Holiday Cranberry Spritzer

The perfect New Year's treat!

Are you searching for that perfect New Year's Eve cocktail to sip before your big midnight smooch? The cranberry is one of the fruits of the season and you can celebrate both the fruit and the New Year with this yummy spritzer cocktail from the creative team at A Beautiful Mess! 

Not a fan of cranberries? This list of New Year's drinks from AllRecipes should give you some great ideas! From New Year's punch to holiday mimosas, there are enough flavors to tantalize everyone on your guest list. Have guests each bring an ingredient for potluck cocktails and surprise them with your drink repertoire. Making drinks for one? Try to pick a few with similar ingredients to keep your budget low. 

Do you have a signature holiday drink recipe? Share it in the chat below!

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Alcohol

UK Parents Let Kids Drink

Do you let yours?

According to the University College of London Institute of Education, around 1 in 6 UK parents let young teens ages 13-14 drink alcohol at home. Alarmists are wagging their fingers, crying foul when they don't even know how much the parents allow their kids to drink. Is it six beers a day? Is it a sip of champagne on special occasions? Who knows. They also say that it's educated parents who are allowing it the most often, which worries them because they think the educated parents don't know the dangers of alcohol.

Or maybe the parents DO know and they are attempting to make alcohol less of a big deal and less attractive to the kids. Too many turn 21 and go wild, binge drinking and getting sick or even killed in the process. Not to say that it's the right (or wrong) approach, but there is likely some thought in mind here.

Do you let your teens drink at home? What do you think of this practice? Tell us in the chat.

 

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Lifestyle
Culture

Fake Drinking

Do you do it?

Did you know that some people fake drinking alcohol? There are several reasons to do this, whether you don't want to be judged for not wanting or being able to drink, being secretly pregnant, being a recovering alcoholic or many other reasons. While pretending to drink for an alcoholic might be a little extreme, there are many reasons to not drink, and people actually tell their bartenders that they aren't drinking to keep the booze-free drinks coming without alerting their friends!

There are plenty of drinks to enjoy without alcohol if you choose to do this. Many drinks can be made the same, just without an ingredient or two. This is a great way to keep your wits at the office holiday party or anywhere else you don't want to make a fool of yourself, by the way.

Have you ever faked drinking? How did you pull it off?

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Holidays

Easy Christmas Cocktails

Try these recipes or share your own

There's nothing like a delicious cocktail to savor with good friends and good conversation during the holidays. Whether you like plain old spiked eggnog or a fancy Christmas mudslide, there's a Christmas cocktail for everyone! Delish has compiled a list of 30 easy Christmas Cocktails that you can whip up at your Christmas or New Year's event. From rich and decadent to sweet or spicy, you'll fall in love with at least one of these recipes.

There are pucker-powered cranberry mimosas, jingle juice, orange creamsicle mimosas (my favorite!) and salted caramel eggnog. These and dozens of other recipes are waiting for you to try them out--for research purposes, of course! You don't want to serve them to guests if you haven't tried them yourself, right? You have less than 20 days to experiment so get some ingredients together and have some fun playing bartender in the kitchen.

Do you have a fail-proof holiday drink that you love? Share the recipe with us in the chat.

 

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage

Mermaid Tears Vodka

Another cool fantasy-themed spirit

If you've ever wanted to taste mermaid tears, now is your chance! Firebox has a new mermaid tears vodka that they say comes from real "shimmering" mermaid tears. It's a "dreamy ocean blue" color and is even glittery like you'd imagine mermaid scales to be. Firebox says that you should drink it on the rocks for the full experience.

As far as the flavor of the vodka, well, I'm not sure what mermaid tears taste like. Salt? Sea brine? Rainbows?

This isn't the first mythical creation Firebox has released. They also sell Phoenix Tears Rum and Unicorn Tears Gin. What's with all the tears, Firebox? It seems like Firebox likes to make magical creatures cry. How do they collect the tears, though?

What do you think of Mermaid Tears Vodka? Have you tried it? Tell us your thoughts in the chat.

 

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Alcohol

Edible Cocktails

Tippling Club Creates Edible Cocktail Gummies

Tippling Club has a new "Dreams and Desires" menu, which they say is the world's first edible cocktail menu. Each gummy is paired with a beloved cocktail flavor and named after a dream or desire to go with the pairing. There are 12 flavors in all, each costing $17. The combinations are incredibly interesting.

Take the "Baby" formula, for example. It consists of milk, vanilla, apricot, gin, citrus and honey. "Happiness" contains tequila, lemon, orange, Yuzu and honey. "Knowledge," on the other hand, says that it contains paper, almond, white chocolate, bourbon and sherry. Take a look at all of the flavors at the website and see which seems to be the most intriguing to you!

Will you be trying the Dreams and Desires menu? Which do you think would taste best? Share your thoughts in the chat.

 

 

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Alcohol
Liquor

Using Leftover Wine

Don't waste it!

Ever have a little bit of wine leftover that you don't want to waste? Don't throw it out; you can use it in a multitude of culinary uses. Using it as a marinade for several hours is one of the most popular ways to use good leftover wine. If you don't feel like cooking with your wine, you can always make some wine jelly or syrup to use with it later.

You can even save your wine for easy cook use by freezing it in ice cube trays, which keeps them pretty useable, as well as safe. You can also make your own wine vinegar, although it will take several weeks to finish it.

How do you use your leftover wine? Share your ideas in the chat.

 

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage

Cocktails for Thanksgiving

Plan out your drinks menu

Part of the fun of Thanksgiving for many people is the festive drinking that goes on. It's a time to gather with friends and family, enjoy one another's company and feast, so why not celebrate with special cocktails? These tasty cocktails are also beautiful, and their seasonal ingredients make them a perfect match for your Thanksgiving celebration.

The cranberry sparklers are a lovely complement to your cranberry sauce, and the Pepper and Pie cocktail is a fabulous counterpoint to your apple pie. You can even simply spike your cranberry sauce for an easy way to enjoy a buzz while you eat!

What Thanksgiving cocktails do you like best? Share your recipes in the chat.

 

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Alcohol

Mead for the Holidays

It adds a little something

If you're already working on your holiday planning and you're incorporating booze, you might want to add some holiday mead to your shopping list. Mead is a delicious and festive way to perk up any event, but it's especially wonderful around the holidays. If you want to really take it up a notch, you can make your own mead! 

Here's a super easy recipe for making your own homemade mead. Of course you need some wine to honey but that's really the hardest part! Then you can impress your guests with your mead making skills. You can always add fruit juices, extracts and spices to create your own flavor, too. Who knows, you might just develop a cool hobby as well as a means of creating great holiday gifts! 

Have you ever made mead before? Share your favorite recipes in the chat.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage

Honey and Vodka Lemonade

A yummy treat for your next get together

Lemon-based drinks are my favorites and this recipe for a slush made simply from lemons, vodka, and honey is awesome. It's really easy, too, as long as you have some time on your hands to let all of the ingredients freeze in ice cube trays. It also calls for a bit of mint but you don't have to necessarily have that on hand in order to whip up this recipe.

The beautiful thing about this recipe is that you also don't have to use vodka if you have guests coming who don't like alcohol. You can substitute anything from juice to lemon or lime aid or another favorite drink and still end up with a tasty treat!

What is your favorite slush recipe? How do you prepare it? Share your recipes in the comments!

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Alcohol

Pages