Tom Collins

My husband's favorite cocktail is a Tom Collins so I endeavored to make a fantastic one.

First, I made the sweet and sour from scratch using a mixture of regular limes and key limes. You can buy sweet and sour mix, but it's not hard to make from scratch.

Sweet and Sour Cocktail Mix

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh key lime juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1 cup simple syrup

Simple Syrup

2 cups sugar
2 cups water

Bring to a boil over medium heat. Let boil for 1 minute. Cool and store in fridge.

Tom Collins

1 1/4 ounce sweet and sour
1 1/4 ounce gin

Mix in cocktail shaker filled with ice. Pour into glass with ice, add a splash of club soda and stir lightly.

The hubster reports that I make a really good Tom Collins.

Key Lime Pie Martini (Gluten-free, of course)

My youngest two graduated high school ending our 17 years journey of homeschooling. So I'm celebrating by expanding my cocktail recipe repertoire. Tonight I made sweet and sour mix from scratch and made a batch of simple syrup. I made my husband a Tom Collins and I'm now ready to celebrate Independence Day!

I've always loved PF Chang's key lime pie martinis. I finally found a recipe to make them.  Perfection in a glass. It tastes just like a tart key lime pie! YUM! I didn't believe it would turn out until I tasted it. The results are nothing short of amazing. It really tastes like key lime pie!

Simple to make and oh so refreshing for summer. I used Schar gluten-free graham crackers to rim the glass. Of course, if you aren't allergic to wheat or gluten, you can use regular graham crackers.

I bought key limes at the grocery store to make my version, but you can purchase bottled key lime juice, too.  Licor 43, a Spanish liqueur, is the secret ingredient. It's a citrus liqueur made with 43 ingredients, hence the name. It is fairly affordable, which is a bonus. I paid $24 at the ABC store.

Key Lime Pie Martini

1 1/2 ounces Licor 43
1 teaspoon sugar
1 ounce key lime juice
3/4 ounce half-and-half
canned whipped cream

Rim martini glass with crushed graham crackers. I use a slice of lime and roll it around the rim before dipping it in the crushed graham crackers. It adds a bit of tart to each sip.

Fill a shaker with ice, add Licor 43, sugar, key lime juice, and half-and-half. Add 3 -4 swirls of whipped cream to the top. Close shaker, shake and strain into glass.

Rosemary Lemon Drop

I assure you, I have been cooking. I've just been a tad busy running for Congress, getting the last two kids off to college all while my oldest graduated from college and got married. Want to check out my Pattie Curran for Congress website? You can view it here.

I never follow recipes, I mean, I always adapt recipes.

My version of a Rosemary Lemon Drop

Rosemary Sugar for Rimming the Glass

I mixed 2 tablespoons of hopped rosemary with one cup of sugar and stored in an airtight container for 5 days. Before using, I ran it through my Vita Mix. Not long enough to powder the sugar, of course.

Rosemary Lemon Drop

1 1/2 ounces Ciroc Vodka

1/2 ounce Villa Massa Limoncello

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

1 ounce simple syrup  (some recipes call for 1/2 and ounce, but I prefer a sweeter cocktail)

1 sprig fresh rosemary

Optional: one drop of food grade rosemary essential oil (adds a great rosemary flavor! It's my "secret" ingredient)


Rim a large martini glass with rosemary sugar. Place ice, rosemary sprig and ingredients into a shaker. Shake vigorously and strain into sugar rimmed glass. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary, if desired.