The Mandatory Easy Guide to Making Quarantine Cocktails With What’s in Your Fridge
If you’re like most of us, you made a run or two at your local grocery store before settling into your home isolation (or you’re a hero and you’re still working). You likely stocked up on toilet paper, paper towels, bread, meat, canned goods, and frozen vegetables. You know, the necessities. Maybe you even bought some whiskey, wine, or beer to help make your quarantine a little bit calmer and more tranquil. But, in all the shuffling of schedules and figuring out when you were going to shut out the world and stay in your home, you probably forgot to buy anything to mix with your whiskey, gin, tequila, or vodka. Or, if you did, a week or so at home has depleted your supplies to sugar-free Kool-Aid or Tab. You’re in serious need of a little pick-me-up and the thought of drinking a glass of gin straight seems about as fun as drinking a warm cup of salt water.
Fear not, we’re here to help. There are many random things lurking in your fridge and pantry that can be mixed with your favorite liquor to create a reasonably palatable cocktail. Check them all out below.
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Beef Bouillon
If you bought beef bouillon to make soup or gravy while stuck in your home, it can actually be used to make a cocktail called Creole that also includes rum, lemon juice, and Tabasco sauce. It’s a savory and spicy drink similar to a bloody mary.
Butter
Did you buy way more butter than you could possibly need? Well, use it to make hot buttered rum while the weather is still chilly and dreary. The easiest way to make it is to add rum and sugar to a mug, add hot water and butter, then stir.
Chocolate Milk
Did chocolate milk somehow become one of the essential drinks to stock up on? Well, if you find yourself with some extra chocolate milk, mix it with Irish cream to make a boozy, Irish chocolate milk.
Pickle Juice
In the last decade, a cocktail called the pickleback has gained notoriety. Literally consisting of a shot of whiskey followed by a shot of pickle juice, the drink could probably get you in a lot of trouble (and end in a nap) if enjoyed too often at home.
Orange Juice
Save some of that orange juice that you’ve been enjoying with breakfast to mix with vodka to make a simple, classic screwdriver. Or combine it with tequila and grenadine to make the Rolling Stones’ favorite drink: the tequila sunrise.
Tomato Juice
This one should be pretty obvious. If you have hot sauce, vodka, and tomato juice, you can make the simplest version of a bloody mary. Add some horseradish and spices and you might forget the world outside is collapsing upon itself.
Sugar
So, you bought sugar because you plan on making a bunch of baked goods while you ride this thing out? Well, on a stove, heat 1 part sugar with 1 part water until it becomes a syrup. Add that and bitters to your favorite whiskey to make an easy old-fashioned.
Creamer
Instead of wasting that extra creamer on your coffee, mix it with Kahlua and vodka to create “The Dude’s” favorite cocktail, the white Russian.
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Help Prevent the Spread of the Coronavirus
Visit the Centers for Disease Control at CDC.gov or the World Health Organization at Who.int for the latest information on the coronavirus and learn what you can do to stop the spread.
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