Amaretto
This really does taste like Amaretto. Store for months in mason jars.
Amaretto
Ingredients
- 2 cups 80 proof vodka
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons almond extract
- 2 vanilla beans
Instructions
- Over medium heat, stir together both sugars and 1 cup water until completely dissolved.
- Remove from heat and let the mixture cool.
- Once cooled, pour sugar water into mason jar.
- Add vodka, almond extract and vanilla beans. Shake and let sit for 10 days.
Boozy Pudding Shots
I’ve had JELL-O shots. I’ve had pudding shots. Then I had my friend Theresa’s pudding shots. They were exotic! Chocolate Butterscotch. Chocolate Cheesecake. Then she said to freeze them. What? They’re delicious mini, boozy ice cream cups. FABULOUS. There are endless combinations…get creative!
Boozy Pudding Shots
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 3-ounce package pudding in desired flavor
- 1 cup booze (butterscotch, caramel…get creative!)
- 4 ounces Cool Whip
- Souffle cups
Instructions
- In large mixing bowl, combine milk, pudding, and booze.
- Once thoroughly combined, fold in Cool Whip.
- Spoon into souffle cups and freeze.
Notes
Fun combos:
Chocolate pudding + butterscotch vodka
Chocolate pudding + peppermint schnapps
Vanilla pudding + Cake vodka
Vanilla cheesecake pudding + double chocolate vodka
Chocolate pudding + baileys/Irish cream
Beer-Rita
I’m at that time in my life when all of my daughter’s friends are getting married. And because of the community-style living we Louisvillians experience, a lot of my besties are the moms of my kid’s besties. We’re all one big village, basically. So this past summer, one of the ‘villagers’, Alyssa Foster, was getting married. I went to go check out her registry and was amazed. This girl was sophisticated! There were no picture frames or kitchen gadgets…this shit was legit. So naturally…I forgot about her and started shopping for myself…from her list. She had these stackable drink dispensers and I was like…these are AWESOME and perfect for this new summer beer recipe. I texted her and thanked her for the shopping ideas and told her I was thinking about getting the drink dispenser. She said they were perfect for Beer-Rita. Yes…yes they are.
Beer-Rita
Ingredients
- 1 can Limeade frozen concentrate
- 4 Corona/Modelo beers
- 2 cans of your favorite vodka or tequila
- Ice
Instructions
- Mix ingredients together in a large container or drink dispenser.
- Enjoy!
Charlie’s Irish Cream
Just after Thanksgiving 2019, we went to Mark’s high school reunion in Fitchburg, MA. I was excited to meet his high school friends. I pictured a bunch of Mark’s ….angry black men who spent hours a day working on their bikes and sweet talking the local ladies. Ummm…all of his high school buddies were like normal, fun, intelligent white dudes. I instantly became obsessed with his friend, Charlie. Charlie had made homemade peach wine. What!? \You can MAKE wine!? So yeah…he got me started with that. Then he shared some of his homemade Bailey’s. I couldn’t believe how cool he was. Then he took us into the basement of his Victorian mansion (I’m not kidding, he bought it to restore it) and I will never forget what happened next. The basement was unfinished and the length/width of the house, so…HUGE but oddly warm. There were giant heating ducts hanging throughout the basement that ran heat to the rest of the house… and they all had these metal half-clamps attached all over them. “What are those?”, I asked Charlie. He says, “Oh, well they heat up from the air ducts and the increased surface area keeps the basement heated.” So yeah, Mark’s childhood bestie is a freaking GENIOUS. Anyway…this is his homemade Bailey’s recipe…except BETTER. Everyone will be amazed and ask you how to make it. Thanks, Charlie!
Charlie’s Irish Cream
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 3 cups Wild Turkey honey bourbon (750ml)
- 3/4 cup Hershey Chocolate syrup
- 2 cans condensed milk
- 1 T almond extract
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ~ 16 ounces heavy cream
Instructions
- Add the first six ingredients to blender, then top with heavy cream to the 72 ounce mark.
- Blend slowly, to avoid any curdling.
- Store in fridge for up to 2 months unopened. Good for 1 week once opened.
Notes
Clarified Milk Punch
I’m not going to lie, this shit is crazy. It’s not even super fun to make. It takes a day and a half to make. Filter it is the slowest, most painful process. But my God is it delicious. Like nothing you’ve tasted. A hint of lemon. Sweet but not overpowering. Subtle yet complex. You get the idea. Make it once. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and your tastebuds will thank you.
Clarified Milk Punch
Ingredients
- 6 lemons, peeled
- 2 T sugar
- 3/4 cup lemon juice
- 2 1/4 cups simple syrup
- 2 cups aged rum
- 1 cup whiskey/cognac
- 4 cups whole milk
- Nutmeg, freshly ground
Instructions
- In large bowl, muddle together the lemon peels and 2 T. sugar to extract oils.
- Continue muddling until sugar is wet and not clumpy or dry.
- Set aside for 8-24 hours.
- To the large bowl, add lemon juice, simple syrup, rum, and whiskey. Give it a stir.
- Add mixture to large container and pour milk on top. DO NOT STIR.
- The milk with react with the acidity from the lemons and form curds that will filter the entire mixture. Set aside for 1-2 hours.
- Fold two lengths of paper towels in half and place in large strainer. Place strainer over large bowl and pour mixture on paper towels, a bit at a time, allowing the paper towels to strain/filter out the milk curds.
- Repeat the straining process until the liquid is clear.
- Serve over ice and top with fresh ground nutmeg.
Notes
Eggnog
Haven’t actually made this. One of the very few recipes on my site that I have not personally tested. But it’s my great-grandma, Nellie Story’s, recipe, so I had to include it.
Eggnog
Ingredients
- 2 eggs, well beaten
- 1 15-ounce can Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 quart homogenized milk
- 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
- Nutmeg
Instructions
- Combine well beaten eggs, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt until thoroughly blended.
- Gradually beat in milk.
- Gently fold in whipped cream.
- Pour into punch bowl or serving cups.
- Sprinkle with nutmeg.
Notes
Homemade Margarita Mix
Why buy Margarita mix when you can make it yourself!? Buy a bag of limes from Costco, get you an electric juicer and squeeze that fruit!
Homemade Margarita Mix
Ingredients
- 2 parts Agave
- 1 part water
- 3 parts fresh squeezed lime juice (8-12 limes per cup)
Instructions
- Add agave and water to pot and heat to incorporate.
- Let cool.
- Combine with lime juice and store in an air-tight container for 7-10 days.
Notes
JELL-O Shots
A party ain’t a party without JELL-O shots!! I put mine in giant plastic syringes. They’re super easy to fill and are reusable. And mostly…I love watching people race to squeeze them in their mouths. CLASSIC.
JELL-O Shots
Ingredients
- 3-ounce package JELL-O, any flavor
- 1 1/2 cups water, divided
- 1/2 cup vodka
- 32 1-ounce containers or 16 2-ounce containers
Instructions
- Bring 1 cup of water to boil.
- Pour JELL-O packet into mixing bowl and add boiling water. Stir/whisk to combine.
- Add 1/2 cup cold water.
- Add vodka. Stir/whisk to combine.
- Pour into containers and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.
Notes
Mulled Wine
This drink is an acquired taste, but so perfect on a cold winter day. Like drinking a spice cake. I make this in a crockpot when I have a few folks over for a game or fight or game night. Gotta love a yummy self-serve drink station!
Mulled Wine
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 6-8 cloves
- 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise
- Zest of a lemon
- Zest of a lime
- Zest of an orange
- Juice of the orange
- 2 bottles red wine
Instructions
- Combine 1 cup of wine with all the other dry ingredients and bring to a near boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and liquid has cooked down to a nice, thickish syrup.
- Turn down the heat and add the rest of the wine. Keep at a low temperature and heat until warm. Serve!
Red Sangria
Classic, delicious, sweet sangria. Full stop.
Red Sangria
Ingredients
- 1 bottle red wine
- 1 cup of spiced rum
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 orange, sliced
- 1 lime, sliced
- 1 lemon, sliced
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together. Chill for 2+ hours.Serve!
Notes
The spiced rum adds a little va va voom to the standard sangria recipe. Soooo delish!
Summer Beer
Summer Beer? Sounds crazy. Saw this (hot ass) guy sharing this recipe on TikTok and just had to try it. The guy had a southern drawl and as he was pouring the ingredients he started getting excited and said, “Come on…” in a way that only a hot guy with a southern drawl can say it. In his honor, I say it every time I make it. So should you. Come on….
Summer Beer
Ingredients
- 1 10-oz Bacardi Mixers Pina Colada Frozen Cocktail Mix
- 1 10-oz Bacardi Mixers Strawberry Daiquiri Frozen Cocktail Mix OR Strawberry
- Lemonade Frozen Concentrate
- 6 Bud Light Next Beers (can use any light beer as substitute)
- 750 ml Tito's vodka
- Ice
Instructions
- In a 3-gallon container with a beverage tap, fill 1/2 full with ice.
- Add the frozen cocktail mixes.
- Add the beers.
- Add vodka and with best southern accent, say, “Come on…”
- Stir and serve!
Notes
The Pina Colada mix may clog your drink spout. To prevent this, you can mix in a separate container and strain out the pineapple bits.
Also, this is delicious and WILL KNOCK YOU ON YOUR ASS. For that reason, prepare 30+ minutes prior to serving to allow the ice to melt a bit (and dilute the drinks).
White Sangria
Sangria is just the perfect summertime drink. Typically when I think of Sangria, I think of red sangria. But White Sangria is super refreshing and typically a bit sweeter.
White Sangria
Ingredients
- 1 bottle white wine (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling or Pinot Grigio)
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 3 oranges, sliced into wedges
- 1 lemon, sliced into wedges
- 1 lime, sliced into wedges
- 2 ounces brandy (optional)
- 1/2 liter ginger ale
Instructions
- Pour wine in the pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the orange, lemon and lime into the wine.
- Add brandy, if desired.
- Toss in the fruit wedges, taking the seeds our first, add the sugar and stir.
- Chill overnight.
- Add the ginger ale just before serving.
Notes
I do not always squeeze the sliced fruit. I use the ginger ale to make it sweeter.