Enjoy the Minute Man-but responsibly, of course.

The Minute Man

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ oz Oval Vodka
• 1 ½ oz fresh sweet & sour
• ¼ oz simple syrup
• splash of ginger ale
• garnish with a lemon wheel

Directions:

Shake first three ingredients with ice in a shaker. Strain into an iced highball glass. Top with ginger ale and garnish with lemon wheel.

Enjoy!

Image and recipe courtesy of Oval Vodka

Post from: EveryJoe

The Minute Man

The Firecracker is sure to set the mood for a great Fourth of July and you’re sure to look cool holding something that looks this good.

The Firecracker

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Three-O Grape Vodka
• ½ oz. Blue Curacao
• a splash of Tonic

Directions:

Shake vodka and blue curacao with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Add tonic and garnish with a cherry.

Enjoy!

Image and recipe courtesy of Three Olives Vodka

Post from: EveryJoe

The Firecracker

I know you’re going to anyway [especially after I've given you so many yummy drink recipes] but be careful.

Please?

Image|Dano

Post from: EveryJoe

Why You Shouldn’t Drink and Play with Fire

This one is named after a classic in the Fourth of July arsenal of fireworks.

The Roman Candle

Ingredients:

• 3 oz. Three-O Berry Vodka
• ½ Oz. Cranberry Juice
• Dash of Grenadine
• ½ oz. Blue Curaçao

Directions:

Shake vodka, cranberry juice and grenadine in a shaker with ice. Strain into martini glass.

Pour Blue Curaçao gently down the side of the glass so it comes to settle on the bottom.

Garnish with a lemon twist.

Image and recipe courtesy of Three Olives Vodka

Post from: EveryJoe

Roman Candle

The Sparkler

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. Three-O Pomegranate Vodka
• 2 oz. Sparkling Wine or champagne
  
• Splash POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice

Directions:

Combine vodka and pomegranate juice in the bottom of a champagne flute.

Top with sparkling wine or champagne.

Garnish with a curl of orange peel.

Image and recipe courtesy of Three Olives Vodka

Post from: EveryJoe

Three Olives Sparkler

Each is pretty and is sure to pack that punch that you’re looking for in a holiday weekend drink.

Patriot Martini

Ingredients:

• A martini glass rimmed with blue sugar (Blue Curacao, Sugar & 2 small plates or bowls)
• 1.5 oz Grey Goose le Citron Vodka Shaken and strained over
• 1 Wild Hibiscus Flower in Hibiscus Syrup (from specialty gourmet shops)
• Chilled Fresh Blueberries

Directions:

Start with 2 plates or shallow bowls.  To one dish, add Blue Curacao, to the other the other with sugar.

Dip each martini glass first into the Blue Curacao and then into the sugar. Slowly turning the martini glass on one edge will provide more even coverage of the sugar.

Next, add a single Hibiscus flower to each martini glass and a tablespoon of the hibiscus syrup.

At this point you can refrigerate the martini glasses until you are ready to serve the cocktails.

The final step is to prepare the martini.  Fill a martini shaker with ice. Add 1 ½ oz of Absolute Citron Vodka to the shaker for each martini to be served.

Squeeze fresh lemon and lime juice into the shaker. Shake vigorously.

Strain the martini into each martini glass.  It is best to pour the martini against the side of the glass as not to disturb the hibiscus syrup at the bottom.

Garnish with the chilled fresh blueberries.

Serve and enjoy.

Recipe and Image courtesy of Four Moons

Post from: EveryJoe

Patriot Martini

I sent Tucker out to Target to get some tomato juice since I wanted another Bloody Mary and he came back with Mr and Mrs T’s Premium Bloody Mary Mix.

His rational? “Well, I knew you were going to make a Bloody Mary so I thought that I’d make it easier on you.”

I gave him a withering look, but he had been trying to help so I didn’t say anything. I read the list of ingredients and was a bit dissapointed to read the High Fructose Corn Syrup part. I just knew that this was going to be another of those mixers that tries to make a Bloody Mary into a sweet girly drink.

Since Tucker had already bought the stuff and I didn’t have anything else to mix my tomato vodka with [Don't mix tomato vodka with strawberry daiquiri mix. Trust me.] I gave Mr. and Mrs. T’s a try.

I dumped a couple of handfuls of ice into my glass, mixed my drink three parts mixer to one part vodka and gave the concoction a taste.

Surprisingly good.

There’s a hint of horseradish in there with plenty of garlic and a tiny bit of spice. It’s almost meaty without being too sweet. I guess if you’re in desperate need of a Bloody Mary and don’t have the patience to mix up your own mixer then Mr. and Mrs. T’s is a pretty decent safe bet.

Image|http://www.flickr.com/photos/23126594@N00/ / CC BY 2.0

Post from: EveryJoe

Bloody Mary Mixer

High or Low

Required items:

• Drinks
• people
• cards

First person is dealt a card from the top of the deck. Then, that person must guess if the card they are holding is higher or lower than the card that is next in the deck. If they guess wrong then they have to drink. If they guess correctly then they continue guessing cards until they have acquired at least three cards. Then, if they want, they can pass the game onto the next person.

Image|Mykl Roventine

Post from: EveryJoe

High or Low Drinking Game

Some are content to use a mixer from the grocery store and others concoct elaborate potions complete with incantations and incense. [I kid...I hope.]

Personally, I like my Bloody Mary salty, smokey from the Worcestershire sauce and just hot enough that I need to take a couple of sips of the water that’s offered me. I also NEVER use a mixer. Most are too sweet for me and they lack the depth that I’m looking for.

Three Olive sent me a bottle of their Three Olive Tomato Vodka to sample and review and given my love of a good Bloody Mary, I was more than happy to oblige them.

Like with all of the spirits that I review, I sampled the tomato vodka straight up to get a feel for it. I’ve tried other flavor infused vodkas [not by Three Olive] and have been very, very disappointed. The tomato vodka was exactly what it should be-tomato. A bit too sweet to drink on its own but still distinctly tomatoey. [Is that a word?]

The thing that’s wonderful about making a Bloody Mary at home is that you can customize it however you like and with whatever you have in the house. If you have tomato juice [or V8] and vodka then you’re off to a good start.

Here’s what I used:

• 12 oz Spicy Tomato Juice
• 4 oz from the freezer Three Olive Vodka
• several shakes of garlic powder
• several dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• about five grinds of fresh black pepper
• the tiniest pinch of cumin

As you can see, my Bloody Mary is by no means an exact science.

Once I sampled my drink, it was a tad too sweet so I gave it a couple pinches of Kosher salt and it was just right.

Bottom line. Three Olives Tomato Vodka is not something that I would drink by itself but it is definitely the right addition to your perfect Bloody Mary. Heck, maybe add a bit of fresh oregano and garnish it with a mozzarella ball and you’d have yourself a Italian Bloody Mary! Great infused vodka to have on hand.

Image and recipe by Amy Tucker

Post from: EveryJoe

Three Olives Tomato Vodka and a Bloody Mary

I must admit that I’m a bit afraid of the Lucid absinthe. I’m going to try it and try it right with the sugar cube and if I can find an absinthe spoon then I’ll use that too.

Last night I tried the Bombay Sapphire Gin and thought it pretty much rocked but that review will have to wait for another day. I’m not about to mix the Three Olives Tomato Vodka with juice or the sweet tea that I have in the house right now so I have to wait to try it until I can get the makings for a good Bloody Mary.

And, just so you know, the crying two year old you see between the alcohol bottles? Yeah, she wasn’t crying because mommy drinks. She was pissed because I wouldn’t let her play with the Lucid bottle and my camera. Silly kids.

Image|Amy Tucker

Post from: EveryJoe

I Got Great Stuff Yesterday!