Oh, Elvis Tree!

The Kitsch-en Christmas tree parade continues, this time with the Elvis tree! Like most of our trees, the Elvis tree started small. This is actually the second Elvis tree, since the Elvis paraphernalia outgrew the first one (which is now Glendora's tree - coming soon). Many of these ornaments play music and it's a riot to play them all at the same time!

It's hard to get a shot of the entire tree in our tiny living room.

Flashing lights AND plays music!

Velvet Elvis

Christmas at Graceland

It's hard to find an Elvis tree topper, so I went DIY!

Coming soon: more trees!

Oh, Tiki Tree!

Here's another of our many, many Christmas trees, the Tiki Tree! The actual tree is the one my parents bought at Sears in Oklahoma City when I was a tiny child. The ornaments are a combination of handmade, picked up on our travels and given to us by wonderful friends and family, with any bare spots filled in with cocktail umbrellas and flowers. You know my motto: anything can be an ornament!

The Tiki Tree

The Mai-Kai: one of the happiest places on earth!

Tiki Bob ornament by our talented friend Brigitte

Before I had any tiki ornaments I made my own.

Of course we have to have cocktails!

This one was given to us by a dear friend.

More trees on the way!

Round 3: Cocktails for Fabulous Folks!

Here's round three of cocktails for fabulous donors to our fundraising campaign for Feeding America! We still owe a couple of fabulous ladies cocktails that will appear in upcoming episodes, but don't worry, ladies - we'll get you those recipes before the episodes go online so that you can enjoy your drinks sooner! In the meantime, here are three lovely libations, with our profound thanks to the generous donors who inspired them:

Licor de Amor

Licor de Amor (created for Roxanne)

1 1/2 oz brandy

1 1/2 oz anise liqueur

1/4 oz fresh lime juice

1 oz Italian lemon soda

A dash of Peychaud's bitters

Combine brandy, anise liqueur and lime juice, shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with soda and a dash of Peychaud's bitters.

Naughty or Nice?

Naughty or Nice? (created for Christine)

2 oz amber rum

1/2 oz Aperol

1/4 oz cinnamon schnapps

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

2 dashes of orange bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a slice of candy fruit and a lump of chocolate coal.

Hibiscus Holiday

Hibiscus Holiday (created for Barbara)

1 oz amber rum

3/4 oz hibiscus liqueur

2 dashes of chocolate bitters

4 dashes of orange bitters

Chilled dry sparkling white wine

Combine all ingredients except the wine, shake with ice and strain into a champagne flute with a pink sugar rim. Fill with wine and serve.

A million thanks to our wonderful donors! We'll have even more very soon!

More Holiday Cocktails for More Fabulous Donors!

Friday means happy hour here at the Kitsch-en and this week we have four cocktails for you, all created for fabulous donors to our Feeding America fundraiser! There will be even more this weekend, since we have more wonderful donors to serve!

We're so grateful for everyone's generosity in helping this fabulous cause - thank you all!

North Pole: After Hours

North Pole: After Hours (created for Steve)

2 oz rye

1/2 oz Art in the Age Ginger Snap liqueur

8 dashes of molasses bitters

A twist of lime

Serve on the rocks.

Stardust

Stardust (created for Julie)

2 oz gold tequila

1/2 oz vanilla liqueur (I used Xanath)

1/2 oz cherry liqueur (I used Rothman & Winter Orchard Cherry)

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

A dash of Angostura bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a pink cherry.

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice (created for Robert and featured in last Tuesday's episode)

2 oz amber rum

1/2 oz cherry liqueur (see above)

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

3/4 oz blueberry juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass with a coconut rim. Create rim by dipping the rim of the glass in light corn syrup, allowing excess to drip away, then dipping in shredded coconut.

Des Yeti

Des Yeti (created for Kristy and Geoff and featured in today's episode)

2 oz gin

1/2 oz raspberry liqueur

1/2 oz elderflower liqueur

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

2 oz pineapple juice

5 dashes of cranberry bitters

Shake with ice and pour into a yeti or tiki mug. Garnish with a festive sprig of rosemary.

Cheers and have a fabulous weekend!

Oh, Cocktail Tree!

You may have heard the rumors that I'm addicted to Christmas trees. It's absolutely true. I never met a Christmas tree I didn't want to adopt. That's why we have, according to a friend's count on Saturday, 47 of them. I'm not kidding. Of course, most are small, but five could be considered full-sized and several more fall into the "medium" category. "You must have a really big house," you might be thinking. Nope! Our house is quite cozy (read small). We just evict furniture to make room for all the trees! Who needs to sit down, anyway? I love sharing our trees, so I will be doing so here, starting with a vintage tree we inherited from some friends who were moving away. This one has a vaguely cocktail theme*:

Those "cocktail tickets" are from Continental Airlines, 1960s-70s. My aunt was a flight attendant who, happily for me, saved everything. And since, as far as I'm concerned, everything is fair game in the ornament department, they now live on the tree!

More trees coming soon! And I'd love to see yours!

*Actually, this is only one of our cocktail trees. We have two others, to be featured soon. ;)

Holiday Cocktails For A Few Fabulous Donors!

Our fundraising campaign for Feeding America is underway and, as promised, we're starting to deliver customized cocktails for our fabulous donors! Here is the first batch. We'll have many more over the next week, so stay tuned!

Sophisticated Santa

Sophisticated Santa (created for Lisa)

1 1/2 oz gin

1 oz Pimm's No. 1 liqueur

1 oz orange juice

1/4 oz fresh lime juice

4 dashes of chocolate bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass! Garish with a candy fruit slice and cherry.

Jetsetter's Holiday

Jetsetter's Holiday (created for Angie)

2 oz Bacardi 8 year old rum

1/2 oz Ancho Reyes liqueur

1/4 oz Cappelletti Amaro Sfumato Rabarbaro (rhubarb amaro)

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass!

Pink Christmas

Pink Christmas (created for Alice)

2 oz vodka

1/4 oz pomegranate liqueur

1/4 oz hibiscus liqueur

1 oz pink grapefruit juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass! Garnish with a candy fruit slice.

Christmas by the Fire

Christmas by the Fire (created for Teri)

1 oz vodka

1 oz Cabernet Sauvignon

1/4 oz triple sec

1/2 oz pomegranate juice

1/4 oz fresh lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a wine glass and stir. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Thank you again to all of our wonderful donors! If your drink isn't here it will be soon! Also, if you missed Tuesday's "Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en" episode, click here to watch and see the cocktail we created for Robert - the Winter Solstice!

If you'd like to donate to our fundraiser, click here for the link to our fundraising page. Thank you!

Happy Repeal Day!

December 5, 1933 was the happy day when the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, repealing Prohibition, the "noble experiment" gone wrong. That calls for a drink! Click here for two easy recipes that celebrate booze in honor of this auspicious occasion. Happy Repeal Day!

Out of the Tub cocktail