Jacked Up Monkey Martini

If I'm in the mood for bourbon, it's usually Maker's Mark I steer towards. And regardless, using bourbon as a martini base in anything but a Manhattan is unusual to most people, but I like to stray of the beaten path now and then. ;) So when I heard of someone playing around with Jack Daniels and Banana Schnapps, I was quite intrigued.

The banana schnapps is almost overpowering in its flavor (like butterscotch), so I played around with a few combinations to bring down the sweetness and add more depth to the cocktail. As a bonus, the sour pineapple juice lends almost the perfect color for a true banana cocktail.

Unlike my first banana martini, this drink highlights the banana flavor and has a blend of complex spice aftertaste that compliments wonderfully. This will be one of my new favorites.

• 3 oz Jack Daniels Bourbon
• 1 oz Banana Schnapps
• 1/2 oz Galliano
• 1 oz Pineapple Juice
• Banana Slice

Chill an up glass with crushed ice and water. Shake the ingredients with ice in a shaker until it sweats. Strain into the glass and garnish with a slice of banana.

Elvis Martini

A week after I concocted my rendition of the Bacon Martini, I picked up a bottle of Bakon Vodka. And now, a friend alerted me to the new NutLiquor peanut butter booze. Clearly there's an Elvis sandwich in there somewhere. ;)

Since the three bottles of flavored booze in this concoction are pretty clear, the focus here is in the fancy garnish. Little 1 inch Elvis sandwiches skewered on a stir stick complete this sweet drink. The King would be proud!

• 1 1/2 oz Bakon Vodka
• 2 oz NutLiquor Peanut Butter Liqueur
• 2 oz Banana Schnapps
• 1 oz Simple Syrup
• Peanut Butter
• Bacon
• Toast
• Banana

Chill an up glass with crushed ice and water. Shake the ingredients with ice in a shaker until it sweats. Strain into the glass and garnish with miniature Elvis sandwiches* skewered on a stir stick.

*Create mini-Elvis sandwiches by slicing the toast and the bacon into one inch squares. The make a double-decker sandwich by layering the toast, peanut butter, bacon, and a slice of banana.

Bananas Foster Martini

I've had Banana Schnapps on hand for almost a year now thinking I'd create some kind of banana based martini. I love that fake banana flavor that it has, but didn't want to do the typical chocolate/banana combination that one sees everywhere. Then recently, I thought of trying to recreate the experience of flambéed bananas with burnt sugar caramel. I think the result is pretty spot on. Careful though, this one is nothing but straight booze and is a little too delicious. ;)

• 3 oz Dark Rum (I prefer Appleton)
• 3 oz 99 Bananas
• Splash of Caramel Vodka
• Dash of Vanilla Extract
• Slice of Ripe Banana

Chill an up glass with crushed ice and water. The caramel vodka is overpowering, so be sure to add just a splash. Shake the ingredients with ice in a shaker until it sweats. Strain into the glass and garnish with a thick banana slice.