Drinks
These are the drink recipes.
Rosy Pink Cosmo
I have heard of flavored vodkas, but never of botanical flavored vodkas. I read about grapefruit and rose flavored vodka and I was sold. I found several brands of it and decided to try Veil Botanic Collection because of the price. Didn’t want to spend a lot of money on something I was not sure was going to love. Well, I got it, and I love it!!! The match of red grapefruit and rose is really aromatic and delicious. I am back into vodka!!!
Once I had the vodka, I wanted to make something fun, elegant but fun. First thought of a martini, but what is more elegant than a Cosmopolitan. If you don’t believe me, ask the girls from Sex and the City! So I decided to do a variation of a traditional Cosmopolitan, using the botanical vodka and some Cointreau Instead of plain cranberry juice, thought the Cranberry and Pineapple juice mix would give it a little more tartness. I had dried rose petals, that are very aromatic and look so pretty, so why not, throw it in as a garnish and voila! Had to admit, had two of them when I came up with the recipe! It is so good!
Rosy Pink Cosmo
This is a Variation of a Cosmopolitan, more aromatic and very difficult to just have one!
Ingredients
- 2.5 oz Veil Grapefruit and Rose Vodka
- 1.5 oz Cointreau or any Orange Liqueur
- 1.5 oz Cran Pinneapple Juice
- 0.5 oz Lime juice Fresh
- 6-8 Ice cubes
- Rose petals to garnish
Instructions
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In a drink shaker, pour all the ingredients and shake really well. Pour on the martini glass and garnish with rose petals.
Recipe Notes
You can replace the juice for a Diet version.
You can replace the rose petals with lime peel spirals.
Green Pirate
I have this big bottle of Captain Morgan Lime Bite rum and was wondering what to do with it. Played with some other liquors until hitting the Midori! That worked. But needed something bubbly and tested it with plain sprite. It was good. So decided to try it with Sprite Ginger, which I also have at home. Oh yes, that was the stuff!!! The little spice from the ginger brought the whole thing together. Enjoy!!
Green Pirate
This is a great drink on the rocks with Midori, Captain Morgan Lime Bite and Sprite Ginger. Deliciious!!!
Ingredients
- 2 oz Midori Melon Liquor
- 2 oz Captain Morgan Lime Bite Rum
- 2 oz Sprite Ginger
- 6-8 ice cubes
Instructions
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Pour the Midori, the Captain Morgan Lime Bite and Sprite Ginger over ice and stir.
Recipe Notes
I used Diet Sprite Ginger to cut some of the sugar.
Jalapeno Margarita
Tirzah is one of my followers. She is very nice and was talking to me about a Jalapeno Margarita she had in a restaurant and how much she loved it. She asked me to make a recipe for one because she would like to make it at home. So here it is!
It is so delicious, a little spicy, a nice version of a margarita. I am so hooked on them that know I prefer it over a regular margarita!
Use good quality tequila. Better ingredients make better drinks! Use fresh lime juice and fresh jalapeno. Trust me, you are not going to regret it! I use agave syrup because it goes best with tequila, that comes out of agave. But you can use honey if you prefer. It works too.
Shake it with a handful of ice, garnish with a slice of jalapeno and lime and enjoy it!
Jalapeno Margarita
This is an awesome margarita made with tequila that has been soaked in jalapenos! It is so good, you will have more than one!!
Ingredients
- 4 oz Tequila Good quality
- 2 oz Lime Juice fresh
- 2 oz Cointreau Or any Orange Liquor
- 1/2 tsp Agave syrup or Honey
- 1 Jalapeno pepper Fresh
- Ice cubes Handfull
Instructions
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Cut half the jalapeno pepper, remove stems and seeds and place in a jar with 4 oz of tequila. Muddle the jalapeno until they are soft and let sit covered in the jar for 20 to 25 minutes. If you prefer it stronger, leave the seeds and increase the time in the jar to 2 hours.
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Once your tequila is infused with the jalapeno, mix in a shaker the tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, agave syrup, and ice. Shake really well and pour in a margarita glass. Garnish with a slice of jalapeno and lime. Enjoy!
Buzzed Zombie Brain
Its Halloween and it was time to make something fun. We made a video of Bat Wings and while we are filming it, we had so much fun making it, I decided we should make a drink video. While I am having my coffee, I started to think I should make a coffee drink. The idea started as an actual cup of coffee with some other stuff. But quickly, morphed into a shot!
I have a bottle of Cooper’s Hawk Vin Chocolat Noir, this delicous chocolate wine that even though is good, is a little bit sweeter than my go to dry red wines. I love dry red wines!! So I am thinking, how cool it would be to make a shot with the chocolate wine. I never seen one. Then I am thinking about the visuals, I thought why not add irish cream liquor. I know it gets all brain like when you put it into other liquors. So all I needed was the coffee. I love this Knight Gabriello Italian Espresso Liquor! It is soooo good!! Not too sweet but with a strong coffee flavor.
Buzzed Zombie Brain
This shot tastes delicious and it looks really spooky, perfect for your Halloween celebrations or any time you want something different!
Ingredients
- .6 oz Cooper Hawk's Chocolate wine or any chocolate wine
- .6 oz Knight Gabriello Italian Espresso liquor or any coffee liquor
- .8 oz Baley's Irish Cream liquor or any Irish cream Liquor
Instructions
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This shot is composed of 3 ingredients divided into equal 3rds. First, pour the chocolate wine filling 1/3rd of the glass. Then pour the espresso liquor, again filling the 2nd 1/3rd of the glass.
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With a kitchen syringe or a spoon, slowly drizzle the Irish cream liquor into the shot glass until filled, spreading the cream throughout the glass, giving it the look of a brain swimming into the other liquors.
Recipe Notes
- Chill the Irish Cream before preparing the shot for a better effect.
- Serve immediately. The Irish cream will start to curdle when sitting on the glass with the other liquors. Some people will have issues with the texture, but it will not change the taste a bit.
The shot is delicious, is strong, so be prepared for it! I used a kitchen syringe to drizzle the Irish Cream into the drink. But you can use a teaspoon and slowly drizzle the cream into the teaspoon and pour it around so you create the brain look. Irish Cream curdles once is sitting into alcohol for a while, so if you are not a fan of the curdled texture, I suggest you have your shot immediately after you make it.
I want to thank my friend Aracelis Jaffe for the awesome makeup job she did! I had a vision and she made it even better than what I had in mind! And thanks for her husband Ron Jaffe, who is not only a great friend of mine, but the best hand in all of town!! When Aracelis, Ron my hubby Doug and me get together, we always end up laughing too much!! Thank you Ron and Aracelis!
We usually when make drink videos, don’t make big productions because they are quick and short. It’s Halloween and we wanted to make something fun and different! In the cooking videos, we always add outtakes at the end of the video becuase they are fun. For the drink videos,we usually don’t. But we had some funny outtakes happen while making this one, so we decided to make a short outtakes video. We hope you enjoy it!!
Guava Colada
Everybody loves a good Piña Colada. And why not, it is refreshing, sweet and delicious. But have you ever had a Guava Colada? One day I was at home thinking how much I love guavas. The fruit, the juice, nectar or anything that has guava. And why not have a piña colada, but instead of pineapple, how about using guava instead. And that is how this recipe came to life.
It is very easy to make, all you need is a blender and simple ingredients. A guava colada is refreshing, sweet and very easy to make. Make sure when blending all the ingredients the ice is completely crushed. Should have the texture of a smoothy.
Guava Colada
Everybody knows about Piña Coladas, but how about a Guava Colada? It's deliciously refreshing!
Ingredients
- 4 oz coconut cream
- 4 oz spiced rum
- 12 oz guava nectar
- 2 cups ice
- Whipped Cream
- 1 maraschino cherry
Instructions
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Pour in a blender the coconut cream, guava nectar, spiced rum, and ice and blend until all the ice is crushed, around 30 seconds in High.
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Pour in a tall glass and top with whipped cream and the maraschino cherry.
Recipe Notes
You can replace the spiced rum for any kind of rum, but I prefer the flavor the spiced rum adds to the drink.
Guava nectar is thicker and than the juice and helps with the smoothy like texture of a colada drink.
Use as much whipped cream or as little as you like.
BFF Mimosa
It’s the weekend and your friends are coming over for brunch. Why not welcome them with a BFF Mimosa? Or heck, it’s Tuesday, you got up and dressed, you deserve a BFF Mimosa. The BFF Mimosa is made my mango nectar, Cointreau or any citrus liquour and Prosecco. Why BFF? Because as you and your friends are “best friends forever”, mango and citrus are BFFs. They are a perfect match and go together really well. Just like you and your BFFS!
Start your BBF Mimosa with chilled mango nectar. You don’t want to have to add ice to your drink and it is best when it is nicely chilled. I prefer the mango nectar, is thicker because of the light pulp included with the liquid and makes it smoother. Use any citrus liquor you have like Cointreau or Grand Marnier. If you use any of the colored citrus liquors is going to change the color of your drink and will loose the beautiful shine of the mango nectar.
I prefer Prosecco, especially the Brut type. It is drier and makes helps to balance the sugars on the drink. If you prefer your drinks sweeter, then use the Demi-Sec Prosecco or even a sparkling sweet wine. But trust me, the Prosecco Brut is not going to fail you when it comes to flavor!
This recipe is for a 6 oz champagne glass, but in the notes I included the amounts if you want to make a pitcher of the Mimosa. Mimosas you want to serve promptly as you make them so they can keep the bubbles that makes them fun! Salud!
BFF Mimosa
This drink is called BFF Mimosa because guava nectar and citrus liquor are a great match! This recipe creates one 6 oz champagne glass of the drink.
Ingredients
- 1 oz Cointreau (or any citrus liquor)
- 2 oz Mango Nectar chilled
- 3 oz Prosecco Brut, chilled
Instructions
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In the 6 oz glass champagne, mix the Cointreau and mango nectar. Stir and add the Prosecco.
Recipe Notes
I chose to use Prosecco Brut because is less sweet and will balance the sweetness of the mango nectar.
If you wish to make a pitcher of the drink mix:
- 8 oz of Cointreau
- 17 oz of Mango Nectar
- 750 ml of Prosecco Brut
Guava Passion Bellini
Summer is here. I don’t know how is it where you at, but it is hot here in FL! It’s the perfect time for something bubbly and refreshing to make summer great! That is how I came up with a Guava Passion Bellini. I love guavas: the fruit, the nectar, the candy, all of it. Wanted to create a drink that used the guava juice, but needed something to make it pop.
That is when I thought passion fruit liquor. Guava and passion fruit mix really well. Then I wanted something bubbly, becuase why not, bubbles are fun! I thought of using Prosecco, but didn’t want to add more sweetness to a mix that was already sweet, so decided to use a Prosecco Brut. It is dry, not very sweet and will counterbalance the sweetness.
You could replace the guava nectar with guava juice. I just prefer the nectar, I find it less sweet and closer in flavor to the guava. If you don’t have prosecco but have champagne, you could use it too. It is all about preferences, choices, and many times, what you have at home!
The recipe is for a 6 oz champagne glass, but it also includes the amounts if you want to prepare a pitcher. Make sure your guava nectar and the prosecco are chilled, you don’t want to add ice and dilute your bellini. Cin Cin!
Guava Passion Bellini
When is hot outside, how about a cool bellini to refresh your day! Guava and Passion fruit liquor will make this drink irresistible! This recipe is for a 6 oz champagne glass.
Ingredients
- 1 oz Passoa (or any passion fruit liquor)
- 2 oz Guava Nectar chilled
- 3 oz Prosecco Brut, chilled
Instructions
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In a champagne glass, mix the passion fruit liquor and the guava nectar. Stir and fill the rest of the glass with the Prosecco.
Recipe Notes
I chose to use Prosecco Brut because is less sweet and will balance the sweetness of the guava nectar.
If you wish to make a pitcher of the drink mix:
- 8 oz of Passoa
- 17 oz of Guava Nectar
- 750 ml of Prosecco Brut
Coquito
It’s the holiday season. Decorations are out of storage and ugly sweaters enlisted for use. And for Puerto Ricans, bottles of coquito start to accumulate in their refrigerators! Coquito is a traditional Puerto Rican drink. It would be the equivalent of eggnog, just boozier with coconut as the star. It is very simple to make and addicting to the taste. The most difficult part of coquito is stopping yourself from drinking it all in one day!
Coquito is traditionally made with Puerto Rican rum. I prefer using dark rum. Don Q is my favorite! You could also use white rum or even spiced rum. I would stay away from other flavored rums or liquors. The star of this drink is coconut, the name “coquito” means “little coconut”. When you start adding other flavors it becomes something else, which is fine but it is not coquito. Start with the smaller amount of rum in the recipe, and add to your taste. “Experts” in coquito usually like it boozier. Count me in as one of those “experts”.
I have many friends that are not alcohol drinkers. So I modified the recipe for them. Replace the rum with almond milk or coconut milk. Even better, get a mix of almond coconut milk. The almond milk will give the drink a little nutty flavor that goes really well with the coconut.
Traditionally coquito doesn’t have cream cheese. But I have found the cream cheese makes the drink creamier. It enhances the flavor. And it has protein. So you don’t have to feel guilty while drinking it!
I use coconut milk, not coconut cream. Coconut cream is much sweeter and I find the drink sweet enough without adding more sugar. The only sugar you should have is from the condensed milk.
During the year, any bottle of wine or alcohol that has a screw top, I save it. Before I am ready to make the coquito, I soak the bottles in soapy warm water to loosen up the labels. Then I use a Titan razor scraper that we also use to clean the glass top stove and scrape the paper and all the glue off the bottle. Clean the bottle inside with a few drops of bleach and hot water and rinse with fresh water thoroughly and you are ready to bottle your coquito. If you don’t want to go thru all the hassle of cleaning bottles, you can just get some mason jars or screw top bottles from the store.
Coquito
Coquito is a Puerto Rican drink that is very popular during the Holidays. It would be the Puerto Rican equivalent of eggnog, but boozier with coconut as the star of the show. It is very simple to make and makes for great gifts.
Ingredients
- 14 oz coconut milk
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 14 oz condensed milk
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- Pinch cloves ground
- ½ tsp cinnamon powder
- 20 oz Puerto Rican Rum
Instructions
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Place all your ingredients in a blender for 2 minutes until completely mixed.
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Bottle and refrigerate.
Recipe Notes
You can play with how boozy you want your coquito. Start with 14 oz of the rum and increase to your taste. I prefer Gold rum (dark) but you could use Silver (white) or spiced rum. I would stay away from flavored rums since they will change the taste greatly. If you prefer a non-alcoholic version, replace the rum for coconut milk, almond milk or even better, a mix of both. One batch yields 1.5 liters (50 oz).
