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

Basil Hayden's Kentucky Bourbon

Simplicity

Tonight's drink is pretty simple. And that's good. On the slow recovery from a nasty cold, I need some quiet time. Shelly is busy giving a presentation to peers, which leaves me with an empty house, a stack of new reading and my favorite drink.

Here's a little secret: All these fancy recipes we list here? I make them for our guests but when it comes to mixing something for me, it's a couple of large ice cubes in a heavy rocks glass, and a good measure of bourbon. It serves as a reminder that the best ideas are generally the simplest ones.

The Snowshoe Cocktail

An Icy Drink to Warm You Up

The snow is falling just about everywhere this week. For some it's not good news, but for six guys visiting North Lake Tahoe, it couldn't be better.

Fresh powder daily kept us with permanent grins and perpetual hoots and hollers on the slopes.

When the day was done, legs rubbery from countless runs, faces pink from icy wind, we looked to the bar for something potent, simple and refreshing.

The Snowshoe is that drink.

Bourbon Hot Toddy

Inside/Out Day
Some days are meant to be spent inside. With gale-force winds and sheets of rain pouring down, today was one of those day. So, I grabbed my cameras and we went out.

A short drive to the coast did not disappoint. We sat in the car watching the handful of surfers being tossed by the raging waves and made a few dashes into the rain to get some photos and video. With the gear soaked, wind picking up and Shelly and I dripping, we decided to head home and start our happy hour a little early with something hot and soothing.

Sometimes staying in is good but rewarding yourself for getting out is even better.

Canadian Coffee

Warm Their Hearts

Stomping boots, dripping umbrellas and coats reluctantly peeling off -- not a relaxing start to a little after-dinner happy hour at the house with the parents, but definitely an invigorating one. My priority: warm up their insides while the furnace starts clanking.

If we weren't so full, I'd heat spiced cider in the teapot and then spike each steamy cup with the leftover Applejack or rum. But G is already grinding the French roast and I know what he has in mind.

Heavy cream, maple syrup, and just an ounce of a secret ingredient we won't mention till the cups are emptied... it's sure to add a little spark to the night.

Tokyo Fog

Emerging

I still can't believe summer is over. It's getting dark early and I'm getting over a cold and I'm wrapping up three projects at once -- it's really been a blur. But planning for the holidays is fun, and one drink that friends inevitably request at the end of an evening is a dessert drink -- a creamy, decadent truffle in a glass. 

Mud Slides are yum, but expected, so when G's friend and creative consultant Leslie suggested a Fog, something she enjoyed with her family at the holidays, we jumped all over it. And we weren't disappointed. In fact, we were gobsmacked.

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.

Bourbon Belle (Straight Up)

Naked Weather

Santa Annas blow across San Diego county, warm and dry, making us feel like we're in Palm Springs. It's naked weather. Not that we're naked, but could be, comfortably, if we were so inclined. Eyes are burning and muscles feel heavy. Liquid. We sit outside. G mixes up a batch of Bourbon Belles, from Imbibe Magazine, hoping I'll like them, and I do.

I don't usually drink whiskey, but this bourbon drink is smoky and sweet and goes especially well with spicy BBQ potato chips. We chat about work. Travel plans. Then nothing.

Shoo fly. I'm sipping Bourbon Belles and an ice water. And holding very still. So I'm not so hot.

The Old Fashioned Cocktail

The Great American Cocktail

Whiskey -- more precisely Bourbon and rye -- is about as American as it gets. Whiskey's deep Southern roots makes it the perfect candidate for an All-American July 4th celebration. Bold enough to stand up to just about anything, it pairs equally well with a grilled beef dog as it does a USDA Choice ribeye.

Generally, I like my whiskey on the rocks, no frills, but once in a while I like the tradition of blending the perfect Old Fashioned. It's not as simple as the recipe suggests. And contrary to the popular version, the original has no cherries or fruit muddling involved. Just the whisper of orange peel and the simple balance of sugar and bitters. Truly an American invention worth celebrating.

Lemon Bars vs. Whiskey Bars

Can Your Guests Guess the Secret Ingredient?
"Tastes like ... graham cracker crust," I said to G when he served up a cold, lemony concoction with a secret ingredient. I sipped again. It was like drinking lemon pie. Or closer -- lemon bars. Oh, how I love lemon bars. But as a drink? "What is it? Brown sugar?" I asked, trying not to slurp too fast. The balance of baked goods and lemon tart were easy to get used to.

G poured a darker whiskey-based drink for himself with the secret ingredient -- smokier, manlier, and still delicious.

No, not brown sugar. But close.

Whiskey Sour

The Lemons Made Us Do It

Post-Memorial Day means white pants, frosty drinks, and flip-flops for at least five months (for us)! Pre-Memorial Day includes bourbon, ginormous lemons with brainy skin, and sister-talk about selling original art, the meaning of Ansel Adams: A Life's Work at MoPA, and how to be yoga instructor. All while the guys sip their sours. This kick-off to summer couldn't be better.

The Digital Cocktail Experiment

Swallow Your Digital Guilt Once and for All 
We've been super busy lately, and our friendly correspondence has sadly gotten stuck in the folds of dinner, laundry, and errands. So this past Thursday, we invited the Mac to join us for happy hour. We watched nephew videos, flipped through our friends' vacation pictures, and replied to e-mail and FB updates. Being social online usually means being anti-social in the real world, but not this time.

Which reminded us ... our friends have been bugging us to get on Skype for digital happy hours. We'll be trying that this Thursday for sure. Oh, and there's a Twitter experiment coming soon ...

Francis the Mule

Kick Away Those Winter Storms
We're feeling fortunate in San Diego this winter. Nearly two weeks until the first day of spring and it's 24 degrees in Minnesota, but it feels like 12, and it's a wet 43 in Seattle. We, however, are enjoying this nice warm California drought. Even if we do have to ration our water. This Thursday, we're sending warm toasts to our cold-weather friends with a cozy, comfy kick of a cocktail. Put aside your leftover coffee Thursday morning for this recipe ...

Manhattan

What Do Cherries Have to Do With Change?    
It's been an embarrassing eight years, politically speaking, and we're just waking up to the idea of ... being awake. And being involved. And helping make it work, this hope and change thing. Rhetoric, sure, but intelligent rhetoric, delivered well. And as two Americans with our own small businesses, we like smart. And thoughtfulness. Presentation. Initiative. The belief in something better.

There I go, with the rhetoric.

This Thursday, we raise our glasses of Manhattan (with a better cherry) and Journalist cocktails to these ideals, and promise to incorporate them in our daily lives as much as possible. With gusto. To the future!

The Sazerac

What Happens When You Mix a Tahoe Trip and Stiff Drinks...    
There's a time for $2.50 Bud tallboys (right after the last ski and board run) and there's a time for a plain ol' stiff drink (a couple hours later when the achy backs and strained knees kick in). The trick is to drink just enough to sleep well, but not so much to mess with your next-day boarding abilities. Not an easy balance to achieve, especially when our counterparts (and good consciences) are back home, soaking sunshine and drinking Margaritas.

Here's our cocktail recipe for the Sazerac: