Serve these refreshing beer coolers over ice with lime and some salt -- then it's just a matter of adding as many dashes of hot sauce as you can take.
The classic Martini only has 2 ingredients, so it’s particularly important to use the best you can afford.
In the age of the 32-ounce (or larger) Big Gulps and the like, a small drink may not necessarily seem fashionable. But large quantity is not always related to good quality, as is attested by those mammoth margaritas, laced as they are with artificially flavored sweet-and-sour mix. This margarita is the real thing: purity and refreshing freshness that's strained into martini glasses after a vigorous rumble with ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Just before your guests arrive, combine the tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice in a pitcher, and you'll be poised for the shaking to begin.
Cola-flavored extracts aren't necessary for cola flavor. After all, those extracts originally started as real ingredients, so why not go right to the source? This formula yields a beautiful cola concoction using all fresh and dried ingredients, readily available in most home refrigerators and spice cupboards. The one ingredient you might have to search for is gum arabic. It's there for mouthfeel rather than flavor, so if you don't have it, your cola will still be delicious; it will just seem a little thin.
Dear Friends,
Ingredients
This is a drink I created for the Italian restaurant Morandi, whose chef, Jody Williams, insisted on a hard-spirit ban for their prosecco cocktail menu to avoid overpowering the delicate flavors of the food. At first I was doubtful of this approach, but it turns out a lot of great cocktails fit this food-friendly bill if we just open ourselves up to using culinary elements in mixed drinks.
Close to a homemade ginger ale but with more of a nip, this is a formula for an icy spiced drink made to order. Simple Syrup is steeped with fresh ginger and fresh lemon juice then mixed with sparkling water for an effervescent kick. To mellow that kick out, turn it into a punch by adding a little light rum, then relax. Drink it over ice with lemon slices and, if you like, halved stalks of lemongrass as stir sticks.
Cool fresh lime juice, sugar, and red wine over ice make one of the best summer coolers we've had in a long time. Our thanks to Nan Bailly and Sam Haislett of Alexis Bailly Vineyard in Minnesota for sharing this recipe, which they found in a newspaper.