Boozy Watermelon Mint Agua Fresca

I debated for a while as to whether or not I should post this recipe.  You see, I had this grand plan of creating a watermelon mojito and knocking my own socks off with it.  I muddled that watermelon like nobody's business.  I ripped that mint apart with a vengeance.  I poured that rum like a boss.  And then came the part where I topped the whole thing off with ginger ale.

Hmmm...I may have forgotten to purchase ginger ale at the grocery store.

OK, time to MacGyver this thing up.  (If you don't know who MacGyver is, then I'm sorry.  Also, we cannot be friends.)  A girlfriend of mine loves to order vodka waters whenever we go out.  In my time of need, I rustled up a pitcher of water and poured it into my glass.

It was actually pretty good! I was shocked.  I really didn't expect it to be as tasty as it was.  This watermelon and mint is once again a winning combo for me.  Mixed together with sugar, water, rum, and lemon juice, this drink is definitely a quick boozy situation to savor in the last days of summer.

Malted Milk Ball Guinness Floats

It's time to get your float on.  Cause it's summer and you can justify drinking these as "beverages" and/or dessert.  Go get you some.

Can we all agree that there's nothing better than ice cream/gelato/fro yo?  I'm not picky, really.  All of these frozen custards call to me and I will immediately cave.  I fell victim to a pint of Malted Milk Ball gelato last week.  There may also have been a Key Lime Graham gelato flavor picked up at the same time.  What can I say?  I'm weak.

I started thinking about what to do with these newly acquired desserts.  Of course I could just eat them.  Nothing wrong with that, clearly.  However, I could also try to be creative and make something else out of them.

Enter the Guinness.  Have I mentioned before how I'm in a Guinness phase?  Probably.  To continue this trend, I decided a Guinness float was in order.  One can never have enough Guinness floats.

Candy Cane Vodka

This year, a few friends of mine decided to set up a Secret Santa exchange.  We got really into it and it ended up being more than awesome.  As I was deciding which gifts to give, Tracy from Shutterbean got all up in my face.  You know what she did?  She showed me how to make Candy Cane Vodka.  I was beside myself.

I'm not typically a fan of vodka.  Did you know that?  Probably not.  But I do make certain exceptions.  The first is for Strawberry Infused Vodka.  The second is for this Candy Cane Vodka.  I love the way it looks so pink and pretty.  It also tastes amazingly peppermint-y.  And it's hella strong.  Yeah, I said "hella".

Anywaysssss, I got super excited about this.  I knew I had to make this goodness for my Secret Santa and also the other ladies in the exchange.  Because why not share all this wealth?  I picked up some containers from Michael's (which, by the way, is the death trap for all things Christmas-y) and got to work.

Pineapple Sangria

Dearest friends:  I apologize for being absent for so long.  You see, I've spent the past few weeks visiting the South (Huntsvilleeee, what up!), rehearsing (thinking about rehearsing) for a dance performance coming up in September, and traveling to Vermont to be a bridesmaid for my friend's wedding.  And when I wasn't doing any of that stuff, I was probably at work.

I will be so excited when I finally get to spend 24 hours within a 1hr radius of my home.  It looks as if that won't happen until this Friday.  As I patiently await that beautiful day, I will shower you with booze, courtesy of Camille of the Growing Up Gabel blog, which happens to be my Secret Recipe Club assignment this month!

Gee, what can I say about this liquid gold?  First of all, I love pineapple.  Second of all, I love wine.  And these two things happen to be the main ingredients in this awesome and simple cocktail.  I also happen to have quite a paltry selection of beverages on this blog.  And by "selection", I'm talking about my lone strawberry infused vodka beverage post.  I figured I should do something about that.  Really, who can say no to a fruity, sparkling (and boozy) drink?

That's what I thought.

Strawberry Infused Vodka

I've got a new obsession.  Let's be clear.  I have a new obsession every few weeks, but this one is cracking me up.  It's called a podcast.  And they're funny, people.  Hilarious.

Let me stop here for a minute.  I know that many of you are already familiar with such things as a podcast.  But if you don't know, I'll explain.  A podcast is similar to a radio broadcast.  It's just broadcast across the internet instead of across the airwaves.  Just as with regular radio shows, these podcasts have themes and regular hosts.  They don't have to be funny, but why would you listed to a podcast if it wasn't entertaining?

My favorite podcast these days is hosted by Joy The Baker.  And even though it's called the Joy The Baker podcast, Joy is actually having a discussion with Tracy from the Shutterbean blog.  They talk about everything that you care about, everything that you don't care about, and sometimes they even talk about food.  They have the most hilarious commentary ever and it's totally worth listening to every week.

What does this have to do with infusing vodka? I'll tell you.  In one of these podcasts, Tracy mentioned that she likes to infuse strawberries into vodka.  I'm not mad at her. I love this idea and ran out to purchase mason jars to do the exact same thing myself.

Strawberry Infused Vodka

recipe from the Shutterbean blog

Print Recipe

• 1lb strawberries, hulled and chopped roughly
• 750mL vodka (I used Skyy but any kind is fine)

1) Fill a mason jar or other sealable container with the strawberries.

2) Add the vodka almost to the top of the container.

3) Seal the container and store in a cool, dark place for 7 days.

4) Agitate the container daily.  (Try to do it twice each day, but if you forget it's fine.) DO NOT open the container before the 7 days are up.

5) When the vodka is ready, use a sieve to separate the strawberries from the liquid.  You can also choose to strain using a coffee filter if you don't want to have small dregs of strawberry seeds in your vodka.  (I didn't care so I just strained the vodka once using a sieve.)

6) Store the vodka in the refrigerator so that it's well chilled.

There are so many things you can do with this vodka.  Some of my personal faves include adding the vodka to cupcake frostings, drinking it chilled by itself, and including it in a mixed drink.  My favorite strawberry-infused vodka mixed drink?  A Strawberry G&T.  Yeah, get that strawberry gin and tonic.  I like my drink with a splash of lemon juice as well to make it a little tart.  And if I'm being super creative (also known as a super lush), I also add in a splash of tequila.  Do you see where this is going? So versatile. Love it.

Now get your drink on.