World Cup Cocktails

The NHL and NBA seasons ended this past week. The NFL and college football don't really start for another two months. Of the local baseball teams, only the Yankees have a winning record, so all we're left with for the escape of sports is the World Cup. And while no one expects the USA to win the Cup, we have at least three matches to capture our interest, with the first one coming today.

With the World Cup in mind, our resident mixologist, David Rudd, Floor Manager at our Woodbridge store, offers us a couple of cocktail recipes.

Caipiroska

Do you want to try a popular Brazilian cocktail while watching the USA compete at the World Cup, but are a little nervous about cachaça?  No problem!  Just substitute vodka and you’ve got the Caipiroska.  In the bottom of your glass, muddle a lime cut up into wedges with 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Stir until the sugar dissolves and then top with ¼ cup of Tito’s™ vodka.  Toss the mixture into another glass half full of cracked ice and then toss back into your first cup.  Turn up “Gloryland” and enjoy.

On the other hand, if you prefer the authentic Brazilian experience, try this;

Caipirinha

Caipirinha (pronounced kie-purr-REEN-yah) roughly translates to "country bumpkin" and it is the national drink of Brazil, where it originated, and is a common Carnavale drink.

It is made with cachaça, an intensely sweet Brazillian style of rum that is made from sugarcane juice. The market is changing and now it is possible to easily find a premium cachaça to use in this drink, which is highly recommended because it is the main component of the drink.

The Caipirinha is a perfect cocktail to adapt for seasonal fruits and is fun to use with different fruit combinations.

Ingredients:

1 lime, quartered
2 teaspoons fine sugar
2 ounces Pitu cachaça

Preparation:

Place the lime wedges and sugar into an old-fashioned glass.
Muddle well.
Fill the glass with ice cubes.
Pour in the cachaca.
Stir well.

Note: Keep the sugar mixed in the drink by stirring often.

If you're having a group of football soccer fans over to watch the matches, a punch bowl drink is a nice alternative to making individual drinks. David sends this recipe along:

Vanilla Pomegranate Mojischtoska

This delicious punch was recently a huge hit at one of my house parties. Soak a whole vanilla bean in 1 cup of simple syrup for 24 hours and then remove the vanilla bean pod.  In a punch bowl muddle the leaves of one bunch of mint with 32 ounces of pomegranate juice.  Add 1 bottle of Pama™ Pomegranate liqueur, 1.75L of Ketel One™ vodka, the vanilla simple syrup mixture and 2L of club soda.  Add 5 lbs. of ice and let the mixture mellow.  This is a real crowd pleaser.