PH factor:  8.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 4 ½ ounces champagne o 1 ½ ounces Pernod Absinthe Supérieure Method: 1. Pour absinthe into a flute or coupe glass. 2. Add champagne. Remarks: An ingredient list and a recipe as terse as any of the writings of the man credited with its creation. Simple though it may seem the end result is a classic. Hemingway's novel of the same name actually came out years after the cocktail. . . .

PH factor:  9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o ¾ ounce 1800 Silver tequila o ¾ ounce Kahlúa or Patrón XO Cafe o 1 chilled double espresso Garnish o 3 coffee beans Method: 1. Shake over ice. 2. Strain into a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with coffee beans. Remarks: An example of what is possible when the right ingredients, in the right quantities, get shaken over ice. . . .

PH factor:  9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail       o ¾ ounce1800 Silver tequila o ½ ounce Lillet Rosé o 1 ounce watermelon juice o ½ ounce fresh lime juice o 1 dash grenadine o 6 mint leaves o champagne Garnish o mint sprig Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients except champagne over ice until they are very cold. 2. Strain into a cocktail glass. 3. Top with champagne. 4. Garnish with a mint sprig. Remarks: Let the liquor linger long upon your lips. Then pass it on. . . .

PH factor: 9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 sugar cube o 1-2 dashes Angostura bitters o 1 ounce light Crème de Cacao o champagne Garnish o lemon twist Method: 1. Place bitters-soaked sugar cube in a champagne flute. 2. Add Crème de Cacao. 3. Top with champagne. 4. Garnish with a lemon twist. Remarks: This is a traditional Champagne Cocktail where Crème de Cacao takes the place of cognac. That’s where the similarity ends. . . .

PH factor:  8.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Campari o 1 ½ ounces Lillet Rouge o ½ ounce Fever-Tree Premium Club Soda Garnish o lemon wheel Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients except soda over ice. 2. Strain into an ice-filled collins glass. 3. Top with soda. 4. Garnish with a thinly sliced orange wheel. Remarks: First served in the 1860s, the Americano was the earliest Campari cocktail predating the Negroni. It also predates the Vesper as the first cocktail James Bond orders in print. . . .

PH factor:  8.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o lemon wedge o 1 teaspoon sugar o 3 mint leaves torn o ½ ounce Flor de Caña Extra Seco rum o 1 ½ ounces Pimm’s No.1 Cup o 4 ounces chilled mint tea Garnish o mint sprig o lemon wheel Method: 1. Muddle lemon wedge and sugar in a cocktail shaker. 2. Add ice, mint leaves and remaining cocktail ingredients. 3. Shake vigorously. 4. Pour unstrained into a highball glass. 5. Garnish with mint and lemon. 6. Serve with a straw. Remarks: This is a very refreshing and tasty caffeinated cocktail and a clever use for mint tea. . . .

PH factor: 8.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 lemon wedges o 1 tablespoon Demerara sugar o 6 mint leaves o 2 ounces Mount Gay XO rum o 1 ounce Pimm’s No.1 Cup o 1 ounce Fever-Tree Premium Club Soda Garnish o mint sprig o strawberry slices Method: 1. Muddle sugar and lemon in a cocktail shaker. 2. Add mint leaves and lightly muddle again. 3. Add ice, rum, and Pimm’s Cup and shake to chill. 4. Pour entire contents into a highball glass. 5. Top with club soda. 6. Garnish with mint sprig and strawberry slices and serve with a straw. Remarks: Looks like iced tea. Tastes like a mojito with a dark past. On the whole, this is an interesting summertime sipper. . . .

PH factor:  8.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 ounces Ilegal mezcal o ½ ounce agave nectar o 2 ounces cold coffee or espresso Garnish o lightly whipped vanilla cream* o 3 coffee beans Method: 1. Stir cocktail ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. 2. Strain into a martini glass. 3. Pour cream over the back of a spoon to float it on top of the drink. 4. Garnish with coffee beans. Remarks: It pays to plan ahead. So make and chill your coffee first. To stir ice in warm coffee is not a good idea. Dilution is not your friend here. *lightly whip cream with a dash of vanilla extract until slightly thickened but still pourable. . . .

PH factor:  9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 ounces Finlandia vodka o 1 ounce light Crème de Cacao o 1 splash Cointreau o ½ ounce fresh lemon juice Garnish o 1 Hershey’s Kiss Method: 1. Moisten the rim of a martini glass and invert it into a shallow dish of cocoa powder to coat the rim of the glass. 2. Lightly press a chocolate kiss onto the bottom of the g lass. 3. Shake remaining cocktail ingredients over ice. 4. Serve up in the prepared glass. Remarks: The name says it all about the flavor of this “martini”. But it doesn’t begin to describe how much fun it is to drink. . . .

PH factor:  9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o ½ ounce Finlandia vodka o 1 ounce Godiva Chocolate liqueur o ½ ounce Godiva White Chocolate liqueur Garnish o 3 rose petals o 1 chocolate covered strawberry Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients over ice. 2. Serve up in a martini glass. 3. Garnish with a chocolate covered strawberry and rose petals. Remarks: This a delicious chocolatey start to your Valentine’s Day celebrations. The strawberry with its deep red color and heart-like shape makes it the perfect garnish. Finding fresh strawberries and rose petals in February will further prove your love. . . .

PH factor:  9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 ounces Lillet Blanc o 1 ounce Bénédictine D.O.M. o 1 dash of Pernod Absinthe Supérieure Garnish o orange twist Method: 1. Stir cocktail ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. 2. Serve up in a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with a orange twist. Remarks: This is smooth and flavorful. As with all drinks with absinthe, remember a dash is not a splash. . . .

PH factor:  9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail       o ¾ ounce 1800 Silver tequila o ½ ounce Chambord o ¾ ounce Tia Maria o grenadine to taste o 1 ½ ounces cream Garnish o rose petals Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients over ice. 2. Serve up in a martini glass. 3. Garnish with rose petals. Remarks: This cocktail goes down much too easy to be ignored. Try it. You’ll see what we mean. . . .