When I arrived this morning I was treated to an email from J2. Inside said email was a recipe for Guinness ice cream, that he had found on hungrymonster.com. Num num. If you haven’t yet had your fill of Guinness from St. Patrick’s Day celebrations this weekend, I suggest you give this a try.

Image from Accidental Hedonist

Guinness Stout Ice Cream (Two 1-cup servings)
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp sugar
1 c milk
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 pt Guinness (reduced)

In a saucepan, bring the pint of Guinness to a boil and let it reduce to about half to concentrate the flavor. Set this aside. In a separate bowl, whip the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Set aside.

In another saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a boil. Pour the boiling milk mixture over the yolks, whisking continuously. Return to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens just enough to coat a spatula. Do not allow the mixture to boil.

Pass milk mixture though a fine chinos strainer or two layers of cheesecloth. Cover loosely and quickly place in an ice bath. Whisk in the Guinness reduction. Place mixture into a churn or an ice cream machine and follow manufacturer’s instructions.

Thanks to J2 for finding and passing along this recipe. I can’t wait to try it myself - I may even try it with some Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout for a heavier chocolate flavor. If you’re looking for a sweeter Guinness ice cream recipe, check out this one.

TAGS [ GUINNESS | ICE CREAM | GUINNESS RECIPES ]

Looking for an easy way to make a great drink?

KegWorks has just what you need. BAR-TENDERS INSTANT COCKTAIL MIXES.

I know you’re saying to yourself, no way am I using a powdered drink mix. But I’m here to tell ya these mixes taste just like what your bartender can make and they are really easy to use.

Take for instance my favorite, Lemon Drop. Yeah, Lemon Drop. Simple directions, just add 3-ounces of water, 2-ounces of vodka and contents of 1 pouch. Shake vigorously with ice and strain into your favorite glassware. Not too tart and if you add an extra shot, MAN. What can I say? A great drink.

Now the Mrs. likes the Apple-Tini, no extra shot, (sadly) but she actually prefers the Bar-Tenders brand better than some of the snooty places she drags me to.

We have 9 different mixes to choose from:

• Whiskey Sour
• Lemon Drop
• Margarita
• Cosmopolitan
• Appletini
• Pina Colada
• Collins
• Daiquiri
• Slightly Sour

If you don’t have a shaker, hey, KegWorks gotcha covered there too.

Drink Happy! Drink Responsible!

TAGS [ COCKTAIL MIX | BARTENDER MIXES | BAR-TENDERS DRINK MIX | INSTANT COCKTAILS ]

I was just sifting through one of my many email inboxes and came across a reminder that February 22nd (just two days ago) was National Margarita Day. I cannot believe we missed that!

I’d like to make it up to all of the tequila-loving, frozen (or on rocks) drink-sipping kids out there with another fantastic margarita recipe. If you liked my recipe for mango margaritas, I have a feeling you’ll love this one.

Frozen Blueberry Margarita
2 c ice
4 oz tequila (whatever brand you dig)
2 oz blue curacao
2 oz lime juice
1 c frozen blueberries
½ oz simple syrup (or to taste)
Coarse sugar, for glass rim, if desired

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until drink is smooth. Rim your margarita glass with coarse sugar, if you wish. Pour drink into glass and enjoy.

Cheers - and I hope I NEVER miss National Margarita Day again!

TAGS [ MARGARITA RECIPE | BLUEBERRY MARGARITA | FROZEN BLUEBERRY MARGARITA | COCKTAIL RECIPES | FROZEN DRINK RECIPES ]

The Mardi Gras celebration will soon be here - Fat Tuesday is February 16th. If you can’t make it down to Bourbon Street, there’s no better way to celebrate than with some cocktails that originated in New Orleans and are enjoyed in mass quantities through Mardi Gras.

Image courtesy of TraderTiki.com

The Hurricane
1½ oz light rum
1½ oz dark rum
1 oz orange juice
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 tbsp passion fruit syrup
1 tsp bar sugar
1 tsp grenadine
Cherries and orange slice, for garnish

In a shaker, mix rum, passion fruit syrup, juices and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Stir in grenadine, then add ice and shake. Half-fill a hurricane glass with ice and strain drink into glass. Garnish with orange slice and cherry.

The Hand Grenade
1½ oz gin
1½ oz grain alcohol
1½ oz melon liquor
1½ oz vodka
1½ oz rum

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all ingredients to the shaker and shake well. Fill a collins glass with ice. strain mixture into the glass and serve.

Cheers!

TAGS [ HURRICANE COCKTAIL | HURRICANE RECIPE | HAND GRENADE COCKTAIL | HAND GRENADE RECIPE | MARDI GRAS | NEW ORLEANS | MARDI GRAS HURRICANE | NEW ORLEANS HAND GRENADE ]

Our 6-bottle tonic water pack has been so popular, we decided it was high time to offer up an all-natural, premium ginger beer pack too. Ginger beer is one of those amazingly versatile beverages that tastes just as great alone as it does mixed in a cocktail.. and these 3 ginger beers can’t be beat!

Included in your premium ginger beer sample pack are two bottles each of Fever-Tree, Regatta and Fentimans Ginger Beers. Each is an invigoratingly all-natural soda with its own unique, special kick - try them all and decide which is your favorite, or keep a stock of them on hand to switch it up.

TAGS [ GINGER BEER | GINGER BEER COCKTAIL | COCKTAIL RECIPES | GINGER BEER DRINKS ]

After receiving both the 1st and 2nd Seasons of the AMC television show Mad Men on DVD, I decided to hunker down over the long New Years weekend and see what all of the hype is about.

As someone who is admittedly obsessed with advertising, history and good drinks, I was hooked after the first episode. Set in 1960’s New York City, the original drama follows the lives of the men and women of Sterling Cooper, a booming advertising agency on Madison Avenue (hence the MAD in Mad Men).

Copywriter Don Draper is the biggest ad man (and ladies man) around. As he and his colleagues charm clients and come up with killer creative for classic ad campaigns, they tend to drink – a lot. Cocktails and their consumption are a big part of the show and that’s ok because they only drink the good stuff.

Clearly, I’ve visited the show’s website (I told you, I’m hooked) and I found a guide to many of the 60’s cocktails they feature in the series. I know that all of the drinks aren’t listed though because when Don takes department store heiress Rachel Menken out for the first time, I clearly remember her ordering a Mai Tai and that’s not there.

You can check out the drinks that are featured here. There are great recipes and they give you a good idea of what makes a "classic cocktail." With favorites like the Manhattan, Mint Julep, Moscow Mule, Old Fashioned, Vodka Gimlet and Tom Collins, you can’t go wrong.

I sincerely recommend the show to anyone, especially anyone with an interest in good drinks. Grab the DVDs, stock up on bitters, mixers, and garnishes and make a few drinks that would impress an ad man. You won’t regret it.

TAGS [ MAD MEN COCKTAILS | CLASSIC COCKTAILS | MAD MEN | COCKTAIL RECIPES ]

Looking for something other than eggnog or glögg to spice up the season? Why not take indulgence to a holiday-worthy level? I’m talking Belgian Chocolate Shot Cups filled with your favorite peppermint, chocolate or cookie-flavored cocktail spirits. If that’s not a festive way to celebrate the holidays, I’m not sure what is!

Looking for some shot-sized holiday-inspired cocktail ideas? Try these:

Chocolate Cake Shot
1 oz hazelnut liqueur
½ oz vodka
1 lemon wedge
White sugar

Combine hazelnut liqueur and vodka into a chocolate shot cup. Coat a lemon wedge with sugar, suck the coated wedge and then throw back the shot before swallowing the lemon juice.

Christmas Cheer Shot
½ oz peppermint schnapps
½ oz egg nog

Mix both ingredients in a shot glass or chocolate shot cup and shoot.

Christmas Cookie Shot
1 oz peppermint schnapps
1 oz coffee liqueur
1 oz Irish cream liqueur

In a shaker filled with ice, combine all three ingredients. Shake well and pour into a shot glass or chocolate shot cup and enjoy!

Slippery Santa Shooter
1 oz Blavod black vodka
½ oz cinnamon schnapps
Whipped cream
Maraschino cherry

Pour vodka and schnapps into a shot glass or chocolate shot cup. Top with whipped cream and garnish with a maraschino cherry. Shoot and repeat!

TAGS [ CHRISTMAS SHOOTERS | HOLIDAY COCKTAILS | SHOT RECIPES | HOLIDAY SHOTS | COCKTAIL RECIPES | CHOCOLATE SHOT CUPS | CHOCOLATE SHOOTERS ]