Cinco de Mayo Paloma Cocktail

Q: How to Muddle Herbs for a Cocktail

1. Get a large handful of your favorite herbs 2. Place the herbs in your favorite cocktail shaker 3. Use a muddling stick or find something with a flat bottom that fits inside the shaker 4. Push the herbs down hard, then twist the muddling stick - repeat 6 or 8 times 5. Pour cocktail ingredients and ice on top of herbs, cover, and shake 6. Strain into a glass 7. Serve with a bit of the herb resting in the glass to add a "scent hint" to the cocktail.

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Happy Cinco de Mayo! Want a fun and super-easy Mexican cocktail to celebrate tonight? Try the pre-made tequila-included cocktail created by Charles Joly, the famous bartender extraordinaire. His line of drinks is fantastic and the Crafthouse Paloma Cocktail is a step above the other mixes out there. Personalize the flavor with muddled basil or lemon thyme added to the cocktail and your guests will be blown away by all the fresh flavors.

According to Charles, “Little is known about the historical origin of the Paloma, the most popular tequila-based cocktail in Mexico. Some conjecture that it is named after La Paloma (‘The Dove’), the popular folk song composed in the early 1860s.” I first had the Paloma when I met Charles when he custom-made the cocktail for me at a convention – it is a truly delicious combination of tequila, grapefruit, and lime. Rim your glass with salt if you like for a little extra umph and know that all the ingredients including the alcohol are already in the bottle and ready to pour. If you’d like to know where to stop this evening to pick up the Crafthouse liquor-already-added cocktails, go to this link – WHERE TO GET YOUR CRAFTHOUSE.

How to Muddle Herbs for a Cocktail

Muddling herbs is easy-peasy –

Get a large handful of your favorite herbs
Place the herbs in your favorite cocktail shaker
Use a muddling stick or find something with a flat bottom that fits inside the shaker
Push the herbs down hard, then twist the muddling stick – repeat 6 or 8 times
Pour cocktail ingredients and ice on top of herbs, cover, and shake
Strain into a glass
Serve with a bit of the herb resting in the glass to add a “scent hint” to the cocktail.

Above is a video that shows how to muddle up a Crafthouse Paloma Cocktail (if you get this post via email and can’t see the video, just link through the title and it will take you to the web page with full viewing capabilities). Happy Cinco de Mayo!