Friday, December 24, 2010

Happy Holidays

I'm taking a break. I'll be back after the first of the year. In the mean time -- Eat, Drink, and Be Merry.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Iron Bartender -- April Loebick

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Secret Ingredient -- Chili Cheese Fritos

This one is easy for me. To perfect the college binge night - like food, all you need to add is a little redbull. Of course, a college binge night wouldn't be complete without some vodka to go with that redbull.

Vodka Bombs:

Pour a shot of your favorite flavored vodka (I prefer grape or strawberry)
Pour the redbull into a rockglass that's about 2/3 full.
Drop the shotglass containing the vodka into the rock glass full of Redbull
Chug the entire glass of liquid
Belch loudly
Then get a towel to clean up any mess.

Booze News - Holiday Mixology

Video story from MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/40765239#40765239

It's drink info for the health conscience. To me, calories don't count on Christmas! But for others, it may be good to know that Eggnog can have over 500 calories a glass. I'm totally going to be going over my daily calorie limit this Christmas -- but who cares! I'm allowed to calorie splurge every once and a while. However, if you're more calorie conscience then check out this story.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Fantastic Friday Fix -- Something

Is it Ironic that I didn't post the Fantastic Friday Fix on time because as soon as I got home yesterday, the first thing I did was get drunk? Drunk on what? -- you may ask. Well, my friends, I'll tell you. Last night I didn't have anything fancy. I had Redbull and Smirnoff's Strawberry Vodka. First I took a shot of the vodka and used Redbull as a chaser, and then I made a drink of one part vodka (which was about 3oz) and one part Redbull. It was a good night -- until I had the second Redbull, which caused me not to sleep last night.

Anyway, back to what's important -- the vodka. I haven't had the Strawberry-flavored Smirnoff in years. Last time I had it, in fact, my husband and I were still living at Fort Campbell in Kentucky and he was still in the military. Drinking this particular flavor brought back many memories, and it has always amazed me how some senses invoke such powerful memories, particularly smell and taste.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Secret Ingredient for Dec 15, 2010

This week's Secret Ingredient is...


Chili Cheese Fritos

Now, now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking how the hell you make a drink out of chips. But this week we're doing something a bit different. This week, I want you to come up with a drink that will complement Chili Cheese Fritos.


Have fun!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Secret Ingredient - Fireball Whiskey

Spiked Wassail

Wassail Ingredients:
1/2 gallon apple cider
13 whole cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 quart pineapple juice
1/2 can (3 oz) frozen orange juice concentrate

Directions: Mix all ingredients in a crock-pot and simmer. This drink is meant to be served hot. This should make about 6 servings of wassail. Double ingredients if you're making this for a bigger party.

Where the spiked comes in:
Mix in 2oz of Fireball whiskey into 4oz of the Wassail and enjoy!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Booze News -- Moonshine

Newsweek published an article this week about how moonshine is moving from the Appalachian subculture to the mainstream. Here's the article:http://www.newsweek.com/2010/12/10/shine-on.html.

Being from the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia, I know moonshine and I knew quite a few of old moonshiners when I was going up. The original bootlegger are a dying breed; however, the resurgence of do-it-yourself booze is bringing it back. According to the article, at home breweries and what-not are growing. And while making moonshine is still illegal in most places, some states are beginning to look at their outdated prohibition laws. So making moonshine at home may become legal. That takes some of the fun out of it.

This article does a good job in making the difference known between real moonshine and the stuff that you see in stores. Real moonshine can be made from almost anything, while the store stuff is usually unaged whiskey. So the question becomes, which do you prefer? Store-bought unaged whiskey or Bathtub Moonshine?

Friday, December 10, 2010

Fantastic Friday Fix -- Baileys

Sometimes, it's the simple drinks that make you smile. In a rock glass, pour two shots of Bailey's Irish cream over rocks. And TaDa! You have a simple, tasty desert drink to sip at while you watch ABCfamily's 25 days of Christmas.

I haven't gotten a chance to sit and watch their usual classic holiday shows yet. I need to get my yearly dose of Heat Miser and brother to get those songs stuck in my head for a few months at least!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Secret Ingredient for Dec 9, 2010


Keeping with the Holiday theme here, let's go with something warm and spicy. This week's secret ingredient is...


Fireball Whiskey!

This stuff is pretty good on it's own just to sip, but I want more than that. Do you have a recipe that uses Fireball Whiskey? Post it in the comments, e-mail me (aprilnloebick@gmail.com), or post it on my Facebook page.

Official Fireball Whiskey Website

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Secret Ingredient - Vanilla Recipe

Okay, I'm going to admit something. The following is not one of my own recipes, or a recipe I got from a friend. I got this recipe from http://www.drinknation.com/drinks.

In a rock glass:

* 2 oz. Bourbon
* 3 oz. Cream
* 1/4 tsp. (grated) Nutmeg
* 1 tsp. Sugar, superfine
* 1/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Mixing Instructions

Shake all ingredients (except nutmeg) in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a rocks glass and grate some fresh nutmeg over it.

I thought was perfect and just in time for the Holidays. Do you have any drinks that you like to make specifically around the holidays? Post in it the comments!

IronBartender is back!


Now that I've finished finals, the extra stress of school is over -- and forever. Yup, that's right. I'm graduating. I do believe that it's time for a drink!