Announcement Time! (sort of)

As promised, I have an announcement, but because of circumstances outside my control (and lousy planning on my part), I don't get to do it in my normal fashion. Anyway...

Sometime in September, I saw a call for an anthology with a new digital publisher. I was working on The Ghost of Vampire Present at the time and working on the idea for my NaNo project, but I looked at my calendar and wondered if I didn't have time to put something together for this one too. The people who have been following my craziness on twitter or facebook know I stayed busy right up until NaNo started on November 1. I literally took Halloween off, finishing my outline the night before.

But I didn't really take Halloween off. You see, in those couple weeks between finishing The Ghost of Vampire Present and starting on Kiss of Death for NaNo, I penned and submitted a little story called Yes, Alana, There Is a Santa Claus. I received my first round of edits from Evernight Publishing on Halloween and made sure I got them in before NaNo actually started at midnight. The story will be part of their upcoming erotica/erotic romance anthology 'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas.

The only sad part is I don't have a cover or release date to share yet. Trust me, when I do I'll be sure to post. Which leads me to announcement number two...

I've finally realized that trying to blog three times a week per blog is killing me. Even with throwing in "easy" blogs, I'm just stretching myself too thin and it's making me enjoy it less. So, Thirsty Thursdays are gone and won't be replaced. My "official" blog days here will be Tuesdays and Saturdays, saving the occasional Thursday for when I have announcements that won't fit (due to guests or planned posts) on the other days. I hope you weren't just here for the drink recipes and will come back for whatever I give you the other days.

And I hope you'll keep an eye out for 'Twas a Dark and Delicious Christmas!

Thirsty Thursday: Butt Plug

For the month of November, I'm doing drinks to celebrate NaNoWriMo. That means alcohol AND caffeine--the best of both worlds. So, don't let the names confuse you, these are all designed to keep you happy and awake while completing your 50k.

Butt Plug

6 oz. Red Bull (I used diet, just because)

1/2 oz. vodka

1/2 oz. blue curacao

Fill an old-fashioned glass 1/2 way with Red Bull. Separately, fill a shot glass 1/2 with vodka, 1/2 with blue curacao. Drop shot glass in the other glass and shoot.

Okay, I'm bad about reading directions. I just mixed everything in a glass and added ice.

Review:

Me: First it is a really pretty emerald green color, and I am a fan of pretty drinks. What's more is this isn't half bad. It has a very tart fruity taste (mind you I've never had Red Bull before, so maybe that's all I'm tasting). I could definitely sit back and enjoy this sometime when I need to stay awake (hoping it helps for that at least). 8/10

Hubs: Tastes kind of like the off-minty medicine the doctor used to give you as a kid with zero kick. It'd be better if it had more alcohol. 6/10

Thirsty Thursday: Green Demon

In my attempt to try some new things, I stumbled upon this recipe. I will say the last time I mixed rum and vodka, I turned into a babbling idiot, but hey experimenting with stupidity can be fun :P

Green Demon

1 oz. Vodka

1 oz. Rum

1 oz. Midori Melon Liquer

Lemonade

Mix rum, vodka & Midori in a shaker. Pour over ice. Fill with lemonade & garnish with a cherry.

Review: Hubs said it had a light fruity taste with a kick that hit about a minute later in a very nice way. Made him want to give up his beer for the night. (9/10)

For me I think it had a little too much rum. I'm very sensitive to the flavor of rum and to me it overpowered the rest of the drink, so if I made it again (and I probably will) I'd go 1.5 oz of vodka and 0.5 oz rum (either that or make it bigger and just add more vodka and Midori). It's a gorgeous lime green color though and still quite tasty even with the extra rum. (8/10)

Looks-wise, it would make a fabulous Halloween punch... as long as no one's driving home.

Thirsty Thursday: Bend Me Over

So, other than my green apple martini from the first Thirsty Thursday, this is the first one I've actually made and tested :P

Bend Me Over

1 oz. whiskey (we used Southern Comfort)

1/2 oz. amaretto (we used DiSaronno)

1 oz. sour mix

splash of Sierra Mist/Sprite/7-Up

Mix all ingredients in a shaker half-filled with ice. Shake well and strain into shot glasses.

My opinion: You can really smell the whiskey. If that's not to your taste, the scent might be a problem. It tastes pretty good, though if I were to make it again, I'd probably up the amaretto content to try to balance things out a little more.

Hubs opinion: Not bad, a little syrupy

I'm not overly fond of mixed shots, they just seem like a waste of effort to tell the truth, so odds are I wouldn't make this again (I'd rather have a drink that's going to last a while). But it was fairly tasty, like a whiskey sour with a twist. Grade: B-

Thirsty Thursday: Italian Margarita

This drink can be served on the rocks or blended.



Italian Margarita

1 oz. Amaretto

1/2 oz. Triple Sec

1/2 oz. Tequila

2 oz. Sweet & sour mix

Mix and pour over ice or blend with ice.

Thirsty Thursday: Man Boobs (and a review!)

This one is thanks to my dear friend, Terri, who shouted out "boobs" when I asked for a word. This one sounded too yummy to pass up.

Man Boobs

1/2 oz. Vodka

1/4 oz. Sour Apple Pucker

1/4 oz. Blue Island Pucker

1/2 oz. Pineapple juice

Mix all ingredients in a shaker half-filled with ice. Shake very well and strain into a cocktail glass.

In other news, there is a review of "Of Course I Try" up at Writings of a Wicked Little Pixie. Please stop by and check it out!

Thirsty Thursday: Sangria

My friend Laura sent me this earlier in the week and it sound yummy :)

Laura's Sangria

1-2 bottles of red wine

Dice apples, pineapples, and strawberries and mix into the wine

Let it sit for 24 - 48 hours

Serve chilled

Laura did note that you can also use peaches and add peach schnapps, but the above is her preferred method.
Enjoy!

Thirsty Thursday: Ocean Breeze

Today is the last day of our beach themed drinks. In honor of my mom and her need for more amaretto this week (plus it's pretty and blue, and we all know how I like pretty drinks :P) :

OCEAN BREEZE

1 shot white rum

1 shot amaretto

1/2 shot blue curacao

1/2 shot pineapple juice

Mix the above in a cocktail shaker with ice and pour. For something a little different, you can add some soda water on top. Enjoy!

Thirsty Thursday: Orgasm on the Beach

Continuing with our beach theme...

If you think sex on the beach sounds good, don't skip the best part. Have an Orgasm on the Beach

1 oz. white rum

1 oz. coconut rum

1 tbsp. blue caracao

1 tbsp. raspberry schnapps

4 oz pineapple juice (you can go up to 8 oz, but I like my drinks like I like my men -- strong :P )

Mix all the ingredients in a shaker and shake well to chill. Pour & garnish with a cherry (just because *evil grin*)