Sorry this week's newsletter is late. There was a coup (sadly not a coupe).
Hey everyone! I hope we all had a festive and safe new year!
This week we’re going to be looking at a couple of cocktails we can make with the half used bottles you probably picked up for the holidays. This is a great way to clear some room off your back bar so we can stock it with some new spirits for the new year.
Thank you for your support and please tag me @drinkswithdane on Instagram or #DrinksWithDane so I can raise a glass with you!
Spirit of the Month: Vodka
We’re going to be shaking up cocktails with vodka all month long, so now's a great time to pick a bottle up. We did a great vodka buying guide on week 9 of Drinks with Dane.
Pointsettia Cocktail
This is a great sparkling cocktail, festive for the holidays, but is a solid cocktail year around. This is great if you got an extra bottle of bubbly laying around. Orange Curacao and Triple Sec are staples and investing in a better bottle will pay off all year.
½ oz Orange Liqueur (Orange Curacao or Triple Sec)
1 oz Cranberry juice
Top with sparkling wine.
Combine the first two ingredients into a champagne flute and top with sparkling wine. Garnish with a rosemary sprig or orange twist.
The Cosmopolitan Cocktail
The modern classic that kicked off the third wave of craft cocktail interest in the early 1990’s. The origin of this cocktail is murky at best - early versions of this cocktail popped up in Provincetown, San Francisco, and Minneapolis in the 1970’s. Modern incarnation of this cocktail is credited to Cheryl Cook, bartender in South Beach in 1985 utilizing the new Absolut Citron vodka. The Cosmopolitan made its way to New York in the late 80’s where it was uplifted by Toby Cecchini and Melissa Huffsmith-Roth at Odeon and Dale DeGroff at the Rainbow Room.
1 ½ oz Vodka (preferred citrus flavored)
¾ oz Orange Liqueur (preferred Cointreau)
¾ oz Lime juice
¾ oz Cranberry juice
Combine all in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake until frosty cold and strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Peppermint White Russian
This is a holiday twist on the classic White Russian cocktail. The White and Black Russian cocktails were created by Gustave Tops in 1949, a Belgian barman, working at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels in honor of Perle Mesta, then U.S. Ambassador to Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The White Russian itself is a twist on the classic Brandy Alexander.
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Coffee Liqueur
1 oz Peppermint Schnapps
3 oz Heavy Cream
In a rocks glass filled with ice, combine all ingredients in the glass and stir to combine and chill. Garnish with candy cane.

Cocktail of the Week: Mudslide
This was a twist on the White Russian bringing the cocktail back to its classical roots being served up and as an after dinner drink just like its cocktail ancestor, the Brandy Alexander.
The Mudslide was created in 1970 at Wreck Bar on Grand Cayman Island. This is not your local chain restaurant's booze milkshake.
This is an elevated dessert cocktail - the perfect nightcap. It's rich and boozy with plenty of flavor. It'll pair nicely with your Andes or Frango mints by your fireplace.
Mudslide
This was a twist on the White Russian bringing the cocktail back to its classical roots being served up and as an after dinner drink just like its cocktail ancestor, the Brandy Alexander. Created in 1970 at Wreck Bar on Grand Cayman Island. This is a rich and boozy cocktail - the perfect nightcap.
1 oz Vodka
1 oz Coffee Liqueur
1 oz Irish Cream
1 ½ Heavy Cream
Combine all ingredients into a shaker tin filled with ice. Shake until frosty cold and strain into chilled coupe glass. Garish with chocolate shavings.
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