‘75 Southsidecar
I’m actually curious what this car would look like, if it were real. I’m thinking… generic muscle car? Classic towncar that’s realistically too big to parallel park? Use your imagination. It’s actually the name of my submission to this month’s awesome @homebarawards challenge: cocktail mashups.
Royal J
Vacation MacGyver, pt. 1
Today I'm continuing Highball Happy Hour with a summer-y, tropical-leaning, and absolutely crushable drink featuring the one-and-only Jaisalmer Gin. The recipe for this one came about during a recent vacation. It's a funny thing about being the self-elected vacation bartender-- when you're used to a very... expansive bar at home, it's a big change to suddenly have very limited options. But as I always say, constraint is the catalyst of creativity, so here is the first of two drinks I created with what I had on hand.
Mr. Rice Guy
So far my #sponsored content with @JaisalmerGin includes riffs on a gin & tonic and a martini. Both fun, easy, and delicious. Let’s keep the fun and delicious part but turn up the complexity with a gin-based tiki delight featuring an unusual cocktail player: rice. Please refer to my post on 5/20 for a discussion of the infusion.
Jaisamler Gin & Tonic
Welcome to Highball Happy Hour! It's no surprise that I enjoy making some... complicated cocktails from time to time. But a good gin and tonic is actually one of my favorite cocktails to enjoy while eating-- the slight quinine bitterness helps to quench the thirst and cleanse the palate, and the complex array of flavors and botanicals tend to pair well with many cuisines. Like many cocktails that only have a few ingredients, a G&T is easy to make but much harder to get just right. As part of my #sponsored @JaisalmerGin content, I wanted to make my "ideal" G&T to really celebrate the gin.
What A Teas
Today I’m continuing my #sponsored content with @JaisalmerGin, this time with a new cocktail recipe. One of the more unique features of this gin (and one of my favorites) is the inclusion of Darjeeling green tea as one of the botanicals. Tea lends itself really well to spirits, given their depth of flavor and (as an avid lover of amaro) bitter element. As such, they’re great for infusing, and you can dial in the level of bitterness depending on how long you let the infusion go.
Prolific
This drink is dedicated to my lemon balm plant, which is currently growing like crazy. I don’t know what to do with it. It smells kind of like fruit loops in the best possible way and I’m sure I will come up with something (ideas below please!)… In the meantime, here’s a really delicious drink using it as a garnish.
Jaisalmer Gin Tasting
As some of you may have seen in my stories last week, I will be a Brand Advocate for @jaisalmergin over the next few months! I am really excited, not only because it’s a great gin, but because tasting gins from around the world brings me great joy. A gin like Jaisalmer brings botanicals local to its origin (seven, in fact, from India along with four from outside the country) and gives a glimpse into the culinary soul of the area. Given my love of cooking, this connection is partly why I find it so fun. I’ll be bringing some awesome recipes and recurring features starting soon! But first, let’s start with some tasting notes.
Smile & Blush
Some of you may have seen Green With Envy, a sad-faced drink I posted on Valentine’s Day. It seemed only right to balance the Mood of my page with a happier face. While this face isn’t an accurate depiction of mine (I go much lighter on the makeup😉), this drink was delicious and definitely made me smile.
Plant Lovin’
We are in Full Spring Mode here in Texas, so this is a drink to celebrate. Or commiserate, if you are one of the many unfortunate souls whose nasal passages can’t tolerate the insane amount of neon yellow/green pollen that is being constantly dispersed into the air. This drink is an ode (?dirge) to the life cycle of the plants responsible for our collective sneezing.