The Swan Song Cocktail

For when it’s time to say goodbye (our last blog post)

Yup, this is our final blog post. More details on that in a bit. But first let’s concentrate on this delightful fall-themed drink.

Applejack and orange juice celebrate autumn flavors. Brandy and grenadine add extra punch and tingle. The result?

A drink that says hello to fall. Even when it’s saying goodbye. 

The Sunshine Cocktail

Cool and refreshing, the perfect answer to summer’s heat

Looking for a peppy predinner potation to start your summer evenings? This delightful combo of white rum, dry vermouth, and pineapple juice (with a hint of grenadine to add flavor and color) is just the drink.

Its fruity, snappy flavor will wake up your tastebuds. So share it with your friends and enjoy their delight, too.

Because into each life some sun should shine. 

The Eye Opener Cocktail

This “morning after” drink delivers great flavor any time of day

Happy New Year! Still feeling the effects of late-night revelry? We’ve got a restorative beverage for you.

Some say the Eye Opener Cocktail is the perfect pick-me-up after a night that ended in the early hours of the morning. Because it contains an egg yolk, some might call it a health drink, too.

We just consider it a fun drink with interesting flavor. And it’s a bit of a conversation starter – that is, if you’re up for conversation after that wild New Year’s Eve you celebrated.

The Picon Punch Cocktail

This Basque-inspired drink delivers sparkling flavor

As summer wanes, we’re looking for drinks that can ease us into autumn.

Enter the Picon Punch, an afternoon cooler that works equally well as a predinner drink. Its flavor is bracing, with lively orange undertones.

The Picon Punch is not a particularly well-known drink, which makes it a fun choice for introducing to friends.

Because that’s what friends do.

The Rum Julep Cocktail

This Tiki classic delivers complex, festive flavor

Need mint in your julep? We’ve got that.

But this drink offers a twist on the julep theme, using rum instead of bourbon. (Two rums, in fact.) Plus two fruit juices and other assorted ingredients.

So making this cocktail is a bit of a production. But totally worth it.

The Irish Rose Cocktail

A delightful way to enjoy Irish whiskey

St. Patrick’s Day is on the horizon. So we’ll need to have a drink. Or three.

And what better drink than Irish whiskey? It’s good on its own, of course. But if you’re inclined to fill your shaker with ice, the Irish Rose is one of best cocktails you can mix up to celebrate March 17th.

It’s a beautiful drink, too. And as we know, pink and green pair nicely.

The Eclipse Cocktail

This classic is perfect for celebrating the August 21st solar eclipse

The US will experience a total eclipse of the sun this month – the first one to completely cross the lower 48 states since 1918.

We’re lucky enough to live near the path of eclipse totality (where the sun is completely covered), so we’re gearing up! Of course, that includes laying in the makings for The Eclipse Cocktail.

It’s not every day you get an eclipse, so drink up!

El Presidente Cocktail

An aromatic Prohibition-era favorite

El Presidente was named in honor of an early 20th-century president of Cuba. Or maybe two different presidents (more about that in the Notes).

No need to worry about the name, though. What’s important to know is that this cocktail has a wonderful “nose,” with a slightly sweet flavor. It’s crisp and refreshing, a wonderful accompaniment to the savory appetizers you’ll be serving at warm-weather festivities.

And speaking of festivities, this Sunday is Father’s Day here in the US. Families will be gathering to toast the leader of the clan. So what could be more appropriate than a round of El Presidente Cocktails? Hail to the chief.

The Golden Dawn Cocktail

Wake up to a party in a glass

Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer in the US. Here at Kitchen Riffs, it also marks the beginning of our Summer Sippin’ and Snarfin’ Series. More on that in the Notes.

This is the season for celebratory brunches, too: Graduations, weddings, Father’s Day, whatever. And you need something for your thirsty guests to drink—something that can stand up to the robust flavors of brunch dishes.

May we suggest the Golden Dawn Cocktail? It contains orange juice, so it shouts “brunch.” It’s also a tad sweet, which means it will pair well with spicy breakfast sausages, savory omelets, and just about any other brunch food.

Plus, it’s a great looking drink. So you know it will be the life of the party.

The Scofflaw Cocktail

The drink that thumbed its nose at Prohibition

Everybody knows what a scofflaw is, right? But you may not know that the term was coined during the Prohibition era in the US.

Prohibition (which was in effect from 1920 to 1933) banned the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. It failed spectacularly, however. Many people ignored the law and just kept on drinking—both in the privacy of their homes and in unlicensed saloons called speakeasies.

So widespread was this behavior that in 1924, the Boston Herald newspaper ran a contest asking people to create a moniker for these lawless tipplers. The winning entry was “scofflaw.”

A few days later, a bartender at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris created a tasty new drink—and named it the Scofflaw Cocktail (how could he resist?)

Prohibition finally ended in the US on December 5, 1933. So this Friday marks the anniversary of that happy day. Guess what we’ll be drinking to celebrate?

The Doctor Funk Cocktail

The Tiki drink named after Robert Louis Stevenson’s physician

Everyone knows Robert Louis Stevenson, right? He wrote classics like Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Swell swashbuckling stuff, some of those books.

What you might not know is that Stevenson spent his final years in Samoa. There he was attended by Bernhard Funk, a German physician who was also an accomplished mixologist. One of Funk’s concoctions (and one which he reportedly served to Stevenson) is the inspiration for the drink we know today as the Dr. Funk Cocktail.

The drink originally was intended to be a tonic. Modern medicine might quibble with that claim, but all would agree that this drink is a great way to beat summer’s heat. So if the dog days of August are getting you down, Dr. Funk has just the prescription for you.

The Rum Daisy Cocktail

A modern twist on a 19th century American original  

Many popular cocktails combine booze and citrus (lemon or lime), with a bit of sugar added to balance the citrusy tartness. Indeed, that’s the basic recipe for a whole class of drinks called “sours” (such as the Whiskey Sour).

But what happens if you add some effervescence in the form of sparkling water? The mid-19th century bartenders who made this modification to the sour decided they had invented an entirely new class of drink. They called it the daisy.

Back then, brandy was the spirit of choice for daisies. But you can make this drink with any spirit—whiskey, gin, even tequila (and we like them all). During the hot summer months, though, we tend to prefer a rum-based daisy. Rum makes a perfect warm-weather spirit, and a Rum Daisy Cocktail is delicious before a light dinner.

Which is why we’ve been drinking this cocktail a lot lately. You might say we’re half crazy for it.

The Pink Lady Cocktail

Perfect for Valentine’s Day

Need a fun cocktail for Valentine’s Day? Something with festive color and bracing flavor, but not too heavy? The Pink Lady may have your number.

This drink originated decades ago. But it fell out of favor for many years, so you may not have heard of it. Though you probably have heard of Jayne Mansfield, who claimed it as a favorite (more on that later).

The Pink Lady Cocktail is retro, romantic, and a little silly. Just like Valentine’s Day. Try it—you’ll heart it.

The Jack Rose Cocktail

Drinks authority David Embury called this one of his “six basic cocktails”

So who is this David Embury? And what is a “basic cocktail,” anyway?

Patience—all will be revealed in time. But first, we need to introduce this tasty delight.

The Jack Rose is made with applejack, a variety of apple brandy. Applejack goes back a long way—it was extremely popular in North America during colonial times, and was the first spirit to be licensed for commercial production in the United States.

This drink is simplicity itself to make. Pour a slug of applejack, add freshly squeezed lime juice (or lemon—your choice), splash in some grenadine (the real stuff, please), and mix with ice. The result? An appealingly tart drink with just the right balance of sweetness. Not to mention gorgeous color.

The Jack Rose is perfect for sharpening appetites before an autumn dinner. Especially that big dinner you may be planning for the 4th Thursday of November (you know, the one they call Thanksgiving).

The Bacardi Cocktail

This cool, refreshing drink screams summer

Hot summer weather is visiting most of the US, so we’re all searching for cool, refreshing beverages. 

One of the best (and prettiest) is a drink that was extremely popular in the 1930s and 40s:  The Bacardi Cocktail.  It combines white rum with freshly squeezed lime juice to create a tangy elixir that’s sweetened with grenadine. 

This drink is essentially a Classic Daiquiri, with grenadine replacing sugar or simple syrup. But there’s one big difference: For a daiquiri, you can use any brand of white rum. For a Bacardi Cocktail, you must use the Bacardi brand. Not because Bacardi has any special flavor characteristics that are essential to this drink, but because it’s illegal to use anything else.

At least, that’s what the New York Supreme Court decided in 1936.

The Ward Eight Cocktail

The Perfect Drink to Celebrate (or Mourn) an Election

Here in the US, we have a big election coming up Tuesday, November 6th.  We’ll be voting for President, not to mention other federal, state, and local offices.  Many people are heartily sick of the whole process by this time (turn on the TV in “swing” states and it’s wall-to-wall political commercials).  But we’re all curious to learn the outcome, so many of us will tune in to see the election results.  And some people may even make a party of it.

Mrs. Kitchen Riffs and I certainly will be watching — and may elect to enjoy an adult beverage while consuming the political news. 

Well, why not?  Elections and booze have a long, cozy history.  Politicians used to routinely ply treat voters with intoxicating liquid refreshment in order to buy win their votes.  And remember those smoke-filled rooms?  It’s not lemonade they were quaffing in there.

So let me introduce you to the Ward Eight, a cocktail devised to celebrate a 19th century election.  It’s a smooth drink with nice tart undertones, perfect to celebrate your candidate’s win (or mourn his loss).

The Zombie

The Bad Boy of Tiki Drinks

There are zombies and there are Zombies. We all know the zombie that Wikipedia calls “an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means, such as witchcraft.” They’re a staple of horror flicks. That’s not what we’re talking about here.

We’re talking about the Zombie Cocktail. Wikipedia says it “was concocted to help a hung-over customer get through a business meeting” — but the customer returned a few days later complaining that the drink had turned him into “a zombie.”

Which wasn’t surprising. Because as originally mixed, this was one potent drink — so potent that its originator, Donn Beach (founder of the Don the Beachcomber restaurants) instituted a limit of two per customer.

Of course, that policy probably served as marketing hype, since it almost guaranteed that a fair number of customers would try to order more than their allotted quota of these bad boys. Given the popularity this drink achieved, it sounds like the marketing worked.

But what really worked was the taste. This is one outstanding cocktail — and it’s largely responsible for launching the Tiki craze.

By the way, you don’t have to worry about becoming a zombie when you drink a Zombie. There’s a less potent version that still retains the great taste of the original.

Planter's Punch

The Great Grandaddy of Tiki Drinks 

Let’s begin by acknowledging that Planter’s Punch originally had nothing to do with Tiki.  How could it?  It started out in Jamaica about 200 years ago, while Tiki is an American invention that was born in the 1930s.

Still, if Planter’s Punch had not existed, Tiki might not either.  I’ll explain that later.

But first we need to introduce today’s drink:  It’s tall, cool, rum-laden, and delectable.

Anything this refreshing has got my number, especially with the miserably hot summer we’re having.

The Tequila Sunrise Cocktail

A 70s Drink with Far Out Flavor

Remember John-boy?  Ever yelled “shazam” or “right on”?  Ever shake your booty at the disco? 

If so, you probably remember the Tequila Sunrise, that trippy combo of tequila, orange juice, and grenadine that became the rage early in the 1970s.  It was the drink that introduced lots of people to tequila.

I’ll bet you haven’t had one in ages — even if you’re old enough to remember it.  So with National Tequila Day coming up on July 24th, what better time to get reacquainted with this drink? 

Rediscover what you once knew:  The Tequila Sunrise is outta sight.