~*Bahama Mama*~

What a delicious tropical drink... excellent for a hot day.

Ingredients:
~1/2 oz Light Rum
~1/2 oz Gold Rum
~1/2 oz Dark Rum
~1/2 oz Coconut Liqueur
~Orange and Pineapple Juice
~Grenadine

Preperation:
~Fill glass with grushed ice
~Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice
~Mix well and strian into glass
~Fill 1/2 with orange juice and 1/2 with pineapple juice and a splash of grenadine.
~Finish it with a cherry and pineapple garnish

~*French Kiss*~

The French Kiss is a concoction with spiced chocolates and raspberry, served in a chocolate drizzled martini glass.

Ingredients:
~3/4 oz Godiva White Chocolate liqueur
~3/4 oz Godiva Dark Chocolate liqueur
~1/2 oz Ketel One Vodka
~1/2 oz Captain Morgan
~3/4 oz Chambord

Preperation:
Pour all ingredients into a martini shaker.  Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass drizzled with chocolate sauce.  Garnish with a fresh strawberry on the rim.

ENJOY....  ; )

~*Saketini*~

Ever wanted to try the trendy Saketini?  Here is your chance to try the new Japenese Martini.

Ingredients:
~3/4 oz Sake
~3/4 oz Vodka
~1/4 oz Gin
~1 Slice Cucumber

Preperation:
~Pour Vodka, Sake, and Gin into a mixing glass with ice.  Shake well. Pour and strain into a frosted martini glass. And finish it with a cucumber garnish on the rim of glass.

~*Marilyn Monroe Champagne Cocktail*~

Marilyn Monroe was famous for her love of Champagne... So they named a drink after her and I am a big fan of hers so I thought I would share this with you.

Ingredients:
~1 Shot Apple Brandy
~Dash of Grenadine
~And Finish with Champagne

~Many fruit wineries offer apple brandy, but if you dont have any, just get some apple juice and mix it with brandy.

Preperation:
~Add the Apple Brandy to bottem of the Champagne flute
~Add dash of grenadine
~Pour on the champagne and enjoy the luxurious life!

~*Blue Martini*~

What an awesome martini... so easy to make  :)

Ingredients:

~2oz Vodka

~1oz Blue Curacao

~White Creme De Cacao

Preperation:

~Chill martini glass

~Fill your shaker about 1/4 with ice

~Add ingredients

~Shake and pour

~Finish with a lemon or orange twist

Something for a Cold Day

How about something that will warm you up from the inside out.. Maybe some whiskey, brandy, or a rum cocktail...

What about a simple Irish Coffee.. mm mmm good

Ingredients...
2 1/2 oz strong, hot coffee
1 1/2 oz Irish whiskey
1 tsp brown sugar
1 oz whipping cream

Preparation...
1. Pour the hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and brown sugar into mug
2. Stir well
3. Float the cream on top

Merlot

Merlot is a red wine grape used for blending and for varietal wines.  Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word, blackbird.  Merlot is a medium based wine with some hints of berry, plum, and currant.  Merlot is popular grape for blending with cabernet sauvignon.  It is also the most popular wine varietal in many markets. Merlot is one of the worlds most planted grape varieties.  The best quality merlot is grown in rocky, arid ground, and even in damp, cool climates. 

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is one of the toughest grape to grow but it is well worth the investment.  Pinot Noir demands warm days consistantly supported by cool nights.  Pinot Noir is a lighter colored red wine with flavors of sweet red berries, plums, tomatoes, cherries, and often some earthy or woodlike depending on the growing conditions.

Shiraz/Syrah

Shiraz and Syrah are from the same red wine grape.  The reason there are two names for this grape is because in France it is known and grown as a Syrah; it is responsilbe for some of the Northern Rhone's big bold red wines.  In Australia and South Africa they call it Shiraz.  The Shiraz is the Australia's spicy, big hitting wine.  It is a deep-purple color grape and produces medium to full bodied wine.  Shiraz wines display firm tannins and the rich round flavors of black cherry, blackberry, plum, bell pepper, black pepper, clove, licorice, dark chocolate, and smoked meat.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is a well known red wine.  It is becoming so popular that people are starting to call it "king of wines" or "king of red grapes".  Cabernet Sauvignon is a small berry with a thick black skin.  It is well known for it's debth of flavor, aroma, and ability to age.  Cabernet Sauvignon is full-bodied, dry, and intense, cherry current and sometimes herbal flavors.  Cabernet grapes prefer warmer climates.  The grape is also a main ingredient in blends for many of the most famous red wines in the world. 

Zinfandel

Zinfandel is truly an American specialty.  It is being produced all along the west coast from California to Washington.  It's the #2 most widely planted grape in California, and many consider the Zinfandel to be the "California Red".  Many vines on the U.S. west coast are more than 100 years old to this day.  And being an "old vine Zinfandel" is like a special treat to the fans of Zin.  The grape originated in Craotia, and not Southern Italy, today it is widely planted in Italy as the Primitivo grape.  The Primitivo is a cousin to the Zinfandel grape, it is a bold, rich flavored grape.  The small Zinfandel grape is actually tough to grow and its clusters tighten up and ripen unevenly.  The Zinfandel grape likes warm weather particularly close to the coast.  Zinfandel is a full-bodied red, with ripe raspberry fruit accented by pepper and spice. 

Fun Facts About Spirits & Wine

The pressure in a champagne bottle is 90 pounds per square inch, that is three times the pressure in an automobile tire.

It is estimated that there are 49,000,000 bubbles in a bottle of champagne.

The world's oldest known recipe is for beer.

Brandy, Rum, and Whiskey can be either aged too long or not long enough.

The word "Toast," which means wishing good health, originated in ancient Rome. Back then they used to take a piece of toasted bread and drop it into a glass of wine.

Distilled spirits such as Brandy, Rum, Gin, Tequila, etc. contain no carbohydrates, no fats, and no cholesterol of any kind.

All spirits(unlike beer or wine) are originally clear and colorless. They achieve there colors due to the aging process.

The French wine "Fat Bastard" is banned in Texas and Ohio.

The soil in France is considered so precious that is mandatory for workers to scrape the soil off their shoes before they leave.

Wine Names

Most wines get their names from the types of grapes they are made from, while others particularly European varieties, may get their names from the regions where they are from. A wine that is named after it's grape variety is called a varietal. It's really simple: Pinot Noir is made from Pinot Noir grapes; Chardonnay is made from Chardonnay grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon is made from Cabernet Sauvignon, same as Zinfandel, Merlot, Sangiovese and Pinot Gri... and so on. Champagne, Sherry, and Port wines are the more well known blended wines. You will find wines that have more than one grape that are blends. Vintners would blend wine made from different grapes in order to add more complexity to the flavor and texture of the wine.

The Basics of Spirits and Wine

What are Spirits

Alcohol is basically a hydroxyl compound such as ethanol or methanol. The process of fermentation with an organic substance (usually sugar) is transformed by a single-celled microorganism such as yeast into alcohol. Distilled alcohol is also called a spirit. The process of spirits distillation is heating a fermented liquid, evaporating off the alcohol as vapor, and then condensing it back into liquid form. Spirits are classified by the fermented material that they are distilled from. Vodka, Gin, Whiskies, and most types of Schnapps are made by distilling a kind of beer made from grain. Rum and Cane Spirits derive from fermented sugar cane juice or molasses. Brandy is made from fermented grape juice, and Fruit Brandy is made from other fruits. Tequila and Mezcal come from the fermented pulp of the agave plant.

What is Wine

Any fruit juice can be used to make wine, but the majority of all wine is made from the juice of the grape. Yeast is the magical ingredient that turns grape juice into wine. Yeast is a living organism that feeds off of sugars in the grape juice in a process called fermentation. There is yeast spores in the air and all that is really needed to make wine is an open container of grape juice and time. Yeast spores will reproduce exponentially until all of the fermentable sugars have been consumed. During this fermentation process, the sugars are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The yeast will then impart a taste to the finished wine depending on various factors such as the strain of yeast used, temperature during fermentation, and etc. After the fermentable sugars have been consumed, the yeast will fall to the bottom of the container, the wine will be removed to another container to mature then to wait to be bottled.