : http://www.barnonedrinks.com/tips/dictionary/g.html

Usually I get the stuff in a can by Idris. They say its a ginger beer but according to the above I'd say it was an ale (British style). When I can find it though I like the beer version more, ie the fermented stuff. I hadn't realised before that there was an alcohol content, albeit very small. Chilled, it cuts through any thirst, the fiery the better!
Thanks for the Long Island ingredients list
[ April 20, 2004: Message edited by: Richard Hawkes ]

[Richard Hawkes]

Originally posted by Jeroen Wenting:
take glass, fill with water (cold preferred), drink.
Simple, tasty, refreshing and low on calories
Is that some kind of sick joke ?!

[Mark Fletcher]

Alcoholic Beverages -

Miller - Not Miller Lite, or the Red label stuff you get in the States, nor bottled Miller, but the Silver cans that you get in the UK. Good stuff.

Guinness - I was over in Dublin for Easter and had the opportunity to visit the Guinness Brewery at St James's. Well worth the visit, especially the "Gravity" bar, where not only can you get as authentic a pint of Guinness as possible, but it also affords one of the best views of the city of Dublin. Little known fact: The largest Guinness brewery is located in Nigeria!

Stella Artois - Nice, but a bit strong for my liking, drink too much and you go crazy.

Vodka and Red Bull - Mmmmmmm.

Springbank Whisky (18 Year)- A very nice whisky from this distillery... Springbank is the only distillery in Scotland to carry out the entire production process on site.

Mark

[Jim Yingst]

Joe - if you've got Trader Joe's in your area, you can probably find ginger beer there; that's where I discovered it. If you like ginger (by which I mean, if you like a STRONG ginger flavor) then it's well worth checking out.
I'm now in Colorado which has no Trader Joe's, so I guess I need to find a new source.
I like a varety of (real) beers too. Belgian ales are probably my favorite - Duvel's and Gulden Drak.

[Joe Pluta]

Ah, Duvel's! I remember the first time I sat in an Aarschott pub belting down Duvel's with the locals. I drank 'em like I was drinking Miller Lite. After about my sixth or seventh beer, they were laughing at me. I couldn't figure out why until I tried to get off the stool and my knees buckled under me. Quite a kick...
Joe

[Jeroen Wenting]

Originally posted by Richard Hawkes:
Originally posted by Jeroen Wenting:
[qb]take glass, fill with water (cold preferred), drink.
Simple, tasty, refreshing and low on calories
Is that some kind of sick joke ?!
[/QB]

No. Most times I drink only water.
Sometimes I indulge in orange or grape juice.
In the past I drank copious amounts of milk (2+ liters a day) but I stopped that as I was gaining too much weight on it.

[Steve Wink]

Originally posted by Joe Pluta:
Ah, Duvel's! I remember the first time I sat in an Aarschott pub belting down Duvel's with the locals. I drank 'em like I was drinking Miller Lite. After about my sixth or seventh beer, they were laughing at me. I couldn't figure out why until I tried to get off the stool and my knees buckled under me. Quite a kick...
Joe

Well, if you managed 6 or 7 Duvels you have my respect. Or sympathy. Not sure which.

[fred rosenberger]

Woodpecker hard apple cider.
ANY hard cider. Blackthorn is excellent as well.
I was in San Francisco a few years ago, and the bar had a fermented peach cider than made me want to cry (in a good way)!!!

[Max Habibi]

Maybe giving away too much here, but...
My mother used to make this concoction with cherries, vodka, and a jar. She'd fill up the jar with Vodka and cherries, seal it super tight, let it sit in the sun( could it have been months?), then serve it up.
It was a big todo. She and my father would drink the juice and gently flirt, while my sister and I got the cake she'd make with those same cherries.

M

[HS Thomas]

Originally posted by fred rosenberger:

I was in San Francisco a few years ago, and the bar had a fermented peach cider than made me want to cry (in a good way)!!!

Pear cider is Perry and peach cider is Peachy. Lots of recipes on the Web.
[ April 21, 2004: Message edited by: HS Thomas ]

[Mark Fletcher]

Is it just me, but once youve thrown up drinking cider, you can never go back to it again?
Ok, maybe revealing a bit too much, but hey that was way back in my teens. Nowadays I just fall asleep after drinking too much
Mark

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

Originally posted by Max Habibi:

My mother used to make this concoction with cherries, vodka, and a jar.

My parents usually had a jar of "brandied fruit" going; somewhat similar concept. They'd let us put the fruit on ice cream. Good stuff. Keeps the kids quiet, I guess. Ah, the good old days!

[Jamie Robertson]

My list of fancy Northern Ontario drinks:
- pour 4 oz of Rum ( any kind ) in a 14 oz glass, add 8 oz of coke. Add ice if you think it will be in the glass long enough to cool off
- pour 4 oz of Rye ( any kind ) in a 14 oz glass, add 8 oz of coke. Add ice if it is for your guest
- pour 4 oz of XXX ( any kind ) in a in a 14 oz glass, add 8 oz of XXX. Add ice if <insert wussy ice excuse here>

For a change up:
-pour 60 oz of beer ( any kind ) into a pitcher. drink as required ( glasses are optional )
-buy one case ( 28 beers ) from the store. Open and drink one at a time, until you can no longer walk back to the case of beer to get another. Puke as required.
I guess I'm just a simple guy, cause that is my drink list for the last 10 years!
Go hard, or go home!
Jamie

[Jamie Robertson]

Originally posted by Mark Fletcher:
Is it just me, but once youve thrown up drinking cider, you can never go back to it again?
Ok, maybe revealing a bit too much, but hey that was way back in my teens. Nowadays I just fall asleep after drinking too much
Mark

I found ciders give you the worst headache the next day of any alcoholic beverage.

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

Originally posted by Jamie Robertson:

-buy one case ( 28 beers ) from the store.

That must be a metric case. Down here, south of the border, a case is 4 six-packs.
But yeah. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, if I can get it.

[Corey McGlone]

Perhaps it's the fact that I grew up in Wisconsin where drinking is considered a statewide "pasttime" (kinda like baseball - in fact, I don't know that it's legal to go to a baseball game in Wisconsin and not have a beer), but this thread brings up lots of old memories.
Here's my rundown...
Beer: I like Miller (or the Lite version). I doubt many folks agree with that, but when you grow up near Milwaukee, it grows on ya.
Drinks: Nothing seems to beat Bailey's on the rocks for me, but, when I used to tend bar, I had a lot of people ask for a Butterball - 1 shot of Bailey's and 1 shot of Butterscoth Schapps. It tastes like a root beer float with some kick. For some added fun, poor it over ice cream.
Also, being from Wisconsin, I love a good "Old Fashioned." Don't know what that is? That's because you're not from Wisconsin. Honestly, I live in Rochester now (it's only a hour over the state line into Minnesota) and people here don't even know what an Old Fashioned is. :roll: But, when I was tending bar in Wisconsin, I'd make those things all night long. Here's the recipe:
Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet
2 shots Brandy
2-4 splashes of Bitters
A swirl of Bar Syrup (It's just Sugar & Water - 50/50 Mix)
Sweet Soda to top (7-Up would be good)
There are a number of versions of these drinks...
Brandy Old Fashioned Sour (replace Sweet Soda with Sour Soda)
Whiskey Old Fashioned Sweet (replace Brandy with Whiskey)
Brandy Old Fashioned Push (half Sweet Soda and half Sour Soda).
etc, etc, etc. You get the idea.
Personally, I like to use "Southern Comfort" as the alcohol for a Southern Comfort Old Fashioned Sweet. Yes, indeed...good times.

[HS Thomas]

Guiness is a great pick me up. A Guiness shake has possibilities.
Guiness, cream , strawberries

Guiness instead of Pimms , tea ,ice , mint leaves
Guiness, , milk , whipped raw egg, nutmeg , ice

[Michael Ernest]

Originally posted by Max Habibi:
Maybe giving away too much here, but...
My mother used to make this concoction with cherries, vodka, and a jar. She'd fill up the jar with Vodka and cherries, seal it super tight, let it sit in the sun( could it have been months?), then serve it up.
It was a big todo. She and my father would drink the juice and gently flirt, while my sister and I got the cake she'd make with those same cherries.

Cherry Bounce! Half the fun is watching the fruit rise and drop over time.
The longer you can wait, the better they get. The family recipe calls for whisky in place of vodka. It looks soooooo purty in the light.

[Bert Bates]

I like Michael's list of single malts, to which I would add Isle of Jura.
For apres ski, or any other warming up situation, some Canadian friends introduced me to "Blueberry Tea";
A shot of Amaretto
A shot of Grand Marnier
In a big snifter, with just enough hot tea added, occasionally, to keep the entire concoction warm...

[Jamie Robertson]

Originally posted by Ernest Friedman-Hill:

That must be a metric case. Down here, south of the border, a case is 4 six-packs.
But yeah. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, if I can get it.

We tried the American way ( 24 beers per case ) and decided it wasn't enough. So we tried adding 4 more beers to every case. Seriously, last year they introduced "King Packs" ( 28 beers instead of the traditional 24 ) for the serious drinkers out there!
Jamie

[fred rosenberger]

I found ciders give you the worst headache the next day of any alcoholic beverage.

not true for me. When i was young, single, and had lots of disposable income, i could drink a pitcher of Cider and have no ill effects. but two pints of beer, and i'd be in SEVERE pain the next morning.
i think it's a question of what you get used to... i really do.

[Jamie Robertson]

I've only drank it from the bottle ( approx 14 oz or 370 ml at 7% alcohol ), so it may be different from the stuff on tap. I recall the brand being "Okanogan Valley" or something like that. After sucking back 12 of them tasty treats, I'd wake up in the fetal position, hands on my head to subdue the constant pounding in my head, screaming like a 10 year old schoolgirl who'd just been bit by a tarantula. Now beer on the other hand, I could drink all night, get 3 hours of sleep and wake up with a smile on my face, ready to change the world.