TV Inspiration - Rye Buttermilk Punch

Over the last year or so, I’ve become more and more of a Rye Bourbon drinker. It started with drinking Manhattans and has sort of developed from there. So when Lance and I started watching the new season of Justified with all their bourbon drinking, I bought a bottle to enjoy alongside Raylan Givens. Add to that the half bottle of buttermilk I had leftover from making this honey and buttermilk bread and I had the idea for a cocktail brewing. 

Have you ever had a Brandy Milk Punch? It’s one of the official cocktails of New Orleans and is a sweetened milk-based cocktail, similar to an eggnog without the egg. It’s pretty delicious and deceptively potent. I thought I’d make a Kentucky inspired version with the distinctly Southern ingredients of Rye and Buttermilk. Add some maple syrup for sweetness and you have what was for me the perfect cocktail. I must say though, I am a huge fan of buttermilk. I don’t know many Australians who would drink buttermilk, it’s usually reserved for cooking with. But it is quite a sour, tangy drink as it is cultured. It’s like drinking thinner unsweetened Greek Yoghurt. Which I love. So I love buttermilk. So whilst I love this cocktail, my husband thinks it could do with some extra sweetening. He doesn’t really like yoghurt at all though. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it! Like the Brandy Milk Punch, it is deceptively potent. So, take it easy on them. Rye isn’t hugely common at bottleshops Perth. My pick is Hogs 3 Bourbon, available at most Dan Murphy’s and extremely reasonably priced. If you can’t find it, you can use your favourite bourbon.

 Rye Buttermilk Punch(makes 2 drinks)120mL rye bourbon (such as Hogs 3) (4 shot glasses)240mL buttermilk (8 shot glasses)60mL maple syrup (2 shot glasses)Icenutmeg In a large glass or jug, mix the rye, buttermilk and maple syrup together and whisk until frothy. Pour into old fashioned glasses filled with ice cubes. Dust with nutmeg and enjoy!

Welcoming the Warmer Weather - Dirty Pirate Icy Poles

Growing up, one of the best things in summer is icy poles. Essentially, just frozen coloured sugar water, they were such an awesome treat. You would fight with your siblings to get the best colour/flavor even though they were essentially the same. In my house, usually the red went first and the green were left until last. Then you become a teenager, you move on to frozen coke and slushees. Essentially still frozen sugar water but so much cooler in a cup than eating it from a plastic tube.  Then you become an adult and you are supposed to be more grown up. But it’s still 40C + in summer and you still want to run around under the sprinklers (on your two allocated sprinkler nights), and you still want an icy treat.

The Dirty Pirate is so named for it’s two alcohols – Captain Morgan Dark Rum (Pirate) and Kahlua (the coffee makes it “Dirty” like a 'dirty chai'). Mixed with coke and frozen, it’s quite the fun little naughty treat. Incredibly easy, all you need is the icy pole molds. My ones I got from K-mart for $2 for the 4-tray. These measurements will make 12 of this size. I particularly like the cup/straw shape in the bottom of the handle, so you can drink up the drips as it melts. Being alcoholic, they can melt quite quickly.

It’s been a long wait for Spring to kick in over here in Perth (35C today!), so at the first sign of a warmer weekend, I made some of these to celebrate. I have a feeling they’ll make an appearance at a few BBQs over summer. You will have to remember though, that if you make these for a BBQ where kids are in attendance, that you better make a tray of non-alcoholic ones too! They will not be happy seeing adults eating icy poles when they can’t have one. Mark the trays, so they don’t end with yours!

This works best with flatter Coke, so if you open a new bottle/can to make it - stir it a bit to release some of the bubbles.

Dirty Pirate Icy Poles

2 3/4 cups flat Coke

1/3 cup Captain Morgan dark rum
1/3  cup Kahlua

Stir all together in a jug or bowl with a spout. Pour into icy pole molds and freeze!

 

Summer dreaming - the Lychaloechee

When I got up this morning, there was ice on my windscreen and a bitter chill in the air. It was minus 0.6C. Two weeks ago, I was enjoying days in the low 30's. Now, well, now it's cold. Meanwhile, my newsfeeds on blogger and pinterest and instagram are full of fruity cocktails and balmy summer nights. So whilst I don't have the fresh watermelon or mango or berries to whip up a delicious summer cocktail, I thought I would console myself a little bit with the first cocktail I ever created - the Lychaloechee.

Being in New York, I really took to all the readily available and amazing Latin restaurants about. We don't have a great deal of Latin cuisine in Perth, although there was somewhat of a Mexican food revolution of late which I heartily support! But something we do have lots of here due to our proximity is good Asian food and good Asian grocers. One of my favourite things to have discovered back in my uni days was Aloe Vera juice. This is now readily available in most supermarkets. It's a sweet, still juice with little floaty bits of goodness in it. I usually get the plain one, but it also comes flavoured or sweetened with honey.

When my husband and I first moved in together, I introduced him to one of my favourite summer fruits - the lychee. Seriously love those little fellas! The texture and sweetness and flavour is just sensational. And in turn, he excitedly brought home a present a short time later - a bottle of Paraiso lychee liqueur. I sampled it by itself and immediately knew what it needed. It's like I could already taste it - aloe juice. I was making a margarita pie at the time, so I had an abundance of limes which would make the perfect kick through the sweetness.

I've experimented with different versions of this, adding a white rum to ramp up to booziness (the liqueur is weak in strength, strong in flavour) or soda water for a bit of spritzy freshness, but I always go back to the original. The tropical lychee and aloe flavour combination is remiscent of summer, and in this presentation, drinkable in winter!

So tonight, I sit in front of the heater, ugg boots on, and sip my Lychaloechee and dream of the balmy nights ahead! Cheers!

Lychaloechee
1 part Paraiso (or other lychee liqueur)
5 parts aloe vera juice
wheel of lime

Pour the Paraiso and aloe vera juice into a high ball glass, stir well to mix
Lightly squeeze the lime wheels into the glass, then drop in as a garnish