Tag Archives: bourbon

Smoked Spicy Bourbon-Maple Almonds

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Danguole| 5 Comments

Things I’m learning from my continuing Weeds marathon:

-The scary guys (usually guys, but I say “guys” gender-neutrally) aren’t really that scary. They’re scared of the other scary guys, and so forth. A moratorium on being scared is much needed in the world; can I get an “Amen”?

-In TV fantasy land at least, being a pretty white lady can get you out of a lot of trouble. LOTS. I have a lot of ambivalent, rambling thoughts on this (which mostly go in circles).

-I need to wear more denim jackets and artfully layered delicate necklaces.

-Don’t send flowers to a Jewish funeral. Did not know that (embarrassing but true). Send food! I can do that. I’m prepared. The more you know!

-It’s far, far too easy to consume a pound of delicious almonds rather quickly. Wowza. That’s not Weeds–that’s me, watching Weeds on my couch. Hi.

We already know how much I love my smoker, but I think I need to emphasize that it’s useful for so much more than meat and fish. Nuts, for example, are full of oils, and take to smoking beautifully. If you’ve had smoked almonds before, I don’t need to convince you that they’re crazy delicious. But I may need to convince you that it’s easy, and fun, and worthwhile to make your own.

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Posted in Appetizer, Entertaining, Healthy (?), Smoking, Vegetarian

Tagged bourbon, cayenne pepper, maple, maple syrup, smoked almonds, smoked nuts, smoking, smoky, spicy, stovetop smoker, vegan, vegetarian, whiskey

Grilled Cherry Old Fashioned

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Danguole| 13 Comments

You know what time of year it is.

Shark. Week.

A wise man named Tracy Jordan once said, “Live every week like it’s Shark Week.” That’s sage advice; Shark Week is not the time to doubt ourselves, or hesitate, or worry, or apologize needlessly. Shark Week is the week for your tallest heels, and whatever the manquivalent is. Shark Week is for doing bold things that make you feel like a pygmy shark (those exist!) in a big, huge, scary ocean. Shark Week is a good time to tell your neighbor that your name is not, in fact, Daniella, even though he seems so content calling you that (maybe I’ll hold off on that one till next year, though).

Shark Week is perfect for having a whiskey cocktail “too early,” whatever that means.

And look–I made us one.

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Posted in Drinks, Summer

Tagged bitters, bourbon, cherries, cocktails, Fruit, grilling, whiskey

Peach, Cinnamon and Bourbon Milkshake

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Danguole| 6 Comments

The rules of the booze shake are as follows:

(1) The first rule of Booze Shake is… You can totally talk about Booze Shake. Why do you ask?

(2) Go easy on the alcohol, then add more if necessary; we’re not making a cocktail. I find that half a shot per shake is plenty–of course, this varies on how sweet/easy to drink your chosen liquor is.

(3) Use quality ice cream. The stuff that is pumped full of air, when blended, will deflate faster than the wide-eyed romantic ideals of tween Twilight fans everywhere. (If you are judging me for knowing anything about this… That makes two of us.) Anyway. I usually make sure to pick up ice cream that feels relatively heavy and has a relatively decent amount of calories. Julie’s Organic did the job beautifully in this case.

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Posted in Dessert, Drinks, Summer

Tagged bourbon, cinnamon, Fruit, ice cream, peaches, spices, whiskey

Boston Sour

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Danguole| 6 Comments

I did some Wikipedia-ing for you, which makes this post the digest of the digest. The really lo-fi version of the 1870s, condensed. Here’s what happened in the 1870s:

-The French fought the Prussians, the British fought the Zulu Kingdom, Spain fought Carlist insurgents, and the Ottoman Empire fought basically everyone. Chill the flip out, 1870s!

-Africa’s only native bear went extinct.

-The Gilded Age began in America. The British Empire continued to grow.

-Along with the telephone prototype, the light bulb, and phonograph (big whoop, right?), the whiskey sour was devised.

So, in a few words: rough times, awesome inventions.

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Posted in Drinks

Tagged bourbon, classic cocktails, lemon, retro cocktails, sours, whiskey

Spiced Chai with Bourbon

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Danguole| 3 Comments

Let’s figure out what we can put WHISKEY in. Woo!

There are some things I’ve never understood. Including: Why do coffee shops close so early? Kicking back with a friend, a hot beverage and maybe a baked good should not be an exclusively “daytime” activity. Do baristas just get tired early? Are they THAT committed to watching American Idol or whatever? I don’t know.

Not to mention that I personally love a hot caffeinated beverage combined with some sort of spirited liquid. I don’t want to have to engage in Day Drinking (a sport I have much respect but rarely the fortitude for) to do this. Seriously, coffeehouses: all you have to do is stay open later and procure a small bar of delicious boozy additives.

Caffeine and alcohol seems like the perfect balance, but perhaps speedballing ruined the whole concept. Thanks a lot, DRUGS. This is why we can’t have nice things, like the fun kind of NyQuil.

Aaanyway.