Booze Clues: 6 Fun St. Patrick's Day Drinks

To Glasses of Good Cheer and Pots of Gold

Whether you're Irish or not, chances are you'll find yourself at a bar this evening, toasting to St. Patrick and hoping to get lucky (ya know, in the pot of gold way, hehe). Hopefully you're beyond your green beer days, but if you're not sure what to drink beyond that initial shot of Jamo (Jameson), See below. From skinny margaritas to smoky scotch drinks and full-bodied bourbon sippers, we've got you covered (and not all of them are green!).

Strong, Spicy and Refreshing

Knob Creek Mint Ginger Old Fashioned- Created by Celebrity Chef Michael Symon

Ingredients
1 ½ Parts Knob Creek Rye Whiskey
Ginger Beer
½ Part Lemon Juice
¼ Part Green Chartreuse
6-8 Mint Leaves

Method

Combine all ingredients (except ginger beer) in a bar tin with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled Collins glass, top off with ginger beer and garnish with a single mint leaf.

Sweet, Effervescent and a Little Spicy

Basil Hayden’s Lucky Ginger- Created by Zachary Brian Taylor (San Francisco, CA)

Ingredients
1 1/2 parts Basil Hayden’s Bourbon
3/4 parts Lemon Juice
1/2 part Brown Sugar Syrup*
1 spring of Rosemary
Ginger Beer

Method
Combine Basil Hayden’s Bourbon, lemon juice and brown sugar syrup into a cocktail shaker.
Remove rosemary needles from the bottom 3/4 of the spring and add to the shaker. Save the top of the spring for use as a garnish.
Add ice to shaker and shake.
Double strain into a Collins glass filled with ice.
Top with ginger beer.
Garnish with the remaining rosemary spring.

*Brown Sugar Syrup
1 part Water
1 part Brown Sugar

Hearty

Cruzan Strapped Stout

Ingredients
1 ½ parts Cruzan Black Strap Rum
1 bottle of Chocolate or coffee stout beer

Method

Combine ingredients in a pint glass. Stir gently.

Lighty & Spicy

Luck of the Irish

Ingredients

2 ¼ slices jalapeño chile, seeds removed (use more slices if you like it spicy)

3 parts Skinnygirl Margarita

Chili powder or Mexican chili seasoning mixed with coarse salt

Lime peel for garnish

Method 

Muddle the jalapeño slices in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Pour Skinnygirl Margarita over the jalapeños. Add ice and shake well. Rim a rocks glass with the chili powder mixture and pour in the margarita. Garnish with a lime peel.

Smoky and Earthy- for Badasses Only

Luck of Laphroaig- Created by Tyson Buhler (New York, NY)

Ingredients
1 1/2 parts Laphroaig Select
1/4 part Sarsaparilla Syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Orange twist

Method 
Combine ingredients in a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with orange twist.

Stout and Simple

The Perfect Pint of Guinness Draught 

We learned the 7-step process to pouring the perfect pint of Guinness yesterday at a special lunch tasting. Make sure your bartender knows the method. It involves precision and a brief pause for settling, so be patient. After your first sip, post a pic on Instagram with your stout-stache. Because you're bae AF, right?

Oh and if you want to leave a lucky-looking lip print on your glass, green lipstick is the way to go.



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*All images courtesy images. Shoes N Booze is an affiliate of Amazon, Kelsi Dagger and Pour La Victoire

Do Try this at Home: A Vday Cocktail from the Heart

For John Watson

My mother's father, John Watson was born in rural Alabama during the early part of the 20th century. He was a passionate storyteller, a loving grandfather, and a fan of the sauce, especially (as I recently learned) Four Roses Bourbon. He coined the term "hoop-n-doop" for his bourbon or actually any soothing drink, even going so far a jokingly applying it to a baby's bottle. So when I learned Four Roses was having a Valentine's Day cocktail contest, I jumped at a chance to pay him a bit of posthumous homage through a passion we share. A riff on the Old Fashioned, it includes one of his favorite condiments, Alaga Syrup. Without further ado:

Hoop-N-Doop for the Heart

Ingredients
2 oz Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
2 teaspoons Alaga Syrup
2-3 dashes orange bitters

Method
Blend Alaga and Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon over ice and add bitters. Stir with a barspoon and then pour over large ice cube into rocks glass and garnish with orange peel.

In this picture, I used a glass from my grandmother's house. I'm pretty sure he sipped from it at some point. I also chose four small rose buds because his nickname was Buddy. Cheers, Granddaddy!

Wingtip Wednesday: Kabaccha Shoes & Basil Hayden's Cocktails

For the Fellas

Ladies, let the guys in your life know that after numerous requests, Shoes N Booze will now be providing men's content... the plan is for at least once per month. If the fellas prove to be more responsive, we might switch to men's stuff alltogether.

On Your Feet: 

There's something about seeing a man in a good wingtip shoe... it says he's discerning, pays attention to detail and also possesses a spark of daring. Even better if there are unexpected details, like contrasting accents or a colored sole. The yellow sole on this grey brogue by Kabaccha (which recently reached its Kickstarter funding goal) adds a pleasant touch, possibly reflective of a sunny disposition. The kicker, though, is that this Italian-made shoe is way less expensive than it looks. For $180, you're getting a Nappa leather upper, a calf leather lining and handmade craftsmanship. You're also getting a versatile shoe that looks great with jeans and a shirt or a suit... if you've got the guts, it works with chino shorts, as well.

In Your Glass:

If wingtips are on your feet, it only makes sense that whiskey is in your glass. Since it's Wednesday, you might not want to go full tilt and drink yours straight, so try a cocktail that combines a high-quality bourbon with complimenting flavors, like lemon and ginger. This might be a good time to say April Fools! Though I mean everything I've said about the shoes above and the cocktail here, there are no plans to convert this blog to men's content. Nonetheless, here's the recipe for the cocktail (and I hope you ladies will tell the men in your lives about Kabaccha... they've got some really cool color combinations):

Basil Hayden’s® Fool’s Gold

Recipe by Rob Floyd (Los Angeles, CA)

Ingredients:2 parts Basil Hayden’s® Bourbon
3/4 part Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 part Honey
1 slice Fresh Ginger

Preparation:1. Muddle ginger in a mixing glass.
2. Add remaining ingredients with ice and shake.
3. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
4. Garnish with basil leaf.

A Little Something Extra: 

Because we might as well take it all the way, right? This Korbata tie was handmade in Guatemala using traditional techniques that go back hundreds of years. It'll add a natty touch to jeans, a white button up and the wingtips above.

Spot-Light: Cocktail Classes at Harding's in NYC

 A Reason to Toast Tuesdays

Imagine walking into a room and seeing a spread like the one above on your table. If you're like me, you get extremely excited. So. Many. Spirits! And they're for my tablemates and I to mix cocktails? Yes please! Well, this was exactly the scene at Harding's NYC recently when I attended their "First Tuesdays" mixology class. 

Lead by Derrick Turner, master mixologist (but don't dare let him hear you use that word) and lead bartender at Harding's, the class took us through the preparation of three amazing cocktials featuring artisanal offerings from St. George Spirits. Derrick eases participants' inhibitions with humor, charm and an interactive style. Or maybe it was the fact that started the class with shots for everyone. Actually, I'm almost sure it was a combination of both. 

First, we made The Rockerfeller, a cocktail that combines St. George Spiced Pear Liquor, rye whiskey, and bitters. It was smooth, balanced and just strong enough for me. If you'd like to try it at home, here's the recipe:
The Rockerfeller
1 oz St. George Pear Liqueur
2 oz rye whiskey
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 dash simple syrup (if you prefer sweet drinks)
Blend ingredients over ice in a shaker or mixing glass and stir with a bar spoon. Rub orange peeal around the rim of a coupe glass. Strain ingredients into the coupe and garnish with rolled orange peel. 

Next, we mixed apple cider, bourbon and St. George Raspberry Liqueur to create the Blood of the Woods.  I thought this drink would be super sweet because of the liqueur, but I was delightfully surprised to find that I was wrong. Unlike many of the other liqueurs I've tried, this one tasted like the actual fruit instead of tasting like syrup. In this cocktail, it added depth, complexity and a bit of tartness. Per-fect for for fall. At-home bartenders, here's the recipe: 
Blood of the Woods
1 oz apple cider
1 1/2 oz bourbon
1 charred cinnamon stick (broken into small pieces)
1/4 oz maple syrup (if you want it sweet)
Top with St. George Raspberry Liqueur
Mix bourbon, cider and cinnamon in a shaker over ice. Shake and then do a loos strain into a rocks glass. Top with liqueur and watch it settle to bottom. 

Our last cocktail, the "Simply Wicked", was inspired by a Broadway musical we all know. "According to 'Wicked', the good witch was kinda an A-hole. That was my inspiration," said Derrick before instructing us to mix St. George Absinthe, gin and agave syrup to create this cocktail.  I must confess that I made a wicked F-up because I somehow ended up pouring my ingredients into the leftovers from the previous cocktail (blame it on the...). Derrick made a note of it after sampling the mixture and said it might get added to the lineup at the bar. Luckily, a tablemate let me take a picture of her cocktail for the sake of this post. Here's the recipe: 
Simply Wicked
1 1/2 oz gin
1/4 oz St. George Absinthe
1/2 oz agave syrup
pinch of watercress
Blend gin, absinthe, watercress and agave in (empty) shaker over ice. Shake and then strain into a coupe. Garnish with watercress. 

I'm a whiskey girl, but apparently my business card prefers gin cocktails. Ha!

Ready to join in the fun? Here's the scoop on the next class:

Location: 

Harding’s

32 East 21st Street (between Broadway & Park Ave. S.)

New York, NY

Date / Time/ Concept: 
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Get the Party Started: Champagne Cocktails

Cost: 
$35 per person
Tickets:  www.hardingsnyc.com / 212.600.2105
Space is limited, tickets strongly recommended.

Wild Wednesday: Brian Atwood Mixie

 

In the Mix

 

If there’s a party or social gathering worth attending, you’re in the know about it. Chances are, you’ll be there working the room, and your ensemble will be the talk of the room. Give ‘em something to talk about in an attention-grabbing pair of snakeskin heels like Brian Atwood’s “Mixie”. With its 5 1/2 inch heel and 1 inch platform, you’ll have no choice but to strut, and the stud detailing gives them a devil-may-care edge. However, it’s the multicolored snakeskin and contrasting suede piping that makes them truly unique. They give new meaning to the term “mixed medium”.

 

While your shoes may give your like an extra edge, you’ll want to sip something this evening that’ll quickly take the edge off your mood. Try a Maker’s Mark Apple Manhattan. It’s a simple drink with a complex flavor, and it packs more than a slight punch.

Recipe:

2 parts Maker's Mark®

1 part Berentzen® Apple Liqueur

Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a granny smith apple wheel.

As I said, this drink will pack a punch, so sip slowly. Be the talk of the town for your wild sense of style, not your wild behavior.

 

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