Drinks

Where there’s brunch, there are Bloody Marys. So at today’s Cinco de Mayo brunch celebration, it just makes sense that we’ll be happily sipping Mary’s Mexican cousin: the Bloody Maria. The Bloody Maria is the same as a Bloody Mary, but tequila takes the place of vodka, giving this brunch favorite a simple and delicious makeover.

At our house we entertain — a lot. Asian-inspired dishes like Thai curry, Vietnamese Bahn Mi sandwiches, and sushi are often on the menu. Sriracha is our condiment of choice, and while we enjoy cold beer to tame its heat, the search for the perfect cocktail to pair with it has finally come to a very happy ending with this week’s drink. Cilantro is one of those flavors you either love or you vehemently despise. I happen to love it.

One of the most refreshing ways to enjoy fresh fruit is in an agua fresca, a beverage made with pureed fruit, water, a touch of sugar and maybe some lime juice or herbs. Here in Los Angeles, every taco stand worth its salt has a big jar or three of the brightly-colored drinks standing by, but you don’t have to be eating a drippy carnitas taco to enjoy the thirst-quenching, pure fruit flavor of aguas frescas. Especially not when they are this easy to make at home.

For a summertime treat that’s a snap – or a shake – to create, consider the shakerato. This gelato-infused version makes a quick yet elegant after-dinner coffee and dessert rolled into one.We’ve written about our love for the caffè shakerato before – this Italian warm-weather drink typically consists of espresso, sugar, and ice agitated in a cocktail shaker until smooth and frothy.

One of the most pleasurable cups of coffee I’ve ever sipped wasn’t actually made from coffee beans at all – it was Lebanese “white coffee,” a soothing tisane made from sweet-scented orange flower water.The first time I had this beverage was at a Lebanese restaurant in Paris; everyone else at my table ordered coffee and when I declined, the waiter offered to bring me his favorite after-dinner drink.

Valentine’s day is just around the corner, and if you have a special someone in your life (or even if you don’t), you may want to make a few drinks. These gin and tonic variations are labeled ‘his’ and ‘hers’, but don’t let yourself be limited. I enjoy a nice manly cocktail every now and then – and the pretty pink ‘hers’ variation is so delicious that men might find themselves reaching for it by the end of the night.

With this post, the Toddy Project reaches its delicious, boozy conclusion. Herein: gin gets the toddy treatment, and vanilla warms up a plain old whiskey toddy. Can’t get enough hot toddies? Check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the Toddy Project. Nancy Mitchell has had a very good week. You can find more of her recipes and writings on her blog, The Backyard Bartender.

Need a wintertime pick-me-up? Let me suggest this dazzling concoction: a bright and sunny soda featuring freshly muddled kumquats and pink peppercorn syrup.Making soda is a fun way to play with seasonal ingredients, and here in my Los Angeles neighborhood, this drink is entirely of the moment. This is the time of year when gardens and markets pop with the color of ripe kumquats. While these citrus fruits may be small, they pack vivid flavor.

Pink grapefruit and pomegranate comprise the main ingredients in this gorgeously hued soda, and yet you might have a hard time picking out either flavor. What it does taste like is the holidays: merry, bright, a little spiced and very festive.To make the syrup for this seasonal fruit soda, you simply simmer grapefruit and pomegranate juices with sugar and star anise.

With several of my family members and friends allergic to alcohol, I’m looking at the holidays as a time to invent seasonal, booze-free drinks that still feel special. This Asian pear sparkler is smooth and refreshing with an enticing undercurrent of warm autumn flavors. I love making drinks with seasonal fruit, simmering the juice with sugar, honey, and other ingredients to form a simple syrup that can be mixed with fizzy water and adjusted to each person’s preference for sweetness.

pumpkin butter Alcohol always warms the body, and hot alcohol doubly so. Delight your guests, and warm your insides, with this tweak of an old recipe. Now, if you have never had hot buttered rum before, you may be a bit skeptical. Alcohol and butter? Believe and do not doubt. Butter adds a certain richness to this drink, as well as a bit of flavor. Imagine drinking a warm glass of boozy pumpkin pie. Don’t you love fall? Nancy Mitchell loves a hot drink on a cold day.

I usually find sodas to be too sweet and syrupy for my taste. But homemade sodas? I can get on board with those. And when the arrival of Concord grapes at the market coincided with the arrival of this recipe in the October issue of Saveur, I was sold.Now, the Saveur recipe simply calls for a few cups of “pure Concord grape juice.” You can certainly buy this in bottles at Whole Foods and other stores, but with grapes in season, I figured why not go for the real deal?

My first stop at any street fair during the summer is the frozen lemonade stand. Imagine lemonade, already a refreshing beverage, but frozen and shaved into a soft snowy mound directly in your glass. When the sun is beating down and there are funnel cakes and corn dogs yet to be found, there’s nothing better.Frozen lemonade is a bit different than its cousin, the Lemon Shake-Up. This is more like a granita, and in fact, it technically is a granita.

Brewing up a pot of good quality loose leaf tea is a kitchen ritual that has saved my sanity more than once. There’s something about taking the time and care to do it right that soothes my soul and encourages contentment. Read on for my rather detailed step-by-step method for brewing a proper pot of black tea. But later in the day, I’m ready for a more refined experience and brewing up some good quality loose leaf tea is often just the treat I’m looking for.

We have had an epiphany. And it’s called homemade ginger ale. You have to try this.We’ve made a version of this before using homemade ginger syrup, but this is a whole different ball game. This recipe from Crumpets and Cakes has you combine grated ginger, sugar, lemon juice, water, and a pinch of baker’s yeast in a 2-liter bottle. That little bit of yeast is all that’s needed to get this concoction nicely fizzy. After a few days, it’s ready to be sipped.

A certain South American cocktail has been taking North America by storm. And suddenly a whole new market for a once little-known spirit has sprung up.The cocktail? The Caipirinha.The spirit? Cachaça.Of course, back in their birthplace of Brazil, cachaça (kah-SHAH-sa) – and Caipirinhas (kai-pee-REEN-yuhs) – are nothing new.