On March 25, 2012, there was an all-day benefit at The Met in Pawtucket for musician Thom Enright, who died of cancer in February. The event was called A Time for Thom and featured an all-star buffet of musical acts.
There haven’t been any reviews of this extravaganza in the media (not any that I’ve found, anyway). WTF? So I’ll do it.
First off, let me just say this: Thom was my friend, and my hope was that this show would be one he’d enjoy, too. It was. In fact, it was epic. Feeling bad never felt so good.
I’d never been to The Met before, and I’d be lying if I told you the acoustics are great. In fact, they’re pretty much what you’d expect for a warehouse space, which is exactly what this place is. You probably don’t want to hear the Boston Philharmonic here, but for this event it was fine. The club has a comfortable, airy feel (plus two bars, to help make up for the lack of insulation). The structure imbued the music with a fun raucousness reminiscent of parties in your high school gym. Like I said, not altogether unpleasant.
Amazingly, the event’s organizers (bassist Marty Ballou, keyboardist Dick Reed, and saxophonist Klem Klimek, all friends of Enright’s) threw everything together in record time. Was it Woodstock? Nah. For one thing, there was less mud and better bathrooms. But it was one helluva show and a testament to the trio’s resourcefulness that they pulled it off at all. It was also a measure of the community’s esteem for Enright, guitarist/singer/songwriter extraordinaire. Hundreds of people overcame their loathing of Pawtucket to gather together, share memories, hear some kickass music, and help pay for Thom’s medical bills.
I got there earlyish and was rewarded with performances by musicians I’d heard about for years but never had the pleasure of seeing in person: Music Hall of Famer Ken Lyon, the Super Chief Trio, and Rizzz. All were more than worth the cover.
Program-wise, it would’ve been nice if more women had joined. But what there was (as Spencer Tracy would say) was choice. Trombonist/vocalist Pamela Murray spiced up Super Chief Trio. Singer/songwriter Karen Cappelli Chadwick (you may remember her from Forrest McDonald’s band Sundance) helped round out impromptu combos.
One of the most touching numbers was the James Taylor song “You Can Close Your Eyes,” sung by Karen Cappelli and Klem Klimek, who were backed up by hosts Reed and Ballou, and Keith Munslow of Super Chief Trio. It always makes me bawl like a toddler in coach, and I thought it especially apt for the occasion.
I had to leave before The Young Adults (three of them, anyway), Chris Vachon (of Roomful of Blues), and Duke Robillard played. Sorry, dudes. But what I saw of the show was bangin’. The roster also included James Montgomery, Chris Turner, Dennis McCarthy, and John Cafferty.
All the performers were asked to play songs Enright wrote or covered. I saw many of Thom’s shows, and he would’ve been surprised by some of their choices. Compliance was — well, let’s just call it casual.
Many musicians who took the stage did tell stories about Enright, and Super Chief Trio totally nailed the assignment. They performed with Thom often in recent history, which may be why keyboardist/vocalist Keith Munslow could imitate his goofy vocal lope to perfection. It was magical to hear Thom’s voice again, and for a little while he was in the room once more. I half expected him to leap onto the stage and rip into a tune. Yes, I did see some damp cheeks. You know who you are.
The Met overflowed with Enright’s fans and friends — some just jazzed to be there, some completely discombobulated by his untimely passing, and some a combination thereof. And let me tell you, it was SRO — at three in the afternoon!
I’m not gonna review performances I didn’t see. You can now watch a bunch of them and judge for yourself. Just go over to YouTube and search your band’s name, “Time for Thom,” and/or “Thom Enright.” Sort by upload date.
They advertised seven hours of performance, and they weren’t kidding. Thommy would’ve liked it. It was one beautiful, hot mess.
Karen Cappelli Chadwick and Klem Klimek perform at “A Time for Thom”
Sydney Schuster and Dead Spot neither approved nor endorse any third-party advertising that may appear below, nor do we derive any income from it. Feel free to ignore it.
Thom Enright. Know that name? Well, he’s a musician. Or more accurately, a musician’s musician. Three of Thom’s old bands — plus Thom himself, natch — will be inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame tomorrow.
Thom’s a certified big star in New England. Maybe he’s not a household name where you live, but if you think you’ve never heard him play, think again.
Thom was also a first-call guitar and bass player who performed on many Grammy-winning and gold-selling albums for Sony, Columbia, and Rounder. Thom worked with Bo Diddley, James Cotton, Robert Cray, John Lee Hooker, Paul Butterfield, Ronnie Earl, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Vaughan, Big Joe Turner, John Hammond, Jimmy Thackery, and Dr. John. You can read more about his career here and here.
Thom Enright (left) with Duke Robillard and the Pleasure Kings, 1983
Thom Enright (far right) with Ken Lyon and The Tombstone Blues Band, 1972
Thom Enright (center) with Shakey Legs, 1971.
As an artist and especially as a friend, Thom was unmatched in grace and style. His wry wit was legendary. He was some kinda snazzy dresser, too. I wish I’d gotten to see 1970s Tombstone Band Jewfro Thom, and skinny-ties Pleasure Kings Thom of the ’80s.
Should time machines ever be invented, here’s the top of my do-over list:
✔ See Thom Enright perform “A Power Tool Is Not a Toy” in a kimono and fishnets. ✔ Buy Apple shares at $22. ✔ Kill Hitler.
Thom and I met in the ’90s during his blazers-and-berets period, after he joined Beaver Brown. JCBBB sax player Tunes Antunes introduced us. “You should meet the new guy,” he said. “He needs a fan.”
He didn’t really. He totally had that covered. But I was sold. Long after Thom departed JCBBB and well into his Barney’s-manager-lookalike phase, I was still bugging him for his gig sked.
He was cute. And funny. And he really could play the hell out of every kind of music. I am not exaggerating. I heard it all.
What I’ve been hearing for the past few days, though, is lots of Thom Enright stories. Here’s one of my personal favorites:
After one of his shows, he was saying his goodnights to everyone. I grabbed his guitar case and said, “I’m carrying this!” He looked at me sideways and argued half-heartedly (girls didn’t carry anyone’s guitars back then, except their own, if they had one). Realizing that resistance was futile, he laughed as we hauled his gear out to the parking lot. One of the band wives happened to see this. We caught her glowering at us (we were both very married to stay-at-home spouses, so this cartage business was simply unacceptable). We paused to speculate about the havoc we’d wreaked on her moral sensibilities. That took, like, two seconds. Then we waved at her and resumed laughing and gossiping and cramming stuff into Thommy’s car.
A prize in every box
For sure, everyone in The Biggest Little knows Thom. It got me out of a traffic ticket once, when I blew through a red light I didn’t see because I was looking at a map instead. The cop who pulled me over asked me where I’d been. I told him I’d just left a Thom Enright show. It was my get-out-of-jail-free card.
Whenever I went to any of Thom’s gigs, I felt like I’d won the nightlife lottery. One time his wife Olga and I alternated loud singing of our favorite Enright tunes with loud yakking about shoe shopping, which I’m sure the band really appreciated. She isn’t your typical band spouse, and it was obvious why Thom loved her. She came to his gigs often, presiding over a salon of sorts with their friends.
There were always interesting people who came to hear Thom play. His audiences regularly included music world royalty, and sometimes Hollywood’s. It seemed perfectly natural to see Duke Robillard, Bobby Farrelly, Paul Geremia, or Barry Cowsill at the bar.
But a lot of Thom’s admirers were just crazed fans. When he was a regular at the Narragansett Cafe and I was in my cowboy-boots-and-DA period, I always got followed into the ladies’ head by an angry Jamestown mob that thought I was some drunk guy stalking their women.
Me, I was just there for some dazzling musicianship. I sometimes had to battle my way out of a restroom for it, but I was never disappointed.
Some Thom history & trivia
Thom elevated every band he ever joined, and he was in a lot of them. I saw him perform with two national acts.
The configuration of JCBBB that included Thom was their best. He gave them an oomph — sometimes on guitar, sometimes bass — that was new for them, yet complemented their style perfectly. One night Cafferty broke a string and ducked offstage to replace it. The band had already started playing their barn burner “Runnin’ Thru the Fire,” so Thommy and Gary Gramolini covered Cafferty’s absence with a dueling guitars shootout. It was such a steaming hot can of whupass, the band kept it in the act.
Thommy eventually left JCBBB for Roomful of Blues, who were willing to perform and record his songs. His blues romp “Love to Watch You When You Go” was the big hit on Roomful’s eponymous album of 2001. The Enright era of the long-running franchise was a particularly successful one. Roomful was so much in demand that Thom had to leave, he told me (with no hint of irony), because the constant travel was killing him.
He started recording his own albums, and it’s too bad there weren’t more of them. Blue Teeth (1994) and Intoxicated (2005) featured original material, plus blues and rock standards stamped with his unique creative spin. Thom was a superb tunesmith. He could also take pop songs you’ve heard a million times — “Don’t Worry Baby,” “To Love Somebody,” “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” — and finesse them into something refreshingly new.
When he fronted his own bands, serious magic happened. That’s when Thom became a really good singer, too. He sounded like John Hiatt, Warren Haynes, and Dan Hicks had a baby. I heard him wring the bejeezus out of “Crazy” — any vocalist’s nightmare — and was blown away. I congratulated him on it. And this guy — this honkin’ monster talent who could play everyone else under the table — said this: “Thanks. I’m still kinda self-conscious about it.”
I don’t know which was more amazing — the sheer scope of Thom’s talent or the fact that he never got a big head about it. He welcomed any opportunity to play. No club was too small. That’s what he lived for.
You know, the dude could’ve been a raging egomaniac and no one would’ve questioned it. But he wasn’t. Years ago he asked me to write him a press release. The original title was: All Meat. No Filler. Enright Delivers! He was embarrassed and changed it to something not so Mister Saturday Night. Actually, his title was much better: Plays Right. Sings Right. Enright.
And that was Thom in a nutshell. He towered over everyone in his field (literally and figuratively). Yet he was never a diva, not that I ever saw. He’d be so mortified by this post, he’d turn eighty shades of pink. Sweetest guy you ever met, always with a joke and some gossip, always glad to see you. Unless you were a ginormous dick, in which case good luck with that.
For those who weren’t, an evening with Thom was always fun. Once I asked him to sign one of his CDs for me. “Write something steamy,” I said. He wrote: “Hurl, baby, hurl, all night long!” Another time he asked me if I wanted to sing. Sing? Really? I’d never suggested that was in my arsenal of dubious talents. I was quite shocked and wildly flattered that he trusted me not to skunk up his gig. He admired my fashion statement that night — blinding white Varvatos Cons.
I wore them to his funeral. In 2008 Thom was diagnosed with a brain glioma and given six months to live. He died on February 20 after kicking its butt to hell and back for four years. He never stopped performing, nor being a friend to the many people who now have one more reason to admire him. There’s been a disruption in the force, and it’s big.
My last post was about self-publishing on Kindle, and Kindle’s mysterious sales ranking system for the million-plus ebooks in its catalog. This post is about why you can ignore it.
I published my novel Dead Spot on Kindle. A colleague asked me why I chose self-publishing, considering that my nonfiction journalism — the kind paid in dollars per word, not pennies — has been published many, many times. (Google me, dogs.) I told her straight up that I’d been hosed enough by literary agents and publishers. (Hey, Syd, Dead Spot is nice but why don’t you write a book just like [title of that week’s NYT’s best seller]?).
Even if I did succeed in getting one of them to publish my novel, establishment publishers are notoriously uninterested in promoting new authors. Odds are my book would be on B&N’s remainder table before the advance cleared, unless I did my own PR. And if I have to do the PR myself, what am I paying them for?
My author friend, the one I was explaining all this to, has published several books the traditional way. She couldn’t argue with my logic.
Here’s the thing: I’m not getting any younger. I have a novel to sell, and I’m through begging pseudo-intellectual snotbags to publish it. Ergo, Kindle. I’ve now sold way more books there than I did (i.e., zero) without it. In that regard, Kindle can be a marvelous thing for authors with marketable product and limited patience.
And not for nothing, but B&N and Borders recently picked up the paperback version of Dead Spot, which I publish myself. So 4Q2, Random House.
Sydney Schuster and Dead Spot neither approved nor endorsed any third-party video advertising that may appear on this blog, nor do we derive any income from it. Feel free to ignore such crap.
One of the great unsolved mysteries of independent publishing (to me, anyway) is Kindle seller rankings. How do they work? Why are they there? What the hell good are they?
I have a rockin’ ebook for sale on Kindle. It’s called Dead Spot. It’s one of more than a million ebooks Amazon claims to be selling now. So yesterday I sold an ebook. Here’s the kicker. Before the sale, Dead Spot‘s Kindle ranking was around 625,000. After my single-unit sale, it ranked 76,058.
I think I speak for everyone here when I say, “Huh?!?”
Obviously, Kindle isn’t selling all that many of its one million-plus ebooks. Last year Amazon boasted it sold 105 ebooks for every 100 dead-trees books — then went on to predict its Kindle-related revenue would represent only 10 percent of total 2012 revenue.
The math here isn’t rocket science. A lot of Kindle books are free or close to it. And a lot of Kindle-related revenue comes from selling $80-$380 Kindle reading devices. Translation: Your life’s work is competing for seller ratings with the 99¢ epulp flooding Kindle’s site and 800-pound literary gorillas like Tim Tebow and the Kardashians.
But there’s a bigger, more troubling equation involved. Those 548,942 Kindle books ranked behind Dead Spot, the ones not lucky enough to have a sale this week — do they all share the same nomimal Kindle rank of, say, 625,000? Or are they being scored by some other method — say, alphabetization? Amazon has some ‘splainin’ to do.
Kindle’s own forums are ablaze with wild conjecture on this very subject. (The reason: Amazon only promotes best sellers, so authors are obsessed with gaming the ranking system.) One author posted: “I have seen my Amazon ranking for my novel … fluctuate up and down by 10,000 spots without seeing any additional sales.” Another replied: “I think it takes more than 50 sales/day to break the #1000 spot.” Said another: “Since I don’t write about zombies, this is not good!”
Another forum respondent said his ebook always ranks number 1 in Amazon’s King Henry VII historical category, even though it’s a metaphysical fantasy that’s not about Henry VII. He added, “I know an author whose thriller book used to rank #1 in ‘Car Parts’.”
The New York Times ran an article claiming Amazon has traditional publishers in a frenzy, quoting them saying things like “Publishers are terrified and don’t know what to do” and “Everyone’s afraid of Amazon.” Again I say, huh?
So keep buying Dead Spot, beloved fans. One more sale and it’ll rank … minus-554,985!
I make no money from this blog. If you find it interesting or useful, please buy my book Dead Spot. The Kindle version’s only $5 and you’ll love it! Thanks.
Sydney Schuster and Dead Spot Books neither approved nor endorse any third-party advertising that may appear below, nor do we derive any income from it. Feel free to ignore it.
Many thanks and a big shout-out to Women Riders Now, who included my novel Dead Spot in their holiday gift guide. Check it out! http://www.womenridersnow.com. This hip website targeted to female motorcyclists has something for everyone.
Sydney Schuster and Dead Spot neither approved nor endorsed any third-party advertising that may appear on this blog, nor do we derive any income from it. Feel free to ignore it.
I love margaritas! There. I said it and I’m proud. Bite me.
I slouch with distinguished company. Other lovers of the Elixir of Youth include Rachel, Joey, and Charlie (a.k.a. Aisha Tyler) on Friends. Bing Crosby loved margaritas so much, he became the original importer of Herradura (my fave tequila!), because how else could you get a decent margarita in Hollywood in the 1950s? Ernest Hemingway famously drank 15 margaritas in one sitting, and they’re what he was chugging when he died (and the reason it took so long to finish the job). I am not making this up.
“I had a dream last night that I drank the largest margarita in Texas,” said P. Salyer, a total stranger on the Interweb. “When I woke up, there was salt on the toilet lid and rim. Sure, it sounds gross, but at least now I have an explanation for the blue tongue.”
Yes, the margarita is a widely beloved American libation. Okay, an American libation probably invented in Mexico. (They make them with key limes there. You can too — yum!)
Depending on which story you believe, the drink’s origin was a bar in Ensenada, or Tijuana or Galveston or Acapulco, in the 1940s. The bartender was farting around with new cocktail recipes when in blows the German ambassador’s daughter, or a Ziegfeld girl or a Dallas socialite or Peggy Lee or Rita Hayworth, all of whose names coincidentally are (or translate to) Margarita in Mexicanian. You can guess the rest.
More recently, Esquire Magazine interviewed four Wall Streeters in a bar who gave the following reasons why they were drinking margaritas:
1. “Because he got one.” 2. “The vodka didn’t go down well.” 3. “Because it’s been a long week.” 4. “Because I’m an alcoholic.”
Yep, you just can’t go wrong with a margarita, be it basic or tarted up. Tequila. Triple sec. Fresh lime juice. Heaven in a trough, I say.
There are many kinds of margaritas, some quite tasty and worth trying. That’s why this special holiday installment of Drink To Write, Write To Drink focuses on — duh — margaritas.
Don’t get me wrong. I won’t drink just ANY margarita. Like, I think most frozen margaritas are stupid. And stay away from that fake lemon/lime stuff in a packet — that crap’s for astronauts. And I hate cocktails that don’t taste like liquor (mudslide, dog?). They’re for teenyboppers (and my next post), not sophisticated sots like me and you. On a diet? Can’t help you there, either. This is a different type of therapy.
To me, a margarita says, “So what if my day sucked? I have THIS!” I even own a collection of ridiculous glasses just for serving margaritas. I say if the Lord didn’t want you to drink margaritas, S/He wouldn’t have put so much vitamin C in them.
So here are some great margarita recipes. Each makes one drink unless otherwise stated.
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Let’s just get this part out of the way upfront. Always use fresh juice (and fresh fruit, if possible and where applicable).
And here’s how to rim a margarita glass with salt (or whatever):
Rub the rim of a chilled cocktail glass with a lime or lemon wedge and dip the rim in salt until it’s coated. Coarse or kosher salt works great.
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Classic Margarita 2 parts tequila 2 parts triple sec 1 part lime juice
Rim the glass with salt. Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into the glass, and serve.
Chocolate Margarita (C’mon — I dare you!) 1-1/2 oz tequila 1 oz Godiva liquor 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup 3/4 oz cream or half and half 2 oz orange juice 1/2 oz lime juice Stirrings Cocoa Rimmer Ice
Rim the glass with the cocoa rimmer. Combine all ingredients in a shaker full of ice and pour into the glass.
Chambord Raspberry Margarita 4 cups frozen raspberries 2 tablespoons lemon juice 6 oz tequila 2 oz Gran Marnier 3 oz Chambord 2 oz lime juice Whole, fresh raspberries (for garnish) 1 cup sugar (for glasses)
In a blender, combine frozen raspberries, lemon juice, tequila, Gran Marnier, Chambord and ice. Blend until smooth. Rim margarita glasses with sugar. Pour the raspberry margaritas into the glasses.
Strawberry Margarita Cracked ice 1 oz lime juice 2 oz strawberries (frozen okay) 1/2 oz strawberry schnapps 1 oz tequila Sugar
Rim a cocktail glass with sugar. Fill the glass with cracked ice. Add tequila, strawberry liqueur, lime juice, and strawberries. Shake and strain into the glass.
Blue Margarita Yields: 2 to 3 servings
1 teaspoon coarse salt 4 oz tequila 2 oz triple sec 2 oz lime juice 2 oz blue curacao 2 teaspoons superfine sugar 2 (1/4-inch) slices of star fruit for garnish (optional) 1 lime, cut into wedges
Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with ice. Place tequila, triple sec, lime juice, blue curacao, and sugar in the shaker; shake hard for 30 seconds. Rim margarita glasses with coarse salt. Strain the margarita into the glasses. Garnish each with a slice of star fruit or a lime wedge.
Carrot Margarita (sounds worse than it tastes) 3 oz blanco or reposado tequila 3 oz carrot juice 1 oz lime juice 1-1/2 oz orange liqueur ice cubes
Combine all ingredients and serve on the rocks.
Red Chile–Guava Margarita Yields: Many
2-1/2 cups chile-infused tequila (see recipe) 1-1/2 cups triple sec 1-1/2 cups guava nectar 1 cup orange juice 1-1/2 cups lime juice 10 lime wedges Salt Ice 10 small red chiles, for garnish (optional)
Chile-Infused Tequila: 6 small, dried red chiles (or fresh serranos), halved lengthwise, seeds removed 1 750-mL bottle of tequila Place red chiles in tequila. Allow to infuse for 1 to 2 days.
Drink prep: Combine tequila, triple sec, guava nectar, orange juice, and lime juice in a pitcher and reserve in the refrigerator until ready to use. To serve, rim a rocks glass with salt. Fill the glass with ice, add the margarita mixture, and garnish with a skewered chile pepper (but only if you want to).
Banana Margarita (just shut up and try it) 1 oz creme de bananes 1 oz gold tequila 1/2 oz triple sec 3/4 oz lemon juice 1/4 mashed banana
Rim a frosted double-cocktail glass with sugar. Fill the glass with crushed ice, add the ingredients and blend briefly. Serve with a lemon juice-dipped slice of banana.
Blackjack Margarita 1-1/2 oz tequila 1/2 oz triple sec 1/2 oz Chambord raspberry liqueur 4 oz lime juice
Fill a large margarita glass with ice. Add tequila, triple sec, and Chambord. Add the lime juice. Shake, garnish with a lime wedge and serve.
Watermelon Margarita 16 oz seeded, blended watermelons 1/2 lime 6 oz tequila 3 oz triple sec 1 tablespoon sugar
Cut up a watermelon, removing seeds. Liquify in a blender until you have about 16 oz. Add remaining ingredients, top with ice and blend until smooth. Taste and add sugar if watermelon isn’t sweet enough. Serve in a margarita glass with a sugar-coated rim.
Jamaican Margarita This recipe uses hibiscus blossoms. They can be found at Latin grocery stores. Take the time to boil the blossoms in sugar and water as described and then steep; this infuses more flavor than just steeping them in warm water.
1 cup dried hibiscus blossoms (about 2 oz) 3 cups water 3/4 cup sugar 1-1/4 cups tequila 1/2 cup lime juice 1/3 cup triple sec or other orange-flavored liqueur 8 lime slices
Place blossoms in a strainer; rinse under cold water. Combine blossoms, water, and sugar in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Strain; discard blossoms. Cover and chill hibiscus mixture. Combine hibiscus mixture, tequila, juice, and triple sec. Serve over ice. Garnish with lime slices.
Blackberry Margarita Yields: 8 servings (about 1/2 cup each)
1-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar (for glasses) 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 lime 1 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup blanco tequila 3/4 cup Grand Marnier 2/3 cup lime juice 12 oz fresh blackberries
Combine 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar and the salt in a dish. Cut the lime into 9 wedges. Use one to rub the rims of 8 glasses, and dip them in the salt mixture. Combine water and 1/2 cup sugar in a microwave-safe glass cup. Microwave at high for 2-1/2 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar; cool. Combine syrup, tequila, Grand Marnier, lime juice, and blackberries in a blender; process until smooth. Strain mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a pitcher; discard solids. Serve over ice. Garnish with remaining lime wedges.
Almond Margarita 1-1/2 oz tequila 1/2 oz triple sec 1/2 oz lime juice 1 dozen almonds
Put all ingredients in a blender with ice and pulse for a minute. Pour into a salt-rimmed margarita glass. Garnish with an almond.
Asian Pear Margarita Yields: 2 servings
3 oz fresh lime juice 2 oz asian pear cider 3 oz silver tequila 1 oz triple sec ice
Put ice in a cocktail shaker, add ingredients, and shake vigorously until ice cold; strain and serve on the rocks or straight up.
Ginger Margarita Kosher salt 1 quarter-size slice of fresh ginger One 1/4-inch slice of Thai chile 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1-1/2 oz anejo tequila 1/2 oz Cointreau Ice 1 lime wedge
Rim a margarita glass with the salt. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the ginger, chile, sugar and lemon juice. Add the tequila, Cointreau and ice and shake. Strain into the glass over ice. Squeeze in the juice from the lime wedge and fasten it to the glass.
Blood Orange Margarita Yield: Serves an army
1 quart fresh blood orange juice or fresh orange juice 1-1/2 cup lime juice 1-1/2 cup Cointreau or other orange liqueur 3-1/2 cups silver tequila Coarse salt 1 blood orange wedge or orange wedge 12 thin blood orange slices or orange slices Ice 12 small sage sprigs or leaves
In a large pitcher, mix the juices, Cointreau and tequila. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 30 minutes. Rim a couple million martini glasses with an orange wedge and salt. Add ice to the pitcher and stir well, then strain into the glasses. Garnish each drink with a blood orange slice and sage sprig.
Azuñia Margarita 2-1/2 oz Azuñia Platinum or Reposado Tequila 1 oz Azuñia Organic Agave Nectar 1 oz water 2 oz lime juice sea salt
Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously for 5 seconds and pour into a salt-rimmed Pilsner glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Obamarita 2 oz silver tequila 1 oz blue curacao 3/4 oz lime juice dash of simple syrup splash of prosecco Lime twist to garnish
In a cocktail shaker, shake tequila, blue curacao, lime juice and simple syrup with ice. Strain into rocks glass with salted rim over ice. Top with prosecco. Garnish with lime twist.
Yellow Watermelon Chipotle Margarita 1 tablespoon organic sugar 1 teaspoon fine sea salt 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle 2 oz reposado tequila 1-1/2 oz watermelon juice (see instructions) 3/4 oz elderflower liqueur 3/4 oz lime juice lime wedge
To make the watermelon juice: Remove rind and seeds of watermelon and cut flesh into 2″ chunks. Place in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Then process until smooth and liquidy. Strain through a fine sieve. Transfer juice to a large squeeze bottle and refrigerate until ready to use. Refrigerate up to 3 days.
Place the sugar, salt and chipotle powder in a bowl and mix well. Spread on a small plate. Moisten the rim of a cocktail glass with the lime wedge and dip the glass rim in the sugar/salt/chipotle mixture. Shake all the other ingredients with ice cubes until a thin layer of frost appears on the outside of the shaker. Pour into the glass and serve.
I make no money from this blog. If you find it interesting or useful, please buy my books. Thanks.
Sydney Schuster and Dead SpotBooks neither approved nor endorse any non-Dead SpotBooks advertising that may appear here, nor do we derive any income from it. Some of it is really gross and we apologize, but the web host puts it there and we have no control over it. Try to ignore it. Thanks.
My last blog about cheap wine was such a hit, I’ve decided to expand the theme. Writers unite! Nothing beats chugging festive Halloween toddies while hoovering candy and playing strip Twister instead of answering the doorbell. So here they are, my cherished family recipes stolen from all over the Web! Cheers!
VAMPIRE 1 oz raspberry liqueur 1 oz vodka 1 oz cranberry juice
Combine ingredients in a shaker over ice. Serve in highball glasses.
Pour the peach schnapps, then (slowly) the Irish cream, then the grenadine. Do not mix anything. The creme will settle at the bottom, giving the appearance of guts. Tasty!
BANSHEE 1 oz white creme de cacao 1 oz creme de banana 1 oz cream
Combine all the ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake. Strain into a cocktail glass or shot glasses.
RED ZOMBIE 3 dashes tabasco sauce 3 oz tomato juice 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce 2 lychee nuts 2 large green olives 1-1/2 oz vodka 1 tsp barbecue sauce 1 stick celery 1 pinch celery seeds 1 squirt lemon juice 1 pinch pepper 1 pinch salt 1/2 tsp chipotle peppers, finely chopped 1/2 oz horseradish, finely grated
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into martini glass. Cut the end of a celery stalk of so it measures 5-6 inches long, and split it lengthwise. Slide the olives into two lychee fruits to make eye balls. Push the celery stick through both, and lay across the rim of the glass as garnish.
PUMPKIN MARGARITA 2 oz tequila 1 oz lemon/lime mix (or real lime juice) 1 splash pumpkin puree
Rim a cocktail glass with lime juice. Mix ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.
PUMPKIN PUNCH 1 large cleaned-out pumpkin 1 part apple cider 2 parts ginger ale 1 part rum Combine liquid ingredients and serve in the pumpkin, with dry ice.
ALICE IN NIGHTMARELAND 1 part blue Curacao 1 part Jagermeister 1 part Kahlua
Pour ingredients into a shot glass. Serve.
BLOOD 1 oz bourbon 1/2 oz lime juice 1 tsp tequila tomato juice
Pour all ingredients except tequila into a Collins glass, over ice. Mostly fill the glass with tomato juice, then add the tequila.
GANGRENE 2 oz green creme de menthe 1-1/2 oz vodka 1/2 oz tequila 1 tbsp blackberry brandy
Mix the ingredients and pour into an old fashioned or rock glass filled with ice.
FESTERING BOIL 1-1/2 oz Jagermeister 1/2 oz dry gin 1/2 oz vodka 2 cocktail onions
In a highball glass, pour over ice and stir. Add onion.
BEETLE JUICE 1/2 oz vodka 1/2 oz melon liqueur 1/2 oz blue Curacao 1/2 oz raspberry schnapps 1/2 oz cranberry juice Sour mix Pineapple spear and one cherry
Fill a Collins or other tall glass with ice. Pour the vodka on the bottom. Then fill the glass 3/4 full with sour mix. Pour in the rest of the ingredients one at a time. Do not stir. Garnish with pineapple spear and cherry
BLEEDING HEART MARTINI 2 oz dry vermouth 8 oz gin Ice cubes 4 pickled baby beets, each placed on a cocktail skewer
Serves 4. Chill 4 martini glasses. Add the vermouth, dividing evenly; swirl to coat the glasses, then pour out. Add gin to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until chilled; divide among the glasses. Garnish each with a skewered pickled baby beet.
PINA GHOULADA 20 oz pineapple juice 1 can cream of coconut (15 oz) 1/2 cup heavy cream 1 cup orange juice 10 oz rum
Whisk together pineapple juice, cream of coconut, heavy cream, orange juice and rum. Place 2-1/2 cups of ice in a blender, then and add 1 cup of the drink mixture. Blend until smooth, and pour into prepared glasses (see below). If mixture is too thick, add more pineapple juice before serving. Repeat process with remaining ice and mixture.
For the “BLOOD RIM” (a Martha Stewart recipe, natch): 3 tbsp corn syrup 1/4 tsp red food coloring
Pour the corn syrup in a shallow bowl. Dip a toothpick into the food coloring, and stir a very small amount into the syrup to combine. Holding a glass by the stem, dip the rim into the syrup mixture and turn the glass, coating the entire rim. Turn the glass upright and allow the mixture to drip down the sides. Repeat for each glass.
For the EYEBALL GARNISH: canned lychee in syrup, drained strawberry (or other red-colored) preserves blueberries
Dry a lychee and fill the cavity with red preserves. Insert a blueberry, blossom end facing out. Spear with a toothpick or cocktail skewer.
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Good news, everyone. My bangin’ novel DEAD SPOT is now available in paperback!
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