Let the Good Times Roll!

Yahoo! Mardi Gras is here! Before we prepare for Lent, it's time to dawn plastic beads (please don't tell what you did to get them-WINK),pull out that accordion and strike up a snappy Zydeco tune. How do you get the party started? By mixing a few cocktails of course!

The drink that made New Orleans famous, and the one you must have when you go there, is the Hurricane. Think of a spiked fruit punch. A really, really extreme, burn your eyebrows off, spiked fruit punch.

The Hurricane
2 oz light rum
2 oz dark rum
2 oz passion fruit juice
1 oz orange juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 tbsp simple syrup
1 tbsp grenadine
Garnish: orange slice and cherry
Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a hurricane glass. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.

And what better way to celebrate Bourbon street than with a Bourbon Slush.

Bourbon Slush
2 tea bags
1 c. boiling water
1 c. sugar
3 1/2 c. water
1 (6 oz.) can frozen orange juice (thawed)
3/4 c. bourbon
1/2 can frozen lemonade (thawed)
Steep tea bags in 1 cup boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove bags and stir in sugar until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients, mix well. Place in container in freezer until slush. Spoon into glasses and mix with 7-UP.

The last cocktail on our party route is the Ramos Gin Fizz also known as the New Orleans Fizz. Harold Ramos invented this drink in 1888 and it was kept under lock and key until the 1920's during prohibition.

Ramos Gin Fizz
2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp confectioners sugar
2 oz cream (or half and half)
2 drops orange flower water
Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a Collins glass.

Now that you've had your fill of yummy "gras" grog (or at least planned what you're going to get sloshed on), it is time to give thought to what you're going to give up for Lent. One thing I know, it sure isn't going to be a tasty beverage. Laissez les bons temps rouler!