Caribbean
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Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Booty Call
1 oz. Hpnotiq liqueur
1 oz. DeKuyper peach schnapps
1 splash Dole pineapple juice
Shake the ingredients in a cocktail mixer over ice. Strain into a shot glass and serve. Enjoy !
Today we have a shot suggested by a good friend of mine. He and I actually went out on my birthday last week and tore it up. He’s Yugoslavian and he gets this homemade Slovakian moonshine from his relatives overseas. I mean, this stuff could make a car run. It’s pretty lethal. You can pour a small, little bit on the bar and light it up and it will burn for over a minute. It’s like drinking gasoline.
So while we were throwing down this homemade moonshine and making our livers cry, this friend suggested we try a shot called Booty Call. And I know exactly why he suggested it.
I have a lady-friend that I’m pretty tight with. Sometimes after some partying or whatever, she and I might goof around a little bit. I like to think of the relationship as the ol’ “friend with benefits “.
This friend of mine always refers to her as ” Booty Call “.
If he and I are talking on the phone and I have to switch over to answer another call, he always asks, ” Is it Booty Call? ”
Or if I can’t meet him somewhere for drinks because I already have plans, he’ll ask me, ” Are you hookin’ up with Booty Call? ”
So just by suggesting this shot for us to try at ShareMyShot, he’s basically razzing me and busting my balls. But I will take suggestions from anyone in search of a decent shot. And this recipe calls for Hpnotiq which we have only used once or twice to date. So I thought it really would be a decent suggestion to run past the taste team.
They were game.
So this Booty Call does indeed call for Hpnotiq……which is the tasty blue liqueur made from vodka, cognac, and tropical fruit juices. And the Hpnotiq is combined with peach schnapps–which is not exactly one of the panel’s favorite flavors. But we can’t exactly ignore recipes that call for peach schnapps, can we ? This recipe also calls for a splash of pineapple juice, so we were hoping that might blend in with the schnapps and the Hpnotiq to sort of mute the peachy element.
Which it did to a degree. The Hpnotiq and the pineapple juice helped to quell the peach flavor. It was still slightly evident (as it does make up about half of this shot). But the fruit juices of the Hpnotiq and the pineapple juice made the overall taste come off as some sort of other tropical fruit. Like a grapefruit, or a kiwi, or a kumquat, or an apricot, or a pomegranate, or who the hell knows what ??
It wasn’t overly peachy, which was nice. And it wasn’t distinctly pineapple-y. It tasted fruity, but was very hard to pinpoint. The taste wasn’t bad at all…..but it wasn’t scrumptious. This shot was a true dilemma.
ShareMyShot gives this peach puzzle of a shooter a 3 on a scale of 5. We give it credit for using creative ingredients like Hpnotiq and pineapple juice. The taste was satisfactory. And the shot lost points for its potency. It’s not all that bold. So in the end, we felt giving the shot a 3 on our scale was a fair assessment.
We don’t know how the name Booty Call applies to the shot. I’m almost thinking it normally goes by a different name and my buddy just assigned it that moniker to again bust my balls. But as long as I get to drink at work and he doesn’t…….I guess the joke is actually on him.
Cheers !!
Posted in 3 Star Shots, 99 Peaches schnapps, Caribbean, DeKuyper peach schnapps, Dole pineapple juice, Hiram Walker peach schnapps, Hiram Walker schnapps, Hpnotiq, Southern Comfort peach liqueur, comfort shots, flavored liqueurs, flavored schnapps, fruit juices, liqueurs, peach schnapps, pineapple juice, schnapps, tropical fruit shots | No Responses »
Monday, March 15th, 2010
Caribbean Volcano
1 1/2 oz. Jose Cuervo Especial gold tequila
1 1/2 oz. Myers (Jamaican) dark rum
3 pinches cayenne peppers
3 dashes horseradish
3 dashes Tabasco sauce
Pour the rum and the tequila into a tall shot glass. Add the horseradish, pepper, and then the tabasco sauce. Serve. Enjoy !
After a final weekend of decadence celebrating my 40th birthday before I start making some serious changes for my health, I admit that I need a good wake-up call for today’s shot. Much like a bunch of New Year’s resolutions, I’ve set a handful of goals to start pursuing now that I reached the big 4-0. For instance, I’d like to lose 15-20 lbs. And a real quick way to doing that (almost cheating I’d lose it so fast) would be to seriously cut back on my drinking outside of ShareMyShot and maybe eliminate…………pizza. With a little bit of exercise.
I’d probably lose 20 lbs in 30 days.
But after celebrating Thursday thru Saturday and then losing an hour’s sleep due to turning the clocks back for Daylight Savings time on Sunday morning, I need a shot that qualifies as a hangover remedy. A shot that will slap my ass awake. Get me going with some gusto on a lunchtime walk with the apple I brought in.
Say hello to the Caribbean Volcano.
A couple of the panel members, including myself, were slightly tricked when one of the other panelists announced the Caribbean Volcano as today’s shot. Often a Caribbean themed shooter has some fruit juices in there and some sweeter ingredients to make a refreshing tropical shot. But this one is different. This shot is meant to heat you up. Thus, the volcano in the name.
The shot’s liquor ingredients aren’t too weak. You have a mix of Jose Cuervo tequila and Jamaican dark rum. An interesting combination.
And then you spice it up for the lava-hot element of the volcano. You toss in some horseradish, some cayenne pepper, and Tabasco sauce. That’s some serious hot seasoning!
I and many people have had tequila with a few drops of tabasco sauce in there. And I’ve added pepper to many drinks. I like my Bloody Marys pretty spicy and have used cayenne pepper in those before. But here we have the triple threat. All three ingredients that are commonly used to add a little spice “kick” to mixed drinks and shots.
The panel unanimously agreed that the triple threat provided all the kick we needed out of this shooter. It was freakin’ spicy ! A couple of the female members and one guy stopped after two rounds. I did three in pursuit of that pick-me-up I was after.
And I got my pick-me-up.
Nobody did more than three rounds of the Caribbean Volcano. While the taste wasn’t exactly bad, it is (almost obviously) not a shot meant to massage your tastebuds. It’s meant to assault them. And it does. The tequila, the Tabasco, and the cayenne were the three flavors identified most prominently by the panel.
ShareMyShot gives the Caribbean Volcano a 2 on a scale of 5. While somewhat creative, the spices used in the shot are pretty much the traditional options. The taste is pretty suspect—-although we acknowledge it is a shot meant to torture more than tickle. And while you might catch a pretty good buzz if you drank 5 or 6 of these, we don’t see too many people wanting 5 or 6 of these.
This volcanic shooter spits out just a bit too much lava for our tastes.
Cheers !!
Posted in 2 Star Shots, Bacardi dark rum, Bundaberg dark rum, Caribbean, Jamaican rum, Jose Cuervo gold, Myers dark rum, Patron, Patron Silver tequila, Sauza tequila, Tabasco sauce, Tequila 1800, cayenne pepper, flavored rum, hangover remedies, horseradish, hot sauce, peppers, rum, tequila | No Responses »
Thursday, March 11th, 2010
Happy Birthday Motherf*cker
1/2 oz. Absolut Citron vodka
1/2 oz. Tanqueray gin
1/2 oz. DeKuyper Raspberry Pucker schnapps
1/2 oz. triple sec
1/2 oz. Mr and Mrs T sweet and sour mix
1/2 oz. Minute Maid orange juice
1/2 oz. Bacardi O rum
Add all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a double shot glass. Serve. Enjoy !
Today the panel was all set with the recipe they wanted to share today. Apparently they set it up over the last few days so that we would have all of the ingredients ready and the only thing to do would be to prepare the shots and drink ‘em. Sometimes we’ll spend 20-25 minutes just deciding what shot to sample. But today the group was insistent that Happy Birthday Motherf*ucker would be the shot we’d drink.
In honor of me, it would seem. Today is my 40th birthday.
My liver thinks it’s our 65th. Dumb liver.
So today we have a rather elaborate recipe to share with you in honor of my parents’ successful coupling a mere 40 years (and nine months) ago. Happy Birthday Motherf*cker employs flavored varieties of vodka and rum with some tasty Raspberry Pucker schnapps thrown in for good measure. Some additional sweetners in the form of sweet and sour mix, triple sec, and orange juice make this close to a tropical drink/shooter. And those often taste pretty damn good.
Obviously you don’t have to use Minute Maid orange juice if your family drinks Tropicana or a store brand. Just use what you have in the ‘fridge. Same goes for whatever triple sec, and sweet and sour mix you use. Go with whatever is in your bar stock.
But you do want to go with the specific vodka blend and flavored rum that is called for. Both Absolut and Bacardi are well respected distillers who take great pride in their flavored products. And not every other vodka and rum producers offer the flavors called for here (citrus and orange). So stick to the recipe on those ingredients. As well as the Tanqueray.
The shot tasted awesome ! Happy birthday to me ! All but one panel member agreed that it tasted fantastic except one. And even that member agreed it was very favorable. He just prefers his shots a little less fruity and sweet. He’s more of a whiskey-based shot man. But he certainly acknowledged the merits of Happy Birthday Motherf*cker.
The raspberry and the orange elements blended together nicely and the Tanqueray didn’t get completely blotted out. There was still a wisp of the flavor that is so unique to the classy Tanqueray. The shot was sweet and fruity. But not in any way so dominating as to turn off the drinker. It is a shot for a hot day. Ladies will like its taste.
And as the panel found out by surpassing the company policy of 4 rounds (by just a few) in honor of my birthday, the shot does creep up on you. There are enough high quality ingredients to announce their presence.
ShareMyShot.com gives the Happy Birthday Motherf*cker a 5 on a scale of 5. It is creative with a lot of ingredients trying to steal the show. But they all play together nicely and deliver a smooth, refreshing flavor. And then there’s the punch it eventually will deliver. Use some sense drinking these.
So thank you to my taste panel compadres and everyone at ShareMyShot for a delicious birthday surprise.
Cheers !!
Posted in 5 Star Shots, Absolut Citron, Absolut flavored vodkas, Bacardi O, Bacardi orange rum, Baja Bob's Sweet and Sour Mix, Caribbean, Cointreau Triple Sec, DeKuyper Raspberry Pucker, DeKuyper Triple Sec, Minute Maid orange juice, Mr and Mrs T Sweet and Sour Mix, Raspberry Pucker, Sweet and Sour Mix, Tanqueray, Triple Sec, Tropicana orange juice, citrus rum, comfort shots, flavored rum, flavored schnapps, flavored vodka, fruit juices, gin, orange juice, raspberry schnapps, rum, schnapps, tropical fruit shots, vodka | 1 Response »
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Love Potion
1 oz. Absolut vodka
1 oz. Amaretto almond liqueur
1 oz. 99 Peaches schnapps
1 oz. Tropicana orange juice (no pulp)
1 oz. cranberry juice
Pour all of the ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake well and serve on the rocks (or without ice in a double shot glass). Enjoy !
If you read yesterday’s column, then you know that today’s recipe was submitted by Keith, whom we usually refer to as the office lackey. However, he is a lackey no more. Today and for the rest of the week, he is a full-fledged member of the taste team panel.
We had told him to do a little research and select what he really believed to be a tasty shot for us to try. And we made it clear he was to be absolutely certain that it was not a shot we have already sampled or reviewed. So what does this promising young kid do? He brings in three different recipes just to be safe and said he thought this one was a shooter that ” both the women and the guys might like “.
I think he’s aiming for a full-time spot on our panel.
So today, courtesy of Keith, we’d like to share the Love Potion shot with you.
The vodka and orange juice combination is a quite natural pair (screwdriver). And none of us thought factoring in a little cranberry juice would exactly hurt anything. So the interesting part would be seeing how the amaretto and the peach schnapps blended in. You can feel free to substitute your favorite brand of vodka for this drink. We used both Absolut and Skyy labels and they both worked well within the recipe.
Now one thing we do want to point out is that not only does the recipe call for shaking the ingredients in a shaker with ice, but it also suggests that you serve it in a glass on the rocks. The insinuation being a hi-ball glass or something similar. We did not do that. The orange juice and the cranberry juice were already cold as obviously we keep them refrigerated. And upon shaking all of the ingredients with ice in a shaker, we didn’t feel the need to then also serve it on the rocks. We taste test shots at ShareMyShot….not cocktails exactly. So we just poured the concoction into double shot glasses and it was chilled enough for our palates.
The Love Potion provided for some lively discussion by the panel. Ironically enough, Keith wasn’t a huge fan of the shot, although he didn’t make any faces or think it outright sucked. But the rest of us seemed to enjoy it more than he did. This may be because we have tasted a shot that combined Absolut, amaretto, and orange juice before in a shot called the Dirty Diaper. That is not to say that this was a duplicate recipe, though. There were additional ingredients in the Dirty Diaper such as Midori melon liqueur and Chambord raspberry liqueur. So this was definately something different.
The Dirty Diaper earned a 4 out of 5 from our panel, so we obviously thought the flavor combination tasted good. However, this shot didn’t have quite the exotic fruit flavor. A few of us aren’t huge fans of peach schnapps and having that in the mix versus Chambord raspberry liqueur might have been the difference maker. As strange as it may sound, the Love Potion just wasn’t quite as good as the Dirty Diaper.
It’s kind of funny to even find myself typing that.
But we gave the Love Potion a 3 on a scale of 5. It was still decent tasting and somewhat creative. It doesn’t pack that much of a punch. So we thought that since it wasn’t quite on a level with the Dirty Diaper, it deserved a solid 3 on our scale.
Thanks for doing a good job on your homework Keith, and maybe tomorrow we’ll find a recipe more to your liking.
Cheers !!
Posted in 3 Star Shots, 99 Peaches schnapps, Absolut, Amaretto almond liqueur, Caribbean, DeKuyper peach schnapps, Grey Goose Vodka, Hiram Walker peach schnapps, Hiram Walker schnapps, Ketel One vodka, Popov vodka, Skyy vodka, Smirnoff's vodka, Southern Comfort peach liqueur, Stolichnaya vodka, Tropicana orange juice, comfort shots, cranberry juice, flavored liqueurs, flavored schnapps, fruit juices, liqueurs, orange juice, peach schnapps, schnapps, tropical fruit shots, vodka | No Responses »
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010
Butt Pirate
1 1/2 oz. Captain Morgan spiced rum
1 1/2 oz. DeKuyper Buttershots liqueur
Shake both ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a shot glass. Enjoy !
One of the funnier (so he believes) guys on the taste panel brought this one in to the office citing it as his tribute to the Olympics. He said he was watching the men’s figure skating competition and it made him remember this shot recipe. Much like Jay Leno, he was his own best audience as he really cracked himself up with that joke. But he soon stopped laughing when one of the women on the taste team just casually asked him what he was doing watching the men’s figure skating to begin with?
He didn’t have an answer and eventually just cried out, ” Are we going to try this damn shot or not ? ”
Touchy….touchy.
Obviously the shot has nothing to do with the Olympics or men’s figure skating or anything like that. The name is derived from the two ingredients. Captain Morgan rum is named after a famous pirate and they use the pirate theme heavily in their logo and marketing. And the butt in this Butt Pirate obviously is from the DeKuyper Buttershots component.
So once the bad jokes and the insensitive remarks were over with, the group was ready to get up close and personal with the Butt Pirate. See how this bad boy tasted on our wet, wagging tongues.
Lord, I apologize for that there one…and please be with them pygmies down in New Guinea. {Larry the Cable Guy}
Anyway, we finally got down to business and when we tasted the shooter, one of the more serious and intelligent ladies on the panel said it tasted pretty damn close to a shot we tried about three or four months ago. And it hadn’t dawned on any of us how close the recipes were until she pointed it out. Back in September 2009, we tried the shot called Maple Syrup which was comprised of Captain Morgan and butterscotch schnapps.
This shot was basically the same thing with DeKuyper Buttershots replacing regular old butterscotch schnapps. The flavor was very close to tasting like maple syrup although (as we noted in September) it is thinner than a big spoonful of actual maple syrup. It tastes pretty good if you like sweeter tasting shooters.
So not only does this dipshit on our panel:
1) think he’s funny (he’s not)
2) insult the Olympics and our talented US men figure skaters (but he also)
3) brings in a damn recipe that we basically have tried before and already written about
Someone suggested that we kick him off of the panel for the rest of the week and replace him with office lackey Keith. Which is exactly what we did. And we told Keith to do some research and provide tomorrow’s recipe…..one that we haven’t seen before !
You’d have thought Keith just won the gold in the men’s freestyle skate. Talk about excited over a three day promotion. He stopped just short of thanking the Motion Picture Academy of America, the Dalai lama, and Emily Dickinson for chrissakes.
ShareMyShot gives the Butt Pirate a 4 on a scale of 5 —just as we did the Maple Syrup shot. It tasted very good and we gave credit for the creativity of the name. And if you drink enough of these, you just may find yourself watching the men’s figure skating competition yourself. So in the end, the Butt Pirate earned a 4 from the panel.
Cheers !!
Posted in 4 Star Shots, Buttershots, Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Caribbean, DeKuyper Butterscotch Liqueur, DeKuyper Buttershots liqueur, Hiram Walker Butterscotch schnapps, butterscotch schnapps, flavored liqueurs, flavored rum, flavored schnapps, liqueurs, rum, schnapps | No Responses »
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
Fainting Goat
1/2 oz. Bacardi Limon rum
1/2 oz. Bacardi Coco rum
1/2 oz. Bacardi Vanila rum
1/2 oz. Bacardi O rum
1/2 oz. Bacardi Razz rum
1 splash cranberry juice
Combine all of the rums into a tumbler with ice. Add enough cranberry to turn the drink a light red color. Shake well and strain into a large shot glass. Enjoy !
No, we aren’t being paid a promotional fee by the folks at Bacardi to try this shooter. It was suggested to us by a bartender we know named Kathy. She works at the Smilin’ Goat Pub on 47th Street in Lyons, Illinois.
Actually, I was a little surprised that she was able to come up with this shot when I stopped in there the other day for a couple of cold ones. The Smilin’ Goat is definately a beer-and-a-shot bar. Don’t get me wrong…..it’s a cool little place with some friendly regulars and cutie pie Kathy there behind the bar. But it is a small place. And it’s definately not the type of place you associate with exotic drinks or expensive, creative shots. I wouldn’t have thought that they had all of these varieties of Bacardi behind the counter to fix this shot.
Well, it turns out (per Kathy) that they do not claim to have invented this shot at all. They heard about it elsewhere. But the name they were given was the Fainting Goat and both she and the owner of the Smilin’ Goat tried it and really liked it. So they thought it would be a nice “house shot” to offer at the Smilin’ Goat. They admit that not too many people order it, but they always have the Bacardi fixings “at the ready” for whenever someone does ask for one. The price deters many of the regulars at $8.50 per shot. But they say that sometimes a group of three or four of the “younger crowd will order a round when they’re celebrating something or just getting happy“.
Good enough explanation for us. We’re happy to give this rummy shot a try.
Obviously, it’s not all that hard to make; equal parts of the (5) different blends of Bacardi rum, and as the recipe states…enough cranberry to make the overall hue slightly reddish. It’s served chilled.
We found it to be a pretty tasty mix. We’ve used Bacardi O somewhat recently in the recipe for the G Spot. And almost all of us on the taste panel have tried the other flavors too—-the Bacardi vanilla blend, the Bacardi Limon, etc. So none of the ingredients were exactly foreign to us. It was just a matter of how good they would taste in one, single invention.
And as I said, the answer was pretty good. The lemon / lime citrus flavor of the Limon was pretty evident, as was the taste of raspberry from the Razz. Although we do acknowledge that particular tinge may have been enhanced or complemented by the addition of the cranberry juice. As far as the least evident flavor, it was somewhat hard to identify the vanilla thru all of the tangy fruit flavors. The coconut from the Coco blend may have disguised it somewhat.
This was a fun shot. We enjoyed trying to discern the various components. ShareMyShot gives this house shooter at the Smilin’ Goat in Lyons, Illinois a 4 on a scale of 5.
Stop on in and see our friend Kathy behind the bar. And order yourself a Fainting Goat while you’re at the Smilin’ Goat.
Cheers !!
Posted in 4 Star Shots, Bacardi Coco rum, Bacardi Limon rum, Bacardi O, Bacardi Razz rum, Bacardi Vanila rum, Caribbean, Smilin Goat, citrus rum, coconut rum, comfort shots, cranberry juice, fruit juices, rum, tropical fruit shots, vanilla rum | No Responses »
Monday, January 18th, 2010
Blonde Bimbo
1/2 oz. Malibu coconut rum
1/2 oz. Hiram Walker peach schnapps
1/2 oz. Tuaca citrus liqueur
1/2 oz. Dole pineapple juice
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into glass.
This recipe comes to us from a friend of mine named Beth who bartends at a little pub called Spanky’s out in Lyons, Illinois. I’ve known Beth for a good 20 years now and she’s as blonde as the day I first met her. In fact, she used to have a huge party every year that she called the Blonde Bimbo Bash. There’d be flyers up all over town and she’d get a turnout of at least 250 people every year. It was a great party with a rockin’ band playing and then her mom would always be at the entrance collecting tickets / money from partygoers. So you always spent a few minutes saying ” HI ” to mom before actually going on in to the party.
Now married and the mother of a son herself, Beth doesn’t throw the Blonde Bimbo Bash anymore. But she tends bar on weekends to make a little side money and she shared this little ditty with me over the weekend and suggested the team give it a try.
This is the first time we have used Tuaca citrus liqueur and we had to send office lackey Keith down to the liquor store to get it. Tuaca is an Italian liqueur with a slightly sweet taste and an amber color. It is based from a fine, cask-aged brandy base and has a fruity flavor of vanilla and citrus. While not overtly expensive, this 70 proof brand might run you about $22-27 in a good liquor store.
Whenever we try a recipe from a friend’s suggestion—-especially a bartender friend—–we strongly encourage you to stick to the exact ingredients. So in this case, there are a variety of peach schnapps out there for you to choose from, but Hiram Walker is a rather inexpensive brand and we think you should stick with it. If you are going to change any of the ingredients for budget reasons, go with whatever pineapple juice you prefer the most.
The shot was very fruit flavored and was quite pleasant going down. When a shot has a tropical theme or anticipated flavor to it, I always like it served nice and chilled. Which the Blonde Bimbo is. Who likes it when their morning OJ or a glass of fruit juice gets warm? You have an abundance of fruit flavoring here with the pineapple, the coconut rum, the citrus liqueur, and the peach schnapps. While the coconut and the pineapple seemed the most pronounced to me, a few others on the team felt that the citrus liqueur was at the forefront. We all agreed the peach flavoring was probably the least identifiable.
ShareMyShot gives this tropical blend a 3 on a scale of 5. There was some solid discussion about giving it a 4. However, it doesn’t pack a major wallop and the pineapple juice and the peach schnapps held our score down to a 3. If it was the middle of July or August and we had the A/C cranking in the office, we just might have awarded it a 4. It is more of a summertime shot.
Thanks to Beth at Spankys in Lyons, Illinois for sharing this recipe. Drop in and see the original Blonde Bimbo sometime. She’s a real sweetheart.
Cheers !!
Posted in 3 Star Shots, Caribbean, Dole pineapple juice, Hiram Walker peach schnapps, Malibu Rum, Spanky's, Tuaca citrus liqueur, citrus liqueur, coconut rum, comfort shots, flavored liqueurs, flavored schnapps, fruit juices, liqueurs, pineapple juice, rum, schnapps, tropical fruit shots | No Responses »
Monday, January 4th, 2010
Pain in the Ass
1 oz. Midori melon liqueur
1/2 oz. Bacardi 151 rum
1 oz. Malibu coconut rum
1/2 oz. DeKuyper Sour Apple Pucker schnapps
2 oz. Dole pineapple juice
2 oz. 7-Up soda
Pour the Midori melon liqueur, the Bacardi 151, the Sour Apple Pucker, and the Malibu Rum into a large double shot glass or a highball glass. Top it off with equal parts pineapple juice and 7-Up. Stir and serve.
We wanted to share a daring shot with you for the first recipe of 2010. And it doesn’t get more daring than the Pain in the Ass. Here’ s a shot that calls for a half-dozen different ingredients and is a 7 oz. shooter / drink. Just making it was a bit of a pain in the ass according to our corporate bartender.
Sometimes we do offer up a recipe that could be argued to be more of a ‘drink’ rather than a shot.
But we look at it this way: a typical “bomb” shot is usually at least 4-6 oz. I have a buddy who makes Jagerbombs with about 1/3 of a highball glass of Jagermeister and then a good 1/2 glass of Red Bull. When you drink it, it requires 3-4 swallows to get it down. So if a recipe calls for a highball glass or upwards of 6-7 fluid oz. we just look at it as a “bomb” shot.
Sometimes you just have to quaff down a big ol’ shot in the name of corporate research, ya know? Nobody ever said this job was easy. If the shot is a big one and tastes like balls, the luster of being on the ShareMyShot taste team wears off just a little bit. Not all of them are 5 star shots.
And the Pain in the Ass is certainly no 5 star shot.
We think there is just a little too much at work here. We reward creativity and an unusual blend of ingredients. But in this case, there was too much competition for dominance. The melon liqueur and the coconut rum are a nice combination. We’ve seen it before in other recipes for fruity, tropical, Carribean-type shots. And even adding in the Bacardi 151 doesn’t interfere with those flavors. The 151 rum is actually welcomed to add a little punch to the shot.
The pineapple juice is another tolerable ingredient to add to those first three components. But then when you add in the Apple Pucker and then 7-Up soda too………that made it a bit much.
I haven’t had a ton of shots that call for 7-Up soda or even Sierra Mist, Sprite, etc. And in this case, it contributed a fizzy, carbonated element that we felt interfered somewhat with the fruitier flavors. And the Apple Pucker seemed misplaced in this recipe.
ShareMyShot.com gives this elaborate mix a 1 on a scale of 5. It may have scored higher without the Apple Pucker and the soda in there.
But there’s always one or two ingredients that just have to be a royal pain in the ass.
And in this case, they kind of ruined the Pain in the Ass.
Cheers !!
Posted in 1 Star Shots, Apple Pucker, BOMBS, Bacardi 151, Caribbean, Malibu Rum, Midori melon liqueur, Seven Up soda, coconut rum, flavored liqueurs, fruit juices, liqueurs, melon liqueurs, pineapple juice, rum, schnapps, tropical fruit shots | No Responses »
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Grinch’s Christmas
1 1/2 oz. Skyy vodka
1/2 oz. Midori melon liqueur
1/2 oz. Cointreau orange liqueur (Triple Sec)
1/2 oz. Mr and Mrs T Sweet and Sour mix
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake well and strain into a double-size shot glass. Serve and enjoy.
Yesterday we shared the Dirty Christmas Tree with you and were very pleased with how that recipe went. Even though the name suggests it might be a real stiff or “manhood-challenging” kind of shot, it wasn’t. Turns out it was a very fruity, tropical type of shot and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.
So today, we have a holiday shot with another ominous name; Grinch’s Christmas.
It actually shares half of the ingredients in the Dirty Christmas Tree. Normally we would like to mix things up a bit and wouldn’t post such similar shooters consecutively. But hey !! Like I said, we really enjoyed yesterday’s sampling and it’s almost Christmas, for Christ’s sake ! Like most offices around the US, less and less productivity is happening every day. Sales calls take longer as you exchange holiday greetings with your suppliers and clients. People in the office are standing around munching Christmas cookies and brownies and telling each other what they’re doing for the holidays.
It’s all part of the fabric of this country. It’s what we’re supposed to be doing. It’s the American way, dammit !!
And it’s no different at the ShareMyShot office.
So we pulled the Midori melon liqueur and the sweet and sour mix back out from the corporate cabinet. But in today’s recipe, Skyy vodka replaces the rum that was prominent in yesterday’s shot. You can actually go with another high-quality vodka if you’d like such as Absolut or Grey Goose. Any of those three brands will suffice.
And then Cointreau (Triple Sec) joins the party with it’s sweet orange flavoring contribution.
As the spokesman for the ShareMyShot taste team, all I can tell you is that we are really digging these dangerously named Christmas shooters. This one was deemed just as good as yesterday’s shot. The melon and the orange combined to make a fruit flavor that was accented by the vodka. It had the very slightest screwdriver taste (vodka and pure orange juice). But not really. The Midori melon flavor joined in to make it taste like a cold, refreshing, shot of fruit juice like you would drink after a workout.
The Cointreau and the sweet and sour mix joined forces to provide the sweetness that suggests the fruit juice imagery.
We gave this Dr. Seuss shot a 4 on a scale of 5 for basically the exact same reasons as yesterday. It tastes delicious. But it doesn’t pack enough of a punch to warrant the top mark. Vodka typically will affect people more than the coconut rum component in yesterday’s recipe. But it still is not enough to give this shot the pop it needs to garner a perfect score.
Don’t be afraid to go head-to-head with this Grinch. He’s a real softie.
Cheers !!
Posted in 4 Star Shots, Absolut, Caribbean, Christmas, Cointreau Triple Sec, DeKuyper Triple Sec, Grey Goose Vodka, Ketel One vodka, Midori melon liqueur, Mr and Mrs T Sweet and Sour Mix, Popov vodka, Skyy vodka, Smirnoff's vodka, Stolichnaya vodka, Sweet and Sour Mix, Triple Sec, flavored liqueurs, holiday shots, liqueurs, melon liqueurs, tropical fruit shots, vodka | No Responses »
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Dirty Christmas Tree
1/2 oz. Midori melon liqueur
1/2 oz. Malibu coconut rum
1/2 oz. Dole pineapple juice
1/2 oz. Mr and Mrs T Sweet and Sour Mix
1 drop grenadine syrup
Shake all of the ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker except the grenadine. Strain into a shot glass. Then add just a drop or two of the cherry grenadine to the bottom and serve ! It should be green on top and red on the bottom if prepared correctly.
Here’s a shot that was suggested to us at the launch party last week for Harlem liqueur. A guy named Rick shared it with us when he learned where we worked. Apparently he tends bar at a nearby pub close to where the party took place. I asked him the name a couple of times so I could give him full credit, but don’t believe I ever got it out of him. Maybe he feared that if ShareMyShot didn’t like his holiday shooter, he didn’t want to be held responsible or have the name of his bar get credit for it.
The Dirty Christmas Tree sounded intriguing enough. Since I started at ShareMyShot.com a few months ago, my appreciation for melon liqueur has gone up considerably. I never really messed around with it too much thinking it was sour or bitter like something in the Pucker family. But I’ve since learned that is not the case. It’s much smoother and fruitier and blends really well with a good dance partner.
Malibu rum and pineapple juice usually make a good showing too. So we were pretty confident this shot wouldn’t taste terrible.
We did want to get the aesthetic aspect of the shot correct as Rick stressed that it was a big part of what makes the shot Christmas-y and festive. We asked him that if the grenadine is added last—-after the shot is poured into the glass from the cocktail mixer—–does it sink to the bottom where it is supposed to belong ? He said “YES” ; that is how you should do it. He added that if you put the grenadine in first at the bottom of the shot glass, and then pour the shot in on top of it, it will be washed into the shot and lose its bottom-feeder appearance. So add the dash of grenadine in last and let it sink in the glass via its density.
It all worked out pretty well. The melon, coconut, and pineapple flavors worked wonderfully together. It tasted more like a Caribbean shot or a tropical fruit shot more than a Christmas type of shot. But that was fine with our taste team. We came pretty close on getting the visual appeal we were after although the grenadine didn’t drop as perfectly as we hoped. It spread out a bit as it permeated the shot and didn’t sit quite as cleanly as Rick suggested it might.
Then again, he’s a bartender and should be able to pour a prettier shot than us.
I’m just sayin’.
ShareMyShot.com gives the Dirty Christmas Tree a 4 on a scale of 5. It almost garnered our top rating. But we felt it doesn’t pack the punch required to match it’s superior taste. From a flavor standpoint, it scored a 5. From a potency standpoint, it scored a 3. So that is how we determined it to register a 4 out 5.
Now if Rick the Bartender had only told us the name of the bar he worked at, we could give them a “shout out” on sharing a great shooter.
Rick, if you’re out there………email us and we’ll give you your proper kudos. ‘Til then………
Cheers !!
Posted in 4 Star Shots, Baja Bob's Sweet and Sour Mix, Caribbean, Christmas, Grenadine, Malibu Rum, Midori melon liqueur, Mr and Mrs T Sweet and Sour Mix, Sweet and Sour Mix, coconut rum, flavored liqueurs, fruit juices, holiday shots, liqueurs, melon liqueurs, pineapple juice, rum, tropical fruit shots | No Responses »
