Oh Susan, you are so funny! I enjoy wine but don't think I could handle any of your drinks. However, I'd love to come over and watch you! OK?

My aunt used to love this drink.

1 oz. Creme de Menthe or Peppermint Schnapps
1 oz. Creme de Caoco
Large scoop of vanilla ice cream
1 cup milk

Blend in blender for a fantastic milkshake.

A woman after my own heart! Those drinks sound good! Some sound rather sweet but one would be enough!

Don't give up on the peach flavored vodka. I think the combination of fruits in the drink were gross (apple, peach and orange?) and it would have been fine without the apple. Add it to orange juice and champagne for a brunch cocktail.

Heather, that sounds like a gussied up grasshopper!

We came home from our last HS Christmas concert. Needed something special, googled Hot buttered Rum..I had no idea the spices and brown sugar that go in them. They were DELISH!!

My personal favorite drinks are good red wine or a vodka martini with olives. But some of my family members enjoy fancier cocktails, especially at the holidays.

So Susan, you're more than welcome to come and watch. But it would help my scientific method enormously if you would indulge me by taking a critical sip or two. Or twenty....

Heh heh! Sure! :-)

Heather, I have no ice cream, but that does sound good!

I took Dees' advice and gave the peach vodka another shot try, this time with another Pinnacle recipe:

Peach-politan

2 part(s) Pinnacle Peach Vodka
1 part(s) DeKuyper Triple Sec
2 part(s) cranberry juice
1 part(s) fresh lime juice

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Not bad, I'd say. My relatives might like it. When I first tasted it, I thought it was way too tart. Figured if I made it again I'd cut down on the lime juice. But a few sips later it tasted better. Some wines are like that. ;-)

I always make a half-recipe. That way if I don't like the drink and pour it down the sink, I haven't wasted more. But I drank this one.

This drink is perfect for one of those chilly nights for you to enjoy, as well as a festive drink for Holiday guests. You just need 4 things:
Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate packets
1 shot Peppermint Schnapps
Whipped cream
small candy cane

For 1 drink:
*************
place 1 packet of cocoa into a mug or Irish Coffee glass
Add boiling water & stir till blended.
Add 1 shot of Peppermint Schnapps-stir
Top w/whipped cream
Hang a candy cane on the rim of the mug.
You can make a pot full ahead of time, by adding as many packets & the boiling water, then keep on low heat until you're ready to finish & serve.

I call this "Cozy Cocoa Cocktail"

It definitely sounds cozy (one of my favorite words). Thanks, Sharon!

This is the job that our older son and his wife have assumed for our family celebrations. They seem to arrive with all the fixings to make a special cocktail before our dinners. Once they tried for a chili pepper drink, and it was too hot for me. I had tasted my DILs drink seasoned with sweet red peppers at a dinner we all went to, and it was delish. But this version burned too much!

Usually they do a beautiful job. Their mojitos introduced me to my current favorite drink, and he makes them sweet enough for me too.

don't know if it's my meds or what, but one sip would put me under! haven't had anything in years...

wasn't there one with southern comfort and cranberry juice?

Tonight's "work".....

Cranberry Martini

1 ounce cranberry juice
1/2 ounce Chambord
1 ounce vanilla vodka
Fresh cranberries, for garnish

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and serve in a chilled martini glass. Garnish with fresh cranberries skewered on a cocktail skewer.

This drink was pretty, and I like the idea of fresh cranberries as garnish, but I didn't care for the taste. Once again, I'm glad I make only a half recipe.

I liked this one (from Allrecipes.com) better, although I didnâÂÂt read the recipe carefully and made a half-recipe by proportion instead of measuring ounces (1 part vodka to ý part orange liqueur, etc.). Darn--I guess IâÂÂll have to try it again. :-)

Cranberry Martini

1 (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger vodka

1/2 fluid ounce orange liqueur

1/2 fluid ounce dry vermouth

2 (1.5 fluid ounce) jiggers cranberry juice

1 cup ice

Cranberries

Combine vodka, orange liqueur, vermouth, cranberry juice, and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously to chill. Pour into martini glasses, and serve. Garnish with cranberries threaded on cocktail skewers.

I'm with you Susan. Vodka martinis or good red wine are my preference.

Chocolate whipped vodka? I'll have to google that.

Now I'm wondering how many bottles of 'fixings' you have to make those drinks. You need a serving cart - or a bar - or an annex!

Here's the alcohol I have in my house - 2 bottles of red, 2 bottles of white, 1 opened white in the frig. All of these are left over from Thanksgiving. Oh and 4 Guinness.

We're not teetotalers - but one drink puts me to sleep so I can only drink when I'm having a meal.

LOL You're right, Maire_Cate. I have almost no closets in this house, no built-ins other than a couple of bookcases, and a severe shortage of storage. So what do I have? An overflowing liquor cabinet and a filled wine rack.

The reason is that I like the idea of having a drink with friends, but it doesn't happen often. And I think drinking alone is no fun.

I do come up with a special drink each year for my family at the holidays, but all that experimenting requires more ingredients than I'll use in the end result.

As for the wine, I love searching for bargains in decent wine, but I would never open a bottle just for me. Wine doesn't keep well. So it sits there on the rack until I have guests or until (like this weekend) I bring a bottle to a party.

I think another factor is that my parents always had a well-stocked liquor cabinet. They didn't drink wine, but they had lots of close friends, couples who would stop in for an evening. My dad would make Manhattans, or Tom Collinses, or serve beer, depending on the season. No one ever got drunk; it's just that the cocktail hour was a tradition in our circles in New York. My in-laws in CT did the same.

But although it was what we grew up with, my DH and I didn't drink at all for about 20 years when our children were growing up. No time to "relax with a drink" with three kids in the house. I didn't learn to like good wine until about ten years ago.