Martinis for Mother's Day

If you plan to celebrate Mother's Day by making a special cocktail for Mom, check out these recommendations:

Miranda Cocktail

• 10 Magnificent Mother's Day Martinis
• Best Mocktails for Mother's Day
• Whiskey Picks for Mother's Day
• Best Brunch Cocktails

And here are more Mother's Day ideas...

• Mother's Day Special on About.com - Collection of ideas, recipes, and more from the network. Also, browse this search for great food ideas.
• Mother's Day Recipes for Kids - Get the kids to make a meal with these easy ideas from Stephanie Gallagher, About.com Guide to Cooking for Kids.
• Anna Jarvis, A Woman Behind Mother's Day - from Jone Johnson Lewis, About.com Guide to Women's History
• Mother's Day Activities - A collection of fun projects for the whole family from Sherri Osborn, About.com Guide to Family Crafts
• 6 Super Cheap Mother's Day Gift Ideas - from Erin Huffstetler, About.com Guide to Frugal Living

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The Origin of Coffee

Have you ever wondered when and where people first started drinking coffee? There are several different legends and historical records surrounding how coffee consumption began, as well as where coffee plants originated. Check out myths and histories surrounding the origin of coffee in Ethiopia and Yemen with my new article on origin of coffee.

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The Coriandrum

The herbal flavors of coriander shine in this cocktail which features Square One Organic Vodka. The Coriandrum uses a simple coriander-flavored nectar by infusing agave nectar with coriander seeds. Simple syrup can be used in place of agave nectar, but it produces a sweeter cocktail that is almost too sweet.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Square One Organic Vodka
• 1/4 oz Cinzano Bianco Vermouth
• splash of coriander nectar (recipe below)
• splash of orange bitters
• coriander seeds for garnish
• lemon twist for garnish

Preparation:

1. Pour the vodka, vermouth, nectar and bitters into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
2. Shake for 30 seconds.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
4. Garnish with a few coriander seeds and lemon twist.

Coriander Nectar:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup coriander seeds
• 4 cup water
• 1 1/4 cup Madhava Organic agave nectar

Preparation:

1. Cook coriander seeds and water on very low heat for 30 minutes.
2. Remove form heat.
3. Add agave nectar (simple syrup may be used).
4. Store in refrigerator.

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Keurig B155 Coffee Maker

Due to their ease of use and single-serving nature, Keurig brewers have become popular in homes, office break rooms, customer waiting areas and other places where people want quick, convenient coffee, tea and cocoa that suits their personal flavor and caffeine preferences. The Keurig B155 is intended for homes and small-to-medium offices.

Basic Features of the Keurig B155

The Keurig B155 is a single-serving, automatic home or office coffeemaker with an interactive touch-screen and easy to remove / clean components. It features neutral colors and a fairly modern, clean aesthetic.

Pros to the Keurig B155

Each Keurig B155 coffeemaker comes with clear, easy-to-use instructions and ample product literature.

Marko Goodwin

There are many advantages to selecting a Keurig B155 for home or office use. These include:

• An easy-to-use, full-color, interactive display screen.
• Multiple language settings (English, French and Spanish).
• The ability to brew four different drink sizes.
• A quick brew time of about 30 seconds to one minute.
• An ability to rapidly heat a relatively large water reservoir (about four minutes to fully warm a reservoir filled with cool tap water).
• A quiet brew cycle.
• A comprehensive user guide and product literature that includes flavor guides for extra-bold, dark-roast, medium-roast, light-roast, flavored coffee, decaf coffee, organic/Fair Trade coffee, tea and hot cocoa.
• A range of compatible brands and beverages, including Green mountain Coffee, Dietrich, Gloria Jean's Coffee & Tea, Timothy's, Van Houten, Tully's, Coffee People, Newman's Own (organic), Caribou Coffee, Emeril's Gourmet Coffee, Bellaccino, Celestial Seasonings, Bigelow and Twinings.
• During testing, there was no discernible flavor residue when switching between coffee and tea flavors.

Cons to the Keurig B155

Despite all its good points, there are several potential cons to selecting a Keurig B155 coffee brewing system.

• Keurig brewers require the use of Keurig products, or "K-cups." Although the selection of available K-cups is wide, it may not encompass all your favorite coffees and teas.
• If you insert a new K-cup into the Keurig brewer and leave it for a minute before brewing, the brewer "forgets" that the fresh K-cup has been inserted and will prompt you to add a new one. However, this glitch can be corrected by opening and shutting the K-cup latch again.
• Those interested in greening their coffee habit may find the use of a single-serve package for each cup of coffee to be objectionable.
• Sharp parts and occasional drips of hot liquids may make it inappropriate for use around unsupervised children.
• Some users have complaints that the unit size is too large or bulky.
• Although there are multiple language settings, there is no way to make selections using metric measurements.

Overall Recommendation

I would recommend the Keurig B155 to small offices. It allows for quick, quiet brewing of a wide range of coffees and it has a large enough water reservoir to prevent the "It's your turn to refill it" argument from becoming a major problem.

I would also recommend it to offices with customer or patient waiting areas, such as doctors offices. It's a good way for your customers to enjoy the beverage of their choosing while they wait, and it is intuitive enough that most first-time users can figure it out very quickly.

This item was provided by the manufacturer for testing and then returned to the manufacturer.

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Booze News: May 9, 2012

Fun stuff in the news this week. Beyond all of this, don't forget that the Manhattan Cocktail Classic kicks off Friday.

Try This...

Strawberry-Basil-Gin Lemonade - I am still on a lemonade kick so this recipe on Imbibe last week caught my eye. Definitely worth a taste.

Glenfiddich Tasting on Everest - You can join Glenfiddich tomorrow for a live whisky tasting that will be hosted from Mount Everest - specifically Everest Base Camp at 5364 meters. This worldwide event will also include a panel at The London Stock Exchange and they will be sampling from the Scotch producer's single malt reserves. Check out the link for live streaming locations. The event is supposed to begin May 10 at 7pm BST, which to my calculations makes that 2pm EDT. I wonder how whisky tastes at that altitude...

The Get Drunk Spray - Try it if you want, though I see no point for multiple reasons, least of which is that you're skipping the best part of the drink... the taste. It seems that another 'bright' idea popped up somewhere once again and this time it is a mouth spray that instantly gets you drunk. The feeling lasts for only a few seconds and you will need about 1,000 squirts to equal one real drink. Again, the point?

Read This...

James Beard Foundation Awards - Monday night the best of the best in the food world were announced and below are the highlights from the drink side...

• Best Beverage Book - Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes, & Formulas by Brad Thomas Parsons
• Wine, Spirits, and Other Beverages Journalism Award - Sarah Karnasiewicz of Imbibe for "Fizzy Business"
• Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional - Paul Grieco of Terroir in NYC
• Outstanding Wine Program - No. 9 Park in Boston
• Outstanding Bar Program - PDT in NYC

Who the Hell Invented Gin Anyways? -The Accidental Hedonist examines the conflicting histories behind gin's true origins.

Arizona Landmark Whiskey Row Devastated by Fire - A portion of Prescott, Arizona's famous Whiskey Row succumbed to a large fire on Tuesday. This article on AZFamily.com has some amazing photos of the blaze and an update on the establishments that were destroyed.

Top 10 Emerging Whisky Trends - The Drinks Business breaks down the latest swings in the whisky market. On the list are women whisky drinkers, Japanese and Indian whiskies, twice burnt barrels and double distilling Irish whiskey, among others.

The Serious Eats Guide to Mezcal - If mezcal remains a mystery to you, do yourself a favor and read this article by Michael Dietsch (A Dash of Bitters blogger).

Twisted Sister's Mariachi Mash Up - Back in March I mentioned that Hornitos Tequila was pairing up with big hair band Twisted Sister to do a mariachi remake of "We're Not Gonna Take It." The video was released last week and it is a fun minute and a half of your time. Those two ladies in the background? The winner of the contest and her friend who got to party with the band for the taping. Check out the title link for the YouTube video.

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Maya Magic

The Maya Magic cocktail is a tropical twist on the Cosmopolitan. The twist is combination of Van Gogh Pineapple and Vanilla vodkas, two excellent flavored vodkas. Try a Maya Magic for summer parties, a lazy afternoon in the sun or on Cinco de Mayo, it's an explosion of flavor that will kick your tastebuds into high gear.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Van Gogh Pineapple Vodka
• 1 oz Van gogh Vanilla Vodka
• 1/2 oz triple sec
• 1/2 oz cranberry juice
• pineapple slice for garnish

Preparation:

1. Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker, and add crushed ice.
2. Let stand for five seconds, and then shake vigorously for five seconds.
3. Strain into a martini glass.
4. Garnish with a pineapple slice.

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Flat White Recipe

A "flat white" is an espresso drink made with a shot of espresso and two shots of steamed milk. It takes a little bit of skill tom prepare, but once you've mastered it, it's easy to make flat white espresso drinks again and again.

Prep Time: 3?minutes

Cook Time: 5?minutes

Total Time: 8?minutes

Yield: One serving

Ingredients:

• One shot espresso
• Two shots foamed milk

Preparation:

1. Pull one shot espresso.
2. While pulling the shot, froth the milk. As the milk froths, use a spoon to fold the microbubbles from the top of the steaming pitcher to the bottom of the steaming pitcher. This will create a smoother, more velvety texture for your drink.
3. Combine the two ingredients. (Latte art optional.) Your flat white should have about 1/4 inch steamed milk on top.

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