This is a fairly complex cocktail with three alcohols trying to duke it out – rum, vodka and apricot flavored brandy. There is also lime juice and grenadine.

Now, I made a big faux pas with this drink. I poured it in a martini glass. The proper glass for this drink is a champagne flute.

Wanted a mimosa like drink to go with the lunch sitting in the sun by the pool. But did not want too sweet a drink. Went with a drink called soiree – pomegranate juice, limoncello and champagne.

This is a spin off from a Sidecar. The rum is extra. Else, it has the usual brandy, lemon juice and triple sec. (Sidecar uses a similar orange liqueur – Cointreau). The proper garnish for a “Between the Sheets” is a flamed orange peel as done here. The drink originates from Paris in the 1930s.

A Monte Carlo is basically a variation of a Manhattan and dates back to 1948. It uses Rye Whisky (I used Templeton) and bitters (I used Angostura). And instead of vermouth, it uses Benedictine. Being a brandy based liqueur with something like 56 herbs and spices (that includes saffron), it brings a very different flavor and finish to the sips.

Classical Margarita!

This recipe again comes from the book gifted to me by my friend Murali Hegde. While a Typhoon is often made of gin, anisette, lime juice and champagne, curiously, the Difford’s Guide lists this drink without champagne. Not sure where that switch happened.

Not sure about the origin of the name, but this has blended scotch, sweet vermouth, triple decker and lime juice.

Nice pre-dinner cocktail for a cold evening.

Thought to be the original drink that eventually became a Martini, there are many compositions of this drink. I am going with the book Murali sent me, which would have you 2 ounces of gin (I used Bombay Sapphire), 3 ounces of dry vermouth, 4 drops of maraschino liqueur and 4 drops of Angostura bitters.

… I got it into my head that I need to create an environment to take good pictures of them. My rather low-end-technology solution was to drape a one yard black velvet cloth that I had bought from Jo Ann Fabrics (there are few things in the world as funny as watching me clueless in a fabric shop) over two bottles of wine and take the shot with the cocktail in front.

I am not the best when it comes to DIY projects. But that does not mean that I have not inflicted my share of damage. Yesterday, I started on a project to build a dark box to take pictures of my drinks. The end product – a result of a wine box from Raptor Ridge, couple of trips to Lowes, some indelible marks on my arm for not taking proper precautions while spray painting and a burnt finger aside (you will be surprised how those Gorilla glues can hurt you), I have something that is workable. Even put in a LED light in it.

I am going to try this for some time and see how it works out. If it does, I might put a paint on the outside and put in a carrying handle.

The tried and true scotch and Drambuie cocktail.