Tag: Lemon

Winter Warm-Ups

 So, this post is delayed by a few days.  I was going to make a nice post about some of my favorite winter warm-up drinks, like hot toddies and how they are not only delicious, but also medicinal… I made my drinks, I took my pictures, and then my throat started to hurt, I began to feel achy and chilled, and before I knew it, I was hit with a cold/flu/nastiness.  I have been sleeping as much as possible and drinking lots of hot water/lemon/honey/ginger and I’m already feeling much better. 

So, what is a hot toddy?  A mixed drink, served hot traditionally made with whiskey, lemon, and honey. 

I enjoy a traditional toddy when the weather starts getting chilly but by December, I’m ready to shake it up a little bit.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I love pairing blackberry and whiskey.  So, I made a Hot Blackberry Ginger Toddy… it just what I needed.  The blackberry and honey mix so well, and with the fresh lemon juice it doesn’t get too sweet.  Beam Black is my go-to for a drink like this- big enough flavors to stand up through the blackberry/ginger, but it still blends well into the cocktail.  The ginger is absolutely necessary for me, but feel free to leave it out if you don’t have any or don’t like it.  I need the bite of fresh ginger to balance the other flavors, but I understand fresh ginger is too much for many people. (ps – sorry for the not-great phots… this is all that I got before I accidentally drank it in my haze of oncoming sickness.)

  • Hot Blackberry-Ginger Toddy
  • 1oz Honey (locally sourced is best, thank you Don Popp’s Honey Farm)
  • .5oz Fresh Lemon Juice
  • 4 Blackberries
  • ¼ – ½ inch piece of fresh Ginger, peeled and rough chopped
  • 1.5oz Beam Black
  • 5oz near boiling water

In a heat proof measuring glass combine Honey, Lemon Juice, Blackberries, and Ginger.  Muddle the blackberries into the honey and lemon.  Add Beam Black. Top with water and carefully stir to combine.  Cover the top of the glass and let steep for 4 minutes.  Pour through fine mesh strainer into your favorite mug and enjoy.

Do you have a favorite take on the Hot Toddy?

Up next… my Favorite White Christmas Hot Chocolate….

Clarified Milk Punch

I have been reading about Clarified Milk Punch.  Images of these crystal-clear punches have been popping up in my Insta-feed.  I keep reading recipes.  Searching for the best way to make one.  What they’re supposed to taste like.  The science behind it.  Well, I walked into O’Neal’s on Monday and I said to myself- “I can make that.”  And so, I did.  It was quite a process.  And I’m not sure if I did it correctly or not.  So, I tried it again today, this time with a different punch base and a better understanding of how the science behind it works. 

To explain this process as simply as possible, you make a delicious concoction of flavors- tea, sweeteners, fruit juices, spices, booze and lemon juice.  Then you add whole milk or heavy cream and let it all sit for about 30 minutes.  And then you start straining the liquid to remove the milk solids.  And you strain it again and again and again until the magic moment when the cloudy, murky liquid is suddenly translucent!  Then serve over ice and marvel in your creation. 

This finally strained into a golden-translucent liquid.  It has a very delicate, but decisively one-note flavor, which is: Lemon.  It’s smooth, with a slightly creamy mouthfeel and a definite lemon flavor (without the mouth-puckering tartness) and a hint of orange and bourbon. 

I’m absolutely not unhappy with how my first attempt turned out. 

  • Attempt #2-
  • -Churchill’s Fine Teas Hot Cincinnati Spice
  • -Simple Syrup
  • -Fresh Orange Juice
  • -Lemon Juice
  • -Jim Beam
  • – Cardenal Mendoza Angelus Liqueur
  • -Half and Half

I followed the same procedure of mixing everything (except the Half and Half) together in a large glass bowl.  Then I added the Half and Half, covered the bowl and let it sit 24 hours untouched.  Just like the first time the dairy immediately curdled.  It. Looked. Disgusting.  But hey, sometimes you gotta get ugly before your beauty can shine through.  And this, it was a SERIOUS glow-up!

  • Yup, it curdled
  • Pretty Gross.
  • Keep Straining
  • It’s almost clear!

This time when I strained the concoction, I did so into another large glass bowl with a large strainer lined with a coffee filter.  OMG, it was so much faster than my first attempt!  After the first strain it was SO clear.  2 more goes, once through my super fine tea strainer and it was good to go!   Let it chill and serve over a giant ice cube with an orange and lemon wedge and enjoy.

The science behind this Clarified Milk Punch is still blowing my mind… I’m looking forward to playing around with it more.  Maybe a Gingerbread Milk Punch.  Or a Candy Cane Milk Punch.  The possibilities are endless… keep an eye out for more #sippableexperiments