The Friday Tipple: A Cold One

Crack one open, Boozers. You heard us — grab a cold can of beer, hold its icy aluminum goodness against your sun-warmed cheek, and then pop that top. It’s Memorial Day weekend and, frankly, we’re not in the mood for any fancy high-falutin’ cocktails. Sometimes you just want A Cold One.

Canned beer is enjoying quite a renaissance these days. Local breweries across the country are embracing the can, which has finally overcome the stigma of being the vessel of cheap, crappy beer. In fact, cans help protect beer from sunlight while also being airtight, and they’re lightweight enough to throw into a backpack or, dare we say, a cute clutch.

We happen to be pretty partial to a cold DC Brau ourselves and you’ll probably find some rather tasty local canned craft beer in your own stomping grounds by checking the Beer Map at CraftCans.com. Some of the ones we think would be just about right for a backyard barbecue include Hell or High Watermelon, The Crisp, or Summer Honey. Because a hot dog roasted over a charcoal grill deserves A Cold One. And so do you.

The Friday Tipple: Goin’ to a Go-Go

We’re bustin’ loose, Boozers. Here in our neck of the woods, we take our go-go music pretty seriously and, with the passing of Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-Go, earlier this week, we’re feeling the need to get a little funky.

Washington, DC, that geographical amalgamation of all peoples, does not have much that it can truly call its own. In fact, its indigenous culture extends to just three things: go-go, half-smokes, and political gridlock. After that, it’s pretty much Anytown, USA, albeit with a lot of cool monuments and free museums.

Goin’ to a Go-Go is funk in a glass — we recently became intrigued with the concept of a beer simple syrup and felt compelled to try it out with some local brews from Chocolate City and DC Brau. We created a malty little treat from porter with a smoky undertone, which pairs well with whiskey, bourbon, and, in this case, brandy, but a lighter ale syrup is perfection with tequila.

Here’s a toast to you, Chuck Brown. Get, get, get, get on down.

Goin’ to a Go-Go

We used a local brandy from Catoctin Creek in this funky little nod to a Pisco Sour, and added some tart pickled cherries, which can be whipped up quickly and stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

2 pickled cherries

2 ounces brandy (a young or unaged brandy works best)

1/2 fresh orange

1/2 fresh lime

1 teaspoon beer simple syrup (recipe below)

dash bitters (a citrus-based variety like Scrappy’s Lime Bitters is good here)

Another cherry for garnish (optional)

Put two cherries in the bottom of a rocks glass and crush lightly with a spoon or muddling stick. Put a few ice cubes in a cocktail shaker and add brandy and beer syrup, then squeeze the orange and lime into the shaker. Cover and shake vigorously then pour it all into the glass, including the ice cubes. Add a dash of bitters and another pickled cherry for garnish and drink up.

How to make beer syrup:

1 12-ounce beer

1 cup sugar

a few dashes of hot sauce (we used our local Uncle Brutha’s)

Pour the beer into a 2-quart saucepan and simmer over low heat until reduced by half; do not boil. Add sugar and hot sauce and stir to dissolve, continuing to simmer over low heat for another 5 or 10 minutes or until thickened. Allow to cool completely. Can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

The Friday Tipple: Mother’s Little Helper

Mamma mia, Boozers. Mothers everywhere are steeling themselves for an onslaught of sappy Hallmark cards, flowers stuffed into coffee mugs emblazoned with “World’s Best Mom”, and crowded brunch buffets. It’s the thought that counts.

Motherhood is no easy gig, and whether the nurturing woman in your life has been a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, a sister, or a family friend, it is nice to thank her for her contribution to your existence. What she probably needs is a stiff drink, but, like any true maternal figure, she doesn’t want to be too obvious about it. The Mother’s Little Helper is an excellent way to add a special kick to any drink, in the guise of a booze-filled fruity ice cube. She can add it discreetly to a glass of seltzer water or enjoy it with a proper glass of bubbly. Have a toast in her honor and give her a call — she’s always there, ready to offer advice and blushingly brush off your words of gratitude. Happy Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Little Helper

A nice light spirit adds the right note to these cute little cubes. Vodka tends to have a crisp taste while gin provides a slightly herbaceous undertone, so either lends itself well to the strawberries. As always, we suggest you support your local distillers, which are seemingly popping up everywhere these days. We enjoy Smooth Ambler vodka and Catoctin Creek gin — local and flavorful!

1 cup frozen strawberries

1/4 cup vodka or gin

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Champagne or sparkling wine

Mint sprig, for garnish

Place strawberries in a blender and roughly chop, then add vodka or gin and sugar. Blend together on high until smooth (you can strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the seeds if you want, but this is entirely optional); pour into ice cube tray (a silicone ice cube tray comes in handy here) and freeze until solid, about 3 hours. Will keep in the freezer for up to 6 months at this point. Yield: about 6 cubes.

Put a cube in a glass of chilled champagne, garnish with mint, and kiss that special woman on the cheek.

The Friday Tipple: Ruby Rhubarb ‘Rita

Hola, Boozers. Here in the old U.S. of A, we’ll take any excuse to have a margarita, which explains why Cinco de Mayo is more popular here than in its country of origin, and why most of the people partaking in the celebrations have likely never even traveled south of the border (unless you count a visit to Pedro’s highway oasis) or can speak nary a soupçon of Spanish. Whatever. It’s a margarita. Bring it on.

The tart freshness of spring fruits lend themselves to margaritas that far surpass the standard variety made with overly sweet mixes. We went a little fancy this week by creating a base from ruby red grapefruit and rhubarb, but the result is well worth the small amount of effort it takes to make a more complex margarita. This is a drink not meant to be insulted with a bowl of Doritos and Cheez Whiz on the side, but would stand up perfectly to a fresh shrimp ceviche or an authentic pozole verde. Go ahead, put on that sombrero and live a little. Salud!

Ruby Rhubarb ‘Rita

Rhubarb is a fruit, or a vegetable, depending upon who you ask, with a texture and flavor often likened to tart celery. Our Ruby Rhubarb syrup is layered with flavors that simply cried out for a layering of liquors; sticking with tradition, we used a silver tequila and a splash of triple sec, but then floated a little white whiskey over the top, our American nod to a fiery aguardiente.

for the Ruby Rhubarb syrup:

1 cup  rhubarb stems, roughly chopped

1 cup ruby red grapefruit juice with pulp, freshly squeezed

1 cup water

1 cup turbinado sugar

4 or 5 pineapple sage leaves (you can substitute with basil leaves)

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for one hour, allowing the rhubarb to soften and break down. When the liquid has thickened slightly, remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Strain thoroughly through a fine-mesh sieve; can now be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Yield: about 1 cup.

to make the ‘Rita:

1 lime

2 – 3 tablespoons Ruby Rhubarb syrup (adjust to your taste)

2 ounces silver tequila

1/2 ounce triple sec

1/2 ounce clear whiskey (we used Catoctin Creek Mosby’s Spirits)

Fresh rhubarb, cut into a 4-inch stick for garnish (optional)

Cut the lime in half and squeeze all the juice into a cocktail shaker. Add the Ruby Rhubarb syrup, the tequila, the triple sec, and several ice cubes. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled martini glass rimmed with coarse salt. Top with the clear whiskey, garnish with fresh rhubarb, and drink up.

The Friday Tipple: Antioxidantail

We’re on a health kick, Boozers. The Good Booze HQ is crammed with fresh fruits and veggies from our local green grocer, inspiring our good intentions to create a tasty pick-me-up for cocktail hour. And why shouldn’t your happy hour drink of choice help boost your immune system at the same time it calms your nerves from another day navigating the rat race?

A selection of fresh mango and blueberries highlight our Antioxidantail; the mighty mango is rich in vitamins A and C, potassium, and omega-3 fatty acids, while blueberries are high in manganese, vitamin K, and anthocyanins. Not only that, but they taste good, too, especially when combined with calcium-loaded dairy-free coconut milk, which has anti-bacterial properties that aid digestion. Add a splash of vodka — we liked Boyd & Blair potato vodka with this particular treat, since, after all, potatoes are also high in potassium, so the vodka must be nutritious, right? We predict you’ll soon start finding this on the menu of your fancy health club’s juice bar, a perfect way to cool down after that hot yoga class.

Antioxidantail

While we love the smoothness of mango combined with coconut milk, we tweaked the flavor a little with the addition of elderflower liqueur and celery bitters (The Bitter Truth makes excellent versions of both). The elderflower liqueur lends a lightly floral undertone when used in moderation while the celery bitters adds a slightly piquant vegetal note, bringing a subtle counterpoint to the sweetness of the fruit. Besides, celery is actually also chock-full of antioxidants. Who knew?

1 fresh mango, cut into chunks

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk (there are several good varieties out there, including Silk and So Delicious)

1 teaspoon maple syrup (yep, you guessed it, an antioxidant-rich natural sweetener)

1.5 ounces vodka (we used Boyd & Blair here, but also highly recommend Square One or Nude)

1/2 ounce elderflower liqueur (St. Germain is usually readily available if you can’t find The Bitter Truth)

a few drops of celery bitters

Put first four ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Add vodka, liqueur, and bitters and pulse a couple of times. Pour into a glass and enjoy.

The Friday Tipple: Global Warming Gin Fizz

It’s bloody hot, Boozers. And it’s only April, so we have decided that we may as well accept the inevitable and jump right into summer cocktails. What with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster last week and Earth Day looming this weekend, we sometimes feel like we are on a sinking ship, environmentally speaking, as polar bears sunbathe on renegade icebergs bobbing along the Gulf Stream.

The spring flowers have already spent their blooms by now and we find ourselves in premature possession of our favorite mid-summer treat: fresh local blueberries. So we shrugged our shoulders, saying “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” while reaching for a bottle of Campari. As Mother likes to say, “Dress for the weather, not for the season”, and we think this applies to happy hour as well. Why deny ourselves a refreshing libation simply because the calendar is not in compliance with the barometer? Stretch out on a deck chair with drink in hand — that’s what they did on the Titanic.

Global Warming Gin Fizz

In observance of Earth Day, we went as local and organic as we could in this tasty tipple, utilizing our favorite Catoctin Creek Organic Watershed Gin, early blueberries, and wild lavender honey. Forage in your own area this weekend by supporting local distillers and farmers when mixing up a celebratory cocktail or two.

2 ounces gin

1/4 cup fresh blueberries

2 teaspoons local honey (try something floral to deepen the flavor)

1/2 of a fresh orange

chilled club soda

1/2 ounce Campari

orange wedge for garnish

Crush the blueberries in the bottom of a glass, add the gin and honey, and mix well. Set aside for one hour.

After an hour, squeeze the fresh orange over the blueberry-gin mixture and stir. Add a few ice cubes, top with chilled club soda, then float Campari over the top. Garnish with an orange wedge and enjoy.

The Friday Tipple: Gin Mickey

Holy Salchow, Boozers. We’ve flipped for the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships, taking place right now in Bensenville, Illinois. What we particularly like about this event is its equal-opportunity vibe, as the skaters range from former ballerinas who can pull off a Biellmann Spin to, well, Mickey Bolek.

Mickey is our local hero — a super nice guy with a hair salon down the street from the Good Booze digs — and he picked up a pair of skates seven years ago to fulfill his childhood fantasy of gliding across the ice like Peggy Fleming, maybe with Dick Button doing a little cackling commentary on the sidelines. He’s made DC proud, the ultimate feel-good story about following your dreams at mid-life, a Julia Child moment in sparkly spandex.

Later today, Mickey will step onto the rink for his first national competition and we think that deserves a special cocktail. As DC is the home of the celebrated Gin Rickey, we thought it only fitting to reinterpret it today as the Gin Mickey — an icy scoop of frozen gin and lime topped off with fizzy club soda. We’ll be swigging it to the tune of “I’m Too Sexy” as Mickey shimmies his way to skating glory — at least his own version of it. Spin it, baby.

Gin Mickey

You know we loves us a granita, so we whipped one up for this Tipple out of lime juice, superfine sugar, and Catoctin Creek Organic Watershed Gin. Granitas can be finicky sometimes, so if it’s not setting up the way you like, add a little more fresh juice and check it every hour or so in the freezer. In a pinch, you can throw a soft granita mixture into a blender with a couple of ice cubes, whiz it up, and then refreeze, which actually gives the granita a pleasing sorbet-like quality.

1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup gin

1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (we used superfine, which dissolves well)

1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest

Chilled club soda

Mix together the first four ingredients in a bowl (taste to adjust sweetness if too tart) and pour into a shallow baking pan. Place in freezer and check every hour or so; as it begins to freeze, stir gently with a fork or spoon and put back in freezer. This process can take from 4 to 8 hours until it reaches a frozen consistency, then can be stored in the freezer until you are ready to use.

Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, scoop a large ball of the granita, about two or three inches in diameter, and put into a chilled martini or cosmopolitan glass. Top with about two ounces of the chilled club soda and enjoy immediately.

The Friday Tipple: Queen Anne’s Reward

Arr, Boozers. We’ve been plundering the Carolina coast this week, following in the legendary footsteps of Blackbeard. The folks are mighty friendly, especially the bartenders, so it’s no wonder that a pirate might stick his pegleg in the sand here and swill a cup or two of grog before sailing off in search of more booty.

You know how we feel about communing with the locals, and the fine inhabitants of Beaufort, North Carolina (not to be confused with Beaufort, South Carolina, which is surely a tasty watering hole itself) are the picture of hospitality. No wonder it was recently named The Coolest Small Town in America. We particularly enjoyed listening to the lore of Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s own ship, sunk just off the shore of nearby Fort Macon, while sipping on pineapple-and-ginger-infused rum at the Front Street Grill’s Rhum Bar. Nothing could be finer than being in Carolina, dozing on the deck of the Rhum Bar watching the dolphins cruise past Carrot Island.

And so we bring you Queen Anne’s Reward — an amalgamation of two staples of the pirate life: wine and rum. Call it a quick-and-dirty sangria if you like, but we’ve zapped a white rum overnight with fresh pineapple, then blended it with a slightly dry red wine for a snappy wine cocktail that will certainly save you from walking the plank. Sit back, Boozers — your treasure has arrived. Arr.

Queen Anne’s Reward

We looked high and low for a local rum, but arrived just a tad too early — next time we’re trawling along the Crystal Coast, we hope that North Carolina fledgling distilleries like Muddy River and Adam Dalton will have finished jumping through the many hoops of legality so that we can stay purely local, but Prichard’s Crystal Rum from Tennessee will do the trick, or any quality white rum of your choice. As to the wine, you can hardly spit in the breeze these days without hitting a vineyard, so look for a nice red in your own backyard. We opted for the locally-popular Chateau Morrisette, just up the road a piece in Virginia.

Semi-dry red wine

White rum

Several chunks of fresh pineapple, with natural juice

Small sprig of rosemary

Club soda

pineapple chunks and rosemary for garnish

To make the quick rum infusion: Put 1 cup of rum in a jar with several chunks of pineapple and the rosemary. Set aside for several hours or overnight, then strain, saving the pineapple chunks but discarding the rosemary.

Put one or two rum-soaked pineapple chunks in the bottom of a large wineglass and lightly crush. Add a teaspoon of reserved fresh pineapple juice and 2 ounces of pineapple-infused rum. Add a few ice cubes and 3 or 4 ounces of red wine and stir. Top with one ounce of chilled club soda and garnish with a few chunks of pineapple speared onto a rosemary stick.

The Friday Tipple: Bananarama

We’re beach-bound, Boozers. Shimmering waves and soft breezes are calling to us seductively, but we still have 24 hours of packing and planning to go. Vacation-itis has hit us hard, and we find ourselves daydreaming of breakfast in bed and leisurely hours spent gamboling along the shoreline. We roundly curse the last-minute projects dumped on our desks.

Which is why it’s time for a daiquiri. Screw the projects. The vacation starts now.

Rum is a must-have in vacation cocktails. It reminds us of devil-may-care pirates sucking down grog with gay abandon as they swing on ropes across the bow of a schooner bedecked in the skull-and-crossbones.  It signals reckless freedom in the fierce sunshine of a tropical spring. Wherever you are and whatever the weather, rum transports us to the Caribbean of our souls. Revel in it.

Bananarama

Some people use up overly ripe bananas in muffins or quick bread. We prefer a daiquiri. This is not the frosty variety that you might find on a cruise ship, topped with a mound of whipped cream, but a more subtle version that slips softly down the gullet. We like to use Gosling’s Gold or Mount Gay rum, which truly taste of the tropics, but a good quality Puerto Rican white rum like Don Q Cristal will also do the trick. Because we like the flavor of coffee with banana, we added a dusting of powdered coffee mixed with a little sugar (this is a great way to use up those packets of Starbucks VIA instant coffee).

1 very ripe banana

2 ounces chilled coconut water

1.5 ounces rum (we recommend a gold or white rum)

1 teaspoon light agave nectar

juice of half a lime

1/4 teaspoon instant coffee mixed with a little granulated sugar (optional)

Put first 5 ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Pour into a margarita glass and dust the top with instant coffee. Yo ho ho!

The Friday Tipple: Bikini Shot

Bathing suit season is on the horizon, Boozers. Buxom babes are overtaking magazine covers, glowing with cocoa butter on far-flung tropical beaches. Whether you hope to be a buxom babe or merely to attract a buxom babe, the approach of Spring Break prompts us to ponder the winter flab so cleverly hidden by chunky sweaters. It’s time to detox.

While we could consider exercising a little more — or at all — we prefer to go the route of a desperate last-minute liquid diet in order to shed those unwanted pounds. Protein shakes, spinach smoothies, and lemon juice spiked with cayenne are all on the menu, but as happy hour approaches, we feel the need for a little special cocktail to reward ourselves for all that self-denial.

Our detox drink of choice is our Bikini Shot — combining the health benefits of kiwi fruit, laden with vitamin C and E and colon-cleansing dietary fiber, with a vodka-laced grapefruit granita. It starts off tart and cold and ends up sweet and smooth, not unlike easing yourself into a pool. The Bikini Shot may not actually make that saggy old Speedo fit any better, but it sure will make you feel like a million bucks. Go ahead — hit the beach. Hang ten!

Bikini Shot

A granita is similar in texture to a shaved ice, made with fresh fruit juice, sugar, and, in this case, alcohol. We used Square One Cucumber Vodka for this recipe, as the cucumber essence adds a fresh note to the grapefruit, but it would work beautifully with gin. We’ve also had success with a blackberry granita made with Catoctin Creek’s Mosby’s Spirit, which has a certain grappa-like quality that makes us feel like we are vacationing on the Amalfi coast.

One whole grapefruit, juiced and retaining some of the pulp

3 ounces vodka or gin

2 ripe kiwi fruits, peeled and cut into chunks

1 orange, juiced

1 teaspoon light agave nectar

To make the granita: combine the grapefruit juice, pulp, and vodka or gin and pour into a shallow freezer-safe dish (like a pie pan). Place uncovered in the freezer for an hour, then scrape with a spoon to loosen the ice crystals. Return to the freezer for another hour. It can be scraped into a freezer-safe container at this point and kept in the freezer until ready to use.

To make the kiwi fruit juice: Put kiwi, orange juice, and agave nectar in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain through a sieve to remove seeds (optional). Chill for 30 minutes.

Pour two ounces kiwi juice into a shot glass or aperitif glass; top with a spoonful of grapefruit granita. Enjoy.