It's a rainy Wednesday, and there's a soft breeze floating through the balcony door as I bring you this week's cocktail.  Sit down, put your feet up, and join me for a tip and sip... This week's cocktail is a strawberry/gin flavored one.  It's a little more involved than most of the others I've reviewed so far- but not so involved that it takes two hours or so... unlike a certain martini... Put a strawberry, a couple of basil leaves, and 2 teaspoons of sugar into a cocktail shaker.  Mush them up really good with a cocktail muddler.  Add some ice, then pour in 2 ounces of gin, an ounce of lemon juice, and three ounces of club soda.  Shake them all together until they're well mixed, and the outside of the shaker has a fine layer of frost. Pour into a glass, and add a bit more club soda if needed. I actually found this cocktail to be quite refreshing.  The gin, strawberry/basil "mush", and lemon juice combined to create a nice mixture of sweet and t...

  Since it's my birthday tomorrow, I decided I'd try something a little different and special to celebrate.  With that in mind, it's time to act all classy and shit as we settle in for this week's tip and sip... While the ingredients are fairly simple, the Earl Grey martini does take a bit of time to prepare.  Take 1.5 oz of gin, and pour it into a small glass.  Take a teaspoon of Earl Grey tea leaves and mix them into the gin.  Put this mixture aside to steep for 2 hours. While waiting for the tea/gin infusion is taking place spread some sugar on a plate.  Wet the edge of the glass with a wedge of lemon, then tip your martini glass, and dip it into the sugar to coat the rim of the glass. Once the tea/gin mixture has steeped, strain it into an ice filled cocktail shaker.  Add 1.5 oz lemon juice, and 2 oz of simple syrup (I used grenadine).  Shake the shaker until well mixed, then strain it into the sugar rimmed martini glass. You'd think that with...

  My name is S... Mike S... One of the film franchises I grew up watching was " James Bond ".  As a fan, I always wanted to try a, "martini- shaken, not stirred..."  Well, recently, I took the plunge and gave it a try. It's a fairly easy drink to make: pour gin and vermouth into a shaker filled with ice.  Shake.  Pour.  Add the iconic martini olive.  Drink. The first thing I noticed was the swirly "oil and water" sort of appearance to the martini.  It was... interesting, but didn't actually do a lot to appeal to me.  The second thing I noticed was that it was actually kinda bitter from the gin.  There were hints of something else- which I assume was the vermouth.  Each sip was different due to the inconsistent way the two mixed, which made the experience a bit more intriguing to me. Personally, I'm not fond of a plain martini.  Having said that, I do believe it is a great starting point for a bit of exploration.  Instead o...