Japanese James
It's been a hot minute since there's been a cocktail on this here page, and it's high time that changed. Recently a friend gave me a bottle of plum wine -- a Japanese drink known as umeshu that, according to my pal Wikipedia, is made by steeping smallish green plums in shochu. It's a sweet, tasty drink that resembles a dessert wine, and I wanted to make something fun with it.
There aren't too many plum wine cocktails out there, but I found a good one that pairs the sweet umeshu with whiskey and some 7-Up that really hit the spot. It's usually made with Jack Daniels and called a Japanese Jack, but all I had in the liquor cabinet was Jameson, so it's more of a Japanese-Irish beverage: Japanese James.
Japanese James
2 oz plum wine (umeshu)
1.5 oz Jameson Irish whiskey
4 oz 7-Up
Serve on the rocks. Refreshing and delicious. Perfect for anyone who likes a sweetness to their sips.
Brunch Bloody Mary
I never used to like Bloody Marys. Please don't judge me for that. I just didn't understand its right place -- to the upper right of your brunch plate. Now, though, I'm a true believer. And when weekend brunch rolls around, a Bloody Mary takes a seat at the table.
Bacon Infused Bourbon
You’d really expect something that sounds as incredible as Bacon Infused Bourbon to entail a lot of hard work. In reality, it’s as easy as cooking up some delicious bacon and hanging out for a little while. Much easier than Chocolate Infused Vodka. And while the final product in this case might be a little too salty to drink on its own, it’s an awesome addition to a bunch of tasty cocktails.
Bourbon Balls
Oh snap, it's the day before Christmas and you haven't made any cookies! What are you going to do?? Well, for one, stop panicking. Anyone that gets too stressed out about Christmas cookies is missing the point. Take a second, pop the top off of that bottle of bourbon over there, and make yourself a relaxing drink.
Got it? Settled? Great. Well now that you have the bourbon out, we might as well make good use of it. Let's get in the spirit (har har) of the season, and whip up some tasty Bourbon Balls.
Some people say these little morsels taste like Christmas. I say they taste like booze. Delicious, sweet, bourbony booze. So if that's what you're looking for at the end of your year, continue on, fearless reader.
Spicy Caipirinha
A couple of weekends ago I welcomed in the fall the way I welcome in every other event in my life, from the exciting (new job!) to the mundane (new dust bunnies!) by going to a bar. The bar in question was Rye House because it’s the only decent place to get a real cocktail around Union Square. Don’t say Flat Iron. It’s not worth it.
It was a crisp, darkening, mildly damp day. Perfect bar weather. I popped into Rye House, slunk onto a stool at the large, mostly empty marble bar and interrupted the bartender’s dinner.
The Perfect Martini
My father has taught me many important things: how to swim in the ocean, how to gut a fish, how to wear sunglasses to disguise your emotions. But the skill that has served me the most in life is that of making the perfect martini. I can’t remember what prompted it. I was home from college, hanging around the kitchen before dinner, probably spitting out whatever theories about the philosophy of artificial intelligence I had most recently written about or explaining exactly what improv comedy was. There was a lull in the conversation and then my father declared that he was going to teach me how to make martini and how to make it right.