Aguas Frescas

This and other similar fruit drinks, which translate literally as "fresh water," are served all over Mexico and they're a cinch to make at home. The key is to strain the pulpy fruit to make a clearer liquid. You can use strawberries, pineapple, or mango -- any fruit that is soft enough to puree. Basically its lemonade but made with other fruits. Simple & refreshing!

Aguas Frescas
3 cups of Fruit Puree or Juice
1 1/2 cups water
2 to 4 tablespoons sugar
2 to 3 limes, juiced

Puree fruit and pour through a fine sieve to eliminate pulp. In a pitcher, mix strained fruit puree with water and season with sugar and lime juice. All ingredients can be adjusted to taste. Serve in a Jara or large punch bowl with slices of fruit.

Alma-Rita Cocktail

Hola!
Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off with ALMA awards airing this Friday hosted by Eva Longoria Parker and George Lopez, honorees Salma Hayek and Oscar De La Hoya, as well as a bevy of popular Latino artists including Rita Moreno who will award Ricardo Montalban a posthumous Lifetime Achievement award.This refreshing cocktail is perfect additon to your night of glamour during the Alma Awards.


INGREDIENTS:
1 oz. Tequila*
1 oz. Orange Liqueur*
3 oz. Tropicana Pure Valencia with Mango Juice
Fresh mango slices
Sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:
Rim your margarita glass with sugar. Add some ice to the glass, and shake the tequila, orange liqueur, and Tropicana Pure Valencia Juice in a martini shaker. Pour drink over the ice, and garnish with a slice of mango. Alternatively, you can blend the ice and drink mixture together for a frozen ALMArita!

*Liquor is optional. Simply replace the tequila and orange liqueur with a sparkling citrus beverage, such as Sierra Mist, then mix and enjoy!

Aviation Cocktail

Once you pick up a rare bottle of the Crème de Violette liqueur you'll want to try the Aviation Cocktail as well which became all the rage when man first started to fly at the turn of the century.
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces gin
½ ounce lemon juice
⅓ ounce Maraschino liqueur
⅙ ounce Crème de Violette

DIRECTIONS
Combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake to chill well, then strain into a cocktail glass. Drizzle the Crème de Violette into the glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Blue Moon Cocktail

Hola!
Forty years ago today on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon and let's not forget to give kudos to fellow astronaut Michael Collins who was the command module pilot for Apollo 11.

I started thinking about our fascination with the moon and every moon-related product there is. On this occasion you can relive the moment with the many specials on TV tonight or watch a space related movie such as Apollo 13 with a moon pie in one hand and a Blue Moon Cocktail in the other.

Crème de Violette is an elusive lavender-hued liqueur, with the fleeting taste and aroma of spring violets, from which it's made or so I'm told? This liqueur is so difficult to find I have yet to taste this elixir. If you venture to make this drink let me know how it tastes.

INGREDIENTS
2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce Crème de Violette
1/4 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice, strainedcocktails out of this little bottle

DIRECTIONS
Shake or stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass;
Garnish with a twist of lemon.

Michelada Beer Cocktail

This drink, similar to a Bloody Mary, dates back to the 1940s, when mixing beer with hot sauce became popular in Mexico. The name for this cocktail comes from the slang term for an iced beer, "chela helada". This morphed word - Michelada roughly translates to "my cold beer".

INGREDIENTS
12 oz Mexican Beer (Tecate, Dos Equis or Negro Modelo)
6 oz Clamato® or Tomato Juice
1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
2 dashes Worcestershire® sauce
2 dashes Tabasco® sauce
dash of black coarse pepper
dash of sea salt

DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients ingredients except beer together. Pour clamato mixture in a salt-rimmed margarita or rocks glass with lots of ice, then add beer and top with a lime wedge.