Tag: fridaynightcocktail

Friday Night Cocktail: the Lower-Alcohol Dirty Martini

I have not published a Friday Night cocktail post in some time. Possibly because I have been drinking much fewer cocktails than I did a few years ago, especially during the pandemic. While I have enjoyed many different cocktails in that time, my preference tends to be a martini, which I have often posted about here.

Ley me add one more post of a recipe for a particular form of martini because it captures the zeitgeist: it has a low A.B.V. and it is not just A martini but A DIRTY martini. If you are like many others, those two things will appeal to you. To be honest, I am curious about this myself!  Now I still wouldn’t start making them on a school night, but YMMV.

Whenever you have one, I hope you enjoy it. Cheers!

Is there any cocktail abused more than the martini?

It must be the glass, because no cocktail is abused more than the martini. If you make up a cocktail and put it in an old fashioned/whisky glass or even a Nick and Nora glass, it will only get so much attention. But that changes when you put it in a martini glass. Suddenly you have the drink du jour.

I thought of that when I read this in the New York Times: How Much Dirtier Can the Dirty Martini Get? I am not a fan of a dirty martini or really any drink with “-tini” added to the end of it. Ugh. I’ve had enough dirty martinis to know that they are a terrible drink. I honestly am happy to let people drink whatever concoction a bartender can make, but I draw the line at those.

As for me, I’d recommend a straightforward wet martini. Other slight variations of that are fine, including the 50/50 martini  and even a freezer martini. But dirty martinis? No thanks.

Friday Night Cocktail: the Wet Martini

Too much is made of martinis being dry. Meh. A martini is a cocktail: if you just want to drink gin or vodka straight up, do that instead.

I especially like this Wet Martini Recipe from Pete Wells because it leans into not one but two different vermouths as well as some other ingredients to make a true cocktail. Martini lovers especially should give this a try.

Friday night cocktail: sbagliato madness

I am not sure what caused this, but for whatever reason bartenders have decided to go nuts on one of the best drinks of all time: the negroni. I am fine with a boulevardier if you must mess about somewhat. But now we have Saveur and others with the negroni sbagliato (broken negroni). Not content with that, we now have negroni sbagliato sangria! I mean, no.

Joking aside, a sbagliato is a fine drink (I can’t speak for the sangria version). But I suspect both cocktails are better suited for warmer weather.

You know what else is good in all kinds of weather? That’s right: a negroni. 🙂

 

Friday Night Cocktail: a fancy martini (or three)

Here on the old blog, we like a good martini. Indeed, we have written often about that drink, as you can see. Many of those have been either classic or – dare I say – basic. Which is fine. Basic and classic are good. Fancy and new are also good. If you have a preference or are in the mood for that, I have three appealing martini offerings for you:

Whatever you prefer, fancy or basic, classic or new, I raise my glass to you. Cheers!

(P.S. Thanks to the good folks at Food and Wine for these recipes. If you want even more martinis, check out this article by them. The three you see are on a list of many more.)

Friday night cocktail: the QEII

Ok, technically it’s not called the QEII. But what you see is Queen Elizabeth’s favorite drink: a Dubonnet and Gin. It’s a rather straightforward concoction, but still, if you want the recipe, head over to Food and Wine and they will not only tell you how to make it, but they’ll fill you in on the details.

Here’s to her Majesty, gone but not forgotten.

Friday Night Cocktail: the freezer martini

On my Instagram feed I am seeing lots of reels on how to make fridge cocktails. Essentially you have a bottle of liquor in your fridge but instead of it being simply vodka or gin, it is a full on cocktail, premixed and ready to drink. Why not?

In the same vein, I propose you consider making the freezer martini. Like the fridge cocktail, the freezer martini sits in your…well, you know. So when you need a martini this weekend, just pull this out and pour a splash in your martini glass. All you need to add is some olives or a lemon twist and you are set.

For more on this and how to best make them, see Imbibe Magazine or Eater. It’s slightly different than you typical martini.

Speaking of olives, you can freeze them too! I mean who wants a warm martini? No one of good taste.

For an alternative way to keep your martinis cold, see this nice hack: How to Make a Pitcher of Martinis That Stays Cold at the Thrillist.

Cheers!

(Image link: to Imbibe magazine)

Friday Night Cocktail: forget (Dirty) Shirley, go with Tom (Collins)

Sure sure, the Dirty Shirley is the cocktail du jour, and everyone seems to have dumped their espresso martinis and gone on to chug these instead. My attitude is the same as The Washington Post…so here’s their recipe for a Dirty Shirley cocktail — if you just have to try one.

That out of the way, let’s go with a classic. As the Manual says,

For a drink that has its own glass, you’d think the Tom Collins would be even more popular. It’s a classic, without a shadow of a doubt, but many imbibers don’t exactly know how to whip one up, let alone perfect it.

Sounds just right. If you agree, head on over to the Manual for their guide on How to Make the Finest Tom Collins Cocktail. You’ll be glad you did.

(Image via The Manual)

Friday Night Cocktail: the Paloma

Why the paloma? Well, as Food52 explains, it’s a great drink to welcome the weekend with, especially their version, which is a

… fresh ‘n’ fruity riff on the classic Paloma: fragrant basil syrup, watermelon and lime juice, and Patrón Reposado (it’s sponsored  -b :)). Finish the cocktail with a pour of grapefruit soda, and don’t forget the fresh basil garnish (an optional, but delightful detail).

Sound good? If you want the traditional version, here’s Bon Appétit’s take on that: Paloma.

Last but never least, Liquor.com has lots of versions of the drink, as you can see by that link.

(Image: liquor.com)

Friday night cocktail: a formula to make your own

Tonight you can be your own mixologist by heading over to the Food & Wine web site and reading this article: How to Make Classic Cocktails Without Looking Up a Recipe. Think about what you want: bitter, boozy, bubbly, tart,  or fizzy. Then use their ratios to make something new! If it’s good, name it after yourself and make one for your friends.

Worse case, you toss it out and head over to Liquor.com and make something they recommend (they have everything).

Cheers!

P.S. Hat tip to Dana McCauley who tweeted this.

Friday night cocktail: the negroni. A classic

I’ve become enamored with negronis these days! The 5 pound negronis at Brutto sealed the deal. The crimson cocktail has pushed aside a martini as my go to cocktail (though I still love a good martini, and a sazerac, and a G&T on hot days, and French 75s let’s not forget them).

The recipe for a negroni couldn’t be simpler:

  • 1 ounce gin
  • 1 ounce Campari
  • 1 ounce sweet vermouth
  • Garnish: orange peel

For me, the garnish really makes a difference. That hint of orange. As does having it ice cold on the rocks. Delicious.

Over at uncrate they have more to say on it, based on this book:

It’s an easy drink to start a love affair with. Thanks to Brutto and the Art Counsel for that!

(Top image is mine: I took it at Brutto. Second image from a link to uncreate. Recipe from liquor.com)

Friday night cocktail: the white negroni (with thoughts on Brutto’s £5 negronis)

I’ve been enjoying negronis lately. If you have a chance to dine at Brutto’s in London like I did this month, you can even enjoy one of their £5 negronis at the start of your meal.

A classic negroni is a fine drink. If you want something unique, why not make this version? Like the classic, this one is also simple but delicious. See uncrate for the recipe.

P.S. New restaurants, if you want to get people into your place, be like Brutto and offer a small and low cost cocktail as a starter. You’ll get people talking about your place. “Did you hear X has a cheap Y cocktail?!” And you’ll get people who may never order a cocktail getting one because it is small. And small cocktails are good because people finish them fast and don’t feel rushed when the food comes out. Win win.

Friday night (festive) cocktails: the negroni*


You might exclaim: Bernie, a negroni is not a festive cocktail! True, by itself it’s a classic cocktail, good year round. But if you riff on it, like Food52 has done here,
Winter Negroni Recipes for the Holidays, then it becomes a drink to have at this time of year. A perfect sip while wrapping presents or watching holiday specials.

For more on their apple negroni and mulled wine negroni, click on that link.

 

Friday night cocktail: tonight’s is actually a mocktail.


While cocktails are great, it is good to see the rise of mocktails too. Once they were rarities at a bar; now more and more places are serving them up. If you feel like you want to make some yourself this Friday evening, here’s 25 Booze-Free Mocktail Recipes That Aren’t Just Juice from Bon Appetit. That list has a range of drinks, from lemonades and others that are perfect in the summer, to the PG-13 Singapore Sling shown above.

It’s Friday. Time to relax. Make yourself a drink. The booze is optional. Cheers!

Friday night cocktails: G&T++

Sure, I have written about gin and tonic before. It’s a simple cocktail, you say…what else can you write about it? Well, bear with me and check out this article: 4 Ways To Make A Perfect Gin And Tonic in Chatelaine

You may have a great way to make gin and tonics and that’s great. But if you want to shake things up a bit (pun intended), check out that article. You’ll be glad you did.

Cincin!

(Image: a link to picture in the article above)

Friday night cocktail: a Lambrusco Spritz

Lambrusco Spritz

While we on this blog love a good glass of cremant anytime, in the summertime we want easy drinking cocktail and mixes like spritzes. Italian liquors are great for these. While you may be happy to chug back of sip Aperol spritzes all weekend, we’d like to recommend something different: the Lambrusco Spritz. There is much to recommend for the Lambrusco Spritz. For one, you can drink Lambrusco as a spritz or straight up. Two, it goes great with snacky food. As the Times shows:

 Lambrusco pairs seamlessly with the rich foods of Emilia-Romagna, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano, cured meats and gnocco fritto, meaning that a daytime bottle can easily linger past sunset. “A lot of wines that you might apéro with, you might not want with food,” Ms. Davis said. “The great thing about Lambrusco is that you can drink it all day, and then you can drink it all night.”

Perfect, right? So grab yourself a few bottles and go Day Drinking, Italian Style.

(Image: link to NYTimes article)

Friday Night Cocktail: the shrub

What can be a more perfect drink in the hot days and nights of summer than a shrub? A gin and tonic? Yes, that is very good. And like a G&T, you can take that frosty cold glass and put it against your skin and cool yourself off. But a shrub also takes advantage of all that great fresh fruit showing up at your grocer. What can be better than that?

So grab any berry that catches your fancy and go here and make tonight’s cocktail and cool off: Any-Berry Shrub Recipe | Bon Appétit

Friday night cocktail: an Old Fashioned

I am a huge fan of the Sazerac cocktail, but I really find it best if you use absinthe (something that is not easy to find). So I was intrigued when Esquire said an Old Fashioned has the bones of a Sazerac. And I looked and it does. So I’ll be making some of these soon and hoping it is as satisfying as its New Orleans’ cousin.

Sure, it is never fashionable. But it never goes out of style, either.

Here’s Esquire with their Best Old Fashioned Recipe.

Friday night cocktails: the marg’

Ok, a marg(arita) may be more of a Saturday afternoon cocktail on a hot summer day, but here on my blog we only write about cocktails on Friday night. Regardless, as the days heat up, you need a cool drink to help you stay chill and relaxed and the margarita fits that description to a tee. If you’ve never made one before, or if you want to try new versions, Bon Appetit has the advice you need.

Friday night cocktail: a spritz

Amaro spritz
Technically this post is about an Amaro Spritz from aCoupleofCooks.com but really any combination of sparkling wine, club soda / soda water (but not tonic water) and a bitter can make a spritz. So amaro, Aperol, Campari, Lillet…even St Germain is good.

The ratio mentioned in aCoupleofCooks is this: 3 parts sparkling wine, 2 parts liqueur, 1 part soda water. And that’s good. But if you want it lighter, just increase the amount of soda water. If you want it less bitter, you might even consider a 1:1:1 ratio vs 3:2:1. But try 3:2:1 first. Enjoy!

Friday night cocktails: Armagnac, straight up

Sure, you could put it in a cocktail (e.g. sazarac), but armagnac straight up or over ice is more than fine without anything else. I’ve been a fan for decades, and if you want to know why you should become one too, read this. Then go out and grab a bottle. I’ve had the one pictured and it is really good.

Friday night cocktails: the champagne cocktail


The champagne cocktail is a minimal cocktail. It’s perfect if you want a cocktail and aren’t good at making them or you are too beat to make anything involved. Honestly you can make it in a flash. To see what, I mean, here’s a recipe for one: Champagne Cocktail Recipe | Bon Appétit

If you need convincing on the merits of them,  read this: The Champagne Cocktail Is the Rented Tux of Mixed Drinks | Bon Appétit.

More on them, here.

I mean look at it: it looks delicious. Go make one.

P.S. If you do want a bit more involved cocktail that has sparkling wine as an ingredient, I recommend the French 75.

(Image via liquor.com)