#hscocktailhour

:))))))) hi friends. 

It’s been a while. Something’s coming soon. 

Check back on Friday. 

Eventually I will set up a tagging page based on flavour, alcohol, etc - but for now: here’s a masterlist! Thanks again to everyone who has followed along, and I hope you’re enjoying this project as much as I am!

FINE LINE COCKTAILS - Completed

Lights Up

To Be So Lonely

Fine Line

Adore You

She

Cherry

Golden

Canyon Moon

Treat People With Kindness

Falling

Sunflower Vol. 6

Watermelon Sugar

SELF TITLED COCKTAILS

Eponymous 

BARTENDING TIPS

The Beginners Guide to Cocktails

HOW-TO VIDEOS

TREAT PEOPLE WITH KINDNESS 🌈

Happy pride, my loves! I felt it only fitting to finish Pride Month with this one. She’s bright and fruity - sweet and tart - and yes, that is a candy coated rim around the glass! 

It’s not a complex drink in terms of alcohol (I did vodka- for, you know, reasons), but some components do require some prep. I’d suggest making the fruit components the day/evening before and then assembling the next!

This weeks tip jar is a charity I’ve supported for quite some time: The Rainbow Railroad. They’re an organization that help LGTBQA+ people escape state-sanctioned violence and to date have helped over 800 refugees to travel to safer places. If you have the means, please donate! (And if you can’t, please feel free to reblog this and spread the word 🌈)

And so, without any further ado- here she is: TPWK!

TO PREP:

Mango Lemon Agua Fresca

1 ripened mango, peeled, sliced and diced into cubes. (if you don’t have fresh, frozen will do!)

1 lemon, juiced and strained

2 TBSP sugar

2/3 cup water

In blender, combine all ingredients and blend until no chunks remain and mixture is smooth.

Strain mixture through fine mesh sieve to remove most of the pulp (or don’t if you don’t mind the texture!!)

Refrigerate overnight - lasts about a week in the fridge!

Raspberry Peach Puree

1 cup of fresh (or frozen) raspberries 

1 ripe peach (or if you’re like me and the peach was still hard, you can use that too cos it’s going in a pot anyway) peeled and cut into cubes

2 TBSP of sugar

Juice and zest of one lime

Heat raspberries, peach cubes, sugar and lime in a small saucepan until raspberries have broken down and peaches are soft

Let cool, then blend mixture in blender or with a hand blender until smooth.

Seal in airtight container and refrigerate - lasts about a week in the fridge!

FOR THE DRINK

Ingredients

2 oz mango lemon agua fresca

1 oz fresh lemon juice

1 oz simple syrup (or more if you like it sweeter) + 1oz for the rim

1 tbsp of honey (or agave) for the rim

2 oz vodka

1.5 oz raspberry peach puree

Soda water (or lemon-lime soda) to top

Rainbow Nerds & sugar smashed together (for rim)

Directions

For rim: place nerds in a ziploc bag and cover with a tea towel. Using a heavy spoon, crush some of the candy to break them up. Carefully pour the crushed candies onto a plate and add a pinch of white sugar before combining. In a bowl, combine the simple syrup and the honey, and dip the rim of your rocks glass into the mixture. Let the sugar set a little, then dip the glass into the candy-sugar mixture, coating the rim. Set aside.

Place the raspberry peach puree into the bottom of the glass, making sure it covers the bottom.

In shaker, combine the agua fresca, lemon juice, simple syrup and vodka. Add ice, seal tightly, then shake vigorously until super cold.

In rocks glass, carefully add crushed ice until full.

Strain mixture from shaker into glass. Top with soda water & garnish with fresh raspberries if you so desire!

To make it super fancy: Do 1.25 oz of vodka and add .75 oz of peach schnapps if you have it on hand, to give it a bit of a yeehaw! 

Omissions:  the rim isn’t a requirement (nor is the sparkly unicorn clothespinned to the glass)- but it gives it a bit of pop. You could also try pop rocks, too!

To make it non-alcoholic: All the ingredients with the exception of the vodka. Shake it up until its nice and cold and add to a tall glass filled with ice. Top with a lemon-lime soda. 

Happy sipping! (And happy Pride. TPWK 🌈✌🏻)

Lights Up ✨

Oh hello, friends.

This is it. The pièce de résistance. Fine Line is done! Its definitely been a journey, though - I hadn’t expected to start this project so quickly, but when the pandemic hit, it was the kick in the pants I was looking for to bite the bullet and just do it.

Today, we’re taking on my interpretation of Lights Up. I left it for last because I felt it needed that sendoff. It’s sweet, bitter, tart, and uh...it sparkles.

Yeah. Step into THAT light, everyone.

This cocktail is made with all fresh ingredients and does need some prep, but I assure you it’s worth it. If prep isn’t your thing, I will have omissions at the end.

This weeks charity is Fight CRC (colorectal cancer) in honour of Chadwick Boseman, and my own grandfather who had the disease. Fight CRC focuses on providing balanced cancer care information while influencing policy change for the greater good. If you have the means to donate, please consider doing so - and if you cannot, as always: a signal boost would be amazing!

Thank you all so much for coming on this journey with me. It’s been fun - and I hope you stick around for HS1! I will take a mini break for a few weeks (but keep your eyes peeled, I may have special things in the works), and be back at it bright eyed and bushy tailed real soon.

And without further ado, here’s Lights Up.

TO PREP

Passionfruit Syrup

4 fresh passionfruits, halved and insides removed

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

In saucepan over medium heat, combine all ingredients and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Bring mixture to a slow boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes then turn off heat completely.

Let mixture steep and cool for about an hour in saucepan.

Strain liquid into jar. Do not mash the pods- gently stir in the strainer to help get the most liquid. Syrup will last about 2 weeks!

FOR THE DRINK

1.5 oz dark rum (not spiced)

1/2 oz Aperol

1/2 oz Amaro

1.5 oz passionfruit syrup

3.5 oz fresh ruby red grapefruit juice

1.75 oz fresh lemon juice

Edible glitter. I used Wilton Pearl Dust and please, please make sure you’re using food grade glitter, as anything else is toxic and please don’t put that in your drinks!

Rind of grapefruit, lemon round (for garnish)

In shaker with ice, combine all ingredients and a few pinches of edible glitter. Shake until shaker is cold.

Strain into tall glass with new ice. You should see the shimmer as you pour!

Garnish with the rind and lemon round

AN: this cocktail would also be great as a punch for a larger crowd!

Omissions: You can use a regular tropical fruit juice for this drink (something that has passionfruit, grapefruit, guava etc). It will be much sweeter and a different flavour, but will have the same idea. But, I always say: the fresher, the better!

To make it non-alcoholic: Juice of 1 red grapefruit, 2 oz passionfruit syrup, 2 oz lemon juice, edible glitter, soda water.

And as always: while I am very happy to share my ideas on here: please don’t steal them as your own! Otherwise: enjoy responsibly and send me pictures if you decide to try it!! I track #hscocktailhour!

ADORE YOU 🐟

Hello hello helloooooooo!

Happy Friday y’all, and welcome to another cocktail hour! This week we’re doing something a little different, and honestly I had a ton of fun making this, so I hope you do, too!

This week we’re taking on my interpretation of Adore You. A bright, sunny, strawberry lemonade with a few tricks up her sleeve. As always, I will post omissions at the end, but I really do hope you give it a try!

This is also a great cocktail to make as a batch!

This weeks tip jar is Drop4Drop. They fund sustainable, clean water solutions to countries that need it the most. Harry has supported them in the past and currently sponsors three wells. If you have the means, please consider donating - and if you can’t, a signal boost is always welcome.

And so, my little fishies, here’s Adore You.

TO PREP

Strawberry Basil Shrub

2 cups of strawberries, hulled and quartered. (can use fresh or frozen, but if you use frozen make sure to de-thaw first)

1/2 cup basil (packed)

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

OPTIONAL 4 FANCINESS: 1/4 tsp dried lavender. (Basil and lavender are in the same herb family and work so well together omg)

In saucepan, combine strawberries, sugar, basil and water. (and if using the lavender, add that too). Stir to combine.

Using a potato masher (or the back of a fork) carefully mash the strawberries to release some of their juices.

Let mixture come to a rolling boil, add the vinegar and stir before lowering the temperature completely.

Let it steep for about 15 minutes then take it off the heat. Cool completely before transferring to a container.

Store in fridge and let sit overnight. This will help the flavours really combine.

 Once it’s sat for a bit, strain the liquid from the fruit. You can choose to discard the fruit or keep it, but I keep mine (and used some of it in the cocktail)!

FOR THE DRINK

Ingredients

2 oz strawberry basil shrub

1.5 oz fresh lemon juice

1 oz simple syrup (or more if you like it sweeter)

1.5 ounces of a liquor you Adore. (get it?) I found it’s worked best with bourbon, vodka or gin, but test it out! World is your oyster, baby!

3 chopped fresh strawberries + 1 strawberry for garnish

2-3 basil leaves for garnish

lemon wheel for garnish

Directions

In shaker with ice, combine shrub, lemon juice, simple syrup, strawberries, and your liquor of choice. Shake until heckin’ cold.

Fill tall glass with crushed ice.

Remove lid from shaker and pour all contents into glass.

Garnish with strawberry, basil and lemon wheel

Omissions: You don’t necessarily need to make a shrub especially if the vinegar makes you weary. I can assure you it tastes wonderful, but if you’d rather not, you can omit the vinegar and double the water to make a strawberry basil syrup that is just as nice. It WILL be sweeter, so adjust the simple syrup in the recipe to your liking.

To make it non-alcoholic: everything but the liquor! Add 2 oz of lemon juice instead of 1.5 and 1.5 of the simple syrup. Shake it up until it’s nice and cold and top it off with soda water and you have a wonderfully refreshing strawberry lemonade.

And as always: while I am very happy to share my ideas on here: please don’t steal them as your own! Otherwise: enjoy responsibly and send me pictures if you decide to try it!! I track #hscocktailhour!

SHE

Oh hello again, friends!

Sorry for the lateness of the post: this week has kind of been an up and down one and I wasn’t up for doing this on Friday, but I was going to make sure I got this up by the end of the day today!

This week we’re taking on my interpretation of She. She’s a little different for me, as I’ve not really worked with Mezcal before, but after doing various taste tests this week it has definitely grown on me! Sweet, smoky, a little bit of heat kick from the cayenne and salt rim: I think it’s the perfect embodiment of the song.

As I’ve mentioned before: these are specialty cocktails and so I do use fresh ingredients and make/prep everything myself! I will post omissions/additions at the end.

This week’s tip jar is the Blackstone Foundation Library. They’re Canada's leading Afrocentric Nonprofit Organization dedicated to promoting Knowledge Of Self through a culture of learning and reading:

“By ensuring sufficient access to books, mentors, support and engagement opportunities, and by creating safe enabling spaces, we challenge the popular narrative and forge an exemplary, more representational one.”

If you have the means, please consider donating, and if you can’t: a signal boost is always welcome!

And so, without further ado, here is She. 💋

TO PREP

Prickly Pear & Dragon Fruit Juice

3-4 prickly pears - prickly parts already removed (wear gloves when handling just in case!), peeled and cut into chunks

1 dragon fruit, peeled and cut into chunks

Add the pear and dragon fruit to a blender and mix on high until no chunks remain.

Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the seeds/any chunks left behind.

Store in jar/container. Juice will last about a week!

Omission: you do not need the dragonfruit! I liked it as it did add another level of flavour, but it’s not absolutely necessary. 

FOR THE DRINK

Ingredients

1 oz prickly pear & dragon fruit juice

2 oz fresh lemon & lime juice

1 oz agave nectar (OR equal parts simple syrup & honey)

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (I used Siete Misterios Mezcal Artesanal)

Cayenne and coarse salt (for rim) - OPTIONAL

Directions

With a fresh lime wedge, rim the edge of your glass with lime juice before dipping it into the cayenne and salt mixture. Add two big ice cubes to your glass. Set aside.

In shaker with ice, combine all ingredients. Shake it up until the shaker is super duper cold.

Strain into glass. Garnish with a lemon round & the ‘leaves’ from the dragon fruit, if you wish!

Omissions: as mentioned, you don’t need the dragon fruit for the juice. I believe you can find prickly pear juice concentrate at grocery stores, but I liked making my own! If you do decide to make your own, they can still have some thorns even if they’ve been de-thorned, so be careful. The juice is what gives the cocktail that vibrant magenta colour!

To make it non-alcoholic: add all the ingredients (save for the liquor, obvi!) to the shaker and get it nice and cold. Strain into a tall glass filled with ice and top with ginger beer.

And as always: while I am very happy to share my ideas on here: please don’t steal them as your own! Otherwise: enjoy responsibly and send me pictures if you decide to try it!! I track #hscocktailhour!

FINE LINE

Hi everyone :)

Happy Sunday. Sorry it’s been so long since we last saw each other - it’s been a rough few weeks for me - and it weighs down heavy on my creativity (among other things). Everything I was doing I was being very critical of - or hating it entirely, and it kind of snowballs from there. But, sometimes when we come out of these dark times, we find some light at the end of it all - and I felt inspired enough to put this together.

This weeks interpretation is of Fine Line. Fine Line was the hard one on my list, because I didn’t know which way I wanted to go with it. He feels so many emotions, and it makes me feel so many emotions that I didn’t want to mess it up. I see the song as growth, as a light at the end of a dark tunnel. The idea of ‘we’ll be alright’ resonates big with me, as I am sure it does others, and I hope it comes through.

The cocktail itself does require some prep work, but as always I will add omissions at the end.

This weeks tip jar is Harry’s Birthday Drive for Choose Love/Help Refugees. If you have the means, please consider donating - and if you don’t, a signal boost is always welcome.

And so, my loves - here is Fine Line - and I hope you know that we’ll be alright. Thank you for sticking around, thank you for all the kind words- it means more to me than you’ll ever know. xo

TO PREP

Peach, Honey and Thyme Purée

1 peach, washed, pitted and cut into chunks

1/4 cup of honey

1/2 cup of water

3-4 fresh thyme sprigs

In saucepan, combine peaches, honey and water and bring to a simmer on medium heat, stirring until the honey is liquid.

Let simmer for 5 minutes then add the thyme sprigs, stirring once before lowering the heat entirely.

Let steep for 10 minutes, then cool.

Discard the thyme sprigs, then pour mixture into a blender and blend until smooth and no chunks remain.

Transfer to an airtight container. Purée will last for about a week!

FOR THE DRINK

2.5 oz Peach, Honey & Thyme Purée

1 oz fresh lemon juice

Fresh cucumber cut into quarter-sized chunks

1/2 of a fresh peach cut into quarter-sized chunks

2 oz whiskey

1/2 oz St Germain Liqueur

Thyme, peach round & cucumber round for garnish

Directions

Add the chunks of cucumber and peach to your shaker and muddle with the back of a wooden spoon to release some of their juices.

Add the purée, lemon juice, whiskey and St. Germain and ice. Shake until cold.

In rocks glass, add crushed ice (I smash mine in a plastic bag covered with a tea towel!).

Completely remove the top of your shaker. With a fine mesh strainer, strain the contents into your glass. Or, you can choose to add the peach and cucumber bits!

Garnish with the thyme sprig, peach and cucumber.

Omissions: If you do not want to make the purée, a peach nectar/juice or a jam could work instead. You can make a thyme/honey simple syrup in the same way you’d make a regular simple syrup, but with thyme and honey and water!

To make it non-alcoholic: everything but the liquor. Shake, strain into a glass and top with a bubbly water for a refreshing soda.

And as always: while I am very happy to share my ideas on here: please don’t steal them as your own! Otherwise: enjoy responsibly and send me pictures if you decide to try it!! I track #hscocktailhour!