Mixology Monday

It’s summer (here in the northern hemisphere, anyway), the time of year when a cold, refreshing beer competes for your attention against juleps, rickeys and the other heat-busting equipment in your bar arsenal.

But sometimes, you can have both.

For July’s Mixology Monday — which takes place Monday, July 11, and is hosted by Fred at Cocktail Virgin Slut — the theme is Beer Cocktails, which is, really, just beautiful. Here’s Fred’s idea:

Beer has played a historical role in mixed drinks for centuries.  [...] Bartenders are drawn to beer for a variety of reasons including the glorious malt and roast notes from the grain, the bitter and sometimes floral elements from the hops, the interesting sour or fruity notes from the yeast, and the crispness and bubbles from the carbonation. Beer is not just for pint glasses, so let us honor beer of all styles as a drink ingredient.

The instructions are simple: make a drink that includes beer as an ingredient (on its own, or manipulated as you see fit — Fred’s got the details in his announcement post). Post the recipe, details about it along with a photo on your blog by July 11. Be sure to include a link to Cocktail Virgin Slut, a link to the Mixology Monday site and the MxMo logo in your post, and notify Fred of your post’s URL in the comments section to the announcement post.

Then, sit back with your beer/booze hybrid, and read the results as they come in. Couldn’t be simpler. Well, actually I guess it could, but hey, it’s all in fun.

Let’s see — Mixology Monday has been in (mostly) monthly operation since 2006, and during that time we’ve covered cocktails based on rum, whisk(e)y, gin, bourbon (yes, I know that counts as whiskey, but c’mon, bourbon’s worth its own event), tequila, brandy and even vodka.

So, what’s left? Why, everything else.

The next Mixology Monday is scheduled for Monday, June 20. This round is hosted by Filip at Adventures in Cocktails, and for his theme, Filip has chosen Niche Spirits. Participating in this one will be a piece of cake; here’s Filip’s pitch:

…Any cocktail where the base ingredient is not bourbon, gin, rum, rye, tequila, vodka etc would qualify.  So whether you choose Mezcal or Armagnac get creative and showcase your favorite niche spirit.

Pisco? Check! Armagnac? Armagn-yes! Corn whiskey? Absolutely! Slivovitz? Oh, why not! Shaojiu? As long as you’re drinking it and not me, go for it! The black stuff in that weird bottle you brought home from Uzbekistan, that intrigues your neighbors and frightens the livestock, or vice versa? Hell yes! (Just please make sure your tetanus shots are up to date first…)

Here’s how to participate (need more details? Clickety here)

• Have your post up on your blog by midnight (wherever you are) on June 20
• Include in your post: a link to this month’s host; a link to the MxMo blog, so your readers know what the hell you’re talking about; and the MxMo logo, to show you’re a team player
• Notify Filip of your post so you’ll be included in the roundup; simply stick the URL of your entry in the comments section of his announcement post
• No blog? No problem! Just email your entry to Filip by Saturday, June 18, and he’ll kindly work it into the roundup: filip /at/ adventuresincocktails /dot/ com.

Got it? Great. See you on June 20–

In case the sunny skies and warm weather outside (at least here in Seattle) weren’t tipoff enough, May’s great turnout for Mixology Monday proved that summer is indeed on its way.

May’s MxMo was themed Flores de Mayo: Floral Cocktails, and was hosted by Dave at The Barman Cometh. Many thanks to Dave for hosting; now head on over to his MxMo roundup to see all the great drinks that were posted this round.

Can you feel it? Spring is here (for us Northern Hemisphere types, anyway), and everything’s in bloom. Fittingly, May’s Mixology Monday (hosted by Dave at The Barman Cometh) is themed Flores de Mayo – Floral Cocktails.

From Dave’s announcement post:

The challenge is to feature a cocktail that highlights a floral flavor profile or includes a floral derived ingredient, whether home-made or off the shelf.  With the ever expanding catalogue of spirits (and the kitchen labs of home enthusiasts), there’s a whole host of directions for you to choose from – elderflower liqueur, creme de violette, chamomile infused gin, hibiscus grenadine, rosewater, lavender syrup – or to create.

This round of MxMo takes place Monday, May 16, and participating is easy:

• Have your post up on your blog by midnight (where you are), May 16. Be sure to include a link to Dave’s blog (the perks of hosting), a link to the Mixology Monday site (so your readers will know what the hell you’re talking about) and the MxMo logo (because it’s pretty).
• Notify Dave of your post so he can include a link to it in his roundup — just shoot an email to barmancometh /at/ hotmail /dot/ com, or stick the URL in a comment to Dave’s announcement post.
• No blog? No problem — Dave will post your drink on his blog, but make sure he has it by May 14 so he can take care of everything.

And that’s it — get to mixing, and we’ll see what everyone’s come up with on May 16.

Ready for the spotlight? Good — because for this next round of Mixology Monday, you’re gonna be asked to show everyone your absolute favorite original drink creation — your liquid baby, your proud moment in a glass, your personal pinnacle of mixological mastery. In other words, Your Best.

This round of MxMo takes place Monday, April 11, and is hosted by Chris at Spirited Remix. As Chris says in his announcement post,

Give me the best drink recipe you’ve ever created. No, I’m not really talking about that awesome drink that you made under pressure and on the fly for your friends one evening. I’m not talking about that kickass nightcap that you whipped up using the last bits from those few bottles that you needed to throw away. I’m talking about that one drink that you’ve worked on for quite a while. The one that you’ve carefully tweaked over time until you found that perfect recipe. The one you’ve made tons of times: sometimes alone in contemplation, sometimes for a guest so that you could get their opinion. If you don’t have a drink that fits the above mold, then perhaps this is your excuse to revisit your old “original remixes”, as I call them, and decide or even tweak one to be your best. If you’ve never made such a drink before, then begin experimenting right now! I want to see what makes your taste buds tick. Use your favorite spirits or flavors. Show me what your “drink of the house” would be.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve already blogged about the drink or not, or if it’s been added to the menu of bars or if it’s something that only you so far have tasted. This is an invitation to bring your best game and to share it with the other online drunks creative cocktailians, so we can all get a better idea of how each other drinks (as well as pick up some handy new drink ideas along the way).

Here’s how it works: have your drink ready by Monday April 11, and put the recipe and the drink’s story on your blog. (Be sure to include the MxMo logo and a link back to the Mixology Monday site and to the host’s site in your post.) As Chris notes, being on the early side helps, because he’s gonna take a crack at trying as many of the drinks as possible , so give the man some time to get everything together, and have some mercy on his liver for the pounding it’ll likely take on Monday.

Once your post is up, let Chris know by putting its URL in the comments of Chris’ announcement post, or by emailing him at dj.hawaiianshirt at gmail dot com. Then, on April 12, sit back and wait until Chris’ hangover subsides enough for him to finish the roundup post, then tune in and see what everybody else dug into for this round of Mixology Monday.

See you next week–