I love a good happy hour. An excuse for afternoon cocktails? Bring. It. On.
But sometimes the only place I want to go at the end of the day is home. Welcome to Homemade Happy Hour!
What is Homemade Happy Hour?
Simple recipes with easy to find ingredients so you can make your own craft cocktails and enjoy all the deliciousness of happy hour from the comfort of your own home.
My recipes are designed to take the intimidation factor out of cocktails. I use fresh fruits and herbs, syrups you can make from pantry ingredients, and liquors you can find at your local store.
Cheers, Friends!
So what are we drinking this evening? Whether you're not sure what you want or looking to change up your usual happy hour pick, I'm here to help.
Here are some of my recent cocktail recipes:
Homemade Happy Hour is now a book!
"What else do you want to do - beyond the blog?" A friend posed this question to me and I instantly knew the answer. But I didn't want to say it out loud. Because it felt like a how-are-you-ever-going-to-do-that?! kind of idea.
The answer was a cocktail book. I really wanted to take Homemade Happy Hour offline. I wanted it to sit on people's bar carts and get lime juice splashed on it. I wanted Homemade Happy Hour be a printed book full of easy, delicious recipes, each with its own photo so you'd know exactly what you're making.
When I was furloughed from my job during the Covid-19 pandemic, I knew what I would have time to do - work on a book. And so I did. For 3 months straight, I did nothing but keep my daughter in snacks and work on my book.
Published in October 2020, Homemade Happy Hour (the book!) features 18 cocktail recipes and 5 cocktail syrup recipes, plus tips and information on building your own home bar, and an ingredient checklist for easy shopping - all laid out with beautiful photography.
It's available as a digital download, formatted for Kindle, or in paperback. If you want to read more about the process, you can do that here.
My Cocktail Recipe Testing Ground
Do you have a favorite social media channel? Mine's Instagram. It's my go-to place for sharing what's in my cocktail glass in real time, especially my Insta Stories. I love sharing whatever creation I'm testing at the moment - with measurements - or link you to a great mixologist whose recipes I'm enjoying.
All my cocktail recipes from Insta Stories are saved as a highlight on my profile. Look for the "Drink Recipes" highlight if you want some new cocktail ideas and recipes. And if you make one, please tag me! I love seeing what recipes people are enjoying.