Just as the name implies, mixed drinks are basically beverages that consist of two or more liquids blended together. Alcoholic mixed drinks contain at least one type of alcohol. According to wikipedia.com, there are several categories of mixed drinks such as cocktails, cobblers, coolers, fizzes, juleps and punches. Some examples of mixed drinks are typical beverages like beer cocktails, wine cocktails, mixed drink shooters, shots and flaming beverages.

The Sazerac Cocktail - Possibly The First Recipe Of Its Kind
Nowadays, the term cocktail broadly refers to any type of alcoholic mixed drink. The Sazerac Cocktail is considered to be the first recipe of its kind. It was invented by a New Orleans druggist named Antoine Amadie Peychaud, according to gumbopages.com.

This mixed drink recipe, which can be found at epicurious.com, contains the following ingredients:

1 cube or 1/2 teaspoon sugar

4 dashes Peychaud bitters

About 1/2 teaspoon water

2 ounces rye whiskey

1/2 teaspoon Herbsaint liqueur (or Pernod)

lemon peel

ice

How to Make The Sazerac Cocktail
To make one drink, you'll need to place ice in an old-fashioned glass. In a second glass, combine the sugar, bitters and the water; mix until the sugar is dissolved. Add the rye whiskey, then fill the glass with ice and stir well.

To finish this Sazerac Cocktail recipe, dump the ice out of the first glass. Put the Herbsaint or the Pernod in the glass. Turn the glass and tilt it until the liqueur coats the entire inside. Pour any remaining liqueur out. Then, strain the contents of the second glass into the chilled glass. Add a twist of lemon to the Sazerac Cocktail and serve.

The Sex on the Beach Mixed Drink Recipe
Another mixed drink recipe that's rather popular is called "Sex on the Beach." This cocktail is an alcoholic drink that has a strong fruity flavor.

The ingredients you'll need to make this alcoholic drink are:

1-1/2 ounces peach schnapps

1-1/2 ounces VeeV (Vodka has traditionally been used in this drink, but VeeV offers a more unique, flavorful twist.)

2 ounces cranberry juice

2 ounces orange juice

2 ounces pineapple juice

According to the recipe at www.drinknation.com, making cocktails like this one couldn't be any easier. To make a Sex on the Beach mixed drink, combine all the ingredients together in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain this cocktail into a highball glass filled with ice.

Tips How to Make Your Alcoholic Mixed Drinks Unique
According to www.drink-recipes.org.uk, there are a few simple things you can do when you're making mixed drinks recipes to make them stand out:

1. Use colorful cocktail sticks or toothpicks to twist or skewer slices of fruit before you add them to cocktail recipes.

2. Add colorful adornments such as swizzle sticks, tiny umbrellas and straws to your mixed drink recipes.

3. No matter if you're making cocktails or other alcohol drinks, serve them in oddly-shaped glasses. It will make the drinks more unique and attractive.

Written by Kassidy Emmerson

In New York City, roving reporters for Shecky's New York City Nightlife were given an assignment that any of us would envy. What was the assignment for the Shecky's reporters on this day? "Drinking Our Way Through the NYC Wine & Food Festival."

Little did the Shecky's reporters know that they would discover VeeV.

What is VeeV? It's an alternative to vodka in mixed drinks. It comes from açaíberries grown in the Brazilian rainforest.

Is that a typo for the second "V" to be a capitalized in "VeeV"? No. In fact, the way that VeeV is catching on in New York City, we might end up with "NeW YorK CitY"!

Well, it was a tough job, but someone had to do it. The reporters from Shecky's said they sampled "more than 100 of the finest liquids in a three-hour span." But in the process of drinking their way through NYC, they made a VeeV discovery that no doubt helped them avoid the effects of a hangover.

The Shecky's team from New York City said, "What's new and trendy? How about VeeV, the world's first spirit made fromaçaí, which has more antioxidants than pomegranate - it tastes like grape juice, which isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Not a bad thing at all. Not a bad thing indeed. Here's a VeeV cocktail recipe that is among those that are becoming popular in New York City:

VeeV Eco Lemonade

Ingredients:

four lemon wedges

four sprigs of mint

two ounces of VeeV açaí spirit

club soda

Instructions: Muddle four lemon wedges and four mint sprigs in a mixing glass. Add VeeV and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake. Pour into a glass, top with club soda and garnish with fresh mint.

Written by Michael Thompson

In Chicago, the people form and change the scene, rather than the scene influencing Chicagoans, keeping things new and fresh no matter how long any one place has been around. As the neighborhoods grow and mix, so does the rest of life.

You see it in the new, hot restaurants and bars calling Chicago home. Many present dishes and drinks that are a product of culinary fusions to create something new and exciting. Menus like this make you think twice about what you eat and reawaken your sense of taste after it has already adapted to what it knows.

Like restaurants, the local bars and their bartenders in Chicago are finding a way to maintain what is integral to the art of bartending while still mixing conventional drinks. Local mixology has made it possible for even the most common bar drinks to take on a new spin when liquors like VeeV are introduced.

If you haven't already tried it, VeeV is more than a trendy liquor - it is the first spirit to use açaí berries, a fruit common to Brazil and considered one of the healthiest foods in the world. VeeV has also found its way into several local bars in Chicago that are not new to mixing things up.

In fact, a couple standout drinks from local bars have captured Chicago's worldly flare and proven that Chicago mixologists are at the head of the class. Here are two recipes that use VeeV to create something that will set off every taste bud long after sliding down your throat.

Summer Samba

By Todd Appel of Crimson Lounge, Chicago

1.5 oz. VeeV, 2 oz. passion fruit juice, ½ oz. fresh lime juice, ¼ oz. simple syrup

Mix all ingredients in a glass with ice, shake well and serve on the rocks. Garnish with a seasonal fruit of choice.

Jussara de Melon

By DJ Love of The Drawing Room, Chicago

1.5 oz. VeeV, 1.5 oz. watermelon juice, ¾ oz. lime juice, ½ oz. agave nectar, ¾ oz. egg white

Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake, double strain into a martini glass and garnish with a watermelon slice.

Written by Sophia Sanchez

If you're looking for variations on classic cocktail recipes, you won't have to look far to find them. In recent years, many old-fashioned mixed drinks have been reinvented into beverages that are fresh and new. Also, the introduction of new alcoholic drinks into the market has revolutionized the way that we approach our evening cocktails. VeeV, made from the antioxidant-rich Brazilian açaí berry, is the ultimate replacement for boring and bland beverages such as vodka and gin. After tasting this exotic spirit, with its hints of prickly pear cactus and acerola cherry, you'll be hooked. VeeV is also the best choice for drinkers who are interested in protecting the environment, since it is the only spirit in the world that has been certified as carbon neutral.

If you're not fond of the high bills associated with drinking in bars, then making cocktails at home is the way to go. The recipes which are available in cookbooks and on the web are endless. You can come up with your own cocktail recipes simply by using existing recipes as a basis. Just add an ounce of daring and a dash of ingenuity, and you're sure to create a winner. Here are just a few to get you started.

How to Make a Martini

The classic martini recipe contains about three ounces of gin, a half ounce of dry vermouth and a green olive or twist of lemon. Variations on this recipe include the Gibson, which is made with two cocktail onions instead of the olive, and the Gimlet, which incorporates a bit of lime cordial. More recent variations include the Appletini, which includes apple liqueur, and the chocolate martini, which may contain a combination of chocolate liqueurs and chocolate syrup.

The Cosmopolitan

Traditionally made from vodka and triple sec, along with lime and cranberry juice, the Cosmopolitan is another mixed drink that can easily be altered to suit the drinker's tastes. Replacing the vodka with VeeV will help to enhance the fruity flavor of this popular beverage. Use sweetened lime juice or cranberry juice for a tastier combination. One cosmopolitan recipe uses blood orange to enhance the orange flavor of the triple sec. The Cosmobellini includes white peach puree and Prosecco sparkling wine for added flavor and sweetness.

Long Island Iced Tea

Here's another alcoholic drink that has many possible variations. To create a healthier and tastier version of this classic drink, replace the vodka with one part VeeV, and add equal parts gin, rum, tequila and triple sec. Instead of sour mix, add fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice. Replace the cola with a splash of strong, brewed tea with a hint of citrus flavor.

The Bloody Mary

This classic drink is famous for its versatility. Try making a vegetarian, vitamin-enriched Bloody Mary cocktail by mixing three ounces of V8 Juice, one and a half ounces VeeV, one tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice, a dash of soy sauce along with a small amount of salt, pepper and hot sauce. Make a spicy Bloody Mary by adding horseradish, chili powder and cumin. You could make this drink milder by cutting back on the spices. Or you could make it a Five-Alarm Mary by ramping up the pepper sauce to maximum proportions. Whatever your preferences, there's a recipe that will please your palate.

Written by Jennifer Claerr

Sources:

Sean Paajenen, "Long Island Iced Tea." About.com

Colleen Graham, "Bloody Mary." About.com

Colleen Graham, "Cosmopolitan." About.com

"Cosmobellini Recipe." Drinksmixer.com

The newest craze on the L.A. bar scene is mixing up old standards with a new spirit: VeeV, an all-natural, 60-proof, clear spirit made mostly from açaí berries. Grown in the rainforests of Brazil, açaí tastes like dark berries (think blackberry and black cherry) with just the hint of dark chocolate. Along with açaí, VeeV contains acerola cherry and prickly pear juice. At 60 proof, it has less alcohol, not to mention fewer calories, than most clear spirits, and the açaí berry has 57 percent more antioxidants than pomegranates, perhaps making VeeV the healthiest alcohol on the market.

Not only is VeeV refreshing, it's also green. Courtney Reum, the co-founder of VeeV (with brother Carter), says the company donates $1 for each bottle sold to support the sustainability of growing açaí in the Amazon and raise awareness of rainforest concerns. Initially VeeV debuted at about 30 L.A. bars and restaurants, but the distribution has broadened to include most of southern California, San Francisco and Chicago.

Courtney and Carter Reum shared one of their favorite VeeV recipes with the White Apricot Newsletter, an online source catering to the eco- and socially conscious residents of southern California. The VeeV "Drunken Cherry" contains two ounces of VeeV, brandy-soaked cherries, fresh lime juice and soda. Shake the VeeV, fresh lime juice and cherries with ice in a cocktail shaker, pour it over ice and add soda to taste.

Mixology has embraced this new liquor, and mixologists at the hottest bars are coming up with their own new drinks. Fred Dexheimer at West Hollywood's BLT Steak created the "Fountain of Youth." Combine two ounces of VeeV, half ounce simple syrup, half ounce fresh lime juice and two ounces Knudsen's Organic Blueberry Nectar in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and pour this concoction into chilled martini glasses. Garnish the drink with blueberries.

Those who love VeeV promise it can be substituted in any recipe that uses clear liquor, and local bars in the Los Angeles area seem to be competing to come up with the best new recipes. Rumor has it that Red Bull has taken a back seat to this healthier drink. Is VeeV a fad or will it last? At $34.99 a bottle, it won't break the bank. The environmentally conscious can feel good about drinking a sustainable product that supports its growers and is made by a carbon-neutral company, which is unique among spirits factories. Most hope VeeV is the beginning of a new wave of eco-friendly, health-conscious liquors.

Written by L. Lee Scott