Mixing drinks:

For our last journey into drink-making before our trip (we leave this weekend!), we decided to try our hand at my favorite drink of all time: the margarita. In the past, we've made these from mixes but in an effort to cut down on artificial flavors and added sugar, we've decided to make them from scratch. Thus, we bring you the Real Margarita:

Our verdict: Not so good. I know you're probably thinking "how in the world can you screw up margaritas?" but trust me, I did. I should get some kind of award or something. It was really bitter and did not resemble my favorite drink in the slightest. So Andrew added a little simple syrup to sweeten things up. But then it just tasted too sweet with not enough of that citrus twist. And then the ice started to melt so it tasted watered down. So I didn't like it. How in the world can I be 0 for 4? They all seemed like such good ideas. 

So, what has this process taught me? To definitely try out new drinks before talking them up or serving them to others. It's been fun, but for our trip, I'll probably just stick to rum and coke.

Mixing drinks:

Our last two adventures in mixology did not have the desired result. I'm supposed to be coming up with delicious drinks for our beach trip, not striking out with every new recipe. So, with Friday's drink, we thought we'd play it safe with the Girlish Figure:

The verdict: Not bad. I really did like it. It did have a little bit of a bitter aftertaste because of the cranberry juice. And even though I'm not a fan of cranberries, I think I could drink this again although I'm not sure it'll make the beach trip cut.

We tried just mixing the diet lemon lime soda with the coconut rum and I liked that much better. It was light and refreshing. I'm sure a squeeze of fresh lime would only improve things.

Mixing drinks:

This past weekend, we tried another drink from our "mixed drinks test drive". Today's mixed drink: the Lava Flow:

Our verdict: Andrew liked it. I almost threw up. I hate bananas. Like, seriously hate. I can't even stand the smell of them. I don't know why I thought I'd like this drink. It has 3 bananas in it! I guess I thought all the other flavors would disguise the banana flavor. Wrong. If you hate bananas, I'd skip this drink. And definitely do not mix it up. Because then it just tastes like a banana smoothie. If you like bananas, however, this is probably right up your alley. Just maybe blend a few ice cubes into it to make it more of a slushy drink. Because it gets warm very quickly.

Mixing drinks:

For our upcoming beach trip, I've been collecting mixed drink recipes. And then A pointed out the other day that maybe we should test these recipes first, you know, just in case they're terrible and we make them for our friends. So as a way to make the waiting bearable and bring a little excitement to our lives, we will be trying a new drink every Friday leading up to our trip. This past weekend was our first: the watermelon swash:

I'm so glad Andrew suggested the test-drive. Because this one was really terrible. It sounds really delicious, right? Do not be fooled. It's gross. I think you can make a few tweaks to improve it though: only 2 basil leaves, more watermelon, more ice, and don't drink it immediately. Let it sit in the freezer for a while until it's more of a slushy consistency. And really cold. Temperature is vital, I think.