Xango Cocktail

Day 20

Xango

2.5 shots out of 5

Holy Day 20 Batman!  I can't believe we're here so soon!  You know my husband told me at about day 5 that this is the perfect blog for me because it combines 2 things that I really like to do: cocktails and photography!  Boy was he right!!  I am absolutely enjoying myself with this blog and I sure hope that you are enjoying reading it and hopefully trying some of these cocktails along with me.

Xango!  What a name!  I pulled out my Bartenders Black Book and turned to the X's.  I mean, who's ever heard of a cocktail that started with the letter X?  Well apparently in this book there's 8 of them!  Who knew!

I gave tonight's cocktail 2.5 shots out of 5.  I honestly think I gave it 2.5 and not 3 because of the triple sec.  Not that I don't like triple sec, it's just that it reminds me of a BAD experience I had with tequila one night....whoever said "Too much of a good thing" was right!  Yikes!  I had too much tequila one night and now the smell of it makes me gag and unfortunately by default the smell of triple sec makes my nose squinch up because it makes me think of margaritas (not flavored margaritas, I can handle those) which automatically makes me think of tequila.  It's like a chain reaction thing that went through my head all in a matter of a second.

Tonight's cocktail, Xango, was a little hard to swallow for the first few sips (due to the triple sec), but then it actually got a bit better.  I finished the entire thing and by the end of the cocktail I enjoyed it.  I wouldn't run to the kitchen to make another one, but it was enjoyable (except for these triple sec burps that keep surfacing).

Here is the recipe for the Xango:

• 1 1/2 shots of rum
• 1/2 shot triple sec
• 1/2 shot grapefruit juice

Put ice into a shaker and add your rum, triple sec and grapefruit juice.  Shake your mixture up really well.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  That's it, easy smeasy!

Here is a photo of the end result:

Here is a photo of the ingredients:

Cheers to me enjoying an entire drink while smelling triple sec!!

The Cocktail Lady

Afterburner

Day 15

Afterburner

2.5 shots out of 5

Tonight's cocktail is called Afterburner.  Once again I gave the grapefruit juice another shot (pun intended).  After tonight I think I will give the grapefruit juice a rest for a while.  I'm absolutely not giving up on it, but I need to take a break from it until I find something that is comparable to the Sea Breeze.  

I gave the Afterburner 2.5 shots out of 5.  I didn't think it only deserved 2 shots, but 3 shots was a bit too high for it.  Reason being, it was too vodka-ey for me.  I think someone who really enjoys a vodka martini will enjoy this cocktail more.  The taste of it reminds me of martinis that my dad used to drink when I was a kid.  NO, he didn't let me drink them too, but he did let me eat the green olives (if you know me you know that I order green olives in ALL of my drinks) out of his martini.  

I think I would have enjoyed tonight's cocktail more if there was a bit more juice in it.  I think the vodka ratio was a bit too much for me, but that's me.  So you make the call, what do you think?  Too much vodka?  Just right?  Not enough vodka?

Here is the recipe for the Afterburner:

• 2 shots of vodka
• 1 shot of triple sec
• 1/2 shot of grapefruit juice

Put ice and all of the ingredients into your shaker.  Shake it up really good to get everything mixed and real cold.  Strain into a martini glass.

Here is a photo of the ingredients:

Here is a photo of the end result:

Cheers to eating green olives out of martinis!!

The Cocktail Lady

Into The Blue

Day 13

Into The Blue

1 shot out of 5

Sounds like a fun drink.  Into The Blue.  Blue cocktails are fun to drink, right?  Well if you're talk'n Blue Hawaiian then you'd be right!  This cocktail has the taste of what I was afraid grapefruit drinks would taste like, yuck!  Tonight's cocktail is the reason I was scared to try them and I have to say that I'm glad that I tried the Sea Breeze first, because I REALLY liked that one!!

I tried tonight's cocktail along with my husband and our neighbors.........survey all agreed XXX.  None of us enjoyed this cocktail.  I hate to tell you all how bad some of these cocktails are, but I feel if I wasn't honest about it and you tried it and hated it, then you'd in turn hate me.  I couldn't have that!  So if you're following me and have enjoyed what I've enjoyed, then don't try tonight's cocktail.  But if you're feeling adventurous and have the ingredients at home (don't go out to buy them if you don't) and want to try it, then by all means go ahead but let me know what you think.

I gave tonight's cocktail 1 shot out of 5.  The mix of ingredients was not a good one.  It's sad that my new found love of grapefruit juice can have a bad outcome, but I guess every mix has a bad day right?

Here is the recipe for Into The Blue:

• 1 shot light rum
• 1/2 shot of Blue Curaçao
• 1 1/2 shots of grapefruit juice
• club soda to top it off with

Put ice into a shaker and add the rum, blue curaçao and grapefruit juice.  Using a bar spoon stir it up real good.  Pour the cocktail including the ice into a highball glass and top it off with club soda.

Here is a photo of the ingredients:

Here is a photo of the end result:

Here's to tomorrow night's cocktail being better then tonight's!!

The Cocktail Lady

Sea Breeze

Day 5

Sea Breeze

4 shots out of 5

Welcome back for our 5th cocktail of the year........only 360 more to go!  Today was a looong day and so I wanted to make a drink that was bright and fruity and hopefully refreshing to end my evening.  I looked through one of my books of cocktails and found a very yummy looking picture of a drink and decided to make it tonight's drink.  Allow me to introduce you to tonight's cocktail of the evening, a Sea Breeze.  Now I have to admit that I've never ever had grapefruit juice in an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink before...ever.  I think my fear of mixing it in was that it would be too sour and I would not like the taste at all.  I WAS WRONG!!!!  I am really enjoying this cocktail.  It's actually a really refreshing drink, and I could defiantly see myself ordering a second one if I was out at a bar or club.

I have to say that my drink looks a different color then the one in my cocktail book.........which I'm assuming is because they just might photo shop their photos, where I don't because I want you to see exactly how these drinks look after I make them.  

This is another simple drink to make and I think I just might make it at our next party for everyone to try.  I gave the Sea Breeze 4 shots out of 5 because it looked delicious but was surprisingly even more delicious then it looked.  This cocktail makes me want to look for more cocktails that have grapefruit juice as one of their main mixes.

Here's the recipe for a Breeze:

• 1 shot of vodka
• 1 1/2 shots of cranberry juice
• 1 1/2 shots of grapefruit juice
• 5 crushed ice cubes

To make your Sea Breeze you will need to crush up your ice in a zip lock like I did for my Black Russian last night.  Basically put the ice cubes in a zip lock and break them up with a mallet or something similar.  Put your crushed ice in your glass.  The glass I used is a bit larger then the glass in my book, so I ended up doubling my ice so that it would look fuller.  I think next time I will use the same glass, but just make it a double (doubling  the vodka and juices) and use 7 or 8 crushed ice cubes instead of doubling the ice completely.  Next you add your vodka, cranberry juice and grapefruit juice to the glass.  Last you stir your cocktail with a bar spoon, chop stick or stir stick inside the glass and enjoy!

             Here's a photo of the ingredients:    

                           

 Here's a photo of the end result:

Hope you have a Sea Breeze kind of evening!

The Cocktail Lady