Bacon, Ground Beef & Hot Dog Turtle Burgers

Nothing says man cave like bacon, hamburgers & hot dogs. But why waste valuable time cooking your heart healthy bar snacks separately when you could be watching the game and entertaining your friends? This ingenious culinary masterpiece solves that common pub food preparation problem by combining all your favorite meats into a single burger that looks like a turtle.

And, these pond sliders have all the four major food groups: beef, pork, poultry and cheese.*

Although, you might want to grill some bacon wrapped shrimp on the side to add a little seafood to the menu as well.

How To Make A Turtle and Eat It Too

O Me, O My O - Horse’s Neck Cocktail Toasts Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo

Since the Kentucky Derby is always the first Saturday in May and Cinco de Mayo is Spanish for the “fifth of May” it stands to reason these two events would fall on the same day every seven years. If you include the years where they fall on the same weekend as Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday combos its nearly half the time. How are you going celebrate them both?

If your home is host to a Kentucky Derby party you can’t go wrong mixing up some Mint Juleps to drink along with the chocolate bourbon balls a.k.a. southern truffles you set on the bar top for snacks. Paying homage to Cinco de Mayo with a themed combination might include a spicy Margarita paired with some roasted pumpkin seeds a.k.a. pepitas.

But, is there a common bond between the social soiree and the folk festival that could be used to tie everything together? What kind of party animal would enjoy both occasions?

What’s A PickleBack?

A pickleback is a shot of whiskey followed by a chaser shot of pickle juice brine. Yes, you read that right. You take a perfectly good shot of whiskey and wash it down with that yellowish green liquid leftover in the pickle jar. Hopefully with the floaters strained out.

Its No Surprise - A Pickleback Is Not Surprisingly Refreshing

You might think its kind of like eating a pickle, but its not. The tsunami of sour taste from the wave of salt water rushing down your throat chases away any umami* or other flavors from your palate leaving you puckered up with a strange, sickly feeling and wondering why you just did that. Unless its Saint Patrick’s Day, then that explains it^†.

People are trying to propel this pickled potation’s popularity though. The perception of a perfect pickleback pairing is being perpetrated by pubs on their patrons, and not just for St. Paddy’s Day either.

Peter Piper is behind the bar picking pecks of pickles out of the jar of many pub’s own secret recipes so they can pour a pickleback with the brine left behind. Preposterous?

Many pubs profess pickleback perfection only when their peculiar potion & poteen pairing is poured. So, is this progression of pickleback popularity purely personal or prodded from public promotion by a poteen producer as proclaimed in a presumed press release?

Game Day Drinks And Cocktails For All 32 NFL Football Teams

Football season means great tailgate parties away at the stadium for home games and at your in home bar for away games when your team is on road. These NFL football team inspired cocktails* will give you lots of game day party ideas for themed drinks for all 32 NFL teams out on the gridiron.

The cocktails were chosen based on a number of factors including team names, colors, mascots, player and squad nicknames as well as city, regional and state monikers, landmarks, festivals and more. A few were created as signature drinks for specific football teams, but most were added to the roster because they were a good fit for that club.

Whether its pre-season scrimmages, regular season games or the playoffs; Wild Card, Divisional, Conference and the Superbowl, there’s a drink listed here that’s perfect for your pigskin party. Some of the squads have several symbolic sips which lets you substitute your drink line-up based on the schedule.

So, with one hand waving your favorite team’s foam finger shouting you’re #1 and the other hand free for a refreshment, the only question is:

Are You Ready For Some NFL Football Team Cocktails?

The Happy New Year Cocktail - An Eve(ning) Of Fun Toasts

The Happy New Year cocktail is a drink mixed with brandy, ruby port wine, orange juice and champagne. Yes, it is named after the annual greeting and well wishing phrase uttered when the calendar cycle starts all over again, Happy New Year. However, it does get a little confusing.

Sort of similar to how The Classic Cocktail is an actual drink recipe but sounds like it is describing another one altogether as in; “The Resolution Martini would be a great Happy New Year cocktail.” You could have some fun with that at your party.

The Daily Cocktail book actually listed the Happy New Year cocktail recipe as their drink of the day recommendation for December 31st back in 2006.* Although made for celebrating New Year’s Eve, this would be a great recipe any time of the year and works really well for using up leftover champagne after a party as well.

“What time did you say you want me to start drinking?”

The holiday feast is still being prepared and the chaos of family and friends sitting down to turkey dinner hasn’t even gotten comical yet.

Are You Eyeballing Me?

Want your home bar to host a Gothic black tie event for the ghosts and goblins of Halloween? These ghoulish Gibsons are pretty gruesome looking Martinis and should do a great job grossing out your guests with their gory eyeballs.

A Gibson is a Martini which substitutes a cocktail onion instead of an olive as the garnish. In this case, two onions per drink. Listed below are dry and extra dry recipes from classic gin & vodka Martinis and Thanksgiving Martini cocktails with slightly different portion sizes from each other.

Behind The Bar - How To Make Ghoulish Gibsons For Halloween

Two French Connection Cocktails Brandy About

The French Connection cocktail pairs amaretto with brandy and drink recipes call for Cognac rather than Armagnac. Even though both of these brandies are connected to regions in France, Armagnac is rarely specified in cocktails (the D'Artagnan is an example of one that does).

Does Cocktail’s History Have Connections To The Book And Movie

The Godfather has strong ties to the French Connection as a book / movie and as a cocktail. In literature and film, both books were published in 1969 and became movies shortly afterwards, The French Connection* in 1971 and the first of the Godfather trilogy in 1972. Their storylines involving the criminal activities of gangsters in mob syndicates as a central theme is something they have in common with each other as well.

As cocktails, both are two part amaretto drink recipes and each is officially listed in the sweet after-dinner category by the IBA. Others include the Golden Dream and the Grasshopper.