Cocktails

Coffee with coconut rum and cream?

What do you like? Cold? Hot? Citrus? Sweet? Not? Sodas?

I've been to Iceland. The country has an odd relationship with alcohol. Makes it hard to suggest the usual, rum and coke; tequila margarita, ... maybe tell us which ingredients you prefer to start with.

I prefer mocktail. LOL! Not much of an alcoholic beverage kind of person.

efreysson said:

...because I'm stingy. So... I don't like coffee...

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I make a very refreshing beverage with just hot water, a slice of lemon and a tea-bag...

(c:

efreysson said:

I was thinking something sweet and fruity.

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Off the top of my head... daiquiris, cosmopolitans, and coolers are good ones to look at, and don't need a huge amount of specialist ingredients and equipment.

I don't have my cocktail recipe notebook with me - seriously, if you find a version of a recipe that works, WRITE IT DOWN - but I think I can remember my frozen lime daiquiri recipe...

You need:
A blender
Ice cubes
White or golden rum - not spiced, the best quality you can find
One decent-sized fresh lime
Sugar syrup*
Demerara sugar (optional)

* don't buy sugar syrup! Simply dissolve equal quantities of ordinary white sugar in boiling water. It also keeps forever once made - I keep glass bottles of the stuff in the fridge.

Method
This is scaled for standard 25ml measures and a standard cocktail glass (which holds 130-150ml).

Fill your glass to the brim with ice cubes, then put that amount of ice into your blender.
Add two measures of rum and one measure of sugar syrup.
Add one teaspoon of demerara sugar (optional).
Add the juice of the lime.
Blend until the mixture is a glorious mush.
Taste and adjust the sweetness - if you like it more sweet, add more syrup and blend again.
Pour and drink!

The demerara will give a bit of texture, which I like, but you might not. Experiment! One of the joys of cocktail making is finding out what you like and what you don't. You can also get fancy with presentation by rimming the glass with sugar, although personally I find it's more mess than it's worth... I'd rather spend the time it takes making another cocktail!

I was going to suggest White Russians, but that's basically a coffee-flavoured milkshake so not a good fit. So here's a few off the top of my head -- no shakers or blenders needed, just mix it up in a glass or a pitcher. I'm too lazy for that!

I'm quite fond of a Blue Lagoon:

50 ml (1 2/3 fl oz) vodka
25 ml (7/8 fl oz) blue Curacao
100 ml (3 1/3 fl oz) lemonade

1 maraschino cherry
Optional: lime cordial
Ice

Actual amounts are very flexible, just stick with a similar ratio and you'll be fine. Finding blue Curaco (a sweet, bright blue syrup) is the hardest part, but if you have a supermarket with a cocktail section you should find it.

Also relatively easy is the Mojito:

White Rum
Sugar Syrup (or white caster sugar)
Lime Juice (or fresh lime)
Soda Water (Sparkling Water)
Fresh Mint

Ratios are up to you -- I go heavy on soda water and sugar syrup, others go light on soda water and heavy on rum. There are lots of recipes online.

A summer classic:
Pimms and Lemonade
Pour a decent amount of Pimms. Add LOTs of lemonade and lots of fruit (apples, cucumber, mint, orange, strawberries, whatever). Enjoy, and adjust ratios as you get steadily more drunk.

And here's a few I haven't tried much of at home, taken from the Wetherspoons menu because I'm a classy dame:

Bellini:
Prosecco (200ml) with a dash of peach snaps.

Gin Fiz:
Gin of your choice with elderflower cordial (adds sweetness), lime, tonic water.

Purple Rain
Sourz Cherry (no idea if Iceland has this, I'm sorry!)
Blue Curaco
Lemonade

Sex on the Beach:
Vodka
Peach Schnapps
Cranberry Juice
Orange Juice


Have a fantastic birthday, buddy!

Ah, the mojito - pretty much my favourite! I personally skip the soda water altogether - if you use crushed ice, it's self-diluting. I'd also start with a 2 rum:1 syrup:1 lime ratio as with the daiquiri, but do adjust to your own taste. I like mine rather more on the sharp side (which is partly why I drop the soda).

To get the most out of the mint, you need to thoroughly muddle it up. Simply stirring isn't enough! A long-handled bar spoon is ideal for this, but any flat spoon will do. Cover the top of the glass with one hand and really pound the mixture - covering it means you won't spill anything. This goes for any drink with mint in, such as a julep.

You could also look at a whiskey sour - despite the name, it's as sweet as you want it to be by just adding more syrup. Try 2 whiskey:1 syrup:1 lemon (familiar? note that you tend to get much more juice out of a lemon than a lime, though!).

Step 1: Get a decent single malt scotch (preferably 12 year or older, and "good" is subjective but typically anything in the $50 or more range is decent).
Step 2: Pour some in a tumbler (usually I count to 2 mississippi, you may wanna just start at 1)

Enjoy!

If you like, you can add a splash of water to release the aromas/flavors a bit, and/or ice to chill it, but I drink mine neat!
Brands I enjoy

Dalwhinnie
Oban
Macallum

Stay away from Laphroaig for a first time experience - it's very peaty!

If you're feeling lazy, you can always grab a bottle of fruity liquor (I like Sour Puss and Smirnoff, but I don't know if you have those where you are) and mix it with some kind of soda that you think would be a good fit. I had Sprite mixed with Smirnoff Electric Berry the other day, and it was really good.

onesecondglance said:

You could also look at a whiskey sour - despite the name, it's as sweet as you want it to be by just adding more syrup. Try 2 whiskey:1 syrup:1 lemon (familiar? note that you tend to get much more juice out of a lemon than a lime, though!).

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Whiskey sours are my favourite!