Every year at Rockstarz we have featured our spiked Cider using a plethera of ingredients. But it’s our little secret as to how we pull them all together. So this blog might come off as a tad bit vague, but you can still try my easy recipe below for an amazing crowd pleaser!

Take 1 full gallon of your favorite Cider (can be store bought, we like ours fresh from the mill)

Dump gallon into a crock pot

Add 1/2 cup of Ever Clear or Bacardi 151

1/2 cup of Spiced rum (we Like Bacardi Oakheart)

1 fresh Cinnamon stick

1tbls fresh nutmeg

Let these ingredients simmer, never boil as you do NOT want the alcohol to evaporate too much. A little is ok, as it will take away the harshness of the Everclear or the Bacardi 151.

Another great fall time recipe is for the Apple Pie drink. This drink is very universal and VERY simple to make

1 part Goldschlager

1 part Apple Schnapps

1/2 part 151 or Everclear

2 parts Pineapple Juice

Now this recipe you can make in a crock pot as well, simmering down the alcohol taste,or shake it and serve it chilled. If making it in the crock pot, I suggest cutting up an apple and throwing it in for an extra bit of oomph as well as a whole cinnamon stick!!

Don’t forget to stop into Rockstarz and get our fall time drinks, available for a limited time only! Special features to our Pumpkin Martini!!!

Always remember to drink responsibly!

Over the past few months a few new spirits are hitting the market and the liquor companies are really outdoing themselves!!!

First…My new Favorite…Puckers Vodka, brought to you by Beam Spirits

These Vodka’s are smooth and very flavorful with names like Sour Apple Sass, Cherry Tease, Grape Gone Wild and Citrus Squeeze. Not to mention, how easy your friends will be impressed by the taste all the while, your mixing skills can be amatuer. The Cherry makes a Phenomenal Cherry bomb and does awesome things for Jello Shots. The Citrus is absolutely perfect with Lemonade. The grape, tastes just like Big League Chew Grape bubble gum, making it perfect with sprite or lemonade (or both) and the apple…just chug out of the bottle!!! If you want to get a little more creative with them, the sky is the limit. Shoot me a mesage and I will share TONS of recipe’s!!

Another product I’m Ecstatic about it New by Bacardi …Arctic Grape

This amazing Rum is a mixture of the Arctic berry and white grape. I personally was invited to a bacardi event where they unveiled this product and I must say, its quite amazing. Its got a grape flavor that is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. Must be the White Grape…or the Arctic Berry. Don’t think I’ve ever run across an Arctic berry at the local market!! You will be a party pleaser with this product. Your friends will most likely have never heard of this new Rum, and your local store might not carry it just yet. Most Liquor store owners are nice enough to order products for you if you ask, so make sure to ask!!

My FAVORITE drink with the Arctic Grape is a smooth and refreshing Mojito! Made Fresh, its a no brainer for a summer party. Very simple

Two  Bar spoons of sugar ( bar sugar is simply more fine than regular sugar, available in most supermarkets), The juice from one lime, Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add 2oz of Arctic berry and 5 mint leaves, Add Ice, Shake to break up leaves, Top with ice and Soda. Want to impress, find some Arctic berries for garnish…and then let me know where you got them!!!!!

I have a TON of drinks for summertime, some already listed in previous blogs. These are newer products that I’ve fallen head over mixing glasses for! Please feel free to email me at anytime for additional recipe’s.

What does this have to do with Mixology? More than you can imagine! So while your out on the lake, we will be slaving for you to make your experience THAT much better at Rockstarz

Simple back yard BBQ

You can’t go wrong with a Margarita!!! The question isn’t so much what to make, as this is a household drink, but which mix to buy? Do I buy the pre-made stuff? Is it easy to make Margarita’s from scratch? While it is SUPER simple to make a margarita from scratch, we also need to consider convenience. Do you want to enjoy your time with your friends and just pouring drinks from a pitcher or do you want to be stuck in the kitchen squeezing lime’s and making simple syrup?? I hve  few favorite pre made mixes that i like to combine and make the perfect SIMPLE AND EASY Margarita mix that you and all your friends will LOVE!!!

First- SALT

You MUST have a great salt for your Margarita. I LOVE Stirrings Margarita Salt, its got a sweetness as well as saltiness and a touch of lime for a great enhancing flavor on even the best of Margarita’s. You can find Stirrings at most convenient stores that carry Liquor, or you can order here https://www.stirrings.com/real-products/rimmer-cocktail-garnishes

ICE-

I prefer  a good Margarita on the rocks, but if you prefer frozen, use medium size ice, and the recipe will be slightly different which I will list. For on the rocks Margarita’s, use nice big cubes, small ice will melt faster and water down your amazing margarita!!

Tequila-

Cuervo is a household name, everyone has tried it, everyone knows it, but there are so many new Tequilas in the market and the bar has been raised ten fold!!

For a more distinct taste of Tequila, try Cazadoras. This is a VERY bold Tequila and very strong. It makes a great Margarita but personally, I consider Cazadoras more of a man’s Tequila, maybe its the big Buck on the label…

For a sweet, light, crisp tequilla, you can’t go wrong with Cabo Wabo or Corzo, Smooth in taste, and both are GREAT mixer Tequilas, a little more in cost, but you’ll pay less for it in the morning!!  There are tons of different Tequilas, these are just a couple of my favorites, you can also use, Patron, 1800, Nightshade, Sauza, the list is endless!

Triple Sec

Most people don’t realize that Triple sec is basically an Orange Liqueur, and is available in all types of brands. Dekuyper is a popular choice, but if going with a higher end tequila such as Patron, Cabo Wabo or Corzo, i’d match it up with Grand Marnier,  little more bold in taste than the lighter choices of Triple Sec but definitely a great choice to add to an amazing Margarita!

Margarita mix

You may notice a TON of Margarita Mixes in liquor isle of your favorite grocer, however, which one is the best?? What I have found is mixing several types of mixes, truly makes the best Margarita Mix.

4 parts Sauza Lime Margarita mix (non alcoholic)

2 parts Mrs. T’s Sweet and Sour

1/2 part Orange juice (for  kick use Sunny d)

This mixture is quite simple and makes a Delicious Margarita. Make in a Large Gallon Jug and shake very well before serving.

Pour tequilla and triple sec to taste, you really don’t want a distinct Tequila taste, A true Mixologist makes a cocktail without the heavy liquor taste.

For frozen, make sure you have a powerful Blender. The goal is to blend it together well, without beating the ice and watering down the drink. When filling your blender, start with the ice, pour the listed ingredients over ice, til ice is no longer visible. Blend on low for 30 seconds, and then on high for 10. Pour into a salted rimmed glass and Enjoy!!!

Grab two of your favorite flavors, but make sure they are very different in color. I LOVE blue Raspberry jello and Cherry, the bright red and blue go together phenomenally!!!
Most Jello brand jello comes in a 3oz box. So grab 2…make the flavors seperately using 16oz boiling water, 6oz cold water, 10oz vodka. I like to use about 7 oz of a flavored vodka and 3 ounces of a schnapps. In the blue raspberry jello, try Raspberry Vodka and blue island pucker, in the Cherry, try Cherry Vodka and cherry pucker, or to add some depth in color, use Razzmatazz or Chambord.

make the flavors seperately and NOT at the same time. Start with the Cherry and pour the Cherry jello shot mixture in 2 ounce cups, only filling them up 1/2 way.

Let them sit in the freezer until set, roughly an hour.

Now make the Blue Raspberry mixture, let it cool down a bit, about 20 minutes, it will NOT harden, if it did, you need to add more booze and remake!

Pull the Cherry jello shots out of the freezer. Pour the Blue Raspberry Mixture in a measuring cup so that you can utilize the pour spout. Tilt the cups with the cherry jello in them and pour slowly. You will see the layer effect immediately. If they are NOT layering and the Cherry mixture is lifting up, and the Blue mixture is breaking it apart, that means its still too hot, let it cool down a bit and try again. Pour Slowly and watch the layers happen!!! Put lids on them and stick in the freezer.

These layered jello shots can be made with several different types of jello flavors.

Try Lime jello with Citrus vodka and Tripe sec
Tropical Punch with orange vodka and peach tree
Banana jello with 99 Banana’s and cream de banana
etc…the list can go on and on!

Try layering 3 colors!!! Grab red, blue and green!!! There are tons of way to make these look awesome and be a highlight for your next summer time party!!!!

Grab a large bowl Glass (we like the 18oz Schooner) salt or sugar the rim, pour your favorite Tequilla, triple sec and Lime juice, for Frozen, blend all together. Fill your glass 2/3 up and then crack open a 7oz Corona and stick it in upside down. As you drink the Margarita the Corona slowly comes out and compeltely changes the whole taste of the drink as you drink it!

Rockstarz