The Domaine de Canton Apple Bob is a spicy play on the traditional Halloween game. Green apple puree gets a kick with Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur, tequila and Cointreau. The cocktail is perfect for the chilly nights surrounding Halloween and will make you happy you grew up past sticking in your head in a bucket of water in order to get an apple treat.

Domaine de Canton Apple Bob

1 oz. Domaine de Canton
1 oz. Reposado Tequila
1 oz. green apple puree
1/4 oz. Cointreau
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

Rim a cocktail glass with cinnamon sugar. Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into the cocktail glass. Garnish with an apple slice.

more Halloween Cocktails and Punches
Recipe & photo courtesy Domaine de Canton

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Here’s a Halloween cocktail you’ll want to drink any time of year. Blood oranges give the drink its red color, but this is no novelty cocktail.

So if you want to stay away from the dyes and syrupy red stuff, this is a great choice for Halloween.

We crafted this along with our friends at Savvy Housekeeping, where you can get this simple but delicious recipe.

Blood Orange Margarita

1 1/2 oz tequila
1 oz Grand Marnier (or triple sec)
1 1/2 oz blood orange juice
1 slice of blood orange to garnish

In a shaker, combine the tequila, Grand Marnier, and blood orange juice. Fill the shaker halfway up with ice. Shake thoroughly and strain into a glass. Garnish with a slice of orange

more Halloween Cocktails and Punches
Blood Orange Margarita recipe
Photo and recipe from Savvy Housekeeping

1800 Tequila had a contest to design custom bottles–and the winners are quite impressive. Tequila with the winning designs on the bottles are now available in limited release.

The one pictured here is by Shepard Fairey’s Studio Number One. This one would look great on display at your Halloween party, no?

All 12 winning designs are pretty rad. Check ‘em out!

NOTCOT rounded up the winning entries in an easy-to-peruse way … or you can head over to the 1800 Tequila site and get more info there.

Summer is still here. And depending on where you live, so is the sun! That means it’s the perfect time for popsicles. Of course, we believe everything is better with booze.

Along with Savvy Housekeeping, we experimented with alcoholic popsicles (cleverly called shotsicles!). The results were tasty. Chocolate Bourbon and Tequila Melon were the flavors we triumphed with, but a few substitutions and you can devise your own tasty flavor.

Shotsicles have to be low in alcohol because alcohol doesn’t freeze very well. To get them to work, you need to combine the alcohol with juices and syrups, and even then they take longer than your average pop to freeze. But they are worth the wait–sweet and delicious with a tinge of booze in the background, just enough to give the popsicle some edge.

The result won’t get you drunk, but it will taste great!
Shotsicle recipes @ Savvy Housekeeping
More on Boozy Popsicles @ The Bitten Word

Photo credit: Savvy Housekeeping

At the recent SF Chef’s food, wine and cocktail extravaganza, Skyy held a cocktail competition. The competition was held over 3 days and featured 6 top San Francisco bartenders. Each day featured spirit and secret ingredient, Iron Chef Style. The semifinals pitted 3 bartenders from a larger field of 15, the six would vie for a spot in the Finals. The finalists and winner would be picked by a panel of 3 judges. Cocktails would be judged on balance, presentation, use of the secret ingredient and other attributes.

Enjoy this day be day account.

Semifinal 1: Spirit - Whiskey, Secret Ingredient - Fresh Herbs

Drink 1 - Brandon Skaggs of Cortez - Irish Peach (Tullamore Dew, Cynar, peaches, sage, bitters, honey)
Drink 2 - Nick Varacalli of RN74 (Wild Turkey Rye, American honey, honey, canton, thyme) winner
Drink 3 - Joel Baker of Bourbon & Branch (Russels Rye, Luxardo, lemon juice, peaches, mint, Curaçao, bitters)

Semifinal 2: Spirit - Skyy Infusions, Secret Ingredient - Fresh Cherries, Apricots & Peaches

Cocktail 1 Carlo Splendorini of Gitane - (Skyy citrus, canton, ferlum, peach, orange, hot salt, chartreuse, ferlum) The Bouquet winner
Cocktail 2 - Scott Baird of Romolo 15 (Skyy passion fruit & pineapple, ferlum, cherry and more)
Cocktail 3 - Borys Saciuk of Zapatistia - The Passionate One (Skyy pineapple & passion fruit, peaches, apriocot, cherry, allspice dram & more)

Finals: Spirit, anything from Gruppo Campari, Secret Ingredient - Peppers

Nick vs. Carlo

Ambassador Pepper
by Nick Varacalli of RN74

1.5 oz. Wild Turkey Rare Breed
0.5 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liquer
0.25 oz. Orange Curacao
0.25 oz. Velvet Falernum
0.75 oz. Lemon Juice
Dash of Orange Bitters
Muddled Red Pepper

Carlo Splendorini of Gitane Restaurant & Bar

1.5 oz. Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila
1 oz. Malthilde Pear Liqueur
0.5 oz. Green Chartreuse Liqueur
1 tbsp. Honey
¾ oz. Lemon
Jalapeño

and the winner is …
Ambassador Pepper
by Nick Varacalli of RN74

photos & recipes courtesy Skyy Spirits

Summertime means light, refreshing cocktails! This one combines the delicate flavors of tangerine and lavender with the kick of tequila. The unique and slightly salty flavor of tequila really comes through. You can substitute rum for a slightly sweeter taste.

Tequila Tangerine Dream

1 tangerine (1/2 for juice and 1/2 for tangerine slices)
2 sprigs fresh lavender
1 oz. simple syrup
2 oz. silver tequila
crushed ice
club soda

Peel the tangerine. Juice half of it and set the juice aside. Remove pith from the other half and cut into small pieces. Put tangerine at the bottom of a tall glass, then add the syrup, juice and some lavender petals. Muddle this mixture.  Pour in tequila. Pack crushed ice on top of this and then top off with club soda. Garnish with lavendar or tangerine twists. (It’s prettier to leave the lavender petals in, but if you would be bothered by some getting in your mouth, strain them out)

Today, July 24 is National Tequila Day and to get in the mood we had an informal Tequila tasting in my kitchen. We tried several brands that have arrived in the last week or so and a few little bottles procured from the media schwag room at Tales of the Cocktail. Before we get into what we tasted, here’s a few quick facts about Tequila and Agave:

- Although there are more than 200 varieties of agave in Mexico, at least 51 percent of each bottle of Tequila must be composed of the sugars extracted from the Agave Tequilana Weber Blue variety

- The heart of the plant, the piña, where the juices are extracted from, can weigh between 80 and 130 pounds

- The plant’s growing cycle is of approximately 10 years, at which time it is recommended to extract the juices

- The agave is cooked in brick ovens for 50 to 72 hours although the more modern processes done in steel ovens last only 12 hours

- Mandated by Mexican Law, tequila can be produced only in the state of Jalisco and a few areas in the states of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas.

- Tequila has 3 aging grades. Blanco/Plata aged for only 60 days in any type of barrel. Reposado, aged from 60 days to 1 year in wood, typically Oak. Anejo, aged in Oak for 1 - 3 years.

- Based on where the Agave is grown, the volcanic uplands or the lowland plateau surrounding Guadalajara, the resulting tequilas can be quite different. These are known as highland & lowland tequilas, these are unofficial styles and there is no indication on the label which is which.

Here’s what we tried, full reviews will follow:

Tres Generaciones
- Plata: Very smooth for an unaged tequila with hints of citrus and peppery heat at the finish.
- Reposado: Smooth with a hint of sweet oakiness.
- Anejo: Spicy and warm with a fine oak finish, This was our favorite of the night!
Voodoo Tiki - Anejo: Wins for best bottle, hand blown and beautiful. The tequila is also very fine with a mellow finish and hints of pepper and grass.
Cabo Wabo - Blanco: Initail burst of flavor, spicy, salty, even a bit olivey followed by a warm comforting finish.
Tequila Ocho - Plata: Interesting for a blanco, Tequila Ocho has a bit of a charred wood taste, hints of citrus and personality.
Partida
- Blanco: Light and fresh, what you want from a blaco.
- Reposado: Earthy and smooth.
- Anejo: Sharp tones with a mellow finish.
Hornitos - Plata: Not exactly for sipping, but perfect for a margarita.
Tanteo - Tropical, Chocolate and Jalapeno: These infused tequila were interesting, on the nose one could smell the mango in the Tropical and the chocolate and Jalapeno very pronounced. We felt these were best suited for cocktails.

more Tequila Cocktails and articles:

Tequila Cocktails
The Best Way to Drink Tequila - Details
Things We Think We Know About Tequila - Esquire