A former Pabst employee had dreams of opening his own winery. In 1969, Theodore Mack Sr. assembled some investors to assist with his dream in purchasing the Blatz brand. The federal government ad forced the sale of Blatz and Mack was ready to jumpon the opportunity.

This month I am celebrating Black History. In this space I’ll highlight a wine on Wednesday and a spirit or beer on Thursday produced by an African American. Please enjoy these posts in the spirit they have been written.

3 NBA Championship rings, an Ed. D, honorary US Deputy Marshall, Miami Beach reserve officer, and 3 rap albums, Shaquille O’neal clearly likes to try new things. His newest venture, Luv Shaq vodka. Shaq is partnering with Devotion Vodka of Philadelphia for this project. His new vodka will be gluten and sugar-free vodka and come in coconut flavor. Luv Shaq is expected to be released by the spring.

Is this something you’ll be buying once released?

This is the recipe for Mulled Wine that I presented at the Metro Cooking & Entertaining Show last weekend. It was another smash hit!!

Mulled Wine

· 1 bottle ruby port

· 1 bottle red zinfandel (or other full-bodied, spicy red wine)

· 5 cinnamon sticks

· 1 orange

· 1 tsp ground cloves

· 2 tsp cinnamon

· 1/2 cup of sugar

· 1 cup water

In a saucepan over med-low heat, add in everything except the wines. Once warm, add in the wine. Turn heat to low. It’s ready when you smell it!! If you like, you can filter out the cinnamon sticks and orange through a coffee filter. Enjoy!!

Fall is really here!! So, while I enjoy dark liquor year round, there are people that only enjoy it in the fall/winter months. Switch out your Remy or Hennessy this time for a Calvados, brandy made from apples and aged 2 yrs in oak casks. Enjoy!!

Calvados Sidecar

INGREDIENTS:

• Freshly ground cinnamon
• Sugar
• 1 Lime or lemon wedge
• 1 oz Boulard Hors d’Âge Calvados
• 1 oz Cointreau
• 1 oz Fresh lemon juice

Garnish: Orange twist

Cocktail Glass 

PREPARATION: Combine equal amounts of cinnamon and sugar on a small saucer. Rub the rim of a cocktail glass with the lime or lemon wedge and dip carefully into the sugar mixture so that only the very top of the rim is coated evenly. Place the glass into the freezer to let the sugar rim harden. Add the remaining ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Contributed by Dushan Zaric and Jason Kosmas for liquor.com

Nothing like a little tequila to get yourself ready for the weekend! This cocktail is super simple and is made from ingredients you probably already have on hand. If you don’t have or can’t find agave nectar, no worries! It’s still delish without it.And with grapefruit and orange juices, who says you can’t have this with brunch?? No one, enjoy!!

Paloma Brava

Fill a large glass mug with ice. Add salt, tequila, lime, orange, and grapefruit juice. Stir gently. Top off with grapefruit soda, add agave nectar to taste and garnish with lime wheel.

I have been on it with these infusions lately! Pineapples are such a nice fruit in the summer and rum is just nice anytime. Put them together, add an umbrella…Hey Summer!!

Pineapple-Infused Rum

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
2 cups golden rum
3 tablespoons sugar
Club soda, for topping
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:
Combine the pineapple, rum and sugar in a bowl or pitcher. Refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 3 days. Strain the rum, reserving the pineapple. Serve over ice with a splash of soda, a few pieces of the pineapple and several lime wedges.

Also tasty with Tonic or Coke or Juice or Sprite or….

Chug!!

It is in the high 60’s today!! Yesterday was National Margarita Day!! It’s almost the weekend!! So many things to be excited about right now. With that said, I wanted a crisp drink and something kinda celebratory and I wanted to use one of my vodka infusions. I came up with Crisp & Cran which uses Cranberry-Lime infusd vodka. And to celebrate the great weather, a bit of sparkling wine.

Crisp & Cran

2 oz Cranberry-Lime infused vodka

1/2 oz Peach Schnapps

1 oz of Cranberry Juice

shot of Sparkling Wine

Mix the first three ingredients in a shaker. Pour into glass. Top with the sparkling wine. Garnish with a lime wedge. Enjoy!

This drink used up the last of my Cran-Lime vodka, wonder what should I infuse next?

It’s cold now! Which is fine with me, I love this weather. I love boots and scarfs and coats and sweaters…so I’m good! But for those of you that need a little something to warm you up, from the inside…Hot Buttered Rum does the trick every time!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 oz Rum
• 1 tbsp Hot Buttered Rum Batter,* frozen
• Boiling water
• Glass: Mug

PREPARATION:
Add the rum and batter to a mug. Fill with boiling water and stir.
 
*Hot Buttered Rum Batter
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb Butter, at room temperature
• 1 lb Brown sugar
• 1 lb Sugar
• 1 tbsp Ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ground cloves
• 1 tsp Ground nutmeg
• 1 qt Vanilla ice cream, softened slightly

PREPARATION:
Add all the ingredients except the ice cream to a bowl and stir to combine. Add the ice cream and stir again. Transfer to a container with a lid, seal and store in the freezer. (Ideally, the batter is prepared at first frost and finished before the robins arrive. Bring it out for parties, or whenever the temperature drops below 25 degrees.)
 
Recipe from Wayne Curtis, the author of And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails.