Homemade Orange Liqueur (Triple Sec)

Servings: n/a
2.5 cups vodka
Orange peels of 4 oranges
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

Infuse orange peels in vodka for 2-4 weeks, shaking every 1-2 days (store in a dark, cold place, i.e. refrigerator). Then mix with simple syrup (made by heating water and stirring in sugar). Strain out orange peels. Use in your favorite cocktails (mine is a margarita)!

Now this is why I call myself an “intoxicologist”

The Grinch Cocktail

Servings: 1
0.5 oz. vodka
0.5 oz. blue curaçao
0.5 oz. rum
0.5 oz. Midori
3 oz. pineapple juice
Splash of sprite
Simple syrup, for rim
Red sugar sprinkles, for rim

A fun and festive cocktail, and one of my friend’s grandma’s favorite lol

Gingerbread White Russian

Servings: 1
2 oz. heavy cream
2 oz. vodka
2 oz. coffee liqueur
1.5 tsp. molasses
1/16 tsp. ginger
Molasses, for rim
Cinnamon sugar, for rim

A wonderful holiday twist on the classic White Russian

Peppermint Mocha Martini

Servings: 1
2 oz. vanilla vodka
1 tbsp. peppermint schnapps
2 oz. chocolate liqueur
Chocolate syrup, for rim
Crushed peppermint candies, for rim

A new favorite holiday cocktail

Partridge in a Pear Tree

Servings: 1
2 oz. pear vodka
0.5 oz. simple syrup
0.5 oz. fresh-squeezed lemon
Top with Champagne/prosecco

Sweet, bubbly, and simply gorgeous

Green Goddess

Servings: 1
1/2 kiwi, peeled and muddled
2 oz. gin
3/4 oz. elderflower liqueur
0.5 oz. fresh-squeezed lime
1 oz. simle syrup
Top with soda water

Very refreshing summer cocktail!

Peach Margarita

Servings: 1
Juice of 1 lime (~1 oz.)
1 peach (pureed)
1.5 oz. tequila
1 oz. triple sec
Top with club soda
Tajin for rim
Option: garnish with peach slice and/or lime wheel

When you get more peaches than you can eat at the farmer’s market…make peach margaritas!

Lake Life Lemonade

Servings: 1
1 oz. vodka (citron for extra citrus flavor)
1 oz. triple sec
1 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. simple syrup
Blue food dye
Top with lemon-lime soda

Tastes and looks like summer!

Tangerine Pomegranate Margarita

Servings: 1
Muddle or squeeze 1/2 of a tangerine into shaker
1 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice
2 oz. tequila
2 oz. pomegranate juice
3/4 oz. simple syrup
Tangerine zest, sugar, and salt for rim

Recipe courtesy my very creative mom!

Espresso Martini

Servings: 1
1 oz freshly-made espresso
2 oz vanilla vodka
1 oz Kahlua (or some other coffee liqueur)
1 oz creme de cacao
3 espresso beans, for garnish

Shake vigorously until it feels like your arms are going to fall off if you want to get the foamy top (clearly, I did not do that)

Not to brag…but the Dean of Harvard’s School of Public Health liked my tweet displaying this cocktail…

Raspberry Gimlet

Servings: 1
2 oz gin
1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 oz raspberry syrup*

*Make by heating up 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 1 cup raspberries on the stove, stirring occasionally and mashing up the raspberries, then sifting through a strainer. Allow liquid to cool before storing in fridge.

A tasty way to dress up one of my favorite cocktails (a gimlet) for a festive holiday ❤️

Peppermint Mocha Martini

Servings: 1
2 oz vanilla vodka
1 tbsp peppermint schnapps
2 oz chocolate liqueur*
Chocolate syrup, for rim
Crushed candy canes, for rim

*make sure you get a creamy chocolate liqueur…if you can’t find that, just add cream (to taste) yourself

One of my all time favorite holiday cocktails

The Cosmopolitan

Servings: 1
1.5 oz citron vodka
1.5 oz triple sec
1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
1-2 dashes cranberry juice*

*this amount is up to you and how pink/red you want the drink to be — I like mine to be a light pink, so I use less cranberry juice

Name a better drink than a cosmopolitan. I dare you.

Lemon Drop Martini

Servings: 1
2 oz citron vodka
1 oz triple sec
1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
Lemon sugar, for rim

My family LOVES a drink with heavy citrus. This drink is perfect for that. AND it is ESPECIALLY good when made with meyer lemons.

Samoa Martini

Servings: 1
2 oz chocolate liqueur
1.5 oz caramel vodka
1.5 oz coconut rum
1 oz heavy cream
Chocolate syrup, for rim
Shredded coconut, for rum
Samoa cookie, for garnish

My mom and sister LOVE the Girl Scout Samoa cookie. One night I thought, “I bet there’s a cocktail for that.” There is! And it has definitely become a favorite in the household.

Tomato Margarita

Servings: 1
1.5 oz tequila (technically the recipe calls for Mezcal, but I don’t like that lol)
1 oz lime juice (~1 lime)
0.5 oz triple sec
1 oz tomato syrup (1:1:1 sugar:water:halved cherry tomatoes steamed)
Salt and pepper, for rim

I saw a recipe for this drink on Instagram and knew immediately that I had to try it. It’s amazing. Savory, but also refreshing. Kind of like a summer tomato salad 😊

Key Lime Pie Martini

Servings: 1
2 oz pineapple juice
1 oz lime juice (~1 lime)
1 oz whipped cream vodka (vanilla vodka is a good substitute)
1.5 oz RumChata
Crushed graham cracker, for rim

Key lime pie is one of my all time favorite desserts (please don’t count how many times I say “all time favorite” on this blog), so naturally I had to find a way to turn it into a cocktail.

The Creamsicle Cocktail

Servings: 1
1 oz amaretto
0.5 oz orange curacao
0.5 oz vanilla vodka
2 oz orange juice
2 oz heavy cream
Optional: garnish with an orange wheel

Remember those orange creamsicle ice cream bars we used to eat as kids? This tastes just like that, but in cocktail form. It’s amazing and one of my all time favorites.

Note: This is one drink where I think it’s okay to use bottled juice instead of fresh squeezed…only because oranges are really big (lol)

The Easy Paloma

Servings: 1
1.5 oz blanco tequila
1 oz lime juice (~1 lime)
Top with grapefruit soda (Fever Tree is the best – they don’t sponsor me, but they should)
Salt, for rim
Lime wheel, for garnish

Fun fact: I always called this drink the “Easy Paloma” because it is so easy to make and I thought a ~true~ Paloma *MUST* use fresh grapefruit juice…but, alas, The Easy Paloma is simply just a Paloma

…they’re just that easy.

Mom’s Margaritas

Servings: 1
1.5 oz blanco tequila
1 oz triple sec
Juice of 1 lime
Salt, for rim
Lime wheel, for garnish

Mix in a shaker and enjoy over ice.

Minor judgements if you use lime juice from a bottle instead of fresh lime juice.