Accidental Awesomeness

Last night I had a hankering for an Amaretto Sour. As I was getting out the sugar, the container of Tang caught my eye.

Lemon juice is sour. Tang is sour. Sugar is sweet. Tang is sweet. Why not kill two birds with one stone and use tang instead? I thought.

I mixed, added a little more sugar for good measure, then, remembering an article from Imbibe magazine about eggs in drinks being trendy, tossed in an egg white to increase the drink’s frothiness.

I shook and shook. At one point, I poured the drink, but noticed the egg had not combined completely, so I poured it back in and shook again.

When I finally poured it out, it was a lovely light orange. I had made not an Amaretto Sour, but a Creamsicle.

The result surprised me, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected. I’d known from previous fiddling that a key ingredient that gives the Orange Julius its creamy froth was an egg-based product. Of course, if you are worried about salmonella, or pregnant, or thinking of becoming pregnant, or have a compromised immune system, or think the idea of putting a raw egg white in a drink is icky, you can get pasteurized eggs or you can powdered, pasteurized egg white at the grocery store. The powdered egg white will be somewhat gritty, so fresh egg is really best.

The Creamsicle
This really needs to be shaken well
2 oz Amaretto
1 teaspoon Tang
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 egg white (or 2 teaspoons powdered egg white)
ice
cocktail shaker

Put ice in cocktail shaker. Add the rest of the ingredients. Shake vigorously for at least two minutes. Strain into a highball glass.

Election Day Libations

(Cross-posted on Manic Scribe.)

Whether you're a Republican or Democrat, a teetotaler or a lush, there's a libation for you on Election Day.

I did an informal Twitter poll, and most people are drinking hard liquor, of all things. Gin, scotch, Tequila (if "their man" loses), Goldschlager and bitters (aka "Conservative's Tears."

I'm having a small party, two political junkie friends are coming over later, but mostly I'm helping Mahalo make sure that the election returns are updated as fast and accurately as possible.

If you want to avoid the Internet traffic disaster that CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC will be, check out these fun and fast sites over at Mahalo:

Electoral Map
Exit Polls

But I digress. I wanted to offer some drinks of my own for this election cycle. Although I've tested these drinks, or versions close to them (ask me about the "flaming kitten" sometime), Imbibe at your own risk, don't drink and drive.

The Obama
1 to 2 oz peaty scotch, like LaPhroaig
1/2 oz Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
1/2 oz banana liqueur
splash of heavy cream
Combine, stir. Serve on the Barocks.

The McCain
2 oz whiskey
Juice of 1/2 lemon, fresh squeezed
1 Tablespoon of sugar
Shot of Tobasco sauce or other hot sauce (for that Maverick-y edge)
Shake, strain, serve.

The Palin
Essentially a Cosmo, but make sure you make it with Russian vodka.
2 oz Russian vodka
1 oz Cointreau, Triple Sec, or other citrus liqueur
1 lime, fresh squeezed (or 1 oz lime juice)
1 oz Cranberry juice

The Biden (called the Hrab in some circles)
Diet coke in a highball glass over ice.
Biden is a teetotaler, you see.


Other options

*Are you a Joe (or Jane) Six-pack? Celebrate being a demographic with a six pack of your favorite beer.

*Make a red-white and blue layered drink called a pousse-cafe. The trick is to use a narrow glass and pour each layer over the back of a spoon. You can use any liqueurs for this, but you'll want to experiment to make sure they have different enough densities to separate.

*Drink wine. There's a company doing "red" and "blue" wines, but any red, white, or blue wine will do.

And a few drink ideas for those who don't (or won't, or can't) drink. AAA is big on mocktails, to encourage people not to drink and drive. Check your local state AAA group, and/or the links below.

AAA Oklahoma "mocktail" contest winners

20 Mocktails from AAA Wisconsin

Red, white and blue layered drink (nonalcoholic)

One final note on non-alcoholics: Infusing herbs like mint, basil, or any herb you like is a great way to impart flavor, and a touch of bitterness, into a drink without adding the booze.

Remember, drink early, drink often!

I think that's how the saying goes...

"Sours" - The Dirty Little Secret of Mixology

My friend Jeff points out that I've given equal time to wine and beer, but liquor, or liqueur if you prefer, has been given short shrift on this blog.

This post aims to even things up a bit.

There are really only two things you need to know about hard liquor.

One: Don't have a martini bar at a Sunday party, especially if your guests are used to beer and wine.

And two: If you no nothing else of drink making, learn how to make sours.

What's a sour? It's pretty self-explanatory. It's adding some kind of sour liquid, usually lemon juice, to hard liquor. Usually some sugar is also added to balance things out. Shake with ice, strain, and serve.

Fresh lemon juice is best for a sour. (What, you were expecting me to say using bottled juice is OK here? Well, you do what you feel is best.)

Instead of sugar, which can be gritty even after you've shaken it silly, you could also use a simple syrup, a mix of sugar and water heated until the sugar just dissolves. But sugar works fine, especially if you're not straining the dregs of the drink into the glass.

My advice for ratios is to make a couple sours, and find what ratio you like best. A good start is a half a lemon, and 1-2 tablespoons of sugar for each ounce of liquor.

Just make sure you taste the drink, and adjust if needed.

If you really must have a recipe, here's one that's good for an individual serving, and here's one from Ina Garten that's enough for a crowd.

Have fun, kids!