Happy New Year from Felicia!

New Year’s Eve: a time for reflection, a time for resolutions, a time to drink. Felicia lives in the moment so reflection is not her forte. Yep, last year was great. There. Done reflecting. Regarding resolutions, Felicia never makes them because they usually lead to disappointments. Do you really want to eat less cookies, find a therapist, or go to the gym daily? Felicia didn’t think so. Now booze…that is how Felicia celebrates the new year. Here is the perfect champagne cocktail to add some bubbles to your mood and some years to your life. Lovers of the pomegranate claim that this superfruit can prevent heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes and tooth decay, among other illnesses. Add it to some champagne with a touch of bourbon and you have a veritable fountain of youth. Why not make the resolution this year to live life to the fullest? Happy New Year from Felicia!

Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail for Two

6 oz brut champagne or sparkling wine
½ oz Knob Creek bourbon
1/8 ounce sweetened lime juice (Don't use Rose's! Click here for our own sweet lime juice recipe)
1 pomegranate
2 champagne glasses

Pour ¼ ounce of bourbon and a dash of sweet lime juice into each glass. Cut pomegranate into eighths. Remove the seeds from one eighth and divide them between the two glasses. Remove the seeds from another eighth and smash them with the back of a spoon before dividing them between the two glasses. Pour 3 ounces of champagne into each glass. Toast, drink, stay healthy!

'Twas The Night Before New Years...

‘Twas the night before New Years, and all through the lounge,
the Felicia staff were gathering all the booze they could scrounge.
The glasses sat polished on the back shelf with care,
Awaiting the patrons that soon would be there.

The beers were nestled in the fridge to cool down
While visions of drinks in staffs’ heads danced around.
The bartenders in Felicia T’s and warm atomic caps,
Were just about done prepping all the night’s crap.

When at 6:30pm what did their wondering eyes view?
But show tunes with Wendy, Jessica, Lori and Lisa Bloom!
And fab champagne cocktails with a bubbly, sweet taste
So all knew in a moment they were in the right place.

More rapid than eagles the patrons they came,
And they drank and called the bartenders by name:
Now Sharon! Now Woody! now Leah and Nat!
On Guy! on Amelia! on Colleen and Pat!
Eggnog martinis and seasonal beer,
Now dash away, dash away, come over here!

The Felicias sprang to the task from 5pm until 2,
Tossed everyone out and made the lounge look like new.
And I heard them exclaim, as they drove out of sight,
Happy New Year to all and to all a good night!

Egg Nog Latte Martini

When Felicia was a wee lass, her grandfather would stop by the house about a week before Christmas and announce, “Let’s all go over to Uncle Andrew’s to see the tree” which was code for “Let’s all go over to Uncle Andrew’s to get drunk.” Grandpap and Uncle Andrew’s spirit of choice was whiskey, sipped out of small mismatched glasses at first, and later swigged directly out of the bottle(s). And while Felicia loves a fine small-batch bourbon, when entertaining this holiday season she is focusing on the delights of eggnog. First, forget the homemade eggnog. Do you think your friends really want to drink something you made in your own kitchen with slimy raw eggs? Be a better hostess and buy a half gallon of eggnog at the grocery store. Now about the liquor...let Felicia enlighten you with the fact that rum in eggnog is so last century. Plus Felicia cannot consume rum, thanks to an incident many years ago when she was a doe-eyed 14-year-old girl. Why not make a hip holiday drink this year like the Eggnog Latte Martini? Felicia recommends adding both 3/4 ounce of Stoli vanilla vodka to your glass of eggnog and and 3/4 ounce of Kahlua coffee liquor. Shake it up with some ice and strain it into a martini glass. A sprinkle of nutmeg on top makes it festive. Did you invite vegan friends to your party, or lactose intolerant friends who will be tempted to try your trendy Eggnog Latte Martini and then pass gas in your house? Try a soy nog substitution for them. And if you don’t have Stoli vanilla or Kahlua in the house, you can always fall back on rum, brandy or bourbon, and mix it with the eggnog into your morning coffee. Now let’s all go over to Felicia’s to see the tree…

Eggnog Latte Martini

3/4 ounce Stoli vanilla
3/4 ounce Kahlua
4 ounces eggnog
Dash of nutmeg

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with nutmeg.

Gimlet

Felicia recently found herself sitting at her kitchen table surrounded by Christmas cookies, egg nog, figgy pudding, fruit cakes and other such rich, calorie-laden temptations. However, her own craving was for something tart and tangy, so she pulled the gin out of the freezer to fix herself a gimlet. In the late 1800’s, the gimlet was created by some smart chap in the British Royal Navy, around the time that sailors were mandated to drink lime juice daily to prevent scurvy. Some say that a navy surgeon, Sir Thomas Desmond Gimlette, persuaded the sailors too drink their lime juice by mixing it with gin. Others think the drink is named for the corkscrew-like device called a gimlet which was used to bore holes in the lime juice barrels. Whatever the exact origin, the gimlet is a simple, crisp and potent drink with a touch of sweetness that will leave your taste buds and your spirits tingling.

Gimlet

2 ounces Plymouth gin
¼ ounce Roses lime juice

Pour gin and lime juice into a shaker with ice. Stir, don’t shake, the concoction. Strain into a chilled martini glass and sip blissfully, daydreaming of riding the waves in the high seas on a sunny day, scurvy-free.

Hot Toddy

A question Felicia frequently hears at the Lounge in the winter when people get the sniffles is what should one drink when one is sick? Now really, the answer would be lots of water and organic chicken broth (note to self: genetically enhanced chickens have a tendency toward anxiety disorders). However, to kill germs, or at least to make them tipsy and distracted, Felicia recommends a nip of bourbon or brandy. Everyone knows that the burn on the way down means that all those germs are getting wiped out. In particular, the hot toddy is a medicinal concoction designed to ease your woes when you are feeling under the weather. Whiskey too manly for you? You can substitute brandy or rum if you prefer. Other creative substitutions include muddling a few cherries or a slice of orange instead of lemon, or using honey in place of brown sugar. Now you be careful after your fourth or fifth toddy. This is a hot drink and it will burn your hands if you spill it. And wasting even a drop of liquor is a shameful thing.

Hot Toddy

4 ounces of boiling water
large lemon wedge (about a quarter of a lemon)
five whole cloves
1 rounded tsp brown sugar
1 ½ ounce Makers Mark

Pour boiling water into mug. Squeeze lemon into mug. Add squeezed lemon, cloves and brown sugar to mug. Stir. Add 1 ½ ounce Makers Mark.

Wintry Mix

The “Wintry Mix” is a blustery chilled martini made with icicle-infused liquor, a dash of sleet, a splash of rain, shaken with lots of ice and served in a frosted glass with a road salt garnish. Available during all severe winter weather warnings.

Who is "Santa?"

Santa. Satan. Ever notice how similar these two words are? Felicia was determined to get to the bottom of this seeming “coincidence.” A spokesperson at Santa’s corporate headquarters said they had “no comment” and calls to Santa’s home in the North Pole went unreturned. However, Felicia was able to corner Satan at the bar when he dropped by last week for a dirty martini, which turned into four dirty martinis, causing Satan to have, shall we say, a loose (forked) tongue. Satan said that back in their youth, he and Santa, who was known then simply as “Nick,” were pals. They both had their share of pranks and harmless fun, with Satan whooping it up in bars and chasing women, while Nick liked to dress up as a clown in a red suit and act goofy to entertain people. But as Satan became more popular and made more friends, Nick became jealous, set his sights on young children as easy targets, and changed his name to Santa, hoping to make himself more likeable. “Frankly,” said Satan bitterly, “Santa is really creepy. And it’s all a myth. He doesn’t even deliver gifts to children, the parents do. And he gets all the credit for their work.” Satan fingered the olives at the bottom of his empty glass and sighed, “I don’t see why I get such a bad rap nowadays.” Of course Felicia wonders if Satan’s version of the name story is true. But Felicia is not going to be the one to challenge Satan because he always leaves great tips.

Felicia's Holiday Shopping Tips

Here are Felicia’s Last Minute Holiday Shopping Tips! Before you start your shopping list, make yourself a martini to keep your stress to a minimum. First, nothing says I love you quite like a bottle of booze. Stick a big bow on that baby and your friend will remember you as the one who gave her the best gift this Christmas. A Felicia gift certificate is better for lazy people who want someone else to make their drinks for them. No cookies or fruit cake, please. Felicia doesn’t want you to be responsible for ruining someone’s girlish figure. Options for buying locally in Ithaca? There are a number of splendid State Street shops on Felicia’s block who offer gift certificates including Taste of Thai Express, Tuff Soul Clothing, Indigo Massage and Gimme Coffee. What a hot block! Remember, as you make your way around town, stop in for a shot (or two) of tequila to take the edge off of your shopping angst. Seriously. Tequila fixes everything. Felicia’s favorite websites for holiday gifts this year include: www.leevalley.com/gifts for the thank-god-you-have-a-handy person in your life; www.cafepress.com and type “martini” in the search box for fun items or www.cafepress.com/bandofparents for heartfelt gifts whose profits go toward childhood cancer research. For the hip people in your life, stick with a Felicia hoody, tshirt, hat or set of pint glasses and they will love you forever and think you are totally cool. Happy shopping!

Felicia's Compost Lounge

As Felicia dragged a 50-lb five gallon bucket out of the lounge on Saturday night, a patron asked her with polite curiosity, “What the hell is in that?” The answer, dear patron, is compost. Yes, all of those limes that you don’t eat, your squeezed-out lemon wedges, the vodka-soaked cucumbers from the infusions, the fresh grated ginger-lime pulp that has been pressed through a sieve, the stray olives, and the occasional toothpick that sneaks in, all of these lovely items are brought home to be added to the compost that nurtures Felicia’s garden. Today’s uneaten pizza crust = tomorrow’s homegrown mint in your mojito. Felicia’s compost is also known in her neighborhood as the Wildlife Bar & Restaurant. Many a bird has picked at Felicia’s pie crusts, squirrels have chased each other friskily through her deteriorating carved pumpkins while nibbling on olives saturated with vodka, and the woodchucks…well let’s just say they have a little addiction problem. All summer long they would come get drunk on gin-soaked cucumbers and those bright red cherries you left at the bottom of your manhattan glass. Occasionally one of the woodchucks would disappear, most likely due to cirrhosis of the liver or a wife at home nagging him, “You reek like whiskey, Chucky! And is this some other gal’s fur on your collar? You’ve been at that dang compost bar again, haven’t you!” And then Felicia wouldn’t see him for a few weeks, until he’d stop by to visit his old friends at the compost, saying, “I’ll just have one,” and, well, you know the rest of the story. Rest assured, your unconsumed cocktail scraps will not go to waste.

Felicia's Favorite Gin and Soda

Say, what is that drink in JackiO’s hand in the photo below? It makes her look so cool, so sexy, like a girl who knows what she wants and how to get it. Oh, Felicia loves that JackiO. And Felicia loves her gin, just like JackiO. Two peas in a pod. Two lushes in a lounge. To maintain her girlish figure, Felicia likes her gin with club soda instead of tonic. And she goes straight for the top shelf, pulling down her bottle of Hendrick’s gin, which is made with a delicate infusion of cucumber and rose petals. Blissful sigh.

Felicia’s Favorite Gin and Soda

1 ½ ounces Hendricks gin
1 ½ ounces club soda
two lime wedges

Pour gin and soda into a rocks glass filled with ice. Squeeze in two lime wedges. Indulge.

Behold the Intern

Behold the almighty JackiO! As you might guess, Felicia spends more time drinking her dirty martinis and creating scrumptious cocktails for you than she does on the computer. Enter JackiO, fearless intern, to navigate the worlds of myspace, facebook, the blogosphere, designing and re-designing everything in her path like a creative bulldozer with a laptop and a desire to pump up its resume. Thank you, o god of cocktails, for the gift of the intern. Arranging for such a dedicated and talented intern was not without its challenges. JackiO submitted her internship proposal to the college in May, started working for Felicia in August, and three weeks plus thirty hours of work later, she was notified by the dean that the internship would not be approved. And no, it wasn't because Felicia's was a bar. It's just that, well, maybe the work wasn't meaningful. So JackiO diligently got to work on a beefed up proposal that demonstrated just how awesome an internship with Felicia would be, feeding her hungry young mind with vast knowledge and providing her with mature life experience in the field. Ok, said the dean after JackiO stayed up til 3 am for days and poured her soul into the internship proposal. OK, said the dean, it IS because Felicia's is a bar. No credits for you, JackiO. Maybe you should find somewhere nice and, well, boring to work. But being the ninja that she is, JackiO has stayed on with Felicia as her right hand gal and has done some kick-ass design and marketing, way better than Felicia could ever do herself. So here's a toast to you, JackiO. The dean was right. Felicia's is a bar. And that's the best part about this internship! You can views JackiO's work at www.freewebs.com/jacquelinedimaria.

Ultimately Delicious Martini

A girl cannot live on alcohol alone. She needs chocolate, too. The Ultimately Delicious Martini can satisfy both urges at once. It is high in calories as well, so if you have stopped eating solid foods to devote more space in your body to cocktails, or if you have chronic wasting disease, this drink is definitely for you. For the rest of us, it’s dessert in a glass; a sweet, chocolately and creamy after-dinner drink.

Ultimately Delicious Martini

¾ ounce Stoli vanilla
¾ ounce Baileys Irish Cream
¾ ounce Kahlua
splash of half-and-half
squirt of chocolate sauce

Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass that you have decorated with chocolate syrup. Garnish with whipped cream and a fancy drizzle of chocolate sauce.

Adapted from a recipe by Teresa Zawacki.

Dirty Girl Martini

She’s a very dirty girl…The kind you don’t bring home to mother…But you do bring her to Felicia’s, where there is a martini waiting just for her. Not much needs to be said about the classic Dirty Girl Martini. The saltiness if perfect on a hot day to help replenish your electrolytes, and the olives can satisfy your urge for a full meal. This martini can be your light lunch, your afternoon snack, your classy dinner, or your late night bite. To meet your daily protein requirements, try stuffing the olives with feta cheese or a Slim Jim. Are you ready for the Dirty Girl? Or are you all talk? Hmmm? Felicia is waiting.

Dirty Girl Martini

2 ounces Grey Goose Vodka
½ ounce olive juice
3 olives

Shake vodka and olive juice with ice. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with olives.

Poor Girl's Relaxation Cocktail

One of Felicia’s inspired frequent flyers wrote in with her own, low-budget recipe for a relaxation cocktail:

“Since I can't afford NyQuil or Vicodin (or a hot tub), I usually end up getting in the shower with a bottle of mouthwash and 6-10 tylonol PM. It works kinda the same except I don't usually make it to my bed in time and wake up to my roommate slapping me around a few hours later.”

Relaxation Cocktail

What is Felicia drinking these days? It depends on the mood, Sweet Cheeks, it depends on the mood. Baking pie? Gran Marnier or a nice port wine. Rough day? Bourbon, neat. No food since breakfast? A dirty martini, because it tastes like a meal. Chilly? Loco Hot Cocoa or hot mulled cider. On a date? A full-bodied, spicy red wine. And here’s Felicia’s favorite nip when there’s nothing else in the house to drink:

Relaxation Cocktail

1 ounce NyQuil
5 milligrams Vicodin
hot tub
bed

Wash Vicodin down with Nyquil. Soak in hot tub for 30 minutes. Fall into bed and have sweet dreams til morning.

Ithaca-Is-The-Home-Of-The-Sundae Martini

In the summer of 2007, a newspaper article battle began between Ithaca, NY and Two Rivers, Wisconsin as to which city can claim to be the home of the first ice cream sundae, created in the late 1800’s. Being from Ithaca, Felicia is of course biased. Felicia took advantage of the debate and introduced the Ithaca-is-the-home-of-the-Sundae Martini. Though it tastes like an ice cream sundae in a glass, incredibly, the Sundae Martini contains no ice cream. What, you think Felicia wants to get fat? Who needs ice cream when one can have a martini?

Ithaca-is-the-home-of-the-Sundae Martini

1 ounce Stoli vanilla vodka
2 ounces Godiva while chocolate liqueur
5 maraschino cherries
whipped cream
chocolate sauce

Muddle four of the maraschino cherries. Add Stoli vanilla, Godiva and ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Top with whipped cream, chocolate sauce and the remaining cherry.

Countrypolitan

What can brown do for you? Bourbon can help men sprout hair on their chests and give women the courage to use a chainsaw. It can toughen you up and start a fire in your soul. If you don’t want to give up your foo-foo drinks, the Countrypolitan just might be the cocktail for you. The Countrypolitan, a creative take on the standard Cosmopolitan, can act as a tame introduction to bourbon for the weak, add pizzazz to that same old whiskey that you’ve been drinking on the rocks every night for years, or dress up your favorite spirit to impress that hot babe you just invited over to your shabby pad. The Countrypolitan gives you the best of both worlds. The city mouse and the country mouse collide with cocktails in their hands. The Wild Wild West meets Sex in the City. A timber wolf and a poodle make sweet love to each other.

Countrypolitan

1.5 ounces of Woodford Reserve bourbon
½ ounce of Cointreau
½ ounce of sweetened lime juice
1 ounce of Cranberry juice
lime wheel

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Loco Hot Cocoa

It’s chilly and you are cranky. Winter is coming, and you are singing the blues. Whether it be cold toes, snow shoveling, stressful holidays with your family, inflatable snow globes or just PMS that has you feeling down, Felicia has the drink for you: Loco Hot Cocoa. Yes, Felicia has finally found the perfect combination of liquors and spices to sooth your nerves and melt you right into the couch. Hibernation never looked so good.

Loco Hot Cocoa

1 ounce Knob Creek Bourbon
½ ounce Cointreau
dash of cinnamon
sprinkle of cayenne
¼ cup of Ghiardelli hot chocolate mix
8 ounces of milk or soy milk

Heat milk, hot chocolate, cinnamon and cayenne. Pour into mug and add Knob and Cointreau. Top with whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon.

Pumpkin Martini

Over the past three years, Felicia was inundated with requests from bartenders all over the country who wanted to know her secret to making an amazing Pumpkin Martini. Truth be told, they wanted to know where the heck she got her pumpkin liqueur since Bols had stopped making it. Well, kids, Felicia is a thrifty gal and she bought five cases of the stuff when she heard that it would be unavailable. This fall, just as Felicia’s stock was becoming dangerously low - chorus of angels - Bols Pumpkin Smash is back AND Hiram Walker is making its own Pumpkin Spice liqueur. Will Felicia divulge her highly coveted Pumpkin Martini recipe? Why the heck not. You’ll be able to read it in her soon-to-be-published recipe book anyway. Those of you who are skeptical about trying a Pumpkin Martini, Felicia reassures you that this martini bears a strong resemblance to pumpkin pie. Why, it’s dessert in a glass!

Pumpkin Martini

1.5 ounces of pumpkin liqueur
½ ounce of Stoli vanilla vodka
1 ounce of half and half (or soy milk for you vegan freaks)
dash of pumpkin pie spice (Felicia uses her own special blend)

Shake with ice, strain into a martini glass. Top with whipped cream and another sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.