Whiskey Wednesday: Raspberry Bourbon Smash

Happy Wednesday guys!!!

In 2015, I started a fun new blog series - 

Whiskey Wednesday!!!

If you missed them, here are past posts:
Irish Mule
 Mint Julep
Bourbon & Sparkling Lemonade
Irish Redhead
Old Fashion
Jameson Coke Floats
Bourbon Cherry Coke
Bourbon Spiked Apple Cider
Hot Toddy
Whiskey Sour
Sage Brown Derby

Strawberry Whiskey Smash
Gold Rush
Blackberry Whiskey Punch
Kickin' Blood Orange Spritzer
Cherry Lime Whiskey Fizz
Peach Mint Julep

Apple Old Fashion
Rye Maple Fizz

I've made two other whiskey "smash" drinks for the blog,
but this one was by far the easiest of them.
In fact, it's one of the easiest drinks I've made.
Don't let that fool you though - it's full of flavor!

The Goods:

Raspberry Jam or Preserve

Bourbon

Triple Sec

Orange Juice

Club Soda

Orange

In a shaker, combine 1/2 cup ice, 2 tablespoons raspberry jam, 2 tablespoons bourbon, 1 tablespoon triple sec, and 2 tablespoons orange juice and shake quickly for 20 to 30 seconds. 

Strain into a chilled glass with ice, top with club soda and garnish with orange slice and peel.

Whiskey Wednesday: Peach Mint Julep

Happy Wednesday guys!!!

In 2015, I started a fun new blog series - 

Whiskey Wednesday!!!

If you missed them, here are past posts:
Irish Mule
 Mint Julep
Bourbon & Sparkling Lemonade
Irish Redhead
Old Fashion
Jameson Coke Floats
Bourbon Cherry Coke
Bourbon Spiked Apple Cider
Hot Toddy
Whiskey Sour
Sage Brown Derby

Strawberry Whiskey Smash
Gold Rush
Blackberry Whiskey Punch
Kickin' Blood Orange Spritzer
Cherry Lime Whiskey Fizz

Since I've been doing this blog series for over a year,
I'm starting to run low on cocktails I want to make,
(Side note - please send me your suggestions!)
so I've started adding different twists to cocktails I've already featured.

And today I'm adding my own spin on Adam's Mint Julep.
I'm making the last bit of Summer count,
and incorporating some fresh juicy peaches to make a Peach Mint Julep!
I was inspired by this recipe and made slight modifications.

The Goods:

Sugar

Water

Peaches

Whiskey

Club Soda

Mint

Make your peach simple syrup by combining the following:

1/2 Cup Sugar, 1/2 Cup Water, 1 Peach - sliced. 

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until syrup is dissolved.

Remove peaches and let syrup cool completely.

Crush a whole bunch of ice.

Add crushed ice and fresh sliced peaches to a glass.

Add torn pieces of fresh mint leaves on top of ice.

Add one shot of whiskey

and one tablespoon peach simple syrup.

Top with club soda

and garnish with mint and a peach slice.

Take a sip, sit back and enjoy the last bit of Summer!

Whiskey Wednesday: Cherry Lime Whiskey Fizz

Happy Wednesday guys!!!

Over a year ago, I started a fun new blog series - 

Whiskey Wednesday!!!

If you missed them, here are past posts:
Irish Mule
 Mint Julep
Bourbon & Sparkling Lemonade
Irish Redhead
Old Fashion
Jameson Coke Floats
Bourbon Cherry Coke
Bourbon Spiked Apple Cider
Hot Toddy
Whiskey Sour
Sage Brown Derby

Strawberry Whiskey Smash
Gold Rush
Blackberry Whiskey Punch
Kickin' Blood Orange Spritzer

Since starting the Whiskey Wednesday blog series,
I've kept my eye out for whiskey drink recipes that appeal to me.
While browsing online recently, I ran across this recipe.
It sounded delicious and I had to make it because cherries were in season!

Similar to last month's Whiskey Wednesday post,
this cocktail didn't turn out exactly like I'd planned,
but I was really happy with the way it did turn out.

 The Goods:
Fresh Cherries
Simple Syrup
Whikey
Fresh Lime Juice
Cherry Sparkling Water
Fresh Mint Leaves

To a cocktail shaker, add 6 pitted and halved cherries and 1/2 ounce simple syrup, then muddle.

Next add 1 1/2 ounce whiskey*, juice from 1 lime, 2 to 3 fresh mint leaves and ice.

Shake for about 30 seconds and then pour into a glass about half filled with ice.

Top with cherry sparkling water, then garnish with fresh mint and a lime slice.

Step back and admire your cocktail making skills...

Then take a sip and enjoy!!!

*This cocktail can easily be made into a mocktail,
simply by omitting the whiskey for those that don't drink alcohol.
In fact, the photo above with two drinks has a mocktail on the right
 and just looking at the two you can't really tell a difference!

Whiskey Wednesday: Kickin' Blood Orange Spritzer

Happy Wednesday guys!!!

Over a year ago, I started a fun new blog series - 

Whiskey Wednesday!!!

If you missed them, here are past posts:
Irish Mule
 Mint Julep
Bourbon & Sparkling Lemonade
Irish Redhead
Old Fashion
Jameson Coke Floats
Bourbon Cherry Coke
Bourbon Spiked Apple Cider
Hot Toddy
Whiskey Sour
Sage Brown Derby

Strawberry Whiskey Smash
Gold Rush
Blackberry Whiskey Punch

As you can see, I've made quite a few whiskey drinks so far.
Whenever I run across a recipe that sounds appealing,
I make a note to make it soon and include it in this monthly blog series.

While I originally set out to make a variation of this recipe,

I wasn't able to track down blood oranges or even blood orange juice,

so I did the next best thing and created a brand new drink!

The Goods:

Whiskey

Orange Juice

Blood Orange San Pellegrino

Jalapeno

Get all your ingredients prepped and measured out.

Add ice, whiskey, orange juice and sliced jalapenos 

to a cocktail shaker and shake for about 30 seconds. 

Strain mixture into two small glasses.

The liquid should fill about half of each glass.

Finally, top with chilled Blood Orange San Pellegrino.

Cheers your friend, take a sip and enjoy!

Warning - there's quite a kick to these from the jalapenos!!!

Kickin' Blood Orange Spritzer

(Makes 2 Drinks)

4 Ounces Whiskey

1/2 Cup Orange Juice

1 Can Blood Orange San Pellegrino

1 Fresh Jalapeno, Sliced

1. Add ice, whiskey, orange juice and sliced jalapenos to a cocktail shaker and shake for about 30 seconds. 
2. Strain mixture into two small glasses. It should fill about half of each glass.
3. Finally, top with chilled Blood Orange San Pellegrino.
4. Cheers your friend, take a sip and enjoy!

Favorite Things To Do For 4th of July!

Happy Friday you guys!!!

I'm back today for another Friday Link Up!

This week, I'm linking up with THREE different groups.

Make sure to check them all out at the bottom of this post!

It seems my five favorites are all holiday weekend themed recently.
Last month I posted about my Five Favorite Memorial Day recipes.
And since it's now the Friday before the 4th of July, I'm posting about my
FIVE FAVORITE THINGS TO DO FOR 4TH OF JULY!

While watching fireworks seems pretty typical for 4th of July,
I'm shockingly NOT including that in my list today!
I'm still planning to go see them somewhere in Los Angeles
but wanted to talk about other fun things to do this holiday weekend!

ONE

It's been HOT in LA and I've been loving my pool.

It's forecast to be scorching this weekend,

 so you'll probably find me here at least once!

TWO

I prefer to cool off in the pool over going to the beach,

but I'll deal with the sand to see a sunset like the one above.

If you throw in a beach bonfire, I'll be there even faster!

THREE

Summer holiday long weekends and grilling just go hand in hand to me.

I have absolutely no clue what I'll be making on it just yet,

but you better believe at least one meal I make will be grilled this weekend!

FOUR

And you can't forget a festive dessert to round out your grilled meal!

I made this Fruit Pizza for my aunt's birthday AND 4th of July last year.

It's really that good and can easily be made ahead of time.

FIVE

Lastly, make a batch of seasonal cocktails like my Blackberry Whiskey Punch!

Depending on the number of people you'll be celebrating with,

the above recipe can easily be doubled or halved.

Hope you all have an amazing and safe 4th of July weekend!!!

Now for more Friday Link Up Fun, check out the blogs below!

Andrea and Erika's blogs from Friday Favorites.

April and Christina's blogs from 5 on Friday.

Karli and Amy's blogs from oh hey friday!

Whiskey Wednesday: Blackberry Whiskey Punch

Happy Hump Day guys!!!

In 2015, I started a fun new blog series - 

Whiskey Wednesday!!!

If you missed them, here are past posts:
Irish Mule
 Mint Julep
Bourbon & Sparkling Lemonade
Irish Redhead
Old Fashion
Jameson Coke Floats
Bourbon Cherry Coke
Bourbon Spiked Apple Cider
Hot Toddy
Whiskey Sour
Sage Brown Derby

Strawberry Whiskey Smash
Gold Rush

A few months ago I ran across this recipe* shared by a friend on Facebook.
While it sounded amazing, I'm really not a fan of tequila.
But I quickly realized I could replace the tequila with whiskey,
and that's how I came up with this month's Whiskey Wednesday drink.

The Goods:

Bourbon

Blackberries

Limes

Fresh Mint

Club Soda

Ginger Beer

Slice three limes pretty thin.

Wash your blackberries and add to a medium bowl.

Using a fork, mash up all the blackberries creating lots of juice.

Measure out 1 cup of bourbon...

And then add it to the mashed up blackberries.

Now add the sliced limes...

And the leaves from three sprigs of mint...

Stir it all up to combine.

Let sit at least 30 minutes, but preferably a few hours!

Right before serving, add in one can of club soda...

Followed by one bottle of ginger beer.

 Stir to combine.

Get your glasses and garnished prepped.

And serve up the drinks for you and your friends!

Last thing to do is cheers, take a sip and enjoy!!!

After making these, I realized you could not only make these with whiskey or tequila,
and can pretty much substitute any type of liquor that you're a fan of.
In fact, I've already tried it out with vodka too and they were just as tasty!
I'm sure using a different type of berry would be pretty delicious as well.

*The linked recipe above makes a total of 8 drinks, 
but can easily be halved or even multiplied for big parties!
My pictures and instructions include enough for 4 drinks. 

Whiskey Wednesday: Bourbon Cherry Coke

Happy Wednesday everyone!!!

A few months ago, I started a fun new blog series - 

Whiskey Wednesday!!!

If you missed them, here are the last few:
Irish Mule
 Mint Julep
Bourbon & Sparkling Lemonade
Irish Redhead
Old Fashion
Jameson Coke Floats

Make sure to check back each month for a new recipe!

Whiskey Wednesday will happen every first Wednesday of the month.

I'm not much of a soda drinker these days.
In fact, I really only consume it with the addition of alcohol.
But funny enough, I've been drinking soda more often recently
because I've used it in the last two Whiskey Wednesday posts!

This month, I could have simply made a Bourbon and Coke,
but wanted to take it a step further and make a Bourbon Cherry Coke.
And using grenadine you're able to adjust the cherry flavor yourself.
Let me show you how I made mine.

The Goods:

Bourbon

Coke

Maraschino Cherries

Grenadine

Ice

Pour one shot of bourbon over your ice...

Add as much grenadine as you'd like...

(I used about a teaspoon in mine)

Stir to mix the grenadine with the bourbon...

Pour in your chilled Coke until your glass is full....

I've found the mini cans (7.5 ounces) are PERFECT for this.

And finally add a few maraschino cherries and a fun straw...

Now sit back, relax and enjoy your Bourbon Cherry Coke!