Help me refine and name a new cocktail.

March 27, 2008 5:04 AM

Help me refine and name a new cocktail.

I didn't set out to make a new cocktail, but one night I used the only ingredients I had around that made any sense at all: a good tequila (the sipping kind), unsweetened cranberry juice and ginger ale. Mix the three over crushed ice, stir gently and serve.

It really wasn't bad, out of curiosity I searched around and didn't see this mix anywhere, (or if so, relatively obscure and ripe for co opting.) Feel free to point out that this is well-known drink and I'm a dork for posting this.

I figure I could refine it a bit, but looking for suggestions. Perhaps some grenadine to make it a tiny bit sweeter?

And then the real task is of course the name. With the exception of the cranberry and especially if I added the grenadine this is a varietal on the Shirley Temple, but an evil one with alcohol. Suggestions?

posted by jeremias to food & drink (37 comments total)

I would suggest a liqueur, maybe raspberry or a sour apple, to compliment the tastes going on in this.
posted by scabrous at 5:14 AM on March 27

A Mexican Cringe.

Because tequila is mexican. And CRanberry and gINGEr ale.
posted by twirlypen at 5:14 AM on March 27 [2 favorites]

El Diablo?

Even without the addition of blackcurrant liqueur, your concoction sounds like it would be good garnished with a lime.
posted by TedW at 5:16 AM on March 27

With the proviso that I think the best cocktails have obscene names: The Mexican Bastard.
posted by Jofus at 5:42 AM on March 27

Cranberries being a New England thing -- the Cranberry Bog? El Nuevo Ingles? New England Gringo? No Sex on This Beach (puritans here, you know)? The Fallen Puritan?

My favorite idea: The Scarlet Letter Cocktail.
posted by beagle at 5:53 AM on March 27

I like the "cringe" suggestion, though it does not seem like a cringe inducing drink.

I had a name bumping around my head that I finally assigned to a mix of tequila, club soda, chambord, lime and a dash of bitters: Tequila Mockingbird.*

So maybe there is some potential there: Google finds "To Kill a King", "To Kill a Rock Star" et cetera. Or maybe just 'quila, like um... 'Quila Bee (if it had honey, I guess).

*Though now that I google it, it is not apparently all that new or unique. But it was when I came up with it, I'm sure. I knew I should've mailed that shit to myself! (PFT)
posted by BleachBypass at 6:05 AM on March 27

If you want it a little sweeter, add some simple syrup (2 cups sugar, 1 cup water, heat and stir to dissolve, let cool). You can infuse the syrup with orange, lemon or lime zest if you want to give it a little more flavor. Once you've made it it'll keep for quite a while.
posted by Atom12 at 6:10 AM on March 27

I agree that some sort of citrus addition might really sparkle things up -- maybe a lemon twist or an orange twist. Or an orange wedge, which would add orange oils and also a squeeze of sweetness.

The ex-bartender in me does love it when a cocktail's name also rings a bell on the ingredients ("Slow Comfortable Screw" is a perfect example). But I agree that "Tequila Cringe" sounds scary, instead of refreshing and fruity.

How about "Agave Fresca"? It would be a play on the phrase agua fresca, which literally translates to "fresh water" and is the generic name for a traditional Mexican fruit beverage made with any kind of fruit, water and ice. So, you'd get the Spanish name, the homage to a cooling fruity beverage, and the pun of the agua/agave.
posted by pineapple at 6:46 AM on March 27

Heh, these are great, keep em coming. I like Beagle's angle of New England and Mexico, hadn't occurred to me.

Cranberries being a New England thing -- the Cranberry Bog? El Nuevo Ingles? New England Gringo? No Sex on This Beach (puritans here, you know)? The Fallen Puritan?

Methinks there is potential there . . .
posted by jeremias at 6:55 AM on March 27

What about a play on the "this could've been a Shirley Temple" thought? [With possible apologies to Stone Temple Pilots; there was a rumour running around once upon a time that this was the original band name]: Shirley Temple's Pussy
posted by tigerjade at 7:00 AM on March 27

Add the grenadine and call it a Shirley Tempest?
posted by CiaoMela at 7:00 AM on March 27 [1 favorite]

Cocktails that contain both cranberry juice and ginger ale are often improved with the addition of orange or apple juice; with orange you would have a variation on a tequila sunrise, which is a tried and true recipe. There is a drink at Masa in Boston than uses both orange and apple juice, along with a bit of lime juice, to make a tequila cocktail, and apparently it is delicious.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:09 AM on March 27

I like Tequila Mockingbird
Nantucket Hat Dance
Cape Cod Senorita
Sounds good; definitely a lime wedge and try a garnish of cilantro.
posted by theora55 at 7:19 AM on March 27

The Plymouth Pueblo.
posted by Dizzy at 7:31 AM on March 27

The Chatham Chimichanga.
posted by Dizzy at 7:32 AM on March 27

The Baja Bogwater.
posted by Dizzy at 7:34 AM on March 27

The Tijuana Temple.
posted by Dizzy at 7:34 AM on March 27

varietal on the Shirley Temple, but an evil one

Evil Shirley is a great name.
posted by iconomy at 7:52 AM on March 27

Shirley Templo (Spanish for "temple")

Señorita Shirley
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 8:21 AM on March 27

Make sure you check the Webtender to see if some other crazy person has already come up with your drink!
posted by Aquaman at 8:24 AM on March 27

In refernce to how you will feel the next day after 6 to 20 of these drinks:
The Surley Temple
posted by Grither at 8:26 AM on March 27

Hahaha...except move the 'e' in 'surley' up to where in belongs in 'refernce'.
posted by Grither at 8:27 AM on March 27

I have nothing to contribute, but am rooting heavily for Ciaomela's Shirley Tempest.
posted by thebellafonte at 8:37 AM on March 27

Especially if you serve it in a teapot.
posted by kittyprecious at 8:56 AM on March 27

Sunburnt cape codder?

How about a splash of triple sec, fresh crushed ginger and a cherry?
posted by adamkolson at 9:01 AM on March 27

Garnish with crystallized ginger and lemon (or orange or lime) zest.

Ginger Gringa

Rio Spray

Ojo Rojo

Connecticut Yanqui
posted by breezeway at 9:35 AM on March 27

You want to add an aromatic of some sort, and I'll go along with the citrus plan from everybody above. Maybe a little juice (lime, maybe?), maybe a twist/wedge/peel, maybe triple sec if you need to sweeten things up.

BTW, another tasty/odd cranberry combination is bourbon/cranberry.
posted by madmethods at 10:51 AM on March 27

CRiTIQ-ALE (critical?)
posted by furtive at 11:20 AM on March 27

Tijuana Shirley
posted by platinum at 12:36 PM on March 27

varietal on the Shirley Temple, but an evil one

Drew Barrymore
posted by Bigfoot Mandala at 4:48 PM on March 27 [1 favorite]

I have been trying to get a drink named "The Slutty Butterfly" for FOREVER. If this was the beverage to finally do it, I'd be willing to donate the title, in the name of science, of course. Or maybe the slutty butterfly is more of a chardonnay-ice-cube-blue-curacao kind of combo?
posted by Bibliogeek at 6:06 PM on March 27

this is the most fun i've had reading a thread for a while, y'all are great. I have to sit back and let it all sink in, so much good stuff here . . .
posted by jeremias at 7:07 PM on March 27

For once my answer to everything might be useful:Tequila Anejo. Not anything good obviously, but Cuervo Black or something a smidge nicer might counterbalance the sweetness with a bit of smokiness.
posted by piedmont at 8:04 PM on March 27

It's a little unwieldy, but..."Don't call me Shirley".
posted by madmethods at 8:58 PM on March 27

Shirley Tempest is such a great name, I don't know though if it captures the true essence of the ingredients. The unsweetened cranberry juice is the key ingredient here since regular cranberry juice usually has way too much sugar or corn syrup actually. Using the unsweetened cranberry juice allows you to counterbalance with other sweet stuff, ginger ale, grenadine.

Another thought, (and at this point I think I'm talking out loud here). You know how sometimes people call a shirley temple a "roy rogers"? What if I called this drink the Roy Rickroll, because you expeect it to be the Roy Rogers but when you drink it . . . Doh!
posted by jeremias at 7:49 AM on March 28

I'm not sure why, but I like the suggestion of "The Fallen Puritan."
posted by epersonae at 9:30 AM on March 28

The Rita Hayworth.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:17 AM on March 28