Yeah, I’ll admit it. I’m one of those people. It’s Thanksgiving and I think I have allllll this time to prepare for the holidays. ‘I’m going to get everything done in advance this year’, I tell myself. And then just as soon as I’m really getting in the holiday spirit and working on all kinds of fun Christmas cocktail and hors d’oeuvre ideas - BAM, it’s suddenly a week away and I’ve barely even begun my shopping.

Chances are, when you think of a Screwdriver, you think of...well, a pretty uninspired cocktail. Perhaps one of the least loved and universally unappealing of the two-ingredient cocktail recipes, the Screwdriver is a simple combination of vodka and orange juice. Sharply acidic while still tasting quite bland, there’s admittedly not much to love. I guess it’s the unlovable nature of the Screwdriver and it’s incredibly simple template that drew me to try to re-imagine it in clarified form. Plus, I really wanted to see if it would turn out completely clear.

I loooove a Paloma. Summer, winter - no matter what time of year, I can sit down and enjoy that blissful combination of grapefruit and tequila (or mezcal). Is it any wonder it’s Mexico’s favorite cocktail?

I have been wanting to make a milk-clarified cocktail for ages, and I finally sat down and did some research on the subject. If you’re not familiar, milk clarification is a technique used to render cocktails (typically punches) beautifully clear that was super popular back in the 1700s and 1800s. Back in the day, the end goal was less about pretty clear cocktails and more about softening the flavor of the booze and making a batched cocktail that would keep for a long time.

I’ve been wanting to create a savory small bite to pair with classic martinis for a while, and those cute organic, pre-cooked baby beets at the grocery store got me thinking. After a few different attempts that were overly complicated and not particularly delish, I arrived at this simple, elegant, and tasty hors d’oeuvre with baby beets, creme fraiche, fennel, walnuts, and my all time favorite mustard, Maille Old Style.

For some reason the moments when I’m first falling asleep or just coming to in the morning is when I tend to have sudden flashes of insight or inspiration. It’s like I do my best thinking when I’m sleeping. The other day as I was waking up to a pitch black morning (thanks daylight savings), I had a vision of a frosty pale purple coconut cocktail with violet liqueur and berries. Doesn’t that just sound dreamy? This is literally the stuff my dreams are made of.