TAKE A SIP: SPARKLING CARAMEL APPLETINI

Okay my friends, it's officially time for HOLIDAY DRINKS!

I mean, not that any of these drinks coming up on the blog aren't good all year long..but..they're perfectly holiday party ready!

First up: Sparkling Caramel Appletini.

What you'll need to make it happen:

- 1.5 ounces vodka

-  Hard Cider (angry orchard preferred!)

- Caramel Sauce 

-Apple Slices (honeycrisp is best)

- Ice

How to make it happen:

Step 1: Swirl caramel sauce in the martini glass

Step 2: Shake ice & vodka until chilled & add to glass

Step 3: Top off with hard cider, stir, and garnish with an apple slice.

Step 4: Sip & enjoy!

Simple, right?

The caramel sweetness assures no bite from the vodka, and the fizz from the hard cider is an extra surprise!

What holiday drink are you making this season?

If you don't have a good one in your repertoire yet, make this one!

xo, lp

**psst: let's be instagram friends! -->@lpodlich

TAKE A SIP: CLASSIC STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRI

Alright, the "last hurrah of summer" continues!

Today's recipe isn't one of my out-there, random, themed recipes- it's just a good old classic Strawberry Daiquiri.

Sweet, tart, fruity-and dangerously easy to drink...

What you'll need to make it happen:

-1 cup fresh strawberries

- 2 ounces white rum

- 1/2 ounce triple sec

- 1 teaspoon lime juice

- 1/4 cup sprite

- ice

How to make it happen:

 - Blend ice, rum, triple sec, strawberries, and lime juice

- Top with Sprite & stir

- Garnish with lime wedge & strawberry slice

(I know, soooo difficult, right?)

So there you have it, One last hurrah for summer drink!

What drink would you sip on to say goodbye to summer?

xo, lp

for more drink recipes, go here!

for instagram fun times, go here!

TAKE A SIP: (the classics) THE BRANDY OLD FASHIONED

When I think of the quintessential Wisconsin drink, I think of an Old Fashioned. Heck- we even have a restaurant on our Capitol square named after the thing!

The Classic Wisconsin version is the Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet- when I bartended I made zillions of these things for out of towners who wanted to have the traditional drink.

Now that we have people over fairly often, I love making these- and there are so many iterations of these possible, that if you aren't a brandy fan...or a sweet fan...you can tweak it to make it your own! 

What you'll need to make it happen:

- 2 orange slices (in quarters)

- 4-5 maraschino cherries

- Raw sugar cube or just granulated sugar

- 3-4 dashes of Bitters (see bottle below)

- 2 ounces Brandy

- Sprite

-Muddler

-Ice

 How to make it happen:

Step 1: Throw your 2-3 cherries, 1 orange slice quarter, sugar, and dashes of bitters into the bottom of a glass. With your muddler, mash until cherry, orange, and sugar is well mixed. Be careful not to grind the orange rind too much, or you'll get a really bitter taste!

Step 2: Add ice and brandy, and top with a few splashes of Sprite.

Step 3: Either stir or pour into another glass so drink is well mixed.

Step 4: Garnish with and orange slice & a cherry, and enjoy!

 If you don't dig brandy, sub for bourbon or whiskey!

If you don't like orange, sub for lemon!

If you don't like overly-sweet things- add in 1 Tbsp Sour mix, then finish with just a little Sprite!

If you're really feelin' fancy, buy orange or cherry bitters to enhance the fruit flavor!

(so many exclamation marks, so little time)

What drink represents where you're from?

Leave a recipe or name in the comments, I'd love to look it up!

xo, lp

for more drink recipes, go here.

for instagram fun, go here.

NECTARINE BASIL LEMONADE (it's as refreshing as it sounds!)

I make a good amount of cocktails on this here blog...which probably makes me look like a bit of a lush. Truth is I don't actually drink that much (she says as she blogs with a glass of wine), and most of the cocktails I make could easily be made sans alcohol.

This recipe on the other hand, is a virgin drink that could just fine with a lil gin or vodka in it. Take your pick kids, choose your own adventure.

What you'll need:

-Lemonade mix 

- Nectarines

-Fresh Basil

How to make it happen:

You ready for how difficult this is?

Step 1: Mix up your lemonade.

Step 2: Rip 4-5 large basil leaves and muddle in your lemonade.

Step 3: Pour over some ice with a few slices of nectarine & enjoy!

If you want your lemonade to be sweeter, muddle up your nectarines too. I on the other hand, like to eat the nectarine slices once I'm done with the drink and they're all cold and sour from the lemonade. Because I'm weird like that.

 It was 97 degrees yesterday, so this kind of refreshing drink is still absolutely necessary! I fully intend on keeping this easy recipe in my repertoire for parties in the future.

So the question of the day is:

What have y'all been sipping on lately?

xo, lp

(oh, and if you notice I'm a big fan of fun straws- I get them from an Etsy shop called Loollipop, you've got to check it out, her prices are amazing!)

** in the cocktail mood? try out my orange ginger mojitos or my fizzy pineapple lemon punch.

RASPBERRY LEMONADE MARTINI

Today's drink recipe is awesomely easy, and can be served two ways- on the rocks (on ice) or straight up in a nice martini glass! Dani & I sipped on these by the pool the other night, and they were the perfect, refreshing, end of summer drinks! 

What you'll need to make them happen:

- Vodka (1.5 ounces per drink- I used Svedka)

- Fresh Raspberries

- Lemonade (I used CountryTime powdered)

- Ice & Toothpicks or skewers

How to make them happen:

Step 1: Mash a small handful of raspberries into 6 ounces of lemonade. You can use a spoon- or a blender if you're feeling REALLY ambitious. Let sit in fridge to get cold.

Step 2: Add your vodka to a shaker or glass with ice and shake like crazy until it's super cold. Pour into a martini glass, or leave in ice if you're having it on the rocks.

Step 3: Filter your raspberry lemonade mixture if you're drinking it straight up, or just pour it over ice & vodka as is. It's annoying as heck to try to drink little raspberry bits out of a martini glass- but isn't too bad with a straw :)

Step 4: Garnish with some skewered raspberries, and enjoy!

Easy, right? The lemonade keeps it just tart enough that you can drink one without feeling like you just drank a cup of sugar, but there's enough sweetness to cut the vodka.

I highly recommend this for a girl's night or a bachelorette/bridal shower!

What's your go-to, easy cocktail?

If you don't have one, feel free to steal this recipe!

xo, lp

For more drink recipes, click here!

PATRIOTIC FROZEN PUNCH (just 2 ingredients!)

Okay.

Soooooo this is by far the EASIEST "recipe" I've ever posted on the blog...but that doesn't mean it doesn't deserve sharing! It only takes 2 ingredients to make this sucker, and not only does it look good- but it tastes good too!

What you'll need:

- Red, Blue (+ white if you want) freezies

- Vodka

Garnishes- Paper Straws & Washi Tape

How to make it happen:

Step 1: Separate your frozen icees into bowls- Somehow I dumped a few yellow icees in the white bowl. Oops.

Step 2: Mash them up! 

Step 3: Add an EQUAL amount of vodka to each bowl. Now, it depends on the size of your icees- but I did about 1 tablespoon per 2 small icees. 

Step 4: Throw all the bowls in the freezer to harden as much as possible

Step 5: Begin to layer! Now here's the key if you want it to look really pretty: Make sure you add one color, put the glass in the freezer to freeze. THEN add your next color. If you don't do this all your colors will blend together. I learned this the hard way with the first round of red + white. Oops again. 

Step 6: Put into the freezer until you're ready to enjoy!

 If you want individual size, make these in smaller glasses. 

If you're into sharing, put in a larger glass or bowl and serve with multiple straws!

 Take pictures quickly- otherwise it'll turn into a purple mess....

 

Like this: 

Yeah, not pretty- but tastes delicious!

I fully intend to make a rainbow version of this in the future. Because it'll be lovely. Tacky, but lovely.

This isn't the only 4th of July treat I have up my sleeve...come back next week for another red/white/blue drink! 

What will you be sipping on this 4th?

I'm always game for a new cocktail recipe!

xo, lp

ORANGE GINGER MOJITOS

It's summer, which means it's mojito season!

Normally I stick to beer, wine, and whiskey- but come summertime I can absolutely break those rules for a delicious, refreshing, slightly fruity drink. Not that a classic mojito isn't great or anything, but like most good recipes: I used what I had around- which in this case was oranges instead of limes, and ginger ale instead of sprite or soda water. 

And thus, the orange ginger mojito was born:

What you'll need:

1/2  can ginger ale

2 ounces white rum

1 ounces triple sec

1/2 an orange, sliced

8-10 mint leaves

2 teaspoons sugar (or simple syrup)

lots of ice + fun straws

 How to make it happen:

1. Muddle a slice of orange with your sugar and mint.

2. Add your ice, triple sec, and rum.

3. Transfer into another glass or cover and shake to mix up your mint leaves.

4. Add another slice of orange and top with ginger ale.

5. Garnish with some mint & a slice of orange, and enjoy!

 Everything is better in a mason jar, right?

 ...so do fun straws!

What's your favorite new summer cocktail?

Find more of mine here on Pinterest!

xo, lp

STRAWBERRY LEMON STARBURST VODKA.

Let's talk liquor. 

I'm mainly a whiskey girl, and in general avoid fruity drinks like the plague. 

Ever since an...eventful...night in college that involved wayyyy too many colorful, candy-like cocktails I can't quite stomach those sugarbombs like I used to. Don't get me wrong- nothing is better than a lime margarita on the rocks on a hot summer day- but not too often.

Now, all that being said you're probably wondering WHY I'm writing a post about strawberry lemon vodka. HYPOCRITE! LIAR! FRAUD! Well, sort of yes, and sort of no. 

1. I had some  really crappy vodka to get rid of.

2. I was in the mood to experiment with some leftover jellybeans from Easter.

3. I figured I'll save it for a day where I'm craving sweets or have it for fruit-lovin' guests.

So here's the deal: a few times in college my friends and I made Skittles vodka, and I figured Starburst jelly beans would work just as well! This "recipe" is crazy simple and you could do it with all different flavors- I'm thinking RAINBOW vodkas, people.

-----

What you'll need:

1/2 liter of vodka (any kind will do)

1/3 large bag of Starburst jellybeans.

Patience.

Sprite.

How to make it happen:

1. Choose two flavors from the Starburst jellybean bag. I went with lemon and strawberry! For the love of all that is good- don't pick two colors that will make brown. No one wants to drink brown vodka. If you choose apple & orange you deserve the nastiness that is coming your way. ::shudder::

2. Pour your jellybeans right into your vodka bottle. Enjoy watching the alcohol rip the coatings of those little guys right off!

3. Wait 4-5 days, shaking the vodka + beans once a day or so. You REALLY can't mess this up. You can leave them in longer, shake more or less. This is the beauty of booze, people.

4. Because these guys have more gelatin or faux-gelatin in them than Skittles they probably won't dissolve all the way- unless you have vodka that is borderline rubbing alcohol.  You can either strain out the mini remains of the beans or leave them in the bottom of the bottle for looks. Orrr you could eat them and get super intoxicated. Bleh.

5. Put it in a cute bottle and label it with washi tape. Then pour 2 ounces out into a glass with ice & Sprite and you have yourself one delicious, sweet treat!

Watch out, this stuff is dangerous. Sweet and a little tangy-perfect with soda water or lemon-lime soda!

Are you a fan of sweet drinks (alcoholic or not)?

You might just have to try this recipe- use those leftovers from Easter!

xo,lp

if you do, try out my grapefruit margaritas or raspberry blueberry champagne fizz recipes!