FOUR FAVORITES: FOUR COCKTAILS TO TRY TONIGHT

Ready to get out of the office and start the weekend? I don't know about you but I'm sooo past ready for this weekend. Here's a few of my favorite springtime cocktail recipes that are tried and true. Stop on the way home and pick up the ingredients, along with a nice steak or maybe a piece of fish and get the weekend started right. Cheers to Friday!

HERE ARE FOUR OF MY FAVORITE COCKTAIL RECIPES TO TRY THIS WEEKEND!

1. MINT JULEP 2. POMEGRANATE MOJITO 3. SANGRIA 4. MOSCOW MULE

1. MARTIE'S MINT JULEP

Use mint infused simple syrup and this drink just feels like Spring. A Kentucky Derby favorite, it is a signature Southern cocktail known around the world. Get the recipe here....

2. REFRESHING POMEGRANATE MOJITO

Another cocktail made with mint; this one is always a crowd favorite and is easy to mix in large batches when you have people over. Get the recipe here...

3. STRAWBERRY PEAR SANGRIA

Strawberries are coming into season and you can usually find quality pears year 'round. This is one of those go-to recipes you will find yourself serving again and again. And because you can change out the fruit for whatever is in season, you can keep it on the menu all summer long. Get the recipe here...

4. MOSCOW MULE

Long a favorite of mine, Oprah declared it her favorite cocktail a while back and now everyone is discovering it. If you can get the copper mugs, it just seems to taste better but if you don't have those, a mint julep or pewter mug will do the trick. The secret is Ginger. So zingy and so refreshing! Get the recipe...

Weekend Cocktail Recipe: Caramel Apple Martini

Love these saucer shaped champagne glasses from Villeroy & Boch for serving martinis!CARAMEL APPLE MARTINI

Put martini glasses into the freezer to chill them. Drizzle caramel sundae syrup into the chilled martini glasses and put them back into the freezer while you mix your drinks. Make a design like this flower, polka dots, a spider web for Halloween parties, etc. Be creative! I wanted mine to look like a caramel apple.

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice mix:

2 parts Butterscotch Schnapps

2 parts Sour Apple Pucker Schnapps

1 part vodka-- use plain vodka or adjust the recipe by using vanilla vodka for a sweeter drink or Vox Green Apple vodka for an extra apple kick. I prefer the vanilla vodka but it may be too sweet for some people.

Shake and pour into the chilled and decorated glasses. Yum.  Now go enjoy the weekend. This will certainly make it better

Pineapple Cocktail Recipes: Pineapple Mint Mojito & Pineapple Cosmopolitan

It's a long holiday weekend and there's lots to do! Start the weekend out right by relaxing with one of these delicious pineapple cocktails, perfect for the end of summer. Try a refreshing and light Pineapple Mojito with rum, pineapple, and mint. Or if you're in the mood for a Cosmo with a sweet spin, try my Pineapple Cosmopolitan. Either way, have a great holiday weekend!

PINEAPPLE MINT MOJITOS

Makes 6-8 depending on serving size

1 cup pineapple juice

1 bunch fresh mint leaves- no stems

½ cup sugar or use mint simple syrup to taste, recipe below

2 limes, sliced

1 cup white rum

1 cup club soda

Ice

*Splash Malibu Pineapple Rum, optional

*Sugar cane sticks, optional

Put the sugar, lime, and mint leaves into a pitcher or divide into serving glasses. Use a wooden spoon or a muddler to crush the mint, sugar, and lime together. Add the ice and top off with the pineapple juice, white rum, and club soda. Stir with a sugar cane stick if you can find it and garnish with pineapple wedge. 

Note: I added a splash of Malibu Pineapple Rum to mine and it was even better! It is too sweet to make the whole drink but a splash kicks the flavor up a notch.

For more mint flavor in your Mojito, use my MINT SIMPLE SYRUP

PINEAPPLE COSMOPOLITAN

FYI: You can make your own pineapple vodka or buy one like Skyy or Van Gogh Pineapple. It takes at least two days up to two weeks to infuse the vodka.

Makes 6

2 cups chopped fresh pineapple

2 cups vodka

1 cup cranberry juice

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Ice

Lime slices for garnish

For the pineapple vodka: To infuse the vodka with pineapple flavor, put the pineapple in the vodka and let sit for at least two days in the fridge. A week is best.

Strain the vodka into a pitcher, discarding the fruit. Add the cranberry and lime juices and the crushed ice and stir well. Strain into chilled martini glasses and serve garnished with lime slices.

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Weekend Cocktail Time: Classic Cuban Mojito

What's on your schedule this weekend? School is starting back and summer is winding down. Squeeze the last drops out of your summer by mixing up a pitcher of classic mojitos. I remember having my first mojito (pronounced moe-HE-toe) in Little Havana in Miami many years ago and loved the taste of the mint with the lime. It felt so exotic at the time! Now, you can find many variations on this classic Cuban cocktail like watermelon, peach, strawberry and mango.

CLASSIC CUBAN MOJITO

10 limes pulp and juiced

30 whole mint leaves

¾ cup raw sugar

1 cup quality rum- I prefer light to gold

Club Soda, chilled

 

At Asia de Cuba, they garnish their mojitos with a stalk of sugar cane which is wonderful-- if you can find it. 

Enjoy!

Weekend Cocktail Time: Juicy Watermelon Eclipse

Yum! Watermelon is so sweet and ripe right now, this is the perfect drink to set your weekend in motion. We always have watermelon left over after a BBQ and this is a great new way to use it! You can sub another rum but the Mount Gay Eclipse Rum is worth a trip to the store if you don't have it. Since the fresh watermelon is the star of the show; use a big wedge or slice for garnish to make the presentation extra special.

Watermelon Eclipse

1 ½ ounces Mount Gay Eclipse Gold Rum

Splash Grand Marnier

3-4 chunks fresh watermelon

1 ounce fresh lime juice

1 ounce fresh lemon juice

½ ounce simple syrup (recipe below)

Splash orange juice

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the watermelon well, making sure there are no seeds. Add the remaining ingredients and ice. Shake well and strain into chilled martini glasses.

Simple syrup: Bring equal parts water and sugar to a boil, allowing sugar to dissolve. Cool completely before adding to drinks.