Photo by Joanna O'Leary.

Texas Teas at Marquis II: They're Large and Will Take Charge of You

In response to last week's paean post on the Long Island Iced Tea, commenter Chris suggested that I check out the Texas Teas proffered at Marquis II. He added:

Report back on the experience, because it's tough not to get wasted starting the night with one of those.

That, sir, is a a challenge I must accept.

Although Marquis's famous intensely alcoholic teas are discounted on Tuesday ("Teasday"), I opted to visit with a few friends (also gifted with Irish livers) on a Monday in an attempt to escape some of the crowds.

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Photo from wikipedia commons.

What's colder and more fun than ice? Booze cubes.

Every since my experimentation with the Halloween brain hemorrhage cocktail, I have continued to scheme about concocting beverages that change in character as you drink them. Thus far I've focused my efforts on cocktails that change color, but a few weeks ago, in a tipsy Joycean epiphany, I thought: What about a drink that gradually meted out more alcohol the cocktail that kept on giving ah hah ice cubes made out of booze.

Of course, I'm hardly the first person to have this revelation. Many have mused over the possibility of "ice" cubes made from alcohol as a means of increasingly spiking your beverage and/or changing its flavor profile by tipping the balance with the introduction of another type of liquour.

But anyone who keeps vodka in the freezer knows why simply pouring alcohol into a standard ice tray won't produce booze cubes. The freezing point of ethanol (which varies slightly depending on proof) is way below that of water (0 degrees Celsius) and your average Frigidaire doesn't maintain temperatures that low. If, however, there's anything I've learned from the interwebs, when there's a will, there's a way.

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Photo by Darla Guillen

An affogato at Eatsie Boys Café.

I've always hated the phrase "movers and shakers," but if applied literally, it's an accurate description of our city right now. With locals running around town implacably, outpacing frequent mentions from national publications (which have taken to calling us the new "it" city), it's easy to forget that Southerners are said to keep a leisurely gait.

Blame it on highly addictive frozen and iced forms of caffeine, without which many of us would cede to summer's oppressive heat and humidity. As luck would have it, getting your caffeine fix is becoming more convenient and more interesting.

Although there are plenty of consistently good warm classics -- such as the Valrhona mocha at Blacksmith, a cortado at Southside Espresso or pretty much anything at Catalina Coffee -- there are other less-known, summer-friendly takes on coffee that even the most devout purist would enjoy.

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Photo from wikipedia commons.

The Long Island Iced Tea

I have many fond memories of Long Island, home to one of my favorite branches of the O'Leary family, including my wonderful cousins Julie and Deirdre. As a child, I was in awe of their sparkling wit and giggled constantly at their wonderful stories and convincing impressions. If I managed to make them laugh at my jokes, well, that felt very cool indeed.

During one cousins-only lunch, I had them rolling, though I didn't quite know why. We had just ordered drinks (iced teas all around), and my seven-year-old self remarked, "I'm really thirsty. Can't wait for my Long Island iced tea!" [Intense laughter]

I thought I was just being cute and clever by describing my drink by its geographical location; only years later did I realize I had unwittingly invoked a hard alcoholic beverage.

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Photo by artfulgourmetnyc

What this Watermelon Martini needs is some Milk.

One bottle of Pucker Watermelon Wow Vodka + Weekend Boredom = Most Delicious Cocktail Experimentation Ever.

In the spirit of approaching summer, I have been sampling fruit vodkas with the vague goal of concocting some sort of killer fruit punch that I can serve on the Fourth of July. (You should never drink without an objective.) While vodka and watermelon seem to be a natural pairing, I had never actually tried a specifically watermelon-flavored spirit for fear it would taste like a melted watermelon Jello. And while Pucker Watermelon Wow Vodka is indeed sweet and is probably not "all natural," the flavor is incredibly vibrant -- just like an almost overripe watermelon.

Most watermelon cocktail recipes involve lemonade, kiwi and/or mint, all fitting complements to the sweet red fruit. I was in the mood for a mixed drink that was more substantial than spritely, with some seasoning that would tickle the tongue. What's rich but refreshing, cold and creamy, fruity but not a smoothie? Yes, a milkshake. The recipe, after the jump:

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Photo by Joanna O'Leary.

George and Martha endorse this cocktail.

By itself a good hard cider is a wonderfully refreshing, mildly intoxicating beverage that is a terrific summer brew alternative for non-lovers of beer (me). Add a little this, a little that, and you have a cocktail with some extra zing, more flavor dimensions and enough volume for multiple large sips while you stand around the grill. Here are five hard cider cocktail recipes to try in the upcoming months.

5. Oriental Peacock. The perfect pairing for chicken and shrimp teriyaki skewers or just those frozen vegetarian egg rolls from Trader Joe's.

• 4 ounces hard cider
• 1.5 ounces melon liqueur
• 0.5 ounces lychee liqueur
• 0.5 ounces vodka

Combine all ingredients in a highball glass, stir and add two to three ice cubes.

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Photo by Joanna O'Leary.

Homemade ginger ale. Sunshine optional but recommended ingredient.

I am what I eat, figuratively, at least since I both self-identify as a Ginger and I adore all things ginger-flavored. I sprinkle ground ginger in my tea, order anything vaguely laced with the spice on Asian menus, and once even took two large bites off a piece of the root itself. (My stomach hurt terribly and I was desperate. It helped, actually.)

My husband and I have been scheming for years to make and sell our own ginger beer (angel investors, where are you?), and recently I've been trying out recipes for homemade ginger ale in between working furiously on the ol' dissertation.

Making your own ginger ale can be shockingly simple and alarmingly complicated. The Internet holds a good number of recipes ranging in difficulty; I found success with a formula that was slightly more involved than one might find in a cookbook directed at three-year-olds.

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Nicholas L. Hall

Beet Shrub, Blackberry/Sriracha Shrub

I'm a terrible Catholic. Every year, I try to make up for that fact during Lent, vowing to give up television or meat or stringent usury. Depriving myself of creature comforts for 11 percent of my life seems like a fair trade-off for sleeping in on Sundays, and I never take the easy way out, giving up something I won't particularly miss.

Last year I gave up meat, and it led to a significant and ongoing change to the way my family prepares and eats meals. This year, I gave up alcohol and spent the 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday trying to figure out how to make drinks without it seem interesting. It's both more and less difficult than you might think.

It's easy enough to make a nonalcoholic drink, but it's hard to make a nonalcoholic cocktail. When you start with a base of fruit juice, soda or tea, that's often the overall impression of the drink. While juice, soda and tea can be lovely, they don't drink the same as a cocktail. My goal in boozeless cocktailing is to make the experience of a nonalcoholic drink as much like a cocktail as possible. In order to avoid the juice/soda/tea trap, you have to get creative.

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Photo by Joanna O'Leary.

Take an Irish Blonde to a St. Paddy's Day party or to the beach for some light reading.

With less than a week to go until Saint Patrick's Day, it's time to start taste-tasting mixed drinks so on the day-of, you can mask your alcoholism with sophisticated cocktail selections. You're not fooling anyone if you belly up to the bar and request an Irish Car Bomb, nor will you turn any heads ordering endless pints of Guinness (though that's not to say you won't enjoy yourself).

At St. Patrick's Day parties I've hosted in years past, I have offered a range of shamrock-themed drinks, from the saccharine "Irish Pride" (crème de menthe, amaretto, lemon juice) to the heavy-handed "Irish Martini" (dry vermouth, vodka, irish whiskey), which had one guest (okay, me) singing ballads off a balcony.

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Photo from dailyfinance.com

Water "Enhancers".

*Or any artificially flavored liquid beverage enhancer.

I appreciate that many people prefer a little flavor in their water. As an adolescent girl in the 1990's, I was quite smitten with Crystal Light and infused my water bottles for softball with their potent powders. I've since kicked my Crystal Light habit and now try to use just cucumbers, limes and lemons to add a little spice to my H2O. And sometimes I do indulge in those one-liter bottles of sparkling water artificially flavored with "tangerine lime" and other nonsense.

But I can't get behind using MiO , Dasani Drops, Vitamin Squeeze or any of these other just-under-two ounces flasks of concentrated artificial flavor.

Especially not in public.

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