A Cocktail for Kamala: The 'Madam VP' White Wine Cocktail

Would I be ‘Will Drink For Travel’ if I didn’t mark Kamala Harris becoming ‘Madam Vice President’ with a celebratory cocktail? I don’t think so! Not only did Kamala become the first woman Vice President, but she did so by also being the first Black and Southeast Asian woman to hold the office. She is someone that little girls anywhere in the world, but especially little Black and Indian ones, can look up to and know that anything is possible.

I read somewhere that Madam VP loves California white wine (obviously) and I love Aperol, so I wanted to create a cocktail I think she’d enjoy as much as I do. I’m calling this the ‘Madam VP”:

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. sweet vermouth

• .5 oz. Aperol

• 4 oz. sparkling white wine

• Top with club soda

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to a wine glass with ice.

2. Stir and then garnish with a lime wheel.

Cheers and Happy Inauguration!

4 Easy Spiked Apple Cider Cocktails

I love this time of year! With warm, apple, and cinnamon flavored cocktails on the menu, how can you go wrong? Here are three different ways you can use your apple cider to make your cocktail dreams come true. All of them are equally delicious!

From left to right in the picture above is the Hot Apple Toddy, Apple Whiskey Smash, and Apple Cider Sangria. Pictured below is the Apple Cider Mimosa. See details below for ingredients and instructions. Hope you love them as much as I do!

Hot Apple Toddy

Ingredients:

• 1 hot cup of tea

• 1 oz. bourbon or whiskey

• 1.5 oz. apple cider

• Lemon wheel, for garnish

Instructions:

1. Make one cup of hot tea. Use whatever tea you prefer. (I would suggest a tea without a lot of flavor, but I’ll leave that up to you.)

2. After tea is made and poured into a cup, pour in the remaining ingredients and stir.

3. Garnish with the lemon wheel.

Apple Whiskey Smash

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. whiskey

• 1/2 lemon juice

• 4 oz apple cider

• Sliced apples or lemon wheel, for garnish

Instructions:

1. Pour all ingredients into a mixing tin and shake for 10 seconds.

2. Pour into a glass and garnish with apples or lemons.

Apple Cider Sangria

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Lillet Rouge

• 2 oz. apple cider

• .75 oz. Grand Marnier

• 2 dashes of orange bitters

• Chopped apples, for garnish

Instructions:

1. Pour all ingredients into a glass and stir for 10 seconds.

2. Pour into a glass and garnish with chopped apples.

Apple Cider Mimosa

Ingredients:

• 2-3 oz. apple cider

• Prosecco, to top

• Cinnamon sugar, for garnish

Instructions:

1. Place cinnamon sugar on flat surface. Wet the rim of your champagne flute with a lemon or water and roll your glass to cover the rim with sugar. (If you don’t have cinnamon sugar, you can use cinnamon only or a combination of cinnamon and sugar.)

2. Pour apple cider into champagne flute.

3. Top with Prosecco . Enjoy!