The best coffee-lime-rum martini you will ever drink

This cocktail comes--with slight modifications--from the wonderful family-run Backwards Distillery in Casper, Wyoming. I have tried their gin and rum, and they are both amazing--the gin is the most interesting I think I have ever tried. I am not a paid advertiser, just a huge fan. So, without further ado...

Buzzed Martini (originally called "The Perky Daiquiri" from Backwards Distilling)

Makes 1 drink

1.5 oz rum (their's is called Sword Swallower  and it's delish)
2 oz cold coffee
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz coconut milk
1/2 oz simple syrup

Shake all that shit up with some ice and pour into a glass. Try not to drink it too fast...

To hell with your fancy-priced cocktails!

When Syntax Spirits first opened in my quiet, unassuming little town of Greeley, Colorado a few years ago, I was elated.  Craft vodka made by a kooky couple with a slightly cranky cat on the premises?  Yes, please.  But I soon became disenchanted with the clued-out space cadets they employed, and when I showed up one night only to find they were out of my favorite beet-dill infused vodka, I broke up with them in my mind forever.  That's when I realized, hell, I like to infuse vodkas! I hadn't thought of using beets, which I love, but now that I'd seen it existed, I could easily do it myself and avoid paying the $6 to a band of ill-informed college students with shitty customer service skills.  I think this version is better than anything I ever got at Syntax, and I can drink it all summer long without going broke...

The Beet Farmer

Serves 1

2 oz. beet infused vodka*
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 oz. triple sec
1 tablespoon sweet vermouth
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice; shake vigorously until the shaker is cold to the touch.  Strain into a martini glass and enjoy.

*For beet infused vodka, simply peel and roughly chop ½ cup beets per 750mL of vodka and add ¼ cup white sugar. Combine in an airtight container and allow to steep in a cool, dry place for one week, shaking every day or so when you think about it.  After that, you can remove the beets if you prefer and store in the freezer.

New spring drinks for you

Although most days it is still too cold to sit on my front porch and drink, I do it anyway, because I am so impatient to resume my summer hobby of sitting on my front porch and drinking.  And while I am bundled up from head to toe, mittens and all, I am enjoying drinks that make me think of spring, which helps me ignore the shivering.  All recipes yield one drink, but it would be nice of you to make enough to share.  And my neighbor says it looks sad when you drink martinis on the porch all by yourself.

April Rain

  

2 oz. vodka

½ oz. lime juice

½ oz. dry vermouth

lime peel for garnish

Shake vodka, lime juice, and vermouth vigorously over plenty of ice (the shaker should be almost to cold to hold!) and pour into a martini glass.  Garnish with lime peel.  

Early Spring Martini

2 oz. vodka

½ oz. dry vermouth

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon frozen peas

1 small lettuce leave, ripped into pieces

Muddle peas and lettuce in a shaker.  Add remaining ingredients, shake together with plenty of ice and strain into a martini glass.  

Sparkling Cucumber Cocktail

2 oz. gin

1 teaspoon Rose’s Lime

1 teaspoon super fine or granulated white sugar

 thin slices of cucumber, plus one thicker slice for garnish

Tonic water

In a martini shaker, muddle the 4 thin cucumber slices with the sugar.  When cukes seem well-beaten and have create a good amount of juice, pour in the gin and Rose’s lime.  Add lots of ice and shake vigorously.  Strain into a martini glass, top with about 2-3 ounces of tonic water and garnish with remaining cucumber slice.