🍓Ozeki Strawberry Nigori 🍶

"With every pour of sake, let's celebrate the now, the new, and the next. For in this liquid poetry, I find the essence of joy"

 Long time no alcohol post! I dunno why or when I just stopped sharing them. Especially because I have tried so many fun and yummy drinks and, somehow I just never shared them around here. Boo!

Nihonshu is defo one of my all-time favorite things to drink, no matter the presentation. There is something so nostalgic and comforting about it and, since not long ago I received this beautiful Ozeki Strawberry Nigori, I thought it'd be the perfect way to bring back these drink posts. Hehe.

Let's start with, what's Nigori. I'm no expert here but I did some reading and, I'm love with the whole process. Nigori is sake that is only coarsely filtered, so there's a little bit of fine rice solids still left in there, that's why it's slightly sweet, cloudy and creamy. It comes in different types, from lightly cloudy to thicker ones.

It goes well with spicy Asian food, creamy desserts, and citrusy flavors. It's suggested to drink chilled and shake before serving.

Until now, I've had only tried the classic, unflavored one and, I love, love, love it. This one, was a very pleasant surprise.

It perfectly combines the creamy and subtle texture of nigori sake with the sweet strawberry flavor. It's funny cuz it has a bit of a sour after taste that makes you feel as if you were really eating strawberries with your sake. 

Look at that beautiful strawberry color!

It contains 9% alcohol, so it is very light, defo lighter than traditional sake and, 4.0 acidity. I loved it cold and paired with some snacks at night. Great way to end my day, honestly.

I think, this (or the natural one) are perfect for those who haven't tried sake yet and kinda want to get started, especially cuz most people feel sake is strong. 

All in all, it is delish! Now I wonder if there are other falvored nigori out there cuz I defo wanna try.

I'll try to share more of my fav drinks or just fun finds in the future. But, that's it for now~

See you next time and, 乾杯~!💋

🍷 Gato Negro Rosé Limited Edition

“Uh-oh, out of alcohol. Better call wine-one-one.”

I've been trying and drinking different things lately but I forget to share them around here most of the time. A while ago, when I tried the Gato Negro Cavernet Sauvignon, I said I wanted to try their rose wine too. It took me forever but, I finally did it.

I'll mention the presentation first because... it is just too pretty! The Gato Negro bottles are usually pretty but, every now and then, they have special limited edition designs that I really like. This one has pink, gold and black details. Very different from the other I tried but, still really cute. I love the cat paw path and its pale pink color. It's puurrrrrfect!

Friendly reminder: I'm no wine expert, in fact, I don't know much about them. I'm just a happy drinker so, most of the information I'll share about the wine comes from the internet, hehe. With that being said, let's continue.

It is a Chilean wine described as: "aromatically complex, of noble personality and with pleasant freshness that does not tire the palate"

It's made with rosé grapes which have a sweet aroma and delicious flavor, it also has cranberry notes. It goes well with salmon, quiches and spicy foods but, I'd say you can just drink it with whatever you want, just like I do, hehe. And, it's better if you drink it cold.

It contains 12% alcohol, it's not as sweet as other rose wines I've tried, you can defo taste the cranberry. It's not bad tho, just not what I expected. 

I think this is it for this wine post, let me know what kind of wine is your fav?

I'll see you next time~ ♡

Cheers ♡

Kook Soon Dang Banana Makgeolli 🍌

Even tho I love kdrama, I'm not that familiar with korean food and drinks other than snacks and soju but, I've alway been curious about makgeolli. Not long ago I went to a small Asian Market (mostly focused on Korean food) that also happened to have a Korean restaurant and I finally got the chance to try makgeolli. 

Makgeolli is another type of rice wine, it contains 80% water and 4–8% alcohol, it's unfiltered and has high levels of lactobacillus bacteria, which makes it a nutricious drink. 

This sparkling wine has a slight milky color and a chalky texture to it. To me it's like a mix of Yakult or calpis and alcohol, hehe.  

I knew there was a natural makgeolli but we found that they also have flavored makgeolli too. The ones I saw were banana, peach and grape. 

I only tried peach and babana, they were both fresh, slightly sweet and really easy to drink. 

Surpisingly, my favorite out of those 2 was banana. I don't like babanas but I love the artificial banana flavor and that is how this one tastes like. Like an alcohol version of the korean banana milk with less sugar and a little bitter. I still wanna try the natural and grape ones too.

The price difference between the can and the bottle wasn't much so, I decided to get the bottle.

The bottle comes with 750ml and, in my opinion, it wasn't expensive at all. It comes in a platic bottle with a very simple yet nice presentation. Nothing too fancy. This one has 4% alcohol, like I said, it's very easy to drink. 

You're supposed to drink it cold, I don't think it'd taste that great at room temperature tho and you gotta shake it a little before drinking because it has chalky sediments. 

I feel like this drink might not be for everyone but it's definitely an experience, too many textures and flavors in one (if that makes any sense). I really, liked it and I'd say you should try it at least once if you have the chance. 

🍷 Gato Negro - Cavernet Sauvignon Limited Edition

 

"Wine a little and you'll feel better"

Here comes another wine post! It's funny cuz I only wanted to get this wine because of the name and the bottle, you know... crazy cat lady.

Gato Negro Cavernet Sauvignon is a Chilean red wine that has notes of strawberry, chocolate and a hint of vanilla, according to its information. It's very fresh and they say it goes well with red meat and cheese. 

Like I mentioned in my previous wine post, I tend to ignore this and just have it with whatever I crave at that moment.

I got an special edition bottle because it was too pretty! It has all these colorful flower details that other bottles don't have. 

It contains 13% alcohol and even tho it wasn't exactly sweet, it was nice and easy to drink.

This wine is surprisingly cheap! And when I got it they had a 2x1 kind of thing so I had the chance to have it as it is, at room temperature and also with soda. Yup, with soda. Mom and I mixed it with Yoli, a lemon soda she really likes, to make an easy-homemade sangria type of thing. It wans't bad! It was actually pretty refreshing. I just thought it needed more wine cuz we only used 1 bottle.

I've mostly seen red wine but, looking online I saw they also have Rose wine. I defo want to try that one next.

🍷 Blanc de Zindafel - L.A. Cetto

"If a glass of wine is good for you, imagine what a bottle can do"

 I was never a wine person, my go to drinks were always Sake (which I know, it's also wine) and beer. But lately, I've been really into it too, specially into Rose Wine.

I'm not expert here and I've only tried a couple but I thought it'd be nice to share some of them every now and then as I try new ones.

I feel like I say this constantly but, remember I'm just a happy drinker so, most information about the wine will be from researching online plus, my personal opinion based on what I like.

Today we have the Blanc de Zindafel - L.A. Cetto which is a beautiful rose wine, it's color is more like a coral pink. From what I read, it's origin is from Croatia but it was made in Mexico. It goes well with Oriental food, slightly spiced food and even dessert. I honestly had it even with snacks... hehe. (I'm not a fancy lady when it comes to drinking wine...)

It has a "fruity aroma" that includes peach, apple and strawberry notes. The taste is also slightly sweet, which I really liked. 

It has 11.5% alcohol and, to me, it was really nice and friendly to drink. I usually have my wine cold, even if you're not supposed to have all of them like that. I know that's how you're supposed to drink Rose Wine tho.

Anyway, this is what I've been drinkin lately~ Let me know if you'd like to read more post like this one (hopefully I'll become better at this, haha).

Night Snack~

 

I've been eating a lot lately and, I can't blame the Holidays for it, haha. I love night snacks, especially midnight snacks which, I know, they aren't exactly the healthiest. 

Today I wanna share a super simple snack that I really, really liked and made me feel a little fancy in a way. Plus, it's pretty because of the colors, hehehe. Am I sharing it because it was cute to look at? Maybe! But who cares? It was still pretty yummy.

I'm gonna start with the drink. Y'all know I love my sake, but I wanted to try doing something different with it. I started looking for options online to mix with it. I chose Lipton Green Tea because it was easy to find. 

The thing here was to pour cold sake to your liking and then mix it with the green tea. I added some ice and... done! It was surprisingly good and really refreshing! 

I had my sake with a few crackers (more than what you see on pics) with the prettiest goat cheese ever on top.

Extra Special Goat Cheese with blue cranberry, Mom bought it at walmart. It's very creamy and slightly sweet. Like eating a cheescake! The cheese has this type of jam as you reach the middle. I haven't tried it yet. It doesn't show much.

Crackers gave me a hard time, they break so easily!

It's purple! ♡

I think it is my first time trying goat chesse and I quite liked it. At least this one with the cranberries, I could obsess! If you haven't tried it yet, I defo recommend it!!

I'm curious to see what else can I eat it with... any idea?

So, there you have it. A super fast and yummy snack I've been enjoying lately.

x

Hot Choco Bombs with a twist!

I recieved Chocolate Bombs from Chez Moi Reposteria, proudly made by my friend Jonathan. I've been obssessing with these cute bombs since I tried them earlier this month. 

If you havent tried choco bombs yet, I have a post dedicated to them and the whole experience, hehe.

Let's talk about these bombs first:

The 4 balls came in a cute, pink box 

They came in two different, festive colors...

Red and silver

Green and gold

The four balls are made of dark chocolate and filled with colorful marshmallows. They were really good!

This time I wanted to give a little twist to this drink, keeping it seasonal. I still had some eggnog and decided to add some to the hot chocolate to spice it up a little. Hehe.

To make this you just need milk, a choco bomb and some eggnog.

Prep your mug...

...add the hot milk and enjoy how pretty this is!

Pour eggnog to your liking and stir to mix everything

And, there you have it! The mix of the chocolate with the hint of alcohol is pretty good. It's super easy to make, it's festive, pretty and perfect for this cold weather.

Cheers!!

Favorite seasonal drink: Eggnog!

 Do you have a favorite drink this season? Mine is defo eggnog.

Eggnog is also known as "milk punch" and it's a milk based drink that also includes cream, sugar, wipped egg whites and yolks, vanilla and one or more alcoholic goodies like rum, brandy or bourbon.

It is a super thick(?) and heavy drink that is perfect to drink in the cold, winter weather. You can drink it cold or hot, both ways is really good.

The one I usually drink is from Costco, lol. Mom and I love it! But I've tried some homemade ones that are as good!

This eggnog from Kirkland comes with 1.75lts, it's huge! It has 14.75% alcohol including whisky, spiced rum, brandy along with french vanilla.

If you haven't tried it, I suggest you to do it! It'll make you happy, haha. Winter is not the same without eggnog, no joke.

Let me know what seasonal drinks you enjoy the most, share recipes and places to buy them! I love to try seasonal stuff, hehe.

Mon's Kitchen: Bailey's Affogato

Coffee and ice cream, two of my favorite things in this world~ ♡

Bailey's recently came out with new ice cream and popsicles (at least I think they are kinda new...), I bought their ice cream because I tried Haagen Dazs' a long time ago and I loved it.
I have to admit that this one wasn't exactly my favorite so I decided to make affogato with it and it was totally worth it. I enjoyed it a lot more than eating the ice cream alone.

For those who don't know what Affogato is, it's an Italian coffee based dessert. Pretty much ice cream topped with hot coffee. It's something super simple, yet delicious.
Once the ice cream melts, it gives a creamy texture to your coffee, along with sweet foam. The combination is just too good!!
I just think they serve a lot less coffee when they make real affogato, my version has a full cup because, I love coffee.

I couldn't picture the ice cream before melting because, it happened
way too fast, hehe

For my affogato, I used the Starbucks house blend americano by Nescafé Dolce Gusto. This one was not espresso but, is one of the stongest they have.

I've had vanilla and chocolate affogato before but the Bailey's ice cream gives it a liquorish taste without having any alcohol. Perfect for those who don't or can't drink alcohol.

This is a super easy to make drink/dessert I've been enjoying lately. The fun thing is, you can make it using your favorite ice cream, as long as it's milk based. (I think).

I kinda want to try with choco-mint ice cream now~~~~