Mad Milagro Margarita (Recipe)

Mad Milagro Margarita
courtesy of Fleming's Steakhouse, Beverly Hills

• 2 oz Milagro Silver Tequila
• 2 oz Fresh Lime Sour
• 4 slices Cucumber  thinly sliced 1/8 inch
• Pinch Cilantro leaves
• 2 slice Jalapenos de-seeded 1/8 inch

Muddle cucumbers, jalapenos and cilantro, add remaining ingredients.

Shake and pour into rocks glass with fresh ice

Gingery Recipes

Sweet Heat

Created by Alex Straus of Suite 700 at the Hotel Shangri-La in Los Angeles
1.5 oz. SKYY Infusions Ginger
0.5 oz. Small, De-seeded Habanero Pepper Slice
0.75 oz. Agave Syrup
0.75 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
Candied Ginger

Gently muddle pepper slice in cocktail shaker. Add the rest of the ingredients, with the exception of candied ginger, with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with candied ginger on rim of glass.

Ginger Goddess

Created by Alex Straus ofSuite 700 at the Hotel Shangri-La in Los Angeles

1.5 oz. SKYY Infusions Ginger

0.5 Fresh Kiwi
3 Large Slices of Anjou Pear
Champagne (or Sparkling Wine)

Muddle kiwi and pear in a cocktail shaker. Add SKYY Infusions Ginger with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a champagne flute and top with Champagne or Sparkling Wine. Garnish with a slice of kiwi.

Halloween Cocktails

Hosting a party this Halloween? Need some halloween-themed cocktails?

Here are a couple of cocktail recipes from SKYY vodka to start you planning!



Vampire’s Elixir


1.5 oz. SKYY Infusions Raspberry
.75 oz. White Chocolate Liqueur
1 oz. Half and Half
Strawberry Syrup


Dress strawberry syrup on the inside and rim of a chilled martini glass. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass. Garnish with vampire teeth.

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Red Zombie

1.5 oz. SKYY Vodka
3 oz. Tomato Juice
0.5 tsp. Finely Grated Horseradish
1 tsp. Barbeque Sauce
3 Dashes Worcestershire Sauce
3 Dashes Tabasco Sauce
0.5 tsp. Finely Chopped Chipotle en Adobo

Pinch of Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Generous Squeeze of Lemon Juice
Pinch of Celery Seeds
1 Celery Stick
2 Large Green Olives
2 Lychee Fruits

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass. Garnish with green eye balls, laid across the rim of the glass*.

*Cut the end of a stalk of celery so it measures 5-6 inches long and split the stick in half lengthwise. Slide the green olives into two lychee fruits to make eye balls and push the thin celery stick through both as garnish.

Not to Overlook: Water!!!

Not too long ago I bartended at a hopping Bar Mitzvah. Call brand liquors: Bombay Sapphire gin, Ketel One vodka, Crown Royal ...

But towards the end of the night, after all the dancing, the partying, there was only one thing they asked for: WATER.

And no, there was no water at the bar. Or anywhere else (we couldn't find a fountain either). Oh we had 2 dozen bottles of Perrier, which was running low at the end.

Is this something the bartender needs to remind the host to get? I know you'll be getting your vodka, your gin, your rum. Please, please, please get some drinking water too.

Recipe: Jungle Juice

I recently bartended for a Halloween party, and the jungle juice we served was definitely the hit of the party!
It's sweet and tasty but let's not get this wrong: it is potent!

It takes a lot to make and you have to soak the fruits overnight, but if you want a smashing party, it's worth the effort!

1 L Everclear® alcohol
5.25 L (3 1.75L bottles) vodka
1 bottle peach schnapps
1 pint Bacardi® 151 rum
1 bottle 99 Apples® apple schnapps
10 L Sprite® soda
1 L Sunny Delight® orange juice
1 L triple sec
1.75 L bottle gin
1 bottle DeKuyper® Sour Apple Pucker schnapps
4 bottles Boone's Farm® Strawberry Hill wine
8 L Hawaiian Punch®
2 containers orange juice concentrate
fruit (as much as desired)

Use a large container ie. ice chest or similar. Allow the fruit to soak in all the alcohol for about 4 - 12 hours. Add all the juice and let sit overnight. Serve the next day.

Halloween Recipe: Zombie

The first Zombie was created by Beaumont-Gant in the 1930s. Supposedly he named it so because after asking a customer how it was, the customer replied, “I felt like the living dead.”

Ingredients
* 1 ounce light rum
* 1 ounce dark rum
* 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
* 1 ounce unsweetened pineapple juice
* 1 ounce fresh orange juice
* 1/2 ounce apricot brandy
* 1 ounce passion fruit syrup
* 1 teaspoon superfine sugar

Shake all the ingredients above with ice, then strain into a hurricane glass.
Then float on top:
* 1/2 ounce 151-proof rum

Garnish with something fruity - orange slice or a pineapple wedge would work fine.
The name is a propos for Halloween, and it's a great mind-bending drink for the parties ;)

On Busy Nights, Coke, and Pepsi

After a hectic bartending gig last night, where dozens of Pepsi bottles were used over the night, I start to like Coca Cola more and more ... Why?

Let me put it this way. You're very busy and want to be as efficient as possible, so when people as you for regular vs diet coke/pepsi, you want to be able to distinguish them instantly right?

Coca Cola got this down with their colored bottle labels. From regular to diet to Zero they go: Red, Gold, Black. They stand out, they're distinguishable, just like that. You spot it from the corner of your eye, you're good to go.

Pepsi? The new Pepsi Max is dark blue with black edges. Pepsi One is black. Oh, don't forget it tends to be dark when/where one bartends. See the problem here?
If Pepsi was a website or software, it will be way less user friendly than Coke.

And don't get me started on Sprite.