It's Friday. Can you recommend a cocktail?

[realdocBBQ]

Personally I like to make my own whiskey sours, but a little different.

First, you have to make your own sour/sweet & sour mix. Basically equal parts fresh squeezed lime juice and lemon juice, then approximately equal cold water and sweeten to taste - we use Splenda, not sugar.

Pick a good rye. Note, I didn't say expensive rye, I said good rye. A great "mixing" rye I like is Sazerac.

Then I put a few ice cubes in a large tumbler - like a 12 oz. Fill with whiskey to the top of the cubes, or to make the cubes float - obviously the strength of this drink is in the eye of the consumer. I like mine a lot stronger than The Wife does.

Then, about 2-4 splashes of Angostura bitters. 2-3 maraschino cherries and finally add a teaspoon or two of the juice from the cherries.

Stir and enjoy.

Nothing, but NOTHING, helps a cocktail like your own homemade sour mix. It is light years ahead of anything from the store, but ye gods! It's work. The bitters adds a complexity to the whiskey sour that is really nice. And I've been known to sub a bit of grenadine for the cherries and cherry juice, or some kind of pomegranate liqueur. It works fine, either way.

So that's my favorite cocktail. I'm a little late to the party, but it's rich, complex a little sweet, a little sour and heavenly divine.


<edit> Is it wrong that now I'm craving one of these at 0830 on a Sunday morning???

[SmokeyGator]

Is it hot outside? If so, SUMMER SHANDY!

1/2 pint lemonade
1/2 pint beer. I prefer an unfiltered wheat beer for this, but any lager will work. Avoid stouts, reds, and be careful with IPAs, I think they are best with a lighter beer with hints of citrus in the finish.

But if this is not what you had in mind AND it is still hot, MARGARITA! 2 oz Te-Kill-Ya, 1/2 ounce each of orange liquor, freshly squeezed Persian lime juice, and agave syrup (simple syrup also works). In my opinion, you want the rot gut te-kill-ya. The stuff with that HEAVY tequila bite. The cringe face stuff. You get the idea. The expensive smooth stuff is wasted in a margarita, the cheaper stuff that bites mixes with the other stuff and is just perfect.

Also you can lazy out, take a pint glass, fill it with ice, pour in the tequila, then add sour mix and some orange liquor.

Lazy man's Pina Coloda. Pineapple juice, coconut rum, ice. That is all. No need to get all fancy unless you want to.

And finally, if its the end of a hot summer day and you want to sit back and relax with something good and watch the sun go down OR you are on vacation and want to get an early start while watching the sun rise over the beach (I am assuming you are in the east coast here) - TEQUILA SUNRISE! The same rot gut tequila from the margaritas (for later in the afternoon) but you mix it with orange juice and grenadine. You get a very pretty drink with the orange juice and red swirls from the syrup, plus the varying patterns of orange/red where it mixes - and it is really good.

HONORABLE MENTION: The Mojito (Mow-He-Toe). Rum, simple syrup, mint, lime. Muddle the mint and lime. Lazy way is to use Sprite and skip the lime and syrup (but the mint is a MUST). This is the official drink of Miami, unless it is 3:05 and therefore time for a 305 (our original area code) Cafecito (espresso plus A LOT of sugar. No, more sugar. Still more sugar...).

Note all of the above are lighter and refreshing, and just absolutely perfect for the summer. Also it is summer here.

[Attjack]

This is a good one.The Mezcal Negroni.



1 oz Mezcal
1 oz Campari
1 oz red vermouth
2 dashed chocolate bitter
Garnish: orange peel

Combine Mezcal, Campari, red vermouth, and chocolate bitters over ice in a mixing glass and stir. Strain over ice in a rocks glass.
Garnish with an orange peel.