it is that time again. we all made it to the end of the week. and man o man was this one a doozy. 

between prepping for wednesdays shoot, shooting all day in the desert wednesday, food and dessert deliveries thursday and working at the studio friday morning, i pretty much burnt the candle at both ends for the entire week. and it's possible i am in a zombie like state. 

but all the hard work and lack of sleep was well worth it. wednesday's shoot was drop dead gorgeous. all the vendors came together to produce some really beautiful work. 

i was particularly thrilled with the way our styled cocktails turned out. these cocktails make the desert feel like the coolest place to be. 

a little trick to always have a picture perfect cocktail ready is to create some pretty ice in advance. if i have extra herbs, berries or fruit, i freeze it in ice trays for future use. that way when guests come over, even the simplest vodka soda can look like a fancy beverage with the addition of lavender or blackberry ice. once the ice is frozen you can store it in bags or baskets in the freezer till you are ready to use. 

since i'm running on fumes, today i put together a tasty libation with leftovers from the shoot. ginger + pears made the perfect slightly sweet and spicy compliment to your favorite whiskey. 

ginger + pear whiskey soda
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 2 minutes
total time: 7 minutes

ingredients: 1.5 oz whiskey (i used bulleit rye). 1 tsp grated ginger. 1 tbs chopped fresh pear. 1 tsp lime juice. club soda. pear slice for garnish. 2 dashes bitters if you have some on hand. shaker or pint glass with strainer. 2 cups ice divided. 

start by combining your pears, ginger and lime juice together in a bowl. muddle until the pears are smashed.

combine the pear mixture in the shaker with 1 cup ice and the whiskey.

shake well.

strain the mixture into a glass with the rest of the ice. 

add club soda to taste. add bitters if available. 

garnish with pear wedge and enjoy. 

xo, a

ginger + pear whiskey soda
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 5 minutes
active time: 2 minutes
total time: 7 minutes
ingredients: 1.5 oz whiskey (i used bulleit rye). 1 tsp grated ginger. 1 tbs chopped fresh pear. 1 tsp lime juice. club soda. pear slice for garnish. 2 dashes bitters if you have some on hand. shaker or pint glass with strainer. 2 cups ice divided.
start by combining your pears, ginger and lime juice together in a bowl. muddle until the pears are smashed.
combine the pear mixture in the shaker with 1 cup ice and the whiskey. shake well.
strain the mixture into a glass with the rest of the ice.
add club soda to taste. add bitters if available.
garnish with pear wedge and enjoy. 

i wouldn't have said it in the months following my wedding, but now that we are closing in on a year of marriage i can admit that i would like to do it all over again. it was pretty epic. but alas, it was a one time thang. 

luckily, i'm going to relive working with a lot of my wedding vendors next week for a photo shoot. i'll be cooking up appetizers, a dessert bar and some cocktails for a wedding/engagement inspiration shoot. 

with halloween and the shoot on the horizon, i've been working on some dark, moody cocktails. this one was so good i've already had two. tgif. 

blackberry lemondrop
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 1 minute
total time: 2 minutes
ingredients: 1.5 oz vodka. 1 oz lemon juice. .5 oz triple sec. .5 oz simple syrup. 6 blackberries. 1 lemon slice for garnish. 1 cup crushed ice. pint glass. tumbler for serving. 

start by muddling 5 of your blackberries in a small bowl. they are very easy to smash. reserve 1 blackberry for garnish. 

in a pint glass, combine the ice, vodka, lemon juice, triple sec and simple syrup. stir well and pour the ice/cocktail into a tumbler. 

our your blackberry puree over the top of your cocktail.

garnish glass with a blackberry and slice of lemon and serve. 

xo,a

blackberry lemondrop
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 1 minute
total time: 2 minutes
ingredients: 1.5 oz vodka. 1 oz lemon juice. .5 oz triple sec. .5 oz simple syrup. 6 blackberries. 1 lemon slice for garnish. 1 cup crushed ice. pint glass. tumbler for serving.
start by muddling 5 of your blackberries in a small bowl. they are very easy to smash. reserve 1 blackberry for garnish.
in a pint glass, combine the ice, vodka, lemon juice, triple sec and simple syrup. stir well and pour the ice/cocktail into a tumbler.
pour your blackberry puree over the top of your cocktail. garnish glass with a blackberry and slice of lemon and serve.