Hacienda

Cindy and I love a seemingly odd combination of flavors in the summer: coffee and citrus. While dumping a bunch of lemonade into your cups of coffee may seem terrible, coffee liqueurs and juices of all kinds actually play together quite well. Add orange juice and Cointreau Noir for the Kowloon. Add tequila and lemon juice for the Ixtapa. Add cranberry and Cointreau for a Breeze. Since we like our Ixtapas with lime instead of the lemon, let's use the same proportions of an Ixtapa for a simple, unique taste.

Melissa Hard Lemonade

In our last Lounge entry, we asked you to muddle some lemon balm. Lemon balm? What the heck is that? Well, it's one of the herbs we are currently growing in the cocktail garden and one of the better ones to drink! So let's try some originals with it.

Turmoil

Another entry for the Around America Series:

Drink: Turmoil

Establishment: Sanctuaria

Location: St. Louis, Missouri

First Connoisseur: Holly (maybe in September!)

1 1/2 ounce rye

1/2 ounce Benedictine

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

1/2 ounce crème de caçao

5 fresh lemon balm leaves on a sprig

Muddle the lemon balm with proper technique in a shaker (see the Interlude). Add all the ingredients and swirl. Remove the lemon balm. Add ice, shake, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a spanked lemon balm sprig.

Happy 4th of July!

Stiff and Roghers were pondering a Fourth of July drink in pousse café-style (layered aperitif). We thought we'd oblige and though we know these gents know how to layer drinks, maybe others don't, so here is a primer for everyone. We acknowledge that this is super sweet, but the liquids here are cheap enough to practice your layering skills...