Toasted Almond Cocktail

There we were sitting at our designated table at James and Sonia's wedding this past Saturday when one of our fellow table mates Elsie was drinking a Kahlua and Milk. I suggested to her that if she wanted, she could have added a little Amaretto to the cocktail for an added Coffee/Almond taste. I also suggested maybe adding Frangelico instead of the Amaretto for a Coffee Hazelnut taste to her cocktail. She took my advice and ordered herself one with Amaretto and I inadvertently started a Toasted Almond flood. All of a sudden I had three or four people on various tables drinking Toasted Almonds. Ay-yay-yay.

Well, here is the recipe:

Toasted Almond Cocktail
1.5 oz amaretto liqueur
1.5 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur
1 oz cream

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into an ice filled old-fashioned glass.

Pretty simple and tasty. So go out and get yourselves one. Okie dokie?

Until Then Happy Drinking,
Sisco Vanilla

Bacardi Fruit Cocktail

I decided to break my self imposed sabbatical last night while at James and Sonia's wedding. Though the bar was simply furnished with the basics, it was fully open and was being visited often by the wedding guests. I decided to keep it light by ordering a Bacardi and Ginger-Ale. At the same time, the fruit plate was being served. Instead of eating the fruit, I decided to cut up the melons, pineapples and watermelon into smaller pieces and drop them into the drink and using my spoon to muddle them up a little in the glass. With every subsequent drink, I just had the bartender keep making the cocktail in the same fruit filled glass. So here is what the cocktail looked like:

The Bacardi Fruit Cocktail
1.5oz of Bacardi Silver
Ginger Ale
Fresh fruit (I used Pineapple, Melon, Watermelon)

In a glass put fruit on the bottom and muddle slightly. Add ice and pour in Bacardi and top with Ginger Ale. Stir and serve.

I like how the little pieces of the muddled fruit went down with the sips of the cocktail. It reminded me of a Sangria though on tasting my table mate Elsie said it was a "little stronger" than Sangria. I enjoyed the cocktail especially since I wasn't trying to overdo it.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Until Then Happy Drinking,
Sisco Vanilla

Responsibility While Drinking

I was starting to write a new post on the Pop-Up Cocktail party hosted by Good Spirits a few weeks ago. While I was eagerly writing the post and looking at the pictures of the spirits and cocktails that I consumed, I started to feel a little uneasy. Where a few days after the event I was amused with having consumed around 27 little (some not so little) tastes, writing the post put things in perspective. I was going overboard with this Sisco Vanilla persona. I'll probably write and publish the post, but in order to do so I needed to take a few steps back.

Drinking the way I did that night is not what I want to do with this blog. I like highlighting cocktails and the historical background (if any) with cocktails and spirits and my behavior did not reflect that. Looking back at pictures I took while at the bar afterwards was just disheartening. To quote my own terminology: I WAS DONE. There is nothing amusing with a grown man being that drunk at 10pm (or anytime for that matter). It is downright embarrassing. It is something that needs to stop. Hence why I have not written and posted anything since then and I stopped drinking for a week.

I see how some patrons look at while I'm at work and how some drinkers look when I'm riding home after work. Disheveled, crying, smelling, emaciated, gaunt, unconscious of their surroundings and I can go on and on with the descriptions. That's not me. That's not who I am. That's not who I want to become. I have responsibilities not only to my family and my job but to myself. It is time to act responsibly.

You'll find that it may take me a little while longer to get back to posting at a regular routine. When I do, I promise to do so in a responsible manner that I'll feel comfortable with. I'm not here to advocate binge drinking or reckless behavior which means that I have to set the standard and not do it myself.

Sisco Vanilla