VODKA LEMONADE To get the lemoniest lemonade, you need to use the whole lemon – including the rind. The oil from the skin of the lemon gives it a supercharged flavor boost, and turns the drink a lovely, frothy yellow. This little trick makes a next-level lemonade, and with a good blender it couldn’t be easier. If you want to turn this into a cocktail, try adding cucumber vodka and a cucumber garnish. It’s incredibly refreshing – so light you […]
SON OF A BEE Hinoki and the Bird is one of my favorite places to eat in Los Angeles. It’s a Japanese-meets-American-small-plates restaurant that seems to get everything right, from the gorgeous cocktails to the smoky hinoki black cod. I had a son of a bee-sting there not long ago and fell in love – but it’s not a cocktail that is widely known, so I’ve learned to make it myself. (If you’re a Ron Burgundy fan, you’ll recognize this […]
As the weather begins to change, it’s nice to welcome fall with a hot toddy, so I thought: what better combination than bourbon and apple cider? Unfortunately, that turned out to be way too sweet and a little disappointing. I have an old book of cocktails from the 1930s that suggested boiling down the apple cider to syrup form before mixing with the bourbon, and that was a good tout. The apple flavor become much more pungent, and a squirt […]
This is just the cocktail to kick off a buzzy, bubbly party! Martinis pack an alcoholic wallop to begin with, and when you add the caffeine in a little espresso, it becomes a fast wallop. I’ve rediscovered iced coffee this summer, so a delicious and eye-opening coffee cocktail was the logical progression. Dark and frosty, and brightened with vodka and coffee liqueur, you couldn’t ask for a more satisfying summer libation. You definitely won’t be falling asleep on the porch […]
This end-of-season cooler is fruity and light. I think of watermelon as a smoothie fruit, not a milkshake fruit, but this has a tropical flavor that’s enhanced by the strawberries. Somehow the strawberries strengthen the watermelon flavor, rather than adding their own unique taste, and it’s very clean and smooth. This would be yummy at a kids’ outdoor birthday party, or it could be something you want to drink poolside with a little rum blended in to celebrate a more […]
