This afternoon, while grocery shopping, I ran into some friends buying a case of EarlyTimes pre-mixed Mint Julep. Well, it is Derby time, almost a requirement to drink Juleps, however, New Orleanians hardly need horse-racing as an excuse to drink Mint Juleps and it was surprising to find someone here not making the drink from scratch.  This couple however are people “of an age” who love a good cocktail, have impeccable taste and they swear by EarlyTimes.  Accordingly, a bottle came home with me and I can attest that this is a darn nice Mint Julep poured over hand-cracked ice and muddled fresh mint.  Cheers!

There are certainly dining trends and at the moment, fancy cocktails are definitely en vogue. But, when I found a second drink this week with celery as its main flavoring, I was a little surprised. Who would have thought celery, which is used all over savory menus, could be so versatile off the plate?!

This drink was a lovely combination of prosecco and house made wild celery syrup (I’m guessing it was simple syrup steeped with fresh celery). It was crisp and sweet, with just a subtle hint of the fresh green celery flavor. Garnished with a celery leaf and a few tiny celery seeds, it made the perfect pre-dinner drink!

Last night I ordered a “spiked” horchata at a neighborhood Mexican restaurant, and although the food was mediocre (and expensive), the drink was great! It was a typical horchata that was spiked with spiced rum.

Horchata (sometimes called rice milk) is made of finely ground raw rice and cinnamon steeped in water for a few days then strained.  After it is strained it is thinned down with more water and sweetened with sugar. The result is a milky-white drink that is refreshing because it is water-based, and intense in flavor from the several-day soaking process.

Although the drink was great with the rum (a slice of orange would have been a nice addition as well), it by no means needs it.  Horchata is delicious on its own and is the perfect pairing to cool down spicy hot foods.

A terrific piece in Time covers the current trend for molecular mixology. What’s so fascinating about these cocktails are the various textures and intense flavors normally seen on the plate that are now also appearing in the glass. The drink that knocked me off my seat - I’m a bourbon gal - is from Seattle’s Vessel, where bartender (bar chef, master mixologist) Jaime Boudreau “…combines orange-infused cotton candy floss and spirits for a new twist on the old-fashioned.” Holy cow, I want to have some of that, don’t you?

  While at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival, I was given a bottle of Camitz sparkling vodka, along with a recipe book of 20 or so drinks to make with it.   After thumbing through the book, I became really excited to try this new liquor. Although the book contained lots of really interesting drinks—for instance, a lavender martini—I opted to create my own concoction.Of all the flavor combinations I tried, my favorite was quite simple and something of a cross between a Lemon Drop and a Mimosa. I combined three parts Prosecco, one part Camitz, a splash of simple syrup, a bit of fresh Meyer lemon juice and a generous amount of Meyer lemon zest. This mixture, shaken once over ice, then strained into champagne glasses, was absolutely delicious! It would make a great addition to a Sunday brunch or a very lovely pre-dinner drink.

Lately, I have been on a fruity drink kick. So at lunch yesterday, I orderded a tall glass of raspberry-mint limeade. It was delicious, refreshing, and surprisingly not so sweet.

The bartender made the drink similar to that of a mojito–a couple of fresh lime wedges, five or so fresh mint leaves, a couple tablespoons of sugar and five or so fresh raspberries were muddled together, then topped off with ice and fresh limeade (which is just lemonade made with limes).

This would be a great drink to serve for brunch, lunch, a picnic, a party, or just about anytime really! For a cocktail, simply add vodka or rum (and maybe a dash of Grand Marnier?) to make it extra fancy!

While visiting London, a fellow traveler introduced me to the Black Velvet - a pint glass half full of Guinness and half full of champagne. This morning, I concocted my own version of a beer and champagne drink - half sparkling wine and half Abita Strawberry Lager - and thus, the Pink Velvet was born. The cocktail is spritzy, crisp from the sparkler, slightly strawberry sweet and yeasty from the lager; a good drink.

Fancy cocktails have got to be one the greatest things ever invented. I especially like sipping a well-crafted cocktail while visiting the bar of a elegant hotel or restaurant. Just last week, I had the opportunity to do so. The result: a new drink that I will definitely be making for my next dinner party.

The tasty beverage, served in a tall, slender glass, was a concoction of about ten thin cucumber slices, a cup of ice and a tablespoon of sugar, muddled together, then topped with a shot of Hendrick’s Gin (a mildly cucumber- infused gin) and finished off with freshly squeezed blood orange juice (fresh squeezed navel oranges or clementines could definitely substitute) and a squirt of soda water. The drink was very refreshing, a perfect blend of sweet and not-so-sweet; what I would consider to be the epitome of a long drink, a beautiful riff on the Pimm’s Cup.

I know, I know, I’m supposed to be recovering, but I couldn’t resist the allure of blood oranges (regular navels too), good quality maraschino cherries, a hefty pour of Jim Beam, Fee Bros. bitters and a splash of soda. I love Saturday nights. Time to go grill fajitas and relax on the porch, cradling my cocktail, on this beautiful cool night in New Orleans. Wish you were here.

Apparently, V.S.O.P., the letters used to describe the grade for certain types of cognac, do not stand for velvet sofa on premises, as I previously believed. It actually stands for very superior old pale, of course! (Although, I do still think that velvet sofas and snifters of cognac go hand-in-hand.)

I found this out while reading one of my favorite books, Schott’s Food and Drink Miscellany, which is loaded with lots of useful, and even more useless, culinary facts and trivia.

Pick a copy up and find out what a “typical American beer” contains in the way of vitamins, or read a handful of the hundreds of silly quotes found amongst its pages. (My favorite being taken from The Comic Cookery Book on how to make Clear Soup. “Take two pints of water, wash them thoroughly on both sides, pour into a dish or something and stir round the kitchen until tired. Dilute it with ice water, cook until it comes to the boil. Have the boil lanced and serve.”)

It’s decidedly the most nonsensical collection of material published on food and drink I have laid my eyes upon, and I am certain it will provide you with at least fifteen minutes of entertainment (if not more)…