Summer Santa

It's a FREEZING cold day here today, well, freezing for Seattlites a it was about 40.... but I thought it might be fun to recall summer just a bit.  So let's have a Bramble! Since it's boozemas we'll call it the Summer Santa.  Fruity and delicious, it was a perfect.

2 oz Gin

2 oz Lemon Juice

1 oz Simple Syrup

1 oz Blackberry Liquor

Mix the first three ingredients and plenty of ice in a cocktail shaker.  Shake like crazy and strain into a glass filled with crushed ice.  Top with blackberry liquor and enjoy.

Cheers!

Salted Whiskey Carmel Sauce

On the second day of boozemas we used booze just a little differently; as a flavoring for carmel sauce.  I used this recipe, and to make it sauce instead of carmels you just don't let the temp get all the way to 248. This would also make a really great homemade gift if you can stop youself from eating ever last spoonful.  We poured ours over vanilla ice cream. Cheers!

It's baaaaaccccckkkkkkk!

It's baaaaaaacccccckkkkkkkkkkk!  It's once again Boozemas! And for the first night I started thinking about some of my favorite flavors and what immediately popped into my head was pineapple upside down cake.  I remember the first time I had it.  It was some boyscouting event I was being forced to attend due to my brother's involvement in scouts.  Let me just tell you right now that noting is more boring than attending anything that has is strictly for your sibling.  Nothing.  Regardless! At this particular event someone brought a magical desert known as pineapple upside down cake.  I'd never had anything so wonderful! So delicious! So unbelievable.  So what better way to fondly reflect on childhood memories? Somehow work booze into it.

 

Thus the Pineapple Upside Down Cake is born: 

1 Shot Pinnacle Cake Flavored Vodka

4 oz Pineapple Juice

Splash Grenadine

Whipped Cream

Cherries

 

Cheers!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

 

Neigh-Sayers be Darned!

So Violet and I have recently taken up riding....ON HORSES! It's crazy! And it's also a lot harder than you might expect.  You see people riding and think "that looks so easy, they are just sitting there.." No. They. Aren't. The first time I rode, I hadn't been around horses in a 100 years and 1. Forgot how big they are and 2. Forgot how bouncy it all is.  I felt like I was going to fall off at least 15 times and ended up in a heap in the dirt when I tried to dismount. Still! It was the most fun I've had in a long time and Violet (as with all little girls the world over) absolutely LOVES it, so we go riding once a week on Saturdays.  Of course ,after riding, unwinding some Mirror Pond Pale Ale is a must.  Well it was a must today because that's what we had in the fridge.  Mirror pond is a pretty non offensive brew and always a winner on a warm day.  Cheers!

The Grapefruit Rises

Get it? Ha! It's Batman day, and I actually got to see it on opening day!  To give a brief review, I liked it, but for a Batman movie, not really enough Batman.  It's also very very long, so I highly recommend bringing some of this delightful contact to the theater with you.  It's simply a grapefruit blended with gin and a few ice cubes to chill it down.  We recently have acquired a Vitamix and let me tell you this; if you like fruit and you like booze, you should get one.  It makes every drink out of this world delicious and you can even talk yourself into thinking it's somewhat healthy.  It's whole fruit for Pete's sake! Cheers!

To make at home:

2 Peeled Grapefruit
3 Shots of Gin
4 Ice Cubes

Whirl for about a minute and enjoy immediately.

Go with the Flow

Well, it's been a crazy April so far and we're not quite done.  We just got back from a fabulous week long vacation in paradise, otherwise known as Maui and wanted to report on the best drink.  And NO it's not the mai tai.  I mean, don't get me wrong, the mai tai is amazing and a traditional tropical drink but my personal favorite? The Lava Flow.

Here's a recipe for one if you are wanting to try. A-ma-zing.  I could have drank these all day every day, which I may or may not have done.... 

Couple more photos for your Hawaiian enjoyment.

Aloha!

Walking Dead Finale

Yep, like the rest of America we're obsessed with zombies and the upcoming zombie apocalypse.   Here are my thoughts on the Walking Dead Finale.

OMG on the car situation again. Yeah, it's probably not the world's GREATEST idea to take some old piece of crap truck that probably gets about 6 miles to the gallon AND DOESN'T HAVE A BACK WINDOW when you flee from the zombies. That alone should bar Rick from having "good judgment."

Other things that bugged me:

WTF on Laurie, who is perpetually annoying/insane. Why exactly was she pissed at Rick? Because he didn't let himself be killed?   Oh o.k.

Again with the zombies and their shoes. Seriously... how could those flats that first zombie had on even kind of stay on with the shuffling? Those are hard to keep on when you are paying attention.

Wouldn't the zombies constantly be falling down in rough terrain like the woods? They don't have any sense and are clumsy.  Andrea is falling all over herself, why aren't they?  Also, she's going at like a dead run, and they are still gaining on her? Huh? They are moving rather slowly in all the shots.

Seriously? They didn't have ANY kind of plan in case the farm was overrun? Or at the VERY least some kind of rendezvous point in case anyone gets separated?  They are constantly running off into the woods.... isn't it somewhat likely eventually someone is going to get lost?

Why don't they implement more flame like weapons? Rick set fire to the barn, he must think it works. Why not use it often?

Why did they 1. have to be driving like insane people when they were shooting the zombies? Why not go at a relatively slow pace so you can aim?  They weren't running away from them, just parallel. 2. Why did they keep stopping? KEEP DRIVING!!!

How did those zombies get into the RV?

Why was everyone pissed at Rick for not telling them they were infected? What difference does it make? Although if he knew that, why wasn't he more concerned when he shot Shane?

Really? They couldn't just clown car it to the next gas station? There aren't THAT many of them.  They'd rather stay in the overrun zombie woods?

Finally.  WTF was with that woman with the zombies chained to her.  Why would she be taking that kind of risk and why weren't they after her? Can you tame them into pets?

That said... can't wait 'till next fall to find out what happens!