COCKTAILS/DRINKS

KIR

Forget about beer for an early drink; you should have a Kir. It is a French drink we have for apperitif (drink before lunch or dinner). 

Kir is a popular French cocktail made with a measure of blackcurrant liqueur topped up with white wine. It is easy to make it! Try it and suprise your friends for a Holiday party.

What you need:

White wine

Blackcurrant liqueur

Wine glass

How to do it:

Use a wine glass, pour 1/5 of the blackburrant liqueur into the glass, add the white wine and server!!!

For a more sophisticated drink replace white wine with champagne or sparkling wine.

Vodka Martini

      This is a very popular drink because of it's tied with the popular book series and movies that are centered around the British agent James Bond. We are less than two weeks away from the premiere of the  new James Bond film, Skyfall. It is set to open on November 9th, 2012. So why not try a "sip" into the life of the 007 agent? Here is a very easy drink to make and enjoy yourself.

Ingredients (1 serving)

     1 1/2 oz. of vodka 

     3/4 oz. of dry vermouth

     Several ice cubes

     A lemon 

Directions

    First freeze for an hour the glass and the vodka

    Add the vodka and the vermouth to a martini glass

    Then peel off a lemon twist and place in the glass

    Finally stir it or shake it (whichever one you prefer) 

Now you are ready to enjoy your 007 Vodka Martini!!!!

Morir Soñando 

Morir Soñando or "Die dreaming" it's one of my favorite beverages. It's easy and fast to prepare and it's very popular in the Dominican Republic. This beverage is based on oranges, carnation milk, sugar and crushed ice. In the Dominican Republic, this recipe can vary depending on the region, family heritage, or personal taste. 

                                   

What is needed: 

• 3 oranges
• carnation milk* 
• 3 crushed ice cubes            
• 1 spoon of sugar**
• Electric juice squeezer or can be done by hand

 *It can be done with evaporated milk, as shown above, or regular milk. Most people prefer   carnation milk.

** You could use less sugar depending on how sweet the oranges are. 

Instructions:  

• Squeeze the oranges

• Pour the orange juice into a bowl 

• Add sugar  

• Add ice. While adding the milk make sure you stir it

• Pour the mixture on an glass and enjoy! 

Caipirinha

Caipirinha (pronounced kai-pee-reen-yah) is a delicious and refreshing cocktail originally from Brazil but widely consumed in all South America. Its main ingredient is cachaça, the Brazilian rum.

Ingredients:

2 oz. of Cachaça

2 tablespoons of sugar

Half a lime

Crushed ice

Cut the lime in quarters, place it in a cocktail shaker and add the sugar. Muddle up the lime and sugar with a muddler or a spoon. Fill the shaker with crushed ice and add the cachaça. Shake well and serve it in a glass.

Bubble Tea

Bubble tea is very popular among Asian culture and most Asian restaurants have this in their menu. It is a tea based drink that comes with small chewy tapioca balls which are also known as "pearls" or "boba". There are many different kinds of bubble tea. There are the original tea versions and then there are the fruit versions which are more like smoothies. It comes in many different flavors as well. The one I'm going to explain how to make is the regular pearl milk tea.

Ingredients

1/4 cup dried boba tapioca pearls (you can find these in any asian grocery store)

1-2 tea bags (black tea)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

Sweetened condensed milk

Ice

Directions

-Cook the tapioca pearls by measuring 2 cups of water for every 1/4 cup of boba into a pot. When the water is boiling, add the pearls and stir until they begin to float to the top (thats when you know they're ready)

-While the pearls are cooking, prepare a cup of tea. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil then add in tea bag. (preferably 2 tea bags for stronger flavor) Remove tea bags after about 15 minutes and let the tea cool down completely.

-Continue cooking pearls for about 15 minutes. Then turn off heat and let the pearls sit there for another 15 minutes.

-Making the sugar syrup for the pearls: bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil and then stir 1/2 cup of sugar until dissolved. Let cool

-Drain the pearls and put them in a small bowl. Pour the sugar syrup until pearls are completely soaked.

-Last of all, pour the tea into a cup of ice and add the pearls. Add sweetened condensed milk for sweetness.

French 75

As French we love food, it is no surprising that we also enjoy drinks, especially cocktails. Here is one of the favorite French cocktail. It is bubbly very tasty and refreshing.

For the history, this cocktail has been around since before World War II. French soldiers have been drinking it for decades. It was created in 1915 in the Paris landmark, Harry’s Bar, by barman Harry MacElhone, and it is said to have such a kick that it felt like being shelled with the powerful French 75mm field gun.

So lets do it !

What we need :

1 oz gin

A squeeze of lime

1 teaspoon fine sugar 

Champagne  or sparkling wine

Ice

Shaker 

Instructions :

Shake well with cracked ice in a chilled cocktail shaker, then strain into a  glass half-full of cracked ice and top off with champagne

Enjoy !!!!!! Drink responsibly!!