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.