Drinks on a Dime
Five alcoholic drinks for a budget
You can go to a bar to drink, if you’ve got four bucks a shot
or don’t mind gulping down pints of cheap beer hoping
that the first glass will help kill the taste of the next four.
If you want inexpensive and delicious, what you need is to
start working on cocktails. Mixed drinks can be delicious,
and let you put the last few ounces in those bottles of premium alcohol to better use than sipping.
We wouldn’t call these drinks cheap, because “cheap” implies that they have low value. What we bring you today
is a set of five inexpensive cocktails that’ll give you great
tastes and and some bang for your buck:
The White Russian — The Dude abides,
and the White Russian is a beverage that
commands respect. Though the drink isn’t
actually Russian, the main component is
vodka and thus the drink earns its place beside Chekhov, Tchaikovsky and Zangief in
Russian mythology.
To make one:
Pour an ounce of vodka, add Kahlua (put
this in second so it doesn’t sink to the bottom), top off with milk or coffee creamer. If
you’re feeling fancy, add a cherry to tie the
drink together.
The Apple Pie — There’s a variation of this
for every budget, from the low-cost apple
juice variant we’re working with and up
into the expensive, apple-flavored vodka
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and specialized “apple pie” flavored drinks
pre-mixed and bottled. The effect, overall,
is grandma’s apple pie mixed with a shot of
grandpa’s vodka.
To make one:
One ounce of vodka, one ounce of apple
juice. Take some cinnamon and shake it
onto your tongue, then down the drink.
The Banana Banshee — Got an urge to
get tropical? Fruity drinks are the backbone
of low-cost cocktails, and banana flavor is
sweet enough to support some interesting
ideas when it comes to alcohol. This drink
is another sweet one that doesn’t call for a
hundred ingredients.
To make one:
Put two ounces of banana liqueur, two
March 2014
INSIGHT