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Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch

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Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch

HEY GUYS! Sorry to have gone dark on you for the last few weeks but I needed a break. I’m back with this Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch because Summer is not over yet. Totally not ready for Fall cocktails or anything pumpkin related. Can we just wait till 9/23 for all of that? I want to soak up every last ray of sunshine, every warm day, and every opportunity to drink a fruity cocktail. Who’s with me?

Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch

Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch, serves 1

2 oz. dark or aged rum

1 oz. fresh pineapple juice

1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

3/4 oz. ginger syrup

handful of sliced strawberries

soda water or sparkling wine

Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch

First, make your ginger syrup. There are a few ways you can do this. Here I go over how to make it in a blender and here I go over how to do it with a slow juicer. I love my Hurom Slow Juicer and highly recommend buying this type of juicer. I can pretty much juice anything and I love making fresh fruit and veggies juices. It really comes in handy to make syrups like this too. After extracting the ginger juice, measure it and add 2x the amount of sugar. Ginger syrup should be 2:1 sugar to ginger juice.

When your ginger syrup is made you can build your cocktail. Add strawberries to your cocktail shaker with pineapple juice, lime juice, and ginger syrup. Give it a quick muddle and then add rum. Shake with ice and strain into a highball over ice. Top with soda or for a boozier option top with sparkling wine.

Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch

Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch

This Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch is a great drink to end Summer with. It’s fruity, fizzy, and refreshing but also spicy from the fresh ginger. I love ginger in pretty much everything at this time of year! This is a one serving cocktail but can easily be converted into a pitcher drink or punch bowl for large gatherings and entertaining. Simply multiply each ingredient by the number of guests you want to accommodate and voila! You have a large format drink that will be sure to please everyone in attendance. Another great thing about it is that you can use virtually any spirit your heart desires. I’ve used rum in this recipe but vodka, gin, whiskey, or tequila would be fine choices as well.

Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch

Hope you had a great Summer and I hope you’ll give this Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch a try before it gets too chilly. Cheers everyone! xo

Strawberry Ginger Pineapple Punch

Celebrate Easter Weekend with the Carrot Painkiller

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An Easter Treat - The Carrot Painkiller

If you’re looking for the perfect Easter cocktail then look no further then the Carrot Painkiller. Did you really think I wasn’t going to give you something delicious to sip on this weekend? I’d never let you down and this Carrot Painkiller will surely not disappoint your taste buds.

If you’re not familiar with the classic Painkiller cocktail it is a riff on the Piña Colada. You know how much I love Piña Coladas and given a chance, I will basically turn anything into a Piña Colada. The original Painkiller was created in the 1970s by Daphne Henderson at the Soggy Dollar Bar on the Island of Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. It is a blend of rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, and coconut. This cocktail is associated with tiki bars and tropical drinks, which as you all know, happen to be my favorite.

If you’re not aware I worked at a tiki bar in NYC called Painkiller (R.I.P). Pusser’s Rum has the Painkiller cocktail trademarked and we wound up having to change our name to PKNY to avoid a lawsuit. So while I love this cocktail, the Painkiller and I have a pretty tumultuous history. PKNY which was located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan shuttered in 2013 over the loss of our lease. A plague that struck a lot of bars in that neighborhood and in almost every neighborhood in NYC still to this day. Let’s just say, almost 5 years later, I still haven’t fully recovered from the closing of that bar.

Maybe that’s why I’m always developing variations on Piña Coladas. Homesick for a place that doesn’t exist anymore. Before I get sad let’s make drinks!

An Easter Treat - The Carrot Painkiller

Carrot Painkiller, serves 1

2 oz. aged rum (preferably Pusser’s Rum)

1 1/2 oz. pineapple juice

1 oz. fresh carrot juice

1/2 oz. orange juice

3/4 oz. coconut cream

An Easter Treat - The Carrot Painkiller

First, make your juices. I juiced my pineapple and carrot juice with my Hurom Slow Juicer. I highly recommend owning a slow juicer if you don’t already have one. It has made my life so much easier and healthy. They do not sponsor me (yet, one can dream) so this is 100% my own opinion and recommendation. For the coconut cream I use a 2:1 ratio of coconut cream to coconut milk. After that, this drink is easy peasy to make. Assemble all your ingredients in a cocktail shaker and dry shake. No dilution necessary because when you use crushed ice, dilution happens very quickly and immediately upon adding ice to the glass.

An Easter Treat - The Carrot Painkiller

Dump your cocktail into your serving vessel. I used these cute clear tiki mugs from CB2 (now sold out). Then add crushed ice to your glass and garnish with a healthy dusting of nutmeg and a pineapple leaf or two.

An Easter Treat - The Carrot Painkiller

An Easter Treat - The Carrot Painkiller

An Easter Treat - The Carrot Painkiller

An Easter Treat - The Carrot Painkiller

Does anyone else adore making coconut themed things for Easter? I’m going to make this tart on Sunday for dessert. Coconut is one of my favorite ingredients to incorporate into this holiday. Also, I love carrots and so does the Easter bunny! I’m just so lucky that both of these ingredients are delicious together. If you’re looking for some other ideas, I also made this Carrot Orange Mimosa last year and shared some other Easter ideas. If you gave up drinking for lent, well then you’re crazy, but these will be such a treat to make and enjoy! Happy Easter everyone! xo

An Easter Treat - The Carrot Painkiller

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the Irish Colada

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Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Irish Colada

St. Patrick’s Day is hardly a celebration without a little imbibing. I wanted to come up with something green without being cheesy (no green beers please!) so I put together this Irish Colada, a spin on the classic Pina Colada but with Irish whiskey, matcha, and banana. This Irish Colada is perfect for celebrating the Emerald Isle and a cocktail I will be drinking long after St. Patrick’s Day comes and goes.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Irish Colada

Irish Colada, serves 1

1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey (I used Jameson)

1/2 oz. banana liqueur

1 1/2 oz. pineapple juice

1 1/2 oz. matcha coconut syrup

pineapple wedge, pineapple leaves, and toasted coconut, for garnish

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Irish Colada

First, make your matcha coconut syrup. I used equal parts (1 can each) of coconut cream and coconut milk. In a saucepan combine them with 2 teaspoons of matcha powder, whisking until combined over low-medium heat. I used a matcha whisk to help incorporate the matcha better. Let cool and store in a jar or bottle in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Irish Colada

I decided to make this drink shaken instead of frozen to mimic more of an iced matcha latte feel. Additionally, shaking it also doesn’t sacrifice the gorgeous green hue of the drink. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice, shake, and strain over cracked or crushed ice in a highball or serving vessel of your choice. These adorable flamingo glasses are from my friend Meg over at Love & Victory. Finally, garnish your drink with a pineapple wedge, pineapple leaves, and toasted coconut. I toasted some coconut flakes with my kitchen torch but you can also do it over the stove.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Irish Colada

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Irish Colada

The thing I miss the most about working in a tiki bar is an elaborately garnished drink. Each drink that went out was like a little piece of art. We had dozens of different straws, stirrers, and even little pipe cleaner animals! These sparkly palm tree stirrers remind me of those days and are from the Palm Springs Style Shop. I picked them up at the store while I was in Palm Springs for Modernism Week but they are also available here online if you need some fun garnishes at home!

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Irish Colada

Overall I really love how this Irish Colada came together. Whiskey and coconut complement each other surprisingly well and it was fun incorporating Irish whiskey into a tropical cocktail. The banana liqueur adds a touch more fruitiness and it’s one of my favorite ingredients to use with coconut in cocktails. In addition to the vibrant color, using matcha also adds health benefits to this drink. It’s packed with antioxidants/vitamins and is known to boost metabolism, relax the mind, increase concentration, and enhance the mood among many other things! Sounds like the perfect ingredient to pair with mood enhancing alcohol, don’t you think 😉 ? Matcha also adds sweet, vegetal, grassy notes that complement the other ingredients in this Irish Colada perfectly.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Irish Colada

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Irish Colada

Do you have any special St. Patrick’s Day traditions? My mother always used to make corned beef and cabbage. I think my new tradition will be enjoying a few of these Irish Coladas. They certainly make the perfect boozy dessert. If you decide to make them, be sure to chime in on the comments below and tag a pic on Instagram using #ALinmyglass so I can see. I’d love to hear about what you’re doing this St. Paddy’s Day. Cheers everyone! xo

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with the Irish Colada

Pineapple Champagne Punch

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Pineapple Champagne Punch

Greetings everyone and happy almost New Year! I hope you have some fun plans to ring in the New Year, but if not don’t fret. New Year’s Eve is one of those holidays that’s always filled with unrealistic expectations. I have spent most working behind the bar but this year I’m staying home for a low key evening with a few friends. If you’re entertaining, I made this Pineapple Champagne Punch that’s simple to throw together. What better way to ring in the New Year than with all my favorite ingredients mixed together in one giant bowl! Don’t forget the disco balls!

Pineapple Champagne Punch

Pineapple Champagne Punch, serves 8-10

4 oz. Jamaican Rum

4 oz. Cognac

3 oz. pineapple juice

3 oz. lime juice

4 oz. allspice simple syrup

1-2 bottles sparkling wine

Pineapple Champagne Punch

The allspice syrup is super easy to make. Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan with 1 teaspoon of ground allspice. Heat on the stove and stir until all sugar has dissolved. Let simmer for 10 minutes to cook in the allspice. Remove from heat and let steep for another 10 minutes. Use a fine strainer and a double layer of cheesecloth to strain out the allspice. You can store the syrup in a jar or bottle. This will keep for up to one month refrigerated. If you have allspice liqueur on hand you can add a 1/2 oz. of that to the syrup as well. It will add more flavor and keep it fresh longer.

Pineapple Champagne Punch

Pineapple Champagne Punch

To make your Pineapple Champagne Punch add all your ingredients to your punch bowl, pouring the sparkling wine last.Easy peasy. I made this batch with one bottle of sparkling wine. My suggestion for a boozier punch is to use two bottles. It will also help dry the punch out a tad because it’s on the sweeter side.

Pineapple Champagne Punch

I made a large format ice cube by using a bundt cake mold. Freeze pineapple wheels, a little pineapple juice, and water in your mold. This keeps your punch cold longer and doesn’t over dilute it.

Pineapple Champagne Punch

Pineapple Champagne Punch

Pineapple Champagne Punch

Pineapple Champagne Punch

This Pineapple Champagne Punch was so delicious! I can’t wait to make it again for New Year’s Eve. Even though I made a special syrup for the punch it was still fairly simple to put together. You can make the syrup days ahead of time to make assembly even easier. The allspice added tons of flavor and complemented the rum, cognac, and pineapple perfectly. Allspice and pineapple are a common pairing in a lot of classic tiki drinks and that’s where I got the idea for this Pineapple Champagne Punch.

Stay tuned for more New Year’s Eve ideas this weekend. 2018 I’m so ready for you! xo

Lemongrass Pina Colada with Bai

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If you’ve been following my blog over the past year, you know my favorite cocktail is a piña colada. That’s why I’m excited to announce that I’ve teamed up with Bai for National Piña Colada Day to bring you something delicious with their Molokai Coconut flavor. It turns out Bai is just as crazy about coconut as me!

What’s the great part about using their Cocofusion flavors in your drinks? They are super low in calories and sugar (only 5 calories & 1 gram of sugar per serving) and are filled with antioxidant goodness. We’re basically using this to add coconut flavor but taking out the guilt, which is A-OK with me! Any objections? I’ve paired this wonderful fruit juice with homemade lemongrass syrup, pineapple, and rum to bring you a fun and interesting variation on the much loved classic, the piña colada.


Lemongrass Pina Colada

1 1/2 oz. white rum

1 1/2 oz. Bai Molokai Coconut (any of their other cocofusions will work too)

3/4 oz. pineapple juice

3/4 oz. lemongrass syrup

For the lemongrass syrup, first remove the leaves on your lemongrass until you’re left with the white core (about 5 stalks). Chop it up and add it to a pot with 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water.

Bring to a slight bubble and then turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Let cool on stove for a few hours and then strain out lemongrass.

Now to make the cocktail! Add all your ingredients to your blender pitcher, add ice, and blend on smoothie setting. It’s that easy! Pour into your serving vessel and garnish with a pineapple wedge, pineapple leaves, and a piece of cooked lemongrass.

I love how all the flavors compliment each other perfectly. The replacement of coconut cream for the Bai Molokai Coconut, makes the drink less creamy but doesn’t sacrifice flavor. The lemongrass is sweet and fragrant and blends together with the coconut to make a very crisp and refreshing drink. We couldn’t celebrate National Piña Colada Day without a giveaway, so head over to my Instagram for a chance to win 2 cases of Bai. All you have to do in order to be entered to win is make sure you’re following me @arseniclace, @drinkbai, and tag a friend in the comments you want to share a piña colada with! I will reach out to the winner on Instagram on 7/15. Cheers, good luck and thank you for reading this sponsored post here on Arsenic Lace.