pixiestix wrote: It's doubly-medicinal: the vodka improves my mood, the cranberry juice prevents UTI's :) ROFL! I most often tend to drink my distilled spirits neat or with a little ice, I don't generally do mixed cocktails. However, once in a great while (especially during hot, hot weather) a vodka & grapefruit (must be fresh squeezed) with a splash of cranberry is both pretty and refreshing. Sort of a backwards Seabreeze, which is a vodka & cranberry with a splash of grapefruit (also very good). lynnalexandra, from my Boston's guide, Ramos Fizz Juice of 1/2 lemon one egg white 1 t powdered sugar 2 oz gin 1 T light cream 1/2 t triple sec Shake with ice and strain into highball glass oer two ice cubes. Fill with carbonated water and stir. At the restaurant where I worked for many years, we used orange flower water as a float on top. A nice, refreshing martini-glass cocktail is an old fashioned Gimlet. One oz of fresh lime juice, 1/12 oz gin and one t powdered sugar, shaken with ice and strained. I actually prefer to use a simple syrup instead of the powdered sugar to keep the drink crystal clear or, if I have no lime juice on hand, use Roses Lime and leave out the sugar.

As for what fruits go good in Sangria, well it is basically a wine punch so you have to know something about wine to figure that out, since wine already has "notes" of flavors in it which is what the fruit enhances in the punch. And I agree, go with just one type of wine unless you know a whole lot about blending wines. There are blended wines out there that you can buy, such as "Menage a Trois" which is a blended red wine that I like. I'm interested in blended wines and I have tried a few and found that a lot of them I don't like, so that's why I say you have to be careful and if you're new to Sangria I would agree with Sushipup, start with the basics and you can branch out from there. Also, there are certain fruits that seem to go more with red wine and others that go with white wine, which is why there are recipes out there for both types of Sangria. It has to do with the flavor notes of the wine. For example, I would say that kiwi would be good with some white wines but I can't imagine it with a complex red wine, but I can imagine blueberries going OK with a red. Another example is peach, which I think goes extremely well with white wine but just gets lost in a red wine. Same with strawberries--they are great with wine but would be lost with a strong red wine. Cherries and apples and blackberries, on the other hand, would go well with a red. I love to eat grapefruit, but in my experience with trying it in mixed fruit things and salads, etc., it just doen't play well with too many other tastes. It is one of the flavor notes of some wines though, but I'm not sure which ones. But if you're not a wino and don't know all the nuances of the different wines, best to start and stick with the tried and true.

LOL Coookebook!!! After the martinis we have a couple of husbands drive us to & from the restaurant. That way we can be carefree about imbibing. Taking into account that poem, I guess we still have to be a LITTLE careful!! Well, due to my limited stock, I was able to test two different drinks yesterday. One, I had found on the internet on a vodka company website (smirnoff I think). It was very simple, a combination of vodka, frangelico and a twist of lemon. I put several drops of lemon in it and it tasted really good! Then I decided to try the exact same recipe only with Creme de Menth instead of Frangelico. Bingo! It was delicious and GREEN so it fit in as a holiday drink. I think the lemon adds an extra tang and dilutes the alcohol just a little bit. I'm going to do that same martini again tonight except I'm going to pay attention to proportions so that I can make a pitcher full for the party. I do REALLY appreciate all the recipes because I have a Martini Party every year or year and a half where we drink four to five different kinds of martinis along with munchies. I've saved all these recipes because I try to have different kinds every year. I know the recipe I've picked is as far asay from a real martini as it gets, BUT it's green, it's good, and it will look so cool in a martini glass with a red cherry!! Thanks everyone!!

FOAS' list makes a lot of sense. He gives good criteria for it. You could start there and add or modify. Once you start adding to his list, the sky's the limit. I think that if you wanted to boil his list down to the very bare essentials you could eliminate three or four items from it. Most gin drinks can be made with vodka. Gin drinkers won't be thrilled about it, but they can get by on vodka. Second, FOAS correctly distinguishes between bourbon and Tennessee whiskey. But there is enough similarity between them that you could get by with one or the other. Rye seems to be out of fashion. Maybe I'm wrong but I seem never to see anyone drinking it. I wouldn't bother with it in a list of just the essentials. Scotch drinkers can be very particular about brands and types, but I would not try to please individual preferences except those of frequent guests. Put one good one on your basic list and add more if you want to please certain scotch drinking friends. White vermouth is very handy to have on hand for cooking. It keeps indefinitely and can be used in many dishes where a small amount of white wine is called for. It is made with herbs, which adds complexity of flavor to most dishes where you would use it. And it's essential for martinis. I would add cognac to FOAS's list. It is useful in many desserts and is a good after dinner drink as well. Choosing cordials open up a big can of worms because there are so many distinct flavors. There are an awful lot of people who like Bailey's and don't like other liqueurs. An orange flavor is called for in many sweet dishes so I would have triple sec or other orange liqueur on hand, but you would know if you might ever use it. I agree completely with FOAS's brand suggestions. Jim