Sunshine Farm Sombrero

Mainers consume more Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy than the residents of any other state (including Massachusetts, where it's made). So it's a good mixer to have on hand for the sweet coffee flavor it imparts to a host of drinks. Here in the Pine Tree State, the Allen's cocktail of choice is the sombrero, mixed from equal parts Allen's and cow's milk.

During a recent party at Sunshine Farm, we gave the classic a new dairy-free twist. It happened because my parents don't keep cow's milk in the house. So when a guest asked me for milk to mix with Allens, I offered up hemp or rice milk. Hemp proved best and the Sunshine Farm Sombrero was born.

Just last week, I picked up a half pint of the tasty and budget-friendly Allen's to use in this photo shoot for the cover of The Maine Switch. After photographer Shawn Patrick Ouellette worked his magic, I took the Allen's home and mixed two Sunshine Farm Sombreros.

The tall, cool drink is perfect on a muggy day, when the icy liquid envelopes and cools. A slightly creamy texture makes it reminiscent of a coffee milkshake. And on a recent (and this summer all too rare) hot summer night it proved a welcome refreshment to enjoy in the shady confines of my downtown courtyard.

Sunshine Farm Sombrero

3 oz. Allen's Coffee Flavored Brandy
5 oz. hemp milk

Shake and pour over ice. Serve. Sip. Relax. It's that simple.

Drinking the taste of Christmas

I recently asked Switch readers for their favorite holiday recipes, and the best of the bunch were selected for a story featuring cocktail party recipes in the current edition of the magazine. As we were putting the story together, my editor asked me to submit one of my own recipes.

I knew I wanted to do a cocktail recipe, but which one? I love Bloody Marys at this time of year (as anyone who was at our Halloween party probably figured out), but that's not very original. For my dad's big 60th birthday bash last year, I had the bartender mix up Candy Canes (made from peppermint schnapps, creme de cacao and 7-Up) which were a huge hit. But I was never quite happy with them because of the high fructose corn syrup in the 7-Up, so I didn't want to go that route. I'm also a fan of Cape Cods during the holidays, but, again, that seemed pretty boring.

The solution: get out my cocktail shaker and start experimenting. At first I was pretty fixated on using brandy, because of its traditional association with Christmas and because I have a great bottle of Cognac in the bar. I also knew I wanted to do something with cranberries, since I have a stock of fresh Maine cranberries. But all my experiements with the brandy proved too sweet.

That's when I spotted the bottle of gin winking at me from the shelf. Now, normally I'm not a huge gin fan. This can all be blamed on the fact that as kids my cousins and I used to sample the juniper berries each fall, when the dusty blue fruits appeared on the low-lying shrubs in the horse pasture. These taste tests always ended with us spitting the berries out in disgust. Fast forward a few years, and I was completely floored the first time I tasted a gin and tonic and realized that gin tastes exactly like juniper berries (obviously not a shocker to anyone who knows that gin is flavored with juniper berries).

But as a standin for the piney scent of balsam that infuses most of my Christmas memories, I knew gin was what I needed. I mixed it with a combination of sweet, sour, tart and salty tastes and came up with a drink that captures the flavors of the season.

Cranberry Christmas

3 oz. unsweetened cranberry juice
1 oz. gin
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
1/2 oz. creme de cacao
1/2 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice (about 1/2 a lime)
2 oz. water
pinch of sea salt
lime wedge
fresh cranberries, sliced

Add cranberry juice, gin, Grand Marnier, creme de cocao, lime juice, water and sea salt to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake. Strain into a margarita or other cocktail glass. Slice cranberries into disks. Float a handful on the surface of the drink. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Citrus fresh

When the heat of summer is pressing into my kitchen, I always welcome a refreshing apéritif to sip as I make dinner. The last few nights I've been blessed with the double luxury of organic lemons and organic lemonade on hand. The result has been a sweet-tart lemon drop.

The drink can be taken in a number of directions. We've tossed in a little fresh squeezed lime juice and garnished with frozen raspberries. However it's mixed, it always helps me keep my cool.

Lemon Drop

6 oz. organic lemonade
2 oz. limoncello
1 lemon, juiced

Shake in cocktail shaker with ice. Strain and pour into martini or old fashioned glass. Garnish with lemon slice. Serves 2.

OPTIONAL: add the juice of 1/2 a lemon and 1/2 a lime (instead of a whole lemon); garnish with 1/4 cup frozen raspberries or 1/4 cup fresh blueberries.

Retirement sunshine

I'm raising a cyber toast to my dad, who officially retired on Friday after more than 30 years leading engineering and building firms in Maine.


Check out the bottle he's holding, it contains "Retire-mints." (Isn't that a clever gift? Wish I could take credit for it!) He's looking forward to having more time to devote to his hobbies, his favorite charities and his golf swing. A big congratulations Dad!


Adam and I traveled up to Sunshine Farm for the weekend to help celebrate. On Saturday, a few relatives who live nearby came over for a cookout. The meal included my dad's favorite foods: Red hot dogs, B&M Baked Beans and corn on the cob. For dessert we ate the always crowd pleasing vegan chocolate cake from Whole Foods. The fudgey frosting and apricot jam layer never fail to score high marks.


Since it was so warm and muggy, I knew it was time to break out the rum. That morning I'd picked a cup of wild blueberries from the bush that is much older than I am and growing near the Honeymoon Cottage. I let these intense beauties inspire the cocktail.


Luckily I'd brought along a few organic lemons, which always lighten up any summer drink. The result is a perky balance between sweet and sour - perfect for a long afternoon of relaxing in the sunshine. Even for those of us who aren't retired.


Blueberry Sunshine

1 organic lemon
3 oz. rum
2 oz. Maine maple syrup
4 tsp. wild Maine blueberries
4 springs lemon balm

Cut two wedges from the lemon and then juice it. Split the lemon juice between two old fashioned glasses. Then add a spring of lemon balm and 1 tsp. of blueberries to each glass. Muddle for 2-3 seconds. Add the rum and maple syrup to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and then split the mixture between the two glasses. Add the ice from the cocktail shaker to the glasses (you'll need to add a few more fresh cubes to fill each glass). Garnish with a lemon wedge, 1 tsp. of blueberries and a spring of lemon balm. Makes 2.

Seeing red

With sweltering summer heat spreading over Maine today, it's the perfect time to sip a fruity drink. Here's a martini that combines two of my favorite red fruits: raspberries and pomegranates.

Pomraztini

3 oz. organic pomegranate juice
1 oz. Cold River Vodka
1 oz. pomegranate liqueur
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
4 frozen raspberries

Combine ingredients with ice in cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with raspberries.

My weekend crush

I made my first sojourn of the season up to Sunshine Farm this weekend for my uncle's 50th birthday celebration. It was a wonderful party, and it was such fun to see so many of my relatives. My uncle looked great, and I can't believe how quickly my little cousins are growing up!

Before I left, I grabbed a handful of lemon balm from one of my mother's herb gardens. This member of the mint family has to be one of my all-time favorite herbs. Lemon balm's smell is heavenly and its flavor is the essence of summer. We often use it in iced teas and you can rub it on your skin to keep mosquitoes away. Because I was headed back to the city, I tucked it in my bag knowing it would be the perfect addition to a cocktail.

I used an organic Santa Cruz tangerine soda as a mixer, but freshly squeezed lemon would work well too.

Lemon balm crush

2 sprigs lemon balm
1 Tbsp. Maine maple syrup
1 oz. Cointreau
1 oz. rum
1/2 of a can of organic citrus soda
ice

Add one sprig lemon balm and maple syrup to glass. Muddle the lemon balm briefly. Add the Cointreau, rum and soda and stir. Fill glass with ice and garnish with the remaining sprig of lemon balm. Enjoy!

Dirty cheater martini

I love olives, so it's no surprise I'm a big fan of dirty martinis. But since I'm a notorious lightweight, I try to limit myself to one (two if I must), and I tend to make them a little less powerful than most. When I mixed this one the other night, I didn't want to open a bottle of vermouth, so I cheated.

Dirty cheater martini

1 1/2 oz. Cold River Vodka
1 oz. Divina olive brine
1 oz. Stirrings Spanish olive brine
3 Divina green olives stuffed with sweet peppers

Combine liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with olives.

This weekend's cocktail of choice

Maine Mochatini

Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, we actually started mixing these up last weekend during Earth Hour. They were so amazingly yummy we had to make some more last night.

1 oz. Cold River Vodka

1 oz. Creme de Cocao

2 oz. chilled organic coffee

1/2 tsp. Madagascar bourbon pure vanilla extract

1/2 oz. Maine maple syrup

3-5 dark chocolate covered coffee beans 

Mix with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a martini glass. Add the chocolate covered coffee beans. Enjoy!