Yes, Cinco de Mayo has come and gone.  However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t allow the enjoyment of margaritas to continue, especially if you spent May 5th at a minor league baseball game and the most exciting beverage you had was hot coffee.  Seriously, once the sun set, it became quite chilly, and this fan was quite happy that there was piping hot coffee available to warm her!

Normally I am not a huge fan of frozen drinks; they’re simply too filling.  However, on a warm weekend afternoon, they make the perfect indulgence.  What could be a better way to spend an hour?  Put your blender to work, and then enjoy your frosty beverage on your front porch swing.

Here’s to hoping for warm, sunny weather this weekend!

Fiery Fiesta Margarita

6 oz. pineapple juice

1 mango, peeled, seeded, & sliced

2 cups Jose Cuervo Golden Margarita Mix

3 cups ice

3 large frozen strawberries

1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded & cored

4 Tb. Jose Cuervo Tequilla Gold

Garnish: minced jalapeño

Place the pineaplle juice, mango, margarita mix, and ice in a blender, and blend until smooth.  After it is combined, add frozen strawberries and 1/2 jalapeño.  Blend again until it looks like confetti.  Divide among 4 margarita glasses, and garnish each with 1 tablespoon of tequila gold and minced jalapeño.

Enjoy!

Sometimes being a writer has its perks.  You get to attend fun events, such as the Boston Wine Expo.  You get to meet interesting people, such as the maker of Piscassic Pond Winery mead.  You also get to play the role of bartender and create new cocktails. There are other times when you need an article and don’t have any material for it.  Having a career and a family does not lend itself to being a drink creating fanatic.  So, sometimes I use suggestions from others or write reviews of cocktails sampled at restaurants.

Every once in a while all of the options for writing a drink recipe aren’t available.  I haven’t tried a new cocktail at a restaurant.  I don’t have suggested concoctions.  I didn’t host a party and share a new drink.  When this happens, I actually have to take the time and create a recipe.  Sure, I could tour the Internet and find a recipe and call it my own, but that isn’t right. Plus, making a drink isn’t as easy as just reading a recipe.  You need to tweak each recipe to meet your preferences.  So, even though a cocktail might sound delicious, once made it could be too sweet, too heavy, too strong, etc.

So, this week I needed to create a recipe, just for the sake of posting a new recipe.  Of course, I guess it wasn’t an awful burden.  I mean, I did get to enjoy the fruits of my labor.  I did find a new drink that could work well as an offering at a Mexican-themed party.  Maybe lacking an article topic for this week’s cocktail article was another perk. . .

Pineapple Margarita

1-1/2 oz. tequila

1-1/2 oz. pineapple juice

1/2 oz. lemon juice

splash simple syrup

seltzer

Fill a martini shaker with ice.  Add tequila, juices. and simple syrup.  Shake well.  Pour contents (including ice) into a margarita glass.  Fill with seltzer, and enjoy!

Valentine’s Day.

When you hear those two words, what is your reaction?  Do you see hearts and flowers and eagerly anticipate the holiday that you will spend with your one true love?  Perhaps you roll your eyes back and wish that you could hide under the covers all day?  Or maybe you really have no opinion about it, it just is another day of the week?

Regardless to how you feel about Valentine’s Day, there’s no reason not to have a cocktail in honor of this day.  Even if you don’t like the day, you still can enjoy a delicious cocktail.  To help you find the perfect cocktail, Parched No More has collected a dozen recipes that will appeal to those who are in love and those who feel scorned.

Check out our Valentine’s Day cocktails, decide which you like best, and then share your thoughts.  On Friday, February 12th we will announce which cocktail was the most popular and share its exact recipe.  Being two days before the holiday, you’ll have time to gather all of the ingredients and make a drink for you (and others, if you wish).

The Lolita- raspberry vodka, Chambord, cranberry juice, sour mix, champagne (Joel Finsel, Caffe Phoenix, Wilmington, NC)

Dulce Kiss- muddled strawberries, Malibu rum, Castries Peanut Liqueur (Darryl Robinson, DR Mixologist, New York City)

Yellow Roses- honey, lavender-infused vodka, lemon juice (Top Flr, Atlanta, GA)

French Kiss- Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur, Godiva Dark Chocolate Liqueur, Ketel One Vodka, Captain Morgan Rum, Chambord (RA Sushi Bar Restaurant, Atlanta, GA)

Hearts Afire- Bacardi Dragonberry Rum, lime juice, simple syrup, sage leaves, strawberries, club soda (Adrienne Seabloom, Will Rogers Lounge, Colorado Springs, CO)

Love Letter- Campari, lime juice, Cointreau, maple syrup, grenadine, bitter, club soda (Adam Wilson, Beretta, San Francisco, CA)

Pop Rock Passion- pink Pop Rocks, Svedka Vodka, Red Hook Raspberry Soda, pink lemonade (Scot Parish, Two Boots, Brooklyn, NY)

The Essensia Sparkler- sparkling wine, Essensia, Deviation, grenadine (Quady Winery, Madera, CA)

Cupid’s Kiss- Canadian Club Whisky, Cruzan Raspberry Rum, cranberry juice (Jim Beam)

Cayo al Corazon (Key to the Heart)- Mount Gay Rum, peach schnapps, Malibu Coconut Rum, orange juice, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, Angostura Bitters (Al Nelson, Sunset Pier, Key West, FL)

Dark & Stormy- Goslings Black Bermuda Rum, ginger syrup, lime juice, Regatta Ginger Beer (Adam Schuman, Fatty Crab, New York City)

Valentine’s Kiss- Jose Cuervo Especial, cranberry juice, apple juice, seltzer (Jose Cuervo)

Now that you’ve read them all, cast your vote!

Over on Idea Offer, a request was put out for the best ideas for cocktails that have ice cream as an ingredient.  And the winning idea came from Navakanth Kanapala for his Strawberry Margarita Fizz.  Here it is as described by Navakanth:

Strawberry Margarita Fizz

Sugar for coating rims of glasses
1-1/2 cups softened strawberry ice cream
1/2 cup chopped strawberries, plus whole strawberries for garnish
1 ounce tequila, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/3 cup chilled club soda
Garnish: lime slices

Rim edges of two highball glasses with sugar, and set aside.  Place ice cream, chopped strawberries, tequila, and lime juice in a blender.  Mix until all ingredients are combined and smooth.  Divide strawberry mixture between the two glasses, and top each with half of the club soda.  Stir gently to combine.  Garnish with limes and strawberries, if desired.

Makes me want to get some ice cream and umbrellas and head to the beach!

Two weeks ago, the editors at Parched No More posted their top ten choices for Thanksgiving cocktails.  As hard as it was to narrow the list down to ten drinks, it seemed daunting to choose one favorite.  With a variety of drinks from which to choose, including martinis, a margarita, a frappe, a cider drink, an eggnog, and a wine-tail, the options seemed overwhelming.

However, polling has ended, and our readers have spoken.  We are pleased to announce that the Pumkinlicious Martini from ECO-BAR was chosen as the favorite drink for Thanksgiving.  In order to create this delicious beverage for your Turkey Day celebration, we have posted the recipe below.

Thank you to all who voted.  Don’t forget to check back for more cocktail recipes and contests.

toPumkinlicious Martini
1/2 oz. Organic Vanilla Vodka (TRU Organic Vodka)
1 oz. pumpkin spice liqueur
3/4 oz. butterscotch schnapps
1/2 oz. Kahlua
1/2 oz. half-and-half
Crushed graham crackers and raw sugar
Cinnamon stick (garnish)

Add all liquids in a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into large martini glass rimmed with crushed graham crackers. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.