Mixers

Homemade Raspberry Vodka Liqueur

December 20, 2018 By Darla Leave a Comment

This Homemade Raspberry Vodka Liqueur is tasty enough to drink straight! The vanilla beans and frozen raspberries beautifully flavor your favorite vodka.

Is it difficult to make flavored liqueurs?

I have become obsessed with making my own liqueurs! It is shockingly easy! I needed a raspberry liqueur for a cocktail, and I decided to make it the way that I wanted it to taste. Since, I have made several liqueurs so that my cocktails are extra special.

Frozen or fresh raspberries?

I used frozen raspberries in this liqueur, but fresh would work beautifully. If raspberries were in season, I would go berry picking myself!

Should I use real vanilla or imitation vanilla?

I deeply love vanilla. It can’t be just any vanilla, and it absolutely cannot be imitation vanilla. Because of this obsession of great vanilla, I used the most aromatic, perfect pods.

The vanilla gave the homemade raspberry vodka liqueur a lovely flavor that is easily drunk on the rocks.

It is essential that the combined ingredients for the raspberry vodka liqueur are left to rest in the refrigerator for at least five days! Make sure to shake it two to several times per day. I set the jar on a shelf so that I see it every time I open the refrigerator door. Doing this reminds me to shake it often.

How does the homemade raspberry vodka liqueur get that pretty color?

I don’t use any food colorings in the liqueurs that I make. The idea behind making your own liqueurs is that there are very few ingredients and nothing artificial!

You can use this raspberry liqueur in any cocktail that calls for raspberry liqueur. I daresay that you will be delighted with the outcome. Making this Homemade Raspberry Vodka Liqueur will elevate your cocktails! Cheers!

Homemade Raspberry Vodka Liqueur

This homemade raspberry vodka liqueur is tasty enough to drink straight! The vanilla beans and frozen raspberries beautifully flavor your favorite vodka.

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword Liqueur, Raspberry, Vodka

Ingredients

750 ml Vodka
2 Cups Frozen or Fresh Raspberries
2 Cups White sugar
1 Vanilla Bean

Instructions

Wash the vanilla bean. Gently slice the vanilla bean and open. Scrape the seeds into a quart jar and drop in the pod.
To the quart jar, add raspberries and sugar.
Fill the quart jar with vodka. There will be some remaining.
Shake the jar until the sugar dissolves and place in the refrigerator. Leave for no less than five days. Shake the jar twice daily.
After five days or more strain the liqueur into a bowl. Using a funnel, pour the liquid into a container of your choice and top it off with the remaining vodka. Or pour it directly into the vodka bottle that contains the remaining amount.

Watermelon Limeade

September 10, 2018 By Darla 4 Comments

Watermelon Limeade is a lovely way to enjoy the delightful nectar of a perfectly ripe watermelon! Juicy and sweet, this drink is an ideal refresher!

In Utah, we harvest watermelons as early as July. The local farmer’s market starts getting the best ones around mid-August. The rind is a gorgeous, green, and the flesh is a deep red and smells as sweet as it tastes. This is very important for a tastier Watermelon Limeade!

How Do You Know If a Watermelon is Ripe?

I love to handpick the best watermelon! A ripe watermelon should feel heavy. After all, it is mostly water. Knock on the melon or slap it to be sure that you hear a hollow sound. I can be found knocking on every watermelon in the bunch so that I pick the perfect specimen for my Watermelon Limeade. Where the melon meets the earth is called the “field spot.” That is precisely how it sounds, where the melon touches the field. If the field spot is white, it is not ripe. If it is yellow and sounds hollow, you’ve got a ripe watermelon.

Will My Watermelon Ripen After it is Cut From the Vine?

Watermelons do not continue to ripen after they are harvested. This does seem strange, but there is science to back it up. Watermelons are called a non-climacteric fruit, meaning that it does not produce large amounts of ethylene or CO2. Some other fruits in this family are pineapple, tangerines, cherries, grapefruit, oranges, grapes, and strawberries. They start to go bad rather than continuing to ripen. It is imperative to choose a watermelon at the peak of ripeness. This will ensure that your Watermelon Limeade tastes as amazing as it looks!

4.5 from 2 votes

Watermelon Limeade

Watermelon Limeade is a lovely way to enjoy the delightful nectar of a perfectly ripe watermelon! Juicy and sweet, this drink is an ideal refresher!~Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Keyword watermelon limeade

Ingredients

3 lbs Seedless watermelon
1/2 cup Fresh mint leaves
1 cup Fresh lime juice
1/2 cup Simple Syrup
2 cups Water

Instructions

In a blender add watermelon and mint.
Strain the melon mixture into a large bowl or pitcher.
Add in remaining ingredients and stir.
Serve over ice or chilled. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
**To make a Boozy Watermelon Limeade add 1.5 ounces of white rum to a highball glass and fill with Watermelon Limeade.

Tarragon Gin Lemonade

June 10, 2018 By Darla Leave a Comment

Tarragon Gin Lemonade exists on a higher plane than other gin and lemon cocktails. Its slight anise flavor enhances the lemon and highlights the herbaceous tones of the gin.

Could Tarragon in Drinks Become a New Favorite?

It’s time to enjoy warm, summer days and nights on the patio with friends. My tribe and I love lemonade, and it’s nice to put a bit of a twist on traditional lemonade. My ladies and I love a great cocktail, so Tarragon Lemonade becomes Tarragon Gin Lemonade with a splash of elderflower liqueur.

This Tarragon Gin Lemonade is the Flavor of Memories

If I could put my Aunt Marie’s garden into a cocktail, this would be the one! It’s fresh, light, herbaceous yet floral. This cocktail makes me want to take my tribe of girlfriends all the way to California to sit with my fantastic aunt and my wonderful, sweet Uncle Richard. I want to sit in their yard under the wisteria, amongst the flowers, veggies, fruits, and chickens and visit with my warm, loving, fascinating family! My tribe would love them all! This cocktail, to me, is that gorgeous garden, in a glass. The second name for this drink would be Aunty’s and Uncle’s Secret Garden.

I have recently become quite good friends with gin. There is a local distillery that has a high-quality gin for an affordable price. Summer flavors must be light yet flavorful and gin is the perfect choice. I could drink this cocktail all season long.

What Elements Make the Tarragon Gin Lemonade So Tasty?

There are a couple of essential elements that make this cocktail taste like a summer garden. First and foremost is the tarragon. It makes the flavors pop. Be sure that you don’t obliterate the tarragon. It only needs bruising. If you muddle too much, it can become bitter. The second essential element is the elderflower liqueur. You only need a little in this cocktail to feel like you are sitting under the pergola breathing in the variety of blooms.

Leo the corgi loves lemons! I had to banish him from the studio so that he didn’t drink from the pitcher and get tipsy from the cocktails!

I am excited about this cocktail. Let me know if you love it as much as I do!

Tarragon Gin Lemonade

To make this drink family friendly, simply omit the gin and the elderflower liqueur!

Course Drinks

Ingredients

2 Lemons Sliced
10 Sprigs Tarragon
1/2 Cup Sugar
3 Cups Water
2 Cups Fresh lemon juice
2 1/4 Cups Gin
3/4 Cup Elderflower Liqueur

Instructions

Put sliced lemons, tarragon sprigs and 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl or pitcher. Muddle together firmly but don't emaciate the tarragon. Bruise it.
Add the water, fresh lemon juice and 2 cups of sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves.
Add gin and elderflower liqueur stir well.
Strain into a highball glass with ice or fill a shaker halfway with ice. Shake 4-6 ounces in a shaker cup and strain into a cocktail or martini glass. Garnish with tarragon and a lemon wedge

Blood Orange Sour Mix

June 7, 2018 By Darla Leave a Comment

Blood Orange Sour Mix gives a flavorful twist to any cocktail that may require a sour mix. The intense orange flavor of a blood orange is accented by undertones of berries and pomegranate.

Blood Orange Sour Mix gives a flavorful twist to any cocktail that may require a sour mix. The intense orange flavor of a blood orange is accented by undertones of berries and pomegranate. ~By Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

Why Use Blood Orange in a Sour Mix?

It’s time to shake things up when it comes to sour mix! Imagine a Blood Orange Whiskey Sour or a Blood Orange Daiquiri. The shift to a citrus flavor that is bolder and has layers of taste is different and fun and, leaves you wanting more.

When making the Blood Orange Sour Mix, I used turbinado sugar. Many people think that it is raw sugar, but it is not. It is spun in a turbine until it is stripped of cane juices. The result is a sugar with a slight molasses flavor. It’s barely detectable but it adds something special to the cocktail. I use white sugar in my Classic Sour Mix.

In Which Cocktails Can I Use Blood Orange Sour Mix?

That is what is so amazing about Blood Orange Sour Mix! You can use it in anything and you’ll feel like you’ve just invented a new drink! The uses are truly endless. You can add it to a French 75, a SideCar, a Whiskey Sour and anything that requires a citrus sour mix!

Is it Sour Mix or Sweet and Sour Mix?

We have all heard it said both ways so it really is up to you. It’s nothing more than simple syrup that has been infused with citrus. So, between the sugar which is the sweet and the citrus which is the sour, it is easily called sweet and sour mix. I call it sour mix because that is how I learned to say it. Sweet and sour mix makes my tastebuds think Chinese take out!

How would you use Blood Orange Sour Mix?

Blood Orange Sour Mix

Course Drinks

Ingredients

3 Cups Sugar
3 Cups Water
3 Cups Freshly squeezed blood orange juice
1 Cup Freshly squeezes lemon juice

Instructions

Combine water and sugar in large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Cool.
Combine cooled simple syrup, blood orange juice, and lemon juice. Keep refrigerated. Will last for 7-10 days.

Smokin’ Mary Smoked Bloody Mary Mix

February 24, 2018 By Darla 1 Comment

I received the bottle of Smokin’ Mary Smoked Bloody Mary Mix as a gift from the company, However all of my fabulous thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

The world is falling in love with Smokin’ Mary Smoked Bloody Mary Mix! It has layers of rich, smokey, perfectly spiced, flavors that come alive in your mouth!

The Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco is a massive event with foods and beverages from all over the world! As I wandered the enormous rooms filled with tasty items, I grabbed a sample from Smokin’ Mary Smoked Bloody Mary Mix and stopped in my tracks!

Bloody Mary Mixer

As a general rule of thumb, I don’t use premade mixers. I tend to find them flat and dull. They lack depth as well as character. I am also quite picky about how my Bloody Mary tastes. I don’t want it to be plain, but I don’t want it to overwhelm me with heat. Smokin’ Mary Smoked Bloody Mary Mix is a beautiful balance that fits my palate perfectly!

I turned back to the booth to see what I was tasting and saw that people all around me were doing the same thing! They took a sip, declared how much they liked it and, went back to the booth to chat with the owners and find out how to buy more!

I stepped up to grab a business card, and Marc Nadeau, one of the creators of Smokin’ Mary Smoked Bloody Mary Mix shared with me how his wife, Laurie and he created the mix from fresh, California tomatoes and his smoker. I tend to get enthusiastic when something is amazing, and by the end of our talk, he’d given me a bottle to take home. Of course, I had to do a review! I was able to meet Laurie as well. I went back to see if she was available and chatted with her for a moment. They are such cool people! They are the type of folks that you could see yourself befriending.

Incredibly easy and awesome Bloody Mary!

I encourage you to check out the website! There are recipes for chili, spareribs and many other delicious dishes that have the Smokin’ Mary Smoked Bloody Mary Mix!
I followed the recipe on the website and added a tasty garnish! I used celery, thick cut pepper bacon and yummy, blue cheese stuffed, olives.

Pumpkin Pie Infused Vodka

February 14, 2018 By Darla 1 Comment

Pumpkin Pie Infused Vodka is simple to make and brings with it the scents and feelings of a cozy autumn evening in front of the fire.

I love pumpkin pie. I only eat it in the fall and throughout the holidays leaving the rest of the year pumpkin pie-less. The idea of Pumpkin Pie Infused Vodka makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I can smell autumn in the air by just thinking about it.

What to do with Pumpkin Pie Infused Vodka?

There are some fun ways to use this lovely concoction in cocktails. For example, a pumpkin pie martini, a pumpkin pie shot or a spiced pumpkin cocktail are all perfect on a chilly evening. The spices arouse your senses while the vodka warms your tummy. It’s perfect for any season that leaves a chill in the air.

I used canned pumpkin and the same spice blend that I use when I bake a pumpkin pie. I love to use local products so when I reach for a vodka, I grab one from a Utah distillery.

I do enjoy Five Wives vodka, not just for the name but also for the clean, crisp flavor that doesn’t burn off your uvula on the way down.

Why do I have to shake my Pumpkin Pie Infused Vodka so much?

It is important that you shake this jar of goodness as many times as you can. At least twice per day but I do it every time I open the refrigerator. This is the key to infusing the flavors.

What will you make with your Pumpkin Pie Infused Vodka?

Pumkin Pie Infused Vodka

The flavor of a pumpkin pie in a ready to use vodka

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1 Cup Pureed Pumpkin
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ground Allspice
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/2 tsp Ground Cardamom
750 ml vodka

Instructions

Place pureed pumkin, spices and vodka in a quart jar. Shake well and place in the refrigerator for 3 days. Be sure to shake it at least twice daily. Taste it to be sure it is to your liking. You can leave it to infuse for up to 5 days. To strain the pumpkin, use a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth. Strain it into another jar and refrigerate. It can keep for 4-5 months.
You can substitute 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice and 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom for the spice blend.

Homemade Grenadine

October 11, 2017 By Darla Leave a Comment

Homemade Grenadine is shockingly easy to make with pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon.

There was a time in America when women started to work more and the era of quick foods began. This was a time of meals in a box, frozen dinners, and take out. The era lasted a long time. Mostly because the children learned from their mothers to make quick foods. So it carried over to the next generation.

Homemade Grenadine is shockingly easy to make with pomegranate juice, water and sugar~ By Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

When my mother was young, she baked, canned, and prepared everything from scratch with her own mother, but by the time she had children, a job, and an active social life, she went for quick foods and I was not taught how to truly cook from scratch, except for baked goods. Mom’s hobby was baking and we did it every Sunday.

Homemade Grenadine is shockingly easy to make with pomegranate juice, water and sugar~ By Wet Whistle Drinks by Darla Bentley

I started to learn to cook when I married my husband. After we had children, we started hearing about food coloring being a carcinogen and that it increased the symptoms of things like ADHD and depression. Our children thought that they were being punished by having parents that would eliminate such fun, colorful things from their lives.

At that time, I had no idea that you could actually make things like homemade grenadine. As a matter of fact, I thought Grenadine was cherry flavoring! It’s pomegranate! Surprised? I was too.

Homemade grenadine can be used in all sorts of cocktails as well as fun drinks like a classic Shirley Temple!

Homemade Grenadine

Homemade Grenadine is shockingly easy to make with pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 Cups Pomegranate juice Squeeze your own or get a high quality, organic pomegranate juice.
2 Cups Sugar I use organic cane sugar
1/2 Juice from 1/2 lemon

Instructions

In a small saucepan mix the pomegranate juice and the sugar, stir on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. add in the lemon juice after the sugar has dissolved. Let cool. Pour into a storage container. The homemade grenadine will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator.
*If you'd like it to keep for up to a month, add 1 ounce of vodka for preservation.

Homemade grenadine can be used in all sorts of cocktails as well as fun drinks like a classic Shirley Temple!

Mint-Infused Vodka

October 5, 2017 By Darla Leave a Comment

Mint-infused vodka is tasty and easy! All you need is vodka and fresh mint! It adds great flavor to many different cocktails.

Mint-infused vodka is tasty and easy! All you need is vodka and fresh mint! I look forward to harvesting the apple mint from Larry’s family farm. It’s so much fun to go to the farm and hang out with my dear friends Larry and Cindy, and the dogs, cats, goats, and chickens. I usually bring too much mint home because it is one of my favorites. I love it in cocktails, especially a Moscow Mule, so it is natural for me to infuse vodka with mint.

There’s conflicting information about which vodka to use when you are infusing. It’s all a matter of opinion. My opinion is that you should use the vodka that you normally like to drink. I’ve used cheap vodka, and it tastes like cheap vodka with a mint. It is, of course, up to you. I like to use Utah’s own Beehive Vodka for my mint-infused vodka. It is made in small batches, and it is a fabulous quality. It is smooth and drinkable without breaking the bank.

Mint-infused vodka is tasty and easy! All you need is vodka and fresh mint! Infusing is an incredibly easy process, but keep a few things in mind before you start. For mint infusion, let it steep for five days. I like to shake it up a few times during the steeping process. Put it in a dry, dark, place for those five days. After you strain out the mint, put it in the refrigerator.

Mint-Infused Vodka

Mint-infused vodka is tasty and easy! All you need is vodka and fresh mint!

Course Drinks

Prep Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

3 1/2 Cups Vodka
1 1/2 Cups Fresh Mint

Instructions

Leave the stems on the mint. Gently crush the leaves in your hand and place them in a quart jar. Pour vodka over the mint and steep for 5 days. At the end of 5 days, strain the mint from the vodka and store in the refrigerator. If you reuse the the quart jar, rinse it before putting the vodka back into it. This will last 3-4 weeks in the the refrigerator.

Mint-infused vodka is tasty and easy! All you need is vodka and fresh mint! It adds great flavor to many different cocktails.