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

Memorial Day, Brunch, Mimosas, Bradley Liquors

It's a beautiful Memorial Day down at the shore. Bradley Liquors carries Skinnygirl Margarita, Land Shark Lager, Heinekin, and other beers, tequilas, and white wines to enjoy it with. Try pairing one of our crisp Pinot Grigios with coal fired brick oven pizza from Del Pontes Coal Fired Pizza around the corner.

If you check out the Bradley Liquors Twitter Feed or the Bradley Liquors Facebook Page you'll see a recipe for mimosas. Bradley Liquors also carries both Cointreau AND Grand Marnier--as well as other orange liqueurs, just the thing to give a mimosa a little kick! Hope everybody enjoys their day, and it would be good to see you down at the store at 618 Main Street in Bradley Beach. Click on the link for a map!

'Til then, remember our troops, and remember the opportunities we have in this country. SEE YA!

Sangria, Sangria, Oooooh, Baby Baby...

Sangria is essentially a kind of Portuguese or Spanish punch made from wine, fruit, sweetener, and usually some sort of mild spirit or liqueur such as Triple sec or Chambord. It is usually made with a non acidic, cheap, young red wine. When it's made with white wine it is called Sangria blanc. Sangria blanc is especially popular on the Jersey Shore.

Here at Bradley Liquors, we make and sell our own Sangrias from white wine and fruit. Stop in and grab a bottle--we sell a couple of sizes and they are very popular. We here at Bradley Liquors take pride in the Sangria we sell.

Sangria is the classic summer drink in Spain and Portugal; bars, pubs, and restaurants in Ibiza and Cadiz are famous for it--they serve it in one liter pitchers and tourists and locals quaff it by the bucketload.

If you'd like to try to make your own Sangria, there are a couple of recipes on the Bradley Liquors Facebook Page or subscribe directly to the Bradley Liquors Twitter Feed where there are all kinds of recipes--from nonalcoholic coolers and mocktails to punches to sangrias to traditional and modern and ultramodern cocktails. Check it out!

Also, while you are on the Bradley Liquors facebook why not "Like" it? Just click on the link in this blog post and click "Like" at the top of the page to the right of the page title.

Until then, take care, SEE YA!

Lager and Lagering...

Most American beer is a type of beer called a lager. Budweiser, the best selling brand outside of the US, Sam Adams, Coors, Busch--these brands are all lagers. Natty Ice is a pale lager that has actually undergone filtering (or more properly, distillation) by freezing.

So what is lager? Lagered beer is essentially beer fermented at a low temperature with a bottom fermenting yeast, sometimes close to the temperature at which the liquid freezes. Since 1953, it has been possible to do this very quickly, although true lagereing for a home brewer takes quite some time--upwards of six or eight months. It's not unusual for a home brewer to start on next summer's stock of lager in September or October.

It's worth noting that the continuous brewing process used by most large American brewers to speed up the process comes at a considerable loss of flavor--there is a reason Sam Adams Lager costs $9.50 a six and Natural Ice can be had for under $6. Sam Adams lager is borderline microbrewed--it doesn't use continuous brewing, and it takes longer and is more labor intensive to make.

Hey, if you get a chance, check out Bradley Liquors on Facebook or Bradley Liquors Drink Recipe Twitter Feed! Drop by, "Like" us on Facebook, give us some feedback! We'd love to hear from you.

'Til next time, SEE YA!

Looooooong Drinks and Short, Short Drinks

Today we are going to talk about the difference between a long drink and a short drink. A long drink is basically a drink meant for sipping--or more simply, a drink with the liquor mostly diluted with other things. An example of a long drink would be a tequila sunrise. Another would be a Mai Tai. Long drinks are good for sipping on a summer afternoon and are typically served in tall highball glasses.






This is an example of a short drink--a B-52, to be precise, and a very well made one. A short drink is a drink that is mostly liquor and is meant to be drunk quickly. Short drinks are for partying hard; long drinks are for relaxing.








Hope that clears up the distinction. Stop by the store! We'd love to see you! We are located at 618 Main Street in Bradley Beach, 07720. Until then, take care, SEE YA!

Well, its another rainy, early Spring day. Can we get some sunshine around here? Sunshine, warm spring days...well, we had some good days last week, but the weekends and early weekdays seem to be rain, rain, rain.

So to help you forget about the rain, I've added some great margarita recipes to this blog. Did you know margaritas go great with pizza? It's a good way to spend a rainy spring Monday: sipping margaritas and eating pizza from Pizza On Main, my personal favorite in Bradley Beach, or Vic's Pizza, that most famous of Bradley pizzerias and Italian "red gravy" type eateries--and a damned good one too!

We've go three recipes: The first is a basic Key West Margarita; the second is a Chocolate Margarita, for you romantically inclined ladies, and the third is an interesting recipe using carrot juice from a juicer or a health food store: A Carrot Margarita. Check 'em out, let us know if you like 'em!

Key West Margarita

1 1/2 oz tequila
1 oz melon liqueur
1 oz Pina colada mix
1/2 oz lime juice (or substitute 1/2oz Margarita Texas Mix)
1/2 oz orange juice
1 dash grenadine
1/2 cup crushed ice



Mix all in blender. Blend at slow speed until smooth and pour into a glass.

Chocolate Margarita

1 1/2 oz tequila (any kind)
1 oz Godiva liquor
2 tablespoon chocolate syrup
3/4 oz cream or half and half
2 oz orange juice
1/2 oz lime juice (or substitute: 1/2 oz Margarita Texas Mix)
Stirrings Cocoa Rimmer
Ice

Rim the glass with the cocoa rimmer. Combine all ingredients in a shaker full of ice and pour into a glass.

Carrot Margarita

3oz blanco or reposado tequila
3oz carrot juice
1oz margarita mix or fresh lime juice (recommended: Margarita Texas Mix)
1 1/2 oz orange liqueur
ice cubes





Combine all ingredients and serve on the rocks.

Okay? Okay. I hope you enjoy these recipes, and I hope it's sunny on Memorial Day weekend--barbecues, the flea market on the Boardwalk, and sunny, warm weather. 'Til next time, stay cool, SEE YA!

If You Like Pina Colada (And Getting Caught In The Rain)

Well, today is a rainy day in the early spring. It's supposed to rain throughout the day, and a huge superstorm is supposed to cause very rainy/thunderstormy conditions into next week.

So today, we're going to learn to mix a cocktail that has nothing to do with rain, to kind of take our minds off the weather. This drink is best sipped on a tropical beach, with peaceful, clear blue water, white sand, and beautiful senors and senoritas (whichever strikes your fancy) all around.

This is called a pina colada. And in case you didn't notice, the title of this post is taken from a song by a songwriter called Rupert Holmes called Escape. (extra points if you know the name of the album it appeared on). Here's a YouTube link to the tune:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntnt6PeQqGQ

So crank up the tunes, dig the blender out of the cabinet, and mix up some tropical sun on a rainy day in May.

3 oz light rum
3 tbsp coconut cream
3 tbspcrushed pineapples
pineapple juice

Put all ingredients into an electric blender with 2 cups of crushed ice. Blend at a high speed for a short length of time. Strain into a collins glass and serve with a straw.

That's a perfect Pina Colada. I hope you are enjoying today; there were plenty of garage sales on LaReine Avenue in Bradley Beach this morning; I hope everyone did okay--out with the old, made a few bucks to get some of the new. Life is good. 'Til next time, SEE YA!