Mixology Monday

I blew it, but let me explain.

Every July for the past three years, I’ve volunteered to host Mixology Monday, which has usually occurred just before or immediately following Tales of the Cocktail. And every year, once the bustle and liquored-up frenzy of Tales rolls around, I ask myself, “What the hell was I thinking?”

The same goes for 2009. Too busy preparing for Tales to adequately promote it, Mixology Monday caught up with me while I was still trying to recover and get caught up from the event. And so it rolled on by….

Anyway, apologies to all for the MxMo-free July, but I’m thinking it might not be such a bad idea to take July off in the years to come.

And so, moving into August — here comes MxMo XLI. Our kind host for the August 10 edition is Amelia at Felicia’s Speakeasy, and for this round the topic is — ready for it? — VODKA IS YOUR FRIEND. Yes! We’ve dismissed it, we’ve disdained it, we’ve smeared its name across the Internet; now it’s time to take a step back and see what we can do. As our host explains:

The theme of August 10th’s Mixology Monday is “Vodka is Your Friend.” The recent high profile bashings of vodka interspersed with a few weak “yeah, buts…” left me wondering, is vodka the axis of evil, our most dangerous enemy? While it may not be the life of the party, experts agree: Vodka’s obituary does not have to be written just yet.

So suck it up, people, and let’s see if we can make something respectable out of the best-selling spirit in the U.S. (and, I dunno, probably lots of other places as well). Here’s how to participate:

Find or create a cocktail that contains vodka as one of its ingredients.

Email the host a link to your post before midnight on Monday, August 10 (amelia AT atomicloungeithaca DOT com) –or- post a link to your blog as a comment on the host’s announcement post.

Post your recipe and reasonings on your blog along with a drink photo. Make sure to include a link to Felicia’s Speakeasy (our host) and Mixology Monday, as well as the MxMo logo.

See you there–

I’m running far enough behind on this that I’ll just skip to the point: MxMo XL: Ginger happened. In June. And now I’m getting around to posting about the roundup. In almost August. As I said, far enough behind.

Anyway, thanks to Rum Dood for hosting, and here’s Matt’s excellent roundup.

I’ll avoid all the obvious XL jokes in this post, because we’re one scant week away from June’s Mixology Monday, which — in case you couldn’t figure it out from the headline — takes place on Monday, June 15.

Hosting this round of MxMo is RumDood over at, yep, RumDood.com. And as you might expect from the blog’s name, for this round’s theme the Dood has chosen … okay, it’s not rum — we’ve already had one of those. So, instead he’s going with the next-best theme: Ginger.

Here’s how to play:

• Find or concoct a cocktail recipe that uses ginger in one of its many forms as an ingredient.  This can be muddled ginger, sliced ginger, ginger syrup, ginger beer (commercial or homemade), ginger liqueur, ginger candy, or pieces of a shredded photo of Ginger from Gilligan’s Island.
• Make this recipe, take a picture of it, and then post the recipe, your thoughts about the recipe, and your photo on your blog or at the eGullet Spirits and Cocktails forum.
• Post a link to your submission in the comments here, or send an email using the “Contact” form.

And that pretty much says it all. So, Monday, June 15, be here in Internet-land with some kind of gingery drink, and inform the host so he’ll know what you’ve been up to. See you then–

Okay, so that doesn’t actually rhyme the way I’d hoped, but hey –

Anyway, many thanks to Chuck Taggart for hosting May’s edition of Mixology Monday over at The Gumbo Pages. Chuck chose Amaro as the theme, and woke up Tuesday morning to find three dozen drinks in his inbox. Well, not really, but you get my point.

Here’s Chuck’s roundup, complete with pictures & everything. Thanks again, Chuck, and you’re off the hook for hosting again until … I dunno, what’s your autumn schedule look like?

We’re about a week and a half away from the next round of Mixology Monday, this time hosted by the inimitable Chuck Taggart at The Gumbo Pages on Monday, May 18. Chuck has chosen a theme that’s near and dear to many cocktail enthusiasts: Amaro. That’s right, it’s time to break out your bottles of Italian bitters and get mixing (and being the flexible types, Chuck doesn’t mind if you step away from Italy and reach for the Unicum, Amer Picon, Malort or other potable bitter).

Here’s what Chuck says about the event in his announcement post:

The topic for this month is Amaro, which refers to the bitter liqueurs usually drunk as an after-meal digestive, either alone (neat or on the rocks) or in some kind of mixed drink or cocktail. They tend to all share certain characteristics — drinking bitters are generally made of alcohol with any number of herbs, plus sugar and some kind of coloring. The word “amaro” means bitter in Italian, and although the more famous drinking bitters tend to come from Italy our amaro theme this month is most certainly not limited to that country. Amaro, amer, amargo, what have you. Italy, Spain, France, America, Serbia, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland … wherever somebody drinks a bitter liqueur, that’s a source for your drink this month.

[...]

You could use something gentle, like the lovely Amaro Montenegro, or something in-your-face, like the aforementioned Fernet. You could go insane, like a few intrepid Chicago bartenders have done, and actually make cocktails with Jeppson Malört, which is the most mind-bogglingly, unrelentingly bitter liqueur ever. Or you could find something relatively rare, like a pelinkovac from Serbia or Croatia. Just remember we’re talking about a bitter liqueur you drink from a glass, not an aromatic bitters you add by the dash. Oh, and one more thing … while technically Jägermeister is a digestive bitter liqueur and is perfectly legitimate for your post-prandial sipping, it’s been done to death by frat boys nationwide. Unless your Jäger cocktail is destined to be a modern classic, I’d recommend skipping that one (if for no other reason that someone will undoubtedly taunt you for it). Or you could say, “In your face, Taggart!” and do a brilliant Jägermeister cocktail that blows everyone away. The world of bitters is your canvas.

To participate, simply post your drink on or before Monday, May 18. Be sure to let Chuck know you’re participating by placing a link to your post in the comment section of his announcement post, or in the MxMo post he’ll put on his site on May 18. Be sure to link from your post back to Chuck’s site, and to the main Mixology Monday page — and work the MxMo logo into your post, so your readers will know what you’re talking about.

So bitter up, ladies and gents — May was made for amari. Let’s see what ya got…..