Cocktails with Home Wet Bar!

This post is brought to you by HomeWetBar.com! I received a complimentary product to review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I can’t say I was surprised when HomeWetBar.com contacted me to tell me about their site. I feel like my blog has given away the fact that I am a major cocktail enthusiast. I’ve been known to rank drinks and judge mixology competitions. So a product review for an online retailer of alcoholic beverage accessories seemed like a great fit! No, I am not a lush.

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HLS 2012 represent!

I am very into tasting cocktails and observing how they are made, but haven’t had much personal experience in the art of mixology. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to try out my own drink recipe, with the help of the Pro Shaker 10-Piece Bar Set.

The real thing!

The real thing!

My good friend Jeff came over to help make both the cocktail and dinner. I felt it appropriate to have him pose with this logo on the box the kit came in…GreatGiftsForMen.com was added to the HomeWetBar.com family in 2011.

This man matches the box!

This man matches the box!

We were a little creeped out by the coincidence of the name of the “human” who packaged my bar set 😉 Jeff, do you have a job on the side I’m not aware of?

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HomeWetBar.com is family owned and tries to add little personal touches like this!

The set took only a moment to open and unpack; everything came assembled and ready to go.

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This looks like something out of “Hostel”! Except for pleasure, not pain.

I didn’t realize the clear shaker would not only have ounce measurement indicators on the side, but also five classic drink recipes! Most were too sweet for my taste buds but one of them did help me guess how much of my drinks’ ingredients we would use.

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I was not only testing out the bar set, but also a rum just now entering the Connecticut market – Tanduay Asian Rum, from the Philippines. Just another fantastic opportunity delivered by my good friend Kat! Jeff and I sampled the Tanduay Silver specifically, first on its own and then in our cocktails.

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This is where the kit’s double-sided measuring jigger came in handy!

We both enjoyed sipping on this rum and it certainly went down easily, with no burn. He commented that it slightly reminded him of whiskey and I had to agree! Maybe part of the reason why I enjoyed it? I’m glad I have some leftover for more summer rum beverages!

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Now let’s get to the cocktail, because man is it pretty, healthy, and refreshing for summer. It’s my first cocktail recipe!

The Take Me Tanduay

(otherwise known by its second name suggested by Alyssa…The Let’s Get Ready To RUMMMMMble)

Ingredients (for 2 cocktails):

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Directions:

  1. Add rum, juice, and seltzer to the glass shaker.
  2. Add mint to mixture and muddle (I didn’t have a muddling tool so I improvised with a spoon).
  3. Add ice, then shake shake shake!
At first I goofed and put the silver cup on top when I was shaking. The drink started leaking out!

At first I goofed and put the silver cup on top when I was shaking. The drink started leaking out!

Clearly this is my first drink making experience. It worked better when I flipped the clear cup to the top!

Clearly this is my first drink making experience. It worked better when I flipped the clear cup to the top!

Strain the cocktails into glasses of your choice (we went fancy with martini glasses) and add garnish if you wish! We went with more mint and some blackberries.

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The kit’s strainer certainly kept most of the ice out of the glasses!

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Tip: Put the martini glasses in the freezer to chill before pouring the beverages into them!

Oh, and a last optional step is topping off your cocktail with more rum. You guys know I like my drinks strong! For the average cocktail consumer I’d say the recipe is the perfect amount of balance between rum and non-alcoholic ingredients, but for the consumer-of-straight-alcohol like myself, you may need more rum.

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As you can see, a few baby ice chips did get through the strainer.

Cheers to cocktails on a Monday!

Cheers to cocktails on a Monday!

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I might even call Tanduay Rum “dangerously” smooth because I was overzealous in my addition of more rum to my drink…one cocktail down and I was pretty much done-zo for the night!

I’m already thinking of what other cocktails I can make with my leftover Tanduay Rum and my HomeWetBar.com Pro Shaker Bar Set…

Anyone have any recipes to point out to me?

Have you ever tried making cocktails at home?

Are you a rum person? What’s your favorite?

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