SiscoVanilla Visits The Hangover Takeover July 27, 2018

Last night I had the honor and the privilege to be a guest on the Hangover Takeover podcast. Like any good guest I did not show up empty handed. For the occasion I whipped up a batch of my Blueberry Pomegranate Green Iced Tea Lemon/Limeade with Redemption Rye Whiskey which from now on will be known as The Hangover Takeover.

In order to make the non alcoholic portion of the cocktail, I cobbled together three separate beverages. First I used the remainder of the lemon/limeaid that I had made for the 4th of July. The recipe for the Lemon/Limeade can be found in the post Homemade Arnold Palmer July 5, 2018 from my other blog SiscoVanilla Hits The Bricks. To that I added a Pomegranate Green iced tea that I had made a couple days ago. The tea is made by the Brew la la Tea company.
And the night before made a Blueberry simple syrup for some extra coloring.

For the blueberry simple syrup, I used 1/8 of a cup of Brown sugar, one cup of water and a couple handfuls of blueberries. I put the berries, water and brown sugar in a small saucepan, set to a boil and then let simmer under low heat for about 10 minutes while mashing the blueberries into the simple syrup. I then strained the blueberry simple syrup through a metal strainer and continue to mash the remaining blueberries to get whatever juice was left. I set it aside to cool. After cooking sufficiently. I added the Blueberry Simple Syrup to equal portions of the Pomegranate green iced tea and the Lemon/Limeade.

In building the cocktail, I used a 2.5 to 1 ratio of the Blueberry Pomegranate Green Iced Tea Lemon/Limeade to Rye Whiskey. If you want to make it not as strong on the Rye Whiskey portion, increase the ratio to either 3:1 or even 4:1. Gypsy and Juju loved it as I made it with the ratio of 2.5 to 1. But what do I think of it?

I love the color of the cocktail and the spiciness that the Redemption Rye Whiskey brings to the table. It wasn't too sweet, so I'm glad that I didn't use a 1:1 ratio of brown sugar/water in my Blueberry simple syrup. The 1/8 of a cup was just enough to accompany the already sweetened lemon/limeade. This is definitely a pleasurable sipper to enjoy by the grill or next to the pool.

Check out the quick video I did describing the cocktail:

I'm going to see if I whip up some more of the non-alcoholic part of the cocktail to sell at Finn's Corner as a special cocktail. Which by the way you can find me there every Tuesday night from 4pm onwards. I know, it's a cheap plug and pop and all but just like WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley, I'm not above fishing for the cheap pop.

And I definitely need to make some more for the fine folks at the Hangover Takeover.

Which by the way, I had a BLAST with them last night. Give them a follow both on Facebook: The Hangover Takeover , on Instagram: The Hangover Takeover and you can listen to their many podcasts on Soundcloud: The Hangover Takeover.

Here is the video of last night's podcast:

Thanks to everyone who tuned in and gave their comments on the chat room. Much love to you all.

The next post will highlight a blend of this alter-ego and my BaseballSisco alter-ego in the form of a cocktail that I also spoke about on the Hangover Takeover named The Ted Williams. Keep an eye out for it.

Until Then, Keep Drinking,
#SiscoVanilla
#SiscoVanillaIsStepping
#SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks
#SiscoVanillaAtTheMovies

Sometimes We As Bartenders Just Need to Listen July 25, 2018

Sometimes we have a rocking and rolling good time while behind the sticks. But sometimes we to be just like Joe in the song One for my Baby.

Don't know it? Here are the lyrics:

It's quarter to three, there's no one in the place cept you and me
So set em up joe I got a little story I think you oughtta know
Were drinking my friend to the end of a brief episode
So make it one for my baby and one more for the road
I know the routine put another nickel in that there machine
I'm feeling so bad wont you make the music easy and sad
I could tell you a lot but you gotta to be true to your code
So make it one for my baby and one more for the road
You'd never know it but buddy I'm a kind of poet
And I've got a lot of things I wanna say
And if I'm gloomy, please listen to me
Till it's all, all talked away
Well, that's how it goes and joe I know you're gettin anxious to close
So thanks for the cheer I hope you didn't mind my bending your ear
But this torch that I found its gotta be drowned
Or it soon might explode so make it one for my baby and one more for the road

Songwriters: Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer

My favorite version is the one sung by Frank Sinatra. Here is the video for the song.

We all have those moments when the night is getting late and right before closing time you have that one customer who walks in and just needs someone to talk to. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise. That is why we are there. It doesn't matter how pretty a cocktail you can make with all the bells and whistles. If you can't just stand there and let a customer chew an ear off, then you aren't doing your job. Plain and simple.

We all need someone to talk to. Your local barkeep is often times the right person for you to do that with.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think.

Until Then Keep Drinking,
#SiscoVanilla
#SiscoVanillaIsStepping
#SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks
#SiscoVanillaAtTheMovies

SiscoVanilla Makes The Libations for the 4th July 5, 2018

Hope everyone had a safe and festive July 4th. Sorry for the lack of posts as of late. Been busy writing for my other blog SiscoVanilla Hits the Bricks. So Momma-San and I were invited to a cookout at Papito's and Ro's place and of course I couldn't arrive empty handed to the festivities. Since I had a premade Arnold Palmer made, I decided that I would make it a bit more adult. Aside from that I made a Rose Sangria and another light vodka cocktail. Here is what the three libations looked like:

Adult Arnold Palmer, Summer Rosé Sangria, Spring Fling

I'll describe each from left to right:

Adult Arnold Palmer:

Very simply put, the Adult Arnold Palmer I made was made up of two parts of Earl Gray Lavender iced tea and lemon/limeade and one part Tito's Vodka. That's it. The host of the party really liked this one. It was very light and refreshing. 

For more information on how I made the Arnold Palmer part of the cocktail, check out my post on Homemade Arnold Palmer July 5, 2018.

SiscoVanilla's Summer Rosé Sangria:

This one was heavily influenced by the Summer Rosé Sangria recipe by the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten. Here is her recipe:

1 (750 ml) bottle good rosé wine
1/2 cup Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
1/4 cup superfine sugar
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1 tablespoon Cognac or brandy
Water and ice, plus extra ice for serving
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
8 large fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 red plums, pitted and sliced ¼ inch thick

Combine the rosé, pomegranate juice, lemon juice, sugar, Grand Marnier, Cognac, 1 cup of water, and 1 cup of ice in a large glass pitcher. Stir in the raspberries, strawberries, and plums, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight.

When ready to serve, fill wine goblets or highball glasses halfway with ice. Pour the sangria over the ice, spooning some of the macerated fruit into each glass. Serve ice cold.

For mine I doubled the Barefoot Rosé and Pomegranate portions. Added 1/2 cup of Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur, 1/2 cup of Grand Marnier and added an extra tbsp of Remy Martin Cognac. I omitted the superfine sugar since the Rose was already sweet. In terms of fruit, I added Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Black Plums and Red Plums.

Now I'm not a wine dinker so I really didn't know how this would turn out. But I have to say that I liked it. It was very light but potent. The peeps really enjoyed this sangria. I liked it as well. Will definitely make this again for a get together.

Spring Fling:

I have to admit, I don't quite remember where I found this particular cocktail. A search for a Spring Fling Cocktail gives a number of results, using a variety of spirits. This one called for the following ratios for one cocktail:

1oz Tito's Vodka
0.5oz Amaretto Disaronno
2oz Cranberry Juice
1oz Pineapple Juice

I scaled it up to fill the bottle. The pineapple juice hits the nose immediately. While the cocktail contains three relatively sweet components, it really isn't overly sweet. Its a pleasurable sipper for a hot day, like it was on the 4th.

Overall, a great time was had by all. I have some posts coming up. So keep your eyes peeled for them.

Until Then Keep Drinking,
#SiscoVanilla
#SiscoVanillaisStepping
#SiscoVanillaHitsTheBricks