3 ounces guava juice
1 ounce blue curaçao
1 ounce peach schnapps
1 ounce vodka
Stir the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled old-fashioned glass with shaved ice.
Ben's Notes:
This drink tastes exactly like that party in the basement of the frat house. You know the one I mean. When the floor was so sticky that the sound of flip-flops peeling off the linoleum was louder than the sub-woofer? I think everyone I knew threw up that night...
The Rya Review:
HOSE
Cake vodka
Chocolate syrup
Vanilla ice cream
Combine ingredients and blend.
Ben's Notes:
A few months ago my mother-in-law re-gifted me cake flavored vodka because she thought I'd figure out something to do with it. I took a sip of it before going to bed for inspiration and immediately regretted it. This stuff doesn't just sort of taste like cake. It overwhelmingly tastes like cake. It tastes so much like cake, that your brain gets confused because it thinks you're drinking cake. Anyway, when I slept that night the magical sugar plum fairies of Pinnacle vodka visited me. When I awoke, I knew what I had to do: adult milkshakes. When I made it for friends there was almost a riot when I ran out of ice cream. That said, I haven't made it again since, for fear of creating a public disturbance. I didn't write down the ratio of ingredients and I think it really doesn't matter for this too much. If you want a sense of how much vodka I put in, look at the bottle in the picture. That was how much I used for a half gallon of ice cream (which made 3 drinks).
The Rya Review:
LOG
2 ounces vodka
1¼ ounces peppermint schnapps
Fresh mint sprig
Shake the liquid ingredients vigorously with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the mint sprig.
Ben's Notes:
This is a modified version of a White Spider that is simple and tasty. I prefer it to the White Spider, though I really couldn't tell you why. I now also grow my own mint, so I can always use fresh mint. Like all mint drinks, this is best on a hot day.
The Rya Review:
FRISBEE
1 to 3 lime wedges
2 ounces vodka
3 to 5 ounces chilled tonic water
Rim a chilled highball glass with a lime wedge, and drop it in. Fill the glass with ice, pour in the vodka, and top with tonic water. Squeeze the remaining lime wedges over the drink, and drop them in.
Ben's Notes:
This drink is super great every time. To be honest, I prefer gin & tonic, but if I'm low on gin then this is a more than sufficient substitute.
The Rya Review:
LOG
1 ounce gold tequila
3 ounces cranberry juice
½ ounce fresh orange juice
¼ ounce fresh lime juice
Orange slice
Shake the liquid ingredients vigorously with ice. Strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass. Garnish with the orange slice.
Ben's Notes:
This was truly just, "eh." Not good, not bad, not sweet, not sour. I'm also noticing that I forgot to fill the glass with ice, but I doubt that would affect the drink enough for me to change my feelings about it.
The Rya Review:
Ball
1 ounce Malibu (or other coconut liqueor)
1 ounce amaretto
4 to 6 ounces Coca-Cola
Lime wedge
Rub the rim of a chilled highball glass with the lime wedge. Fill the glass with ice and pour in the Malibu and amaretto. Top with Coca-Cola and stir. Garnish with the lime wedge.
Ben's Notes:
My first original drink! Several months ago I was unable to decide what to add to my Coke: Malibu or amaretto? I decided to do equal parts of both and ended up with this deliciously sweet concoction! It became an instant house favorite with my guests. I'm pretty sure this could actually be a thing people ask for at bars. Let's make that happen! Also, props to my wife for naming it something appropriately girly.
The Rya Review:
LOG
2 ounces vodka
½ ounce fresh lime juice
4 ounces ginger beer (or ginger ale)
Lime wedge
Pour the vodka and lime juice into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with ginger beer and stir. Squeeze the lime wedge over the drink, and drop it in.
Ben's Notes:
Apparently this drink is why Smirnoff is popular in America today. Taste one and you'll see why. I dare you to try to find the 2 ounces of vodka in it. It's like they're not even there. One day I'll need to get some ginger beer and actually use that instead of the ale.
The Rya Review:
FRISBEE
½ lime
1 ounce tequila
¾ ounce Kahlúa
Squeeze the lime half over a chilled highball glass, and drop it in. Fill with ice and pour in the tequila and Kahlúa. Stir.
Ben's Notes:
I believe my exact word(s) when I tried this were, "Wow!" Followed by, "Cool!" I guess I really just didn't know what I expected this drink to taste like, but it was very sweet and refreshing. It was kind of like drinking chocolate Coca-Cola, if such a thing existed.
The Rya Review:
FRISBEE
8 to 10 fresh mint leaves
¼ ounce fresh lime juice
¼ ounce fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
2 ounces gin
Fresh mint sprig
Muddle the mint leaves, lime juice, lemon juice, and sugar in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass. Add ice and the gin, stirring briefly. Garnish with the mint sprig.
Ben's Notes:
This drink is for gin lovers only. I think I might have liked it better coming in from the garden on a hot summer day, but I say that about a lot of drinks. Overall, it was just so-so.
The Rya Review:
BALL
4 ounces fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1½ ounces tequila
12 ounces Mexican lager
Pour the lemon juice into an ice-filled beer mug. Add the salt and tequila, stirring to combine. Slowly pour in the beer.
Ben's Notes:
So the first drink I made out of this book was a michelada (before I started the blog). There are three different recipes for them, and the first one really didn't catch my attention. This one, however, is another story. The drink had layers of flavor and just never got old. I even royally screwed it up (too small of a glass meant my proportions were off) but it really didn't matter. I'll be enjoying these frequently from now on.
The Rya Review:
LOG
Second Thoughts:
I recently tried this drink again with some family and we decided that there is too much salt in the recipe. Unless your lemons are extremely tart, just put in 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
2 ounces vodka
¾ ounce peppermint schnapps
Fresh mint sprig
Shake the liquid ingredients vigorously with ice. Strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass or chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the mint sprig.
Ben's Notes:
Apparently this drink is meant to be had as a nightcap, though I thought it was a bit too refreshing for that. All in all, it was a nice drink. Nothing to rave about, but it could really hit the spot on a hot afternoon.
The Rya Review:
BALL
1¼ ounces gin
1¼ ounces Rose's lime juice
Lime wedge
Stir the gin and lime juice in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze the lime wedge into the drink.
Ben's Notes:
"And IIIIIIIIIII-EE-IIIIII... will al-ways love youuuuuuuu-uu-uuuuuuuuu!" My new drink of choice, hands down. It was so good, Rya compared it to her most favorite-est toy in the whole world: her bumper (which was what she was actually looking at when the picture on the website was taken of her). I've been enjoying this drink with crushed ice in an old-fashioned glass when I don't have a chilled cocktail glass on hand.
The Rya Review:
BUMPER
¾ ounce bourbon
¾ ounce peppermind schnapps
¾ vodka
½ ounce Kahlúa
Shake the ingredients vigorously with ice. Strain into a chilled sour glass.
Ben's Notes:
This drink was so bad, I couldn't even drink it. It was so bad, I didn't even want to be in the same room with it. It was so bad, that Rya's rating for it is below her normal scale. Avoid at all costs people! *Also, I didn't have a sour glass, so I used a cocktail glass. But that still doesn't change the fact that when Rya sees this drink she runs from it just like it were a:
The Rya Review:
VACUUM
1½ ounces gold tequila
3 ounces pineapple juice
½ fresh lime juice
Shake the ingredients vigorously with ice. Strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.
Ben's Notes:
The best thing about this drink is that it is served in an old-fashioned glass, which is my favorite type. Maybe the frozen version is better (basically this plus some triple-sec and a blender). I have a feeling I'll never know.
The Rya Review:
BATH
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1 tablespoon sugar
2 ounces vodka
Muddle the lime wedges with the sugar in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass. Fill the glass with crushed ice, add the vodka, and stir well.
Ben's Notes:
While completely unpronounceable, this drink is very good. Apparently it's traditionally made with cachaça (also unpronounceable). Be warned, you need to stir it VERY well if you want to have the bottom not end up tasting like limeade concentrate. Also, I added a lime spiral because it looks awesome.
The Rya Review:
FRISBEE
2 ounces vodka
4 to 6 ounces fresh orange juice
Orange slice
Pour the vodka and orange juice into an ice-filled highball glass, and stir. Garnish with the orange slice.
Ben's Notes:
This drink. All summer. From now until forever. I somehow had never had one of these before, which is criminal. Be sure to use fresh orange juice! Also, I enjoy the legend behind the drink: oilmen in Iran in the 1950s stirred this drink with (pause for effect) screwdrivers!
The Rya Review:
LOG
2 ounces gin
¼ ounce fresh orange juice
¼ ounce fresh lemon juice
2 dashes grenadine
Stir the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Ben's Notes:
This sounded so good in the book, but really did not have it in the glass. Remember how earlier I said I don't care for grapefruit? Well, it turns out that combining orange and lemon juice creates a concoction that tastes pretty much exactly like grapefruit. Not for me.
The Rya Review:
HOSE
2 ounces gin
3 to 5 ounces chilled ginger ale or ginger beer
Lime wedge
Pour the gin and ginger ale into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass. Stir well. Squeeze the lime wedge over the drink and drop it in.
Ben's Notes:
Also known as Prohibition Champagne, this mildly sweet take on a gin and tonic was a hit. I'm sure it would have been even better with a higher quality ginger ale, but all I had on hand was Safeway brand.
The Rya Review:
FRISBEE
2 ounces good-quality gin
4 ounces chilled tonic water
1 or 2 lime wedges
Pour the gin and tonic water into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass. Stir well. Squeeze the lime wedges over the drink and drop them in.
Ben's Notes:
I've always enjoyed gin and tonics, but taking the time to do one right was really worthwhile. What does "right" mean? Chill the glass in the freezer, use high quality tonic from a small bottle (not a big 2-liter) and your favorite top shelf gin. This is the perfect drink for a hot summer afternoon.
The Rya Review:
LOG
2 ounces gin
1½ ounces fresh lime juice
Pinch of superfine sugar
3 to 4 splashes of Angostura bitters
Lime peel spiral
Pour the gin and lime juice into an ice-filled highball glass. Add the sugar and bitters and stir to combine. Twist the lime peel spiral over the drink, and drop it in.
Ben's Notes:
This drink was apparently created by Ernest Hemingway as a hangover remedy. While I very much enjoyed it, it was extremely bitter. Even just 2 splashes of the bitters was the max I could handle. I'm also not sure why it's to be made in a highball glass. It only just fills it up passed halfway. If I make this drink again I'll use an old fashioned glass, only one splash of bitters, and two pinches of sugar.
The Rya Review:
FRISBEE
