It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere - #fni #cocktails

The Foodie Night In TweetUp #fni hosted by Cooking With Caitlin last night was on the topic of cocktails. The tweets were flying fast and furious and the questions provoked a lot of useful AND humorous comments about cocktails, entertaining and party guests! Much thanks to Cooking With Caitlin for organizing these weekly events. Check out the post event wrap-up here.

Last night's event was sponsored by Crispin Cider and the Savvy Host Market both of whom gave away some excellent prizes, including two Crispin Cider Summer Entertaining Gift Packs and a BarBasics-In-A-Box (to the left), which in fact we were lucky enough to take home!!! This is going to be a nice addition to my weekly cocktail experiments and a nice piece to take with me when I head out to tend bar. Hopefully I can give it a good run through on vacation. A big thank you to both sponsors and congratulations to the other prize winners.

I've never had Crispin Cider and several of us asked about where we might find it. Originating from Minnesota, I suspect I'll be able to turn some up eventually. The feedback from several participants who were enjoying it or had had it in the pastdemands a first hand experience.

The night before I made some cider-based cocktails (click for the post) to give me some inspiration for the TweetUp. As the yesterday went on the heat and humidity rose and I started thinking of smooth frozen cocktails and the beach. Jamaica of course! To kick-off my end of the #fni I made some Jamaican Dirty Banana cocktails in the blender. Here is my recipe, which is an adaptation since I didn't have any rum cream available.

Ancient Fire Jamaican Dirty Banana

4 oz fat-free coffee creamer

1 oz Appleton Gold Rum

1 oz Creme-de-Banana

1/2 oz Malibu Coconut Rum

2 very ripe bananas

dash of cinnamon

6 large ice cubs

Add all ingredients except the ice cubes to blender and blend smooth. Add ice and blend until well crushed. Server in a tall glass with a straw. A float of rum on top is customary, but is truly a preference.

I'd also like to thank @cozifamily, @girlfriendology, @intoxicologist, @Cocktails_365, @hoperatives and @winemedineme for helping organize and for offering expert advice to all the participants.

Use the links in the first paragraph to check out this event for yourself. I hope to see you there sometime soon!

Cheers!

Jason