Tequila Stinger

Moving right along with the tequila drinks, the Stinger is a creme de menthe drink. The Tequila Stinger is self explanatory. I have to say that I liked this one more than I thought I would. You have to be in the right mood for a minty drink. But silver tequila doesn't immediately clash with mint, and if you make it with peppermint schnapps instead of creme de menthe, like I did, you get a crisp, frosty tasting drink that's good for the holiday season.

I don't know why the NYBG calls for an Old Fashioned glass for the Stinger and a cocktail glass for the Tequila Stinger, but I met somewhere in the middle with this canted Old Fashioned Glass for the photo.

• 2 oz. silver tequila
• 1 oz. creme de menthe (peppermint schnapps used)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (or glass of your choice, really.)

Tequila Sour

If life hands you lemons, make a sour. If you have tequila, make a Tequila Sour. With no egg white, this made for a fast and easy drink good for any time of the year. The NYBG calls for silver tequila, but I'm sure just about any tequila will do. Silver tequila like Sauza blanco makes for a clean sour flavor that is tropical or refreshing. This drink calls for a sour glass like the one seen here.

• 2 oz. silver tequila
• 1 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• maraschino cherry
• lemon slice

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled sour glass. Garnish with fruit.

Alternatini / Truffletini

I know what you are thinking, a Chocolate Martini. No, this must predate the Chocolate Martini of the mid 90s with all the chocolate syrup and berries and cream. In fact the Alternatini has a few characteristics that land it squarely in the real Martini category with an alternative garnish (as long as you allow that a Martini has to include vodka or gin, vermouth and a garnish and not much more.

This cocktail has both sweet and dry vermouth, so it is well covered. Sweet vermouth and chocolate go together like wine and chocolate, so I can see where this is headed. There's only enough creme de cacao to suggest a chocolate flavor.

I have sweet Aylesbury Duck vodka for this cocktail because it is well suited to dessert drinks, or pretty much anything. It is a vodka designed for bartenders, super versatile, easy to grip the bottle (in your face Ciroc) and it has a graduated bottle so you can measure the amount left in the bottle.

The original recipe (and this was the 90s) calls for cocoa powder and a Hershey's Kiss. I think we can do better than some Swiss Miss and a waxy chocolate. I have a Godiva truffle and some really nice Bellagio cocoa powder for my garnishes. This drink may still taste like vodka, but it finishes like dessert. It is no more filling than a truffle.

• 3 oz. vodka
• 1/4 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1/4 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/2 tsp. creme de cacao
• chocolate truffle
• cocoa powder

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with truffle and sprinkle cocoa powder on top.

Tequila Mockingbird

As a book nerd, I had to make this drink at some point. The thing is, I had to be in the mood for a creme de menthe cocktail--which is rare--and I had to have creme de menthe on hand--which is rarer still. The thing is, the New York Bartender's Guide has the recipe showing white creme de menthe, while the accompanying photo is clearly green. I thought, why go with white for a bland-looking tequila drink, when you can have so much color to work with. (Plus, I'm saving my peppermint schnapps for the Tequila Stinger, soon to come.)

The reason book nerds will like this drink is the name: "To Kill A Mockingbird," an excellent book and a very fun play on words with this cocktail. Make it how you like, but I will tell you that the whole ounce of lime is necessary to counter the sweetness of the creme de menthe. It also makes for a more balanced creme de menthe cocktail, whereas others tend to be overly minty. Lime cuts through it nicely and the whole experience is very fresh, and less like mouthwash than I expected.

• 2 oz. silver tequila
• 1 oz. creme de menthe (green used)
• 1 oz. lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a white wine glass. 

Sauzaliky

What a fun name for a drink! And what better tequila to use for the Sauzaliky than Sauza? I really enjoyed this cocktail more than most blended drinks I've made this year. For one thing, it was like a smoothie with a tequila kick. Fresh bananas, fresh squeezed orange juice, and a hint of lime give the drink a tropical feel, while blended ice and fruit have a silkiness (not grainy like a Frozen Margarita) that makes for non-stop sipping.

Half a banana for one drink is a lot of banana, but I appreciate how the flavor remains without the need for artificial tasting liqueurs. If you have a blender and a few fruit staples on hand, this is a great choice. Sauza gold has this rich taste that also appeared in the cocktail, despite all of the other ingredients.

• 2 oz. gold tequila
• 4 oz. orange juice
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• 1/2 banana sliced

Add all ingredients in a blender with ice and blend until smooth. Pour into a cocktail glass or wine goblet. 

Tequila Sunrise

This cocktail reminds me of the Eagles 1973 song. I had to listen to it while making this one. You have to love how the grenadine gives the drink a two-tone look like a sunrise, even though you add it to the top of the drink. You also have to love how sweet the drink is, no lime juice to make it a boring Margarita variation. If all you have is tequila, orange juice and Rose's lime juice, it's really not a bad way to go.

My recommendation is to use less than the ounce of grenadine called for in the recipe. You just get too much syrupy sweetness from that much grenadine. 1/2 oz. will do just fine.

• 2 oz. silver tequila 
• orange juice
• 1 oz. grenadine

Build drink in a Collins glass and stir. Add grenadine to the top and allow it to sink to the bottom.

Cowgirl's Prayer

Homemade lemonade makes the Cowgirl's Prayer a tangy treat. It would be enough to add lime juice and simple syrup to make it tart beyond normal, but the lemonade sweetens and adds complexity. Make your lemonade extra sweet to counteract the lime juice acidity. Make it witha an ounce of lemon juice, 3/4 ounce of simple syrup and an ounce of water (enough for one drink.) You could, of course, make a whole pitcher of lemonade. You never know when you need to make another cowgirl's prayer come true.

• 2 oz. gold tequila
• 1 oz. lime juice
• fresh lemonade
• lemon slice
• lime slice

 Build drink in a Collins glass with fresh ice. Stir and garnish with fruit.