Archive for the ‘Cocktails’ Category
Thursday, December 15th, 2011
Written by Melissa Bailey special to The Pensacola News Journal
 Cocktails and appetizers are perfect for holiday parties. / Tony Giberson/tgiberson@pnj.com I must say Christmas is my favorite holiday, from the decorations to the smell of a fresh-cut Christmas tree being decorated by the family. To me, the house just feels warmer and more welcoming with the scent of baked cookies and the glow from the fireplace as it crackles during dinner.
The best part about this holiday is that you can celebrate all month long. Between office holiday gatherings and gift exchanges with friends over wine and old black-and-white Christmas movies, there are several ways to celebrate the season. This week I would like to offer you a few ideas on how to celebrate with friends and co-workers throughout the month.
As you may know, I am in charge of holiday celebrations at the Fish House and Jackson’s Steakhouse. With the variety of rooms we provide and the types of events that I have planned and executed over the years, I’m inspired to share some of my best ideas with you. Whether you work in an office of 10 or 100, there are lots of different ideas to make your co-workers feel special. (more…)
Tags: Fish House, Happy Hour, Melissa Bailey, Melissa Martin, party planning, Things to do
Posted in Cocktails, Entertainment, Event Planning, Family, Holiday, Pensacola, The Fish House, party planning | No Comments »
Thursday, November 17th, 2011
 The Gobbler. / Ben Twingley/btwingley@pnj.com Now that November is here, the weather is turning cooler and all the stores are starting to string up twinkling lights, bringing on dancing Santa Clauses and Christmas trees — wait — what?
Is it just me, or has the world gone crazy? Have we completely forgotten that greatest of gluttonous holidays — Thanksgiving? How can we skip right over the giant turkey, the stuffing, the family, the football? Well, to all these festivity rushers who want to skip right to Christmas, let me offer one more reason to take time to be thankful for Thanksgiving.
Though beer might be the traditional beverage to accompany the start of the extended weekend that is Thanksgiving break for most of us, why not try something a little different this year?
In the past, I’ve offered up cocktail recipes with lemonade, juice, wine and Champagne, but this month, let me suggest one with beer. But far from the red eyes and Irish car bombs that may come to mind when one hears “beer cocktail,” this drink is not for chugging. It can be enjoyed sip by sip in between first downs and turkey legs. I hope this cocktail can help us slow down, enjoy the day and keep from rushing through the season too quickly.
The Gobbler 4 ounces wheat beer ½ ounce Grey Goose L’Orange vodka ½ ounce Licor 43 ½ ounce Frangelico ½ ounce Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Splash fresh lemon juice Dash bitters Cinnamon sugar (to rim the glass)
In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine Grey Goose L’Orange, Licor 43, Frangelico, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, lemon juice and bitters. Pour into a chilled martini or wine glass rimmed with cinnamon sugar. Add beer slowly, and stir gently with a spoon or decorative stir. Garnish with an orange slice.
Great Southern Restaurant Group, 600 S. Barracks St., 470-0003 or www.goodgrits.com.
Tags: Beer, Cocktails, Fish House, Florida, Holidays, humor, Melissa Temsook-Boeker, Pensacola News Journal, Recipes
Posted in Cocktails, Fun, Holiday, Pensacola, Recipes, The Fish House, party planning | 2 Comments »
Monday, October 31st, 2011
Written by William Morse 
In 1830, 15-year-old Don Facundo Bacardi Massó left Spain to join his brothers in Cuba. Upon his arrival, rum was the most popular spirit even though it was crude and unsophisticated. Here he saw an opportunity and dedicated several years to refining the spirit. Ultimately, in 1862, he established the Bacardi Co.
One of Cuba’s oldest drinks was the Draque, which was named after its inventor, the English corsair Richard Drake, and is the predecessor of the widely popular mojito. Much like today’s mojito, the Draque, or Drak, was made with mint leaves, lime and a rough sugar-cane spirit called aquardiente (meaning fiery water). During the mid-1800s and around the same time that the Bacardi Co. became established, the Draque recipe was changed to use rum in place of aquardiente, thus becoming the mojito.
Another classic cocktail originating in Cuba — and allegedly with Bacardi Rum — was the daiquiri. The account goes that in the summer of 1898, an engineer named Jennings Stockton Cox, who was leading a mining expedition in the town of Daiquirí, Cuba, began experimenting with Bacardi Rum and concocted a mixture of rum, fresh-squeezed lime juice, sugar and shaved ice. He aptly named it the daiquiri.
Another historical drink developed around this time, and purportedly with Bacardi Rum, was the Cuba Libre (meaning “free Cuba”). Well, maybe the drink’s name has more historical relevance than the drink itself. It is simply Bacardi Rum, cola and lime.
Over the years, Bacardi has developed many different-flavored rums, such as cherry, peach and raspberry, as well as many others. Their newest debut is Bacardi OakHeart — a smooth, silky spiced rum.
Bacardi OakHeart Punch
1 1/4 ounces Bacardi OakHeart Spiced Rum
1 ounce Southern Comfort
Fill glass with equal parts:
Orange juice
Cranberry juice
Splash of grenadine
Build ingredients in a tall glass over ice.
The Fish House, 600 S. Barracks St. 470-0003, or visitwww.goodgrits.com.
Tags: Bacardi Oakheart, Cocktails, Fish House, Pensacola
Posted in Cocktails, Recipes, party planning | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
Halloween candy inspires sweet cocktail
 Trick-or-Treat Martini - photo by Katie King Written by Melissa Temsook-Boeker special to The Pensacola News Journal
Now that October is finally here, many people start thinking about the usual fall festivities — like football, leaves changing color, and cooler weather. But personally, I think of Halloween! At my house, the month of October is spent deciding the theme of this year’s haunted house, making the subsequent gory decorations and transforming the yard into a creepy scene of blood, guts and pretty much anything that will terrify the neighbors.
Also, one of the best parts of the holiday is seeing all the creative costumes, and, of course, throwing the perfect Halloween party so that all your friends have a place to show them off. So while everyone else is thinking of the perfect costume to wow their friends, I decided (more…)
Tags: Atlas Oyster House, Cocktails, Happy Hour, Melissa Temsook-Boeker, party planning, Pensacola News Journal, Recipes, Things to do, Vodka
Posted in Atlas Oyster House, Cocktails, Entertainment, Halloween | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
Good Grits Girls bake for a good cause. 
Tuesday, October 25, 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., Twelve Good Grits Girls, employees of the Great Southern Restaurant Group (The Fish House, Atlas Oyster House and Jackson’s Steakhouse), will join together on the Fish House Deck to submit over 1000 cupcakes to the public for judging. The winner will be crowned the Great Southern Cupcake Queen. Judges are our own Great Southern pastry chefs Trina Confusione (Fish House) and Miko Franklin (Jackson’s Steakhouse), and Partners/Owners Mrs. Collier (Cate) Merrill and Pensacola Celebrity Chef Jim Shirley.
People’s Choice: The public will pay 5 dollars for a chance to taste all of the cupcakes. Cupcake tasters will receive two voting tickets. After tasting cupcakes at each station, the guests will leave their tickets with their favorite baker. The baker who has the most cards will win people’s choice. Prizes for the winner will be donated by the restaurant.
100% of the tasting fees will be donated to the American Cancer Society.
Judges will announce their choice along with the crowd’s favorite at 6:30 p.m.
Door Prizes: Provided for attending guests by area boutiques and salons such as Style Downtown and Escape Wellness Spa.
Drink Specials: Pomegranate and ginger martinis and pink sparkling wine.
Entertainment: Provided by Lucas Crutchfield.
We are all very competitive when it comes to our baking skills. We frequently bring in a new baking recipe for each other to try. We thought that making it a fun event and tying it to such a cause as breast cancer, particularly during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, would be an ideal way to have fun doing what we love for a cause we believe in. We hope that people will come and enjoy the evening with us. “It’s just a few days before the breast cancer walk on Saturday, so in a way it’s our own little pep rally,” says Lindsey Voorhees, a Fish House manager.
Tags: America, Atlas Oyster House, Chef Jim Shirley, Cocktails, contest, cupcakes, Fish House, Good Grits for a Good Cause, Happy Hour, Jackson's Steak House, Shelley Yates, Things to do, Trina Confusione
Posted in Atlas Oyster House, Celebrity Chefs, Charity, Chef Jim Shirley, Cocktails, Employees, Family, Fun, Jackson's Steak House, Pensacola, The Fish House, fund raising | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
Cocktail Hour special to The Pensacola News Journal
 Premium Sake is a favorite on Tuesday's famous 1/2 price sushi night at The Atlas Oyster House Written by, William Morse
OK. We’re all well aware of sake and when we usually drink it. It’s when we go out to our favorite restaurant every so often just for sushi! We already have it in our mind that we’re going Asian style—so we want raw fish and rice; although not all sushi has raw fish (The American versions, as well as Asian-style, are very diverse). When else do you really think about having sake? I mean honestly, when was the last time you were at your favorite restaurant or local bar and whimsically ordered sake? It’s when you already had the mindset that you will be ordering sushi for dinner; that’s when the idea of sake pokes into your head.
Now I’m sure we’re all used to having a nice carafe of warm sake every now and then, and although it may warm your belly, and diminish one’s inhibitions, it was actually meant to be consumed chilled. The reason why Americans warm it relates back to World War II. The tradition is simply due to the quality of the rice that was being used and the rice shortages and rations that ensued from it. Heating sake helps to rid it of the impurities caused by the lower-quality rice that was used during the (more…)
Tags: Atlas Oyster House, Happy Hour, Recipes, Vodka
Posted in Atlas Oyster House, Cocktails | No Comments »
Thursday, August 25th, 2011
 The Greenhorn, by Melissa Temsook-Boeker - Photo by Tony Giberson/tgiberson@pnj.com By Melissa Temsook-Boeker special to The Pensacola News Journal
The service industry is, by nature, ever-changing — from trends to menus to locations and so on. So, it follows that those of us in the service industry grow and change with it. As a bartender, sometimes you hit your stride, find a place where you feel comfortable, and get so used to the bar where you work that you could probably mix drinks blind-folded if you had to; you might even stay there for years before, inevitably, it’s time for a change.
This past month, it was that time for my change. I left a job after two years and started training at Atlas Oyster Bar. No matter how much experience you have, it’s always humbling to be the new girl again, having to ask where everything is, learning a new menu, getting lost a couple of times — and, inevitably, as soon as someone is standing behind you, forgetting how to work the computer. But I really do believe that change is good, and I like to think of this newest change as a fresh start. So, this month I am combining fresh ingredients to create a green drink for my days as the greenhorn.
Greenhorn
1 ounce Stoli Strasberi (or Blueberi) Vodka
½ ounce cucumber vodka
½ ounce ginger liqueur
4-5 ounces herbal lemonade (recipe follows)
Combine all ingredients and pour over ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint.
Herbal Lemonade (2 quarts)
6 ounces basil 6 ounces mint 2 ounces sage 2 quarts lemonade of your choice
Wash herbs and leave whole. Combine with lemonade in a large sauce pot and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and chill overnight. The longer it steeps, the better it will be. Once the mixture gets good and green, strain and serve.
Atlas Oyster House, 600 S. Barracks St., Pensacola. 437-1961, or visit atlas.goodgrits.com.
Tags: Atlas Oyster House, Cocktails, Florida, Happy Hour, local restaurants, Melissa Temsook-Boeker, Pensacola, Recipes, Southern Cooking, Vodka
Posted in Atlas Oyster House, Cocktails, Recipes | 1 Comment »
|
|
|
