Cocktail Recipe: Shochu Sour

For those of you unfamiliar, "shochu" is a Japanese "vodka" made from either sweet potatoes, barley, or other starchy ingredients. My favorite is the one made from sweet potatoes - typically from the island of Kyushu where shochu originated. This particular cocktail is made from a great one from Kyushu I picked up on my recent trip to Japan. However, please don't confuse this with the Korean "sochu" - the Japanese version packs a significantly bigger punch...

Ingredients:

1.5 fl. oz. shochu
2 liberal splashes of freshly squeezed lime juice
4.5 fl. oz. soda water
Ice

Directions:

Fill a low ball glass with ice. Pour in the shochu, then soda water, and top with the lime juice. Mix gently with a stirring stick. Serve immediately.

Cocktail Recipe: Margarita

Ingredients:

5 oz. blanco tequila

2 tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp. Cointreau orange liqueur

2 tsp. of sugar

Directions:

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the ingredients to the shaker, shake vigorously. Let stand for 90 seconds. Strain either into a glass filled with ice or into a martini glass and serve up. Garnish with a lime wedge.

(p.s. I don't like my rim salted... but do so if you must :P)

Cocktail Recipe: Classic Manhattan

Ingredients:

2 parts Knob Creek or other good Kentucky bourbon
1 part sweet vermouth
4 splashes of Angostura bitters
3 cherries, pits removed, soaked in cognac or other brandy at least overnight

Directions:

Fill a tall cocktail shaker with ice. Add the bourbon, sweet vermouth, and bitters to the cocktail shaker. Drop the drunken cherries into the bottom of a standard martini glass. Shake the cocktail mixture vigorously and then pour through a strainer into the glass. Serve immediately... but sip it slowly... you have been warned! :)

Cocktail: Hail all Metros!

Ingredients:

3 parts Hangar One vodka
1/2 part cranberry juice (NOT "cranberry juice cocktail" - 100% cranberry juice only)
1/2 part pomegranate juice (again, 100% juice only, no blends)
Generous squeeze of lime juice

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake vigorously. Pour into standard martini glasses. Serve with a lime wedge on the edge as a garnish.

Cocktail: Atlanta Iced Tea

Ingredients:

1 part Maker's Mark bourbon
2 parts Lemonade
2 parts Iced Tea (Unsweetened)
Maraschino cherries for garnish

Directions:

Fill a highball glass with ice. Pour in the bourbon, lemonade, and iced tea. Stir with a cocktail stirrer. Top with a couple of cherries. Drink on your front porch while rockin' in the swing... with a gnat swatter by your side ;).