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For this week’s Customizable Cooking, Estee’s New Year’s theme lead us to cocktail territory. Using these links (link 1 and link 2) as references, Estee challenged us to create our own homemade cocktails or mocktails for a festive occasion!
Melissa’s Nutritional Tidbit: Between me and you, I do not drink at all and I mean nothing at all. I once fell asleep after I tried a Smirnoff- yeah I know, pretty sad. For all of those people who aren’t like me and actually like a drink or two, I say go for it in moderation. According to the USDA, the limit for women is one drink a day. A drink constitutes 5 oz of wine, 12 oz of beer, and 1.5 oz of distilled spirits (vodka, gin etc).
Cindy: Hot Mojito
Expertise: Beginner
Ease: Pretty easy
Customizing: It is a simple mojito — rum, mint, lime, and sugar — but instead of club soda, you put it in hot water and pretend it’s tea.
Repeatability: I love it. I find this drink to be incredibly calming. No one else who’s tried it agrees with me, and my friends make fun of me for liking it. Apparently, mojitos should be refreshing and summery. But I don’t like tea, and this is a good, relaxing alternative.
Estee: Customized Bellini
Expertise: Intermediate (my grandmother owned a bar when I was a child and I have a few friends that own some now)
Ease: VERY easy
Customizing: A normal Bellini in it’s easiest form is sparkling wine mixed with a shot of peach schnapps and maybe a little bit of peach juice or nectar. I had the schnapps already and I usually get at least one bottle of sparkling wine gifted to me every year. I also like to pick up the little 4 packs of the mini bottles to have around in case the mood for a bubbly beverage strikes me. So for this recipe, I use a shot of peach schnapps, 3 shots worth of a mixed berry blend of white cranberry juice and a full mini bottle of Asti. I pour them all into a wine glass and let the bubbles do the mixing. I felt that stirring or shaking would cause the bubbles from the sparkling wine to dissipate more quickly.
Repeatability: ABSOLUTELY. I may even try different flavored schnapps and juices. I feel like the possible combinations are endless.
Hadas: Twine (Tea + Wine)
Expertise: NOOB! I do not drink, it hurts too much, I don’t understand it.
Ease: Hard. I had to research, watch a video, and bother Estee throughout. Also opened the wrong bottle of wine too…
Customizing: This is probably the most customized any wine has ever been. I saw a mocktail with tea in it and thought I’d just pair a fruity tea with a sparkling wine. I opened the wrong wine though so no sparkles. The first try resulted in me opening Bartenura Rosso Toscano instead of Bartenura Brachetto. Ooh boy did that stink. I added loads of ice and the Mango and Passionfruit tea I brewed and it was okay, but my second attempt was much better. Malaga wine (a sweet dessert wine) + the Mango and Passionfruit tea in a sugar rimmed glass= yum!
Repeatability: Probably not. I do love that I learned how to do that sugar rim trick though, so it’s all good.
What is your favorite homemade cocktail or mocktail?
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