Qahweh Sitti, Downtown Raleigh Website $9 The Qahweh is a coffee cocktail made with espresso, Stoli Vanil, Bailey’s Irish cream, simple syrup, and a thimbleful of espresso beans. It is served frothy with a few ice chips in the mix, which I always enjoy. The Irish cream is by far the strongest taste, and that’s
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Winter Fruit Dreams 2.5 shots of Trader Joe’s Pear Cider 1.5 shots of Bacardi Select Puerto Rican Rum 0.5 shot of St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur 0.25 shot of Joaquin’s Banana Liqueur Shake all the ingredients up with crushed ice then strain into a martini glass. On first sip, there’s too much banana, until I figure
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El Capital Dos Perros, Durham $10 Wow, this New Year’s Eve special cocktail takes its description as a twist on a Manhattan seriously! It’s a very strong drink—assuming Dos Perros adds it to their specials list on occasion, only order it if you like a stiff drink. Luckily, I do! It’s made with hornitos anejo
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Hot Date Jujube Chapel Hill $9 Alas, no picture for this cocktail review, but don’t let the lack of visual stimulation stop you from trying it out. The Hot Date is made of jujube preserves, bourbon, cayenne, and lemon. And it is one hot date, as far as that cayenne’s concerned! The flavors of this
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Spiced Blackberry Jam 1/4 shot green Chartreuse 1 1/2 shot St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur 2 shots citrus vodka 1/2 shot lime juice 2 shots blackberry juice A few champagne grapes Shake everything together but the grapes. Place a few grapes in each cocktail glass, then pour the cocktail on top. Of course, using blackberries would
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Sicilian Firefly Serena, Durham Website This pretty, and nicely sized drink, is made with banana schnapps, coconut vodka, and melon liqueur. I admit, the menu description sold me with its poetic waxings about the sweet hues of dancing Sicilian fireflies. The flavors dance as well as their namesakes, with the coconut and melon pairing smoothly.
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Absente Minded Posta Tuscan Grille, Raleigh Website $12 The Absente Minded cocktail, which I tried at the Triangle Foodie Tweetup held last week at Posta Tuscan Grille, was a delightful, satisfying, smooth cocktail. I enjoyed it so much that night that I came back the next one for another before heading to the Adam Lambert
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White Satin Bahama Breeze, Raleigh Website This drink started out very, very well. It’s a delicious combination of coconut rum, Cointreau, coconut milk, and just a hint of ginger. Served in a large martini glass, the first half of the drink was a heavenly blend of those elements, with the orange and ginger flavors highlighting
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Butter in the Forest Adapted from Japanese Cocktails by Yuri Kato 1/4 avocado 1 tsp honey 2 shots junmai nigori sake 3/4 shot vodka 1/4 shot triple sec 1 shot almond milk I made this drink from a sake cocktail recipe in order to use up less than a glass of sake. I had to
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La Leche Dos Perros, Downtown Durham Website $9 This drink is nothing but horchata and dark rum. I love both of those ingredients, but I have to say, for $9, it wasn’t tasty enough. It’s a classic milk punch, like the New Orlean’s Milk Punch at Papa Mojo’s with bourbon and nutmeg, but that one
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