Cocktails Archives - Memos and Mirth

A trip to Virginia Wine Country

October 19, 2017

The outdoor areas of Quattro Goombas Winery in Middleburg, Virginia

My knowledge of wine is limited, so when people say that they are going to “wine country,” I assume that they are headed to Napa or Europe. Apparently Virginia has a wine country as well, which we explored on a recent day trip to Middleburg, VA.

Our first stop was Quattro Goomba’s — a winery about 40 miles away from Washington D.C.

Quattro Goomba’s also has a brewery. That is where we spent most of our time because: beer > wine (particularly on muggy weekends.)

A sampler flight at Quattro Goombas Brewery in Middleburg, Virginia

The outdoor areas of Quattro Goombas Winery in Middleburg, Virginia

The main hall of Quattro Goombas Brewery in Middleburg, Virginia

Kids playing in the outdoor areas of Quattro Goombas Winery in Middleburg, Virginia

Beer among the children

Quattro Goomba’s is a very family-friendly place that bans tour buses. There are large open spaces with dogs and children running around.

Cocktails

Flamingo Pool Cocktails

August 16, 2016

Amazon purchases at the pool are generally a bad life choice, but there are exceptions.

Last week we saw a guy with a flamingo beverage floatie at the pool. It was so campy that we had to buy some (because, adulting.) A quick Amazon search revealed that flamingo floaties are only $15 for a dozen, so the purchase was a no-brainer.

Flamingo cocktails with floaties.

At the iLume pool with our moonshine based cocktails.

Moonshine-based cocktails at the iLume pool.

Cocktails / Oak Lawn

Summer Pool Cocktails

July 13, 2016

The pool is one of the best parts of my apartment building.

It’s a great place to relax and socialize with a cocktail during the ~~horribly~~ hot Dallas summers.

However, this summer we had to change our pool strategy.

The demographics of our apartment building changed this spring and now the pool is overrun with children. Our neighbors like to lounge around the pool with booze, whereas children love to run, scream, dive, and splash each other.

It is hard to relax with a mimosa when your pool feels like a Chuck E. Cheese waterpark.

That’s why we fled to iLume – the building across the street. Our complex has the same owner, so they allow us to use the iLume pool for small one-time fee. The awkwardness of walking on Cedar Springs with a bathing suit on is totally worth it.

Cocktails at the iLume Park pool in Oak Lawn, Dallas.

Cocktails / Just Sayin / Oak Lawn

Why Neighborhood Bars are Not on the Decline

May 19, 2016

After living in Texas for almost a year, I still occasionally experience culture shock.

For example, when I visited Whole Foods in Highland Park for the first time, I was surprised to see a woman inspecting the kale selection while nursing a glass of wine.

Apparently all of the Whole Foods stores in Dallas have bars and happy hour at the grocery store is “a thing.” Perhaps alcohol makes the prices easier to swallow?

Many business are getting into booze – you can drink at most fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle and Taco Cabana, and even Starbucks offers wine now.

Cocktails / Oak Lawn

The Odyssey: Finding a Pabst Blue Ribbon Tallboy in Dallas

May 11, 2016

Michael and I went on an epic PBR journey in the gayborhood.

Pabst Blue Ribbon is a beer that I fell in love with back in Minnesota.

PBR is the beer of the hipster crowd – a cheap light beer that actively markets to young musicians and artists. You could not go to a dive bar or lesbian dance night in Minneapolis without seeing a sea of PBR cans.

The special thing about PBR is that it comes in 16 ounce “tallboy” cans despite being the same price (if not cheaper) than Budweiser. That’s why PBR is a favorite among broke grad school students.

Cocktails

Drinking the Kool-Aid

May 10, 2016

I started regularly drinking Kool-Aid for the first time since grade school.

Although I feel incredibly judged while buying Kool-Aid packets at Kroger, my intentions are rather responsible.

I buy Kool-Aid for two reasons:

Staying hydrated in this Texas heat, and,
Avoiding the awful ingredients and calories in many cocktail mixers.

So I recently started throwing Kool-Aid in my ice sphere molds. (I bought mine at World Market in Oak Lawn, but they are the same price on Amazon.)

During the day, I pop the colored ice spheres into club soda or mineral water. The ice spheres release a light color and flavor which is identical to many of the expensive flavored waters at the store.

In the evenings and weekends, the colored ice spheres can be used as a calorie-free way of spicing up a vodka-soda or mimosa.

Cocktails

Why I put ice in my wine

May 5, 2016

Something glorious happened last week on The Real Housewives of Dallas – two of the cast members were gossiping by the pool and pulled out wine glasses full of ice!

I felt vindicated because I was watching the show with a big ball of ice floating in my Olivia Pope wine glass.

Although there is considerable debate, the conventional wisdom is that tossing ice in wine is tacky and ruins the flavor.

Cocktails

Olivia Pope Wine Glasses

April 22, 2016

I spend my mornings speaking with the President of the United States, afternoons covering up scandals for Washington D.C.’s most powerful politicians, and end my days drinking out of outrageously sized wine glasses.

Only one of those things is true.

After watching ABC’s Scandal one evening, I finally committed to buying Olivia Pope wine glasses.

Cocktails

Smirnoff Ruby Watermelon Cocktails

March 15, 2016

Dallas Pool Season is in Full Swing

That is why we are still experimenting fancy cocktails. The coconut cocktail holders were a hot mess, but I found that watermelon is far easier to handle and more reliable.

Here’s the recipe for a Smirnoff Ruby Watermelon cocktail that we enjoyed this weekend at the pool:

2 shots of Smirnoff Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka
1 shot of Fresh Watermelon Juice
1 shots of Sprite Zero
1 shot of Cranberry Juice

And then serve in a watermelon bowl!

Note that the portions may need to be adjusted for the size of your watermelon bowl and booze tolerance.

Cocktails

Rainy Day Gin Cocktails

March 10, 2016

It has been a soggy week in Dallas.

Dallas does not handle rain well at all – Oak Lawn floods terribly every time it rains. Potholes turn into ponds, and everything is generally gross and muddy in the gayborhood.

Huge storms also result in power outages, where our bartenders have to serve cocktails by cellphone light.

My favorite bartender serving cocktails by cellphone-light because of a power outage at the Cedar Springs Taphouse.

We aren’t letting the weather get us down however. Michael and I are enjoying the breaks in the rain with a fabulous new cocktail: the Stormy Weather.

Cocktails / Oak Lawn

Smirnoff Coconut Cocktails

March 8, 2016

It is pool season in Dallas again, and that means it is time for tropical cocktails.

This Sunday we had a large grill-out at the iLume Park pool (before the National Showman Pageant) and we got tropical.

Although the go-to tropical drinks are typically rum-based, I decided that it was time to give Smirnoff Coconut a try.

Getting ready to make Smirnoff Coconut Cocktails.

How to Make a Smirnoff Coconut Cocktail

Cocktails / LGBT / Oak Lawn

Lessons learned on the Cedar Springs Wine Walk

March 3, 2016

Drinking at the UPS Store wasn’t on my bucket list, but it sure was fun.

Some of my neighbors and I finally made it to the Cedar Springs Wine Walk. This monthly event has been going on for a while, but this is the first time we got organized enough to actually attend.

And gurl…

The Wine Walk is outright dangerous.

For $10, you get a wine glass which the local businesses fill up for free. We made it to about 5 places before we had to start carrying people home.

Cocktails / LGBT / Oak Lawn

The Dallas Stoli Cocktail Classic at the Round-up Saloon

March 2, 2016

There were some Monday-night shenanigans this week.

As if the Erika Jayne concert and being selected for the Hotels.com campaign weren’t exciting enough, Michael and I decided to continue the fun at the Stoli Key West Cocktail Classic on Monday night.

Even though we have seen the advertisements for this event for weeks, we did not seriously consider going to it until we bumped into Stoli LGBT ambassadorffat the Erika Jayne show.

Patrik reminded us that the Key West Cocktail Classic was happening and told us to RSVP.

Apparently only Michael got the message – RSVP’s were already closed by the time I got around to the website. However Patrik got me a wristband anyway.

The Key West Cocktail Classic as totally worth it.

I expected the cocktail classic to look more like a career fair (booths with several sample-sized cocktails.) It turned out to be a full show hosted by Patrik and local gay celebrity Steve Kemble.

Real Housewife LeeAnne Locken was also three as a judge.

The celebrity judges at the Stoli cocktail classic including Steve Kemble and LeeAnne Locken.

Most of the major gay bars on the strip were represented at the mix-off.

The owner of Liquid Zoo was also a participant – she was a stand-in for one of her bartenders who is recovering from cancer.

Cocktails

Boozy Chocolate Cocktails

September 8, 2015

It’s still pool season in Dallas.

My building always has an informal pool party on Labor Day. The management company stocks the pool fridge with about 100 pounds of meat and soda, which we can grill throughout the weekend.

Almost everyone also brings cocktails to my apartment building’s pool, but most us don’t put much effort into our drinks.

This weekend it was time to step our cocktail game up.

Boozy chocolate drinks at the iLume pool in Dallas, Texas.

Ingredients

Chocolate Candy Bars
Vanilla Ice Cream
Chocolate Syrup
Maraschino Cherries
Nut Topping
Milk
Cream Liquor
Rum
Ice

Boozy chocolate drink recipe with Baileys and Captain Morgan White Rum.

Cocktails

Swedish Mojito

July 12, 2014

A Swedish Mojito is a light vodka-based variant on a classic mojito.

Mojitos are my summer drink of choice, but I hate the fuss and calories associated with the traditional recipe. As part this summer’s Svedka kick, I’ve made a vodka-soda mix that takes like a mojito.

Cocktails

Tenochtitlan Cocktail

July 8, 2014

Today’s Cocktail Experiment…

Today I created what I’m calling “The Tenochtitlan Cocktail.” It’s is a fruity Svedka-based drink. Creating it is a little complicated (from a dish-washing perspective) because it requires a blender, but the hassle is totally worth it.

And yes, those are reused cups from Lush. Don’t judge me.