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!

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.

Brain Hemorrhage

BRAIN HEMORRHAGE

Well met once again! It's been quite the pause since my last update (okay, two weeks) so I thought "now it's time to make a cocktail again!" 

Fair enough, this is more of a shooter and if you look closely, you might note the similarities with a shooter I made back in the days (or this)! Instead of going all "alien", I present the Brain Hemorrhage. (the US Halloween is knocking at our doors so I found this fit for any Halloween party whatsoever)

It's very simple to make. All you need is (love):

• ½ shot peach schnapps
• ½ shot Irish cream (or any cream liqueur)
• ~a tsp of grenadine

First pour in the peach schnapps, then carefully layer the Irish cream on top and finally with a tea spoon drop the grenadine the in the middle. The effect should look somewhat as in the picture above.

Taste-wise semi-good. During the middle part, where the Irish cream has "curdled" a bit has a rather yucky feel in the mouth but that's a diminutive detail.

Happy capitalistic Halloween everyone!

Springbok

SPRINGBOK

"The springbok is a medium-sized brown and white antelope-gazelle from southwestern Africa."

But in the cocktail world, the Springbok (or Springbokkie, meaning "little springbok") it is a gold and green layered shooter originating from South Africa:

• ½ shot of Amarula
• ½ shot of cremè de menthé

First pour the cremè de menthé in a shot glass and carefully layer the amarula on top. Consume. This cocktail tastes like strong mint chocolate! 

If you want to impress yourself (or your guests) even more, use ice-cold products and keep the shot glass in a freezer for a while for maximum effect. Be warned, though...you'll fall in love with these ones!

Irish Car Bomb

IRISH CAR BOMB

Continuing our beer cocktail show, here's another "classic" example how beer can be used in cocktails. Enter the Irish Car Bomb. Without going too much into the history of this drink, I just want to mention that the original version had Kahlúa instead of Baileys; this one is the more common one seen today:

• ½ a pint of Guinness
• 4 cl of Baileys Irish Cream
• 1 cl of Irish whiskey (I used Jameson, but any Irish blend will do fine)

Fill the shot glass with Baileys and layer the whiskey on top of it. Then drop that shot in the glass of Guinness and drink fast. Fast, because the baileys will curdle rather quickly (as seen in the last picture).

A really interesting drink. The nutty flavors from the baileys gave an excellent finish to this cocktail. The Irish Car bomb is a good party starter, a better dessert drink but most of all, a quick way to get wasted.

Obsession

OBSESSION

Continuing with the Amarula theme, on the same evening I created another Amarula - based cocktail. This was very good but does not match with the  White Nile Martini I created before. But here goes:

• 25 ml Amarula
• 25 ml Disaronno
• 25 ml Creme dé cacao (white)
• 25 ml milk

I dipped the rim of the glass in water and then with powdered cocoa and put it in the fridge while preparing the drink. Add everything in the shaker, fill it with ice and shake it brotha!

(double) strain in a cocktail glass and add grated chocolate on top. Serve.

This cocktail was good, as mentioned before. The almondy-chocolate taste wasn't too strong thanks to the milk plus the amarula gave this cocktail a nice fruity touch. 

White Nile Martini

WHITE NILE MARTINI

Greetings again, dear friends! It has been over a month since my last update but do excuse me for this. I was in South Africa from mid-December to New Year's 2013, seeing much and experiencing more. Many of the people I talked to said I should definitely get a bottle of Amarula when I leave. And so I did. Better yet, Amarula has proven its worthiness in almost every aspect.

I said "almost" because from what I've learned, 90% of the cocktails associated with Amarula have something to do with either fresh cream or vanilla ice cream. Fair enough, this stuff tastes great with them, but it also makes it vulnerable for not being as versatile as other liquors. To really put Amarula to the test, I've made two cocktails, this one being the first. I present you with the White Nile Martini.

• 50 ml Amarula
• 25 ml Cointreau
• 25 ml Creme dé cacao (white)

For a smaller cocktail, just cut the measures in half.

I started by coating the rim of the cocktail glass first with water, then with powdered cocoa and putting it in the fridge to cool. Add the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add plenty of ice and shake shake shake! Strain into a cocktail glass. You can leave the cocktail without decoration, use grated chocolate or like in this version use a wafer.

Wow. Just wow. This really hit the spot! This drink had a great orange-chocolaty taste and reminded me of a chocolate we have in Finland! An excellent cocktail and a superb taste!

I tip my hat to you, Amarula.

Jellyfish shot

JELLYFISH SHOT

Another shot at your disposal! I present you with the Jellyfish shot! I got this recipe from TipsyBartender and thought "why the heck not?" Looking kind of like the Alien Brain Hemorrhage, layered shots like these are

1. fun to make

2. beautiful

3. good in taste, in a weird way

What you need is:

• 2 cl creme de cacao
• 1 cl of amaretto
• 2 cl of baileys
• a few drops of grenadine

Add about half a shot glass with the creme de cacao. The gently pour the amaretto on top of it to create a layer. After that make another layer of baileys on top of those. Create the jellyfish by adding a few drops of grenadine on the shot. The amount I used was roughly a tea spoon.

Taste-wise...well kind of a mish-mash. Baileys was very dominant as well as the end grenadine. But want to impress your friends (again) with layered shot? Totally worth it.

Squashed Frog

SQUASHED FROG

Another easily made and good tasting shot, this drink makes a good party starter! 

What you need:

• 1.5cl Grenadine
• 1.5cl Midori
• 1.5cl Advocaat (an egg based liqueur, but any cream liqueur would do the trick)

In the given order, layer all of the ingredients into a shot glass, let it settle and go! If you want to make a "hemorrhage" version, add the Midori and Advocaat first, then add the grenadine which will sink to the bottom to create the effect given just like in the Alien Brain Hemorrhage drink.

Chocolate Baileys Martini

CHOCOLATE BAILEYS MARTINI

To all of you chocolate-drink lovers, here's a real treat! Given this drink is not a martini per se, but it sure tastes good! What you need:

• 4cl Baileys Irish Cream
• 2cl creme de cacao (white)
• 2cl vodka
• 2cl fresh cream
• chocolate powder for decoration

Put the cocktail glass in the fridge (or freezer) beforehand. In a cocktail shaker, combine the first four ingredients, add plenty of ice and shake it but don't break it! Double strain the drink into your chilled glass and lastly decorate your cocktail with chocolate powder. Optionally, chocolate flakes work perfectly as well!

Tastes strong, creamy and extremely chocolately! A perfect after dinner drink or with your favorite dessert. When I had a friend couple over for a pleasant evening the other day, I served this with some crème brûlée. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Alien Brain Hemorrhage

ALIEN BRAIN HEMORRHAGE

This is the alien brain hemorrhage. I bumped into this shot from a couple of web sites and decided to give it a go. The shot itself has easy-to-get ingredients and doesn't take too much effort to make either.

What you need is 

• ½ a shot of peach schnapps
• ⅓ a shot of cream liquor (Baileys)
• a small amount of blue curaçao liqueur
• small amount of grenadine  

First fill the shot glass with the peach schnapps. Then carefully pour the cream liquor on top using a small (bar) spoon. After the two ingredients have settled, add a small amount (I used a tea spoon amount) of curaçao in the middle of the drink. Finally, add the grenadine (approximately the same amount as with the curaçao). The grenadine will sink to the bottom and create this very nice effect.

As for the taste, this is something everyone should try at least once. The grenadine dominates the taste quite a lot for being so sweet but I really enjoyed it.