Old Cuban

• 1 handful fresh mint leaves (about 1 large sprig) plus more for garnish
• 1 1/2 ounces aged rum
• 1/2 ounce freshly-squeezed lime juice (1 lime)
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons superfine sugar or 1/2 ounce Simple Syrup, recipe follows
• 2 dashes bitters, (recommended: Angostura)
• Ice cubes
• 1 1/2 to 2 ounces dry Champagne, Prosecco or other sparkling wine

Muddle the mint leaves with the rum, lime juice, Simple Syrup, and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, cover, and shake vigorously, or stir, until combined and chilled, about 30 seconds. (In general, the drink is ready when the shaker mists up.) Pour the muddled liquid into a chilled champagne flute, holding back the ice, but letting some of the mint leaves fall into the glass. Add enough Champagne to almost fill the glass to the top. Garnish with a sprig of mint. Drink. Simple Syrup: 1 cup sugar 1 cup water Put the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. (Alternatively, heat in the microwave.) Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Yield: about 1 1/2 cups

Making Irish Coffee at home.

Method

Add one teaspoon of sugar to a glass and add the hot coffee. Then add the whiskey and top with cream.

Options

• You can always add more cream
• You can always add more whiskey
• You can use a better whiskey
• You can always have more than one

 Of course if you use a better whiskey (we used Black Bush) it will be more expensive, but it will taste better.

We usually make Whiskey Sours with Lime Juice, but since we were going to make some Pina Coladas we did not want to waste the pineapple juice - and we had a little extra whiskey.

Using pineapple juice is certainly not as sour as lime or lemon juice but it provides a much more tropical feel and when it is 100 degrees out that is a relief. All these methods for making sour drinks are very similar you basically use something sweet, something sour and a liquor.

If you always use the ratios of

• 1 part liquor
• 1 part sour juice
• 1/4 part simple syrup

you can create anything using any juice or liquor.

Method

Combine simple syrup, whiskey and pineapple juice and shake with ice. We prefer a Boston Shaker. Strain into a cocktail or bar glass.

Inspiration

This recipe was designed to mimic the basic drink recipes we have come to admire - the Daiquiri, margarita etc... All sweet drink methods are similar, sugar (simple sugar), a spirit, and a third counter flavor. This particular Piña Colada came out the best. It was the finest we have ever had. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 parts fresh-cut pineapple
• 1 part white rum
• 1 part coconut milk
• 1/4 part simple syrup

note: if you use canned crushed pinapple, use less. we use a fresh pineapple.

Method

place ingredients in blender pulse 10 - 15 times pour over ice

We recommend to not skimp on the amount for each glass. It is very nice to get a good-sized, refreshing daiquiri with real lime juice and simple syrup - do not use powdered sugar, the result then is strange and sleazy-tasting.

Recipe for daiquiri:

Making Simple Syrup

Add 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water.
Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat once the mixture is clear.

Cut up lemons and limes

Depending on how juicy they are you can use all limes or a mix.

About 2 limes per drink.

Juice the lemons and limes

A lemon reamer works great.

Adding the ingredients

Using a Boston Shaker add
1 1/4 fl ounces simple syrup
2 fl ounces lime/lemon juice
2 fl ounces light rum

This is per drink.
Shake well and serve in cocktail glasses.

The recipe for the "Perfect" Manhattan is pretty simple. You just add the ingredients to a shaker with ice and stir for 20-30 seconds, then strain into a cocktail glass.

Here is an interesting article on the subject:

karl-kozel/the-art-of-the-manhattan

This lemon vodka martini turned our very well. Since we had some extra vodka around we created our own lemon liquor with lemon and vodka.

Note: This martini is about the alcoholic strength of a similar liquor like creme de menthe or creme de cocoa, around 20%.

Lemon Liquor Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 8 ounces vodka
• 1 lemon (for juice and zest)

Method for syrup

Start out making a simple syrup. A simple syrup is 1 part sugar and 1/2 part water. Bring the water and sugar to a boil and let it go for about 3-5 minutes on medium-high heat.

Take the zest and juice of 1 lemon and place it in the hot simple syrup. This will be a very concentrated mixture.

When the syrup is fully cooled pour the vodka and syrup in a mason jar and let the mixture sit for a few hours.

To make a single martini use around 2 oz of the Lemon Vodka Liquor and shake with ice, we like the Boston Shaker. You could always add a tablespoon of water if it is too strong, but it will grab some from the ice as it melts.

Strain in a cocktail glass and serve with cubed Granny Smith apples on a toothpick or other decoration.

After the you fill a Boston Shaker with ice, add a cherry to a cocktail glass. Pour in your whiskey (2 ounces per person), and then add some sweet Italian Vermouth (1 ounce each) and a dash or so of cherry juice. Shake and pour.

This is a great drink if you prefer a little sweeter manhattan. Otherwise lose the juice and add a bit more vermouth. Or for a perfect manhattan split it with dry vermouth.

Inspiration

This recipe was designed to mimic the basic drink recipes we have come to admire - the Daiquiri, margarita etc... All sweet drink methods are similar, sugar (simple sugar), a spirit, and a third counter flavor. This particular Piña Colada came out the best. It was the finest we have ever had. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 parts fresh-cut pineapple
• 1 part white rum
• 1 part coconut milk
• 1/4 part simple syrup

note: if you use canned crushed pinapple, use less. we use a fresh pineapple.

Method

place ingredients in blender pulse 10 - 15 times pour over ice