Lifestyle

#ThirstyThursdays: Cocktails at The Cozy Cottage

We love a good cocktail, we love a good cocktail glass, and we love a good cocktail recipe. Those are three reasons why we instituted #thirstythursdays at the cozy cottage, a guaranteed night of a nice cocktail at home together. The other reason, in case you’re wondering, is because I gave birth in the middle of winter and thought I might go stir crazy being couped up at home with a newborn so I wanted something on the calendar that I could actually commit to doing and look forward to every week. I post on Instagram in Stories every Thursday a photo of our cocktail that week and asked recently if you’d like to see a roundup of all our #thirstythursday cocktails. You said yes, so now I’m delivering. Here are (most of) the cocktail recipes for our #thirstythursdays.

All of these recipes are readily available all over the internet, but I’ve compiled them here for ease. I’ve categorized them into the following: The Classics, Packs a Powerful Punch, and Summertime Satiation.

The Classics

We are big bourbon and whiskey drinkers at the cozy cottage and an Old Fashioned is one of our staples, as is a Manhattan.

 

Old Fashioned:

¹/₂ tsp sugar
3 dashes Angostura bitters
1 tsp water
2 oz bourbon
Orange peel for garnish

Add the sugar, bitters and water into a rocks glass, and stir until sugar is nearly dissolved. Fill the glass with large ice cubes, add the bourbon, and gently stir to combine the flavors. Express the oil of an orange peel over the glass, then drop in.

Martini:

Cracked ice
2 ¹/₂  oz London dry gin, such as Beefeater
¹/₂  oz dry vermouth
Green olive for garnish

Fill cocktail shaker with ice, gin and vermouth, stir well and strain into a martini glass, garnish with olive.

Boulevardier:

1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 ¹₄ oz rye whiskey
Orange peel for garnish

Add all ingredients into a rocks glass over ice and stir. (Or add all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice, stir and pour into a coupe, although we haven’t done that.) Garnish with a flamed orange peel or twist.

 

Packs a Powerful Punch

Aviation:

2 oz gin
¹⁄₂ oz Maraschino liqueur
¹⁄₄ oz crème de violette or crème Yvette
³⁄₄ oz fresh lemon juice

Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake, then strain into a cocktail glass.

Thyme Will Tell:

2 oz bourbon
1/2 oz maple syrup
1/2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
Thyme

Muddle thyme then combine ingredients and serve on the rocks. Garnish with a lemon peel.

Bijou:

1 oz gin
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz green chartreuse
1 dash orange bitters

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

 

Summertime Satiation

The Picante de la Casa may be one of my new favorite drinks and it’s so perfect for summer. The Caipirinha is so easy and light, and the Sangria is a classic, and so so so so good for the warmest months.

Picante de la Casa:

2 oz tequila
1 oz fresh lime juice
³⁄₄ oz agave nectar
12 cilantro leaves, plus 1 sprig for garnish
1 ¹⁄₄” piece of a Fresno chile pepper, plus 2 rings for garnish (we used jalapenos because I couldn’t find Fresno chile peppers)

Muddle tequila, lime juice, agave, cilantro leaves, and ¼” piece of chile in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously; strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with cilantro sprig and chile rings.

Caipirinha:

¹⁄₂ lime, cut into wedges
2 tsp sugar
2 oz cachaça

In a double Old Fashioned glass, muddle the sugar and lime. Fill with ice, add the cachaça, and stir briefly. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Sangria:

¹⁄₂ oz brandy
¹⁄₂ oz Triple Sec
1 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
¹⁄₂ tsp fresh lemon juice
3 ¹⁄₂ oz light-bodied red wine, such as rioja
1 cup ice cubes
1 oz club soda
1 tsp sugar
1 apple slice
1 orange slice

In large wine glass, stir together brandy, orange liqueur, orange juice, lemon juice, and wine. Add ice, top with club soda, and stir briefly. Taste and stir in sugar, if desired. Tuck apple and orange slices into top of glass and serve immediately.

In addition to these cocktails, check out these from the Kreyol Kitchen: Haitian rum cocktail, another rum cocktail, and Liqueur des Iles.

Cheers!