The Geeky Boozehound - Volume 1 - Caipirinha

So I have decided to start a couple of regular posts about two of my favorite things: Booze and Wine. I'm a bit of an alcohol snob. I enjoy good wine and good liquor. I thought it would be cool to share a few of my favorite drink recipes, share what wines I've been drinking lately, and basically do my best to be a bad influence on you all.

For the first installment of The Geeky Boozehound I want to introduce you all to one of my absolute favorite drinks; the Caipirinha. Being a practitioner of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu I have become obsessed with all things Brazilian over the years. A good friend of mine from Brazil introduced me to the Brazilian national cocktail several years ago and I was instantly hooked. The Caipirinha is made with a liquor called cachaça, which is a rum distilled from sugar cane. The name "caipirinha" loosely translates to the Brazilian equivalent to the English word "hillbilly". Ironically, it is considered more of a "classy" cocktail in the States since it has begun to become more and more popular here.

Making a Caipirinha is incredibly easy. If you enjoy Mojitos, you probably already have the required bar-ware needed to make the Caipirinha. Here is how it is done:

For each drink you'll need a lime, 2 teaspoons of fine granulated sugar, and 2 ounces of  cachaça. Simply muddle the lime and sugar in an Old-Fashioned glass, add ice, pour in the cachaça, and stir. That is it. You're now ready to enjoy the national cocktail of Brazil.

Caipirinha

Bottoms up, bitches.

Summer Colds Suck

Sorry I've been away for the past few days. I've been dealing with a killer summer cold. I hardly ever get sick, maybe twice a year, but when I do it always seems to knock me on my ass. When it comes to medicine I tend to take an old school approach. As far back as I can remember my grandmother had a recipe for what she called "the syrup". Any time one of us got sick she would mix it up and make us sip on it all day. It is probably the reason I became a borderline alcoholic at such a young age. I figured I would share the recipe with you all. It is pretty simple. No real measurements, just throw all the following into a coffee mug, heat it up, and drink.

Whiskey (I prefer Makers Mark or Jack Daniels but you can use anything. Rum works in a pinch as well)
Honey (Preferably locally grown)
Lemon (Lots of lemon)

Just mixed all this up, throw it into the microwave for about 45 seconds, and sip away. It really does help. You can also grate up some ginger root and add to it. I do this but most people don't like the taste of raw ginger.



Whiskey, Honey, and Lemon

Hopefully this will help any of you suffering from a summer cold like I am at the moment.

Bottoms up, bitches!