Figured I’d kick-off with this one. It’s an easy drink to mix and you can make up a batch ahead of time if you’re having guests over. This was the first purely Christmastime cocktail I ever tried, and I still love it during the holidays. The peppermint flavor makes it a strictly seasonal drink but one most will really enjoy.

Here we go –

• 3 oz Gin or Vodka (I prefer gin)
• ½ oz Dry Vermouth
• 2 capfuls Peppermint Schnapps

Shake with ice ‘til North Pole cold, strain into one of those Christmas Martini glasses you picked up on sale last year and garnish with a peppermint stick or candy cane.

Here’s a drink my Dad used to whip up during our Family’s two weeks at the beach back in the early 70’s. I have great memories of my Dad wearing his Robert Culp shades mixing up this drink for his pals while the wives had us kids down on the beach. Apparently, the Harvey Wallbanger was named and or created for/by a California Surfer in the early 1960’s. Old Harvey had a habit of wiping out while surfing and would head on off to a local bar to nurse his aches and pains. He’d end the day drinking vodka and Galliano liquor with a little orange juice to tie it all together. He’d end the night by banging into walls on his way out of the bar. This is a wonderful Spring/Summer cocktail; a great cap on a day out on the golf course or before a barbeque. The drink calls for Galliano Italian Liquor. Easy to find, this yellow liquor tastes like a combination vanilla and licorice with a nice sent of flowers. Not too expensive and nice to have at your bar.

Here we go –

Pour the vodka and o.j. into a medium tall glass filled with cracked ice. Stir. Float the Galliano on top of the drink by slowly pouring over the bottom of a bar spoon. Garnish with an orange slice and a straw.

Here’s a hi-ball with a bit of history. Seems back in 1961, an American company acquired the rights to distribute Smirnoff Vodka. Before this time, vodka was considered a pretty rare and unpopular liquor. No one in the U.S. knew what to do with it. Gin was king. The American company meant to give gin a run for its money with their Smirnoff. John Martin, an employee of the company, was sitting in a bar one day contemplating how to market this vodka. He overheard the bar owner complaining that he had way too much ginger beer just delivered. John and the owner talked. The two ended up mixing ginger beer and vodka together and added a dash of lime juice to provide a bit more character. Bingo! The Moscow Mule was invented. The word “Moscow” was used in the name as a tip of the hat to the land of Vodka. The drink was originally served in copper mugs for an extra exotic touch. James Bond came along the following year and provided yet another use for the Russian potato juice.

This drink has a surprising punch of character. Very easy to drink.

Here we go –

Pour vodka and lime juice into a hi-ball glass. Add cracked ice. Pour ginger beer to fill. Garnish with a wedge of lime on glass. Add a stirrer.

The Bloody Mary is the Mr. Booze go-to drink when he’s enjoyed himself a little too much the night before yet has to be social the following day. I enjoy this cocktail because you never really feel like you’re drinking when you have one. They’re more like having a healthy, glass of soup. “Naaa, I didn’t drink two days in a row. I woke up hung over and had a couple glasses of soup at a bar the next morning.” I realize that there are as many personal recipes for this classic as there are fish in the sea. Here’s the Mr. Booze one, and she drinks very nice.

Here we go –

• 2 ounces vodka
• 4 ounces tomato juice
• ½ ounce lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ketchup
• 2 dashes Worcestershire
• dash of celery salt
• 4 dashes Tabasco

Shake with ice. Pour it all into a tall glass and sink a big celery stalk into it.
Have another and sweat the previous evening out…or enjoy with brunch.

Mr. Booze simply has to adopt the more popular nickname for his Bloody Mary. He’d be much more popular with his pals if he suggested heading over for brunch and a spicy “Bloody” than he is by belching out that he’s a little hung-over and is in serious need of some chow and a giant B.M.

Pretty much everything is going Green these days. Good for the planet – yes, but also great for marketing. So get ready for green alcohol, and we don’t mean absinthe (well, not yet). Vodka360.com is selling ‘green’ vodka. Touting everything from packaging to production as being eco-friendly. Here’s a run down.

• Uses locally grown grain
• State of the art distilling equipment that uses 200% less energy than ‘pot distilling’
• EPA approved water treatment plant
• Reduced sulfur dioxide and VOC emissions
• 85% recycled glass
• 100% recycled eco-friendly paper for labeling
• Water based inks

Who doesn’t love James Bond. The character’s creator Ian Fleming came up with a damn good version of the Martini in his first Bond Novel, Casino Royal. One of the latest film versions of the story even used this drink as a small character development plot device.

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After the Apple Ginger Sangaree cocktail, here’s another excellent use for that bottle of Stones Ginger Wine I had you go out and buy. The Ginger flavor makes this an excellent fall or summer sipper. This is one of those “oh, I want one” cocktails. You’ll be mixing a few more as soon as you’ve let your friends take a sip. This is a fun drink.

Here we go –

• 3 oz Vodka
• 1 oz Stones Ginger Wine (you’ll have to look for this bottle)
• Club Soda

Put some ice in an old-fashioned glass, pour vodka and ginger wine and stir gently, add club soda to fill. Garnish with a sprinkle of ground ginger.

I’m ready to move on with this drink. I think she’s slightly out of favor nowadays with the ladies, and not such a calling card for the girl’s night at the bar she was five years back. I had one the other night on a whim, and discovered that when made with fresh limejuice and served damn cold, this modern drink can certainly hold her own at my bar. Maybe it’s time we let the Cosmo’s 90’s reputation slide on in to obscurity and welcome a chilled one, on occasion, back into the land of interesting cocktails. Time will tell but…she has my vote.

Here we go –
(This is a 6oz pour, so use your big martini or cocktail glasses)

• 2 oz Vodka
• 1 oz Triple Sec or Cointreau
• 2 oz cranberry juice
• 1 oz lime juice (fresh, cold and pulpy)

Shake ingredients in a shaker with plenty of cracked ice, strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime slice or wheel.