Abso-fuckin'-lutely...and not as bad with the hangover when you're not feeling so dried out the next morning.

gonna make this tomorrow.

tropical fruit-infused tequila

1 3 3/4 to 4 pound watermelon, peeled, seeded, diced
1 4 pound pineapple, halved, peeled, diced
2 large mangoes, peeled, pitted, diced
1 3-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, cut into thin rounds
1 750-ml bottle white tequila
crushed ice

combine first 4 ingredients in large stainless steel pot. pour tequila over; press to compact (tequila will almost cover fruit). cover and refrigerate 5 days.
drain tequila; discard fruit. fill 8 old-fashioned glasses with crushed ice. pour tequila infusion over ice and serve.

Jesus. Wonder how much the fruit dilutes the tequila? I guess you could add your fruit juice of choice if it's too strong.

Regardless, post how it turns out.

i can't imagine just throwing the fruit out either.

Kinda sounds like the alcohol watermelon we all probably made in college.

DW - Openly Hydrating is a semi in-joke between Derris and I. He "Discovered" the Vodka and Soda some months ago and got me on the train almost immediately.

You can KILL them, and A) not be as sloppy as you would usually be and B) definitely helps with the hangover.

Yeah I have a couple of muddlers. I used to make caipirinhas all the time. I just picked up an ice shaver on my lunch break. I plan on trying these out tonight.

All this talk of muddlers and as far as I can tell, no talk of the ultimate summertime libation, the Mojito.
There is nothing like the combo of mint, lime and rum. The following is my favorite recipe but I macerate the hell out the the mint in extra-fine sugar, add the fresh squeezed lime juice and rum, strain it, pour the mixture about 2/3 up a tall glass filled with crushed ice then add a splash of club soda. So good on a hot day. I'd agree that a muddler is completely worth it for these and juleps. Incidently, I've never gotten a good Mojito at a bar, too time consuming to make it right.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/drink ... ito-201191

Lemon shandys yay/nay?

I'm surprised by a couple of things in this recipe. I wouldn't expect that you'd need to refrigerate it. All of the infusions I've done have taken longer than 5 days. Most all of the recipes I've seen have included putting sugar or candied ginger over each layer of fruit before pouring the booze in. I also wonder if the stainless steel would have an impact on the flavor. I think I'd use a big glass jug rather than stainless steel.

Still, interested in how it turns out.

My mint julep was ok for a first attempt I suppose but not nearly as good as the one I had at the whiskey bar. It got better as the shaved ice melted and all the flavors mixed more. Will keep experimenting.

Yeah that was my idea. Each passing one has gotten better though. Plus I make less and less a mess.

Billy, looks like I was spot on with my bourbon mixer recommendation. Paste just did an article on making a home bar and look what they wrote.


http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2 ... d-hom.html

I went with the Maker's Mark because I'm only looking for a bourbon to use in Mint Julep's and not something to drink neat or on the rocks. I trust your Basil's recommendation if i start developing more of a taste for bourbon in general but that article loses major points over its blanket statement to eschew top shelf brands and its recommendation that Tito's should be the vodka of choice.

yeah I've never actually made something like this before, besides ghetto punch for parties, so i was just following the recipe i saw. i guess i'll find out monday whether it's any good or not.

I picked up some maraschino liqueur at GAWOB while I was in PTC today, and made a Hemingway Daiquiri - rum, maraschino, lime, grapefruit, sugar. Pretty damned good - I think I will make another.

Bar around town does throwback cocktail Sundays. Was there this week and got a Knickerbocker:



Ingredients
* 2 1/2 ounces golden rum
* 1 1/2 teaspoons raspberry syrup
* 1/2 teaspoon orange curacao
* 1/2 ounce lime juice
* lime(s)

Shake the rum,* raspberry syrup,** orange curaçao, and lime juice well with cracked ice. Place squeezed-out shell of half a lime in a double Old-Fashioned glass or small highball glass. (This is the earliest drink on record where you do this.) Pour the drink in, ice and all, and garnish with a few berries in season: raspberries, blackberries, blueberries -- pretty much anything this side of crunchberries. Serve with a straw and a little spoon for the berries. If you're making more than one at the same time, it's easier to strain it into the glasses first and then pour the ice.

Hey Shiv - how did that infusion turn out?

My 2nd Mint Julep was much better than the first. I think I'm getting the hang of it. Doubt I'll feel like making them that often once the novelty wears off. It's a bit of a pain shaving the ice.

Made a Dark & Stormy the other night but on a whim substituted a wedge of Tangerine for lime. It was pretty damn good.

i only had a little bit last night. it's really tasty but also could probably cause trouble quickly.

also had a couple of pieces of the fruit too and those tasted stronger than the drink. i think my roommate was going to make a smoothie out of it or something. i should probably have the ambulance wait outside.

OK, needing a good summertime drink that is good and portable for bringing to a picnic, something I can mix up ahead of time and dump in a thermos or something to take along and maybe pour over some ice. I am thinking maybe sangria, but other suggestions are very welcome.

I'd go with the sangria or some improvised rum punch (pick a tropical fruit juice or two and add a whole bunch of rum). I've never made sangria though and the sangria i get out is sometimes great but sometimes terrible. It's pretty hard to screw up a tropical rum punch.

By the way, made this and it was delicious:

White Peach Sangria

Ingredients
1 bottle white wine (Spanish table wine)
3 ounces brandy
2 ounces triple sec
1 cup orange juice
1 cup pineapple juice
2 ounces simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water brought to a boil for 2 minutes in a small saucepan) and cooled (leftover syrup can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for 1 month)
3 ounces white peach puree (peel peaches, remove pit and puree in a blender with a small amount of water)
Fresh peaches, oranges, and apples sliced

Directions
Place all ingredients in a pitcher and stir to mix. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 48 hours. Serve over ice.

I bought one of these last week:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product ... U=14444637

It sounds like its going to break any minute but it crushes ice cubes into pebble size bits which are perfect for mint juleps and vodka rocks.

I've also been drinking a lot of screwdrivers lately with oranges from the farmers market and homemade citrus infused vodka. They're a surprisingly great summer drink as long as you make them strong enough that the oj isn't thick.

For $40, that looks pretty all right.

Booker's is like getting kicked in the face by a self-immolating monk and then shaking hands with Walter Payton. It sucks miserably and then it gets really awesome, but I'm still not sure that first part is worth it.

I've been trying to drink exclusively bourbon lately. at a wedding this summer I annoyed the bartender by consistently ordering a Makers neat for myself and a ginger ale for my then-pregnant wife. I opened a bottle of Blanton's during the Bengals game last night because I wanted to go completely numb and because I finished my Knob Creek bottle on NYE. I want to pull the trigger on the Four Roses Single Barrel but I'm not sure that it'll live up to my memory. But basically I think beer is making me horrifically fat and it may need to be straight liquor from here on out.

i hear that. i need to lose at least 15 lbs.