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Hibiscus Martini, Moscow Mules & Other Ginger Beer Cocktails

Hibiscus Martini w/ Blueberry Vodka, Dark and Stormy Cocktail, Lemon Drop Moscow Mule & Other Ginger Beer Cocktails

This Week’s Booze Buddies

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Dark and Stormy

The drink has its roots in Bermuda and became popular on the Atlantic seaboard. Gosling’s rum has a trademarked version of their version of the Dark and Stormy.

  • 2 ounces dark rum
  • ½ ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • ½ ounce simple syrup, or to taste
  • 4-6 ounces fresh ginger beer.

In a highball glass filled with ice, add the juice, ginger beer, and simple syrup.  Then top with rum.  For a great presentation, serve unstirred.

What is rum made of?

Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane byproducts, such as molasses (black treacle [tree-cle] as the British call it) or honeys, or directly from sugarcane juice.  It is fermented then distilled. Other ingredients are sometimes added to create a wider variety of flavors, including caramelized sugar, fruit extracts, and spices. With modern, mass-produced rums, different ages of rum are blended to create a more consistent flavor, and caramel may be added at the end to create a uniform color from batch to batch.

What is the difference between light & dark rum?

Light rums have a sweet but subtle flavor and just as much alcohol by volume as darker rums. However, instead of being filtered and bottled right after being distilled, dark rums are aged first. by aging the rum in charred oak or wooden barrels for a period of time, they end up with a darker color and a bolder flavor.

What is the legal definition of rum?

The current legal definition in the United States is as follows:

“Rum” is an alcoholic distillate from the fermented juice of sugar cane, sugar cane syrup, sugar cane molasses, or other sugar cane by-products, produced at less than 190-proof in such manner that the distillate possesses the taste, aroma, and characteristics generally attributed to rum, and bottled at not less than 80-proof; and also includes mixtures solely of such distillates.

What is Grog?

Originally was watered down rum that sailors drunk in the 1600’s. It was felt that the alcohol purified the water. The pirates adopted it and added lemon for scurvy prevention.    But than became anything alcoholic.

What is the difference between Ginger Ale and ginger beer?

The big difference between ginger beer and ginger ale is that ginger beer is brewed (fermented) but ginger ale is just carbonated water that’s been flavored with ginger.  There are larger soda companies that produce ginger beer make it by adding a stronger ginger flavor to carbonated water.

Ginger beer was originally an alcoholic brew made from fermenting ginger, sugar, and water, although most commercial ginger beers nowadays are non-alcoholic. Ginger ale is a non-alcoholic, sweetened, ginger-flavored soft drink. Ginger beer is stronger-tasting and spicier than ginger ale, but less carbonated.  So ginger beer is ginger ale’s spicier cousin.

Why do you serve a Moscow Mule in a copper cup?

The benefit of using copper Moscow Mule mugs is temperature. Chilled drinks in copper cups is extra-cool sensation, because the metal quickly absorbs the icy temperature of the cocktail.

Some claim health benefits to drinking from copper cups.  But the Iowa Health Department released a warning saying that drinking acidic drinks below 6 pH should not drink from a copper cup.   A Moscow Mule is below 6 pH. It is advised that you drink from a copper cup that is lined with stainless steel or nickel.

What is the history of the Moscow Mule

The Moscow Mule had been invented around 1941.  Martin, an execute of the Heublein drinks company, often said that he and Jack Morgan, the owner of the Los Angeles British pub Cock ‘n’ Bull, created the drink. But it is not a proven fact.

What is known is Martin had bought the rights to Smirnoff vodka for Heublein in the late 1930s, but he was having a hard time convincing Americans to drink vodka. Vodka wasn’t very popular in the United States in those days. And it is well-known that Morgan had ordered far too much ginger beer for his bar and was also having trouble getting rid of it.

In addition, Morgan apparently had a girlfriend who owned a company that made copper products, hence the mugs for the mules.

El Diablo

  • ¼ cup tequila
  • 1 ½ tablespoon triple Sec
  • 1 ½ tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 ½ tablespoons crème de cassis
  • Ginger beer

Combine ice, tequila, triple sec and lime juice in a shaker and shake. Add crème de cassis. Shake and strain into a glass with ice and top with ginger beer. Garnish: lemon wedge.

What is crème de cassis?

a syrupy liqueur flavored with black currants and produced mainly in Burgundy.

Kir Royal is a French cocktail, a variation on Kir. It consists of crème de cassis topped with champagne, rather than the white wine used in traditional Kir. The apéritif is typically served in a flute glass.

Kir Royal

Pour 1 tsp. crème de cassis into a Champagne flute and top with Champagne or sparkling wine.

Moscow Mule

  • 2 ounces vodka
  • ½ ounce fresh lime juice
  • 3 ounces ginger beer
  • Lime wedge, for garnish

In a cocktail shaker, filled with ice, combine vodka and lime juice and shake until chilled. Strain into a copper mug, filled with crushed ice. Top with ginger beer. Garnish with lime.

Krown Kitchen – Hammered Moscow Mule Copper Mug Set of 4| Stainless Steel Lining | 16 oz: https://amzn.to/2mu9oh0

Lemon Drop Moscow Mule

  • 2 tablespoons lemon simple syrup, recipe follows
  • 3 ounces Citron vodka
  • One 12-ounce bottle ginger beer

Agua Frescas

Agua fresca is a non-alcoholic beverage made from one or more fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water. These refreshing drinks are popular in Mexico and the United States.  The most popular are tamarind, hibiscus, and horchata (pronounced or-chet-a).

Hibiscus Martini

  • 5 oz. Hibiscus – lemon simple syrup (see our video on Flavored Sun Simple Syrups)
  • 2 oz. blueberry-infused vodka

Hibiscus and Health Benefits

Research and experts say that there are many health benefits to hibiscus tea.  These benefits include relief from high blood pressure and high cholesterol, digestive issues, beef up the immune system, and inflammatory problems. It is also claimed to aid with liver disease and reduces the risk of cancer.

Always consult a doctor if you have health issues.  And is known to interfere with some Malaria medication.

Hibiscus Agua Fresca (Fresh Water) / Agua de Jamaica

If have had any zinger tea from Celestial Seasonings, then you have had hibiscus infused tea. The flavor is very punch like when mixed with sugar and a little lime.

Hibiscus aqua fresca is also known as Agua de Jamaica. It is usually a mix of cinnamon and dried hibiscus flowers. This fresca is made a bit differently than other fresca. Because it is made with dried hibiscus flowers which need to simmer in hot water in order to give up their color and flavor. The flower is known as flor de Jamaica in Mexico and in Mexican markets. Dried hibiscus flowers are available online at: https://amzn.to/2Lmy89a

  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup hibiscus flowers (dried): available @ https://amzn.to/2Lmy89a
  • 1/2 cinnamon stick
  • 3 slices ginger (optional)
  • allspice berries (optional)
  • lime juice (optional)
  • orange slices (for garnish) Instructions

Combine the water, the hibiscus flowers, and 2 cups of the sugar in a slow cooker and stir until well combined. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Taste and add more of the sugar as desired. Set aside to cool completely. Strain and serve over ice.

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