Greece meets Kentucky

Justyna came to visit and I made the following drink using Tentura that Steph brought us as a gift from Greece. It is very tasty, cinnamon and herbs.

One shot Tentura
One shot Bourbon (Maker's Mark is my mixing bourbon of choice)
1/2 shot Liqour 43 (or other vanilla and herb liquor)

Shake and serve rocks in an old-fashioned glass.

Nerves of Steel

Shea made me a cocktail tonight. Not sure on the proportions: beefeater gin, limoncello, blue curacao, and cherry honey. We bought the cherry honey in Michigan. It really made the drink.

Quady cocktail

Since Quady Red Electra is a fairly low-alcohol wine, I asked Shea to make me a cocktail using it. Actually, it was inspired by the sweet flavor and light effervescence. I recommended (what else?) lavender syrup and Shea took it from there.

To a double old-fashioned glass add:
3 ice cubes
1 splash of lemoncello
1 shot of lavender syrup
fill glass with Quady Red Electra

Very suitable for a Sunday in the summer.

Earlier in the evening, we had Quady as an accompaniment to spicy Indian red beans. Quady goes well with spicy foods.

Today's installment: Lavendar Martini

This one is actually closer to a true martini than the cocktails that one often sees on bar menus. It is so very tasty, but you do have to like gin. And if you don't like gin, leave this blog now.

2 parts gin (we used Beefeater - not my first choice gin, but it worked out well for this drink)
1 part lavendar syrup (purchased from a gourmet foodstuff place. someday we'll make our own)
Shake and serve with a garnish of fresh papaya.

I have to say that the papaya was the star of this amazing drink.

I wouldn't recommend using vodka instead of gin as then the only real flavor would be the lavendar syrup and that would be a little insipid. If you must use vodka instead of gin, I'd recommend finding a third ingredient. Maybe you should look for that in another posting.

My drinking has a blog of its own

Really, it was about time. I didn't want libraryun to be all about the drinks.

Tonight I worked at the reference desk. Typical of 2 weeks before the end of the semester it was steady, but not hectic. Most papers were probably already due a week or two ago and the students left in the library are the unlucky ones with papers left and those studying. I don't think we've had the wave of procrastinators and people with overdue papers yet. No one I helped was panicking.

I was thinking at work that I wanted a creative drink when I got home at 10PM. It did not require alcohol, but it did need to be a blend of beverages. Something to sip and savor. I was in luck. I didn't even have to ask, Shea had it ready. Sangria.

Earlier in the evening Shea had opened a bottle of riesling that a co-worker had made. It lacked only a little acidity, so inspired by the garlicky white-beans that he had made, Shea added citrus, limoncello,campari, and a little limonata to the wine and made the best white sangria I've ever had.

Now only if it was sunny outside to sip this in the backyard.