happy friyay friends! you made it!!! i still have some work to do tonight and tomorrow for a charity event we are catering, but i'm feeling extra grateful today. 

wes has some changes and transitions happening, so he was home three days in a row this week. it is always a sweet treat to get a glimpse into what working with him every day will be like. we even got to spend some time with my brother and parents at a delicious sushi dinner at our favorite local spot. we had a bomb evening full of tasty fresh fish, japanese bar snacks and smooth sake. by some miracle, we had a little of our sake bottle left to take home. so it was a natural ingredient for today's friyay cocktail. 

honey lemon saketini
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 3 oz sake. 1.5 oz lemon juice. .5 tsp honey. 2 sage leaves, finally chopped. 1 cup ice. 1 pretty ice cube for garnish. 3 mandarine slices for garnish. martini glass for serving. shaker. strainer. 

fill your shaker with ice.

over the ice, combine the sake, lemon juice, sage and honey.

shake well to combine.

place your pretty ice cube in the martini glass with the mandarine slices.

strain the liquid into the martini glass.

serve and enjoy!

xo, a

honey lemon saketini
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 3 oz sake. 1.5 oz lemon juice. .5 tsp honey. 2 sage leaves, finally chopped. 1 cup ice. 1 pretty ice cube for garnish. 3 mandarine slices for garnish. martini glass for serving. shaker. strainer.
fill your shaker with ice.
over the ice, combine the sake, lemon juice, sage and honey.
shake well to combine.
place your pretty ice cube in the martini glass with the mandarine slices.
strain the liquid into the martini glass. serve and enjoy!

it's another cold and drizzly day in socal, but it is not dampening my friday mood! we made it through another hectic week and it's time to warm up with a nice, stiff drink. 

every time i stumble upon some blood oranges at the store i pick them up, just in case they are the last of the season. so of course i've got twenty blood oranges that now need homes. 

enter the classic old fashioned. it's sweet spiciness is the perfect compliment to the mild but vibrant blood orange. they are a match made in cocktail heaven. 

blood orange old fashioned
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 2 minutes
total time: 4 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz bourbon (you can sub other whiskey you have on hand). 1 tsp sugar. 1 tsp blood orange juice. 3 dashes aromatic bitters. 1 tbs water. 1 large ice cube or 1 cup of ice. blood orange twist & violas for garnish. old fashioned glass. 

start by combining the sugar, blood orange juice and bitters in the bottom of your old fashioned glass. 

combine the sugar and liquid till the sugar dissolves. 

if you are having trouble dissolving the sugar, add a bit of your water a little at a time until the sugar dissolves. 

pour the whiskey into your dissolved sugar mixture and mix well to combine.

add in your blood orange twist and ice. 

garnish with violas and serve. 

xo, a

blood orange old fashioned
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 2 minutes
total time: 4 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz bourbon (you can sub other whiskey you have on hand). 1 tsp sugar. 1 tsp blood orange juice. 3 dashes aromatic bitters. 1 tbs water. 1 large ice cube or 1 cup of ice. blood orange twist & violas for garnish. old fashioned glass.
start by combining the sugar, blood orange juice and bitters in the bottom of your old fashioned glass.
combine the sugar and liquid till the sugar dissolves. if you are having trouble dissolving the sugar, add a bit of your water a little at a time until the sugar dissolves.
pour the whiskey into your dissolved sugar mixture and mix well to combine.
add in your blood orange twist and ice.
garnish with violas and serve.