August Heat

Late August is pepper harvest time here at the Lounge. One of the few maxims of all the old cocktail Masters is to utilize fruits in season, so let's try a jalapeño muddle. Unfortunately, jalapeños pair wonderfully with an out-of-season fruit - strawberries. We can use strawberry puree though, which is a great thing to have in your freezer anyway.

Stolen Moment

Let's talk garnishes again. This week it's brandied cherries. Yes, an Old Fashioned in Wisconsin often comes with a candy sundae cherry and that's fine since those cocktails are also flooded with fruit juice and 7up. However, what happens if you are making Manhattans or Metropolitans with a classy rye or cognac respectively? Well, you need a classy cherry. So if you are in the mood, try these:

Harvey Wallbanger

If you hang around the Lounge long enough, you notice that not that much vodka is drank. It's not that vodka sucks, it's that good vodka doesn't add much to cocktails in terms of taste or alcohol. Beside our variations on the Russian, the Lance Romance, the Crash Cart Cocktail, and Harvey Wallbanger, vodka gathers dust here. So does Galliano, as I mentioned in the 30 Essentials Series. Why not bring them together for a classic. Mix master Donato 'Duke' Antone invented the Harvey Wallbanger in the 1950s when vodka began its reign as king of base spirits (a reign that was to last about forty years). Antone is also credited with one of my top 10 favorite drinks, the Rusty Nail, and one of Cindy's top drinks (and the Dude's), the almighty White Russian. Well, if you've never drank one, here's the pour...