- Looking for a two-ingredient cocktail? I’d like to introduce you to the Suze and Soda.
- I spritz, you spritz, we spritz. Here’s 10 Spritz(es).
- Is that tobacco on the cocktail menu? RUN AWAY!!!
- It’s still hot out. Let’s go drink some frozen cocktails at a bar.
- Get your wallet! Best Asian Whiskey under $100 (and not just from Japan).
- Snoop Dog made the world’s largest gin and juice and no one was surprised.
- This cocktail book has both alcoholic and nonalcoholic versions of drinks for days when you do and days when you don’t. Get it!
- Science saves the day! Here’s the quickest route to visit the top breweries in the U.S.
- If you can paint by number, you can learn wine types by color! And not just red, white and pink.
- And finally, WTFFFFFF is going on with the Seagram’s family?! Two words: sex cult.
Here in Los Angeles I’ve been downing frozen cocktails with abandon, but there are even those days when I just can’t drag out the blender. So, in steps the two ingredient cocktail.
While you could make this a one ingredient drink and have it poured over ice, I like to make this a highball (or lowball depending on the glass type I’m using) by mixing it with soda water over ice. It’s really an any time kinda drink: before going out, after a meal, during your kid’s nap…
This post was made in partnership with Vinho Verde Wines. Recipe and ideas are my own.
Picnics sure have changed a lot since I was little, obviously. There’s definitely wine now. However, the bugs are still there in droves. But I get to stay out a lot later so…win!
Today I’ve partnered with 
You can’t have a picnic without some great picnic food too. And if we’re drinking Portuguese wine, we are definitely eating Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese egg tarts). These light, slightly sweetened tarts hold up well outdoors. I have a few bakeries here in Los Angeles that I like to buy mine from, although I’m linking to a solid recipe below if you’d like to bake yours. I do like to dress mine up a bit for the picnic with some wine-candied lemon peels which I DO have a recipe for below using the same wine we’ll make spritzes with.
A picnic should not be a stressful affair. Here’s some tips to help make your day go off without a hitch!
Vinho Verde Spritz (makes one Spritz)
Wine Candied Lemon Peels for Pastéis de Nata (Egg Tarts)
There’s a trend gaining momentum right now that has me feeling nostalgic, and maybe you’ve seen it pop up in your Instagram too: cocktail pin collecting.
This post was made in partnership with The House of Angostura. Recipe and ideas are my own.
Well, I don’t know whether to chalk these scorching summer days up to climate change or just admit that Los Angeles is the desert and this is part of the package you get when you move here. Sure, you get warm, sunny days in January, but then you have to take those 100+° days in the summer (and early Fall). To help ease these heat-aches, I partnered with 
Ready to dive into your own float? Let’s make one!
Cocktails that stick with me tend to fall into two categories: those that tasted amazing and those that appealed to me visually. For example, I can tell you the first time I tasted bell pepper in a cocktail and fell in love with a whole new world of savory cocktails (Las Perlas in downtown L.A.). I can’t recall what it looked like, but I can remember how it tasted. I’ve gone to that flavor combination many times (and a few cocktail riffs have shown up on this website too).
And then there are those cocktails that, visually, wowed the pants off me. When I was in Chicago years ago for a trip I decided to pop over to 
Today I’m hoping to bridge that gap for you all with this newest cocktail. With flavors both familiar and a little outside the box, and a touch of theatrics in the garnish, this cocktail, which I’m calling The Purple Halo (that will make more sense later) is both tasty and a stunner to look at.
I’ve partnered again this week with 
While delicious on its own, I wanted you to also remember this visually, and that’s where butterfly pea flower tea comes in. If you’ve come across those color changing cocktails on Instagram, this is where they are getting their magic from. You don’t need to be a cocktail wizard to pull this trick off; you just need to be able to order online and make a cup of tea. I was introduced to this tea a few years back when I was still making cocktails with the local Los Angeles pop up The Coconut Club. We made a welcome Ti’ Punch that changed color before the guests’ eyes. They got a kick out of it; we got written up in the local paper. And now your guests will remember your drinks and talk about it for years to come (I cannot guarantee this). The tea changes color, from a dark cobalt to purple or pink, depending on the pH of the liquid you add to it. In this cocktail, the lime juice will start that color change as the ice cube of tea melts into the drink, creating rings of color in the glass.
The butterfly pea flower tea is very, very mild and with the slow dilution does not contribute significantly to the overall flavor of the drink… but it does look cool! So, if you don’t want another box of tea bags taking up real estate in your pantry, you can leave this out and enjoy the cocktail as is.
