2011: A Year in the Backyard

In case you missed any of this boozy goodness - here's a review of last year's very best cocktails from the Backyard Bartender.

1. Celery-Infused Tequila
2. Carmen Sandiego
3. Cranberry Spice Sangria
4. Lillet Blanc and the James Bond Martini

5. Five Classic Cocktails to Order 'Off the Menu' at the Anvil
6. Mezcal Cocktails
7. Maple Strawberry Rhubarb Mojito
8. Even More Harry Potter Cocktails
9. Kool-Aid Cocktails
10. Cocktailing Chicago: The Violet Hour. (And check out Chicago bars Whistler, Matchbox, and the Drawing Room.)

11. Mojito MADNESS
12. The best of the infused vodka, and what to do with it.
13. The Bachelor Cocktail
14. His and Hers Gin and Tonics
15. Winter White Sangria

2011: A Year in the Kitchn

I know it seems a bit late for this year-in-review stuff, considering that 2012 is already 1/12 over. But in defiance of convention, here's a retrospective of my work for The Kitchn, the cooking site where I am now a real, bigtime, bona-fide, professional cocktail blogger. A review of this year's work here at the Backyard Bartender is coming soon. Happy (belated) New Year!

1. Easy Pitcher Cocktail: Strawberry Basil Margaritas
2. Halloween Pitcher Cocktail: El Diablo
3. Spiced Pear Margarita
4. Apple Spice Bourbon Infusion
5. Pumpkin Buttered Rum

6. The Summer Sage
7. Blueberry Rum Smash
8. All About Chartreuse
9. Beer Cocktails!
10. Fig Old-Fashioned

Happy Holidays from the Backyard Bartender.

Here's a warm and bright little sangria, perfect for sipping with the family this Christmas. The cranberry is a tart and tasty complement to the wine, a little bit of spice adds holiday cheer, and a cup of Lillet makes everything just a little more deliciously grown-up.

Cranberry Spice White Wine Sangria
serves 8
1 bottle (750 mL) dry white wine (such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 orange, sliced and cut into quarter-wheels
15 whole cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
1 cup Lillet Blanc
1 cup white cranberry juice
1 cup red cranberry juice (I used cranberry juice cocktail, since real cranberry juice is very tart and a bit hard to locate.)

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher and allow to steep overnight. Serve over ice.


Thanks for reading, friends. I appreciate you all, and hope you have a wonderful, safe holiday filled with good friends, good times, and good drinks.

Beer Cocktails: Redneck Mother

Ever since I first had a "beer-tail" at Beaver's Icehouse, one of my favorite places in Houston, or the world, I have longed to create one of my own. It seemed so simple, and yet so terribly difficult - I know which liquors go together, but what goes with beer?

I started with sloe gin, beloved of Anglophiles and snooty mixologists, and Lone Star, beloved of me, while floating down the river. While some friends had suggested that 'Down the River With Nancy' would be a delightful name for a cocktail, I was stuck on 'Redneck Mother', and sloe gin (which is red) and Lone Star (which is a little redneck) seemed to fit the bill. To this I added ruby red grapefruit (newly in season - buy local!) and ginger beer. I confess I was inspired in this by the Shiner brewery's summer seasonal, the Ruby Redbird, which is (was) brewed with ginger and grapefruit. So it's unsurprising that the finished product is a bit reminiscent of Shiner's summer brew - but that's not a bad thing. I could use a little remembrance of summer right now.

Redneck Mother
1 oz Rio Star ruby red grapefruit juice (fresh-squeezed!)
.75 oz sloe gin (Get the Plymoth, if you can. It's a bit hard to find, but completely worth it. If you can't hunt down the Plymoth, use a bit less, as other brands tend to be sweeter.)
Lone Star beer
Ginger beer

Add the sloe gin and grapefruit juice to the bottom of a pint glass (or mason jar). Fill the remaining portion of the jar halfway with Lone Star and top with ginger beer. Cheers.

All You Ever Wanted to Know about Chartreuse.

Those polled had mixed opinions about Chartreuse.

Betty: "This tastes like food. Kind of like herbs de provence." (But she really liked it.)

Luke: "I don't want to drink anything that sounds like 'shart'."

If you can see past the 'shart' (and the prohibitive pricing - a bottle of this stuff cost me nearly 60 dollars) - Chartreuse will unfold its strange, age-old secrets to you. Its taste is distinctively herbal, not quite like any other liqueur you've ever had, and its history is old and rich. (Chartreuse has been made exclusively by French monks since 1605, and its formula is known only to two people. Take that, Coke.) Read all about it at the Kitchn, where yours truly expounds upon the mysteries and wonders of this mysterious and wonderful libation.

Much Love - And a Blueberry Cocktail - To You.

Some of you might have noticed that I appear to be taking a bit of a break from backyard bartending. But worry not, because I've actually been very busy, and I have many, many ideas. This fall, I'm going to be plying my craft over at The Kitchn for another eight weeks, as well as (hopefully) getting up some reviews of NYC and DC bars, along with some original content just for the site.

In the meantime, just so you don't go thirsty, here's a lovely little cocktail from the tail end of my last stint at the Kitchn. It was originally published right before labor day as a sort of last-ditch summer cocktail, but you have my permission to fall-ify it by using a spiced rum. In fact, that sounds so delicious I might just make one right now.

The Summer Sage

Here's part 2 of my series of cocktail posts for the Kitchn. It's a re-jiggering (see what I did there?) of one of my very first drinks, a delicious combination of red plums, sage, and rye whiskey. If you're wondering what, exactly, the difference is between rye whiskey and plain old whiskey, flip back to this post for all the details. To see the new recipe (and more delicious photos), check out the Kitchn post here.

Warning: looks like pink lemondade. Will knock you on your ass. (So...pretty much the perfect cocktail.)