What’s better than a Friday? A Friday that leads into  a long weekend! Fourth of July weekend is easily the hottest of the summer with all of the fireworks and BBQs. But how can you beat the heat and keep things cooking at the same time?

TGIF cocktails has two new flavors of pre-mixed drinks, Peach Tea and Hawaiian Volcano that will be a hit at any gathering this weekend. But what do you pair with these blended treats? We have some suggestions.

Hawaiian Burgers

Ingredients

1 pound hamburger
1 can (8 oz size) pineapple slices
3/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 red onion; sliced
1 tablespoon margarine
4 lettuce leaves
4 buns (onion or sesame are best)
4 slices swiss cheese
4 slices cooked bacon

Directions:

They say this summer will be a scorcher so why not make the most of the season and throw a few get-togethers at your home, chock full o’ libations!

If you are looking for something quick and easy and want to add new drinks to your repertoire of beer and liquor, grab a few bottles of TGIF’s Pre Mixed Cocktails. They have a bunch of flavors like Pina Colada, Margarita and our personal favorite, Long Island Ice Tea!

But what’s your favorite summertime drink? Is the Pina Colada the hands down champ or is the Mud Slide the king of chill?

For those of you  serving cocktails at your July 4th BBQs here are two new recipes featuring 1800 100 Proof Tequila:

1800® It’s Official Margarita
2 oz 1800® Select Silver Tequila
1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
1 oz Cointreau
.5 oz simple syrup
Pour all ingredients into an ice filled glass. Shake vigorously and pour into a pint glass. Float 1800® Anejo on top. Garnish with a lime.
1800® Bitter Biatch
1.5 oz 1800® Select Silver Tequila
1 oz Orange Juice
.5 oz Angostura Bitters
Pour all ingredients over ice into an ice filled Collins glass. Stir and serve.
And don’t forget about the simple and to the point shots:

Straight shot of 100 proof (the world’s first and only 100 Proof Silver tequila)

180 Shot (1 shot of 80 proof Silver + 1 shot of 100 Proof Select Silver)

When you need something a little stronger in your drink you can’t miss with the world’s first and only 100 Proof Silver Tequila, 1800 100 Proof. But if straight with no chaser leaves you leaning a little past six, mix it up with these great drink recipes.
180 Shot

1 shot of 80 proof Silver + 1 shot of 100 Proof Select Silver

1800® Game Changer
1 oz 1800® Select Silver Tequila
2 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
2 dashes grenadine
Chile piquin to taste (1/4 tablespoon to start)
Pour all ingredients into an ice filled glass. Shake vigorously and pour into a pint glass. Garnish with a lemon

1800® Bad Ass Fizz
3 oz 1800® Select Silver Tequila
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz agave nectar
1 egg white
1 lime
Pour tequila, lemon juice, agave nectar, egg white and juice of one lime into a shaker glass and mix. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a slice of lime

When you need something a little stronger in your drink you can’t miss with the world’s first and only 100 Proof Silver Tequila, 1800 100 Proof. But if straight with no chaser leaves you leaning a little past six, mix it up with these great drink recipes.
180 Shot

1 shot of 80 proof Silver + 1 shot of 100 Proof Select Silver

1800® Gran Master Cash
1 oz. 1800® Select Silver Tequila
2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Gran Marnier
Top with tonic
Build in a tall Collins glass, float Grand Marnier on top. Garnish with a lemon.

1800® Momma Said Knock You Out
2 oz 1800 ® Select Silver Tequila
4 oz Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
2 Dashes Grenadine
Pour tequila and orange juice in a an ice filled highball glass. Tilt glass and pourgrenadine down the side. Garnish with an orange.

Cinco de Mayo’s not over yet – in fact, it’s almost time for happy hour! So if some of your guests aren’t into cucumber, second time will definitely be a charm with this drink by Corzo Tequila!

Mexican Mixologist Junior Merino has put a new spin on the classic margarita with the Corzo La Futura, and he’s shared the recipe with us for you to try at home! Check it out below.

CORZO LA FUTURA

1 ½ Parts CORZO Silver

¾ Part Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur

¾ Part Pineapple Juice

1 Part Fresh Lime Juice

½ Part Agave Nectar

• Pour all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake and pour into a margarita glass or rocks glass.
• Garnish with a slice of crystallized ginger and lemon peel.
• Drink with a side of cuban-style guacamole with pineapple, chile lime popcorn, or a bag of margarita-flavored chips!

I’ve had just about every version of Hennessy ever made, so I was really excited when they launched a new brand of cognac called Hennessy Black. It comes in a sleek, black lacquered bottle with silver detail, and even if it tasted gross, you’d want to order a bottle in a club. Except it doesn’t, so, hooray!

Check out the recipe for Henny Black’s “Royale” cocktail, and make one for you and your friends.

HENNESSY BLACK ROYALE

1 part Hennessy Black

4 parts demi-sec champagne

1 brown sugar cube or 1/4 part simple syrup

lemon zest

• pour ingredients and serve over ice (yes, it’s THAT easy)

In the mood for a summer drink? Try the Absolut Pearfection!

But it’s still spring, so try THIS!

Listen, man – sometimes you just don’t realize it’s April 15 until it’s April 13, and you have two days to do your taxes, but what the hell is a 1044? After ruminating and stressing for a few hours, then finally taking the plastic wrap off of that Turbo Tax set you bought, you either call an accountant or do what many do when it’s tax crunch time: file for extension.

With all that stress, you could use a drink! So celebrate your extension (or your returns!) by treating yourself to a bottle of Grey Goose and an Eau de Extension! Check out the recipe below.

GREY GOOSE EAU DE EXTENSION

1 part GREY GOOSE® La Poire Flavored Vodka

2 lemon wedges

1 part Green Chartreuse Liqueur

1 part simple syrup

1 part pear nectar

• In a cocktail shaker, combine all ingredients.
• Add cubed ice and shake vigorously.
• Double strain and serve in a rocks glass.
• Sip now, file later.

Not exactly sure what a “part” is? Watch our instructional video!

Want a drink with a little more bite? Try this drink!

NYC’s Philippe Chow is one of my fave restaurants. Not only is the food spectacular but, unlike some restaurants, the bartenders don’t skimp on the drinks. So we headed over there last week to find out how they make the green goodness that is the “Pear-fection,” featuring new Asian liqueur blend TY KU. Areta the bartender was super cute, so we figured, why not videotape her? Check it out below.

It’s Good Friday, which means Easter and Passover are this weekend. And you know what happens on either of those holidays? A lot of eating, and a whollleeee lot of drinking. Well, if you’re in my family, it does. So since my mom’s recruited me to cook for 2893472097402374 people this weekend, I’ve recruited some alcohol to tide me over while I toil over delicious meals made from scratch.

So today’s cocktail, made with the new Bacardi Dragon Berry rum, doesn’t sound very “Easter-friendly.” But I’m a grown woman, and I’m over painting easter eggs, and this drink is pastel-colored, so let’s just consider that my festive (and delicious!) contribution to Easter decorations. Besides, if you’re not a practicing Christian or Jew, and your friends are and are therefore spending their weekend with their families, well, you have to keep busy SOMEhow….

BACARDI DRAGON BERRY DRAGON BITE

2 parts Bacardi Dragon Berry flavored rum

1/2 part Monin lychee syrup

1/2 part fresh lime juice

1 part pineapple juice

2 parts cranberry juice

• Combine all ingredients into a shaker filled halfway with ice.
• Shake well
• Strain into a glass filled with ice
• Garnish with a lemon wedge and 3 fresh raspberries speared
• Eat, drink, and have an awesome holiday!!!

Want a more hands-on experience? Watch a video!

Here’s a tasty gin drink to try, too

Tyler Perry has added veteran entertainer Gladys Knight and gospel singer Marvin Winans to the cast of his latest film I Can Do Bad All by Myself, an adaptation of his early stage play.

In the story, Perry’s iconic Madea character discovers a 16-year-old girl (Hope Olaide Wilson) and her brothers looting her home and sends them to live with their Aunt April, a hard-drinking nightclub singer played by Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson.

For more about Gladys’ role in “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” please click here! Share your thoughts in the comments section!

Mixologist Alex Ott is a tricky effing trickster. When we were filming my “Too Many Patrons With LeMarvin” segment a few weeks ago, I mentioned to him that I’ll drink anything BUT gin. I told him it gives me headaches, makes me puke, and I just all-around loathe it. So, to call my bluff, he made me a gin drink without telling me.

AND I DRANK IT

AND I DIDN’T DIE

Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky.

So he comes to our office a week ago with a few bottles of New Amsterdam gin for us to try, and I’m all, “nuh uh, I don’t drink that,” and he’s all, “oh yea, stupid? Well that was a gin drink I made you a couple weeks ago!!!! Sucker.” (Okay, he didn’t call me stupid or a sucker, but that’s totally how I felt.)

And now I present to you New Amsterdam’s “Soho” – I tasted it. It’s delicious. And I didn’t die. I guess I’d just been mentally psyching myself out since that time I drank too much gin and was convinced my life was over. Hmph.

SOHO

2 oz New Amsterdam gin
Spring of mint
Stem of lemongrass
1/4 ts ground ginger
1 oz agave nectar or simple syrup
1 oz lime juice
2 oz ginger ale

• Cut lemongrass into small pieces, and combine small palm full into bottom of cocktail shaker glass.
• Muddle with mint until flavor is released, add ginger and all other ingredients, then shake very hard
• Strain over ice in a highball glass until glass is 3/4 filled up.
• Fill up all the way with ginger ale!
• Garnish with lime wheel that has been spiked with lemongrass straw.

IT’S SPRINGTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!

I don’t know about you, but I’m jumping for effing joy over here. While I’m not one for hot weather, I’m totally over trudging through the snow to get back and forth to work every day. So now that Spring is here, why not celebrate with a pretty spring cocktail?

This Grey Goose La Poire pick will both cool you down and steam up any party you serve it at! Check out the recipe below, and serve it with your favorite fruit salad for a picnic treat.

THE GREY GOOSE TUSCAN PEAR

1 part GREY GOOSE® La Poire Flavored Vodka
1/2 part Limoncello
1/2 part ginger liqueur
1/2 part simple syrup
3/4 parts orange juice, preferably blood orange
mint leaves
1 thin pear slice
crushed ice for servingIn a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add all ingredients.

• Shake well until the outside of the shaker is frosted and beaded with sweat.

• Strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.

• Garnish with mint leaves and pear slice.

TGIF Cocktail goes live! Check out the video edition of our favorite cocktail segment here.

Not into fruity drinks? Try the Dirty Bustelo!

I was New York City’s Union Prime restaurant for a Drinks With… interview with R&B singer LeMarvin, whose new single is entitled “Too Many Patrons.” So what better cocktails to drink than ones made with Patron Tequila?

Union Prime’s resident mixologist Alex Ott was in town for a few weeks, so he decided to stop by and mix up a few Patron cocktails for this special video edition of TGIF Cocktail. So click on the video player below to make Union Prime’s house cocktail, the Prime Thyme Martini, for yourself and your friends! But don’t make too many – it’s delicious, and you can’t taste the tequila, and we all know how those situations end up….

Okay, so this just looks like another martini or margarita. BUT have you ever seen a bottle of Corzo tequila? It’s pretty awesome. Like, if you go to a party, and you’re feeling like kind of a douche so you want everyone to know that this is NOT cheap tequila, you can totally pick up this bottle and everyone would be all, “ooh, he must have spent a ton.”

Except you so didn’t, cause you only spent, like, 45 bucks.

And if you’re kitschy, the bottle would make a pretty cool vase. But you’d have to really know how to place it – otherwise you just look like you’re using a tequila bottle as a vase.

THE CORZO PINATINI

1 1/2 parts Corzo Silver

1/2 part premium Triple Sec

1 1/2 parts pineapple juice

• Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.
• Garnish with a pineapple slice or orange twist.

I personally believe that all American citizens should be required by law to drink nothing but beer on Super Bowl Sunday. However, those who insist on going the cocktail route can and should at least opt for something tasty, yet strong and tough. Like a Steeler. *cough*

THE HALFTIME MARGARITA

1 1/2 ounces Tequila Don Julio Blanco
2 1/2 ounces pomegranate juice
2 teaspoons fine sugar
1/2 ounce lime juice
Sugar (to rim glass)
1 lime wedge

• Combine Don Julio Blanco, pomegranate juice, fine sugar and lime juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well.
• Rim margarita glass with sugar.
• Strain ingredients into margarita glass.
• Garnish with lime.
• Try not to get into any fights after the game cause you’re all, tequila’d up and ready to scrap. But do laugh at the people puking up their beer and wings while you enjoy your heart-healthy (pomegranate, hello) cocktail from a quiet corner. Everybody wins!

I don’t know about you, but it’s still Inauguration Celebration 2009 to me. I planned on cutting the partying out once I got back from DC, but it seems I just can’t stop going too hard for Barack Obama. So when I saw this Hennessy 44 Limited Edition bottle, I was like, “Yes I Can.”

I imagine Obama to be more of an XO drinker, but I’m quite sure he threw back the VSOP in his college days. So when The Man was elected our 44th President of the United States, Hennessy got right on top of things by developing a limited-edition Hennessy 44 bottle to honor America’s new main squeeze

I mean, it tastes just like regular Henny, but since there were only 180,000 produced, you probably don’t want to sit it among the empty bottles you keep on top of your fridge so your friends think you’re a “cool” alcoholic with good taste in booze.

To date, the bottles are only available for purchase in the Metro New York area, Georgia, DC, and Illinois. However, a percentage of the proceeds from each bottle will go to the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. So it’s totally worth crossing state lines for, or sending a friend/relative cash to buy and ship you a bottle.

Bottoms up!

Now, despite Barack Obama’s Cliff Huxtable demeanor, I am convinced he is a G, and not because he is our new President. So when Crown Royal created a cocktail specifically for him called the Crown Royal 44 (cause he’s our 44th Pres, dig?), I was all, “yup, that is totally right up his alley.”

You can’t tell me Barack, Michelle, or a relative of either doesn’t have a purple velvet Crown bag full of coins. You just can’t.

THE CROWN ROYAL 441

1/4 oz. Crown Royal Special Reserve^TM

1/4 oz. Lemon juice (2 lemon wedges)

1/4 oz. Simple syrup

1/2 oz. Champagne

• Serve on the rocks and top with champagne
• Be glad you’re not stuck in traffic on the way to DC, like I will be…
• If you are stuck in traffic, hopefully you’re not driving and will be nursing a sippy cup full of the Crown Royal 44, as I will probably be.

Inauguration is on Tuesday, and everyone’s looking to Obama to get us out of this craptastic recession. So Svedka Vodka came up with a hilarious alternative to the $700 billion bailout that is both economical AND delicious.

Okay okay, so the recession is actually not funny at all. But like, if you can’t joke about things that suck, they’ll definitely suck a whole lot more. And since Svedka’s not that expensive, you can and should definitely treat yourself to a bottle and make martinis for you and your friends at home. You know, since today’s tough times have most people hesitant about going out to a bar and buying girls a bunch of drinks. Which sucks for both you AND us, trust me.

SVEDKA’S $700 BILLION MARTINI

Liberal amount (2 parts) SVEDKA Vodka

1 part fresh lime juice

½ part simple sugar

Conservative splash of Lemon Juice

• Add contents to martini shaker
• Shake
• Pour over ice
• Garnish with $700 billion of freshly-minted US currency. If short on cash, fresh mint can be substituted.
• Drink to a better four years than the last eight!

Hey readers,

Do you have any Asian-inspired tattoos? Liqueur company Ty Ku is looking for someone with a few good tats to star in a national ad campaign.

The contest, judged by celebs Ne-Yo and Richie Rich, among others, is open to US residents 21 and over. Winners will not only be featured in the campaign, but will also win an exclusive Ty Ku party in the tattoo shop of their choice and a Ty Ku gift bag full of goodies.

Go to trytyku.com/skin to enter. And if you win, don’t forget to put me on your guest list… plus one.

Doesn’t that name just sound super kinky?

So what if it’s winter? This frozen drink is good all year round, and it’s got enough caffeine in it to keep you up forEVER. It’s good for if you want to party, but have to return home and finish up on work or something. Just drink it with a sweater on!

THE DIRTY BUSTELO

4 oz Cafe Bustelo’s Bustelo Cool
2 oz XO Cafe
2 oz Frangelico Liqueur
2 oz Kahlua

• Fill blender with ice
• Add ingredients
• Blend and serve!
• Plan to be wide awake for a while…

Nothing Like the Holidays opens today, and everyone who has a family (read: everyone) knows that there’s nothing like a holiday drink to get you through all the crazy. While the US and abroad has egg nog and hot apple cider as traditional holiday drinks, Puerto Rico and Cuba have coquitos – a drink like egg nog, but sweeter.

I’m a lactard, so if I bothered to drink this, I’d likely vomit everywhere. And then everyone would wonder who brought the drunk girl. But I’ve had a sip before, and it’s pretty delicious. So to celebrate Christmas, this new holiday movie, and drinking yourself sane (read: all that is holy), try this coquitos recipe out for size!

COQUITOS
2 (15 ounce) cans coconut cream
1 (8-9 ounce) can condensed milk
1 (8-9 ounce) can evaporated milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup cognac
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 quart white rum (Bacardi)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• In a large punch bowl, blend egg yolks and condensed milk gradually.
• Add and blend in all ingredients.
• Refrigerate and then serve.

Today is the 75th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition – BOTTOMS UP!

Recession is a bitch. You can’t be all, throwing big parties and buying tons of bottles just to celebrate a birthday, going away party, friendship, or whatever. And now that it’s holiday season, you gotta think cheap. So what’s cheaper or better than a holiday punch that’ll get everyone slizzard for a nominal fee?

This party punch is delicious.  Thing is, I’m a straight-up kind of girl, so when it comes to punches and fruity things, I like to have themes involved. Since this is a recipe for a big bowl of punch, it might be a fun idea to throw a Recession Prom – get your friends to grab an old dress or ridiculous suit from their closets, invite a date, and drink punch and dance the night away to iPod mixes. It’s cheap as hell, and there won’t be any lines, lists, or door covers. If you pull one of these off, post the pics on our party forum at  http://groups.blackplanet.com/recession_prom_pics . I’ll be checking in over the next couple weeks, looking for the craziest, best party pictures, so make them GOOD! The winners will get their pics posted on The Urban Daily, and the BEST pic will receive a special prize.  21 and over if alcohol is involved – I’m not trying to get arrested here, dig?

BACARDI PARTY PUNCH

750ml bottle BACARDI Gold Rum
1 L cranberry juice
2 L ginger ale, chilled
8 oz. orange juice
1 oz. lime juice
1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
Extra citrus fruit and frozen
cranberries for garnish
Ice

• In large container, combine rum and fruit juices. Chill.
• Just before serving, pour into large punch bowl.
• Add ice and gently stir in chilled ginger ale.
• Garnish by floating orange, lemon and lime slices and frozen cranberries on top.

Makes 16 cups.

The best thing next to a cold, well-made margarita is a warm, well-made Latin dish. And now, for a limited time, NY residents can get two for the price of one!

Times Square’s Havana Central teamed up with Partida Tequila for a delicious Wednesday happy hour deal. Diners who order a Partida Margarita, voted “Best Margarita in New York,” will receive a free portion of the restaurant’s famous paella. The delicious dish is served in chicken, seafood, or vegetarian, and is made right in front of you by the bar. Only 12 bucks for a great meal and drink combo, and a rice dish makes for a good alcohol base – so you can treat yourself to another margarita without getting too twisted.

Havana Central is located at 151 West 46th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenue. Happy Hour is only from 4-6, so run from work and catch an early dinner!

Cocktails aren’t for everybody, and the list of reasons for that is a mile long. Soda adds calories, juices don’t make you as drunk as you could be (now, that’s just a lie), and a lot of guys think cocktails are only for women, anyway. But some folks, like me, just enjoy the taste of pure, ungirlified drink every now and again. And for those of you who do, too, here are a few brand suggestions to try on your next trip to the bar.

Few realize that it’s been only 13 short years since Monica Lewinsky stepped into the White House as an intern and stepped out as one of the government’s favorite jump-offs. So while we sit here witnessing history on this 2008 election night, we’re trying to put a few drinks down our gullets in the meantime (unlike Ms. Lewinsky, who put something else down her gullet during that fateful internship). Check out the recipe for this Oval Vodka contest winner below, and play a few drinking games of your own! Responsibly, of course.

MONICA LEWINSKY: THE OFFICIAL DRINK OF THE ‘OVAL’ OFFICE

2 oz. Oval Vodka

1 oz. X-rated Liqueur

1 oz. fresh lemon lime sour

Sugared Rim

• Fill shaker with ice
• Wet rim of martini glass and dip into sugar
• Add OVAL vodka, X-rated Liqueur and Fresh Lime Sour
• Shake until your arm hurts and strain into a chilled martini glass.
• Garnish with fresh strawberry and lemon slice

Ever find yourself stuck during Halloween season, carving endless jack-o-lanterns and having no idea what to do with all that nasty crap you scraped out of the pumpkin? Roast the seeds, bake a pie, and wash it all down with this creamy cocktail from Partida Tequila! It’ll give you the added warmth you’ll probably need once you step out in your annual slutty costume.

PUMPKIN MARGARITA

2 oz. Partida Reposado Tequila

1 oz. fresh lime/lemon juice mix

splash of pumpkin puree

sesame seeds

lime wedge

• Rim a cocktail glass with lime juice and sesame seeds.
• Mix ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well.
• Strain into cocktail glass.
• Garnish with a lime wedge. -

Courtesy of Crema Restaurante, NY

When attending a sensual circus, it helps to get a little buzzed beforehand just in case things get more kinky than you’re anticipating. And what’s more sensual than absinthe?

Spiegelworld is easily one of the most awesome circuses ever, especially since I refuse to attend regular circuses with trained animals (cause they look all abused and whatnot). It’s a fine mix of all the things I enjoy watching, drunk OR sober: acrobatics, dirty jokes, and totally awesome tricks involving hula hoops and ropes and children and whatnot. Sue me – I was pretty much addicted to Cirque du Soleil and watching rhythmic gymnastics when I was a kid.

Absinthe is known as one of the sexiest drinks in the world, but those who can’t or won’t travel to Europe don’t have the luxury of tasting real, illegal (in the U.S.) absinthe, the kind that makes you trippy and horny after a sip or two. However, Lucid Absinthe comes pretty close, at least in the euphoric/flirty department, so I was pretty happy to see it holding steady as the featured drink during Spiegelworld’s “Absinthe” show. Here’s the recipe to my favorite Lucid cocktail of the night, the “Green Lantern”…even though I was anything but lucid by the end of the show.

GREEN LANTERN

1 oz. Lucid

1 ½ oz. Midori

Ginger Ale

Garnish = 2-3 muddled limes and long green lime spiral

Glassware = Rocks Glass

• In a rocks glass, muddle about 3 lime wedges
• Add ice, Midori and Lucid and transfer to a shaker
• Shake thoroughly and return mixture to rocks glass
• Top with a splash of ginger ale and garnish with lime

NY residents: Spiegelworld: Absinthe will be going on until November 2, so buy tickets ASAP! Just  leave the kids at home.

In case you haven’t read my “Eat It!” post on Hello Beautiful, I recently took the most awesome trip to St. Maarten to tan, but left the island full of delicious food and totally wasted from island cocktails. Okay, so it’s no longer summer. But does that mean you can’t enjoy a tasty summer drink?

Guavaberry is St. Maarten’s national liqueur. The first guavaberry I tried was some homemade jam in a big jug, and drinking just one cup too fast will give you the spins. However, for those who aren’t into figuring out how to make what seems like the sweet equivalent of moonshine, you can buy pre-made bottles of Guavaberry all across the island, and the Guavaberry Emporium sells the liqueur, hot sauce, rums, apparel, and anything else guavaberry. Every bottle comes with a bunch of recipes to try, but this one’s my favorite:

GUAVABERRY COLADA

2 oz Sint Maarten Guavaberry

1 oz cream of coconut

3 oz pineapple pieces or juice

• Fill blender with ice and blend ingredients
• Garnish with pineapple, toasted coconut, and fresh nutmeg

Fall’s here, which means it’s high time for apple picking, spiked hot cider, falling leaves, and chilly nights. So why not warm up with a cocktail that tastes like Turkey Day dessert?

So, last week a few friends and I made ourselves a few hot toddies (whiskey and tea) and went apple picking to celebrate autumn. However, we really ended up drunk and with MUCH fewer apples than we’d intended on accumulating, so there wasn’t much we could make with our bounty as we’d originally planned. What to do?

Now, I’m not much for desserts, but I certainly am one for tasty cocktails. So instead of curling up with a drink and a hot slice of caramel-drizzled apple pie, I’d rather follow a good meal with a drink that just tastes like I’d been laboring in the kitchen for hours. Maybe I’ll just put on a flour-dusted apron and pretend I’m toasting to all my hard apple picking and subsequent apple-dessert-baking instead.

CARAMEL APPLE PIE

1 oz 1800 Silver Tequila

1/2 oz. butterscotch schnapps

1 oz apple cider

1 tsp lemon juice

apple slice garnish

• fill cocktail shaker with ice
• add tequila, schnapps, cider, and lemon juice
• shake well and strain into martini glass
• garnish with apple slices