Advent Calendar - Another Bloody Mary

"He met another Mary for a reasonable fee, less than
Reputable as known to be..."

Another bloody mary!

I like them. A lot.

This one was vodka that I had infused. In a quart ball jar I placed 1 cucumber and filled to the top with Tito's vodka. After about 3 days I removed the cucumber and left the vodka in the freezer for use. Mixed 2 oz of that same vodka, about 4 oz Zing Zang and was blessed with the drink you see here.

Advent Calendar - Warsaw Cocktail

Returning to the Mr. Boston's book I came upon a Warsaw Cocktail.  This lovely little beverage sounded just right for a winter's night and for testing out the new dining room table.  

The Warsaw Cocktail requires 1 1/2 oz. Titos Vodka, 1/2 oz Polish Style Blackberry Brandy, 1/2 Oz dry vermouth, and 1 squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  The liquids are shaken and poured, and for fun I threw a frozen blackberry into the glass.  Nostrovia!

Advent Calendar - Wassailtini

Still working on that bottle of Trader Joe's Wassail, I decided to make something like a cosmo, but with wassail!

Mixing 6 oz Tito's Vodka, 2 oz Gran Gala Orange Liquor, and 4 oz wassail into a shaker with ice.  I still have those lovely plastic ornaments so I figured, why not!?  We'll pour these into the chilled martini glasses in just a moment!

Advent Calendar - A very Merry Mary!

The bloody mary... the best damn drink in the world (after beer and coffee).  In our house there is an enthusiasm for the bloody mary.  This summer we hosted a housewarming type party with a full, and impressive bloody mary bar, including an absurd selection of mixes, vodkas that I infused with basil, cucumber, peppers, and lemongrass, and about 15 jars of homemade lacto-fermented vegetables, in addition to vegetables, meats, hot sauces, and cheese that were purchased.  It was absurd, and a good time was had by all.

 

Today's bloody mary was a little more specific.  Since it is Advent, I wanted to stick to traditional Christmassy colors.  So, I started by frying 2 pieces (cut in half) of Appleton Farms Hickory Bacon (from Aldi - great value!).  Then I put two cubes each of white cheddar and havarti on these fancy tree skewers, and filled a wooden skewer with grape tomatoes, green olives, and a basil leaf.  Now the drink!  In a ball jar I added about 6 oz Savor and Salt Mexican Bloody Mary Mix (we're usually ZingZang fans, but we try different brands and make our own from time to time), 2 oz Tito's Vodka, and topped off with ice.  The bacon and skewers were added to the jar, and a Miller High Life and Coffee served on the side.  After the photos were taken Joel comes into the room with a plate full of pickled asparagus, green bean, and green tomatoes, a Claussen Hot & Spicy Kosher Dill, and some additional hot salami.  A perfect winter morning breakfast for a day dedicated to chores!

Advent Calendar - Ornamentini

This recipe came from the internets, and I followed it pretty close, but reduced the amount because there are just two of us.  I found these ornaments at the Dollar Tree, and they are HUGE and have a huge mouth.

Here's the deal: 4 oz Tito's Vodka, 2 Oz Gran Gala Orange Liquor, 2 oz juice from Tilden Farm's Merry Maraschino Cherries (the recipe called for cherry juice but I didn't have any so I improvised), 1 oz each orange and cranberry juice.  Shake the heck out of it over ice and pour into ornaments for serving.  We actually poured them into the martini glasses to drink and added a couple of last night's candied cranberries and a piece of candied rosemary for pretty.

I filtered the photo to look a little "Mad Men".  Not as sweet as you might expect, like a christmasy cosmo.  Enjoyed while listening to a friend's rather jazzy Spotify playlist for Hanukkah.