It’s 5 o’clock somewhere! Luis Bunuel said, “If you were to ask me if I’d ever had the bad luck to miss my daily cocktail, I’d have to say that I doubt it; where certain things are concerned, I plan ahead.”

Here’s to planning!

My top 5 favorite cocktail recipes of all time. What’s yours?

5.) Mudslide — 8 to 12  cubes of ice crushed in a blender, 2 scoops Breyers chocolate ice cream, 1 scoop Breyers vanilla bean ice cream, 1 oz. vodka, 1 oz. Bailey’s, 1 oz. Kahlua, 1 oz. heavy cream, decorate glass with an artistic stream of chocolate syrup. This cocktail is the ultimate dessert. It is the infamous drink served up by my friend Matt Brady at our annual Super Bowl Party. I’m not sure where we found this recipe, Friday’s Restaurant, I think. Wow!

4.) Orange & Vanilla Caprioska — 2 oz. vanilla vodka, 1.5 oz. Cointreau, .75 oz simple syrup (to make simple syrup combine equal parts water and sugar, heat until liquified and clear, let cool,) 3 chunks of orange, muddle (mash until smooth) together. Discovered this delectable drink at the Beach House on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

3.) Dirty Martini — 2 oz. favorite high quality vodka, 1/2 oz. olive juice. Gently coat cocktail glass with Sweet Vermouth. Shaker with ice until cold. Garnish with two olives. The classic martini. Discovered this recipe in the Denver International Airport. Yep, you guessed it. I hate to fly.

2.) French Martini — 3 oz. pineapple juice, 1.5 oz. of your favorite high quality vodka, 3/4 oz. Chambord. Shaker with ice until cold. Serve garnished with cherry. It is the perfect cocktail with sushi. Discovered this recipe at Virago Restaurant in Nashville.

1.) Maple Manhattan — 2 oz. Rye Whiskey, 3/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth, 1/4 oz. maple syrup, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, gently stir in a shaker of ice until cold. Serve up garnished with a maraschino cherry with a stem. This is definitely my favorite martini of all time. Smooth with a kick! Discovered this recipe at the Citizen club in Nashville.

I have many, many more cocktail recipes and I find it a little scary that I could write all these recipes from memory. Or maybe that just proves they really are my favs!

Question: What is YOUR favorite cocktail?

If you give the recipe, there is extra brownie points and cocktail hour will be four o’clock for you today!!

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