The fountain of youth

The Beverly Hillbillies loved their moonshine.  Miss Jane was the first to state that moonshine is the fountain of youth, and granny called her shine a cure all.   Since then there have been numerous accounts of “moonshine medicine” helping folks stay healthy and limber, such as, South Carolina farmer Perry or some of the Moonshiners’ forum writers.

Moonshine isn’t the only thing with infamous health benefits.  I think almost everyone knows the phrase an apple a day keeps the doctor away.  So, I got a brilliant idea to combine the fountain of youth with apples to keep the doctor away.  I have two recipes to stay healthy, limber, and young while still catching a buzz.

Moonshiner

1 ½ oz moonshine (nothing too smoky or flavored)

½ oz vanilla simple syrup

¼ oz all spice dram

Apple juice

Splash cranberry juice

To make the vanilla simple syrup you will need a vanilla bean, vanilla extract, sugar, and water.  One vanilla bean will make up to one cup of simple syrup.  Add equal parts water and sugar (no more than one cup) to a pot over medium high heat.  Once the sugar is dissolved and the vanilla extract and the vanilla bean cut in half lengthwise.  Let it simmer for about five minutes and then remove from heat.  Once it is cooled remove the bean and scrap all the vanilla from the inside.  If it gets clumped in the syrup just shake well in a sealed container.

Add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice.  Use more apple juice than, almost a 3:1 ratio.  Pour into a glass and enjoy.  If you would like to garnish this, I recommend an apple slice.

Apples a la mode

1 ½ oz moonshine (nothing too smoky or flavored)

½ oz vanilla simple syrup

¼ oz all spice dram

Slice of leftover apple pie

A la mode is a French phrase that translates to “of the world.” So, although this recipe doesn’t include ice cream it is most definitely going to be a favorite way to consume your leftover apple pie.

Put all the ingredients into a blender.  Once smooth pour into a glass and enjoy.  I like to serve this with a wedge of cheddar cheese on the rim.  The salty cheese is a nice contrast to the sweet drink, and in some parts of America apple pie is served with cheddar cheese.

By Krystle Turkington for Happy Hour Pal

@KrystleBar

Happy Hour Pal is available for Android and iPhone and support Hawaii, Portland, and The Hamptons!

Happy Father’s Day!

Father’s Day is tomorrow, June 16^th!  Unlike Mother’s Day, you can’t just buy your Dad flowers and chocolates.  The trend nowadays seems to be to make him something personalized.  There are hundreds of websites dedicated to showing young kids how to make something for their dad that he can use almost every day, such as spoonful.com and enchantedlearning.com.  For those of us outside of grade school though, a personalized gift for dad can be a daunting task.

Let me use my dad as an example.  He is an enigma to me.  He is a gun slinging, confederate flag waving, moonshine loving redneck.  Now when anyone hears this they assume my father is a born and bred Southern, but that is not the case.  My dad was originally from North, he can talk like a New Englander, and he has a half Puerto Rican daughter.  So, like I originally said, he is an enigma to me.  I know he loves hunting, fishing, and playing in his band, which only plays two kinds of music:  country and western.  So, if you think your dad is hard to personalize a gift for, I feel your pain.

Thanks to the Boardwalk Empire, Moonshiners, and the progression from pre-prohibition to prohibition cocktails, though, I have developed a new and great plan that can work for almost any dad.  After taking him to enjoy his favorite activity, whether it is golf, watching the ball game, or fishing, you can surprise him with a signature cocktail inspired by him and named after him.

Moonshine is now being mass distributed in several states such as Kentucky, Tennessee, Connecticut, and Hawaii.  It is now considered a trendy and hip liquor, so it can be enjoyed by more than just my pops.  I have listed three various recipe ideas based on personal style.

Old School:  Inspired by the Bees Knees

2oz moonshine

¾ oz honey syrup

½ oz lemon juice

¾ oz orange juice

To make the honey syrup, take equal parts honey and warm water.  Put them in a sealed contained and shake until the color and consistency is uniform.

Add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice.  Shake until very cold and strain into a martini glass.  Garnish with a lemon twist.  This drink is best made with fresh squeezed orange and lemon juice.  If you use a bottled orange juice make sure it is not calcium fortified.  This will give the cocktail and chalky taste.

For the sweet at heart

2 oz moonshine

¾ oz vanilla simple syrup

½ oz orange juice

1 oz pineapple juice

To make the vanilla simple syrup you will need vanilla extract, a vanilla bean, sugar, and water.  One vanilla bean will make up to a cup of simple syrup.  Split the vanilla bean in half and add to a pot with equal parts water and sugar.  When it starts to simmer add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and simmer for about five minutes.  Remove from heat and cool.  Before you toss the vanilla bean, scrap the remaining black specks from the bean pod.  If it gets clumped just put in a sealed container and shake until the clumps break apart.

Add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice.  After everything is mixed pour into a highball glass and garnish with a pineapple or orange slice.

For the wild and crazy

This applies to my dad so I’ve called this the Tommy Bomb

1 oz moonshine

Energy drink of choice, his favorite is Mountain Dew

Drop the moonshine into the energy drink like any bomb shot, and chug.

Have a great Father’s Day everyone!

By Krystle Turkington

@KrystleBar

http://www.HappyHourPal.com