Well, since I'm still on vacation, having a cocktail mid-week is not a bad thing. Even if I weren't on vacation, it still would be my night off, so experimenting with the cocktail shaker could be kinda fun.
I know, I had planned on going old-school with a traditional martini last night, but curiosity got the best of me and I found myself browsing over at DrinksMixer.com. That site has a cool feature where you can enter any type of liqueur you want, and it will search for drink recipes featuring said liqueur. It's kind of a fun tool, and it puts out some great ideas for entertaining.
But I had a bottle of Peppermint Schnapps on hand, and I really don't know what to do with it besides mix it with hot cocoa. Yeah, I was drinking it late-night at the poker table last weekend, taking a huge ration of shiat from both Doc Al and Terry about it, but I don't care. It takes the late-night chill off, and it tastes damn good too. But I didn't know what else I can make with it, so I was browsing around looking for ideas.
After a few minutes of browsing, I stumbled onto something that sounded excellent, a 'Girl Scout Cookie'. It was a simple recipe, too--just three ingredients, equal parts of
Kahlua
Bailey's
Peppermint Schnapps
Sounded good to me, so it was off to the kitchen to give it a try. Not only was I excited to use my new martini glasses, but it would be the first time I got to use my new cocktail shaker (the one with the lid that I can actually remove!).
The first order of business--chill the glass. So I filled it with ice and let it sit on the counter while I rounded up the bottles. Then I filled my cocktail shaker about 3/4 full of ice, secured a tall shot glass, and added one shot each of all three liqueurs.
Lid on, shake shake shake, and viola!, it was done. I was amazed at how quickly the shaker chilled that boozed down. The metal went from room temperature to icy-farking-cold in about three shakes.
I dumped the ice out of the martini glass, and poured in my newly-mixed Girl Scout Cookie martini. Of course the recipe called for garnishing with chocolate shavings or something like that, but the only shavings I have on hand are at the bottom of the bathroom sink, so we just skipped that step...
The first sip was as good as I expected. Being a martini, it has a little bit of a bite to it, but it's still kind of sweet. However, when you realize that you're drinking three shots of straight liquor, well, don't plan on operating any heavy equipment for the rest of the evening--it'll sneak up on you. So I grabbed a jar of cashews from the cabinet, and took my drink to the living room, where I happily sipped and nibbled while I watched an episode of Anthony Bourdain.
Forty-five minutes later, when I tried to stand up, well, I realized that I wasn't cut out of the same cloth as those swanky thin-tie wearing hepcats of the late 50s and 60s. A three-martini lunch would kick my ass for the rest of the afternoon. For dinner? Forget it. I was thinking of a refill, but the rational side of my brain kicked in and told me to make a sandwich or something, since the cashews were the extent of my nutrition for the day. Instead of another martini, I made myself a roast-beef and Swiss sandie on an onion roll, content to drink orange juice instead.
But that was several hours ago. And I don't really have to go to bed anytime soon. And I still have that Cuban cigar in my humidor. And it's still a really nice night outside.
I think it's time for another cookie.
Mikey
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