• First trips to Vegas
• Diana Cocktail - Vegas Vesper
• Favorite hotels
• Favorite games
• Sphere
• Shows in Vegas
• Valley of Fire
• Hoover Dam
• Carli make a drink from her last trip?
• Tickets to clubs for college spring breakers
• Movies set in Vegas

We talk about our favorite tailgating experiences while mixing up some of our favorite pre-game drinks. Carli experiments with some suspicious ingredients to make her favorite Bloody Marys. (Spoiler alert - we all survived.) Diana sweetens things up with some sparkly Mimosas and tries a crowd-sourced recipe for Twisted Tea.  

Bloody Mary

Ingredients

• 4 oz Mr & Mrs T® Original Bloody Mary Mix
• 1 oz Vodka
• 1 cup ice
• Celery stalk
• Green olives

Preparation

• Pour vodka over ice in a tall glass
• Add bloody mary mix
• Stir and then add celery stalk and olives to garnish

Mimosa

Ingredients

• Champagne or Prosecco
• Orange Juice

Preparation

• Pour Champagne or Prosecco in a champagne flute
• Add a splash of Orange Juice

Twisted Tea

Ingredients

• Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka
• Sweet Tea
• Torani Syrups in fruit flavors for variations

Preparation

• Add ice to a glass. 
• Fill halfway with Sweet Tea
• Add one shot of Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka. Adjust to taste. 
• Add flavored syrups as desired.
• For a variation, use Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka and Lemonade. 

It’s back to the Bourbon Trail as Carli serves up a Burnt Sugar Old Fashioned while we discuss how to plan a Bourbon Trail Trip. We also share some memories while debating whether to pedal wagon or not to pedal wagon and the races of the Triple Crown. 

Distilleries

• Castle and Key
• Buffalo Trace
• Woodford Reserve
• Rabbit Hole
• Angels Envy
• Four Roses
• Whistle Pig

Burnt Sugar Old Fashioned 

Carli and Diana head to Kentucky to explore the distilleries on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. We start off with the ready-to-pour St. Elmo Old Fashioned and see how it compares to the hand-crafted Woodford Reserve Classic Old Fashioned.   

Distilleries

• Woodford Reserve
• Maker’s Mark
• Bulleit
• Castle and Key
• Buffalo Trace
• Rabbit Hole

Woodford Reserve (WR) Classic Old Fashioned

Ingredients

• 2 oz WR Kentucky Straight Bourbon
• .5 oz Demerara Simple Syrup
• 3 dashes WR Aromatic Bitters
• 2 dashes WR Orange Bitters
• Orange Peel
• Luxardo Maraschino Cherries

Preparation

• Add ingredients to a mixing glass with ice. 
• Stir for 30 - 40 seconds. 
• Strain into a serving glass. 
• Garnish with a lightly expressed orange peel and a luxardo maraschino cherry.

What to do when you’re out of tequila? You make a Vodka Margarita! Carli makes this margarita variation and shares how a little Squirt can make a pool margarita magical. Find out what wins in a taste test of Grand Marnier, Triple Sec, and Cointreau. We end the episode with the best time of year to go to Mexico.  

Vodka Margarita

Ingredients

• 2 oz vodka
• 1 oz grand marnier
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 2 oz frozen limeade
• 1 lime wheel
• Salt for the rim

Preparation

• Wet the rim of a tumbler and dip it into the salt. 
• Place the cocktail ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously. 
• Fill the glass with ice and strain the cocktail into the glass.
• Garnish with the lime wheel.

Our daughters Maddie and Savy join us for a special episode of Cocktails and Carry-ons where we compare the Paloma with the Paloma Mocktail. We talk about mother-daughter trips and get off-topic with the “squirt count”. 

Paloma

Ingredients

• 2 oz blanco tequila
• 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice
• .5 oz fresh lime juice
• Pinch of salt
• 2 - 3 oz grapefruit soda

Preparation

• Fill a tumbler with ice. 
• Place the tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and salt in a glass and then fill to the top with grapefruit soda. 
• Stir and enjoy!

Paloma Mocktail

Ingredients

• 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice
• .5 oz agave syrup
• .5 oz fresh lime juice
• 2 - 3 oz grapefruit soda

Preparation

• Fill a tumbler with ice. 
• Place the grapefruit juice, agave syrup, lime juice, and salt in a glass and then fill to the top with grapefruit soda. 
• Stir and enjoy!

Carli and Diana travel to San Jose Del Cabo and start the trip off right at the pool bar with Papa Doug. The week-long party celebrating Fiesta de San Jose included parades, a downtown art walk, breakfast at the La Comer grocery, and plenty of whale sightings. Diana makes a Coconut Margarita for the group and we discover we prefer sugar over salt. 

Coconut Margarita

Ingredients

• shredded coconut for the rim
• 2 oz tequila
• 1 oz coconut rum
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 oz cream of coconut
• 1 lime wheel

Preparation

• Wet the rim of a tumbler and dip it into the shredded coconut. 
• Place the cocktail ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously. 
• Fill the glass with ice and strain the cocktail into the glass.
• Garnish with the lime wheel.

• Drink: Espresso Martini
• Travel Focus: New York City

Links-

https://centralparkzoo.com/

Saving Wildlife and Wild Places - Central Park Zoo

General information, zoo history, map, education program summary, animal photos and descriptions, and calendar of events. Part of The Wildlife Conservation Society.

https://www.amnh.org/

American Museum of Natural History | New York City

Explore the natural world, and the known universe. Open daily, 10 am–5:30 pm.

https://www.goldroomnyc.com/

The Gold Room | Official Site

Escape to The Gold Room, a timeless oasis of opulence and grandeur waiting for you. Book your table here.

https://www.foodandwine.com/espresso-martini-6826944

The Right Way to Make an Espresso Martini

https://www.metmuseum.org/

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy.

New York City! Carli puts her giant bottle of Grey Goose to work making Dirty Spicy Martinis while she talks about getting the VIP treatment and a $13,000 alligator clutch. We also go crazy about Broadway, The Gold Room and FAO Schwartz.

Dirty and Spicy Martini

Ingredients

• 3 oz Vodka
• .5 oz Olive Juice
• .5 oz Pepperocini juice
• Splash of cholula
• Jalapeno stuffed olive

Preparation

• Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. 
• Shake and pour into a martini glass. 
• Garnish with a jalapeno stuffed olive.

All roads lead to the Frugal McDougal as we travel to Nashville! We discuss concerts with friends and family, Margaritaville with Mama Sue, and the best neighborhoods and restaurants while we make Tennessee Mules and White Lightning Apple Cider. 

Tennessee Mule

Ingredients

• 2 oz Tennessee whisky
• 4 - 6 oz ginger beer
• 1 lime wedge

Preparation

• Flill a highball glass with ice
• Add the whisky
• Top off with ginger beer
• Garnish with lime wedge

White Lightning Apple Cider

Ingredients

• 2 oz Ole Smokey White Lightnin’ Moonshine
• 3 oz cold apple cider
• Lemon juice
• Cinnamon stick

Preparation

• Fill a mason jar or highball glass with ice.
• Pour in the Moonshine.
• Top with apple cider.
• Add a small squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
• Stir well and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Bring the party to you! We plan an unforgettable cocktail party while making some simple classics - gin and tonics and gin gimlets. Set the tone by creating a guest list andt playlist that will keep the fun going. We’ll provide all of the alcohol and mixers so you can craft your ideal cocktail while your friends bring the appetizers to round out the event. 

Gin and Tonic

Ingredients

2 oz gin

4 oz tonic water

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 lime wedge

Preparation

Place ice cubes in a tall, narrow glass. 

Pour gin over ice; add tonic water and lime juice. 

Stir well with a long-necked spoon. 

Garnish with lime wedge.

Gin Gimlet

Ingredients

2.5 oz gin

.75 oz fresh lime juice

.75 oz simple syrup

1 lime wedge

Preparation

Combine gin, lime juice, and simple syrup in an ice-filled cocktail shaker.

Shake vigorously, then strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass. 

Garnish with a lime wedge.

Our visit to Italy concludes with a toast of Limoncello. We talk about traveling with “adult-adjacent” kids, boat tours, The White Lotus, Luca, trips to the Vatican, and booking tours to enhance your experience. We also get into how size matters with “The David” and visiting penis bars. Salute!

The Italian adventures continue with the Hugo Spritz and talk a LOT about food. We talk about food and trips to the Vatican, and booking tours to enhance your experiences. 

Hugo Spritz

Ingredients

• 3 oz (90 ml) Prosecco 
• 1–1.5 oz elderflower liqueur (St Germain) 
• 2 oz soda water
•  6–8 fresh mint leaves (lightly bruised) 
• 1–2 lime wheels (or a small squeeze of lime) 

Preparation

• Chill Prosecco, soda water, and your glass. 
• Pack the glass with ice. 
• Clap mint once to release aroma; tuck leaves among the ice. 
•  Add elderflower liqueur, Prosecco, and top with soda water. 
• Give 1–2 gentle turns with a bar spoon (don’t mash the mint). 
• Garnish with 1–2 lime wheels and a small mint sprig.

Enjoy “Apertivo” in Italy and discover the origin of the Italian Spritz. Our first drink of the season is an Aperol Spritz. Carli talks about the benefits of spontaneous travel booking to Sorrento, Milan, Rome, and Venice while Diana plans months in advance for her trips to Rome, Tuscany, and Sicily. A highlight for both of us was a cooking class.  

Aperol Spritz

Ingredients

• 3 parts of Prosecco
• 2 parts of Aperol
• 1 splash of soda
• Orange slice

Preparation

• Place ice cubes in a stemmed balloon glass.
• Pour 3 parts of Prosecco
• Follow by pouring 2 parts of Aperol and 1 ounce of soda
• Slice an orange and use it as a garnish.