Happy Thanksgiving from Happy Hour in the High Peaks

Why overeat on Thanksgiving when a drink will do the trick? Think about it. The main Thanksgiving dinner ingredients are turkey, potatoes and cranberry sauce. Yeah, the vegetables are important too, but we're not worried about those at the moment. Wouldn't a Thanksgiving Dinner cocktail be just the thing to help avoid the sleepiness of the L-tryptophan present in turkey? No bloating, grogginess or sluggish feeling (unless you drink four of them). Turkey is the main attraction on Thanksgiving, so Wild Turkey is the main course in this cocktail. Mashed potatoes are a family favorite and 46 Peaks vodka fits the bill here, since it's made from potatoes. Finally, Cranberry vodka and cranberry juice. Here's our Alice's Restaurant Thanksgiving Dinner (that couldn't be beat) substitution for Thanksgiving food overindulgence, (and the ginger ale will help settle your stomach):

Thanksgiving Dinner Cocktail or Alice's Restaurant Massacree

1 oz. Wild Turkey bourbon
1 oz. Smirnoff cranberry vodka
1 oz. 46 Peaks Vodka
2 oz. cranberry juice
Shake with and serve over ice. Garnish with a leaf of fresh thyme (if you have the thyme).
4 oz. Ginger ale (after the shaking)
Makes 2 servings

What's for dessert, you ask? The pumpkin martini is the perfect conclusion. We've created our own version of this popular cocktail using fresh pumpkin. You can used canned, but, trust us, fresh is best.

Cut a small sugar pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, and bake, cut side down, for about an hour at 350 degrees. The flesh should be easily scooped from the skin.

To avoid graininess, strain cooked pumpkin through a food mill into a heavy saucepan.

Stir in:
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. maple syrup (The real kind. Trust us.)
2 tsp. vanilla (Yes - the real stuff)

Add:
1 to 2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Slowly heat the puree until just simmering. If it seems too thick or is sticking to the pan, add more water. Simmer at very low heat for about 40 min. Stir often.

Remove from heat and allow to cool, then give it a whirl in a food processor or blender to make it smooth.

Now for the cocktail recipe you came here for in the first place:

46 Peaks Pumpkin Martini (Inspired by Trapper's Tavern at the Copperfield Inn in North Creek's signature pumpkin martini.)

1 oz. 46 Peaks vodka
1 oz. Pinnacle Whipped vodka (or vanilla vodka)
1 oz. Sapling maple liqueur (or maple syrup)
2 oz. Light cream or milk
2 Tbsp. Pumpkin puree

Shake well with ice and strain into martini glass rimmed with coarse sugar (Sugar in the Raw) and cinnamon. We brushed the edge of the glass with Sapling (you can use maple syrup or water) before dipping the rim and allowed it to dry before mixing the drink. Top with alcohol-infused whipped cream (available in liquor stores) or regular whipped cream. Lightly dust with nutmeg and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Happy Thanksgiving, Cheers & Bottoms Up!
Kim & Pam

Honorable mention art credits: Thanks to Sydney Ladd Russell's fifth grade turkey featured in photo 1 and Bob's art direction in photo 4.

Superfecta!

Hot day at the track today, and no hot winning streaks between us. We just got back and are chillin' at Pammie's Pub where it's a cool 90 degrees out here at the "On-Deck Pub" and a creation is in the works. Pammie, ever resourceful, absconded with the Carousel's drink menu, just for some ideas. This one is based on the Hurricane, with, as we say inside the blue line, variances.

Superfecta
1 oz. spiced rum
2 oz. orange juice
1 oz. blueberry juice
Splash of pineapple juice

Shake with ice and serve over ice. Garnish with a cherry.

A less sweet version: The Trifecta

Trifecta
1 oz. 46 Peaks Vodka
2 oz. blueberry juice
2 oz. seltzer or club soda
Splash of orange juice
Serve over ice and garnish with an orange slice (which we skipped but you get the idea)

Cheers & Bottoms Up!
Splash

Our Four Fathers

In keeping with the celebration of America's Independence Day, we consulted our Four Fathers (Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Johnny Walker and Jose Cuervo) for inspiration.

The Constitution of Happy Hour in the High Peaks
We the people of the Adirondacks, in order to form a more perfect cocktail, establish drunkenness, insure domestic camaraderie, provide for the common intoxication, promote general cheer, and secure blessings of inebriation to ourselves and our swill, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the High Peaks.

We present to you the Happy Hour in the High Peaks First Amendment or the Bill of Rights:

Freedom to imbibe
Freedom to slur our speech
Freedom to blog
Freedom to gather with friends
Freedom of inebriation

Then we're pretty sure the framers of the Constitution must have proposed a toast. We came up with the Bomb Pop:

Bomb Pop
Cream of Coconut (available at WalMart and other fine supermarkets)
Grenadine
Blue Curacao

Pour the Cream of coconut into a shot glass. Carefully pour the grenadine on top of the coconut. Very slowly drip or drizzle the blue curacao over a spoon to float it on top of the grenadine.

Our Lake Placid trip yielded a new addition to Pammie's Pub: 46 Peaks Vodka. It is yearning to breathe free, so we shall continue our celebration on this the most austere of occasions in our nation's history in an attempt to liberate the contents of that bottle. Check back later, as there may be some fireworks involved. Not that we New Yorkers are intelligent enough to handle them.

Cheers & Bottoms Up!
Kim & Pam

Flanagan's Bar & Grill, Schroon Lake

The trip to Schroon Lake was much shorter than I expected, even though we took the scenic route.  It was the first really nice spring day of the season.  Schroon Lake was bustling, for April.  People were out walking.  Just seeing people on the streets is as much a sign of Spring as the crocus' blooming.
We found a parking spot right outside Flanagan's and ventured toward the entrance.  It was well-kept and very attractive with a stone facade.  I reviewed their menu posted outside and noted that they are open at noon and are closed on Tuesday.  The bartender, Joshua, later clarified that they are only closed on Tuesday during the winter months.
Flanagan's has been in business for 50-60 years but, upon entering, I immediately noticed it has been well-maintained.  The floor shined with extra coats of polyurethane.  As we passed through the dining area heading toward the bar, I took in the surroundings.  Bright copper lights sparkled over the booths; a bear, a deer and a moose head adorned one wall over those booths.  Clever placards hung here and there touting the virtues of drinkers and their wives.
As we found 2 seats at the bar, Kim quickly surveyed the beer offerings and selected one like a woman who knows what she wants.  In what is becoming the norm, I wrestled with the liquor choices like a kid in a candy store.  No drink specials in the off-season, no suggestions forthcoming from Joshua, so I was on my own.  I made rash decision for vodka and grapefruit.  In an effort to lighten the mood, I specified "plain vodka, no Bakon vodka for me, please!"
Again, taking in the scenery, I noticed the barstools were of padded fabric and rustic wood, and very heavy when trying to get out of them.  We ordered food from the extensive menu of yummy treats and chatted with the gentleman at the end of the bar.   He was a local by the name of Greyling, which we thought was a very cool name.  Off-season, Flanagan's is mostly locals, but changes to about 90% tourists in the summer months.  I checked out the deck in the back and found that to be small, but comfortable, and overlooking a brook.  It started to rain, so I returned to the bar.
The bathroom was clean and nicely finished in Adirondack woods.  Hot water, paper towels and toilet paper - what more could a woman ask for!  Speaking of woman, even though I didn't see one, I had the distinct feeling that a woman is behind the decor and overseeing the maintenance of Flanagan's Bar & Grill.  Men just don't seem to pay that much attention to the details.