PopSugar

Happy Hour: Vodka Mojito

partysugar — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:13:33 -0700

On Wednesday night, FabSugar invited me to attend a fashion party at the San Francisco Guess store. While Fab was busy talking with Brittany Snow, I was out scouting drinks and chatting with the bartender. Instead of an open bar with wine and beer, one simple specialty cocktail was poured. At first glance, I thought the drink was the classic mojito. However, I soon realized it was a refreshing variation with vodka instead of rum, lemon juice, lime juice, and a splash of Sprite. This drink was crowd pleasing, smooth and light. To mix it up for yourself, just read more

Vodka Mojito
Modified from Ask Men

2 1/2 oz Vodka
3 Fresh Mint Sprigs
2 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Sprite
lemon twists for garnish

Muddle the mint, sugar and citrus juices in a collins glass.
Fill it with ice, add vodka and top it with sprite. Shake or mix the drink; garnish it with a lemon twist.

Makes 1 drink.

Print recipe with images | without images

Happy Hour: The Lucky Pears Faux-jito

partysugar — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 12:57:45 -0700

A little while back we gave you a sampling of pear vodka and if you haven't tasted it yet, what are you waiting for? Pear vodka is everywhere, it's the vodka to mix in your specialty drinks. Being that St. Patty's is tomorrow I have the perfect green, mint infused cocktail recipe. This is an exclusive concoction being served tomorrow at the St. Patrick's Day celebration at Nurse Bettie in New York City. The drink is an interesting interpretation of a mojito with a blend of the vodka, midori sour, and white grape juice. Sound like a refreshing alternative to drinking beer? Check out the recipe and read more

The Lucky Pears Faux-jito
From Nurse Bettie

1¾ oz pear vodka (recommended: Absolut)
¼ oz midori liqueur
2 oz white grape juice
½ oz lime juice
4 -6 mint leaves
1 spoonful of (light) brown sugar

Place mint, lime juice, and brown sugar in a large glass.

Muddle to release essence of mint and dissolve sugar.

Fill glass with ice.
In a cocktail shaker combine the vodka, midori, and grape juice. Shake to mix.
Strain into prepared glass. Stir to combine and swirl mint leaves chicly around the glass.

Makes 1 cocktail.

Print recipe with images | without images

Happy Hour: Lemonade Mojito

YumSugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:30:45 -0700

The other day, I cohosted a barbecue so, of course, I served a signature cocktail. As an added challenge, the barbecue was actually a baby shower, and the guest of honor was pregnant. So I searched for a recipe that would be just as refreshing without booze as with it.

I dug this recipe out of my recipe file, ripped out of InStyle magazine years ago and just waiting for its moment. It's great for big groups since it can be made in large batches, and I like that it uses vodka instead of the usual rum, since I have a lot of friends who find rum off-putting. It's very tart and sufficiently sweet, and without the vodka, it's just a minty homemade lemonade. To get the recipe, read more.

Lemonade Mojitos
InStyle magazine

Ingredients

1/2 cup mint leaves, plus mint sprigs for garnish
1 cup sugar syrup (recipe follows)
5 cups club soda
4 cups vodka
4 cups fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup superfine sugar

Directions

To make the sugar syrup, heat 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water over low heat, stirring with wooden spoon until sugar has dissolved. Stop stirring and increase heat to medium. Simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool; refrigerate 2 hours before using.
In large bowl, muddle 1/2 cup mint leaves with sugar syrup.
Stir in club soda, vodka*, lemon juice, and 2/3 cup superfine sugar. Chill.
Pour into ice-filled pitchers with lemon rounds and mint sprigs; serve in tall glasses.

* To make a nonalcoholic batch of lemonade, reserve the vodka and add 1 1/2 ounces to each glass before pouring.

Print recipe with images | without images

Happy Hour: Cherry Mojito

partysugar — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:00:09 -0700

Inspired by the success of YumSugar's mango mojito, I decided to experiment with my own cherry variation. It was wonderfully delicious and everything you expect a good mojito to be: refreshing, light, and not to sweet. The key is to use fresh squeezed lime juice and perfectly ripe berries. The recipe makes enough for a crowd, so this cocktail is excellent for Summer entertaining. I highly recommend that you take a look at the recipe, please read more.

Cherry Mojitos
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups fresh lime juice (about 9 limes)
3 pounds dark cherries, such as Bing or Burlat, pitted
2 1/4 cups best-quality black cherry or plain vodka*
1 (750 ml) bottle sparkling water

Directions

Bring sugar and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat; let cool completely. (Makes about 2 cups syrup.) Syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 month.
Put lime juice into a medium nonreactive bowl. Halve 2/3 of the cherries; add all cherries to lime juice. Stir in syrup. Refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to overnight).
Stir cherry mixture and vodka in a large serving bowl.
Fill 12 glasses with ice. Spoon 1/2 cup cherry-vodka mixture into each glass.
Top with sparkling water; serve immediately.

Serves 12.

*I used plain vodka.

Print recipe with images | without images

Must Read: Sips & Apps

partysugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:00:14 -0700

Thanks to shows like Mad Men, it's clear that the ritual of the cocktail hour - a time in the late afternoon where potent drinks are sipped and savory snacks are nibbled - is poised to make a comeback. A recent book, Sips & Apps ($19.95) by Kathy Casey, further promotes the idea by providing happy homemakers with a plethora of modern and classic cocktails, and a handful of incredibly tasty-sounding bar snacks. To learn more about this bartending guide keep reading.

Meet Tony Abou-Ganim, the Modern Mixologist!

partysugar — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:00:12 -0700

One of my favorite seminars at the Food and Wine Classic was Tony Abou-Ganim's party punches and sangria class. A pioneer in the world of classic cocktail making, Ganim is known for establishing cocktail programs at prestigious bars in San Francisco, New York, and most recently Las Vegas. Referred to as the Modern Mixologist, Tony takes a culinary approach to cocktails and considers himself a "bar chef."

Earlier today I had the chance to speak with Tony over the phone. To see what the fabulous Abou-Ganim had to say in my exclusive interview, read more.

Tony believes that when it comes to food, wine actually pairs better than a cocktail. While he loves to start a nice meal with a cocktail and end it with a strong spirit or dessert drink, in terms of fine dining, he leaves the food pairings to wine.

PS: What trends do you see in mixology?
TAG: We call it market fresh mixology. More and more people are utilizing seasonality to make cocktails. It's the culinary approach to cocktails. Don't wrestle with mother nature. Use ingredients that are in season.

PS: Why do you think people are so into classic cocktails now?
TAG: I think it was the missing link in the evolution of the culinary arts. Thanks to the rise of celebrity chefs and the Food Network, people have become more aware of cooking and entertaining at home. Most people these days know how to navigate a wine list and it was only natural for people to become more interested in cocktails.

PS: What is your signature drink?
TAG: It's called the Cable Car. I developed it in 1996 at the Starlight Room in San Francisco. I hope it becomes a classic cocktail and that in 100 years people are still drinking the Cable Car that Tony Abou-Ganim created in 1996.

PS: Do you think it's important to have a specialty cocktail when entertaining?
TAG: Absolutely! Specialty cocktails make it easier for you to host and it makes it more fun. I recently hosted a party where I gave every couple a muddler as a party favor. I gave a quick demo on how to make a mojito and set out a bunch of limes and simple syrup. Everyone made their own mojitos which made it easy on me because I didn't have to make a million mojitos.

PS: What do you think makes a good mojito?
TAG: The mojito is the simplest, most difficult drink to make perfectly. Love, you've gotta put love into it. If I order a mojito and the bartender doesn't get excited about it I know it's not going to be good. But if the bartender says, "I just got a bunch of clementines from the market, can I make you a clementine mojito?" I know it's going to be good.

PS: What's your advice to the home mixologist?
TAG: Learn the basic techniques. Search for a balance, the ying and yang of sweet and sour. Understand the flavors, taste everything. Use fresh, in-season produce. Once you know the basic techniques, the simple recipe you can have fun with it and utilize fresh seasonal ingredients. Now bing cherries are in season, so why not pit a bunch of cherries, muddle them with sugar, add ice and cachaça, and make it a bing-cherry Caipirinha?
PS: Vodka or gin?
TAG: Gin for the classics, but I'm pro vodka. It's a great spirit that has a bad rap in bartending.

PS: Martini or Manhattan?
TAG: Martini

PS: Shaken or stirred?
TAG: Depends if vodka or gin. If vodka shaken, I believe the ice crystals open up the vodka. If gin, stirred. Shaking gin will only dilute it.

PS: Straight up or on the rocks?
TAG: Straight up.

PS: Lemon twist or olive?
TAG: Lemon twist.

PS: Pineapple or cherry?
TAG: Pineapple.

PS: San Francisco or Las Vegas?
TAG: San Francisco.

PS: Bourbon or Scotch?
TAG: Bourbon.

PS: Red or white wine?
TAG: White wine.

PS: Margarita: frozen or on the rocks?
TAG: On the rocks.

Happy Hour: Save the Ice Until Last

partysugar — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:00:44 -0700

Earlier this week I learned a great tip from one of San Francisco's best bartenders, Marco Dionysus of Clock Bar. We were chatting about the proper way to build a drink in a cocktail shaker.

His advice is something of a no-brainer, but definitely worth mentioning: when it comes to making any drink, from a mojito to a martini, always place the ice in the shaker last. Adding the ice before you incorporate the other ingredients can severely dilute a drink. Within the time it takes to walk to your liquor cabinet and grab the vodka, the ice is already melting in the cocktail shaker. It makes perfect sense, and I hate to say it, but I've been sipping diluted drinks for years!

Do you always save the ice for last?

Source

Now Open: World's First Certified Organic Bar

YumSugar — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:30:56 -0800

This weekend, GustOrganics, an all-organic restaurant in Manhattan, became the world's first 100 percent USDA certified organic bar. The sleek, eco-conscious bar and restaurant is located in Greenwich Village. The bar is stocked with certified organic wine, beer, fresh fruit, and spirits such as rum, vodka, whiskey, and tequila. According to owner Alberto Gonzalez, all of the drinks are free of chemicals, artificial substances, hormones, and pesticides. GustOrganics serves standards cocktails like martinis and mojitos, and fruit concoctions such as Fresquitos, made with mangoes, orange juice, and vodka.

Other aspects of the bar are eco-friendly: there's a wind turbine on the roof that generates renewable energy and the menus are printed with soy ink on 100-percent recycled paper. I'd love to stop by this bar to try the fresh-made drinks and test out the theory that organic drinks prevent hangovers. What about you? Does the organic drink movement interest you, and do you think GustOrganics will (pardon the pun) set the bar for other nightspots?

Source

Unhealthiest Cocktails of Summer

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:00:00 -0700

Summer is a time to let loose, but don't let too loose says Newsweek. When the mercury rises, so do the calories in some of our favorite alcoholic beverages. Here are the top six cocktails that'll do a number on your diet:

Margarita. If you use a sugar-saturated Margarita mix, add tequila or Triple Sec, and then pour the drink into a salt-rimmed glass, the result could set you back 850 calories, Jackie Warner, a fitness trainer and the star of the Bravo network's Work Out says.
Mudslide. A 12-ounce frozen mudslide-made with vodka, Kahlua liqueur, Bailey's Irish Cream, and vanilla ice cream - tastes like an alcoholic milkshake and is just about as unhealthy. It has 820 calories and 27.2 grams of fat.
Piña Colada. If you like piña coladas, watch out: the rum, pineapple juice, and cream of coconut drink can contain up to 650 calories.

There's three more so read more.

Mint Julep. You don't need a straw hat or a horserace to drink a mint julep. But the concoction of bourbon and mint-and-sugar syrup might set your diet back. One glass contains about 472 calories.
Mojito. The classic mojito - a mixture of lime juice, sugar, mint leaves, rum, and soda - will run you about 242 calories.
Daiquiri. A frozen strawberry daiquiri, made from strawberry schnapps, rum, lime juice, sugar, and strawberries contains about 220 calories.

As fun as they are, especially a mudslide - yum! - I think I'll be sticking to my occasional glass of wine. What about you?

Source

And the Winner Is . . .

PopSugar — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:45:28 -0700

We are so thrilled to announce that Sugar user carriefrances will be joining us tomorrow night at the Sugar exclusive screening of Sex and the City! The longtime user is a HUGE SATC fan, and we could not be more excited to meet her and shower her with gifts and a fabulous party among friends.

Carriefrances will be getting goodies from SATC sponsors like Vitaminwater, Swarovski, Mercedes-Benz, Bacardi Mango Mojito, SKYY Vodka, and SJP’s Lovely fragrance. Many attending the screening will also get a t-shirt from SJP's Bitten line from Steve and Barry's. The party will include prizes and drinks from the sponsors above, as well as Lotus Vodka Cosmos, wine from Ecco Domani, and yummy Kara's cupcakes for dessert. Obviously we are counting down the minutes until we can watch these four ladies on the big screen, but we'd like to thank all of you who entered the contest and attend the event. Hopefully there will be many more Sugar soirees in the future.