Cocktails Made With Yogurt

Posted on October 25, 2016 by Marcia Simmons

Cloud Hopper Cocktail at GreenRiver in Chicago (photo: Kailley Lindman)

Yogurt: It’s not just for breakfast.

Because of its health benefits, yogurt has taken over the dairy section. Greek, Icelandic, whole fat, non-fat, goat, cow or sheep — there are more varieties of yogurt at most markets than all other milk products combined. But the next frontier for cultured dairy is behind the bar.

I wrote about yogurt cocktails for Tales of the Cocktail (also includes a recipe for Top of the Monk’s Honey Almond & Chevre Fizz!)

DIY Spiced Rum

Posted on October 23, 2016 by Marcia Simmons

Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of spiced rum! Skip the Captain Morgan, because making your own is so easy. Try your DIY Spiced Rum in a Dark ‘n’ Stormy or any other cocktails you’d normally use the store-bought stuff in.

Spiced Rum
3 cups light rum
1/2 cup gold rum
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
zest of half an orange
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
3 allspice berries
1 star anise pod, broken
2 cardamom pods
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
1 slice of ginger, roughly the size of a nickel
3 black peppercorns

Combine ingredients in a glass jar. Let steep for two days. Sample to check flavor and make possible adjustments. Steep for up to five days, shaking daily. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the larger items and then strain again through a coffee filter into a bottle.

The recipe I created and posted here was first published on Serious Eats in my DIY vs. Buy column.

How to Make a Smoldering Halloween Cauldron With Dry Ice

Posted on October 19, 2016 by Marcia Simmons

I played with dry ice! It’s easy to make a smoky, foggy Halloween cauldron for your punch. I’m not that careful and I managed not to get hurt!

You don’t need eye of newt or wing of bat to brew a batch of toil and trouble this Halloween. All you need is some dry ice. This magic ingredient turns an ordinary punch bowl into a bubbling, smoldering cauldron that’s perfect for parties.

Dry Ice Punch Bowl Tutorial at SheKnows

Blood-Red Halloween Punch

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Marcia Simmons

If you’re looking for a fun Halloween punch that isn’t just a novelty drink, try my blood-red punch recipe.

Halloween inspires a lot of cocktails that look creepy but don’t taste like anything you’d go near the rest of the year. Skip the sticky-sweet liqueurs and food coloring. This punch is not only on theme for the holiday, but it’s also a sophisticated and seasonal drink for grown-ups.

Blood-Halloween Punch at SheKnows

How to Create Halloween Cocktails That Aren’t Gross

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Marcia Simmons

Cocktails from Hoxton Square’s “Stranger Things” Event

Forget the slasher movies and haunted houses: Nothing is scarier than Halloween cocktails. Every October, candy corn martinis and glow-in-the-dark slime shooters roam the streets looking for their next victim. But a bar menu filled with bad puns and even worse drinks isn’t the way to show guests a good time.

Over at Tales of the Cocktail, I wrote Halloween drinks that aren’t crimes against cocktails.