The bartender’s book

Happy birthday Michel

Ingredients•1 tablespoon sugar•1 lime, juice of•10 blackberries•5-6 mint leaves•1 1/2 ounces rum•1 ounce blue curacao•2 ounces club soda

Instructions 1. In a shaker, muddle mint leaves, blackberries, lime juice and sugar.2. Add rum, blue curacao and mix well.3. Add ice shake 4-5 times and quickly strain over ice.4. Add club soda and stir well.5. Garnish with blackberries, lime or mint sprig.

Black Mojito

Ingredients:

* 1 oz. light rum* 1 oz. Malibu® coconut rum* 2 oz. fresh or frozen strawberries* 1 small banana* 2 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice* 2 oz. coconut cream

Preparation:

Blend the 2 rums and the strawberries in a blender to form a smooth paste. Pour this mixture into a tall (Collins or Hurricane) glass. Rinse the blender. Blend the banana, the coconut cream, and the pineapple juice in blender with crushed ice until smooth.

Pour this mixture into the glass with the rums very slowly and watch as the strawberry mixture oozes its way to the top along the sides of the glass creating the flowing lava effect. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and paper umbrella.

Lava Flow

Ingredients•3 cups watermelon cubed and frozen•1 banana peeled, sliced and frozen•2 limes (use juice and zest) •2 Tbsp. agave nectar •1/2 cup water

InstructionsAdd frozen cubed watermelon, frozen banana slices, zest and juice from 2 limes, agave nectar and water to blender. Blend until smooth. Add more water if needed to keep the mixture flowing.

Watermelon Slushies

Ingredients

2 medium sized, ripe peaches, peeled, halved and pitted1/2 cup lemonade1 ounce vodka of choice

InstructionsPuree the peaches and lemonade in a blender until smooth.

Pour vodka over ice in a rocks glass. Top off with peach-lemonade puree.

Peach Lemonade Coolers

Champagne Cocktails with Mint & Lemon Sorbet

makes 1 cocktail

2 t fresh mint leaves, muddled or finely chopped2 large scoops lemon sorbet1/3 c vodka3/4 c champagne or sparkling wine

In a tall glass, place a pinch of mint. Add one scoop lemon sorbet, another pinch mint and the other scoop sorbet. Pour in vodka, then top with champagne and the rest of the mint. Garnish with a mint sprig

-This drink is the perfect mix of sweet and savory, and makes any good party even better.- For 2 large pitchers:1 pint blueberries1 pint blackberries1 1/2 cups rosemary infused simple syrup4 cups lemon juice16 oz club soda12 oz gin

To make the simple syrup, combine 1 cup of sugar with 1 cup of water and add two sprigs of rosemary. Bring to a boil, and take off the heat and allow it to steep for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, juice your lemons, and add the juice as well as the syrup over the berries. With a wooden spoon smash a few berries. Allow it to sit for at least an hour in the fridge to macerate. Add 8 ounces of the gin, 8 ounces of club soda, and a cup or two of ice. Taste and adjust. Some of us boozy folk prefer less club soda, others...not so much, so just mix it to your liking. Garnish with a sprig or two of rosemary. Enjoy!

Sangria Bianca—If you like fruit salad and white wine, you’ll LOVE this crisp and refreshing drink. For 2 large pitchers:2 white peaches2 white nectarines4 oranges1 pint strawberries2 bottles torrontes (or any non-oaked white wine)1/2 cup rose infused simple syrup

Slice the peaches and nectarines into eigths or tenths, depending on size. You can do whole slices of the citrus, but I prefer cutting supremes, so you can eat them after the fact. For the uninitiated, supremes are when you slice off the skin, and slice between the white membranes segmenting the fruit. Halve the strawberries. To make the syrup, combine 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water. Add the petals of one small very perfumey rose (I had some in the house) or a 1/4 teaspoon rosewater. Bring to a boil, and let it sit for 10 minutes to steep. Add the syrup and wine to the fruit, and let the mixture sit in the fridge for a few hours to combine. Pour and enjoy.

Pink Tequila—This is better than any margarita we’ve ever had and if you can find some watermelon at your local market, this is really the perfect way to kick off your weekend!

For 1 large pitcher:6 cups chopped watermelon1 pint strawberries6 limes, juiced1 tablespoon agave nectar10 oz white tequila (or to taste)

In a blender combine all of the ingredients except for the tequila. In a pitcher, add a few cups of ice, and top off with 8 oz of tequila. Stir, taste, and add the rest if you like.

"Skinny" Caipirinha— While Bethenny Frankel may get the lion’s share of attention for her Skinny Margarita, there’s other lo-cal and yummy drinks on the market that you’ve got to try. Here’s the recipe for the fave Brazilian drink

2 oz Leblon Cachaca (white rum)1/2 Lime JuiceAgave Nectar to taste

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously.

quickies

The Drink: L.A. FreshIngredients: Fresh cucumber,

honey, Lillet, and gin, topped with soda water.

The Drink: Bourbon SmashIngredients: Bourbon, fresh lemon

juice, honey, and raspberries.

The Drink: Pineapple MojitoIngredients: White rum, fresh lime, puréed pineapple, and mint served

long with a dark rum float.

The Drink: Spicy Hot MargaritaIngredients: Muddled serrano chili

pepper, Paqui Reposado tequila, Solerno blood-orange liqueur, and

fresh lime juice.

The Drink: My Fair LadyIngredients: Fair quinoa vodka,

cranberry, fresh lime, and crème de peche.

The Drink: Tom CollinsIngredients: Gin, lemon juice, sugar,

and carbonated water.

Some tips…• Straws.  Every drink with ice gets one unless it's a drink with

just a cube or two- like a Whiskey.  Drinks without ice generally do not get straws.

• Shake your drinks.  Technically, anything containing juice must be shaken. While not always possible or absolutely necessary, it's a good idea, particularly with complicated drinks.  Never, ever, ever skip shaking something containing sour mix.

• Wipe your bar down after every guest.  Keep dry rags around to wipe your hands.  Keep damp rags around to wipe the bar down frequently.  Rinse and ring out your bar rag once in a while and change it every couple of hours.  A dirt-ass bartender is straight-up disgusting.  Imagine a customer rolling up to a bar and sticking their elbows in sticky sugary mess.  

• BevNaps or coasters.  Every drink gets one or the other.  If it's a really busy moment at a club, I get how you can, on occasion, let this slip.  But in general, you must make every effort to put something under every single drink.