Thursday Happy Hour: Cocktail Recipes, Drinks, Music, and Good Times

Rum Ruby

Collecting New Perspectives

We just returned from a visit to the ice-and-snow-snug Midwest, where our friends treated us to a few days of survival in style. Who knew summersaults with a 2-year-old in a slant of sunshine on soft carpet, the invigorating inhale of frozen air on the way to dinner, or the constant sparkle of snow could be something to get used to?

Still, the arrival home was even more of a shock to the senses. Gentle outdoor air on skin! The scent of ocean and grass! Traveling is so awesome for perspective.

Our New Year's resolution: Travel more. Gain more perspectives.

G very nearly captured this moment in a glass, and we call it Rum Ruby.

Kentucky Cobbler Cocktail

Treating Cocktails Like Art

Spiced apple cider is the secret ingredient of the week. Heated up on the stove on low, soon the house begins to smell like pie. Usually, I serve it as a hot after-dinner drink, but we have so much homemade triple sec, G got creative before my mom came over for dinner.

G slid a butternut squash in the oven to roast for soup and then began experimenting with different spirits, triple sec, and apple cider. I don't usually care for the main ingredient in his final creation, but truly, I had to overlook that.

This cocktail tastes like cobbler in a glass.

Lemon Rickey

A Simple Distraction

Work was all wrapped up and the sun doesn't set till 7pm, so we had some time. We skeddadled to Doheny Beach with cooler and kayak. The ocean backwash was fierce: the incoming wave crashes into the outgoing pull of the last, causing a collision that claps and sprays straight up, making me think of snapped bones and water in my brain.

But our timing worked and -- paddle, paddle, paddle! -- we made it to open ocean and then Dana Point Harbor for a more sheltered cruise. The journey back to shore was, um ... challenging, and earned us a tasty happy hour beverage. With a good book for distraction.

South Side Fizz

Floating Around on the East Side

Friends with a pool are always appreciated. Friends with a newly surfaced pool who live in the warmer eastern portion of San Diego simply spoil us. Baskets of chips and trail mix, a lazy golden afternoon sun, and a round of poolside "punch" for everyone made this one very happy September evening.

Rum 'n' No-Coke

Better than Rum 'n' Coke

"I usually drink rum and Coke," Ted said at Thursday Happy Hour LIVE last week, and when I gave him a quizzical Really? look, he added, "but not just any rum and Coke. A special rum and Coke."

That instantly made me think of the last time I had a special rum and Coke ... back in the Caribbean. It was Diet Coke with Pineapple Cruzan rum, a light-on-the-alcohol treat perfect for extremely hot weather. But that's not exactly the recipe that Ted had in mind. And Gary was convinced we could do better than even that. You be the judge:

Mai Tai

We Heart Tiki Time

G and I used to live near the Bali Hai, and on special occasions, we'd walk over, push up to the moon-shaped bar just before sunset, and order a couple Bali Hai Mai Tais. The rum seemed to pour endlessly from bottles held above the bartender's head. The first sip of this drink is a kicker ... and the rest goes down way too easy.

Slurping the dregs and sucking on the rum-soaked pineapple, we'd order one more Mai Tai to share. More than 1.5 of these, and the sidewalk won't stay straight on the walk home.

Caipirinha

Pucker Up and Summon the Spirit of Brazil
Our friends won several bottles of rum and a bottle of cachaça at a local school fundraiser. (This is the second time this year that we've heard of auctioning mixed drinks to raise money for kids -- brilliant idea.) They invited us over to try homemade Caipirinhas, the national drink of Brazil.

Like limey margaritas, the cachaça is more earthy, like tequila, than rum. Tasty and refreshing, as long as you didn't just brush your teeth.

Pineapple Mojito

Beware the Mojito 

I order a Mojito only under very special circumstances:

1) It's hot outside.
and
2) The bartender is offering it as a specialty drink.

Otherwise, forget it. A Mojito cocktail without fresh ingredients or know-how is sure to give your tongue something foul to say.

My sister gave us the mint plant as a hosting gift -- we celebrated Mother's Day at our place -- and the bartender in our house spotted an opportunity. He modified the traditional Mojito recipe by adding pineapple we happened to have on hand (buck fifty at Henry's market). The combination of minty scent and pineapple sweet with bubbles on top ... mmm. It's like meditation.

Between the Sheets

Can Your Guests Guess What's in This Drink? 

First: blindfold all your guests. Or, perhaps a better idea, make this drink behind their backs. G chose the latter. Then shake, shake, shake over ice, pour through a strainer and sip. Can they identify the ingredients? Close your eyes, slip, slurp. Is it gin? Is it bourbon? It must have bitters. I was way off -- and he made me guess for a long time.

It's a bright but smoky, clean summertime cocktail. Loved it. But if I had known the ingredients, I would have never ordered it.

Sir Francis Drake

Arg, Sometimes Pirates Are Not Cool 
The news of modern day pirates kidnapping and pillaging on the open seas is less than thrilling, and we wonder how it will affect the current overproduction of pirate paraphernalia. Or our future sailing trips abroad. In an effort to ward off these evil-doers, we mixed up a batch of icy grog and sang sea shanties all night long. Well, maybe not all night.

Dark and Stormy

Cocktails for Kids (Well, Sorta)
It was a dark and stormy ... OK, not really. It's not generally dark and stormy here in San Diego, and we were saving this cocktail recipe for the perfect balmy, summery, island-breezy day. But then ... we were asked to donate a tray of cocktails to raise money for a small school. In a traditionally dark and stormy place. And we thought, heck, let's send them a ray of Caribbean sunshine. Or at least, the parents.

Tonight, we toast the parents -- and the charming PTA prez -- at Sanislo school in Seattle! Cheers!

Cable Car

Ready for a Ride on Santa's Cable Car?
My sister loves the holidays: the presents, baking, winter music, scarf- and beanie-wearing, and pictures with Santa. She's lots of fun. This year, she invited us to take the Polar Express to see Santa  -- and although I'd love to watch my nephew take his first train ride, for some reason, the idea of paying big bucks to sit in a small space full of caroling children didn't thrill me. Grinchy of me, yes.

Instead, she and my brother-in-law brought Cable Cars to our place. Cinnamon, spice, and orange zest in a frosty glass ... definitely a new holiday tradition!