While ago I posted couple of “Girl Power”-cocktails, Batgirl and Supergirl. The big idea behind them was that even though they’re “girly” drinks, they’re not boring sweet drink-and-forgets. I tried to give them character… and strenght: who says cocktails inspired by super heroines have to be mild in alcohol content?

Okay, maybe they were a bit too strong (especially Supergirl), judging by the feedback. So, a little milder this time… but that doesn’t mean less character. And as I said last time, both cocktails will revolve around cherry.

Before we go to today’s recipes… Wonder Woman was a great movie! I’m still content with my recipe Golden Lasso, but I’m working on another WW-recipe.  Stay tuned.

One more thing… I haven’t published recipes containing cherry juice before, but we’ve seen cherry-based alcohols in my cocktails: Maraschino Luxardo and Kirschwasser in Poison Ivy… and I’m going to use them again, in superheroine cocktail… so a moment of hesitation: I need to check my attitude? Using cherry only for “feminine” drinks (for example Heering for Batgirl)… So, I promise: next time I’ll publish “masculine” recipe, based on a powerful male character, and it’s using cherry.

 

STORM

Let’s hope Storm fans don’t hate me for this…

Storm is a woman, right? So “naturally” her cocktail is pink. But she’s not your average damsel in distress, so the cocktails is kinda “dark and sullen pink”. Stereotypical girls like cherries, right? There’s cherry flavour in this one, but not a kind of you would expect: aroma will be sharp, yet the drink is supposed to be enjoyable highball.

So that’s my line of reasoning behind this drink. If all you Storm fans feel offended, please let me hear your outrage: I’ll give Storm another try. But anyway… I like this drink, proud of my creation.

For cherry juice I used concentrate, diluted with water 1:1 ratio instead of recommended 1:4.

-8 parts cherry juice

-4 parts coconut milk

-2 parts simple syrup

-4 parts Luxardo Maraschino

-2 parts Kirschwasser

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass, add some ice. Serve with straw and absolutely with a stirrer. Coconut milk will separate, actually pretty quickly, so the drink needs to be stirred once in the while… and that is part of the cocktail’s story. The drink will look sullen, surly, sour; not just because of the “gloomy pink” colour, but because it looks “sour” (like Storm), coconut milk separating… it will not affect the taste, though.

 

SCARLET WITCH

Publishing “Storm” was risky, and there’s also certain element of danger in this one, unpopularity among the readers… in introduction I promised not to cut down character and aroma, and here it is: cocktail with “thin” substance.

I personally like really strong flavours, maybe it’s because my #1 booze is tequila, straight; has been for 25 years. Sometimes I forget many people enjoy delicate nuances, more subtle than me… so this is a drink for them.

-4 parts cherry juice

-2 parts cognac

-1 part extra dry vermouth

-few drops of Angostura bitter (be careful with this!)

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with red cherry.

Use drops instead of usual dashes when measuring A. bitter: it’s essential in this drink, but too much will ruin it.

So, that’s it for today. Next time I’m publishing that “masculine superhero cocktail using cherry” I promised… and something special, because it’s gonna be my 50th recipe in this blog! 😀 😀 😀

 

This time we’re preparing for serious summer party drinking: I feel that everyone should participate in such a party at least once per summer. Those festivities don’t usually include more debonair cocktails with delicate nuances, more like simple, straightforward highballs… and of course shots later in the evening.

Fantastic4-set included both kind of drinks, and of course you can find much more in Recipes and downloads… but there’s always room for more!

 

HULK

This more of a drinking game than a cocktail… can you finish the glass before the ice melts?

Preparing the blue ice beforehand is the most arduous task in “Hulk”, the drink itself is pretty simple to prepare. So, make a lots of blue ice, for example like in Chemo… but this time the trick is to use lots of Blue Curacao or blue grenadine: so much that the cubes barely freeze… and those mushy cubes will melt quickly when dropped into drink, exactly what we’re looking for.

Pour 2 parts bourbon (preferably Jim Beam), 1 part lemon juice and 1 part Galliano in biggest highball glass you have. Top it with 4-6 parts of Mountain Dew, give it a little stir.

Now the drink is kinda yellowish… and then you add the blue ice. It will instantly turn slightly green (as in picture above) and greener and greener it gets…

 

…and when you’ve worked your way through the drink, it has turned very deep green. So, a drinking game: can you make your escape (by finishing the drink) before Hulk’s wrath grows to uncontrollable proportions (when all the ice have melted, turning the “Hulk” intense green).

You noticed? I’m using Galliano again, after I mocked it, saying only good use for it is in Sinestro? So I stand corrected. If you don’t have Galliano, you can substitute it with vanilla flavouring: use it as you would when making vanilla milkshake… and then some. Please notice that using flavouring instead of Galliano will drop drink’s alcohol content quite a lot: there’s not so much challenge left in the drinking game.

 

BLACK WIDOW

Hulk sure smashes, but Natasha Romanova ain’t defenceless! You can prepare this shot in three different ways.

-2 parts licorice vodka (check out Harley Quinn how it’s done)

-1 Fernet Branca

-1 part either simple syrup OR red grenadine OR Creme de Cassis

Shake with ice and strain into shot glass.

Creme de Cassis produces the “easiest” drink: sweet berry aroma with mysterious undertones, it just slips down the throat. The colour is very dark red, kinda “blackish-red”.

Red grenadine (pictured) is best all-around choice for this drink: Fernet Branca still stays in the background.

If you want to taste Branca more clearly, use simple syrup. If you want to get political, you can use this version to represent defected Romanova: there’s no “socialist red” in the drink.

Earlier I’ve used Fernet Branca to fully utilize it’s flavour, in Swamp Thing and in Dark Knight. This time I decided to cut it’s harshness with sweet elements, and of course with that good ol’ licorice vodka.

There’s a chance for drinking game with Black Widow also… I think endless “which one is better, DC or Marvel”-bickering is pointless, but now you can turn it into friendly match: shoot Black Widows and Deadshots one after another, the first shot you won’t be able to handle is the deadliest assassin 😀

Okay. This post has been all about mindless swigging. Next time couple of more sophisticated recipes for enjoying summer in civilized manner. And the dominant flavour will be… cherry.

 

We’re continuing our summertime series “Photographing Superhero Cocktails, Using Hawaiian Shirts as Background”; same as in Fantastic4.

Jean Grey sure deserves her own cocktail… or two, since “The Dark Phoenix Saga” was so mind-blowing. So I decided to design two drinks: one for Jean on her good day, and the second… well, when she’s not feeling well, not at all.

[EDIT: please check out my another version of Jean Grey here.]

PHOENIX

I’m NOT saying that Phoenix is “sweet and easygoing tropical drink”, but I photographed the drink as such, hurricane glass and all… since it’s summertime! The basic idea is that “Phoenix” is powerful, yet friendly: anything Dark Phoenix IS NOT.

-1 part white rum

-1 part licorice vodka

-1 part red grenadine

-5 parts pineapple juice

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass filled with ice. As with Singapore Sling: the more the pineapple foam the better! If you feel “summery”, garnish with all sorts of tropical cocktail paraphernalia… otherwise, maybe just a straw.

YES, we’ll using that good ol’ licorice vodka again, see Harley Quinn how it’s done in a case you’ve forgotten. Actually, if you like stronger licorice aroma use 1,5 parts aromatized vodka and 0,5 part white rum… or for licorice lovers, skip the white rum altogether and pour in 2 parts of that black vodka!

DARK PHOENIX

There’s a tropical background on this one, but there’s nothing sweet and warm about Dark Phoenix… It’s truly something to balance out that sweet and easy “Phoenix”.

-2 parts sloe gin

-1 part cognac

-dash of Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

You can’t find sloe gin in every bar cabin, but it’s well worth investing. For example, you can use it to make delicious Man-Bat.

Until next week!

Hello again! I’m back earlier than I thought.

I’ve been getting lot of hits from US lately, so I thought it would be appropriate to publish something before the 4th of July… just in case someone wants to celebrate Independence Day in Superhero Style! 😀

I’ll start Marvel-inspired cocktails with Fantastic Four. They’re all available for download in one handy PDF: Fantastic4. There you can find recipes in compact form, but in case you’re interested in them in greater detail, I’ll walk you through… and since it’s summertime, I used my aloha shirts as a background 😀

 

We’ll start our journey to Marvel characters with Fantastic Four. I publish them all at once, since I designed them as a “family of drinks”: starting from pre-dinner apertifs, through after-dinners and highballs, ending in strong shots.

 

HUMAN TORCH

Johnny Storm aka. “Human Torch”… something in that concept inspires me to design pre-dinner apertif. Little bit of Campari to arouse the appetite (not too much, or Campari-haters will back off), few drops of Tabasco for the same reason… carrot juice is pretty “food-like” for a juice, I think it works well.

-2 parts carrot juice

-1 part red grenadine

-1 part Campari

-4 parts white rum

-few drops of Tabasco sauce

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Campari lover version: otherwise the same, but switch ratios of carrot juice and Campari.

We start our evening with Human Torch, and we’ll also end it with him. “Flame on!” is the drink for later evening, when the going gets rough, but we’re not there yet…

 

INVISIBLE WOMAN

Another apertif. It has sweet element, which some say is supposed to turn appetite off, but I think a bit of sweet liqueur in apertif is OK.

-3 parts mezcal (San Cosme recommended, as in French Intervention)

-1 part Bols Cocoa White

Shake with ice and strain into smallest stemmed glass you can find, or serve as schnaps from a shot glass. Absolutely no garnish at all, keep it invisible!

Since Sue Storm and Reed Richards are a married couple, I thought it would be nice to use same elements in both of their cocktails. Mrs. Storm is apertif, and Mr. Richards is something to be enjoyed after a meal…

 

MISTER FANTASTIC

These one sure is swee-et, but instead of dull sugar onslaught it has a twist… or a couple of them: you can make mezcal or absinthe version, whichever suits your taste.

-3 parts mezcal (San Cosme, of course)

-3 parts Bols Cacao White

-2 parts Blue Curacao

-1 part Rose’s Lime Cordial

-tablespoon of coconut milk

-dozen drops of De Kyuper Cocoa Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into old fashioned glass filled with ice.

You’ll survive without De Kuyper’s Cocoa Bitters (althought you will miss much). Whatever you do, DO NOT use Angostura Bitters as a substitute!!! As great bitter as it is, it will totally ruin this drink, both the taste and the colour.

Version 2:

-4 parts of Bols White Cocoa

-2 parts absinthe

-1 part Blue Curacao

-1 part simple syrup

-tablespoon of coconut milk

-dozen drops of De Kyuper Cocoa Bitters

Shake with icea and strain into old fashioned glass filled with ice. Do not use your spiciest absinthe in this one, we’re looking for more mellow absinthe (if there is one): the idea is that strong anise flavour (and nothing else) strikes throught sweetness. And as in Version 1, don’t substitute Cocoa Bitters with Angostura Bitters.

So, we’ve finished our meal and it’s time to mingle on the poolside.

 

CLOBBERING TIME

I guess Ben Grimm, unaware of his future as The Thing, drank all sorts of healthy stuff when he was playing football in the college… I designed this drink as an “unorthodox highball”, for those who want something different for a change. There’s an illusion of “healthy stuff” in this one ;P

-4 parts orange juice

-4 parts carrott juice

-3 parts Triple Sec

-3 parts ginger rum

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass. Garnish with orange wedge.

“Ginger rum”? Yes, it’s that same stuff that we used in Wonder Woman and Flash. To manufacture ginger rum: mix teaspoon of ground ginger to 1 dl (3 1/3 oz) of dark rum. Let it soak for 15-30 min. Filter.

This drink might taste too “healthy” for you. In that case, check out another highball inspired by orange giant…

 

THE THING

This highball is refreshingly sour! Actually, I prefer to leave simple syrup out for even more sour aroma, but do as you wish.

-2 parts Triple Sec

-2 parts carrot juice

-2 parts coconut milk

-2 parts lemon juice

-1 part simple syrup

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass. Serve with cocktail stirrer, since coconut milk might start to separate if you nurse your drink for a long time.

“The Thing” works out well as a mocktail version…

-1 part lemon juice

-1 part carrot juice

-1 part coconut milk

-1 part simple syrup

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass. Serve with stirrer, as above.

 

FLAME ON!

So, we started with Human Torch and we’ll meet him again, later in the evening. I haven’t designed shots that much: actually this is my second shot, Deadshot being the first.

I owe an apology for Passoã. I thrashed it earlier, saying only good use for it is in Two-Face… and here we meet Passoã once again.

-1 part Passoã

-1 part ginger rum

-overproof rum

Shake Passoã and ginger rum with ice and strain into shot glass. Top with overproof rum and ignite. Let it burn for a while, extinguish and SHOOT!

For manufacturing ginger rum, see “Clobbering Time” above. You can also use ordinary non-ginger dark rum for this drink.

And yes: overproof rum and flaming are also optional. “Flame on!” is okay shot even without flames, but I guess everyone wants to ignite it.

You all know what flaming shot looks like, but here’s a picture anyway…

Please be careful with flaming drinks! Use thicker glasses to avoid breakage!

I hope you’ll enjoy your summer day with Fantastic Four!

 

Hello again. This will be the last post before a little summer break, I’ll be back in few weeks: before the end of July, if not earlier.

Don’t worry. I combined ALL published cocktail recipes so far in one PDF, you can download it from here: [EDIT: please check out updated compilations from Recipes and downloads ] It’s 15 pages (34 recipes), yet in very compact form. If you’re interested in deeper philosophy behind certain cocktail, check out the related link in Recipes.

In addition to actual recipes I inserted a chart to help you to find your favourite drink easily. You can also find my recommendations for right drinks for right occasion… summer is upon us, so there’s a lot of “Summer Refreshments” ;P

Before we get to todays Girl Power Cocktails (which are both included in PDF above)… until now, this blog has been nothing but DC characters, and mostly Batman Villains: that’s about to change. After my short summer break I’ll start introducing you cocktails based on MARVEL CHARACTERS.

So you have something to wait… and time to test my recipes. And now our first cocktail of the day…

BATGIRL

So, what’s Batgirl like? I’m thinking playful, yet somehow somber. You might misjudge her being weak, frail stature and all… but she sure packs a punch.

I think Heering cherry liqueur fits here perfectly. Also, as I noted earlier: it’s summer time, and people are drinking Singapore Slings so they’ll have Heering bottle lying around.

-1 part whiskey

-1 part Heering

-1 part unsweetened apple juice

Shake with ice and strain into old fashioned glass, add some ice.

I think it has pretty nice colour: dark, yet somehow feminine. I’m pretty pleased with a taste also, it combines different elements nicely. If you prefer longer version, add apple juice… not too much, though, or the drink will dilute down to something dull.

If you think Batgirl packs a punch, check out the next one…

SUPERGIRL

This is for all you who desire stronger heroine-themed drink. Sure, I’ve given you Harley Quinn which sure is strong (and seems to be everyone’s favourite, I’m happy to say)… but my other heroine cocktails are more or less on the mild side in alcohol content: Catwoman, even Wonder Woman despite of fiery ginger taste. Poison Ivy is pretty mean, but “Pamela”-version is milder… which, of course, was my intent.

Not every drink has to be A Killer, but I thought that Supergirl must be pretty powerful!

-4 parts dark rum

-2 part red grenadine

-1 part cream

It’s better to add the cream last. Shake with ice and strain into old fashioned glass, add some ice. Garnish with red cherry and some “girly stuff” to lure people to believe this is something… well, “girly stuff”.

Don’t use your cheapest dark rum on this one, it sure tastes better with something a bit more expensive… Plantation Barbados Grande Reserve works well in “Pamela“, and so does it with this one.

If you find “Supergirl” too mean, try 2 parts rum, 2 parts grenadine and 1 part cream.

[EDIT: please check out my second version of Supergirl here]

So, that’s it for today. See you in a few weeks, let’s check out Marvel Cocktails… and for those of you who celebrate it (as we do here in Finland)…

HAPPY MIDSUMMER’S EVE! HYVÄÄ JUHANNUSTA!

Swamp Thing is my favourite superhero. Period.

That being said… I guess I owe him at least two recipes: both with strong, primordial taste. And coloured green, naturally… just after I said I’ve done enough green drinks. Hey, to my defence: you might argue if old school CHEMO is either pink or green or whatever, but there is only one correct colour for the shambling silhouette in the bog.

 

SWAMP THING

-2 parts bourbon

-1 part Fernet Branca

-1 part Rose’s Lime Cordial

-Blue Curacao for colour (to turn it muddy green)

Shake with ice and strain into old fashioned glass, add some ice.

 

Fernet Branca is great for giving “primordial strenght” to a cocktail, but I know it’s too harsh for many. So just as I offered two different views of Batman, Dark Knight and Silent Guardian, one with Fernet Branca and other without, I’m giving you a completely different approach to Swamp Thing…

 

THE GREEN

-3 parts cognac

-1 part Creme de Menthe

(-drop of absinth)

Shake with ice and strain into small stemmed glass. One or two very small ice cubes.

This also has a rich taste, but it’s different from Swamp Thing above. Ingredients of “The Green” are distinctively French, so I guess it goes well with Louisianan quagmire.

Unfortunately I must admit: this cocktail already exists… it’s a version of Stinger, which uses white creme de menthe; when traditional green Menthe is used, the drink is called “Green Hornet”. I publish it anyway: I developed it, approved it, and somehow it felt familiar… little investigative work, “oh crap, there it is”… but since Green Hornet/The Green is so “swampthingesque Frenchy” I publish it. Anyway: ratios are different in “The Green” and “Green Hornet”, and there’s no absinth in Hornet, not even that little dash.

 

Okay, see you in a week or so. No Fernet Branca next time, I promise.

 

We’re not talking about cancer treatment; we’re talking about malicious mountain of toxic waste.

This is the Chemo I liked as a kid, the reason I modelled the cocktail mostly pink. I’m aware that the modern Chemo is coloured plain green…

…but I guess we’ve seen enough green drinks. And we’ve heard enough talk, now it’s time for the actual recipe!

 

CHEMO

Prepare weird-coloured ice cubes beforehand. Add red/blue/green grenadine to water to get the colour right, not too much or it won’t freeze properly.

You also need to cool Blue Curacao and Creme de Menthe in the freezer.

-1 part vodka

-1 part Campari

-1 part simple syrup

-1 part cream

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass. Add coloured ice and gently pour cold Blue Curacao and Creme de menthe on top. Curacao will drift around, but Menthe will descent to the bottom pretty quickly, and that’s okay…

…because after drinking the whole glass of milkysweetbitter Campari + cream-combo you’ll welcome the breezy mint dessert! Make sure you pour in enough Menthe, I recommend around 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) layer.

 

And there’s another delicious pink drink you might have heard about…

 

SILK STOCKING

If you’ve never tried this, it’s about time!

-1 part coconut milk

-1 part evaporated milk

-1 part blanco tequila

-red grenadine for colour

Put the ingredients into blender, mix with ice and strain into highball glass, add some ice. If you don’t have a blender, whip the milks together vigorously, add tequila and shake with ice.

Anyway: sprinkle some cinnamon on top, serve with straw.

This is a breezy drink: cool cream with a tequila sting (like Jack Frost), with delicious cinnamon aroma. The straw is actually essential: you can slurp cinnamon from the top when you want to “spice up” the drink.

 

I hope you’ll enjoy these highballs. Next time we’ll venture to the swamp…

 

This time I’ll intoduce couple of pretty harsh cocktails. They’re grim, they’re dark… Last post contained sweet recipes and so will the next one, so bear with me: gloomy cocktail once in the while keeps you going.

I’ll start with the recipe I found a couple of years back…

 

DIRTY DEVIL

There are kwazillion cocktails named “Devil”, I liked this one… but I wanted more of that blessed olive taste: so, as a friend of Dirty Martini, I “dirtified” this as well… I think it’s appropriate to call it “Dirty Devil”.

-2 parts dark rum

-1 part sweet red vermouth

-couple of teaspoons olive water

Stir ingedients with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with olive… or few of them.

Original version contained no olive water, salty aroma creeped slowly from that lonely olive… but being impatient, I wanted to get straight to the olive business!

 

Okay, I think Dirty Devil is too much for most of the people, salty olive combined with sweet vermouth, murky dark rum dominating it all… but it inspired me to develop a cocktail dedicated to the grimmest crime fighter of all time.

 

DARK KNIGHT

(Cocktail looks like Dirty Devil above, save the olives)

-6 parts dark rum

-3 parts sweet red vermouth

-2 parts Fernet Branca

Stir ingedients with ice and strain into cocktail glass.

If you find this unpalatable but still want to honour Batman in your cocktail party, check out Silent Guardian in my very first post. It’s sweet, yet mysterious exaltation for Caped Crusader.

So, nothing but sweet-salty or downright bitter cocktails this time… but as you remember, I promised something sweet next time 😀

 

 

Ever had high expectations about some liqueur? Bought it, just waiting to try it since you read some recipe which seemed nice? And then, the horrible truth… it’s too sweet? Otherwise abhorrent? Or just plain dull?

Well, it seems that there’s no liqueur that, given time and patience, couldn’t redeem itself. Vana Tallinn in Solomon Grundy or Passoã in Two-Face, for example. So we’ll continue our ever-ending quest for making decent use of disappointing liqueurs.

 

GREEN LANTERN

I wanted to try legendary Rusty Nail, so I bought Drambuie. Of course I expected it to be sweet, with heather honey and all, but hey come_on!!! So, here’s my suggestion for using Drambuie…

Pour approximately 1 part Drambuie and 6 parts unsweetened apple juice into highball glass. Stir gently while you add some Blue Curacao to get the colour right (teaspoon or two will do). Add some ice.

The result is pretty refreshing summer drink, very mild in alcohol content. Spike it up with e.g. whiskey if you like.

EDIT: please check out my other version of Green Lantern.

 

SINESTRO

There must be something wrong with me, since I resent much-appreciated Galliano? Can’t help it, I feel it’s pretty d_u_l_l. Here’s something to surprise you…

Pour 6 parts lager, 4 parts Galliano and 1-2 parts lime juice into highball glass. Stir gently, add some ice.

Amount of lime juice is essential. 1 part lime: you can taste both lager and Galliano… 2 parts: suddenly the drink tastes pretty much like Mountain Dew!?! This might be desired or dreaded occurence…

 

You might not agree with my opinion about Drambuie or Galliano, but anyway you should try these recipes. And remember: easy solution for unpalatable liqueur is to make frappé out of it. That doesn’t mean all frappés are just ways to dispose unwanted booze… remember Riddler and Kal-El?

 

Last time I promised you the best cocktail in the world, even surpassing Tony Bennett I fussed earlier. Well, I don’t know about absolute #1… they’re both great recipes, but completely different: T.B. is a sweet highball, and “French Intervention” is nothing but. I guess they’re both winners in their own categories.

But first let’s take a look at today’s superhero… or supervillain…

 

DEATHSTROKE

So, what about Slade Wilson? I guess his drink should be intriguing, yet easy to make… since he executes his plans effortlessly, still the outcome is somehow devious and more complex than predicted. So…

Roll the rim of the highball glass in blue curacao and dip it in sugar.

-1 part dark rum

-1 part Campari

-3 parts orange juice

Shake with ice and strain into glass, add some ice.

 

The excellence of Campari + orange juice-combo is common knowledge; it’s suggested in the Campari bottle, nothing new there… but I think that suggested ratio 1:1 isn’t ideal, and you can add some character to the mix with dark rum. Feel free to experiment with different ratios.

[EDIT: check out my second version of Deathstroke here]

And now our second recipe…

 

FRENCH INTERVENTION

This is from Amy Stewart’s excellent book “The Drunken Botanist”.

-2 parts reposado tequila or mezcal

-1 part Lillet Blanc

-dash of Green Chartreuse

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with grapefruit peel.

I strongly recommend using San Cosme Mezcal.

So what’s the story, why “French Intervention”? In Stewart’s own words…

“This blend of French and Mexican ingredients is named after 1862 French invasion of Mexico that brought Dr. Weber, who named Agave tequilana, to the country.”

 

Enjoy. I know I did.