Mudslide (shooter)

MUDSLIDE 

(SHOOTER)

Beautiful 3-layer-shooter

Evening everyone! It's time for a shooter! :D

Here's a good o' classic called the Mudslide. There is a longer version of this out there, but I decided to try out the shot-style Mudslide since I conveniently had the ingredients and time to do it.

Easy to make and ingredients readily available, the Mudslide is, in hindsight, a delightful shot!

• 1/3 Kahlúa (coffee liqueur)
• 1/3 Baileys (cream liqueur)
• 1/3 Vodka

Layer in given order with the help of a (bar)spoon. As you can see from the picture above, they layer quite beautifully on top of each other.

Taste-wise, I enjoyed it so much! Keep in mind that using a low-tier vodka WILL yield poorer results. Fine, I went all-in and went as far as using Russian Standard Platinum :D Also what I always suggest when doing shooters especially like this one (layered), keep the drink a bit in your mouth and swirl it around so you can taste more than just the last one from the glass, usually Kahlúa!

Well balanced, tasteful and yummy! I give it my approval!

Tootsie Roll Shot

TOOTSIE ROLL SHOT

Happy 2018 everyone! We start off the year with a shot I made with a friend of mine! Well, we actually made three different versions of it (keep reading) because quite frankly, so many variations exists of this shooter!

Before we dwell upon this shot, I was busy working through Christmas and New Year's Eve, so yeah, that took its toll. Luckily my family escaped up north (my wife's family lives there) for the holiday season.

That being said, this shot is called the Tootsie Roll. A candy exists by the same name. Three different versions were made based on the recipes I found online. I tried to look up pretty consistent ones and here are the TOP3 versions:

• 1.5 cl kahlua OR creme de cacao (dark if you have it!)
• 1.5 cl orange juice
• 1.5 cl vodka

- Build in a shot glass and shoot!

OR

• 1.5 cl kahlua
• 1.5 cl creme de cacao (dark preferred)
• 1.5 cl hazelnut liqueur (frangelico)

Quick shake with ice and strain into a shot glass.

So what ended up happening was us (me & friend) making all three versions. Our ranking:

1. creme de cacao + oj + vodka
2. kahlua + oj + vodka
3. kahlua + cacao + hazelnut shaken

For me personally, the cacao version tasted kinda like cointreau, amazingly enough!

Toasted Almond (cocktail)

TOASTED ALMOND

(COCKTAIL)

Ever wanted to make the White Russian Great Again? :D Well, here's a fun "twist" nonetheless, with great flavors! I introduce to you the Toasted Almond (cocktail). Apparently everything in the States is BIG so I had to cut the measures in half to make mine, explained soon why. This creamy drink has easy-to-find ingredients, well-balanced and super easy to make:

• 1 part DiSaronno (amaretto)
• 1 part kahlúa
• 1 part cream

I used 3 cl each, seems that the friends abroad use 2 fl oz so that'll be 6 cl! :D Anyways, I shaked everything with ice and without straining poured the content into a tumbler. Feel free to add roasted almond chips to garnish.

I have to say, I prefer the shaking over building so every ingredient gets mixed well with each other. Needless to say, it worked. sweet-ish almondy-coffee taste is mellowed by the cream. Weightwatchers note, this is not a drink for you! For others, highly recommended!

Italian Latte

ITALIAN LATTE

Evening everyone! Here's one helluva treat for you all! A friend/colleague of mine dubbed it as an Italian Latte. Just wonderful in taste, this cocktail receives a special place in my heart. You'll soon find out why.

• 4 cl Molinari Caffe liqueur
• 4 cl cream
• 8 cl milk
• (grated vanilla as garnish)

Fair enough, I used 5-5-10cl, but a simple 1:1:2 ratio and you'll do good. Briefly shake everything with ice and pour the content into a tumbler, no straining needed. Especially if using larger amounts of liquids remember to have a larger glass (duh). You could garnish the drink with grated vanilla or say, coffee beans. Serve.

The flavor...magic. Molinari Caffe is such an exceptional product (sambuca based coffee liqueur with a reasonably high ABV at 38%), I will warn you and say that if you don't like sambuca, then you won't like this one either. But the Italian Latte's texture is full-bodied, smooth, strongly coffee-flavored with clear anise in the background and with the ~half-and-half dairy products it still isn't too hard to drink ie. it's not too heavy.

Moreover, this is super easy to make. Always a plus :D

New York Coffee

NEW YORK COFFEE

Hey! Here's a nice touch on mixed coffee drinks! Many have had an Irish Coffee before, sure but if that sounds boring, why not try a New York Coffee? A liquorice twist with excellent taste that'll sweep your feet right away :D

• 2 cl kahlúa
• 2 cl sambuca
• hot coffee
• loosely whipped cream
• grated nutmeg to garnish

Preheat the glass. Pour excess hot water away, add in the alcohols followed with the coffee. Stir gently and layer the cream on top. Garnish and serve.

Easy and delicious! In addition, if you still want to pimp this one up, before layering the cream, add a few pinches salt in the drink and stir. Then you have a Silvertaffee Coffee, based on the Finnish "Hopeatoffee" - candy since they taste the same :)

Jumalan Ruoska (God's Whip)

JUMALAN RUOSKA (GOD'S WHIP)

Whip it REAL GOOD!

Here's a cocktail I found about last weekend and apparently it existed already in 2004! Jumalan Ruoska, or translated "God's Whip". A customer mentioned this name and I had to look it up later just to find out from a very old forum that indeed! This drink does exist! I had to give it a shot.

This drink is similar to the White Russian, especially due to one of the main ingredients. But let's see how this one's made.

• 2 cl Jaloviina * (A famous Finnish cut brandy, you could use any similar product if this one is not available)
• 2 cl Kahlúa (it has to be Kahlúa, any other coffee liqueur won't do the trick)
• Milk

Build into a OF/tumbler filled with ice. No garnish, just a straw.

First of all, milk-based cocktails are devious for they are so easily drunk. I don't lie, I could've finished my drink in a few sips! Secondly, this cocktail is full-bodied (thanks to Kahlúa) and smooth in texture with a nice brandy-ish flavor to it. Thirdly, for the Finns this drink is easily and readily available, since come on, any self-respecting person should stock at least Jaloviina in their homes! :D

I can only recommend trying this if the basic White Russians are getting waaaaaay boring!

Espresso Martini

ESPRESSO MARTINI

Energy boost in a glass

Hello again everyone. Let me introduce you to something quite modern but still wonderful, the Espresso Martini.

It'll sweep your socks right off your feet, even if you don't have any! I was lucky enough to get some espresso from work...and the rest is history!

• 5 cl vodka
• 2.5 cl Kahlúa
• 2.5 cl espresso
• (.5 cl sugar syrup, to taste)

Shake the ingredients with ice, strain and serve.

Highly coffee-flavored, both in the nose and flavor, this cocktail is potent. As vodka is pretty much "tasteless", it only enhances the profile of both Kahlùa and espresso, making the Espresso Martini one helluva coffee cocktail! Smooth in taste, I'm glad I made this!

Pink Polar Bear

PINK POLAR BEAR

(to see how the drink looks like under "different" lighting)

Well met again. It's...3am and I'm posting a blog regarding a new cocktail! Given, I made this a few days ago (sober :D), recommended by a member of a gaming community I am currently in. It is called the Pink Polar Bear. As I see it (having tasted it as well), it's a semi-variant of the (in)famous Finnish White Russian:

• 5 cl vodka
• 2.5 cl Tia Maria (coffee liqueur, I used Kahluá)
• 2.5 cl grenadina
• milk

In a high ball glass, fill it with ice, pour in the alcohols, grenadine and top it off with milk! One site even said quote "Tastes like chocolate milkshake looks like strawberry milkshake very nice!" but let's be honest, it didn't quite. In their defence, Tia Maria probably gives a more intense chocolately taste to the cocktail where as the Kahluá is more espresso/coffee bean - flavored. It does look like strawberry milkshake I give you that. I give it 2½ visual points but only 2 taste points. Should I ever have Tia Maria, I would try this again and see if (when) it's different. At the moment I'd rather just make regular White Russians and be satisfied with them.

B-52

B-52

If you look closely, you can see the blue fire.

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm back with my wife from Germany, where we spent Christmas with my sister, my brother and his family. It was a good holiday, no, it was an amazing holiday for us. Now that the celebrations are "over", it's time to start a the upcoming New Year's with a blazing shooter! I introduce you to the well-known B-52!

• 1/3 shot Kahluá (coffee liqueur)
• 1/3 shot Baileys (cream liqueur)
• 1/3 shot Gran Marnier (triple sec)
• (matches and fire safety)

Layer the ingredients as mentioned (coffee, cream, triple sec) and optionally light the shooter on fire. You can either use a short straw or just blow out the fire and then shoot!

Regrettably, this cocktail...has really more hype than flavor. I...just couldn't get much out of this! It's a pretty shooter nonetheless and if you're feel like blazing up a few drinks, consider this OR the Kiki.

Monte Cristo Coffee

MONTE CRISTO COFFEE

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

- Dr. Seuss

Hello again dear readers!

My thoughts of coffee cocktails has been brewing (tee-hee) for a long time now. I've read about them a lot as well as any alcoholic beverage that is enjoyed warm/hot. The promo pictures are so delicious looking I've always wanted to make one myself (here's a good example of one). The only problem I've found with these kind of drinks is that 90% of the time they look exactly the same; it's black/brown and a float of loosely whipped cream on top. Maybe some chocolate sprinkles or powdered cocoa on top. So making a dozen of different flavored coffee cocktails wouldn't make sense per se; I'd have a dozen similar looking pictures. 

So the only thing where I can make an actual difference is

1. Choose a different kind of glass
2. Choose "unorthodox" garnishes (that still apply for the drink overall)

At work we make various warm cocktails. During the holiday season we sell plenty of glögi, both with and without alcohol. Irish coffees and peppermint hot chocolates and all of those are ordered on a rather regular basis as well. Figures since it's cold outside and people like to drink warm drinks (coffee) in Finland, so why not combine both?

Anyhow, one of the more known coffee cocktails is the Monte Cristo coffee. I actually saw a colleague of mine do this in a wine goblet and it really hit me; "Why not?" Having had a rough weekend at work (long hours in consecutive days) I really wanted to do this and see how it goes down as a coffee drink:

• 2.5 cl Kahluá (coffee liqueur)
• 2.5 cl Cointreau (triple sec)
• hot coffee
• loosely whipped cream

First warm up the glass. Pour in the liquors, add the coffee and finally with the help of a spoon gently pour the loosely whipped cream on top to create a float. Serve.

In our bar we use 2:2cl respectively (regulations) and some recipes in the wonderland we call internet call for 3 cl kahluá/1.5 cl cointreau (gran marnier) for a more coffee-tasting experience. Given, that would've probably worked a tad better; although this cocktail tasted great, the orange flavors did overwhelm the coffee aromas a little bit.

Either way, I've really warmed up (tee-hee) for these kind of drinks! Coffee cocktails, I salute you!

Kiki

KIKI

Oh boy are we into something good now! This is the first time I've created a flaming shooter but I had to give this one a try. I present you with the Kiki.

What you need:

• ⅓ shot of Kahlúa (coffee liquor)
• ⅓ shot of Amaretto
• ⅓ shot of Cointreau (triple sec)
• a source of fire

Layer the three ingredients in the given order (kahlúa, amaretto and finally the cointreau) but try to keep a steady hand, especially on the triple sec. I almost botched it but managed to keep the layers separated (as seen in the picture). Now carefully light the top on fire, enjoy the show then blow the fire out and shoot!

Personally, I liked this shot very much. I could clearly taste each ingredients. It's like a 3-in-1 shot. None did overwhelm another and the final coffee flavored taste was very pleasant. Also, this cocktail looks quite beautiful. I give Kiki a big thumps up!

N.B!

Always treat cocktails with fire with great caution. Fire is a good servant but a bad master. At least have something to extinguish the flames should things go awry.

Smiley Face

SMILEY FACE

Another amazing shot! You have probably noticed how many of the shots I have shown are layered. That is because I like making ones! I get many good flavors in one glass, what's there not to like?!

Anyhow, here's how it's done:

• 2 cl of Kahlúa
• 2 cl créme de bananes
• 1-2 cl of fresh cream

Layer the ingredients and shoot! Tastes just as it should; a creamy coffee-banana mix at your service! The Kahlúa is a tad dominating but in my opinion it doesn't hurt the cocktail per se. I liked it.

White Russian

The White Russian

Back in the days

Here it is, the White Russian. Unlike the (bad) Finnish version of this great drink, here it is how it should be. What you need is:

• 2cl quality vodka
• 2cl Kahlúa
• 2cl fresh cream

Just pour the vodka, the Kahlúa and finally the fresh cream into a tumbler filled with a few ice cubes. Stirring is not necessary. Now here you have an excellent drink. The Kahlúa really gives a very deep and aromatic coffee taste to it with a side note of cocoa. I could easily drink a few of these at a time, but due to the drink's "heaviness", less is more.

An another White Russian in 2013. This time my proportions were as follows:

• 5 cl vodka
• 4 cl Kahlúa
• fresh cream

You could add a straw and sip it slowly and if you necessarily want to use a garnish, consider a cocktail cherry (color-wise looks fantastic). Altering the proportions can make different-tasting cocktails as per personal taste.