Bradley Liquors carries all your alcohol needs for New Years!

Bradley Liquors carries all your alcohol needs for New Years!  Bradley Liquors carries Friexenet, Korbel, Perrier-Jouet, Moet Chandon, peach schnapps for Bellinis, angostura bitters for champagne cocktails, and much, much more!  Stop in today!

Don't forget!  We carry a great selection of single malt scotches, tequilas, brandies, and particularly wines!  Get all your Christmas and Hannukah shopping done at Bradley Liquors!  We are open regular hours, 9 AM to 10 PM on Christmas Eve and 9 AM to 8 PM Christmas Day.

 We hope to see you today and tomorrow!

Call us at (732) 775-8976 if you have any questions about wine, spirits, what wine goes with what dish, what's good, what we carry, or anything related!  Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah!

Christmas Drinks Pt. III

Cuppa Good Cheer

Ingredients you need

1.5 oz. cherry vodka
0.5 oz. white creme de cacao
4 oz. Hot Cocoa 1 oz.
Half 'n Half Whipped Cream
Maraschino Cherry

How to make a Cuppa Good Cheer

Combine all ingredients into a holiday mug and top with whipped cream, red sprinkles and a Maraschino Cherry.





Frosty Noggin

Ingredients you need

1 1/2 oz. Rum
3/4 oz. Creme de Cacao
3 oz. Eggnog
3 cup Vanilla Ice Cream

How to make a Frosty Noggin

Blend ingredients until smooth, pour into parfait glass, top with whipped, cream decorated with a few drops of green creme de menthe, garnish with rolled cookie

Bourbon Drinks Pt. III

Bourbon and Coffee


1 part bourbon
4 cups freshly brewed strong coffee
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
sweetened whipped cream

Preparation

Heat together while stirring to combine; coffee,  bourbon, orange juice, honey and cardamom. Divide among coffee mugs. Top with whipped cream.

Bourbon Eggnog:


Ingredients

3/4 cup bourbon
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg


Preparation

Beat egg yolks and sugar in a medium saucepan. Slowly beat in 2 cups of the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until thermometer registers 150 degrees, or mixture coats the back of a metal spoon, Remove from heat; strain into container. Stir in remaining milk, bourbon, vanilla and nutmeg. Cover and chill at least 8 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with additional nutmeg. Makes 6-8 servings.

Bourbon Drinks Pt. II

Blonde Bourbon

1 1/2 oz. Bourbon
4 oz. Orange Juice

Pour into glass with ice and stir.


Bourbon Black Hawk


2 oz. Bourbon
1 oz. Sloe Gin

1 whole Cherry-Maraschinos

Stir ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with cherry.

Bourbon Drinks!

Here are some bourbon drinks!


Allegheny

1 oz. Bourbon
1 oz. Dry Vermouth
1 1/2 tsp. Blackberry-Flavored Brandy
1 1/2 tsp. Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Add a twist of lemon peel on top.
Anchors Away

  1 oz. Bourbon
2 tsp. Triple Sec
2 tsp. Peach Brandy
2 tsp. Maraschino Liqueur
2 tbsp. Heavy Cream
Several Drops Maraschino Cherry Juice

Mix with cracked ice in shaker or blender, serve in chilled old-fashioned glass.

Football Cocktails Pt I

Here are some football cocktails:


Super Bowl Buster

2 parts orange vodka
½ part Lemon juice
½ tablespoon Superfine or powdered sugar
1 egg white
2 parts Club soda

Add all ingredients except soda to a mixing glass, and shake vigorously, and then add ice and shake again. Strain shaker into a highball and top with Club soda. Garnish with an orange zest (optional)

High Energy Sports Drink With Electrolytes

1/2oz. Vodka
1/2oz. Southern Comfort
1/2oz. Midori
1/2oz. Amaretto
1oz. Sweet&Sour
1oz. 7up–add after shaking above ingredients!!!

Build drink over ice in a highball glass. Shake glass-then add 7up. Garnish with a lemon and cherry.

Christmas Drinks Pt II

Chocolate Peppermint Cookie

3/4 oz. Blanco Tequila
1    oz. Peppermint Schnapps
3/4 oz. chocolate Liqueur
1.5 oz. Cream

Rim martini glass with chocolate syrup and crushed candy canes. Shake ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into martini glass.


Snickerdoodle

1    oz Resposado Tequila
3/4 oz Irish Cream
1/2 oz Butterscotch Schnapps
3/4 oz Cream
Splash of Cinnamon Schnapps
for garnish cinnamon stick

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake with ice. Strain into martini glass and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Christmas Recipes Pt I

Glogg (Mulled wine Scandinavian style) 

• 1 bottle of red wine
• 0.5 Liter inexpensive brandy or vodka
• 10 cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick (broken down)
• 1/2 orange peel (dried or fresh)
• 1/2 lbs sugar (regular or lumps)
• Optional additions: 5 cloves, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup almonds, 5 dried figs

Preparation:

 

Heat the wine and brandy spices, fruit, and nuts in a pot (and any optional additions you might like.)  
Be careful not to boil the mixture; just let it simmer for about 45 minutes.
 
Then, strain through a cloth to remove all additions.
 
Serve your Glogg hot over lumped sugar (or with regular granulated sugar).
 
Optional: You can also serve the Glogg with raisons or almonds. If you'd like the drink to be stronger, use more brandy.

Rum Eggnog:

4 cups milk
5 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
12 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups light rum
4 cups light cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions
1.Combine milk, cloves, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and cinnamon in a saucepan, and heat over lowest setting for 5 minutes. Slowly bring milk mixture to a boil.
2.In a large bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Whisk together until fluffy. Whisk hot milk mixture slowly into the eggs. Pour mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, or until thick. Do not allow mixture to boil. Strain to remove cloves, and let cool for about an hour.
3.Stir in rum, cream, 2 teaspoon vanilla, and nutmeg. Refrigerate overnight before serving.
.
This Glogg recipe makes approx 1.5 Liter (close to 1/2 gallon).

Thanksgiving Drinks

Bourbon Cooler

6 ounces each bourbon
fresh orange juice
5 to 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
dry sparkling white wine

Combine bourbon and orange juice in shaker, fill with ice, add maple syrup.  Cover and shake vigorously for one minute.  Top with dry sparkling white wine, garnish with twist of orange peel./

Cider and Rum Punch

8 cups apple cider
1 apple, thinly sliced crosswise
1 orange, thinly sliced crosswise
2 cinnamon sticks
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cups dark rum
In a large pot, combine apple cider, apple slices, orange slices, cinnamon sticks, and ginger. Bring to a boil over high; reduce to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. (Keep warm over low, up to 2 hours.) Remove from heat and stir in rum. Transfer to a punch bowl; serve warm.

Mulled Wine Pt I

Gluhwein (Mulled Wine)
1 c. sugar
3 c. water
Peel of 1 orange, cut in strips
1 cinnamon stick, broken in pieces
1/2 c. tripe sec
1/2 gal. Burgundy
12 whole cloves
Peel of 1 lemon, cut in strips

Boil sugar, water, peels and spices for 10 minutes. Strain out peels and cinnamon stick. Add triple sec and wine. Heat without boiling. Serve hot in punch cups or mugs. 20 servings.




French Rustic Style Mulled Wine

1 bottle red wine
2 ounces  brown sugar
1 teaspoon  cloves
1 teaspoon  ground nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick (if you don't have a stick, use 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
1 bay leaf
Half an orange

Pour the wine into a medium-sized pot.  Squeeze the half orange to get the juice and add it to the wine. Cut the remaining orange peel into slices and add it to the wine. Add the remaining ingredients to the wine. Heat the wine until it is warm / hot (depending on preference). However, on no account should it boil. Stir occasionally.

Once warm/hot, serve immediately.

For a rustic drink, leave the lemon peel and other ingredients in. If your guests prefer a less rustic drink, the
mulled wine can be strained to remove the bits (cloves, orange peel, etc.) before serving.

Vodka Drinks Pt. 1

This is called a Beer Buster:

1 1/2 oz. Vodka
12 oz. Beer
2 dashes Tabasco

Stir Vodka and Tobasco together in a chilled beer mug or pint glass. Pour in Beer.






And this is called a Mind Eraser.
Mind Eraser

1 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Coffee Liqueur
Club Soda or Sparkling Water

Pour coffee liqueur and vodka into a chilled old fashioned glass, fill with club soda or sparkling water and stir. Drink quickly thrpugh a straw.

More Beer Cocktails Pt. III!

This is called an "Under the Boardwalk".  The recipe calls for rice ale, but you could probably use any very light beer or ale--Sierra Nevada would work, for instance, as would Natty Ice or Keystone Light.

Under the Boardwalk

rice ale or other light ale
vodka
iced tea for sweetness,
dash of sea salt
dash of raw sugar

Pour rice or other light ale in tall glass with ice.  Add splash of vodka and enough iced tea to flavor.  Add a dash of sea salt and a dash of raw sugar.  Serve cold.




This next is similar to a Rusty Nail--it's part bourbon and part ale.  It's called a Beggar's Banquet.

Beggar's Banquet

bourbon whiskey
maple syrup
lemon juice
bitters
ale

Mix whiskey with maple syrup to sweeten. Mix with lemon juice to add tartness and add a dash of bitters.  Top off with ale.

Beer Cocktails Pt 2

This one is called a Port Stout.  It's a good dessert cocktail.

Port Stout

2 ounces Black Port
6 ounces Imperial Stout

Mix together in a Brandy snifter











Also try this one:

Cerveza Cabeza

Salt for garnish
8 ounces Negro Modelo
4 ounces sparkling limeade

(sparkling limeade you can get at pretty much any grocery store.  Also like a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's will invariably have it.  In a pinch you could use sparkling lemonade.)

Two Great Dark Beer Cocktails to Celebrate the Dark Time of Year!

Sunlight is waning, and snow will be here soon.  Halloween is past.  We are coming into the dark time of year, when the world gets colder and the nights seem long, long, long.

Here are a couple of cocktails made with dark beer--you could use a stout such as Guiness or a dark ale or something similar.  Check 'em out!

This first one is called a Black Adder.

 

 

Black Adder

cider on bottom
stout on top

The second is called a Broadway, also called a Diesel.  It's very popular in  Japan.

Equal parts:

Lager
Cola

'Til next time, SEE YA!

Well, it's here.  It's Halloween, All Hallows Eve, the day before All Saints Day.  Whether you are dressing up as a ghost, a demon, a naughty schoolgirl, a fallen angel, a fried egg, a cat, President Obama, or any of the other costumes I've seen in the past, remember that this is the night to *cut wild*.  And enjoy one of these while you do.  This is called a Salem Witch.

Salem Witch

Ingredients:

    1/2 oz Vodka
    1/2 oz Raspberry schnapps
    1/2 oz Midori melon liqueur
    Splash Lime juice
    Splash Grenadine
    Fill with 2/3 Sour mix
    Fill with Soda water

Mixing instructions:

In a collins glass with ice, pour vodka, midori, and raspberry schnapps. Add a splash of lime juice. Fill 2/3 with sour mix and the rest with soda water (or seltzer). Stir gently, and finally top with a splash of grenadine.

All right?  Wake me when it's over.  SEE YA!

Eve of All Hallows...

It's almost the eve of all Hallows...here are some great recipes for Halloween drinks.  I've also included a photo of a nifty "eyeball" (actually a cored radish with a cocktail olive inside) that will float in your drink (or your friends' drink).  If you use dry ice to cool the drink, you can actually get a nice fog to come up.  Here is a list of places that sell dry ice nearby to Bradley Beach NJ.

Zombie Martini:

Gin
Vermouth
Radishes
Pimento-stuffed olives







For the bloody eyeball cocktail:

Vodka
Triple sec
Lime juice
Cranberry juice
Lychees, canned and peeled in a can
Cranberries (fresh or dried)

All right?  All right.  'Til next time, have a happy Halloween!

(By the way, has anyone heard about this snowstorm?  I've never heard of snow before Halloween in my entire life.  Never, not one single time.  The earliest I ever remember it doing any serious snowing was on Thanksgiving in the early 90s, when I was spending some time in New England, in Massachusetts, to be exact.)

SEE YA!

Coffee Cocktails!

This drink is simply called a coffee cocktail, although, interestingly enough, there's no actual coffee in it--go figure!  Anyhow.  This one will keep you toasty when the wind blows.  The cognac gives it a refined taste, the egg and sugar make it sweet and rich, and the port gives it a kick.  Try one tonight--there's a storm coming!



1 oz cognac
1 oz ruby port
1 small egg
1/2 tsp sugar

Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain into a small wine or port glass. Dust with nutmeg, and serve

The Jets won last week, making their record 4-3.  They could do it.  Bear in mind that the Super Bowl winner last year, the Green Bay Packers, had a not-entirely-remarkable record of 10-6.

Hopefully, there won't be a similar contremps with seats this year--Jerry Jones won't be in charge, so that is good.

By the way, the NFL Week 8 Schedule is below.  Come see us to get beers for the games!

(Seattle-Cincinatti ought to be an interesting game.  Two of the worst teams in football.)

Week 8
SUNDAY

NO @ STL              1:00 PM     Edward Jones Dome
JAC @ HOU           1:00 PM     Reliant Stadium
MIA @ NYG          1:00 PM     MetLife Stadium
ARI @ BAL            1:00 PM     M&T Bank Stadium
IND @ TEN           1:00 PM     LP Field
MIN @ CAR          1:00 PM     Bank of America Stadium
DET @ DEN          4:05 PM     Sports Authority Field at Mile High
WAS @ BUF         4:05 PM     Rogers Centre
CIN @ SEA          4:15 PM     CenturyLink Field
NE @ PIT             4:15 PM     Heinz Field
CLE @ SF            4:15 PM     Candlestick Park
DAL @ PHI          8:20 PM     Lincoln Financial Field

MONDAY

SD @ KC             8:30 PM     Arrowhead Stadium

All right?  All right.  'Til next time, SEE YA!

Back Again With An Orange-Cider Drink!

Well, now it's *really* fall.  The leaves are changing, the trees are going into hibernation.  Today is the last big garage sale day, all over town.  Some of them close at one, but the die hards will be open all day until five, so if you haven't checked it out already, you owe it to yourself to do so!  I got some pretty nice things this year but my best finds were an Olympus D-540 digital camera that I picked up for $2.00 and a small, 10 watt guitar amp with an 8" speaker that I picked up for $5.  I spent the morning pleasantly rocking out and jammin' on some chords.  Feels so good!

In honor of the orange of the leaves, we have a drink called a Lillet of the Valley.  It calls for Solerno.  We have other blood orange liqueurs in stock, but not that one.

Incidentally, blood orange liqueur goes well with dark chocolate.  It's good to serve for dessert at Thanksgiving or Christmas, or as a mid-meal sweet.
 



This drink is called a Lillet of the Valley.

    2 ounces chilled Lillet Blanc
    1 ounce Solerno Blood Orange Liquor
    3 dashes orange bitters, such as Bitter Truth
    3 dashes grapefruit bitters
    1 teaspoon Gran Classico Bitter
    3 ounces chilled semi-dry cider
    1 thick twist orange twis

Procedures

Fill a mixing glass with ice, then add Lillet, Solerno, orange bitters, grapefruit bitters, and Gran Classico. Stir well.  Strain into an ice-filled collins glass. Top off with cider. Stir gently to  combine and garnish with orange twist.

All right?  All right.  'Til next time, SEE YA!

The Guns of Brixton!

Hi all!  This is a quickie.  It calls for an interesting ingredient--simple syrup made with brown sugar, not regular white sugar.

It also calls for Fernet Branca, which is an Italian aromatic apertif hard wine.  I have a theory that Pimms No. 1 Cup would do just as well, if slightly differently.

This is called The Smoking Gun.
2 oz. Islay or other peaty scotch
3/4 tsp. Fernet Branca (or Pimms No. 1 Cup)
1/2 tsp. brown sugar cordial (see below)
2 dashes bitters
Cracked ice

Tools: mixing glass, barspoon, strainer
Glass: small scotch or cocktail glass
Garnish: mint leaf

Stir all ingredients and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish.

To make the brown sugar cordial, heat two parts brown sugar and one part water until sugar is dissolved and solution has slightly thickened. Allow to cool and stir in an ounce of demerara rum per every 10 ounces of syrup. Keeps for a month in the refrigerator.

All right?  All right.  That ought to hold you guys and girls on a Monday afternoon.

Take care, SEE YA!

A Nice Piece...

This is a quickie, a nooner if you will...it's called a Piece of Ass.  Because *everybody* wants one, everybody is looking for one, and anyone who says they ain't is a plain, straight up liar.

Piece of Ass

1 shot amaretto almond liqueur
1 shot Southern Comfort® peach liqueur
fill with sweet and sour mix

Pour liquors over ice in a glass. Fill with sour mix and serve.
All right?  All right.  'Til next time, SEE YA!

Scotch From Scotland: Highlands Whiskey

Today we are going to look at a couple of Scotch cocktails--cocktails made using Scotch.  To quote the great Max Riffner, a Scotch purist if ever there was one, "If you don't drink Scotch, you are missing out on an essential part of being human.

The first cocktail is a Highlands Sling.  The Scottish Highlands are an area dominated by the Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain range in the UK--essentially the Highlands divide Eastern and Western Scotland.

These days, the Highlands are rural and not well populated, largely due to the outlawing of the Highlands way of life as a result of the Jacobite Uprising, when Charles Stuart tried to regain the British Crown.  Also, as has happened all over the world, the traditional rural ways of life have been abandoned; people are traveling to the cities to seek their fortunes (the migration of people from rural areas to industrial areas has been typical since the dawn of modern industry).

1 tsp superfine sugar
2 tsp water
1 oz lemon juice
2 oz Scotch whisky
1 twist lemon peel

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the sugar, water, lemon juice, and scotch. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.









That's a Highland Sling.  Another good Scotch drink is a Pat Quinn--the Scotch settles your nerves while the orange soda cools you off and refreshes your palate.  This is a perfect drink for this unseasonable heat/humidity wave we seem to be experiencing.

Pat Quinn:

1 oz Scotch whisky
4 oz orange soda

Pour the orange pop into a highball glass. Add the scotch whiskey, stir, and serve

All right?  All right.  'Til Next time, SEE YA!

Drambuie! HOOOO-EEEE!

Well, it's time for some fall-ish drinks.  At this time of year, cocktails shift away from passion fruit as an ingredient and more into things like Tia Maria, Kahlua, cider--things that are warm rather than things designed to keep you cool while partying the night away.  Fall nights are less for partying and more for taking slow and enjoying.  A Sunday evening in the fall means dinner with the family, a football game, maybe a roll with honey in bed. 

The fall evenings make their way to the thick and cold of winter--not so far off now.  Sometimes the setting sun seems very warm on your face, when you know that winter is right around the corner.  The shooter below is a good one for a Sunday evening in the fall, at the bar, watching the Jets or the Giants.

It's called a Battlestar Galactica.  Actually, Battlestar Galactica was one of the first shows I remember watching on Sunday evenings with my Pops, in the late seventies;  it starred Dirk Benedict who later played Lt. Templeton Peck of the A-Team.  As a child, the Cylons fascinated me.

Here's a Battlestar Galactica shooter.

1/2 oz. demerara rum
1/2 oz coffee liqueur
1/2 oz. Drambuie Liqueur


Instructions
Mix in a shot glass

All right?  All right.  'Til next time, SEE YA!

CRUISING into the 80's...

This drink is called an OREO SPEEDWAGON.  So grab your hair gel, your flourescent shirt, and CRUISE into the 80s.  Enjoy!

Oreo Speedwagon

Kahlua 2 oz
Vanilla ice cream 2 scoops
Oreo cookies 2

Preparation:
Crush the cookies. Pour kahlua into a blender. Add the cookies and ice cream. Blend until smooth. Serve in a balloon wine glass.

All right?  'Til next time, SEE YA!

A Heather 81...

What can I say? This is one *heck* of a libation. I'm told that the honeycomb is good to chew on if you are trying to sleep.

Heather 81

2 parts vodka
3/4 parts honey
1/2 part hot water
6 mint leaves, plus more mint leaves for garnish
1/2 part Drambuie
piece of honeycomb for garnish

In a cocktail shaker combine honey, hot water and 6 mint leaves and muddle well. Add ice, Vodka and Drambuie. Shake well and strain into rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with mint leaves and piece of honeycomb

All right?  That ought to keep everyone busy for a while.  'Til next time, SEE YA!

Cider Sangria

Fall, of course, is the apple harvest.  Many of the high school kids, back in the day when the drinking age was 18 (it changed around 1980, largely due to the efforts of a lobbyist group called MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving), would spend the weekend evenings in the early fall passing around a bottle of "hooch"--usually something like Boone's Farm Apple (which Bradley Liquors also sells, for those of you feeling nostalgic).

But as we get older, and our tastes get more aquiline, we can't put our lips to a bottle of cheap wine and guzzle it anymore.  We require more--*refined* ways to do what we do.

Try this.  It'll put a nice warm feeling in your gut.

White Wine and Sparkling Cider Sangria

1 bottle dry white wine, such as Vinho Verde or Pinot Grigio
1 cup fresh orange juice
Juice of 2 limes
10 strawberries, thickly sliced (optional)
Orange and lime slices
1 1/2 cups sparkling sweet cider
Ice

In a large glass pitcher, combine the first 5 ingredients and set aside to macerate for 15 minutes. Just before serving, add the sparking cider and ice. Stir well and serve at once.

All right?  All right.  SEE YA!

Hunting Season, Halloween Too..

Well, it's deer hunting season. There is an aphorism among deer hunters--when you take a boy hunting for the first time, show him a deer track and a tree stand. If he follows the deer track, he's a tracker. If he sets the bait, climbs up into the stand and waits for the deer to come to him, he's a stand hunter.

Whichever you are, and whichever your children (sons or daughters--for both sons and daughters hunt) are, you'll find this cocktail a great libation to have waiting for you when you get back to camp, or home.


Ingredients:

1 1/2 oz whiskey
1/2 oz cherry brandy
maraschino cherry for garnish

Preparation:
1.Pour the whiskey and cherry brandy into an old-fashioned glass with ice.
2.Stir well.
3.Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

This next recipe is a great recipe for a Thanksgiving punch--that one day when family comes together, from near and far.  Also great for Halloween.












Ingredients
• 1 gallon apple juice
• 1 gallon apple cider
• 3 cups white sugar
• 8 cinnamon sticks
• 1 bottle 190 proof grain alcohol (750 ml)

Directions
1. In a large pot, combine juice, cidar, sugar and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let cool completely.
2. When cool, stir in grain alcohol.
3. Transfer to large serving dish and let guests ladle into cups. Garnish with additional cinnamon sticks or apple slices, if desired.

All Right?  All right.  'Til Next time, SEE YA!

Fall N All

Fall n All is the title of a great poetry collection by a New Jersey poet named Dave Roskos. (Dave got the title from another brilliant NJ poet, William Carlos Williams, a doctor who published a book of poetry called "Spring and All")

Dave can be found at Iniquity Press/Vendetta Books. He's one of the best New Jersey has to offer; he writes real poetry about the real world of real people and things. Another New Jersey Poet worth reading of course is Joe Weil, whose "ode to Elizabeth" is one of the best modern American poems.

And if you need something to keep you warm while sitting in your comfy armchair as the rain falls outside (because it's Fall, and all...) try one of these. It's called a Cinnamon Toast.

• 1 1/4 ounce(s) Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
• 6 ounce(s) hot apple cider
• 1 tablespoon(s) sugar
• 1 tablespoon(s) cinnamon

---

Directions

1. Add hot apple cider and Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum to a glass rimmed with sugar and cinnamon.

All right? All right. 'Til next time, SEE YA!

Beah Heah!

"Beah heah...:

Yeah, you know what that means. Almost that time of year. For the NFL, it is that time of year.

But why pay expensive stadium prices for beer? $14 for a beer at the New Yankee Stadium?

For those of you heading to a baseball or football game in North Jersey or New York, you should know that if you take the train--a safer, easier bet than driving--you can pregame on the train.

That's right; unofficially, you can drink alcohol from your own stock on a New Jersey Transit train.

A lot of people head to the games with paint buckets full of ice and beer--some people bring coolers--and everybody wears their team jerseys. You can make new friends, indulge friendly rivalries, and generally have a good time.

Did I mention that Bradley Liquors is located directly across from the Bradley Beach train station? Stop in on game day for beer, hard liquor, even ice to fill that paint bucket. Bradley Liquors carries many, many different varieties of beer, bottles and cans. We carry Land Shark, Guinness, Heinekin, Natty Ice, and many, many others.

We'll even talk up the game with you. Check Bradley Liquors out for pregame fun! 'Til then, SEE YA!

Scatch on da Racks...

Scotch is whisky made in Scotland. There are five basic kinds of scotch: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (formerly called "vatted malt" or "pure malt"), Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.

At Bradley Liquors, we mostly sell single malts and blended scotches. We carry a great selection of single malts like the Balvenie and Carolan. For one customer we got a bottle of the Macallan 21--a 21 year old single malt scotch considered to be the best in the world.

For blended Scotches, we carry the gold standard--Johnnie Walker Black, as well as Johnnie Walker Red. We also carry other types of Johnnie Walker, the Dimple Pinch, Clan MacGregor, Dewar's White Horse, and basic Seagram's, and more.

Scotch tends to be high in alcohol content--it runs from 80 proof to 188 proof--and is best enjoyed unmixed, neat or on the rocks. It is typically served in a rocks glass--a half tumbler. It is sometimes mixed with water or club soda.

Scotch is considered the classic "man's" drink although in these modern times, many women drink it also. It's the drink they enjoy on the television show, "Mad Men". Scotch is a classic drink enjoyed among gatherings of friends, where the company is warm and the conversation lasts long into the night.

All right? If you'd like a bottle of good Scotch for under $20, stop by Bradley Liquors on Main Street in Bradley and we'll help you pick something out. Until then, stay dry in this rainy weather. SEE YA!

Links to Bradley Liquors on the Web!

Hey...don't forget, you can find Bradley Liquors at a bunch of spots on the web. Obviously, there's this blog but there is also:

Bradley Liquors' Twitter Feed: The Recipe of the Day

and

Bradley Liquors' Facebook Page

And of course, we'd love it if you'd "Like" us on Facebook!

SEE YA!

Watta Melon!

A day like today is a great day for melon...drinks! There is a green colored liqueur made of melon called Midori. Here are a couple of great Midori drinks--long drinks, for sipping on an early Sunday afternoon.

This first is a blender drink. Great with friends, with a boyfriend, girlfriend, or lover--when you have the use of your parents' condo for the weekend or the family place down the shore--this is the one you want.

It's called a Midori Sour.

2 oz Midori® melon liqueur
6 - 8 oz sweet and sour mix
1/2 tsp sugar
ice

Mix all ingredients in a blender with enough ice to freeze. Serve in a tall glass with a lime twist garnish.

This next is great as a morning drink when you have to mow the lawn. The energy drink pumps you up, the ginger ale gives it a tart, tight taste, and the Midori takes the edge off.

It's called a Midori Rush.

2 oz Midori® melon liqueur
2 oz Adrenaline Rush energy soda
2 oz ginger ale

Mix all ingredients in glass with ice. Garnish as desired with orange slice or cherry.

All right? Hope you enjoy these and as always, 'til next time, SEE YA!

Mocktails (Nonalcoholic Cocktails)

All right everybody. It's Tuesday, 3PM. It's the middle of the week, which means you need to keep your game tight and on point. So in that spirit, since Tuesday is *less* of a good day for cocktails (although it's still just fine) I've included a list of some mocktails--Bradley Liquors carries most of these ingredients, although some you can get at the grocery store.

Also, mocktails (drinks with no alcohol) are good if you are pregnant or prefer not to imbibe for other reasons. Some of them contain things like bitters or wasabi powder and can give you plenty of kick or bite without alcohol. If you've got to be up early to be in the city for a 9 AM presentation for an important client, try one of these. They'll settle your nerves but won't dull your edge.

Again, Bradley Liquors carries a lot of the ingredients for these , and the others--such as apricot nectar, which is really just the juice of canned apricots--you can get at the grocery store.

Check this one out, it's called an Apricot Gingerini--and if you DO want a bit of spirits with it, add gin.

2 1/2 oz white grape juice
3 oz apricot nectar
1 oz ginger-infused simple syrup
1/4 tsp ground clove

Preparation:

Pour grape juice, apricot nectar, ginger-infused simple syrup (to make ginger infused simple syrup, simply make simple syrup according to the recipe on this blog and when you heat the sugar/water mix, heat it with pieces of fresh ginger) and most of the ground clove into a mixing glass fill with ice.

Shake vigorously, then strain into a martini glass.

Garnish with the remaining ground clove atop the drink.

This next one is called a Beach Blanket Bingo--good for hydration after a Monday night of partying.


3 oz grapefruit juice
3 oz cranberry juice
soda water
lime wedge for garnish

Preparation:

Pour the juices into a collins glass filled with ice.
Top with soda.
Garnish with a lime wedge.

Bradley Liquors' sells all of the ingredients necessary to make this mocktail.

All right? All right. 'Til next time SEE YA!

Monday Morning Blues

Have you got the Monday morning blues? Do you have to (ugh!) wake up and go to work? Get on the train and go, when you would much rather sleep in?

I know, it's rough. But you know, you can grab a drink on the way home--and you should know that if you should happen to be hopping the train to a Yanks or Devils or NBA or NFL game, NJTransit has an unofficial policy of letting you drink on the train, as does the LIRR and the Metro North. Some people bring beer in painters buckets filled with ice on game day.

Thought you'd like to know. It's going to be a long Monday, to be sure, but on the way home, grab a beer and sit with your compatriots. Get a club going!

Here is an article in the New York Times about the drinking habits of commuters.

Also, in honor of commuters everywhere, here is a recipe for a real stiff one--the energy cola gives you a little jolt so you can spend time with the kids (and the wife) in the evening, and the pomegranite vodka gives you a little sweet-sour-bitter chill to take the edge off. It's quite nice as an afterwork.

This is called a Three Fast Olives.

1 part Nos. energy soda
1 part Three Olive Pomegranite vodka

Pour Nos and Three Olive Pomegranate Vodka half and half in a plastic cup, mix with one of those awful plastic spoons and enjoy!

Note to train imbibers: You can make a great improvised cocktail shaker out of a paper cup and a plastic one with a lid and some ice. You simply put the ice and the liquor in the paper cup, put the plastic one over the top like a Boston Shaker, shake, and then strain out of the plastic cup by making and using a space between the side of the lid and the rim of the plastic cup.

Takes practice to do really well, but the people who mind the Cafe cars on Amtrak trains manage, and so can you.

This post is in honor of anyone who has ever gotten up at 5 AM to catch a 6 AM train to New York and gotten stuck for an hour just outside of the tunnel into Penn Station. Skoal!

SEE YA!

Let It Rain, Let It Rain, Let it Rain, Rain, Rain

Well, it's raining like *mad*. That means no beach, no patio, no nothin' but sleepin' in with the one you love. Like the man said, you ain't got no one, you better go back out and find her...

Here's a couple of good rain cocktails. The first uses a liqueur called Hypnotiq, which Bradley Liquors carries--Hypnotiq is a mix of vodka, exotic fruit juices and a bit of cognac. It's very similar to Alize though not the same.

This one is called an Emerald Rain.

2 oz Hpnotiq® liqueur
1 oz 100 proof vodka
1/2 oz orange juice
1/4 freshly squeezed lime

'Pour all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake well. Serve in a very cold cocktail glass or over ice in any other glass. Easy to make and an instant hit!

This next is called a Purple Rain--an excellent movie to watch if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend who has ever been in a band. That movie was the straight up and down truth about competition between bands.

1 1/2 oz gin
cranberry juice
1 splash Blue Curacao liqueur
1 splash sweet and sour mix
1 splash soda water

Pour gin into an ice-filled highball glass, and fill with cranberry juice. Add blue curacao, sour mix and soda. Shake gently, add more curacao (until royal-purple), and serve.

All right? All right. I'm heading home to crank up my amplifier and rawk out on my guitar. 'Til next time, SEE YA!

Sinsational Summer Sunday!

Well, I've only got one recipe for you today, but it's a doozy. Take one in the afternoon and one just as the sun goes low against the sky and you'll sleep like a baby and wake up refreshed, relaxed and ready for work on Monday.

Although you might want to work from home if possible--or perhaps set up with a cell modem and a cellphone at the beach...this one has a kick. You can't taste the alcohol, so be careful.




This one is called a Baltimore Zoo

ice cubes
1/2 fluid ounce silver tequila
1/2 fluid ounce gin
1/2 fluid ounce white rum
1/2 fluid ounce vodka
1/2 fluid ounce triple sec
3 fluid ounces orange juice
3 fluid ounces grenadine syrup
4 fluid ounces beer (such as Budweiser®)

Directions

Fill a pitcher with ice, and pour in the tequila, gin, rum, vodka, triple sec, orange juice, and grenadine. Stir to mix, then pour in beer to serve.

All right? All right. This is sort of like a Long Island Iced Tea only stronger.

'Til next time, SEE YA!

Rum, Rum, Rum!

Today is a great day for a rum drink. The one I'm going to suggest is actually very simple but *very* refreshing, especially on a day like today--pleasant, not too hot, not humid. It's a rum and coconut water. Golden Barbados rum we sell, and coconut water you can get, obviously, by cracking a coconut and draining the water--or simply punching a hole in it--or you can get coconut water from the Spanish groceries in town.

When you see old pictures of people drinking with a straw in a coconut, in a club in Havana or South America, rum and coconut water is what they were drinking. Classic tropical drink.

2 ounces golden rum
2 to 4 ounces coconut water

Instructions

Combine the golden rum and coconut water in a Collins glass, then add 2 to 3 ice cubes, stir, and serve.

Sangria for Me-a!

A late sunshower turned into a rainy summer evening. The heat of the day is gone leaving only the cool, electric air after a powerful storm. Sounds like sangria out on the patio.

Bradley Liquors' makes and sells its own sangria, but if you'd like to make it yourself, you can try it with this recipe:

3 1/4 cups (26 fl. oz) dry white wine
1/3 cup (3 oz) sugar
1/3 cup (5 tablespoons) Triple Sec
1/3 cup (5 tablespoons) peach-flavoured brandy
2 medium peaches, peeled and sliced
2 medium oranges, sliced thin and crosswise
1 cup (8 fl. oz) sparkling orange soda
1 cup (8 fl. oz) ginger ale



Preparation

In a large serving bowl, combine all the ingredients except the orange soda and ginger ale and mix well. Refrigerate overnight.

Immediately before serving, mix in the orange soda and ginger ale. Serve over Ice.

This next is a very *spicy* Sangria--very hot. Good for putting the fire in you!

3 3/4 cups ( 30 fl. oz) dry white wine
3 tablespoons brandy
2 small red chilies, seeded and quartered
2 medium tart green apples, diced
2 large yellow plums, peeled, pitted and sliced
2 medium peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1 cup (8 fl. oz) club soda

Preparation

Combine all the ingredients except for the club soda in a large serving pitcher, mixing well. Refrigerate overnight.

Immediately before serving, mix in the club soda for added fizz. Serve over ice.

You guys take care and remember to stop in over the weekend! 'Til then, SEE YA!

More Paris Cocktails With Lillet!

Lillet (pronounced lil LAY) is a french apertif wine--essentially a tonic wine, made from a blend of various white wines and extract of the bark of the Chinchona tree (which contains quinine--the "tonic"). In France they serve
Lillet on ice with a slice of orange or grapefruit. Here we mostly use it as an ingredient in cocktails.

Lillet was the drink of Hannibal Lecter of Silence of the Lambs fame--the author Thomas Harris who wrote the books that featured Lecter as a character wrote more than one (the others included The Red Dragon which came before Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal which came after, and Hannibal Rising which gives Lecter's backstory) and as Lecter was ever a cultured, sophisticated soul, he drank a French apertif.

In any case, here are two cocktails containing Lillet. Rent the Lecter movies, mix yourself a Comet, and enjoy.

Comet

1/2 orange gin
1/2 Lillet
2 dashes maraschino

Mix and serve with olive
Serve in a cocktail glass


This next is called the Abbey.

Abbey

1/2 dry gin
1/4 Lillet
1/4 orange juice
1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake and strain into cocktail glass.

All right? All right. Watch out for this heat wave, it's a bad one. Last one in the ocean's a rotten egg! SEE YA!

From Our Parisian Friends!

In the cafes in Paris, they drink this in the mornings to fortify themselves for the day--the spirit is called Pernod, and it's a licorice liquer that was created when absinthe was banned. This cocktail is pretty basic, pretty simple. The goal is to put just enough water in the Pernod that the drink becomes cloudy--this happens at a specific concentration of the spirit. Use cool but not cold water and in theory you shouldn't need ice.






French Style Pernod recipe

1 oz Pernod® licorice liqueur
5 oz wate

Pour both ingredients into a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Stir well, and serve.

Okay? All right. Take care and until next time, SEE YA!

Off We Go! Into The Wild Blue Yonder!

This one's a good one, it'll work with any vodka but do remember that we sell Skyy Vodka frozen--we keep it chilled on ice so you don't have to. (Frozen means we keep it in the freezer; it isn't generally actually solid when we sell it).








Blue Skyy

Ingredients

2 oz. Skyy Vodka
1 splash Blue Curacao

Instructions

Splash Blue Curacao in a martini glass. Pour the Vodka down the slope of the glass so that as little of the Curacao and Vodka mix as possible.

Credit

Chris Beirnes

All right? That should hold you for a while. Take it easy, we're almost there. I had a friend who used to call six o'clock "Schlitz o'clock." We're almost there. Till then, SEE YA!

TEQUILA!

Hi everybody, I'm back after a week long break. For days like today, warm, long, lovely summer days, there can be nothing but TEQUILA.

Tequila is made from the fermented nectar of the agave plant, which grows in Mexico. Most Tequila is made in the Mexican state of Jalisco, although there is limited production in other parts of Mexico.

So put The Champs on the juke (or your preferred music player of choice) and drink up.

The first is a shooter called a 9 Millimeter. It's pretty simple.

9 Millimeter

1 oz. tequila
1 oz. cinnamon schnapps

Instructions

Mix in a shot glass.

This next one is called an Acapulco Gold. It's a fine sipper.

Acapulco Gold

Ingredients

3/4 oz. tequila
3/4 oz. light tum
1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
1/2 oz. coconut cream
1 oz. pineapple juice
1 oz. orange juice

Instructions

Blend with ice and pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of pineapple.

Okay? Okay. Enjoy these drinks and until next time, SEE YA!

A Bottle of Rum (Rum Drinks)

Rum is made from distilled sugarcane, or distilled molasses. As such, it is sweet. It was invented by sailors in the English Navy, who believed it was a cure for scurvy.

In fact, the thing that prevented scurvy was the lemon or lime juice they mixed with rum--citrus mixed with rum on ice even today makes for a refreshing sweet and sour libation and in fact you can buy many different brands of rum with the citrus fruit already mixed in--for instance, Bacardi Limon.

Rums also come spiced--such as Captain Morgan, or coconut flavored--such as Malibu Rum. Malibu rum is as always delicious with Coke over ice.

Of course, any rum with the appropriate flavor will work with these recipes. Check 'em out!

Monkey Fizz

1 oz. Coconut Rum
1 oz. Melon Liqueur
1/2 oz. Creme de Banana
2 oz. Orange Juice
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz. Lemon Juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a into a pint glass filled with fresh ice. Top with a splash of soda.

Mexican Coffee

1 oz. Dark Rum
1 oz coffee liqueur
Coffee
Sugar to Taste

In a footed mug add the rum, Kahlua and sugar. Fill with coffee and stir gently. Top with a bit of whipped cream if you have sweet tooth.

Okay? All right. The Mexican Coffee is a good after dinner drink on a rainy, cool summer evening--relaxing on the porch and listening to the pitty-pat of the rain. Gives your heart a funny tweak, I think. Or at least it does mine.

That should hold you. And hey, if you have any feedback or anything you'd like to see us blog or tweet about, hit us back at bradleyliquors@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you!

'Til next time, SEE YA!

More Summer Drinks Pt. 2

Little mistake in yesterday's blog, will fix that in a second, but while I'm here, here are two more great summer drinks. The first is a Salty Chihuahua, similar to a Greyhound or a Salty Dog.

Salty Chihuahua

1. Wet the rims of 4 glasses and coat with coarse salt (if desired)
2. Fill the glasses with ice.
3. Pour 1 ounce tequila and 1/2 ounce orange-flavored liqueur, such as Cointreau, into each.
4. Top each with 3/4 cup grapefruit juice and stir. Garnish with a slice of grapefruit.

the second is a French 75. Imagine yourself at a sidewalk cafe in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, drinking and watching the pretty French girls in their summer clothes.

French 75

(the drink actually celebrates a decorated WWI French flying ace)

1 1/2 ounces of gin
2 teaspoons of superfine sugar
1 1/2 ounces of lemon juice
4 ounces of chilled champagne
1 orange slice
1 maraschino cherry

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine gin, sugar and lemon juice. Shake well. Pour into a Collins glass and top with the champagne. Stir well and garnish with orange slice and the cherry.

Enjoy, and 'til next time, SEE YA!

Two Great Ice Cream Drinks!

Summer is a great time for drinks with ice cream! The most basic of these are the Cricket and the Grasshopper. But here are a couple of good ones to enjoy after dinner. Add a cannoli or pastry and you could make a meal out of these!

A and J Smoothie

Ingredients

3 oz. Irish Cream
1 oz. Vodka
3 scoop chocolate ice cream

Instructions

Blend Ice Cream until smooth. Add the vodka and the Baileys while blending. Pour into a large wine glass with whip cream and grated chocolate as garnishes.

Maui Milkshake

Ingredients

3/4 oz. a Chocolate Cream Liqueur
3/4 oz Vanilla vodka
3/4 oz. Creme de Banane
1 oz. Chocolate Syrup
3 oz. chocolate Ice Cream





Instructions

Blend with ice and pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with whipped cream.

Okay? Okay. Now get out there and enjoy the weather. Tomorrow is supposed to be even *nicer*. 'Til next time, SEE YA!

What Wines Go With What?

Below are a few words explaining what wines go with what foods, and the reverse--when you are eating a certain type of meal, for instance Chinese or Thai or Barbecue, what wine goes well with it. These may help demystify some off the label confusion I talked about in my last post.

Chardonnay:

Usually a medium to full-bodied, dry wine.

Poultry and game birds, veal and pork, rabbit fish and pasta preparations which feature cream and/or butter, mushrooms.

Sauvignon Blanc (Fumé Blanc):

Medium to light-bodied and dry.

First courses, seafood, ethnic dishes—pastas, curries, salsas, spicy sausages, vegetable dishes, luncheon salads, olive-oil based dishes, tomato sauces, goat cheese.

Chenin Blanc:

Light to medium-bodied, normally off-dry to semi-sweet.

Braised Chicken, sushi and other Oriental dishes, poultry, pork.

Gewürztraminer:

Light to medium body, usually semi-sweet, occasionally off-dry.

Spicy cuisines such as Chinese, Mexican, and Indian, mild sausages, fruit salad.

Riesling (Johannisberg Riesling, White Riesling):

Light to medium bodied, semi-sweet to off-dry.

Crabmeat, appetizers and finger foods, pork, salads.

Red Wines

Cabernet Sauvignon:

Medium to full-bodied, tannic and dry.

Beef, lamb, pork, duck, game meats, cheeses.

Merlot:

Medium to full-bodied, less tannic than Cabernet, dry.

Beef, lamb, pork, duck, game meats, cheeses, stews, pizza, heart pastas.

Zinfandel:

Medium to full-bodied (also made in a lighter style), dry.

Hamburgers, beef, lamb, venison and game, hearty pastas, turkey, stews, pizza.

Pinot Noir:

Medium to light-bodied, dry, little tannin leaves silky texture.

Lamb, duck, turkey, game birds, beef, rabbit, semi-soft cheeses.

Pink Wines (Rosé, White Zinfandel, Cabernet Blanc, Blush, Blanc de Noirs):

Vary in color and sweetness. Choose the most current vintage.

Best with smoked foods, quiche, pork and ham,Mexican and Thai food. Can be served with all food.

Sparkling Wines/Champagnes
(méthode champenoise / fermented in the bottle):

Crisp and bubbly.

Brut:

Dry. Traditionally a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Aperitifs and first courses, fruits and nuts. Fuller bodied variations go well with any fish and chicken.

Blanc de Noir:

More fruity than brut, but still dry.

Aperitif, with lunch, desserts.

Blanc de Blancs:

More delicate than brut.

Caviar. Anytime.


What Foods go with what Wines?

Chinese

Choose slightly sweet or off-dry wines. Rosès and Gewürztraminers are the best, followed by Rieslings and Chenin Blancs. With Tea or Peking duck, try Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel.

Warning—Go easy with plum and hoison sauces...too much will kill and wine.

Japanese

Choose very cold, off-dry, fruity white wines or any sparkling wine.

Thai

Rosé is the best choice but Rieslings can be a good bet. Gewürztraminer is a risky choice, can be good or bad.

Warning—Dry whites and reds are generally to be avoided.

Vietnamese

Best advice is to choose very cold, fruity, slightly sweet Rosés and Gewürztraminers. Rieslings are not a strong choice, Chardonnay proves to be more flexible.

Mexican

Very cold, fruity, full-bodied Sauvignon Blancs and Rosés work well. Chili heat will drown Rieslings and Gewürztraminers. Gamays and Pinot Noirs perform well, too. Cabernet and Merlots are not a good choice because of the tannin.

Southwestern

Choose fruity wines such as Rieslings and Sauvignon Blancs and reds such as Gamays and light spicy wines such as Zinfandels. Try sparkling wines too, especially with seafoods. Pinot Noir blends well.

Warning—Chilies and high tannin wines clash. Avoid Merlots and Cabernets

Indian

Choose full-bodied sparking wines and reds such as Merlots and Zinfandels. Drier, full-bodied Rosés work well also.

Middle Eastern

Fruity wines, both red and white, work well. Choose the drier Rosès and Rieslings.

Barbeque

Wines need to be both fruity and rich, Zinfandel or Rosè make good choices. Try Sauvignon Blancs with seafood.

Fried Foods

Sparkling wines are terrific. Any crisp, dry, fruity wine, white or red, works well too.

All right? Perhaps that will help. 'Til next time, SEE YA!

Wine Labels

Wine labels, to the uninitiated, are often among the most confusing labels affixed to any product in the world. In this blog post I'll try to simplify them just a little.

First of all, there is the varietal--Petit Rouge vs Petit Verdot vs Cabernet Sauvignon--this is a matter of personal preference; different people tend to prefer different varietals. The grape varietal affects the flavor of the wine and what meal it goes best with.

Second is the vintage. This simply refers to the year the wine was bottled and it is sometimes on its own label--2005 or 2006. Some vintages are better than others; true oeniphiles (wine drinkers) would carry a vintage chart or more likely know off their heart which vintages are good for which wines.

However, in the case of wines costing under, say, $20, vintage is less relevant. It's a more important factor with a more expensive wine, which is expected to age and mature in the bottle. The vast majority of wine bottled today is expected to be drunk immediately.

Another point on a label is alcohol content. It has been noted by some that far too many wines today are bottled with too high an alcohol content and are harsh in character; Generally under 14% is desirable unless you seek a Mad Dog 20/20 sort of thing.

Sometimes a winemaker or vintner (grape grower) will put the phone number of his winery or vineyard on the back label of the bottle. You have to understand that someone willing to have his customers randomly call him and talk grapes or wine is someone who *lives* grapes and wine, and therefore the wine he makes is probably pretty good. A winery phone number on the back label is an indicator of an obsessed winemaker and probably an excellent wine.

Geography: Generally the more specific the label gets with geography the better--whether it's Napa Valley vs California or Château Lafite-Rothschild vs Bordeaux (Bordeaux is an entire winemaking region. Chateau Lafite-Rothschild is a specific wine producing estate in Bordeaux owned by one family).

Those are a few tips on how to read a label. Check out the next blog post here for specific recommendations, 'til then, SEE YA!

Wine Cocktails for an Early Summer Evening!

Summer is here, here are some wine cocktails for an early summer evening--time spent with the one you love, a good dinner and then dessert. Check 'em out.

Midnight Millionaire

Ingredients:

1 oz vodka
champagne
rasberry for garnish

Preparation:

Pour the vodka into a Champagne flute.
Fill with Champagne.
Drop a single raspberry in the glass as a garnish.

Glamour Girl Martini

Ingredients:

3 oz pink Pinot Grigio
1 oz Peach Schnapps
splash of cranberry juice
maraschino cherry for garnish

Preparation:

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Drop a cherry in the drink for a garnish.

Miranda Cocktail

This cocktail is named for Miranda of Sex and the City fame.

Ingredients:

2 oz gin
1 oz Lemon Puree
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1 oz Lillet Blanc
2 oz Pinot Noir

Preparation:

In a mixing glass, combine all ingredients other than wine.
Shake and strain into a highball filled with ice.
Float the wine on top so the drink is layered. Ingredients:

Hope you enjoy these. They are great also for a girls' night out. Hope you enjoy them, and 'til next time, SEE YA!

Fizzes on a Saturday Night

A Fizz is a drink invented right around the time mixable draft soda water was invented--late 1800s. A fizz is related to a sour and uses the same sorts of ingredients, very typically whiskey or gin.

Gin Fizz

2 oz gin
juice of 1/2 lemons
1 tsp powdered sugar
carbonated water
Shake gin, juice of lemon, and powdered sugar with ice and strain into a highball glass over two ice cubes. Fill with carbonated water, stir, and serve.





Apricot Fizz

2 1/2 oz apricot brandy
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 tsp superfine sugar
4 oz club soda

Pour the apricot brandy, lemon juice and sugar into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well, and strain into a collins glass almost filled with ice cubes. Add the club soda, stir well, and serve.

Beer Cocktails!

Hi everyone! In honor of summer, I'm posting some beer cocktails. These are some really good ones.

The first one is called "The Cure". It's a discount drink at a place called PS 7's in DC. It was developed by bartender Gina Chersevani. It's a nice cooler on a hot day.

light, inexpensive beer such as Molson or Michelob with a splash of juice and ginger liqueur. No reason you couldn't use Natty Ice.

Here's another called the "Stout Diplomat", developed by Yanni Kehagiaras of Nopa's, San Francisco. It's a dessert drink. It's dark stout like Guinness or darker, with a shot of light white or dark rum.

It's a beautiful week--the weather is great, it's warm and the sun is shining. The weather is sweet. Life is good

'Til next time, enjoy! SEE YA!

Tornado!

Well, there is a tornado warning on for most of New Jersey, including Monmouth County. The sky looks beautiful at twilight tonight, and there are scattered summer thunderstorms throughout the area. In that vein, it might be nice to sit under a covered patio with music going, drinking frozen margaritas and listening to the rhythm of the falling raindrops.

This recipe is an "easy frozen margarita" recipe. It requires nothing difficult to obtain. If you need tequila, come on down to Bradley Liquors on Main Street in Bradley Liquors. We have some excellent tequilas, from old standards like Pepe Lopez and Jose Cuervo to more especial things like Espolon and Don Pepe and Patron.

Check this recipe out:

Ingredients

• 2 quarts ice cubes
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate
• 12 fluid ounces tequila (measure with empty limeade can)
• 1/4 cup Cointreau
• Garnish:
• margarita or kosher salt for the rims
• lime slices cut in half

Directions

1. Working in 2 batches, place 1 quart ice cubes in a blender. Add 1/2 can limeade, 6 ounces tequila and 2 tablespoons Cointreau. Blend at highest speed until drink is almost smooth. Pour into a pitcher and repeat with remaining ingredients. Store in the freezer.

2. To salt the margarita glasses, pour a single layer of salt on a salad plate. Moisten each glass rim with lime; dip each rim in the salt. Pour margaritas into each glass; garnish with lime. Serve immediately.

Movie Cocktails

Here's a couple of cocktails from the movies. The first is the White Russian, Jeff Bridges' favorite drink in "The Big Lebowski". Check it out:

1 fluid ounce coffee flavored liqueur
1 fluid ounce vodka
1/2 cup cream or milk






Preparation:

In a mixing glass, combine the coffee flavored liqueur, vodka and cream or milk. Pour over ice in a highball glass.

Here's another: The Vesper Martini--after James Bond's martini in Casino Royale. Bond names the drink after his partner and love interest (and double agent) Vesper Lynde.

3 oz Tanqueray gin
1 oz 100-proof Stolichnaya vodka
1/2 oz Lillet Blanc
1/8 teaspoon (or less) quinine powder or 2 dashes of bitters

Preparation

Stir w/ cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass and twist a large swatch of thin-cut lemon peel over the top.

And another: Not a cocktail from a movie, but named after a movie star. This is a good one for kids--you can make it for kids or order it in a restaurant or bar if the kids are there. I'm talking, of course, about the Shirley Temple.

3 oz lemon-lime soda
3 oz Ginger ale
1 dash grenadine
maraschino cherry for garnish




Preparation:

Pour the lemon-lime soda and ginger ale into a collins glass with ice cubes.
Add a dash of grenadine.
Stir.
Garnish with the cherry.

Okay? All right. I hope you guys enjoy that one--until next time, SEE YA