A signature cocktail is one of my favorite entertaining secrets.  It makes every party a little more fun – especially if you greet guests at the door with an ice cold drink!  You can also set up all of the ingredients and the recipe on a bar cart and let your guests make their own.

This year I used See’s Candies Candy Canes on the rim of my signature cocktail to add a little something extra.  Not only will it taste amazing, but the red and green stripes add a festive element. 

Peppermint Martini

2 ounces vanilla vodka

1 ounce peppermint schnapps

crushed candy cane

peppermint bitters

Pour a tablespoon of peppermint bitters into a low dish.  Pour crushed candy canes into a separate dish.  Dip martini glass in bitters first, then candy canes.  Shake off any excess. 

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake vodka and schnapps.  Strain into prepared glass and garnish with a candy cane. 

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This year we are going skiing during Easter weekend so Easter cocktails will be mandatory! What could be better than a fun bloody mary just before hitting the slops? The hill we go to has an amazing tradition of costumes while skiing, so I can’t wait to see who comes down the hill as the Easter Bunny!

A regular Bloody Mary is great but I love a good pun so a Bunny Mary seemed hilarious to me. The kids all rolled their eyes. When it’s made with carrot juice - it becomes the perfect Easter cocktail!

Bunny Mary

makes 2

8 ounces carrot juice

4 ounces vodka

2 tablespoons Bloody Mary seasoning

2 tablespoons Bloody Mary mix

garnishes like carrots, bacon, pickled asparagus, pickled beans, celery, and lime wedges

In a small pitcher, stir together the juice, vodka and seasoning until well combined. Sometimes the seasoning sinks to the bottom, so stir to totally integrate! Run a lime wedge around the edge of two glasses and dip them into the Bloody Mary mix. Pour the vodka mixture into the glasses filled with ice. Add your favorite garnish!

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How about a traditional Bloody Mary?

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What about one made with tomatillo?

Thanks to our friend Taylor Swift, this classic cocktail made a return to the scene last year. Some of us are old enough to have had the cocktail the first time around when Sex and the City made it a hit. Some of us lamented the demise of it when we decided that Sex and the City was passè. Thank goodness it was made cool again.

And made cool in time for Valentine’s Day! It’s the perfect drink to shake up this holiday. Especially if you can garnish it with a heart shaped strawberry. I mean, can you even?

Classic Cosmopolitan

makes 2

4 ounces vodka

2 ounces cranberry juice

1/2 ounce cointreau

juice of 1/2 lime

STEP 1

In a cocktail shaker, combine vodka, juice, cointreau and lime. Add ice and shake well.

STEP 2

Strain into a coupe and serve immediately.

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The original James Bond drink

The perfect Friday night clink-clink

It’s a little lillet and vodka and gin

Pour it in a pitcher - add ice - and begin

Not shaken, but stirred

More than one and your vision is definitely blurred.

Vesper Cocktail

1 ounce vodka

2 ounces gin

1/2 ounce lillet blanc

lemon peel

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail pitcher. Add ice and stir gently. Strain into two cocktail glasses and garnish with a lemon peel.

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I made this punch for a bridal shower I hosted for my cousin. It’s light and refreshing and just the tiniest bit boozy. It’s also great because you can make a big batch and sit back while guests serve themselves. I served it with tiny little melon balls on top. You could also slice the melon, use a cucumber slice, or just skip it all together!

Honeydew Punch

2 tablespoons sugar

1 honeydew, sliced

1 cucumber, sliced

750 mL white wine

1/2 cup vodka

1/2 cup cointreau

1/2 cup mint

2 cups club soda

STEP 1

Blend together the sugar, honeydew, cucumber until smooth. Strain through cheese cloth.

STEP 2

Add vodka, wine, cointreau, and mint to the honeydew ‘juice’. Let rest overnight.

STEP 3

To serve, remove the mint leaves and add the club soda. Garnish with melon balls!

When I was a kid I drank V8 like it was juice. When I grew up and discovered you could combine it with vodka and garnish with my very favorite pickled vegetables, it was like a match made in heaven. I’ve had my share of regular Bloody Marys and I have not really had a bad one yet. Some mediocre ones - some weak ones - but never a bad one. If you want my classic Bloody Mary, click here.

But then I heard of a rumor of people who don’t like tomatoes. Can you believe that’s a thing? Well, if you’re reading this, then possibly you are one of those people? I can’t imagine not loving tomatoes - especially when they are fresh. But if you mix them with vodka, how can they be bad ever?

Anyway… I’m being accommodating and it turns out these are EPIC so I’m not worried about how you don’t like tomatoes.

Roasting the jalapeño and tomatillos is an extra step, but I highly recommend it - actually require it in the recipe - because it makes the drink so much better.

I also grilled some shrimp for the top because who doesn’t love something a little extra? And these shrimp are EXTRA. Don’t forget to share if you make these! I can’t wait to see what you do.

Tomatillo Bloody Mary

makes 4 large cocktails

8 tomatillos

1 jalapeño

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

1/2 cup cilantro

1 cucumber

1 lime, juiced

1 teaspoon horseradish

2 teaspoons worchestershire

2 teaspoon Old Bay

8 ounces vodka

garnishes like olives, celery, or grilled shrimp

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the husk off the tomatillos and slice them in half. Spread them out on a baking sheet with the jalapeño. Drizzle oil on top and sprinkle with salt. Pop in the oven and let roast about 10 minutes until toasty.

STEP 2

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Don’t forget to pour any liquid from the roasted tomatillos into the blender too.

STEP 3

Combine equal parts vodka and tomatillo juice in a glass. Add ice and garnish!

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Just when you think a perfect Bloody Mary doesn’t exist - I figured it out. I actually think it’s harder to make a bad Bloody Mary instead of a good one, but once I undertook making my own Bloody Mary mix - I think I cracked into the best Bloody Mary ever.

The history of the Bloody Mary is really kind of hilarious. There are a million stories. The most likely originates at Harry’s Bar in Paris where a bartender named Fernand Petiot conceived of the cocktail and named it for the ruthless rule of Queen Mary I of England in the mid 1550’s. The tomato juice represents the blood shed, the vodka and spices mimic the brutal means the queen used. He devised it as a breakfast cocktail - but it was simple back then, just tomato juice and vodka with a dash of Worcestershire.

The funniest story of it’s origin is that Hemingway was in Harry’s Bar just before he got married. Hemingway ordered a drink mixed with juice so no one would smell the vodka on his breath - so tomato juice was added. While he was drinking, he was muttering “Bloody Mary,” the name of the girlfriend he was giving up in favor of marriage. Hilarious. For loads of reasons but the number one being, would Hemingway really give up a girl because of marriage?

See what you think about my best Bloody Mary and tell me if you think it’s named for a cruel queen or a future potential mistress.

The Best Bloody Mary

makes 4 drinks

2 1/2 tablespoons worchestershire

juice of 1/2 a lime

1 tablespoon olive brine

1 teaspoon crushed celery seed

1 teaspoon horseradish

16 ounces tomato juice

10 dashes tabasco (more or less to taste)

8 ounces vodka

olives, celery, pickled beans, cucumber, lime wedges, bacon, pickled onions, and anything else you love!

STEP 1

In a pitcher, mix together Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, olive brine, celery seed, and horseradish. Pour in tomato juice and stir to combine. Add tabasco to taste.

STEP 2

Fill four highball glasses with ice. Split the vodka amongst the glasses (2 ounces) and top with tomato mixture (4 ounces). Garnish to your hearts content! Add more tabasco or lime wedges as needed.

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I always thought the espresso martini was super bougie, but now I know it was made for Kate Moss in 1983, I’m more convinced than ever that this is the bougie drink for me. She famously asked the bartender to “wake me up and f*#k me up.” A pull of espresso and a shot of vodka & it was bottoms up! The 90’s resurgence is back in a serious way and it brought with it a cocktail that’s here to stay. Dotted on top with three coffee beans; health, wealth, and happiness is what that means. Cheers to the closest Kate Moss came to food and cheers to a drink that’s really good.

Espresso Martini

2 ounces vodka

1.5 ounces espresso

.5 ounce coffee liquer

Pour all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake well. Strain into a martini glass and top with three coffee beans. Cin cin!

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Legend holds that in the 1950’s, the marketing heads at Ocean Spray got shifty and introduced a drink. It’s a delicious way to sell and hoodwink. Originally they called the drink the Red Devil - but I think we can all agree that doesn’t sound very high level. In 1965 they renamed it in an ad - a Cape Codder sounds delightfully preppy and not at all sad.

Isn’t it fun to think some of these old staples came from a bunch of old guys sitting around marketing tables? It’s all very Mad Men-esque that such a cocktail classic was invented at a desk.

This is basically a vodka cran - ok it is exactly that. So I added a lime simple syrup to make it less flat. A simple syrup is sugar, water and lime. It actually is great to dress up a cocktail any time. Shake the ingredients so they mix up well, pour over ice and sip a drink that’s really quite swell.

Cape Codder

makes one drink

2 ounces cranberry juice (use Ocean Spray if you’re feeling nostalgic)

1 ounce vodka

1/2 ounce lime simple syrup

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain over fresh ice into a glass and serve with a wedge of lime.

LIME SIMPLE SYRUP

1/2 cup sugar

juice of one lime (about 1/4 cup)

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon lime zest

Bring all ingredients to a simmer and whisk until the sugar is melted. Let cool before using.

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My girlfriends all play tennis. And before you think I’m exaggerating, I’m not. They ALL PLAY TENNIS. I don’t. I’m the black sheep. I’m the one coming from Crossfit to meet them for drinks after they’ve played tennis. And they all look darling and have cute clothes, and tennis bags, and clever sayings. I’m just sweaty and have red cheeks.

But I love them anyway. I partnered with my friend Jamie to create a cocktail for post tennis gatherings as we kick off the outdoor tennis season in Seattle! This week marks the beginning of playing outside again and hopefully means we can have a few gatherings with friends post match.

Jamie is also making the cutest tennis clothes for you tennis ladies and fellas. She’s just launching now, so if you’re in Seattle you can pick up at RainGlow. If you aren’t in Seattle, follow her site here and get updated when it launches nationally! I’m holding out for a shirt that just says “rally.”

Back to the cocktail; we wanted something light and spring-y but with just a little punch. Since our friend sent us a case of Deep Eddy to test out - including the new lime flavor! - we had to use those when mixing! We came up with an extremely refreshing cocktail that’s almost a spiked lime-ade, but better!

Apres Tennis

makes one drink

1 ounce Deep Eddy Lime

1/2 ounce cointreau

2 lemon wedges

2 lime wedges

Topo Chico

Honeydew melon balls (frozen optional, but delicious!)

In a cocktail shaker, muddle together one lemon wedge and one lime wedge. Add ice, Deep Eddy Lime and cointreau. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice and top with Topo Chico. Garnish with remaining lime and lemon wedges and a skewer filled with honeydew melon balls.

Hot tip: if you are going to freeze the balls, skewer them first then freeze!

Cin Cin!

This is the perfect cocktail for any spring/summer activities and cocktail hosting. I love how refreshing and light it is and do not skip the honeydew. Clearly we did it because it was a funny tennis ball allusion, but it is also SO DELICIOUS! It is perfect with the lemon/lime cocktail.

Enjoy!