A Fabulous Day At Prohibition Distillery

Tuesday's "Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en" episode features a visit to the fabulous Prohibition Distillery, in Roscoe, New York! If you'll be in the Catskills for any reason and enjoy booze, we highly recommend stopping in for the free tastings in their tasting room, along with the tour and a few cocktails. They're incredibly nice people, making amazing vodka, gin and bourbon, and they really know their stuff. It's a great way to spend a day!

So many lovely libations!

Relaxing on a beautiful day

REALLY relaxing on a beautiful day!

Roscoe, NY: Fly fishing capital of America

"Saucy" Baked Beans

And by "sauce" I mean that kind of sauce. As in hooch!

Let's face it: we don't always have all day to let beans cook in the slow cooker, or all night to let them soak. Sometimes you just need to eat dinner, soon. Here's a, dare I say it? hack for a can of baked beans that will feel special, especially if you're pairing it with a nice ale or glass of wine.

"Saucy" Baked Beans

1 28 oz can of vegetarian baked beans (I used B&M in this case)

1/2 tsp ground garlic

1/4 tsp onion powder

Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

1 1/2 oz bourbon

3/4 oz Ancho Reyes liqueur

Combine all ingredients and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or so.

Booze, is there anything you can't improve?!

Whiskey Cocktails From Yesterday's Periscope Broadcast

We got a request for whiskey cocktails on our Facebook page from the fabulous Ginger Wilkins, so those became the theme for yesterday's Periscope live broadcast. First up was our version of the classic Rock-N-Rye, at Ginger's request, then we created one in her honor, the Ginger 75! Here are the recipes!

Ginger 75

1 oz bourbon (I used Old Forester)

1/2 oz ginger liqueur (I used Domaine de Canton)

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

2 dashes of Angostura orange bitters

Chilled prosecco

Combine all ingredients in a champagne flute and stir gently.

The Ginger 75

Rock-N-Rye

2 oz rye (I used James E. Pepper 1776 Straight Rye Whiskey)

1/2 oz rock candy syrup

2 dashes of Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a rocks glass with ice, stir and garnish with an orange peel.

We also did a variation on the classic Manhattan, at the request of our friend Doug. Here's what we came up with:

2 oz bourbon (I used the Old Forester again)

1/2 oz Aperitivo Cappelletti 

2 dashes of Angostura bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry.

Here in New York we're stuck with a dismal, gray Monday and I'm working with a horrible internet connection, which has been an issue for days and makes uploading video for the show a real challenge. But the good news is that it's practically happy hour and these recipes are just what the doctor ordered! 

Have a fabulous week!