Ginger-Mint Vodka Soda

Being a bartender, I guess I should post a booze recipe. Don't worry, I'm not one of those people who considers herself to be a mixologist or any other ridiculous title (an old co-worker said he's a drink monkey, haha). I don't intend to be a career bartender and feel like an ass when friends ask me to bartend at informal events because the drinks — usually just simple two- or three-ingredient cocktails — don't require any special knowledge. I guess some people get nervous about proportions, but they're just to what your preferences are. However, of course I am always happy to bartend for friends. I do enjoy it and like being helpful (well, sometimes, anyway).

That being said, one of my favorite cocktails is the vodka soda — decent vodka, soda water and a squeeze of lime. I love this recipe because it's the basis for so many tasty, refreshing cocktails and doesn't have an excess amount of sugar that will add to your potential hangover the next day. I think a lot of people think you need sweet mixers or a lot of ingredients to make a decent cocktail, but that's not always the case. This is especially true when using a sweet-flavored vodka. Most would think to mix it with lemon-lime soda when all you probably need is the soda water and squeeze of lime (or lemon, or whatever). Maybe a splash of something else, such as cranberry juice or sour mix, depending of the flavor of the vodka. For the recently trendy sweet tea vodka, I just use soda water and maybe a squeeze. If it's a lower-quality one (ahem, Seagram's), then a splash of sour mix, as well. Orange vodka with soda and a splash of OJ is a nice grown-up version of Orangina. So you see, the possibilities are endless.

One more bartender gripe when it comes to cocktails: tonic water is NOT the same as soda water! A surprising number of people think that tonic is soda and therefore, a diet-friendly mixer. SO not the case. Tonic water basically has as much sugar in it as cola does (there are diet versions of tonic water, as well). And the distinctive taste of it is mostly due to quinine. I'm not hating on tonic water. It actually has medicinal qualities to it and glows under black light! I just want to make sure that alcohol imbibers know what they're drinking. So anyway...

I so happened to have a small bottle of PacifiKool's Hawaiian Ginger syrup (aaahhhh, so good!), as well as some fresh herbs from my Vietnamese cooking kick (more in future posts). So I threw together this simple, delicious cocktail. As usual, proportions are up to you!

Ginger Mint Vodka Soda

1.25 ounces of decent vodka (I'm a fan of 42 Below, but at the grocery store nearest to me, Ketel One on sale will do)

1.25 ounces of PacifiKool's Hawaiian Ginger syrup

mint leaves (perhaps a palmful)

lime wedge

soda water

ice

Ideally, you should muddle the mint, but I have neither a muddler nor the patience for that right now. So I just crushed and rolled the leaves around in my hands. I'm sure I lost some of the essence to my palms, but it was fine for my personal cocktail at home.

Put everything together in a glass, stir and sip (or chug) away at any time of day. You can leave out the vodka if you're not that hardcore(!).

Watermelon Lassi

Oh, Aarti Party, why must I think about your Hot Dog a la Rose so often? I haven't even made them (yet). OK, OK, it's just because I really love hot dogs. And I don't care what anyone else thinks! However, another one of Aarti Party's recipes from the same hot dog episode that I have made (sort of) was a strawberry lassi, or "Strawberry-Basil Yogurt Cooler" (hahaha) as the site says. Way to anglocize.

Anyway, from the same barbecue that the excess mushrooms came from for my Arugula Pesto Pasta post, also came a whole seedless watermelon. So I figured, why not a watermelon lassi?

I left out the water, as I figured the watermelon would have a crap ton. Also missing from the picture are the salt and sugar.

Result: I should have definitely cut down on the amount of watermelon. But at least the texture made the lassi easy to pass through a straw. Also: shout out to the basil leaves. I went to a nearby open market to actually buy a frickin' basil plant for this. Only $2! Sadly, this is the second attempt at tending to a sweet basil plant. I'm not sure how long my little bugger will last. Hard to get direct sunlight from my 29th floor apartment. Leaving a small plant outside on the lanai leads to death by trade winds.

Anyway, very nice mix of sweet and savory. But because I made this for breakfast, I probably should have cut down on the pepper and basil. For a dinner drink, the original proportions would be a good to complement to a savory dinner.