hopefully this spring you ran outside to the nearest forest and plucked new growth from all the fir trees you could get your greedy little hands on. if you did, you’ll have some nicely dried fir tips now with which to brew fir tip tea, with which to mix fir teanis. what? you didn’t?! ok, ok, lucky for you there’s another way… lazy ass fir tip collectors can buy their way to fir tip tea. gotta love capitalism. it is really delicious fir tip tea, too, mind you. (juniperridge.com.) now that you have the precious elixer, brew some and chill it. this is a really tasty tipple; one of my faves. but who will take libational ownership of this kooky concoction? kooky… must belong to aquarius. yup, the fir tree is ruled by saturn (all though some would disagree, IZ says saturn, and so it must be). hell might freeze over, but the evergreen tree will forever green be… seemingly incomprehensible. just like our eccentric friend aquarius, whose co-ruled by both saturn and uranus. cheers crazy happy tipplers…

HELL FROZE OVER (DOUGLAS FIR TIP TEANI)

1 oz raw simple syrup*
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 oz Douglas Fir Tea*
2 oz vodka
candied ginger for garnish

add all ingredients to ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake for ten seconds. Strain into martini glass. Garnish with either a small evergreen branch or a piece of candied ginger.

* Making simple syrup with unprocessed sugar gives a rounder sweetness to simple syrup. In airtight container mix 1 c sugar and 2 c water. Shake every twenty minutes or so until completely dissolved.

brew tea and allow to steep for ten minutes as you would a regular cup of tea. Do not add milk or sugar. Chill in fridge until ready to use.

check out this wild recipe for a DOUGLAS FIR SPARKLE’TINI where an actual tree branch is infused into the vodka!

or this tres cool recipe for an ALPINE MARTINI, again using real tree branches!

how appropriate that the quince is co-ruled by saturn, and is therefore a product of aquarius. where apple is the forbidden fruit, quince is the misunderstood fruit. most americans, if you ask them, won’t even know what it is! these apple / pear hybrid lookalikes can be found only for a brief period during the fall at farmer’s markets and gourmet grocers. if you do manage to secure a fresh quince, don’t bite into it, as inviting as it’s flesh looks. like the sign of the water bearer, it is not as it appears. a raw quince will both break your tooth and taste something awful. so, what to do with a quince… what to do with aquarius? my dad is one, and i tell you, i just don’t know! these personalities - as warm and brilliant as they are - can be hard to understand. kind of like a ouija board. not quite sure how it works, just know that it does. if you’re very lucky you’ll score both the quince and aquarius… she’s the most peculiar sign with a delightful sense of spontaneaty. never a dull moment with aquarius. she’s delicously fun, just like her pet fruit, the quince.

HARD TO GET (FLOWERING QUINCE JULEP)

1 oz quince liqueur
1 oz bourbon
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
ice

add all ingredients to ice filled shaker and agitate vigorously for ten seconds. pour contents including ice into chilled goblet. (chill by placing in freezer or filling with ice prior to use).

quince liqueur is hard to get! i’ve found two places online, none of which are in the states: New Zealand and the UK, and the UK, and the UK.

***or you can make your own using one of the many recipes i’ve found online:
LIKE TO COOK
JOANNA’S FOOD
STRATS PLACE
OHC

thanks to BRICIOLE for hosting WEEKEND HERB BLOGGING #112.

Did you ever wonder, which sign rules the Cannabis plant? Well, I’m
here to tell you that would be Saturn, who along with Uranus, co-rules
Aquarius. Technically speaking, any substance that produces a mind-altering affect would belong to pisces. however, because the hemp plant is one of the hardiest plants on earth, which makes some of the strongest fibers on earth, with a speed of growth rivelled only by bamboo, it belongs to the workhorse planet of saturn. and a plus, if grown legally it does not require pesticide for it is naturally bug-resistant. did you know that the constitution was written on hemp paper? or that it was illegal not to grow hemp during george washington’s presidency? today, when we think of hemp fabric, a course canvas comes to mind. but actually, i have felt hemp that was spun so fine it was like cashmere to the touch. and of course, the medicinal benefits of hemp are completely underated. i was staying in friend’s apartment in brasil, and came down with this super bug. i thought, really, seriously, that i might die. i’ve never had a fever like that, where i sweated eternally for days. i could barely move, and looking back, i can’t believe that i didn’t make my friend take me to the hospital. however, my point is that one day i decided to crawl, quite literally, to an old joint my friend had left out on the coffee table. i lit it up, almost dreading the expected effects. because, honestly, i hate marijanna. only once have a had a good experience with it, and that involved my couch, godiva chocolate and a spaniard. so, i lit up this roach and inhaled every last bit of it until it burned my fingers. in only a few miraculous minutes, i was up on my feet and walking around hardly aware that i was even sick. the medicinal power was truly amazing and that is a true story my friends. so let’s
FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHT TO PARTY, and make pot legal NOW. aaaaanyway, back to the sauce…. Today, our IZ guest blogger, RADICAL MUSE, weighs in with her very own far out libation.

It’s just been killin the RADICAL MUSE… throwin out all those perfectly good stems. I mean, at $50 a gram, a single stems gotta be worth like $20. Talk about throwing the green stuff away, in more ways than one. Finally, salvation to your inner eco pothead… you can repurpose the pot stems…!!! The more stems you recycle, the better your karma. So roll up a fattie, save up your stems, and grab a handle of vodka…
you’ve got a 420′tini that’s gotta get made. After your finish inhaling of course.

RADICAL MUSE: As a guest contributor to this intoxicating blog, I thought I would touch on the greening of alcohol. No, not the usual kind of greening, but rather the sometimes illegal, always-controversial kind of green. Marijuana. Yes, the stuff you used to smoke in your friend’s basements in the 80’s is back with a vengeance. This time it’s making it’s way to a bar near you in the form of a martini. According to Wikipedia,”4:20 or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is a term used in North America as a discreet way to refer to the consumption of cannabis and, by extension, a way to identify oneself with cannabis culture. Although many diverse theories exist to explain the origin of the term, it is widely accepted that in 1971, a group of teenagers at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California used to meet after school at 4:20 p.m. to smoke cannabis.”

Enter the 420 Martini. The makers of Cannabis Vodka have created a perfectly legal (in most places) alcohol that is infused with cannabis. If you’re more of a do-it yourselfer, it’s super easy to make yourself using a bunch of old stems. The Cannabis stems have just a touch of THC content but not enough to smoke. When the stems infuse with vodka it releases the THC and you can get a euphoric feeling (aka known as “wasted”) from drinking the THC laced vodka without having to smoke the Cannabis stems. What a great way to recycle those old throw away stems!

420′TINI

• 3 oz. Cannabis Vodka (or make your own)

• Dry Vermouth (enough to coat the glass)

• garnish: bag of munchy chips

Coat a chilled cocktail glass with the Vermouth. Chill vodka in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into the cocktail glass. Garnish with a sprig of something green and leafy. Contrary to what you may think, this does not taste like old bong water, rather it has a fresh herby kind of taste.

how is majiuana different than hemp?

VOTE HEMP

photo credit: I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER

it’s so ironic that calling someone a pansy is snonomous to calling them a wimp, and is seen as a kind of friendly insult. this modest flower is actually made of some of the strongest petals on earth. yes, one would assume that it’s frilly little head, often seen in cheesy table bouquets and on fancy cakes, would die off quietly at the end of summer. but true to aquarius’ surprising and quirky nature, the pansy will keep ya guessin… will it or won’t it show up in the spring? if it is located in a shady spot in the garden, chances are it will impress you by being one of spring’s first blooms. it is a cool, shade-loving plant, like the cold planet of saturn by whom it is owned. and it is particularly hardy, flowering well into january even. i’ve heard we shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, and this holds especially true for aquarius - the queen of unpredictability. calling someone a pansy is really a compliment to that person’s fortitude. so the next time you seek to offend someone by doing just that, think again. you’ll really be flattering the person you mean to diss. not that any of us would EVER do such a thing anyway ; )

in keeping in line with gabriel’s FIZZ theme for mixology monday, i absolutely HAD to make use of my fave fizz: SPARKLING SAKE. ask your sauce shop to special order it for you… totally deliciously worth it!

PANSY-ASS SAKE
sparkling sake
pansy syrup
agnostura bitters

in bottom of empty glass, add one drop agnostura bitters and 1/4 oz pansy syrup. then fill the glass with chilled sake. garnish with pansy flower.

PANSY SYRUP:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup pansy petals

remove all traces of green from petals and place in food processor. Adding 1/3 cup sugar, grid pansies into sugar by pulsing slowly 4 times. Finish by processing on high for 30 seconds.

Combine remainder of sugar, mixture from food processor and water in sauce pan. Bring to boil. Stir and allow to simmer for approx 45 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a final storage container. will keep for months in fridge. adding 1 oz vodka or few drops lemon oil acts as a preservative.

(recipe created by gwen sutherland kaiser)

thanks to COCKTAIL NERD for hosting MXMO XIX.

Blackcurrants are now legal in the US, after the ban on growing it was lifted a few years ago. Their juice is delicious, and full of all that healthy stuff like flavinoids, vitamin C and antioxidants. And even better, it’s grown domestically (the brands I’ve seen are all here in the Northeast). Less food miles = better for the environment? All though Culpeper does assign rulership of all currants to Venus, I’m going to reassign it to Saturn due to it’s not-so-sweet flavor, and near black color.

I used to live for Snakebites during my summers spent in Scotland. The drinking age started at 16 back then and in US would have me wait five more years before I could legally drink. So, my sister and I, and our British bud, Duart, would get snockered on Snakebites until the wee hours in Edinburgh. And by wee hours I mean 1am. Yup. Last call was at 12:45am. For all the talk of those Scots being able to drink, they sure did’t know how to run a pub. I was later told that serving Snakebites had been outlawed due to it’s aggressively drunken effects leading to one too many pub fights. I must admit that the combination of hard cider and lager goes straight to one’s head. The added shot of blackcurrant helps the pints slide down even easier. Maybe that’s where the name came from… the innebriation kind of creeps up on you, like a slithering snake. The shot of blackcurrant was provided by the famous concentrated blackcurrant juice, RIBENA, which was not sold here in the States. Another item we’d schlep back with us, along with the haggis, blood pudding and spotted dick. Of course I jest, the British Isles weren’t exactly a vegetarian paradise.

One of my all time favorite cities, Edinburgh is built around an ancient stone fortress and it’s streets are packed with fashion, art, culture and fish -n- chips!

SNAKEBITE
* pale lager OR dark stout
* hard cider
* blackcurrant syrup***

Pour glass full of equal amounts lager and cider. Add a shot of blackcurrant syrup and stir.

(if you do not have blackcurrant syrup, RIBENA, or CREME DE CASSIS can be used as a replacement).

***BLACKCURRANT SYRUP:
In saucepot, combine 1 cup blackcurrants, 1/2 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add shot of vodka and a couple drops of lemon oil to preserve (if you have, great).
***if you don’t have actual berries, make with one cup sugar and two cups blackcurrant juice instead.

HOW HILARIOUS IS THIS LABEL ON THE RIBENA BOTTLE?

Before the discovery of the planet Uranus, Aquarius was believed to be ruled by Saturn. Hence today, Aquarius is said to be co-ruled by both of these planets. The planet of austerity, scrimping and saving, Saturn’s palette generally prefers tart, burned, bitter and astringent flavors. If you’re eating something that makes your mouth pucker, there’s a good chance that particular food is ruled by Saturn. The key lime is the smallest, sour, citrus fruit. One taste of it’s juice will have you draw in your lips. It’s smaller size is indicative of Saturn’s constrictive quality. As Aquarius is one of the most fickle signs, only a very special cocktail will wet her appetite. A slice of Key Lime Pi would be hard for the most discerning Aquarius to turn down, especially since she should feel a special affinity to the main ingredient. Not typically a foodie (or drinkie), once you get her going, she’s a hard train to stop. She’ll want this Key Lime Pi Squared to the umpth power! From cheers to eternity… Vive la cocktail!

KEY LIME PI SQUARED

INGREDIENTS:
- 2 oz Vanilla vodka*
- 2 oz SILK soy creamer or cream
- 2 oz Licor 43
- 1 oz fresh squeezed key lime juice (regular limes will also work)
graham crackers (organic & whole wheat to keep the health up) or extra key lime for garnish

DIRECTIONS:
Pour lime juice, vanilla infused vodka and soy creamer into an filled cocktail shaker and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with crushed graham cracker. Or, a key lime perched on the rim will also do the trick nicely.

*Slit whole vanilla bean in half and drop both haves into a 750 ml bottle of vodka. Allow to sit in dark location for three weeks before using.

(Recipe from FireWater Bar, N.J.)