25 Sweet and Sassy Summer Cocktails

I don’t know what the weather is like where you’re located, but the summer heat has already made an appearance here in North Carolina. We had the hottest day of the year on Wednesday, and it’s only mid-June!! (It WAS a perfect day to enjoy some nice cool summer cocktails!) I’m a little scared of what it will be like in August. There is one nice thing about the summer heat, you’ll find no shortage of yummy cocktails to help cool you down. I’ve compiled a list of 25 Sweet and Sassy Summer Cocktails for you to check out. Any one of these drinks would be perfect for your next party or barbecue. Some you may need a blender to make (check out my recommendation below), others require no special …

Boozy Shamrock Shake

Boozy Shamrock Shake – Adults Only St. Patrick’s Day Treat

St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. What’s not to love? It’s a lot of fun! The McDonald’s Shamrock Shake comes out of retirement, it’s a great excuse to have a cocktail or two, there are awesome parades in very Irish cities like Boston, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, (wait Philadelphia? Yes! Philadelphia had it’s first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1771!) and it doesn’t hurt that I look amazing in green. 😉 I’m lucky enough to be married to a true Irishman. We met 24 years ago, fittingly, in a dive Irish pub in Port Chester, New York. I was joking with the bartender about being Irish–trying to get a free drink–and he pointed to Colm and said “He’s from Ireland, maybe he’ll buy you one”. I started …

Carolina Sweet Tart

Carolina Sweet Tart

After we got engaged Colm and I talked a lot about where to get married. We had no family in Connecticut (we didn’t move to North Carolina until much later) and I really didn’t want to go back to Iowa to get married when most of our friends were out East. Colm joked that we should get married in Belfast (Northern Ireland, where he is from). And I said “Yes, we should! That would be amazing!” We arranged a trip to Ireland that February to make plans. Colm told me he knew the perfect place to have our wedding, Belfast Castle. We would be in Belfast on Valentine’s Day so Colm surprised me with reservations at their wonderfully extravagant prix fixe dinner. A friend of Colm’s worked at the castle and arranged for us to have …

Purple Passion Potion #5

Purple Passion Potion #5

Many moons ago, when I was in college, there was this “totally awesome” drink made out of Everclear called Purple Passion. It came in a 4 pack or a 2 liter bottle, tasted a little like grape soda on steroids and was very popular with college girls (of legal drinking age, of course) because it didn’t have a super strong taste of alcohol. The bonus was you only needed a couple drinks to feel buzzed. It made a resurgence in the mid-90’s and again in 2014, but they changed the recipe and it was never as good as the original. I was feeling very nostalgic for Purple Passion the other day looking through some old photos, so I decided to set out and recreate the recipe. I didn’t have any Everclear …

Pomberry Margarita

When I was in my 20s I could stay out until 4 am closing the bars in NY (crossing the border from CT because the bars there closed at 2 am) and get up at 7:30 every morning for work. We used to take turns being the DD (designated driver) and had a lot of fun getting the “boys” to buy us drinks. NOW that I’m…. ahem [no longer in my 20s], I find it very hard to stay awake past 11 pm, lol. So very sad, I know, but I still enjoy a cocktail every now and then. My favorite drink in the whole world is a margarita. At first, I could only drink a frozen margarita–no one really seemed to know how to make a tasty margarita on the …

How About Them Apples [Caramel Apple Sangria recipe]

How About Them Apples [Caramel Apple Sangria recipe]

One of my favorite things in the fall, aside from colorful leaves and cooler weather, is all the fresh, yummy apples! And with October designated as National Apple Month it’s the perfect time to take a bite out of all the yummy varieties available! My all-time favorite apple is the honeycrisp. It’s delicious, sweet and crisp with a firm flesh, making it an ideal apple to eat raw, and perfect for a yummy sangria. Some juicy apple facts… The apple is a “pome”. A fruit that is created from the fusion of outer flower parts and ovaries. Apple trees take from 2 to 10 years to produce their first fruit. It depends on the apple variety, and whether they are dwarf or full-sized trees. Sunny days and cool nights along with the rich soil help …

Margarita Monday - Cranberry Margarita [recipe]

Cranberry Margarita

It’s no secret that I love margaritas. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite, but in the fall I especially love to make cranberry margaritas. The perfect mix of sweet and tart. A festive cocktail for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any time of the year! This is a great recipe everyone will love so be sure to make a big batch to share! I used Ocean Spray diet cranberry juice with lime, but you can substitute 100% cranberry juice or even Cran-grape or Cran-apple juice if you like! [mpprecipe-recipe:34] *To make simple syrup: In a saucepan, combine equal parts granulated sugar and water.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves completely. Transfer to a heat-proof pitcher and refrigerate until well chilled, about 30 minutes before use in a drink.  Store …

Tasty Tuesday - Not So Sweet Tea

Not So Sweet Tea

I love iced tea. When I was little my mom would make iced tea all summer long and I always had to drink from her glass. For some reason it tasted better than the glass of iced tea I poured for myself. (My kids do this to me now and it irritates me to no end. So sorry mom!!) We have been living in North Carolina for just over a year now. I’m very much enjoying the Southern hospitality, mild winters, beautiful fall weather, and early spring gardens. I love nearly everything about the South. Except for the summer heat and–please don’t lynch me–sweet tea. It’s too sweet and there is a bitter aftertaste I just can’t stomach. After trial and error I found a perfect alternative to traditional Southern sweet …

Pink Lemonade Margarita

It was a little chilly over the weekend here (for North Carolina) and my husband lit a fire in the living room fireplace while we watched a movie. We aren’t used to having a gas log fireplace–we have always had a wood fireplace–so we haven’t gotten the settings mastered quite yet. It got SOOOOO hot in our living room that I had to change into shorts and a t-shirt! With that dry heat radiating through the room, I was in the mood for an adult beverage. Since it felt like summer in here, I decided to make a summery drink… a Pink Lemonade Margarita. Super simple to make and delicious! Tastes like summer… only 30 weeks to go!   [mpprecipe-recipe:32]