Cocktails Archives | Fake Food Free

Pomegranate Jalapeno Margaritas

December 27, 2019

This recipe for pomegranate pickled pepper margaritas with jalepenos, gold tequila, and triple sec provides a twist on a traditional margarita with a kick.

Pomegranate Pickled Pepper Margaritas | FakeFoodFree.com #cocktailrecipes #cocktailideas #tequila #margaritas

I had to get one more recipe posted before the end of the year! What better way to close out the year than with a cocktail?

And not just any cocktail, but one that pretty much represents what this year has been.

Sweet, salty, tangy, vibrant, dark, rich, happy, and thoughtful. A jalapeno margarita with pomegranate!

Are there any other words that can encompass every feeling and experience all rolled into one?

That’s the kind of year it’s been. So let’s drink to that!

Golden Sangria

July 26, 2019

I’m happy to say that Fake Food Free has transitioned to the Substack Newsletter called Every Corner of the World.

I hope to see you there.

Golden Sangria Recipe made with white wine, golden raspberries, white peaches, and Rainier yellow cherries. | FakeFoodFree.com #wine #whitewine #cocktails #sangriarecipes #sangriaideas #yellowcherries #goldenraspberries

The line was long, but I waited anyway. Everyone else was there for strawberries, which is unbelievable to me. How can you possibly look at a strawberry when golden raspberries are sitting there right next to them?

“You can mix and match,” said the vendor. He was letting me know that in my 3-pack I could mix red raspberries, golden raspberries, and blackberries.

Nope.

All three golden, please.

Spiced Pineapple Brandy Brunch Punch

January 11, 2019

This easy brunch punch has the flavors of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger combined with pineapple and brandy!

It stores nicely in quart mason jars to chill until you are ready to serve or take it along to your next cocktail-friendly potluck.

Just before the end of last year, I met up with a group around here that has grown to be what you’d call my tribe. We all run small businesses. Some in the form of service-based contract and freelance work and others by producing artisan home goods, decor, and food. We’ve been meeting for a while now as part of our local Rising Tide Society group, but a few of us who try to regularly attend have added some more business-focused meetings to encourage each other to set and reach goals.

This meeting was to set up our business plans and earning goals for 2019 along with the steps we planned to use to achieve them. But it was also the end of the year, so we needed to do a little celebrating. We agreed on a potluck along with some brunch-friendly cocktails to help.

On the Sly Scotch Cocktail

December 7, 2018

I’m usually not one for sweeter, creamy cocktails. At least not anymore. There are two exceptions, though.

Sometimes I can swing one for dessert. And, if they are spiced, I think they fit right in with the holiday season.

So when I was flipping through my review copy of Maggie Hoffman’s The One-Bottle Cocktail, the On the Sly caught my eye. I took a second glance due to the combination of it being spiced, creamy, coffee-infused, and…it uses Scotch!

Carrot Spiked Bloody Mary

July 25, 2018

This flavorful twist on the Bloody Mary is made with Boardroom Spirits C, a distilled spirit made of 100% carrots, and their Fresh Ginger, a ginger infused vodka. Bottles of these spirits were sent to me to experiment with, and experiment I did.

I’ve been completely intrigued by carrot cocktails lately. I’m not even a huge carrot fan, but I find myself ordering them out and experimenting them simply because I have an adventurous side when it comes to new flavors that never seems to go away.

Most recently, I had a cocktail with carrot juice and mezcal on our last trip to the East Bay.

Then Boardroom Spirits emailed me about a distilled spirit that is made from 100% carrots.

The intrigue continued.

Salted Watermelon Margaritas

July 2, 2018

These salted watermelon margaritas use fresh watermelon that has been cubed and frozen for a frosty cocktail that is perfect for summer!

I’m not watermelon’s biggest fan. It just isn’t my first choice for summer fruit.

Lately, though, I’ve found that I like watermelon flavored things – juices, beers, desserts. I’m not sure why my taste buds make the distinction, but they do.

I was traveling for work a couple weeks ago and I had a cocktail that used watermelon shrub. It was excellent. I wasn’t ready to jump into making a shrub, but after that, getting creative with watermelon was on the back of my mind for sure.

So with watermelon on the brain, when I got home and found them piled up at the farmstand, I grabbed one thinking I could make something interesting with it if I decided I didn’t want to eat it fresh.

Cinnamon Cider Whiskey Cocktail

May 14, 2018

This cinnamon cider whiskey cocktail is a simple mix of flavored vodka, dry hard cider, and whiskey. Served over ice it’s perfect for any season of the year!

I might be the only one that feels this way, but cinnamon is a tough ingredient to incorporate into the warmer months of spring and summer.

If you think about it, do any of your favorite foods or drinks for the summer have cinnamon in their flavor profile? I tried to come up with something, but I haven’t thought of it yet.

I refused to give up, though. I knew there had to be a way to use cinnamon in something refreshing. This cocktail is it.

Beers Knees Cocktail

April 25, 2018

The Beers Knees cocktail is a drink that feels like it was made for me. Gin, honey, lemon, and beer! It’s from Booze & Vinyl, a book that is going to lead to all kinds of fun for upcoming parties.

After the kitchen remodel was finished up last year, it was finally time for my husband to work on getting his home office in order. The first step involved finding a slab of black walnut that he finished as a beautiful table. Second, getting a record player for that table along with some new vinyl.

He’s the music person in the family so I simply get to reap the benefits of the music being played. But we have some other related things in common, our enjoyment of throwing a party with friends, and making and drinking cocktails.

So when I received a review copy of Booze & Vinyl: A Spirited Guide to Great Music and Mixed Drinks by André Darlington and Tenaya Darlington a little while back, as you will see, it was downright perfect.

Rosemary Sweet and Salty Dog Cocktail

January 21, 2018

This mixed drink gives a fun, earthy twist to the traditional salty dog cocktail. A simple syrup is infused with rosemary from the herb garden and combined with freshly squeezed red grapefruit juice and vodka. It’s served in a glass with a rim of fine ground sea salt.

It has come to my attention this week that there are quite a few people out there who do not like grapefruit.

I suspect that much like those who do not like kale, they cannot be trusted.

Just kidding.

To be honest, I’m not quite sure when I turned the corner on the stuff. For years, it was a grandma and grandpa breakfast accompaniment. Served alongside poached eggs and whole grain toast.

For the record, I refuse to think that my love for the fruit correlates with getting older. Proof is in in the fact that I’ve loved grapefruit for at least 10 years now.

I think it’s because I was introduced to red grapefruit.