Spring Madness

With a hint of spring weather upon us and March Madness in full swing, this weekend will hopefully consist of a mix of outdoor activities combined with a healthy amount of time spent glued to the tournament games on TV… a combination I like to refer to as Spring Madness.

Spring Madness also consists of cocktails (surprising I know) including

White Peach Blossom (for the spring aspect)

• 1 part ABSOLUT® Mandarin Vodka
• 1 part Hiram Walker® White Peach Schnapps
• ½ part Pineapple Juice

Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an orange slice.

Root Beer Fling (for the madness watching aspect)

• 1 part Hiram Walker® Root Beer Schnapps
• 1 part Kahlua® Coffee Liqueur
• ½ part ABSOLUT® Vodka
• 5 parts Cola

Serve in a tall glass filled with ice.

Happy Spring Madness everyone!

-KJ

Satisfy Your Sweetie and Your Sweet Tooth This Valentine’s Day

With Valentine’s Day just 4 days away, it’s time to start thinking about sweets! Even if you don’t have that someone special to celebrate the holiday with (if you even consider it a holiday) there are still plenty of chocolates and sweets that you can enjoy date free. If you’re like me, chocolate is the best part of Valentine’s Day (no offense men) so why not celebrate the holiday with some chocolate cocktails!

Mama’s Boston Cream Pie

Glazed Chocolate Martini

• 1 parts Mama Walker’s Glazed Donut Liqueur
• 1 part Kahlua
• 1 part Irish Cream Liqueur
• 1 part Hiram Walker Creme de Cacao

Add all ingredients to shaker with ice. Shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass and serve

Chocolate Heart Martini

• ¾ part Hiram Walker® Crème de Cacao White
• ¾ part ABSOLUT® Vodka
• Splash of Coffee

Shake, strain into a chilled martini glass.

Mama’s Boston Cream Pie

• 1 part Mama Walker’s Glazed Donut Liqueur
• 1-2 drops of chocolate syrup
• .5 part cream

Add ingredients to shaker with ice, and strain into chilled shot glass.

 
Whether you’re satisfying your sweetie or your sweet tooth this Friday, I hope you enjoy!

-KJ

Midnight Madness

In November 2012 Kahlua introduced its newest innovation, Kahlua Midnight. Kahlua Midnight is a 70 proof mix of rum and black coffee liqueur intended to be served chilled as a shot for a night out on the town or at home with friends. I’ve been known to be somewhat of a night owl, I have been for as long as I can remember, but everyone has been in that position before when you’re out at a bar or club and the night is starting off a little slow (if you say you’ve never been there before, I’d like to come to your next party). With its sweet smooth taste, and a little jolt from the coffee, Kahlua Midnight is the perfect choice to take your party or night out to the next level, and celebrate what night owls like myself love: midnight!

Midnight Birthday Party

• 1 Part Kahlua Midnight
• 1 Part Hiram Walker Whipped
• Whipped Cream & Sprinkles

Shake with ice and strain into shot glass. Top with Whipped Cream and Sprinkles.

Enjoy!

-KJ

Friday Feature Cocktail: Peppermint Mocha Martini

It’s hard to believe that tomorrow is already the first day of December! December means snowfall, the holidays, and my favorite-Peppermint Mocha Lattes. I am not normally a latte drinker, if you hand me a regular coffee from any diner I will enjoy it just as much as a fancy coffee brewed from any ‘must go-to’ café, but once the holidays roll around I crave Peppermint Mocha Lattes! I blame this addiction on my college days when I would be up all night writing papers and cramming for finals before the holiday break (don’t be fooled, I was not an over-achiever, I just had a horrible problem with procrastination), and these lattes were my secret weapon for staying awake.

Now when December is here I can relax, sip happily and toast to the holiday season with my favorite holiday combo of Peppermint and Mocha mixed together in a cocktail.

Peppermint Mocha Martini

• 2½ parts ABSOLUT® Vodka
• 1 part Hiram Walker® White Crème de Cacao
• ½ part Hiram Walker® Peppermint Schnapps
• ½ part Kahlua® Coffee Liqueur

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake for at least ten seconds. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

Another delicious way to make a boozy twist on the Peppermint Mocha Latte is by adding Kahlúa’s holiday limited edition, Peppermint Mocha, to your coffee or hot chocolate. Their Peppermint Mocha offering is amazing and I highly suggest stocking up on it before it’s gone!

Enjoy!

-KJ

3 Must Have Thanksgiving Drinks!

Hiram Walker Pumpkin Pie Martini, perfect for Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I for one am extremely excited! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and while I do love Christmas and the ‘season of giving’, how can you beat a holiday that is comprised of eating, drinking, watching football and then napping when all of those activities become too strenuous?! The answer is you can’t…

Here are 3 cocktail recipes that fit in perfectly with the activities of the holiday:

The Pumpkin Pie Martini: You all know the joke…and especially on Thanksgiving it’s completely acceptable to ‘have your cake (pie) and drink it too!’

• 1 part Hiram Walker Pumpkin Spice
• ½ part Kahlua Coffee Liqueur
• ½ part Hiram Walker Butterscotch Schnapps
• ½ part Half & Half

Combine ingredients in shaker w/ ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into martini glass. Garnish and serve.

The CosmoWHIPolitan: If pumpkin isn’t really your thing, this sweet treat is the perfect drink to accompany a day of feasting.

• 1 part Hiram Walker Whipped Liqueur
• 1.5 parts Hiram Walker Triple Sec
• 1.5 parts Cranberry Juice
• .5 part fresh lime juice

Shake all ingredients in shaker and strain into chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with an orange twist.

The Pumpkintini: If pumpkin is your thing, but you need to save more room for the actual dessert, this martini is a little less sweet than the Pumpkin Pie Martini…but still delicious!

• 1 part Absolut Vodka (Regular or Vanilia)
• 1 part Hiram Walker Pumpkin Spice Liqueur

Shake and strain into a martini glass. Sprinkle with a pinch of cinnamon.

Enjoy and happy feasting/drinking/napping everyone 🙂

-KJ

Friday Feature Cocktail: Whipped Russian

Every once in a while Friday rolls around and there is nothing I look forward to more than a night of doing absolutely nothing. Today is one of those Friday’s, and I have decided that a Whipped Russian is going to be my cocktail of choice tonight. This sweet twist on the White Russian is the perfect drink to accompany me as I cozy up under a blanket on the couch, where I’ll most likely spend my night watching my DVDs of Friday Night Lights.

Hiram Walker’s sweet twist on the White Russian using Hiram Walker Whipped Liqueur.

Whipped Russian

• 1 part Hiram Walker Whipped Liqueur
• 1 part Kahlua
• ½ part half & half

Shake well with ice.  Strain over crushed ice and serve

The coffee flavor of the Kahlua and cream, spiked with the sweetness of Hiram Walker Whipped Liqueur provides a delicious combination of flavor for a crisp autumn night. The Whipped Russian is also a tasty treat after dinner if you prefer liquid desserts like I do!!

Also, a reminder to those interested in winning an iPad, there are still a few days left to submit your photos of Hiram Walker Whipped to the ‘Whip Things Up!’ Contest! All photos must be submitted by October 31, so this weekend is a great opportunity to have some fun whipping up your best photos! Check out more information HERE or HERE!

Enjoy 🙂

-KJ

 

Cocktail Culture at Tales of the Cocktail 2012!

With only two weeks until Tales, Cocktail Culture has finalized all travel arrangements and is officially going to TOTC! While Stephanie is a seasoned vet, this will be my first year attending and I couldn’t be more excited!

For the next two weeks I have made it my duty to prepare myself for the upcoming events as best as I can, and I’m going to start by brushing up on my morning booze consumption (haven’t done this since college) in order to ensure that I can handle my cocktails first thing in the morning, and still make it to all the exciting events that go all night long!

As a coffee lover, coffee cocktails sound like the perfect way to ease into my morning cocktail conditioning, and I am definitely looking forward to attending Kahlua’s ‘Coffee Cupping Education for Bartenders’ event on  Thursday July 26 at Tales!

Hazelnut Coffee

• 1 part Hiram Walker® Hazelnut Liqueur
• ½ part Kahlua® Coffee Liqueur
• 4 parts Hot Coffee
• Splash of Cream

Combine ingredients and serve in a coffee mug.

The recipe calls for hot coffee, but if you’re like me summertime means iced coffee and I’ll be drinking this one on the rocks!

Enjoy and I hope to see you at the Kahlua event 🙂

-KJ

 

Where I’ve Been…

Photo from The Hartford Courant

So in case you were wondering as to my absence online for much of this past week, I’ll attribute a lot of it to the fact that Connecticut was hit with a major storm that knocked out power for over 800,000 CT residents – I was one of the very lucky few to be without power for seven very chilly nights. I have more photos to upload still, but Steve posted some on the other blog, if you care to give them a glance. So, without further ado, here are two drinks I did have an opportunity to enjoy while making a carefully-crafted beverage was still an option:

Give ’em Pumpkin!

A Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate - perfect for a cozy fall evening.

We take for granted the ability to heat up liquids to make warming beverages. In this case, it was boiling some milk for a chilly evening’s hot chocolate.

To my hot chocolate, I added in one part of Hiram Walker Pumpkin Spice Liqueur as per the sage advice provided by Will Gordon (you can read his insights on the Pumpkin Spice and Caramel Apple Liqueurs here). It was delightful and added a subtle, but darling taste of vanilla, pumpkin and graham cracker.

Additionally, having ice to shake a proper cocktail also fails one when power is gone for days and the freezer stops running (though I probably could have used snow on the ground the first day or so…). But for a pre-storm Halloween party, the Pumpkin Cocktail made another debut but, this time, without the use of either cream or half and half. I enjoyed making this cocktail for party guests without the creamy texture and also reveled in not providing yet another orange beverage (thank you, Kahlua) on the bar menu.

A Pumpkin Cocktail perfect for Halloween party-goers.

For my Pumpkin Cocktail, perfect for pleasing those in the crowd with sweeter palates, we just measured equal parts of Hiram Walker Pumpkin Spice, ABSOLUT Vodka and Kahlua Rum &  Coffee Liqueur. For garnish, a bit of Pumpkin Pie Spice (or cinnamon will do just fine and dandy, too) on top is all you will need.

 

Cheers!
SJ

Midnight Martini Photo Shoot

Mouth watering yet? It should be. This “Friday’s Feature Cocktail” was among the top picks in our office happy hour where I stirred up a variety of Caramel Apple cocktails. To help whet your appetite a bit more, here is the cocktail recipe for the Midnight Martini, featuring Hiram Walker Caramel Apple Liqueur:

Midnight Martini:

• 3/4 part Hiram Walker Caramel Apple Liqueur
• 3/4 part ABSOLUT Vanilia
• 3/4 part Kahlua Rum and Coffee Liqueur
• 1 part Half & Half

Shake with ice and serve in a chilled martini glass.

Also, for garnish, I dusted a bit of ground cinnamon on top.

I highly recommend taking this one for a test drive at your own home bar!

Cheers!
SJ

Embark on “The Quest” Cocktail Competition

Hiram Walker is launching a new year-long program that invites cocktail enthusiasts to get involved and submit their own original drink recipes for a chance to win an Apple iPad®. “The Quest” is Hiram Walker’s journey to find the country’s best cocktails, and the first leg in the journey launches online on September 15. Below is the press announcement, which you can read in its entirety on PRWeb.com.

HIRAM WALKER® LAUNCHES DIGITAL ACTIVATION CAMPAIGN WITH “THE QUEST” COCKTAIL CONTEST

New York, N.Y., (September 06, 2011) – Hiram Walker, the exceptional line of all-natural and premium schnapps, liqueurs, brandies and triple sec, today announces the first chapter in The Quest, a search for the country’s* greatest cocktail creations. The Quest invites the bravest cocktail voyagers and at-home entertaining enthusiasts to compete for an Apple iPad®** by submitting innovative cocktail recipes utilizing either one of Hiram Walker’s select fall-flavored liqueurs and schnapps or Kahlúa® Rum and Coffee Liqueur.

On the first leg of The Quest, “Fall Drinks”, consumers will venture to win the significant prize by creating an autumn-inspired cocktail that features at least one of the following ingredients: Hiram Walker® Caramel Apple Liqueur, Hiram Walker® Original Cinn Cinnamon Schnapps, Hiram Walker® Pumpkin Spice Liqueur, Hiram Walker® Butterscotch Schnapps or Kahlúa®. A panel of experienced judges will narrow down the entrants to a semi-finalist round where Hiram Walker’s participating Facebook®** fans will have a voice in selecting the winning cocktail recipe.

The Fall Drinks cocktail journey opens to consumers on September 15, when the newest Hiram Walker flavor, Caramel Apple Liqueur, hits retail shelves. Like all 39 Hiram Walker flavors, Caramel Apple is made with the all-natural flavors of sweet caramel and crisp red apple, serving as a versatile cocktail ingredient to a variety of drink recipes.

“We launched The Quest program to focus on developing exciting new cocktail recipes by leveraging our greatest resource – our loyal patrons in the cocktail community,” says Adam Gold, Associate Brand Manager Hiram Walker, Pernod Ricard USA®. “We’re excited to see the creative cocktails our contestants come up with for the Fall Drinks contest.”

…Think you have what it takes? Share your drink on the Hiram Walker Facebook page and enter for a chance to win an Apple iPad®. To enter the competition, visit Hiram Walker on the web at  www.HiramWalker.com or www.facebook.com/HiramWalkerUSA and upload a Fall Drinks recipe by October 31, 2011. Must be at least 21 years of age to enter. No purchase necessary. The official rules and regulations can be found on the Hiram Walker website.

*Contest is not open to residents of California
** This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook® or Apple, Inc.®.

Although the cocktail contest does not open to submissions for another week, now is the perfect time to start mixing and crafting that exceptional winning cocktail! 

Cheers!
SJ