November 1st marks the beginning of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), one of Mexico's most celebrated holidays. Many people will celebrate by creating some of their favorite recipes as an offering to honor their lost loved ones. And Tequila Herradura is featuring Charro Negro, named for the traditional cowboy of Mexico who sometimes dresses in black when mourning a loved one, as its drink of the month in recognition of the holiday.

Halloween may be over, but you can make this a Muertos weekend..



Herradura Charro Negro
2 oz Tequila Herradura Anejo
4 oz Cola
Squeeze of lime juice

In a tall glass with ice mix the Herradura Anejo and cola. Squeeze with lime.

Dinner was fantastic. Great food. Incredible wine. And now she wants to go back to your place for coffee. Judging from what she selected from the menu tonight, you know she's not the type to settle for just a plain cup of java. In fact, she wants you to whip up an Espresso Con Panna.

When that happens, just click here to get a list of all the Starbucks drinks and how to make each of them. Everything from a simple Latte (espresso, steamed milk and a little foam), to discontinued drinks like a Chantico (a very concentrated hot chocolate that has been compared to drinking brownie batter). The Espresso Con Panna? Espresso in a big squirt of whipped cream. Not a bad way to finish off a night. And she'll appreciate it.

Starbucks drink recipes

Grey Goose Vodka Mixologist, Nick Mautone, author of “Raising the Bar,” has created a new treat from an old trick.

His drink, The Pumpkin Divine, uses the new pear flavored Grey Goose vodka and generous helping of pumpkin butter. (When's the last time you used pumpkin butter in a drink?)

Not only perfect for putting some spook in your Halloween spirit, its fall flavors work all season long for whatever parties you're having.




Pumpkin Divine
1 part GREY GOOSE® La Poire
1 part pumpkin butter
1/2 part triple sec
1/2 part simple syrup
Pinch of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and ginger
Grated nutmeg and apple chip for garnish

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is frosted and beaded with sweat. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with nutmeg and apple chip.

Last week's Halloween drinks were somewhat traditional, albeit with a Halloween flavor. This week I have some that bring a little more fun to the party.

Van Gogh Vodkas, have taken some of their 19 flavors and stirred up a witch's brew of drinks with creative garnishes, guaranteed to grab some eyeballs and add to the atmosphere at your monster mash this (or next), weekend. For more recipes, you can access their database of over 2000 cocktails by clicking here.


Eyeball Martini
3 oz Van Gogh Vodka or Van Gogh Gin
Hint of dry vermouth
Olive stuffed radish

Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for five seconds and strain into martini glass. Garnish with an olive stuffed radish that has been scored to create the "veins" of an eyeball. (See pic)


Spider Cider
2 oz Van Gogh Wild Appel Vodka
2 oz Sour apple schnapps
Cranberry juice
Apple juice
Gummy spiders

Freeze gummy spiders in ice cubes ahead of time. ...More

Last March I posted on the WhiskyFest held in Chicago. If you missed it, you can catch the first annual WhiskyFest San Francisco. Hurry, though. It ends today. (I know. I should have posted sooner.) But next week you'll be able to see and drink rare whiskies at WhiskyFest New York, which starts on Oct 30.

Held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, there will be over 250 "of the world's finest, rarest and most expensive whiskies will be available for sampling", which is good enough reason for me to attend.

General Admission is $115 and the VIP tickets run $155, which gets you inside an hour earlier, before all the best samples run out.

www.maltadvocate.com for more info.

[UPDATE: The Malt Advocate website is showing "Sold Out" for NY. Check with them directly to see if they are releasing any more tickets.]

Looks like the days of doing jello shots from small paper cups could be going the way of rotary phones and palm pilots. The newest things hitting the club and bar scene are edible cocktails - gelled "drinks" made into miniature works of art you eat like hors d'oeuvres. Buzz inducing hors d'oeuvres.

According to a recent LA Times article, the inspiration for these jiggly, solid cocktails came from the Bar du Plaza Athénée on Avenue Montaigne in Paris, where "slices of layered jelly shots are served on clear glass plates along with long wooden skewers" used to eat them. Chefs and bartenders took notice, and are busy inventing new and creative ways to serve classic drinks. And the possibilities are endless.

If you've ever been on a college campus you remember making jello shots by adding gelatin to vodka (or grain alcohol for those of you who really wanted to get the party rolling), pouring the mix into a cup or mold, and setting in the fridge overnight. But really creative mixologists are going a step further. In the LA Times piece they mention a jellied gin and tonic served at Tailor in NYC by bartender Eben Freeman. He serves it with frozen lime chips, sprinkled with "'tonic' powder, a concoction of baking soda, citric acid and powdered sugar, for a fizzy-on-the-tongue effect." A kind of mad scientist of the drink world, he's also working on marshmallow and cereal based cocktails. Other bartenders are experimenting with layered drinks and suspending marinated fruit in the mixture. (There are some recipes in the sidebar here.) ...More

Halloween is not just about kids and bags filled with candy. For me it's about girls in hot costumes and punch bowls filled with adult beverages.

Here are the first of several Halloween-themed cocktails, perfect for this year's party, or quiet night at home with the witch of your choice.

These three come courtesy of www.thebar.com and you can find more fright night recipes on their site.


GHOST [Pic, on left]
1 1/4 oz Smirnoff Vanilla Vodka
1/4 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
1/4 oz half-and-half
1/4 oz simple syrup
1/4 oz shavings of white chocolate

Fill shaker with ice. Add Smirnoff Vanilla Vodka, Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, half-and-half, and simple syrup. Shake. Strain into chilled martini glass rimmed with white chocolate. Garnish with white chocolate shavings.


SCREAM SODA [Pic, in middle]
1 1/4 oz Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
5 oz lemon-lime soda
1 slice lemon
1 slice lime

Add Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum and lemon-lime soda in tall ice-filled glass. Garnish with lemon and lime slices.


ROYAL CIDER GROG [Pic, on right]
Makes 8 servings
1 1/2 cups Crown Royal
8 cups apple cider
8 cinnamon sticks

Add Crown Royal and apple cider in large pot and heat until warm. Pour into 8 heat-proof mugs and garnish each mug with cinnamon stick.

There was a time, back in the day, when bitters were the most used spirit on the bar. Today? Not so much. Many don't drink it because they assume the taste will be overly bitter (not so), or else they have no idea what bitters really are. The quick answer to that is they are a spirit distilled from herbs and plants, once used to aid digestion. Hence, they were most often added to after-dinner drinks. With an alcohol content of up to 45% it's strong stuff, and is great for punching up the flavor of cocktails.

If the idea of adding "bitters" to your drink still turns you (or your date) off, you may want to try an amaro, an Italian liquor similar to bitters, but a little sweeter. Averna, the original Sicilian spirit, has been Italy's premier amaro since 1868, and the same family still distills it from a blend of flowers, herbs, dried fruits, spices and licorice that are soaked in alcohol with a small amount of caramel. A far cry from being "bitter", it's an ingredient many bartenders are starting to build cocktails around. Or even serve by itself, up or on the rocks.

To give you an idea of the versatility of bitters and amaro, and the flavor punch it packs, (and to give her something she's never had before), here are some recipes from Averna to try this weekend.

www.averna.it


Vertigo
1/2 oz lemon juice
Ginger ale
2 oz Averna
Lime wedge for garnish

Stir lemon juice and ginger ale over ice in a highball glass.
Float Averna and garnish with a lime wedge.

...More

Nothing sucks more than reaching into a freezing cold, ice and water-filled cooler at a party to dig around for beer. The Arctic Net Cooler Scoop lessens your risk of drink-digging-induced frostbite by letting you dive in, fish around for as long as you like, and scoop the perfect bottle or can without you getting cold and wet. There's even a bottle opener.

$14.99
www.after5catalog.com

[VIA Coolest-Gadgets]

Now there's a medical excuse for going out drinking with the boys: "No baby, we're not going out to get drunk and party. I'm just making sure I don't die of toxic poisoning."

Doctors in Australia used an IV drip of vodka to save the life of a 24 year-old Italian tourist, when they ran out of the medicinal alcohol they usually use for treatment.

The man had ingested a large quantity of ethylene glycol, which is commonly found in antifreeze and can cause renal failure. (Not to mention a wicked hangover.) Doctors ran through all of the pharmaceutical-grade alcohol they had on hand and decided the next best way to get alcohol into his system was to feed him spirits through a naso gastric tube. (Does this mean we'll be seeing naso gastric tube bars opening all over LA?)

The patient was given the equivalent of three standard drinks an hour for three days while in intensive care. (No word on whether he was fed olives during treatment.) While doctors believe he drank the antifreeze in an attempt to harm himself (Really Doc Obvious? You don't think he was just trying to keep from freezing?), the patient made a full recovery.

If you're not familiar with IZZE, it's an all natural combination of fruit juice and sparkling water with no added sugars and no caffeine or anything artificial. Which makes it perfect for refreshment, and even better for mixing into cocktails. Why? Because the purer your ingredients, the better your drink. And if you don't have fresh grapefruits, clementines or pomegranates to squeeze (which you may not always have on hand), it's the next best thing. Plus IZZE has a much longer shelf life than fresh fruits. You can store a bunch for the next time a party breaks out.

Here are three recipes from restaurants around the country who have come up with cocktails that take advantage of IZZE's natural flavor and sparkle. Mix one at your next party or dinner for two...

Get B’IZZE
Courtesy of Rhumba Cafe Caribbean - Boulder, CO

1 (12 oz) bottle IZZE® Sparkling Grapefruit
1.5 oz Silver Rum
Pineapple juice

Combine the IZZE Sparkling Grapefruit and silver rum with a splash of pineapple juice. Stir and serve in a tall glass with ice. ...More

Not sure exactly what that means, but our friends over at InventorSpot.com have come up with their list of beers that "push the limits of conventional brewing in a number of ways."

Their list includes a Japanese milk beer (30% milk, 70% beer - sounds, um, interesting), pizza beer brewed with tomatoes, onions, garlic, oregano, and basil (you go ahead, I'll pass), and a beer that is nearly one-quarter alcohol (now we're talking).

According to InventorSpot.com, "these ales definitely have some gusto that the rest of the beer world lacks."

You can read their entire list here.