Sometimes, the classics are best

This evening's get together was unplanned. It ended up being a result of new technology not working as well as promised. In other words, the digital transmissions to Shaker 2's place sucks and she was unable to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" so Shaker 1 offered to open up the Balcony Bar for a special screening.

Could we leave it at just watching this fabulous holiday classic? Of course not.

While Shaker 2 thought it would be perfectly fine to have tried and true classics like dirty and twisted.... Shaker 1, as usual, raised the bar a bit higher. She was again inspired and created:

The Mistletoe-tini!

A combination of Rain vodka, champagne sorbet, pomegranate juice and triple sec.

All I gotta say is "well done, Shaker 1!" {*blush*thank you}

Not too sweet, a slight fruity undertone balanced with the dryness from the champagne. Lovely! This puppy would even rock in the summer. 4 1/2 olives! And it's a pretty festive color.

As the twinkle lights cast a festive glow on the Balcony Bar, the Shakers enjoyed "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and the ushering in of the holiday season.

Cozy Fall Shake

At the end of a long work week the Shakers decided they needed something soothing. Friday night beckoned and instead of revelry our thoughts turned to comfort food. Atkins followers, avert your eyes. It's gonna get veeerrrry carb-y in here.

Dinner: Mashed Potato Bar!

Both regular russet and sweet potatoes made into mashes and served with a variety of fixins. It was guuuuud.

For our 'tinis we decided to test a few more recipes from the Rain Vodka site. (Note: this site is flash, so I can't post a direct link to the recipes... it also has a lovely *ahem* soundtrack that you can't mute. The menu is fairly easy to navigate so you can find the recipes on your own.)

First up: The Rain Mango Tango

Made with Rain Honey Mango Melon Vodka, cranberry juice and orange juice this one made us wish we had a whole bottle of the vodka (we were still working off testers for the other flavors). Delicious with a nice balance of fruity flavors. We both give this one a 4 1/2 olives.


Next up is the Rain Ocean Breeze made with Rain Red Grape Hibiscus Vodka.

Like last time we tried this vodka, we could not get past the overpowering "fake grape" smell/taste. We'd love to have been able to detect the hibiscus, but nope! All grape all the time. Yuck. We give this one olive.

Then we have The Seaside Rain made with Lavender Lemonade Vodka:

Shaker 2 found the grapefruit flavor a bit overpowering and Shaker 1 agrees that she'd have liked to have the lavender show through better. Pleasant but not a show stopper. 3 olives.


Lastly we have the Rain Provencal made with Lavender Lemonade Vodka.

This was a fun looking one made with an egg white to foam it up. The taste however was just ok. The lemon overpowered the lavender note here which was not the case with the other Lavender Lemonade Vodka recipes we've tried. 3 olives.


So in the world of Rain flavored vodkas, yes to Lavender Lemonade and Honey Mango Melon. Sorry Cucumber Lime and Red Grape Hibiscus, you're not on the guest list.

Shakers 1 and 2 signing out in a blissful haze of carby goodness. And a special hello to Suzy Q for listing The Red Shaker as one of the things she's thankful for. We're thankful for our thirsty faithful followers. Good night and good shaking!

Busy Shakers are Still Thirsty Shakers

Good evening . Shakers 1 and 2 here, squeezing in a school night shake just because.
NPR (yes, that NPR, I don't listen to it either ~Shaker One (Shaker 2 does.)) recently had a contest to incorporate ginger into recipes. One of the winning recipes was for a ginger martini.

As written, a bit too "limey". We increased the pineapple juice and the result was very nice! Light, fruity, with a subtle ginger kick. We give this one 3 3/4 with our modifications.

Next stop: The Reindeer Martini!

It's never too early to start testing holiday martinis for the upcoming entertaining season. We stumbled upon this recipe randomly googling. Google, a thirsty 'tini drinkers bestest friend! After tasting the exact recipe, we decided it needed a bit more cream and Frangelico.....an extra half part Frangelico plus a very generous splash of heavy cream. The result is very tasty, creamy, not too sweet. Garnished with ground cinnamon, this reindeer could join in our reindeer games anytime. Shaker 2 gives it a 3 3/4 olives and I concur.

We served this badboy with dessert grilled cheese sandwiches. Yes, you read that correctly. Warning, these can be highly addictive. Shaker 1 devised this devilish delight in a moment of kitchen experimentation. It's breakfast, it's dessert, it's damn near illegal in 23 states. Make some for yourself, you won't be sorry.

So we draw this night to a close with happy tummies and thoughts of tinis to come. Good night and remember, it's never too early to start enjoying the holiday season!

I'll Stick With Maryann

After another foray to the Beverage Warehouse(yes, I bought some Rain Lavender Lemonade vodka!), I come home with a new liqueur mini: Canton Ginger Liqueur. Now I love ginger. I buy the sushi ginger just to snack on. Its my go to vodka infusion. Fresh ginger is one of my favorite flavors, so what's not to like about boozy ginger?

So I trot over to the Canton website and check out their recipes.

First, I try a classic Canton Martini, hoping to get a good flavor read without too many competing mixers. I open the mini and sniff. Huh, that's funny- I don't smell ginger. It smells pretty much like strong booze/cognac. Let's give it a try, shall we?

Um,no actually. This is a really boring drink. I taste absolutely zero ginger. It tastes like a vodka martini up, with a splash of cognac. And not even a good plain martini. 2 olives.

Let's try one more and see if this bottle can find beverage redemption.
Canton L'Orientale:

Better, but mostly because the other ingredients mask that hot booze taste. Meh, drinkable but again, 2 olives. And I'm being generous.

Well, I won't give up on finding a ginger liqueur. but for now I'll stick to my ginger infused vodka.

Sorry Canton, thanks for playing. Shaker 2, I've spared you martini disappointment.

hwyl, bonjour and guten tag!

Shaker 2 here doing a little greeting from the other side of the pond. Sadly, my travels have not included martinis as I have been partaking of ciders, a few beers and lots and lots of tea.

Most of the bars - 'scuse me, "pubs" - have featured Smirnoff vodka - and unless that stuff is drowning in orange juice, I just can't drink it. I look forward to getting back to the Balcony Bar and enjoying my favorite mixologists concoctions. I was very interested to read about the new Rain flavors... mmmmmm.

I am off to Paris next and will perhaps see what they have in the City of Lights to try. I will be near the St Germain area, so they might have some lovely beverages to try with its namesake liqueur.

It's Rain-ing 'Tinis

Shaker 1 here. While Shaker 2 enjoys her lengthy European adventure, I thought I'd do a little research. First, off to boozy nirvana (otherwise known as The Beverage Warehouse) to replenish the voddy vault. While cruising down the vodka aisle (no, we don't have a personalized shelf there, yet), I grabbed a bottle of Rain Vodka and what did I see? Why, they've come out with some really interesting sounding flavored versions! Lavender Lemonade, Red Grape Hibiscus, Cucumber Lime and Honey Mango Melon. Now for you regular readers, you may recall seeing Rain Organic Vodka used pretty frequently by the Shakers. We enjoy the smooth taste and reasonable price point. It has become a regular in our vodka repertoire. I was tempted by the Lavender Lemonade and Red Grape Hibiscus flavors, but reluctant to buy a whole bottle only to end up being disappointed (I'm looking at you Pearl Vodka).

So I headed for the checkout line and what did I see? They had minis of every new flavor! Huzzah! I love you Beverage Warehouse.

First up is the Rain Relaxer*, made with Rain Lavender Lemonade Organic Vodka.

*Shaker 2 here... another flash site.. so meander around the Rain Vodka site and you can find the recipes there...

At first glance, this is a seriously girly drink. Very pretty color, but I don't see a guy holding this daintily with pinkie raised. And then I tasted it.

Oh my. Lovely. A very soft 'tini on the tongue. Sweet without being cloying, a hint of the lavender floral tones, the surprise of blueberries......wait, I need another sip before bestowing the olive score........this babydoll just gets more enjoyable with every taste. I give this a solid 4 olives. I look forward to making this one for Shaker 2. I think she will approve. Still put this one firmly in the Chicktini category.

Next up is The Rain Hawaiian Breeze made with Rain Red Grape Hibiscus Organic Vodka.

Another chicktini, based on color. I do love the way pineapple juice foams up a martini. Hmmmm, I like this one also. I have to say that I wish there was more hibiscus flavor and less red grape. The hibiscus emotes another subtle floral hint, but I can't help but think of koolaid when it comes to the grapey-ness. Still a very enjoyable 'tini. Maybe 3 1/4 olives. I just squeezed the lemon wheel garnish into it and it got much better. That seemed to tone down that grape lollypop note I'm not loving. 3 1/2.

Ok, I lied. I'm going for a third recipe. This time it's The Rain Spa-tini with Rain Cucumber Lime Organic Vodka.

This one is sort of a spa cosmo. Not unpleasant, but as with the Red Grape Hibiscus, I sense a slight synthetic flavor. I don't dislike this and it makes an ok 'tini, but I long for a more pronounced "real" lime/cuke tone. 2 1/2 olives. Actually, the more I taste this one, the less I enjoy it. 2 olives and some serious doubt about this flavor. Not finishing this one.

The verdict: I will definitely buy a bottle of the Rain Lavender Lemonade Vodka and very much look forward to trying new recipes. I may go for a bottle of the Red Grape Hibiscus, but will first see if anyone does a plain hibiscus vodka. Still have to try the Honey Mango Melon. The jury is out on the Cucumber Lime,but it may want to consider a plea deal.

{note to readers: please excuse the temporary lack of visual bells and whistles while Shaker 2 is abroad. My technical skills do not match my mixology skills}

Good night and good shaking!

Red (White and Blue) Shaker Night!

America, F yeah! Oops, sorry. for those patriots of more delicate constitution, Happy 4th of July!~


Tonight's theme is all American, red white and blue 'tinis. And we'd like to welcome our first Special Guest Star:
Kim! Can we say, Kim is the guestest with the mostest....she dove right in there mixing 'tinis and crafting one of our highest rated efforts to date. But more on that later.....let's dive right in to our first round.

As we graze on warm spiced nuts (heh), olives and caprese bites we sample the:

#13 Cucumber Cooler Martini

From a Texas warm weather drink recipe collection. Refreshing, pleasant, not too sweet. Would be great over ice in a tall glass (Kim- maybe with gin instead of vodka?), we enjoyed this.

Ratings ranged from
(Stacia)
(Sheridan)

Helpful hint: use the immersion blender to muddle. Much faster.

And on to round 2 with the #14 Cosmo-not Martini.


Ok, well Stacia had recipe fail here and read a key ingredient wrong. Also, we neglected to notice that this was a non-alcoholic(!?!?!?) 'tini (oxymoron, I know). So Kim tweaked, tinkered and twirled (hi Simon!) and created Kim's Cosmo Haute!


Delicious! We needed two rounds of this. Soooooooo tasty. Brava Kim~!
Perfectly balanced peach, cranberry, citrus.....they all play so well together. Your mouth will be happy. Trust us. Um, ok. Don't actually trust us, that's a bad idea. But make this drink. You won't be sorry. Mmmmmmmm.

And then we decided to actually eat some food. The booze was lonely. We had quite the feast with Sheridan's mom's pigs in a blanket, mini cheesie burger sliders with carmelized onions (Stacia rocks the sliders...mmmmm) , sweet potato fries and Sheridan's delicious Orzo salad.

And, because we thought it would be so cute, we chose a blue tini:

#15 The Blue Print!

I shall let the peanut gallery comments speak for themselves:
"Ohhh, Windex!" "It burns!!!!!"

Yeah, so the pretty ones don't taste so good. Kinda like in real life.

Rather than waste all that boozy goodness (we're all about recycling and repurposing - especially vodka) we remixed that bad boy into-

#16 The Octopussinki!

Now this is even better than our last salvagetini. Inky pretty color, nice flavor. Not bad. This may just about hit a 3 olives.

(Sheridan's working on her home made ice cream! Two flavors! We are very excited)

Tonight was doubly productive, as we have come up with several more Shaker night plans/menus for the future. Stay tuned for.... luai-tinis, field trips, Russian night, Sake-tinis, MadMen night, south of the border themes, Trailer Trash 'Tini night, vodka tastings and numerous other evenings of silliness we have talked about.

oooh... next round is coming up.

Warm mini apple pies with home made cinnamon ice cream. OMG, yum on the cinnamon ice cream.

And sadly, we paired it with a

#17 Coconut Cream Pie Tini.
(Emong joined in on this one - he was also a bit let down.)

Ok sadness, disappointment, remorse.

Again, it sounded so much better than it tasted. Meh. You know, they have the five stages of grief? We need to make the five stages of martini disappointment. Delicious description, lovely ingredient excitement, mixing glee, pouring/straining anticipation, tasting fail. 1 1/2 olives.

Take a pass.

Overall, another lovely evening 'tini tasting, despite several bailing guests. An excellent ending to a wonderful holiday weekend. Celebrate, marinate, macerate!
(Side note... we all found it rather funny as we realized we were now measuring vodka in measuring cups - saves time rather then count out jiggers.. but still... measuring cups!)

Come back soon. You know we get thirsty often. Good night and see you next time. Same channel, same shaker.

Lushes out.