Can you make black tater tots with squid ink? 100%. How do they taste? Actually, not too bad. Check out my recipe below.

On this date in 1970, the last tot of rum was issued to the sailors of the British Royal Navy. This day was known as Black Tot Day. It ended a nearly 325 year tradition of providing a ration of rum every day to sailors.

This was a dark day for sailors but is probably a necessary evil. Rum was issued as a source of water and even calories. Hundreds of years ago, it was tough to travel with potable water. It would spoil and could grow algae, YUCK! Prior to the start of issuing rum, sailors were provided with beer. As much as a gallon a day. That’s a lot of beer. Rum was more compact and with the exploration of the West Indies, plentiful.

Enter Admiral Edward Vernon who in 1740 decided that all this rum was making the sailors unproductive and even unsafe. He ordered to cut the ration with water, 4:1. Sailors, not happy about this, could exchange their bread and salt ration for limes and sugar. Mix that with the diluted rum and you have what the sailors called grog. This was one of the first cocktails.

Why was it called Grog? Admiral Vernon wore a weather-proof coat made of a fabric called grogram. Sailors, who were bitter about their new diluted rum, called their impromptu cocktail after the man that necessitated it.

1970 rolls around and the modern Royal Navy says this is a thing of that past. The House of Commons votes to stop the tradition and on July 31st, 1970 they stopped issuing rum. This day was called Black Tot Day.

50 years later in 2020 we are still talking about this event. Nick Drinks wanted to mark the occasion with an epic black tot. Tater Tots made with squid ink.

Squid ink is a natural food coloring that makes its way into pasta, bread and even ice cream. It tastes slightly like sea water and is bit salty. A little goes a long way and my two soy packet sized containers were enough to dye 2 lbs of potatoes.

Tonight, raise up your glass to the brave sailors around the world. Pick your favor rum, make some grog and honor the tradition of Black Tot Day. Cheers.

Black Tater Tots

• 2 lbs Russet Potatoes, peeled
• 2x 0.14oz packets of Cuttlefish Ink
• 1.5 tablespoons of all purpose flour
• Seasonings of your choice (I used garlic & onion powder as well as dried dill)
• Kosher Salt to taste
• Neutral oil for deep frying

Peel the potatoes and shred them with a box grader into a towel lined bowl. Gather the towel into a bundle and wring out the extra liquid over a sink.

Put all your ingredients into a bowl and mix. I used gloved hands as not to dye myself. You are looking for a consistency that will hold it’s shape when pressed into a ball. Add a bit more flour if it’s not sticking.

Form into tater tot shapes. I did this by rolling them into a small ball then squeezing into a log. Place on a plate.

Fry immediately at 350° until most of the bubbles have stopped. Make sure you are doing this in a well lit kitchen as the dark tots are hard to see when they are getting crispy.

Alternatively, you can refrigerate overnight and they should keep their shape a bit better when frying.

Grog

• 1oz Dark Rum
• 1oz Fresh Lime Juice
• 1oz Demerara Simple Syrup (1:1)
• 4oz Cold Water

Add all the ingredients into an iced shaker and shake. Strain into a copper or stone mug filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wedge.

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While out of work, Seth’s character is scene drinking something out of a bag in his freezer marked “Tequila”. Its is brief and if you blink you will miss it. As a hard hitting beverage blogger, I zoomed in on this scene and this scene alone. I recreated the “Tequila Bag Cocktail”.

The cocktail is a simple margarita shaken and strained into a plastic bag. This particular photo shows three servings in the bag. Enjoying it straight from the freezer has a lot of bonuses including the extremely cold and lightly frozen texture. While the vessel isn’t that appealing, the taste does help.

Tequila Bag Cocktail

• 2oz Blanco Tequila (I used Cabresto)
• 3/4oz Fresh Lime Juice
• 3/4oz Triple Sec or Cointreau
• Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass or plastic storage bag
• Garnish with a windbreaker purchased from your local thrift shop.

The post Long Shot Movie Cocktail & Review appeared first on Nick Drinks.

I had a little fun creating a tiki cocktail based off of the 2015 Super Bowl Half-Time Show this past Sunday. The big takeaway seemed to be the dancing sharks. My wife (her site can be found at  http://www.lishdorset.com) whipped up a framed embroidered cloth shark. For the drink, I thought tropical was the way to go and started with my bustiest tiki mug. From there we augmented it with a shooting star (a.k.a. firework) and top with your drink.

The More You Know

– 2 oz dark rum
– 1 oz Over-proof white rum
– 1 oz pear liqueur (I used Xante)
– 1 oz orgeat syrup
– 1/2 oz lime juice
– 1 bottle of pear cider (a.k.a. Perry…get it)
– 4 pieces of pineapple

Muddle the pineapple in the bottom of a shaker, add everything except the pear cider then shake with ice. Fill the tiki mug with crushed ice and add the mixed drink then top with the pear cider.

I hope you enjoy the drink.

Budmo!

The post The More You Know Cocktail appeared first on Nick Drinks.

With Halloween over, the humble Jack-O-Lantern is out of work until next year. This simple drink is a great take on an old fashioned.

Unemployed Jack-O-Lantern

– 2 Ounces Bourbon. (I used Two James Grass Widow)
– 1/2 Ounce Pumpkin Syrup*
– 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
– Spritz of Orange Peel

– Stir the bitters, bourbon and syrup with ice and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Top with a spritz of orange oil from a piece of peel.

*Pumpkin Syrup – Make your simple syrup as usual; 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar then boil and stir until clear. However, add 3 tablespoons of pumpkin puree just as the sugar melts. Stir everything until dissolved. I’m a fan of Libby’s for the pumpkin puree since you can find it everywhere. The bonus with them is it’s literally just pumpkin. I was eating it out of the can.

There are so many great pumpkin beers why not extend their life past Halloween with this refreshing cocktail.

Harvest Bubbles

– 1.5 ounces Cinnamon Liqueur (I used Fireball Whisky)
– 1/2 ounce Fresh Orange Juice
– 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
– Top with Pumpkin Beer (I used Griffin Claw’s Screamin’ Pumpkin)
– Garnish with Cinnamon Stick and Orange Peel

– Shake the juice, bitters and liqueur with ice and strain into a tall glass. Top with beer and garnish.

Egg Nog is heavy stuff but you can make it a bit lighter if you opt out of the yolks. While not technically a nog, it still is a tasty drink for a party.

Autumn Nog

– 1.5 Cups Pumpkin/Dairy Base*
– 2 Ounces Bourbon (again, I used Two James)
– 2 egg whites, whipped to soft peaks
– Top with fresh ground nutmeg

– Mix the bourbon  and base in a large bowl. Then gently fold in the egg whites. Dish this into a small bowl and you have enough for 4 servings. Scale as necessary.

* Pumpkin/Dairy Base – I wanted to experiment with Evaporated Milk (which happened to be Nestle). I warmed one can of it in a pot and added 3 tablespoons of pumpkin puree and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Warm this for about 10 minutes then chill for at least 2 hours. Evaporated Milk has a crazy long shelf life so this is good for days if not weeks.

Nick Drinks wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving and I hope a one of these drinks makes it to your celebrations.

Budmo!

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