They’ll Make You Delusional…

Thirsty Thursday:

My favorite part about strolling into a bar that I’ve never been to is asking if they have any speciality drinks.  Now, I’m not talking about their specials (as much as I love 2-for-1 beers); I’m more curious if the bar has a drink that they specialize in crafting.  You know, the drink that that all the regulars know is topnotch but a newcomer such as myself would not even think to order.

There’s a bar right on Water Street in Eau Claire (where I went to college) that definitely has a specialty drink.  The Grand Illusion right in downtown makes a drink called The Delusion that is notorious for its low price and high liquor content.  This drink comes in a tall glass, is always $5, and has a whopping 4 shots in it!  When you purchase a Delusion it even comes with a ticket, so when you reach 10 drinks you get a free T-Shirt 😉  Wow…I know.

Anyway, this drink is a hit in the wonderful city of Eau Claire (and I just happen to love them), so Tyler was gracious enough to teach me how to make my very own!  This mayyy be dangerous.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 1 oz. Maui Tropical Red Schnapps
• 1 oz. Captain Morgan
• 1 oz. Blue Schnapps
• Pineapple Juice to taste

First, throw some ice in a tall glass to keep the liquor cold as your pour it in.

Then, add the Blue Schnapps, Captain Morgan, Maui Tropical, and fill the rest of the glass up with pineapple juice.

After everything is mixed together you may notice that the drink is a dark blue/green color.  I personally am not a huge fan of drinking such an odd colored drink (call me crazy, but I totally notice these things), so I like to put The Delusion in a different colored glass.  For this post I decided on a purple tinted mason jar instead.  Last, garnish with some cherries, pineapples, or orange slices and you’re good to go!  Perfect 🙂

 

Do you have a favorite bar that has its own specialty drink?  Do you always tend to order the same thing every time you’re there, or do you like to mix it up?

Chao!

-Adrien

Oh How Much I Wish I Was in Blue-tiful Hawaii

Thirsty Thursday:

This blog post is a huge shout out to my family-to-be who are currently in beautiful Hawaii on a much needed vacation!  Last week Judy and Mike escaped the brutal Wisconsin winter to soak up some rays, sip passion-orange-guava mixed drinks, take memorable excursions, and dip their toes in the teal ocean.  Needless to say, I’m a jealous wreck and currently sulking by watching way too much Netflix, making cakes that really shouldn’t be eaten, and fake-baking at the gym in attempts to achieve somewhat of a glow.  Well, even though my tan is fake, my excitement for summer definitely is not!

While vacationing in Mexico many moons ago with my mother I discovered a brilliant concoction called The Blue Hawaiian.  Now, since I was only scraping the ripe age of 20 I had never experienced such a tasty alcoholic beverage.  This is mostly because the bulk of what I consumed came in a 30-pack for $16 and was retrieved from the trunk of one of my sorority sister’s cars.   That aside, ever since 2011 this drink has been in the back of my mind just waiting to be mixed but always repressed because it’s perceived complexity.

Well, today we break barriers, my friends!  Contrary to my previous belief, the Blue Hawaiian is not that difficult to make and only has a handful of ingredients – All in which are relatively inexpensive.  It’s time to bring the fruit and coconut goodness of Hawaii to Wisconsin!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 ounce Light Rum
• 1 ounce Vodka
• 1 ounce Blue Curacao
• 3 ounces Pineapple Juice, unsweetened
• 1 ounce Sweet and Sour

Alright, I found this recipe on WikiHow, and although most of what they have to offer is pretty legitimate, I believe that this recipe could use some tweaking.   In my opinion, even though the recipe calls specifically for unsweetened pineapple juice, the juice can be sweetened all it wants.  If it’s too sugary for you, that’s fine, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen unsweetened before and it’s not worth the hunt.  Also, I believe that a splash of Cream of Coconut would take this drink to another level!  But if you would like to eliminate the extra ingredient, you could simply replace the light rum with some Malibu to offer that extra hint of coconut flavor.  I would much rather have Malibu in my fridge than light rum anyway 🙂

All you have to do is line up the ingredients, pour them into a shaker filled with ice, and shake like a champion for a solid 5-10 seconds.  Or, if you would like a blended drink like the masterpiece I had in Mexico, put all of the ingredients above in a blender with a cup of crushed ice.  Then puree its contents on high until smooth and pour into a chilled glass.

Top your vacation-worthy drink with a mini-umbrella, cherry, orange slice, and chunk of pineapple for the ultimate experience!

Now it’s your turn:

What was your favorite drink to cool you off and calm you down the last time you were on vacation?

If you would like more information on how to make a Blue Hawaiian click HERE!

I Love Drinking Sour Patch Kids

Thirsty Thursday:

Hands down, Sour Patch Kids are one of the best candies ever to be invented.  Period.  No argument.

So a few weeks ago when I found out that there is a Sour Patch Kids DRINK I almost lost my cool.  I was like: “Dude, Seriously?! How awesome is that?”

One of the greatest things about this sugar-coated-candy is that it’s sweet, sour, and fruity all at the same time, and believe it or not, this drink tastes EXACTLY like the kids themselves

(((but in liquid form that makes you happy…happier than any sugar rush you’ve ever had))).

Now, I’ve learned that there are a few different ways to make the drink, so I went to none other than ‘Drinks Mixer‘ to decide on the official ingredients for the recipe that I’ll introduce to you today!

What You’ll Need:

1.5 oz Smirnoff Vodka (Yes, yes I said SMIRNOFF! The flavor of the vodka is easily masked by the other ingredients, so using a higher quality vodka is not really necessary.)
1.5 oz Blue Curacao liqueur
1 oz Grenadine syrup (More or less – It’s up to you!)
1 oz Sweet and Sour mix
1 wedge lime

At first glance you may notice that every ingredient in the recipe except for the grenadine & lime contains liquor.  Nice observation.  Heads up: This drink is super strong & it may be hard to keep track of how many you’ve had because of its fruity, sour, and sweet goodness.  Watch yourself.

Now that the PSA is over – Let’s start mixing!

This one’s easy ladies and gents – As long as you have all of the ingredients you’re good to go, so just combine the vodka, Blue Curacao, Grenadine, Sweet & Sour mix, and the lime juice in a shaker with ice.  Then shake for a solid 10 seconds and sift into a glass of your choice.  If you prefer your drink to have more of a sour kick (like the Sour Patch Kids themselves) add a touch more lime juice 🙂

Also, what I like to do is sprinkle some sugar on a lemon wedge to use as a delicious chaser if you’re drinking this like a shot or in a tapper glass.  It makes the whole experience so much sweeter!

< Pun intended 😉 >

Good luck out there!

Just out of curiosity, what’s your favorite candy?  &&& Are you lucky enough to have a drink or shot that tastes just as great?!