Cocktail Hour, a webcomic by Scraps

Check this spot every Friday for a tasty start to the weekend!

Random Acts Comics has gotten a major facelift with this new site here and there’s still more to come! Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be putting the finishing touches on the new site, adding some graphics here and there, sweeping away the construction dust, that sort of thing, as well as debuting a new feature, the Sips & Shots Friday-blog feature and another few fun things I have in mind.

If you depend on the RSS feed for your updates, make a point to come by the site and let me know what you think of the changes!

Ah, yes, the 5th of May. Widely remembered for an occasion to eat tons of Mexican food (cheap and filling, you can imagine the number of such restaurants and how busy they get when you’re in a college town!), drink Corona and Dos Equis and, of course, margaritas. Margaritas whose defining ingredient is tequila.

(It also has something to do with the Mexicans defeating the invading French in 1862, but you don’t hear much about that, really. Though it’s amusing to note that a local French restaurant is hosting their own Cinco de Mayo celebration… irony or no?)

As much as I love cocktails (including the margarita–on the rocks with salt, please) I’m not much for drinking hard liqueur straight. On our recent (January, 09) cruise to various places in Mexico, we stopped in at the Tequileria shop in Costa Maya which offers free tastings. I really figured this shop would be lost on me and that it was time to head to the next jewelry store, instead, until some pretty, frosted bottles with pastel liquids inside caught my eye.

Hello, Tequipal. This blend of blue agave tequila, cream and fruit is really very nice served chilled in cordial glasses. I tasted the strawberry and coconut in the shop and liked it enough to purchase the sampler box of 4 small bottles (200 mL each of mango, coconut, strawberry and coffee) for $40 US. Unfortunately it seems like US availability is tough to find, but if you  happen to find yourself in Costa Maya or a similar Mexican port, be on the lookout for this lovely take on a national staple.

When I was 18 I went to visit my Louisiana relations for Thanksgiving and, one night, some of us went out to a bar (named Robert E Lee’s, I kid you not). Now, this was back when Louisiana’s roads were worse than they are now and before they caved (for the umpteenth and final time, it would seem) to the Federal desires of setting the legal drinking age to 21. Hence, I was legal to drink there.

Now at this bar I was faced with a conundrum: what to order. My aunt (who, by the way, is 5 months younger than me–grandpa had 3 batches of kids, total) suggested that I order an Amaretto Sour, as it was fairly mild and what she would order those nights that she was driving. *head tilt*

But I did order it and since it wasn’t repulsive and didn’t make me sick, it would become my default drink for a while. Not that I drank when I got back home, Florida’s drinking age _was_ 21 and I was [am] a rules-follower. Nonetheless, it was an easy fall-back when I as trying to be grown up and not a cocktail rube.

Since Sips & Shots will be, for the time being at least, taking an alphabetical stroll through my personal bar catalog, starting with the Amaretto Sour seemed like a logical choice.

It’s a simple drink, really, so I was surprised to see so many variations in ratio and add-ons. The biggest debate, however, is whether to use a commercial Sour Mix or straight lemon juice. And if you use lemon juice do you sweeten it a bit, yourself? Do you use sugar, simple syrup or go for the exotic and try something like agave nectar? Well, question not, at least to our mind, we’ve determined that our ideal Amaretto Sour uses lemon juice over mix with just a touch of simple syrup to take the edge off without removing all of the tartness… after all, it is called a SOUR for a reason, right?

CHF* Amaretto Sour

2 oz Amaretto
1 oz Lemon Juice
Splash of 1:1 Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass over ice (always serve the drink with fresh ice for the best drinking experience, the shaken ice is agitated, broken and will melt faster, watering down your drink). 

Traditionally, the garnish for an Amaretto Sour is an orange slice an a maraschino cherry (together called a flag) however Janelle from Talk of Tomatoes‘ idea of using frozen blueberries is rather inspired. If I’d had any in the house I think I would have even muddled them but that would be a different drink altogether… Dibs!

An honorable mention among the 7 varieties of Sours we tried before taking the best parts of each for our own (yes, I really mixed 7 drinks… what I do for y’all!) comes from DrinkStreet: top with lemon-lime soda. This makes sort of a spritzerish amaretto sour-patch-punch thing but it’d be great for a party: not only would it be different and not get your guests drunk (depending on how much soda you add), it could really stretch your beverage budget.

Come back next Friday for fun with Butter Schnapps!

*CHF = Cocktail Hour Favorite, our designation of a trusted and tried beverage concocted by the authors. There may be only so many ingredients in a drink, but there are hundreds of ways to mix them!

The Rule of Food & Wine Pairings used to be: Red with Beef, White with Chicken or Fish and White Zin with nothing at all (okay, that last part I made up, don’t hate me because I hate the cool-aid of wines and I won’t hate you for ordering Filet Mignon well done, though I will feel sorry for the cow). Some people still hold this to be gospel and it’s okay because, well, it make sense: colors match, it’s easy and, for the most part, the heavier the food the heavier the flavor of the wine.

Now, though, most people are fine to live and let dine with whatever your choice of wine. Like Merlot? Drink it! Prefer Chablis? Stock your shelf with a case and enjoy. But don’t be surprised if you fine yourself noticing what does and doesn’t enhance the flavor of your wine or your meal.

This is where pairings come in. It’s a true art form which requires an extensive knowledge of wine, the flavors that go into them, as well as a good knowledge of food. See why we ended up with the red with red guideline? Wineries are actually helping to demystify wine a bit as some will put on the label what foods their wine goes best with and there’s always the helpful Wine Guy at your local store–make friends with him (or her!)–who can steer you in the right direction. Paying attention to menus that suggest certain wines with certain dishes can also give you an idea of what goes with what.

Of course, nothing beats just experimenting at home. Try this: the next time you open a bottle of wine, plan to have a variety of basic foods around to try with it. A few basic proteins, some spreads and dips, anything with a definite flavor and try each with a little sip of wine. Better yet, make it a party: invite some friends, make up some score-sheets and maybe even cloak the bottles so that no one is prejudiced against a particular wine. You know, I’ve been meaning to have a wine party and this might be just the thing!

I’m really surprised to have four more wine-related offerings from Entrepreneur to share, but I guess some things if not recession-proof are at least recession resistant (i.e., drown your sorrows much?). Of course, these gorgeous places may not be the ideal spot to moan about money woes, better to let them envelop you and forget your troubles for a few hours.

I’d happily spend some time in any of these beautiful spots: Wine o’Clock from Brunnel Family Cellar, the Newsome-Harley Winery, Thunderbolt Winery or Tulip Hill Winery & Vineyard. Doesn’t someone want to send me to California, huh? No? Oh, well, I’ll just have to add it to my list!