Just in time for Halloween -- a Milky Way cocktail

With Halloween two weeks away, it's an awesome time to mix a cocktail with a chocolate flavor. While surfing through the Internet, I found the fineliving.com site had this awesome recipe for this Milky Way Martini:

1 1/2 oz. Starbucks Cream Liqueur
1 oz. Three Olives chocolate vodka
1/2 oz. cream

Shake together while chilling and pour.

Recipes courtesy Dan Goss, Downtown Grill and Brewery, Knoxville, Tenn.

Reading this recipe made me think of Michael O'Rourke's column in today's San Antonio Express News about Halloween candy. So, if you truly care about the quality of your spirited cocktails, you'll use this recipe with some Twang chocolate rimmer.

Making pineapple sizzle with this recipe

Sure, the summer season is over, but when I saw this great recipe from "A Dash of Bitters," I had to post it on the blog.

Agua Fresca de la Dietsch
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into small chunks (mine was 22 oz.)
2 limes, juiced (about a cup of juice)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups pomegranate juice
1/4 cup homemade grenadine

Put about a third of the pineapple chunks into a blender or food processor, along with the lime juice and sugar, and puree until smooth and the sugar fully dissolves into the liquid. Pour that out into a pitcher. Process the remaining pineapple in batches and pour into the pitcher. Add pomegranate juice and grenadine to the pitcher and stir.

Serve over ice and top with seltzer. Or, y’know, vodka. It’s your liver.

Of course, I would only add some pineapple rim sugar from Twang to make it just a little better.

Great recipe for Bloody Mary mix

While surfing through the blogosphere, I found this great recipe for Bloody Mary's from Jeffrey Morgenthaler, one of the best bartenders/writers in the business. I am going to write Jeffrey this morning and suggest that he add a little Twang chili lime salt to his recipe.

The classic drink recipe from the Nutty Professor

If you are over the age of "50 something," you probably remember Jerry Lewis as the Nutty Professor. When Jerry turned into Buddy Love, he had this classic drink. Thanks to the folks at Booze Movies

Want to sell more cerveza in your liquor stores? Add the scent of freshly cut grass to the store

Want to increase your beer sales? Add the scent of grass into your marketing scheme. According to Booze News, a Halifax chain of liquor stores has added the scent to increase their beer sales. Just hoping that they also add some Twang beer salt to their lines as our product makes a beer taste even better.

How to write a resume for that next bar gig

If you are a bartender looking for a new job, I would consider a visit to Jeffrey Morgenthaler's blog. Jeffrey has some great advice for both the novice and experienced server.

Not sure what to drink? The Mixilator provides concise advice

Ever in a quandry in terms of the right cocktail for the right mood, time of day and drink strength. After finding the Mixilator online, I will never had that problem again.

Mayo and margaritas? I don't think so.......

While I have lived in different parts of the world and I have embraced just everything, having a mayonaise rimmer on my margarita is not one thing I wish to embrace. Yet, the Cocktail Chronicles had this interesting post about how one Japanese restaurant had introduced mayo to its margaritas.

Forget the corkscrew, here's a better way to open that bottle...

While surfing through the professional bartender blogs, I found this post on how to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew. I truthfully hate those devices, so this humorous video was an excellent idea when I can't find my corkscrew.

Why drinking isn't cool when you're preggers

When I read Jeffrey Morgenthaler's latest post on the risk of drinking with pregnancy, I had to compliment him on his response. In fact, I am going to share his latest post with some of my friends in the "bidness," and also work with the folks at Twang to produce some great non-alcoholic drinks for the upcoming football season.

A resource for great nonalcoholic drinks

As a semi-retired TABC Seller Server instructor, I have always believed in responsible drinking. And, when I learned about the dangers of a woman drinking while drinking, I have always been an advocate of non-alchohol, not only for the mother but the expectant papa.

So, when in the course of my research for this blog, I found the Liquid Muse and her link to nonalchoholic drinks. Their chief blogger Natalie's work on pregatinis a real resource for bartenders and friends of women who are "preggers."

Our next mover and shaker Jeffrey Morgenthaler

When I found Jeff Morganthaler's blog, I knew that he had to be our next Twang "Mover and Shaker." First, he has an excellent blog that allows others in the industry to get new ideas for drinks. And, I especially liked his post on "Seven Things You Should Never Catch Your Bartender Doing."

If you're a hospitality manager, you should post this in your employee break area, or make them read them as part of their ongoing training. And, if you are in Eugene, Oregon, I would stop at the El Vaquero to get a cocktail from Jeff and his staff.

A cocktail a day keeps the doctor away..

With the temps hovering with an average temp of 100, a drink like the Kansas City Ice Water seems like a perfect cocktail.

Want a great Michelada? Visit Boston Pizza......

If you ask most bartenders in my part of Texas, they'll tell you that they hate to make a Michelada. However, Stephanie, the bar tender at the Boston Pizza in San Antonio is one of those people who can make several versions of this popular drink. Stephanie mixes tomato juice with her special ingredient -- the jalopena juice from a big jar of the south Texas delicacies.

The unique thing about Stephanie is that she doesn't want any publicity. She is one of those great bar tenders who does a great job without wanting the limelight shined on her. Yet, her drink is one of the best versions of the Michelada in Texas.

A perfect drink for Texas and Georgia

With the Texas peach crop in full harvest, it's a good idea to think about serving this peach flavored drink. Thanks to the folks at cocktailtimes.com for this excellent recipe

Peach Margarita

Ingredients:-

3/4 oz peach schnapps-

Splash reposado tequila-

1 oz tangerine juice-

2 oz Ballatore Gran Spumante

Garnish: Peach wedgeIn a mixing glass, comebine the peach schnapps, tequila and tangerine juice with ice. Shake well and strain the mixture into a margarita glass. Top off with chilled Ballatore Gran Spumante. Garnish with a fresh peach wedge.

Note: All that is missing is a Twang tangerine flavored rimmer

Our first mover and shaker -- Sarah Hartman

Flash back to the start of June. The Spurs had just won the Western Conference championship for the NBA. Late one Thursday afternoon, I got an email from Monica Nino, the producer for SA Living, asking me if Twang knew of anyone who could put together some great drinks for a NBA playoff party for their 10 a.m. Living newcast. Chris Day, my colleague and I, talked about several top hospitality managers, but our consensus was that we should ask Sarah Hartman, the general manager of the Suede Lounge, to help us out.

Sarah agreed to help us put together several drinks including the Manuchelada, a toast to Manu Ginoboli and his love of Heinekin. While Sarah was a big help in promoting our Twang products, we at the Twang_movers_and_shakers staff knew the one of the coolest bars on Houston Street was the Suede Lounge. That's why we picked Sarah as our first Twang "Movers and Shakers"