Here’s a great gift idea for girlfriends! Cocktails for Cougars and Cowgirls: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Every Woman presents the prettiest and tastiest cocktails! Inspired by young brides, grandmothers, homemakers, executives, cougars, and cowgirls, these recipes start our celebrations in style!
I love ordering fancy drinks when I’m out for dinner or on vacation. Reading through a menu of creative cocktails, thinking about the combinations of flavors, considering which one to try, and imagining how pretty the drink will be when it’s delivered to the table is a process that transforms a tiring day into a happy evening. Jordan Catapano and Jocelyn Dunn Muhlbach have written the perfect little book so that we can make our own fancy cocktails for stay-at-home evenings alone, family celebrations, or parties with friends.
I first met Jocelyn and Jordan at the Big Traveling Potluck 2014, a retreat weekend for food bloggers that was held just north of here in Murrietta, Ca. They demonstrated how easy and fun it can be to make cute little bottled cocktails as gifts. The idea of making homemade ingredients for cocktails intrigued me, using fresh ingredients without preservatives and artificial flavors.
It was great fun to watch them mix up the tasty drinks, pour them into slim bottles, add the bottle caps (everyone wanted to try that!), and decorate with stickers and ribbons. Four of those little bottles fit perfectly into a little carrier. What a perfect hostess gift!
I was thrilled when they contacted me about their new book. Not only did they send me one, but I have a book to give away to a lucky reader! To order some books now you can go to their website http://ThisGirlWalksIntoABar.com. If you order in September, the books will ship out to arrive on Oct. 1st. If you order two or more books, you will also get a free copy of their etiquette guide, This Girls Minds Her P’s and Q’s: An Etiquette Handbook for Dinner Parties, Restaurants, and Bars. Use this code for free shipping AND a 10% discount! C4CC2015
Want to see some of the fun and creative cocktails in the book? Of course you do!
photo used by permission Jocelyn Dunn Muhlbach
This one is called the Becky Boone, and it’s included in the chapter called “Bubbly” . I love that many of the recipes have both a recipe for a single cocktail, as well as a batch recipe! (When my girlfriends come for a get-together, we’re going to need the batch!) This one is made with Brut, bourbon, lemon juice, Fernet-Branca, a pinch of sugar and a twist of lemon. Each recipe tells the recommended glassware to use, and includes step-by-step directions.
photo used by permission Jocelyn Dunn Muhlbach
Who doesn’t love a coffee cocktail? “Happy Coffee” is what we call it! There are two amazing coffee drinks in the book, and I can’t wait to try them both! This one is The Sombrero, including chocolate coffee tequila-based liqueur, chocolate almond milk, orange-flavored cognac, a pinch of cocoa chile blend powder, orange zest, and chocolate shavings. Yep, there’s a recipe for a whole batch of these babies too!
photo used by permission Jocelyn Dunn Muhlbach
If you’re looking for a savory cocktail and you have a martini shaker handy, make The Lioness with gin, grapefruit juice, orange bitters, and some Himalayan salt for the rim of the glass. Or make a whole batch that can serve 8-10 of your closest gal pals! This is such a pretty drink in this lowball glass, but Jocelyn and Jordan suggest that a bucket glass, a highball, or even a stemless wine glass would work for this one.
Are you having fun so far? I am! The book includes directions for making your own mixers, simple syrups, and a recipe for homemade sweet and sour too! With names like “Promiscuous Peach”, “Kentucky Flamethrower”, and “The Dirty Gherkin”, there will be plenty of options for every occasion and celebration!
photo used by permission Jocelyn Dunn Muhlbach
Speaking of the holidays, there is nothing like a beautiful mulled wine when the weather begins to cool off. Think about the holidays coming up: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s! This beauty is one of several sangria recipes included in the book. Red wine, apple cider, oranges, brandy, honey, lemon juice, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves. You need to make this recipe up ahead of time, so that the flavors can mingle.
Jordan and Jocelyn will be starting their book tour in San Diego on October 3rd, and I plan to be there! Check out their list of tour stops, and get your book signed!
Are you ready to enter the giveaway?
Here’s how to win a copy of Cocktails For Cougars and Cowgirls of your very own!
Leave a comment here and tell me which of the four cocktail recipes you would try first and why!
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Duration: Saturday September 19 through Friday September 25, 2015, at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time.
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Prize description: Cocktails for Cougars and Cowgirls, Simple and Delicious Recipes for Every Woman by Jordan Catapano, designed by Jocelyn Dunn Muhlbach. Retail Value $19.99
