Halloween Cocktails

Hellraiser

1/3 part Strawberry Liqueur

1/3 part Melon Liqueur

1/3 part Sambuca

Carefully layer in chilled shot glass in the order given. Layering effect can be achieved by slowly pouring spirits over the backside of a barspoon.

The Grim Reaper knocks at the door to steal your soul and leaves a bloodied mess of skeletal remains. Within this nightmarish tragedy of rattling bones lies a chaotic swell of Bloodied Brains.

Bloodied Brains – created by Cheri Loughlin

1 part Apple Schnapps

Several drops Irish Cream

Several drops Cinnamon Schnapps

Pour chilled apple schnapps in chilled shot glass. Drip several drops of Irish cream into shot glass in short and long drips to create brain effect. Slowly drip chilled cinnamon schnapps over the Irish cream drops for bloody effect.

Don’t let a little innocence fool you. This rebellious little phantom charms its way into the pleasure zone with its mix of tequila and chocolate then gives off a vaporously naughty bite with a hint of Absinthe. You might find yourself sipping and savoring rather than shooting this ghostly teaser all at once.

Friendly Ghost – created by Cheri Loughlin

Teaspoon Absinthe

1/2 part Blanco Tequila

1/2 part Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur

Place absinthe in chilled shot glass. Swirl around and set aside. Place tequila and chocolate liqueur in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Strain into absinthe laced shot glass.

Dracula lurks in the shadows waiting for his next victim. He delights in their bloodcurdling cries as he quenches his thirst for blood. There’s no need to wait to satisfy your appetite for Transylvania style treats with the Vampire shot on the menu.

Vampire

1/3 part Raspberry Liqueur

1/3 part Vodka

1/3 part Cranberry Juice

Place liquids in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to blend and chill. Strain into chilled shot glass.

Zombie Nation

The source of this interesting version of famous Zombie Cocktail is Bartender’s Guide by Trader Vic, 1947. It contain one of my favorite spirit – Pernod – strong anise flavored liqueur from France. The Zombie is one of my favorite tiki-cocktail.

Zombie (Trader Vic`s, 1947)

30 ml dark rum
60 ml Puerto Rican light rum
30 ml orange curacao
30 ml fresh orange juice
30 ml fresh lemon juice
15 ml grenadine
1 dash Pernod
15 ml 151-proof Demerara rum
Mix in a mixing glass with a large piece of ice, stir well and pour over cracked ice in a14 oz. chimney glass. Serve with straw.

I use four rum – dark and heavy rum from Trinidad – Angostura 1919, dark Demerara rum El Dorado Dark, light cuban rum – Havana Club Anejo 3 Anos and 140-proof Demerara Rum El Dorado. I increase amount of Pernod up to 1 tsp for excellent results. Also I use BOLS Dry Orange liqueur, commercial grenadine and fresh juices. I shake this cocktail and serve in my new ceramic mug, garnish with a traditional flag.

The Zombie Cocktail is great drink. Admirable, very booze and very funny cocktail. The Zombie is a Damn Strong Rum Punch!

Flaming Sambuca

Sambuca is one of my favorite liqueur. First – I like sweet anise flavor and taste of it. Second I like very much to ignite sambuca on saterday night and go to the club.

Step 1.

Prepare some equipment, which you can see on foto.

Step 2.

Put 3/4 – 1 oz (20 – 30 ml) of sambuca in the snifter and 1 dash of coffee liqueur (I use Kahlua).

Step 3.

Rotate snifter some times and set on the fire. Continue to rotate snifter. Please operate VERY carefully.

Step 4.

Pour the flame in old-fashioned glass.

I think it is beautiful.

Step 5.

Extinguish a fire in this way:

Step 6.

Place snifter over straw:

Drink a hot sambuca (warning! very, very hot sambuca may cause of burn…) And inhalate from a snifter. Enjoy!

Final Cocktail of 2009 – The Jack Frost Martini

2 tbsp Jack Daniel’s® Tennessee whiskey
1 tbsp Drambuie® Scotch whisky
1 dash grenadine syrup
1/4 cup sweet and sour mix
1/4 cup orange juice

See you all in 2010!

All hale ‘The Bloody Ceasar’

My Favorite!
You know your Canadian when!
I <3 Ceasar! The secret is the CLAM!

History

The cocktail was invented by bartender Walter Chell at the Owl’s Nest Bar in the Calgary Inn (now Calgary Westin Hotel) in Calgary, Alberta in 1969, to accompany the opening of a new restaurant, Marco’s.[citation needed] In its original form, it contained tomato juice and mashed clams; Clamato had only just been released (with the assistance of Chell) by the Mott’s company that very year, and was not yet widely known or available.
Starting in 2002, Mott’s began marketing pre-mixed Caesars in twelve-ounce bottles.
Variations can include substituted or added ingredients, like salt and pepper, cayenne pepper, horseradish, or lemon juice, seasoning salt or lemon pepper (rather than celery salt), a garnish of dill pickled cucumber, spicy pickled green bean or asparagus. Occasionally a prawn (especially in seafood restaurants) or crisp bacon is used as a garnish. Other names for a Caesar include Bloody Caesar, Canadian Caesar, Salted Caesar, and Clamdigger.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz vodka
4 oz clamato juice
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
dash of Tabasco sauce
celery salt
lime wedge
pepper to taste
celery salt
celery stalk for garnish
Preparation:

Rim a highball glass with the juice from the lime wedge and a combination of celery salt and salt.
Add the vodka and clamato juice.
Season with pepper, Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces to taste.
Stir well.
Garnish with a celery stick.

Salty Dog

Salty Dog

1 oz grapefruit juice
1 oz Vodka
1 tsp salt

In a shaker, add Vodka and grapefruit juice. Stir and serve over ice in salt-rimmed rocks glass.

A Salty Dog is a cocktail containing vodka or gin and grapefruit juice, served in a glass with a salted rim. The main difference between the Salty Dog and the Greyhound is the salted rim.

I have even seen this classic cocktail in martini form with hints of rosemary on a few lists. Yessss, why not!!!

In homage to my pal Shannon LePalm who taught me the craft of bar tending back in the day. One of his favorite drinks was a greyhound and the Salty Dog is virtually the same.

Getting back to basics is what September is all about and The School of Mix is offering $50 off tuition for all bar tending classes for the remainder of the month. Get in touch with us if you have any questions about our school or to register. info@schoolofmix.com.

Wine Wednesdays

My Wine Wednesday pick of the week is the 2006 Concha Y Toro Carmenère Peumo Terrunyo (92 points, $41)

This limited run (8,500 cases made) Chilean sipper is dark in profile, with plum and currant fruit, but very pure, with silky tannins and a long, stylish finish that lets incense, spice and mineral notes play out. Never does it sag, and with adequate acidity it doesn’t lack for purpose or a finish line. Drinkable now into 2011.

Wine Appreciation Course 101

Next Course starts Wednesday October 14th, 2009
Wednesday Evenings: 6:30pm to 8:30pm (Runs for 4 consecutive Wednesday)

Tuition: $199 (+gst) includes all course and tasting supplies.

Course Outline:

Session # 1: – Introduction and detail of course outline
- From vineyard to bottle
- Wine terminology
- The Art of Tasting Part 1
- Wine samplings

Session # 2: – Profiles of Wine Varietals
- Wine styles of the world
- The Art of Tasting Part 2
- Wine samplings

Session # 3: – Food and wine matching
- Wine marketing, service and presentation
- Introduction to British Columbia Wines
- Wine Samplings

Session # 4: – Sparkling wines, Fortified and Dessert Wines
- Reading Wine Labels
- Introduction to Australian Wines
- Wine samplings

Keep your eyes peeled on our blog for info about The School of Mixes Wednesday ‘Cellar Series’ coming in January 2010. We will be featuring flight tastings of back vintages from local wine connoisseurs personal cellars. Or, for more details contact us at info@schoolofmix.com.

Dark N’ Stormy……

It seems fitting today to put up a recipe for this classic cocktail.

A Dark and Stormy (or Dark ‘n’ Stormy) is an alcoholic highball style cocktail popular in many British Commonwealth countries, such as Australia and Bermuda. It consists of dark rum and ginger beer over ice. The local rum is usually used, for example, Bundaberg in Australia or Goslings in Bermuda.

Dark and Stormy

2 oz Gosling’s Black Seal Rum
6 oz Ginger Beer

Pour rum over ice in a highball glass, add ginger ale, and stir.

NOTE: You can substitute any dark or spiced rum and lime wedge for garnish if desired.

No better way to spend a rainy day by the fireplace then with a delicious cocktail. Cheers.

Summer is coming!! Patio’s are goin’ to start poppin’ off!

Summer cocktails are a MUST!
Summer’s here, and that means it’s time for frosty cocktails and outdoor bars. But not all icy drinks are created equal: A couple of your after-work favorites can be equivalent to a whole day’s worth of calories—or a nice big piece of cheesecake. Here’s where some summer favorites stack up on the health scale. (The most calorific drink may surprise you.)

6. Daiquiri. A frozen strawberry daiquiri, made from strawberry schnapps, rum, lime juice, sugar and strawberries, contains about 220 calories. Using a prefabricated mix or fruit juices will boost the calorie count even more, says Jackie Warner, a fitness trainer and the star of the Bravo network’s “Work Out.” “You really want to not combine juices with liquor, because juices are loaded with sugar, and then liquor has alcohol sugar, so you’re loading the sugars together,” she says.

5. Mojito. The classic mojito—a mixture of lime juice, sugar, mint leaves, rum and soda—will run you about 242 calories, according to cookinglight.com. Rum is already a little more calorie-heavy than other liquors, so Warner suggests asking for a sugarless mojito to up the health value. “People would be shocked how tasty it really is,” she says. “And the hangover the next day is much, much less.” (A big dose of sugar can contribute to your morning-after headache.)

4. Mint Julep. You don’t need a straw hat or a horserace to drink a mint julep. But the concoction of bourbon and mint-and-sugar syrup might set your diet back. One glass contains about 472 calories, according to allrecipes.com.

3. Piña Colada. If you like piña coladas, watch out: the rum, pineapple juice and cream of coconut drink can contain up to 650 calories. Using crushed pineapple, fat-free ice cream, sugar-free syrup and Splenda will make the drink significantly healthier, although maybe a little less fun.

2. Mudslide. A 12-ounce frozen mudslide—made with vodka, Kahlua liqueur, Bailey’s Irish Cream and vanilla ice cream—tastes like an alcoholic milkshake and is just about as unhealthy. It has 820 calories and 27.2 grams of fat, according to drinksmixer.com. That’s equivalent to a Carl’s Jr. Loaded Breakfast Burrito or two 44-ounce soft drinks and would eat up more than half of a 1,500-calorie-a-day diet.

1. Margarita.Jimmy Buffet fans might not be too happy to hear it, but Margaritas may be the summer’s least healthy drink. If you use a sugar-saturated Margarita mix, add tequila or Triple Sec, and then pour the drink into a salt-rimmed glass, the result could set you back 850 calories, Warner says. “That’s insane,” she says. “I would much rather have a slice of cheesecake.” (Margaritas prepared from scratch can have half as many calories.)

But there’s hope for the thirsty partygoer: Warner recommends opting for lower-calorie options, like a vodka mojito, or cutting back on unhealthy mixers like juices or sodas. “You can get sugar-free mixers or anything diet,” she says. “You can get diet tonic [water] now, so you can add a little spritz of tonic and you can add lemons. There’s all kinds of ways to flavor it with no calories whatsoever.” Her drink of choice? A vodka on the rocks (115 calories). You could also go with a simple glass of rosé, which only has 105 calories and is probably cheaper than a frozen drink, too.

Back to School Hot Deals!

Time to get in the MIX!
We can help you with a little savings through September at the
School of Mix!

Back to School Special All of September 2009!!!!!!!!
Save $50 On Enrollment!!!!!!! $424 is NOW $374!!!!

We’ll give you a ride on the Purple School Bus!

The Purple School Bus:

1 shot Chambord® raspberry liqueur
1 shot gin
1 shot vodka
1/2 shot silver tequila
1 shot triple sec
1 shot light rum
1 splash sweet and sour mix
Top off with Sprite® soda

Don’t Sleep on this deal!