March 19, 2010

fixation friday: sweet tea vodka


I had a really hard time trying to decide what I wanted to write about for Fixation Friday this week. Truth be told I laid awake in bed until 12 midnight last night with different ideas swirling around. I will also say the reason I was up so late was because I was full of excitement for my buddy Surferwife and her Chelsea encounter of the BEST kind. It's always fun to see someone you know on tv (even if I only know her via the internet). I also get to watch a certain someone that I went to school with from K-12th grade each week on the tv show Southland. Maybe you've heard of him? Shawn Hatosy. That is another story for another time though... right now it's Fixation Friday.

After tossing and turning I narrowed my post down to a few different things. I figured I ran my trap enough about turquoise in my last post and that I should move on from that (did you notice the color update? the turquoise definitely got the most votes). After I nixed that idea my mind turned to the warmer weather and thoughts of BBQ's and then to the fact that in the morning it would be FRIDAY and I still hadn't thought of which drink I wanted to consume this weekend at a friend's party. For months now I've been harboring a mini bar in my freezer (where we keep all our liquor). I have lots of left overs, or 2 or 3 shots worth of different liquor up there. I've been nursing a bottle of Captain Morgan 100 Proof since Christmas. Not for lack of liking it or being able to handled it but because honestly, I don't know the next time I'll ever buy that for myself. M's been fixated on mixing his drinks with water lately. He figures it's better for his waistline, however not so much for my snore drama on the nights when he passes out before me on the weekends. He loves mixing whiskey and water, a trick he may have learned from my father when he purchased M a large bottle of George Dickle Whiskey. It's very smooth, and goes down well with just a hint of water. This is what he tells me - I only do shots of whiskey and they usually burn going down for me. I'm not a seasoned professional in the ways of whiskey though. M used to drink his whiskey on the rocks, straight, no added filler when I met him. On a wild night he will still do this. I myself can't bare to drink any liquor with just straight water, it has to be shot, or mixed with something for me to drink it. Maybe some club soda, or tonic water with a twist of lemon or lime but not straight tap water... until recently. This leads me to my Fixation Friday - are you still with me?

Last year while at a friends bar I was introduce to the sweetest nectar the liquor gods had ever bestowed on the human race. R, one of the owners of our favorite local bar was chatting with us outside before went in. He told me I had to tell the bartender to make me a Firefly. I had no idea what it was but he told me to trust him. R knows his business so I did. I ordered the Firefly and I have never been happier trying a new cocktail.

Three words, Sweet Tea Vodka. ZOMG this stuff is amazing. I'm pretty sure I've blogged about it before but my spring fever is acting up and I just had to talk about it again. And I will probably discuss it about 20 more times before the summer is over, so there.

Imagine the best glass of sweet tea you've ever tasted. Now imagine that tea infused with vodka. Still with me? Good! Do you like lemon in your tea? I do, I think it's a Yankee thing, but seeing as I was born and raised in Maryland - you know, Yankee parts. Well at least according to most Southerner's I've met, I'm a Yankee. Seriously, I won't go into the whole below the Mason Dixon line thing, they just stare at me like I'm from another planet when I do, so I won't bore you. Anyunion, do you like lemon in your tea? Do you enjoy a Tom Collins Arnold Palmer from time to time? You know, Lemonade mixed with sweet tea. It's only like my favorite non-alcoholic drink ever. And it goes great with grilled foods and BBQ! Well let me introduce you to what I like to call a Tipsy Tom Collins.


TIPSY TOM COLLINS ARNOLD PALMER
(Thank you EL for the correction - I knew that didn't sound right !!!
Hey at least this time I wasn't calling a celeb baby by the wrong name again, right?)
It's simple really, add ice to a glass, 
pour yourself a little bit of lemonade
mix it with a little bit of this sweet tea vodka deliciousness 
and you're done!

You may need to mess with the chemistry of this. I like my drink to taste a bit more like tea which gives me more vodka but to each his own. I have to say my favorite brand is the one pictured below. Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. Many more have come out on the market since last year. 


via google • I'm partial to Firefly, we're summer BFF's.
via google • Burnette's, Sweet Carolina & Firefly

Also available is
via google • Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea

I have yet to try the Sweet Carolina and I have never seen the Burnett's where I've shopped previously. After researching it's probably a good thing. I don't do well with cheap liquor, especially vodka and I think Burnett may be bottom shelf goods. I've sampled the Jeremiah Weed, and it's tasty but the name turns me off. I used to go to school with a boy named Jeremiah, he got really sick of me singing the song about the bullfrog to him in middle school and started to act sort of bitchy to me. Since then we've made up, and been cool with each other - we're even facebook pals now. However that being said, it IS tasty and seems a bit stronger in flavor than the Firefly.

I am thinking about sampling the Sweet Carolina this weekend. I like that it comes in different sweet tea variety flavors as well (minus the mint, that sort of grosses me out) - also to be noted Sweet Carolina has started marketing a Lemonade flavored vodka. This may taste great with water. Which is what started this post in the first place, right?  M usually takes a few hits off the bottle of Firefly when I purchase it. He mixes his with water. If you don't make the drink too strong you hardly notice the vodka burn and enjoy the sweet tea flavor. I don't know the science about how this stuff is made, all I know is that it's good and I will obsess about it all summer long.

Spring is here, and this is my message to you. If you're looking for a new drink to sip on at cook-outs or hanging out with friends and you truly love Sweet Tea but don't want your teeth to fall out of your face, you might trip sipping a little of this be it with water, lemonade or your own made up drink recipe. If you make one up and it's really good, you better share it with me!

So there you have it peeps, my Friday Fixation. I'm SO happy it's Friday! I'm really looking forward to hitting up the local ABC Store to snag myself a bottle of this yummy, yummy stuff and to having sunshine and 68+ degree weather most of the weekend. This will make up for the possible thunderstorms they are calling for on Sunday. Sunday is my lazy day anyway, I ain't worried one bit!

CHEERS YA'LL! (Southern for You All). *wink*

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35 comments:

SurferWife said...

Ok, you have sold me on the Sweet Tea Vodka. And I am not even a Yankee? I'm a SurferWife, yo.

So, yeah, I'm tired today, too. I like to think I am the reason for a lot of tired blogging today. :)

KatiePerk said...

You will love this. The Firefly distillery here in Charleston has vodka tastings. They actually have flavored teas now withe vodka. The peach sweet tea vodka is so good!!Try it next.

Sole Matters said...

i love the firefly brand! i noticed this past winter that they have raspberry flavor! YUM!!!

Annie said...

I've never had this, but today I SERIOUSLY need a cocktail & god I love sweet tea! Someone may be going through the liquor store drive through at lunch - getting some for tonight!

Kelly @ turned UP to ELEVEN! said...

YOU HAVE A DRIVE THRU ANNIE! I'm in an extreme state of envy right now!

Katie - The peach sounds SO good! M loves peach tea so it might be a win/win for us!

Mo - it's all yo fault yo! ;)

foxy said...

Okay, I've never tried this - never even seen it - but I totally will. Sounds like the perfect summer beverage. Thanks Kel!

Happy Friday!

Allyson said...

God bless you...you said "y'all" and you even used it correctly in a sentence. Although I am considerably further north than you, I am FROM Kentucky which makes me more of a southerner than you. That's fair, right? ;)

I was intro'd to this from BFF who had some while in SC a few months ago. And actually Firefly came out with the different flavors, too. But sweet tea mixed with lemonade is my all-time flava-flav. It will put you on your ass, though, so get up and walk around frequently.

I really hate to admit this publicly, but I drink Burnett's when money is tight around here. It's not all that bad - especially when you mix your liquor with soft drinks. The only time taste REALLY matters is when you're drinking it straight up like M and Neal.

And seriously...we have to make y'all bourbon drinkers because whiskey...even Dickel...will kill your soul. Bourbon is WAAAYYY better. We even have some that is as smooth. Neal drinks his on the rocks and tends to look at men sideways who insist on mixing it with water. You may want to warn M about this if they're ever together. But I say...let the boys have their whiskeybourbon and we will have our sweet tea. Happy Friday, y'all!

courtney said...

Ok I have got to try this stuff asap.

Anonymous said...

Love Firefly! Their plant was like 10 minutes away from our house in Charleston, sooooo good. Can't wait to make all of these summery cocktails!

Rach said...

I have a bottle of it in my freezer! Delicious! Good pick for today!!

Happy weekend!

Jane said...

I love it when you talk all Southern. :)

Deals, Steals and Heels said...

a bar where i live calls firefly and lemonade a "john daly". you know, since he's an alcoholic golfer and arnold palmer was just a regular golfer.

me, firefly and water are BFF.

nina@themissadventuresofnina said...

Ah, I usually don't drink but I may have to make an exception. I guess I'll switch one of my Hypnotic with Pineapple juice for this. I'm loving th new look also.

Meghan said...

A.) The sweet tea vodka sounds amazing and B.) I love Chelsea Handler. AMAZING post.

Kelly @ turned UP to ELEVEN! said...

Allyson I love the way you think!!! I would love to have a meeting of the minds with you, Neal and M! M would never snub his nose to any liquor honestly, he likes the Big B!

Andi - not only am I jealous of where you live but now I'm even MORE jealous!! :)

Rach - it's meant to be internet bestie!!! I love that you have it in your freezer!

Jane - I do what I can girl! I'm you appreciate it! ;)

Deals, Steals n' Heels - I LOVE THAT!

Ooooh Nina that sounds really good. I LOVE Pineapple juice. I've been drinking Pineapple flavored rum a lot lately - I love it with Ginger Ale but I might have to try Pineapple and Hypnotic!

Meghan - I insist you try the vodka. It will make you smile. Just don't drink too much or it will make you hurl. As my gal pal Allyson mentioned it sneaks up on you so do some laps!!!

Foxy it IS perfect! You gotta try it. That goes for you too Cee! ox

Kiera said...

uh hello YUM. fixation is right. lemonade and ICED TEA (as we yankees say) with vodka? yes yes yes (sure beats the malibu and half calorie orange juice i had last night) im thirsty.

Kelly @ turned UP to ELEVEN! said...

Thank you Kiera - I always say Iced Tea here and I get the "strange eyes" from people. It's still iced tea be it sweet or non. OR EVEN SUN TEA! My mom ALWAYS made that.

L said...

Tom Collins?! That is so weird. Well not weird its just that they are called Arnold Palmers where I live! Have you heard that before?

p.s. i wore the cutest bra strap headband today it has a bow on it. it left my hair with the best dent ever. and i thought of you each time it started slipping off my head. the headband is to die for cute but soooooo freakin frusterating and annoying when it slides off i want to snatch it off my head and say fuck youuu headband. know what i mean?!

Kelly @ turned UP to ELEVEN! said...

El, You are SO right, it IS Arnold Palmer. DOH - I got my drunken drinks mixed up, I guess that happens when you have cocktails. ;) Thank you for the heads up AND I have corrected it.

As far as the headband goes - dawww you thought of me!!! And my mom always told me.. 'Honey you can't be beautiful and comfortable at the same time!' Which is what I think when stuff like what you described happens to me, or when the best pair of cute heels kill my feet!!! ox

Amanda @ It's Blogworthy said...

Here is my big confession -- I DO NOT LIKE SWEET TEA. Not at all. I think it's very pukey. I drink unsweet tea with lemon. How sick is that? But my hub has tried this and liked it a LOT (he's a sweet tea fiend).

ashlina {the decorista} said...

i heard about this stuff. heard its way too good for words..

great post. luuuuv it!

thanks for the comments shuga!
xoxo

NYCGAL said...

This looks so good and sooo dangerous lol!

Anonymous said...

I'll be honest... I don't love Vodka but this sounds delicious!!!

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

OMG, sweet tea vodka is sooooooo baaddddddd for moi. It doesn't even taste like alcohol. Crazy. Crazy good!

Kelly @ turned UP to ELEVEN! said...

Kallay - I am not a huge fan of vodka either we used to be mortal enemies. Now that I'm older and a bit wiser, I know my limit with her. She's crafty that's for sure! ox

Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird said...

Yum that sounds delicious and refreshing. I definitely need to check it out!

alyssa said...

holy YUM! i want to try this!!!!!

bananas. said...

i may be the only cool kid on the block who has NOT YET tried the sweet tea vodka. WTHeeeezy?! i need to get on it real quick!

At least I'm skinny said...

I love Southland.

I also love sweet tea vodka. Crystal light sweet tea and regular old vodka will also work in a pinch.

Kelly @ turned UP to ELEVEN! said...

YAY - Southland supporters rock. I will pass this on to Shawn he's been working over time trying to make sure people check it out!

Crystal Light Sweet Tea and Vodka sounds way more figure friendly - I wondered if I could do some Crystal Light Lemonade and mix it with this to make it more figure friendly - let's be honest the diet lemonade is never that great but I do enjoy Crystal Light's version!

Anonymous said...

um, yeah, that drink sounds uber delicious. why haven't i heard of this--i live in the south and it seems people would drink this like water--much like they drink their sweet tea!

love the design, btw!

Tasha said...

HAHA! Ok I SWEAR I didn't copy your idea. That's so funny! These people should pay us!

Sweet Tea Vodka is just a happenin thing among us ladies! Heehee.

Now too bad we can't get together and drink this liquid heaven together. :P

Smooches!

kateyleigh said...

I loooooove sweet tea vodka!! I had it for the first time in Dallas and I crave it now!! It's dangerously good!

Anonymous said...

man, you sound like a bitch. reading you blog was a complete waste of time, and you seam like a pathological liar.

TheBasilBee said...

I love sweet tea vodka! In fact for my wedding last month-our signature drink was called "THe bEe sting" and it was sweet tea vodka and lemondae and everyone loved them.. all week in punta cana they kept saying they were getting stung from them! Cute blog!

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