Bermuda Rum Swizzle

September 20th is National Rum Punch Day, an appropriate celebration to send off the summer months. When it comes to choosing a rum with which to celebrate, the answer is as clear as Caribbean waters. Gosling’s Rums are synonymous with Bermuda and add that island touch to any cocktail.

No drink captured the essence of National Rum Punch Day better than the Bermuda Rum Swizzle. Made with Gosling’s Black Seal, Gosling’s Gold Rum and a blend of fruit juices, the Rum Swizzle will give you sunny skies long after summer’s end.

Click Below For Recipe

Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake

I recommend getting all of the ingredients ready in the blender and then toasting the marshmallows.  You want your marshmallows gooey and hot when you throw them in the blender so they incorporate nicely.  Marshmallows tend to get sticky and harden upon cooling down.

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Whiskey Sour

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August 20: National Lemonade Day

National Lemonade Day is when we honor that cool refreshing drink, lemonade!

Celebrate National lemonade day by getting creative with your favorite flavors and make pink lemonade, watermelon lemonade, iced tea lemonade, or any flavor you like. Just make sure you have plenty of lemons on hand as well as ice cubes, fresh water and sugar.

Regular lemonade is traditionally made with fresh squeezed lemons, water, sugar and ice. Simply use one cup of lemon juice, 2 cups of water and 2/3 to 1 whole cup of sugar, then pour the mixture over ice and enjoy!

Pink lemonade is made with the same basic lemonade recipe above but coloring it pink with grenadine. Pink lemonade actually originated in Greece, or so the story goes. Greek parents would have family gatherings and put red wine in the adult’s lemonade. The pink color served a dual purpose – the pink color distinguished the alcolic drink from the kids drink by color and the adults had a drink they enjoyed because of the alcohol.

Hard Lemonade is made by adding potent clear alcohol to the lemonade, such as tequila, gin, vodka, white rum, etc.

Here are a few more variations of lemonade you can enjoy on National Lemonade day. From Wikipedia:

* Various fruits, such as strawberries and raspberries can be added for color and flavor. A small amount of beet juice results in pink lemonade with little change in flavor.

* Herbs such as mint, borage, lavender, and lemon verbena can change the aroma of the drink.

* Including the peels, bruised and sliced, gives more bite and a stronger aroma.

* Other citrus fruits can be used, including lime, orange, and grapefruit. Sugar and water content should be adjusted to taste. In American parlance, these are not technically lemonades, but limeade, orangeade, etc.

And here’s my own recipe: Use the regular lemonade recipe above and add a dash of cinnamon or use a cinnamon stick as garnish in the glass. Crush a mint leaf with your fingers to release the flavor and toss it into the glass as well. Mmmm, cinnamon mint lemonade!

CLICK HERE FOR A GREAT LEMONADE RECIPE

Happy National Lemonade Day!

The Strawberry Daiquiri Cocktail

A frosty blender full of strawberry-citrus slush. You will enjoy this with or without the rum!

Click on photo for recipe

The Mai Tai Cocktail

Mai Tai translates from Tahitian to mean “Out of this World.” A fitting description for this cocktail. The Mai Tai came to light in 1944 in Oakland’s Trader Vic’s. There Victor Bergron, one of the founders of the tiki bar, put together this great drink that deserves to feature the best rum you can get your hands on. Over the years the recipe has changed greatly.

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The Hurricane Cocktail

The Hurricane became popular at Pat O’Briens bar in 1940’s New Orleans, apparently debuted at the 1939 World’s Fair and was named after the hurricane lamp-shaped glasses the first drinks were served in. It’s said that O’Brien created the heavily rummed drink as a means to get rid of the large stock of rum his Southern distributors forced him to buy.

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August 16: National Rum Day

Avast, me hearties! Yes, today (Aug 16th) is National Rum Day.

How did this day in August come to have such a special recognition? I get the question all the time and have yet to find the answer. Was it a marketing ploy by one of the rum companies? I know it wasn’t Bacardi because I asked. Is it some tribute to rum’s early influence on the founding of America?  Was it the ingenious idea of some bar hoping to sell more Hurricanes and Mai Tais? That’s another possibility and it could have been picked up by others in hopes of increasing sales of Strawberry Daiquiri. Or was it some lone guy, belly up to the bar and a few too many Mojitos in, who declared for the country that that day would forever be known as National Rum Day?

National Rum Day countdown courtesy of Mount Gay Rum. Click on the chart (above) to make it bigger and enjoy your drinks in color.

So the question of the week is… Who started National Rum Day, when did it begin and why? If you know the answer I’d love to be enlightened. Let us not dwell on this mystery too much and instead grab a great bottle of rum, some fresh fruit and start shaking up a great rum cocktail, we have an excuse!

Nothing speaks of warm weather and relaxation quite like a rum cocktail, especially if it has a fruity garnish and a paper umbrella. With August being the height of summer, today (Aug. 16) is the perfect occasion to celebrate National Rum Day.

Click on photo below for a great RUM CAKE recipe

Click here for more fun Rum recipes

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August 6th is National Root Beer Float Day

With smooth vanilla ice cream, coppery root beer, and frothy foam, a root beer float is an all-American classic. Root beer was manufactured, bottled, and sold starting in 1880, and legend has it that thirteen years later, the root beer float, which is sometimes referred to as a black cow, was first invented.

Free Root Beer float from A&W
In celebration of National Root Beer Float Day (August 6), A&W Restaurants will treat consumers to a free, A&W Original Root Beer Float, with any purchase.

To get your coupon, visit HERE and participate in a poll to share how you will enjoy your favorite treat: with a straw or a spoon.
The coupon is good for a free regular size Root Beer Float with any purchase  until Aug 21st. Coupons are good while supplies last and are valid at participating locations.

Click here to view today’s blog postings for more tips and recipes

 

Watermelon Cocktails

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National Coffee Milkshake Day

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BERRY BLUE SMOOTHIE

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Old-Fashioned Lemonade

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Refreshing Applemint Iced Tea

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New Year’s Champagne Punch

“A very pleasing alcoholic punch to start a party going. It is colorful and tastes delicious.”

Question: How Do I Estimate How Much Alcohol I Need for My New Years Eve Party?

Question: How Do I Estimate How Much Alcohol I Need for My New Years Eve Party?

Answer: Dear Reader:

There are several factors you’ll want to consider when you calculate the amount of alcohol you’ll need for a party.

Five Tips on making a great Martini

5 Tips to Making a Good Martini