real men drink potato martinis, and i don’t mean potato vodka. my friend jen’s wedding was the most extravagant one i have had the pleasure of attending. and one of my favorite features was the potato bar. (the chocolate fountain ran a close second.) so how fun is this? mash potatoes to order in a martini glass! delicious and bizarre.

this has become one of our best selling specialty cocktails at COMIDA… the habanero pisco sour. i’m a huge fan of pisco, which is a type of south american brandy distilled from white grapes. it’s delic… now the famous pisco sour hails from either peru or chili. those two heavyweights are duking it out to establish who really created this famous cocktail. apparently, if i’m correct in my research, peru’s recipe calls for a raw egg while chili’s recipe does not. that seems to the main difference between these country’s pisco sour. there is also a version i found called the “Ají Sour” which calls for a green chili pepper.

the habanero pepper is one of mexico’s spiciest. and the best thing about this versatile chili is that it is available in so many colors, as you can see from the photo below. in case you didn’t know, almost all peppers can be found in a similar spectrum of colors, it simply depends on the length of time they are aloud to ripen on the vine… that’s all!

scorpio’s ancient ruler is mars (now co-ruled by pluto), which is the red hot planet of caustic, fiery, energy. so that would have to mean that the habanero is a scorpio, or an aries (also ruled by mars). but for this post, we’ll call it scorpio.

HABANERO PISCO SOUR:
3 oz pisco
1 oz lime
1 oz simple syrup
12 dashes angostura bitters
sliver habanero chili
***shake all and strain into a martini glass. garnish with the pepper if you like.

INDY SPIRITS EXPO this wednesday June 24th in NYC @ 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM at Touch on West 52nd Street.

dinner? lame… movie? tired… cocktails? yes! if you enjoy the art of tippling, walk the INDY SPIRITS SHOW. now that is a cool date! Meet the distillers, brand owners, importers and others who make it possible for you to enjoy a great a variety of small batch, unique and artisinal spirits from around the world.

The selection of spirits will cover the spectrum of the best and the newest, from a variety of vodkas and gins to cognacs and absinthes. Walk around tasting features vodka, whiskey, rum, tequila, mezcal, cognac and more. this will be 3 very fun, interesting and cutting edge hours, worth every bit of $50 per ticket.

special offer to intoxicated zodiac readers:
be the first one to email gwen@intoxicatedzodiac.com for a pair of free tickets!!!

indyspiritsexpo.com

of course it is only fitting that new york’s LA PALAPA is serving their version of the traditional mexican drink, the Horchata. after all, LA PALAPA ROCKOLA is a LEO! check out the review i wrote detailing its LEOAN traits… so, the HORCHATA is a leo because cinnamon is a leo. i could choose any ingredient as the sun sign of this drink, but after making it at home myself, i found the cinnamon to be the dominant flavor. dominant in a good way, not an overpowering one!

and in researching this post i found that cinnamon actually comes from the bark of a tree. who the hell knew that? sri lanka originally, all though now the Zeylanicum, laurel or Cassia tree is now grown in any tropical climate. it is actually the inside of the bark scraped off in the same manner that cork is made. fascinating stuff, no? oh and don’t worry, harvesting does not harm the tree. i mean– i guess it feels some tree pain… but it soldiers on, not unlike the rest of us!

so, yeah… without an incredible amount of relentless sun, cinnamon would not be, and that is why it is a leoan herb. for leo is the golden goddess, the hot blooded, sunny disposed personality of the zodiac. most of the time, that is ; )

the HORCHATA is a mexican specialty cocktail, or cocteles especial!

LA PALAPA HORCHATA
2 oz Vanilia vodka
splash Amaretto (1/2 oz)
1 1/2 oz milk OR organic rice milk
splash simple syrup (1/2 oz)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
***Mix in a shaker full of ice.Chill and shake until frothy. Serve up in a chilled glass - garnish with a cinnamon quill
By Steve Mercado

VISIT LA PALAPA ROCKOLA

if you haven’t all ready heard, December 21, 2012 is the end date of the sophisticated Long Count Calendar created by the ancient Maya in Central America. the question is, will this apocalyptic deadline be just that, or will it signal a rebirth of consiousness? seeing as the word “apocalypse” literally translates to “unveiling,” either way you look at it, this whole end of the world business is a good thing.

if you are as curious as i about this new dawning age, the movie 2012, will put to rest a fair amount of your questions. the movie explains how earth is entering the age of aquarius — engrained in our heads if for no other reason than the catchy song “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In.” from the musical Hair, it was released as a single in 1969 by The 5th Dimension. interestingly, the 5th dimension is what the human (or Terran race as aliens refer to us) is in the process of now ascending to. we are finally leaving the 4th dimension… yah!

In astrology, the Age of Aquarius is one of the twelve astrological ages. According to astrologers, it is either the next age to come, or else it is the current age. Each astrological age is approximately 2,150 years long, on average, but there are various methods that can make ages much longer and shorter depending upon the technique used.

VISIT 2012: THE MOVIE

so, COMIDA MERCADO FRESCO, the joint where i now tend bar has a great cocktail menu. one of the offerings is pictured below, happily gleaming against the sunny sidewalk between 83 and 82nd street on columbus avenue. i’m proud to say that i helped put together COMIDA’S splendidly interesting cocktail menu, and this drink is significant because it bears COMIDA’S sun sign, or restaurant sign (laugh if you will). yup, like you and me, like the birds and the bees, like new york city itself, restaurants have zodiac signs. and that is because anything with a point of conception, a birth, a beginning, has a sign. COMIDA opened on march 11th which makes it fall under the rulership of dreamy, feeling, seductive pisces.

ok, so why blueberry? jupiter rules over everything bountiful, and no berry quite proliferates the way bayberry does on the bush. its almost impossible to pick them all once they get going! and because pisces is co-ruled by neptune and jupiter, due to medieval herbal astrology, blueberries are piscean!

what else are blueberries good for? hmnn… renowned astro docter, nicholas culpeper, claims that “the pulp of the berries made into a conserve with sugar is good for an old cough, an ulcer in the lungs, staying the vomiting or for binding the belly.” yum. so, next time you’re suffering from any of the aforesaid, swing by for a ZODIACO PISCES at COMIDA.

Zodiaco Piscis:
3 oz Pisco
3 barspoons blueberry jam
1 oz sour mix (half simple syrup/half fresh clear citrus)
shake very hard and strain into a sugar rimmed martini glass

well who woulda known that cachacha had its own holiday? apparently june 12th is international cachacha day. see here, this day was created to commemorate June 12th, 1744: the day when Portugal, then the colonial authority in Brasil, outlawed the production and selling of cachaça. LEBLON CACHACA has taken it upon themselves to shine the national spotlight on this holiday and spirit. rightfully so, how would you like to be called mary when you name was jennifer. well, calling cachaca rum is doing just that. so cheers to the Caipirinha, and to brasil—pretty much the only economy in the world that is flourishing right now! which is all thanks to their thinking ahead and switching their use of fossil fuels to ethanol from sugar cane fuels. hmnn… thinking ahead… yes, it really does work.

SOME HISTORY ON LEBLON: Leblon and Ipanema share the same beach. Leblon is one of the best areas to stay or live in Rio. Leblon has a romantic history. It was an area area of difficult access, and it was once used as a hiding place for runaway slaves. The land originally belonged to Frenchman Charles Le Blond, who owned a fishing company named Aliança. He sold the land to Portuguese José de Seixas Magalhães. Leblon started to grow with Ipanema, when a streetcar line connected them to the rest of the city. Leblon was at the end of the line, and it grew at a somewhat slower pace. Even though it’s very cosmopolitan today, it still retains a small town charm with neighborhood shops that have been around for generations.

so… CROP organic vodka sent me this bottle of cucumber infused vodka. and it was good. i mixed it in a cocktail with clear citrus, simple syrup and mashed strawberries. it then became spectacular. i don’t know what it is about cucumbers and strawberries, but my oh my they do get along well together. CROP is sold all over new york city, but if you can’t find it, infuse your own. just slice some cucumbers up and submerge them in vodka. squeeze in as much cucumber as you can and give it a few weeks to infuse. then strain and use in this delicious cocktail.

cucumbers are ruled by the moon… which is the ruling planet of cancer. hard skinned outside, runny, liquidity, seedy, slimy, tasty inside. cancer!

so little cancer, WICKED LITTLE CANCER… you’re just so innocent aren’t you? NOT. so quiet. YEAH RIGHT. so polite and reserved and well spoken. ON THE SURFACE MAYBE. but get to know this thick shelled creature and be warned that the inner—AND REAL— cancer can pop up out of her shell at anytime to bite your head off. or that high maintenance customer’s head, or that annoying sister’s head, or that pompous bosses’ head. or that lazy boyfriend’s head. or that idiot clerk’s head… well you catch my drift and that is, that cancers don’t take crap. and unless i’m on the receiving end, i love em for it! so to all you spicy crustaceous gals out there… have a ‘tini, you deserve it.

FARMER’S MARKETINI

2 oz cucumber vodka
1 oz fresh squeezed lemon
1 1/2 oz simple syrup (1:1 ration water to sugar)
2 strawberries

muddle strawberries in glass, add ingredients and stir. add ice, stir again and cheers…

the perfect summer tote has arrived. check out the bag i designed for KITTYKIND.ORG in manhattan… this wonderful cat rescue group is a no-kill operation, working out of PETCO on union square. such an adorable bag for only $14.95, and every penny goes to the cats ^-^ purrrrr purrrr purrrr view KITTYKIND’S online shop here.

chocolate. i was just told by my new age psychic medical docter dude that i’m allergic to it. well, only sex is better than chocolate, and only by a small margin. so sorry docter, i cannot and will not give up my chocolate! apparently, pure dark chocolate has a high acidity content, and fyi, acid is bad for our systems. don’t even go down the milk chocolate road… that’s just wrong all the way round. devil’s tool wrong… but so like, here i am, knowing that i shouldn’t be touching chocolate with a ten foot pole and yet there i go rubbing myself all in it. hello? self control? you there? will power? out to lunch—binging on chocolate. and so it goes with me, chocolate, and libra. those troublesome libra men—so hot, so wrong. when oh when will i stay away? i’m trying to refrain from both these days—and libra’s LUJURIA is helping me out with some simulated intimacy. a double shot of godiva chocolate liqueur in a dark beer does wonders for the palette and the libido. BTW, the tempting cocoa bean is ruled by venus and is thus a tempting libra. as if you couldn’t have guessed. this beer concoction goes down real smooth, just like libra men.

LUJURIA
one bottle dark beer
double shot godiva chocolate liqueur