Mixing Drinks

What's the hardest thing about blogging? Coming up with fresh, new content! And you have to publish new posts frequently - twice a week at the very least - to keep readers interested and earn search engine love.

If you're feeling stuck, here is a list of 50 blogging ideas that are sure to inspire you to come up with new content for your blog. Most of the ideas can be used more than once, so you won't run out of blog posts for months to come.

And by the way, if you want to make more money from your blog, Blogger's Paycheck shows you how to make passive income from your blog without spending all day at it.

1. Special events - Relate your blog topic to a special event, national day of, or holiday.

2. News - Subscribe to Google news alert on your keywords and write about the latest news in your niche.

3. Book review.

4. Respond to a post on another blog in a niche similar or related to yours.

5. Blog milestone - Write about your blogging milestones, such as publishing your 100th post, getting your 1000th comment....

6. Niche heroes -Blog about a person who made a positive contribution in your niche.

7. Blog memes - Join in blog memes such as "Wordless Wednesday". There's at least one for every day of the week!

8. Product review - An excellent way to work in some affiliate links.

9. FAQs in your niche - Write a short Q & A based on FAQs about your niche.

10. Blog comment response - Write a long and expanded response to a comment on your blog.

11. Predict trends - What do you see happening in your niche in a year? 5 years?

12. Historical view - What was your niche in the past? Or what past event influenced your niche?

13. Top tips on any topic of interest to your readers.

14. Best of... - A good year ender, make a list of your best posts for the year.

15. Contests - Organize a contest for your blog readers, or make a list of contests your readers can join.

16. What I learned from... a current event, a person you met, or an experience you had.

17. Definitions - Define terms that are commonly used in your niche but a beginner may not understand

18. New products - Not a review but simply an announcement of a new product relevant to your niche. This is another good opportunity to drop in some affiliate links.

19. Biggest problem - Ask your readers what their biggest problem is about your blog topic or niche. They post their answers in the comments section.

20. Biggest problem follow up - Summarize the comments from #19 in another post.

21. Biggest problem follow up series - Write a separate blog post tackling each question from #19.

22. Interview somebody knowledgeable in your niche, or has succeeded in it, or is otherwise interesting to your readers.

23. Big list - Compile a big list of various resources, just like this one. The bigger the better!

24. Reader Survey - Put up a brief survey online and blog about the results.

25. Be provocative. Challenge a common belief or widely accepted idea in your niche.

26. New idea - What new idea about your blog topic or niche have you come across lately?

27. YouTube - Embed a funny, moving or insightful video on YouTube. You can even have a "video day" once a week.

28. YouTube version 2 - Make YOUR own YouTube video. Publish it on YouTube then embed on your blog. This way, you can attract traffic from YouTube to your blog.

29. Freebie - Scour the 'net for freebies that your readers will love. Or create a freebie of your own, such as a checklist or special report.

30. Personal story - Use a personal story to illustrate an important concept or principle in your niche.

31. Free to publish articles - Check out relevant articles in article directories such as Ezine Articles... but don't publish them entirely on your blog. Instead, use an article or a group of articles as your take-off point for a blog post, or several.

32. Link love - This is a post with links to other blogs. Some bloggers set aside one day a week to publish a list of the best blog posts on their topic.

33. Photo - A picture is worth thousand words, right? Search Flickr for creative commons pictures that your readers will like.

34. Hot topics - Look at Digg for hot topics in your niche

35. Pros and cons - Examine what's good and bad about something related to your blog topic

36. Respond to relevant questions you find in Ask.com

37. Guest post - Invite another blogger to write a guest post for your blog

38. Reader's post - Invite blog subscribers to submit an article or post to be published on the blog

39. Inspirational post - Write a motivational post for your readers.

40. Update an old post with fresh ideas, new learnings and current research findings.

41. Beginner's guide - What do beginners in your niche struggle with? Write a post to guide them through it.

42. Best list - Patterned after "best dressed lists" make a list of the best ___ in your niche.

43. Worst list - Make your version of the "worst dressed list" for your niche.

44. New uses for - Think of new ways your readers can use gadgets and other stuff.

45. Write about a live event that you attended and what you learned from it.

46. Bribe post - Bribe your readers with a freebie in exchange for subscribing to your newsletter or RSS feed.

47. Around the world - Compare how people in different countries do something related to your niche.

48. Seasonal - Relate the month or season to your blog topic.

49. Blog carnival - Join or host a blog carnival, where several publish posts about the same topic on the same day.

50. Host a virtual "conference" on your blog - Invite "speakers" to publish their post on a specified date and time. Q&A happens in the comments section.

Now that you've got a steady flow of fresh content, how do you actually make money from your blog? Visit Blogger's Paycheck for a step-by-step guide on blogging for profit.

Fill the highball glass about two-thirds with ice. Ice: This is the foundation of most mixed drinks. Anyone thinking about buying a house has at least some awareness of the importance of a sound foundation.

Yet the foundation, below ground and out of sight, probably gets the least attention from the prospective buyer. Similarly, drinkers as well as bartenders give little thought to ice – yet it is probably the most critical component of any drink poured over or chilled by ice.

Ice for mixed drinks is subjects to two problems:

Bad taste

Insufficient supply

Both problems can be solved by a single solution. Buy commercial cocktail (small-cube) ice. It’s flavorless, as it should be, whereas most home freezer ice takes on slight but nevertheless disagreeable odors or tastes. Bagged ice is also available in virtually unlimited quantities!

If you absolutely must mix a drink with refrigerator freezer ice, it is good idea to rinse the cubes under cold tap water. This gets rid of any freezer burn and superficial tastes or odors that may cling to the surface of the ice.

Proceed now to Good Food Delightful Cooking

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ituloy angsulong

1. You indulge in binges – bouts of uncontrolled or clearly excessive drinking.
2. You drink for the purpose of getting drunk.
3. You are unable to stop drinking after one or two drinks.
4. You need to consume greater and greater quantities of alcohol to achieve the same effect.
5. You suffer problems caused by drinking: inability to concentrate on your job; lateness and absenteeism; arguments with colleagues, friends, and family.
6. You avoid family and friends when drinking.
7. You become irritated when your drinking is discussed by family and friends.
8. You are unable to keep promises made to yourself about curbing your drinking.
9. You feel guilty or remorseful about your drinking.
10. You black out frequently.
11. You eat irregularly during periods of drinking.
12. You use drinking to escape your problems.

Proceed to The Complete Idiot's Guide

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ituloy ang sulong

“Bracing,” astringent,” “clean,” and “bitter” are words you’ve already heard to describe the taste of gin. But this sharp-toothed libation has some softer surprises in store. What follows is not your father’s “gin and…”

The Admirals

The Admirals is a hybrid cross between a gimlet and a martini.

Admiral Benbow

Serve straight-up in an old-fashioned or lowball glass.

2 oz. gin ½ oz. lime juice
1 oz. dry vermouth Maraschino cherry

Stir gin, vermouth, and lime juice vigorously with ice, strain into the serving glass, and garnish with a Maraschino cherry.

Admiral Cocktail

Serve straight-up in a chilled cocktail glass.

2 oz. gin
¾ lime juice
½ oz. Peter Heering or Cherry Marnier

Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice in a shaker or use blender, strain into the serving glass.
The Complete Idiot's Guide

Most of us are familiar with vodka and orange juice (the screwdriver) and with vodka and grapefruit juice. No law says you can’t substitute gin for vodka in these faithful standys.

Gin Screwdriver
Serve on the rocks in a highball glass.

1 ½ oz. gin
2-3 orange juice

Stir well. If you like, add a dash or two of Angostura bitters.

*The cocktail variation on the Gin Screwdriver is called the Orange Blossom.

Orange Blossom

Serve in a chilled cocktail glass.

1 ½ oz. gin
1 oz. orange juice

Combine all ingredients, except the orange slice, in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into the serving glass. Garnish with the orange slice.

Gin and Grapefruit Juice

Serve on the rocks in a highball glass.

1 ½ oz. gin
2-3 oz. grapefruit juice

Combined all ingredients in a serving glass filled with ice. Stir well.

Pretty easy, huh? The following are only a little more, challenging – and a lot more interesting. Begin with the Abbey. Which adds an extra dimension to the gin Screwdriver

Abbey

Serve on the rocks in a lowball glass.

1 ½ oz. gin Dash 2 orange bitters
1 ½ oz. orange juice Maraschino cherry

Combine all ingredients, except for the cherry, in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into the ice-filled serving glass. Garnish with the cherry.

Abbey Cocktail

Serve straight-up in a chilled cocktail glass.

1 ½ oz. gin Dash or 2 of Angostura bitters
¾ oz. orange juice Maraschino cherry
¼ oz. sweet vermouth
Combine all ingredients, except for the cherry, in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into the serving glass. Garnish with the cherry.

*Its name notwithstanding, the Bronx Cocktail is a product of upscale Manhattan, Johnnie Solon, legendary bartender at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, invented it. It’s simple and delicious.

Bronx Cocktail

Serve straight-up in a chilled cocktail glass.

1 ½ oz. gin Dash of dry vermouth
½ oz. orange juice Dash of sweet vermouth

Combine all ingredients, with ice, in a shaker. Shake vigorously. Strain into the serving glass. Some drinkers prefer more of the vermouths – ½ ounce each – and a full ounce of orange juice. If you want a dry cocktail, skip the sweet vermouth.

*A variation on the Bronx Cocktail is the Lone Tree, which omits the orange juice and adds orange bitters. If you like martinis, you’ll want to try this.

Lone Tree

Serve straight-up in a chilled cocktail glass.

¾ oz. gin Several dashes of orange bitters (optional)
¾ oz. dry vermouth (optional) Olive (optional)
¾ oz. sweet vermouth

To a shaker filled with cracked ice add all ingredients except for the olive. Shake vigorously. Strain into the serving glass and garnish with the olive.

Gin Sour

Serve straight-up in a whiskey sour glass or lowball glass.

2-3 oz. gin Orange or lemon slice
1 oz. lemon juice Maraschino cherry
1 tsp. Sugar syrup

The Complete Idiot's Guide

Gimlet is a word that goes back to Middle English and has to do with sharpness and the quality of penetration. A gimlet is a sharp little hand tool for boring holes, and a “gimlet-eyed” individual possesses a piercing gaze. Take your cue form the history of this word: A gimlet should meet the taste buds with an eye-opening sharpness.

The best gimlets are made from freshly squeezed lime or, for a delicious variation, freshly squeezed limon (the offspring of a lime-lemon cross).

If your don’t have fresh limes or don’t want to exert the effort to squeeze them, use Rose’s lime juice.

Gimlet with Fresh Lime

Serve in a chilled old-fashioned or lowball glass.

2 oz. gin
½ oz. fresh (or limon) juice
Lime twist or lime slice

Stir gin and juice very vigorously in a mixing (shaker) glass with cracked ice; pour into the serving glass. Garnish with a lime twist or lime slice. May also be served straight-up: Stir with ice cubes, then strain into the serving glass.

Gimlet with Rose’s Lime Juice

Serve in a chilled old-fashioned or lowball glass.

2 oz. gin
½ oz. Rose’s lime juice
Lime slice
Use a shaker or blender to mix the gin and Rose’s with cracked ice; pour into the serving glass. The best garnish is a lime slice, which gets more of the natural juice into the drink. May also be served straight-up Strain the shaken or blended ingredients into the serving glass.

Tom Collins

Serve on the rocks in a Collins or highball glass.

2-3 oz. gin Club soda to fill
1 ½ oz. lemon juice Maraschino cherry
1 ½ oz. sugar syrup

Combine all ingredients except club soda and cherry in the serving glass with ice. Stir well. Fill club soda, and garnish with the cherry.

The Complete Idiot's Guide

Although not everyone likes the taste of gin by itself, it vies-with vodka as the most mixable of spirits. It can be combined with just about anything.

Also called Pink Gin, Gin and Bitters is a singularly bracing and sophisticated combination.

Gin and Bitters

Serve straight-up, strained into an old-fashioned or lowball glass.

2 oz. Gin
½ tsp. Angostura bitters
Stir the gin and bitters in a glass with ice cubes until well chilled. Strain into the serving glass.

Gin and Campari

Serve in a lowball glass.

1 ½ oz. Gin
1 ½ oz. Campari
Combine gin and Campari in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into the serving glass filled with ice. Garnish with an orange slice or a twist of orange.

Gin and Sin
Serve straight-up, strained into a cocktail glass.

2 oz. Gin
1 tbs. Cinzano
Combine gin and Cinzano in a glass with ice, stir until well chilled, then strain into the serving glass.

Negroni

Serve straight-up in a chilled cocktail glass.
2 oz. Gin Splash of club soda
½ oz. Sweet vermouth Orange peel
¾ oz. Campari

Combined all ingredients, except the orange peel, in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, then strain into the serving glass. Twist the orange peel and drop into the glass.

Gin and Ginger

Serve on the rocks in a chilled highball glass.

1 ½ oz. gin
Ginger ale to fill
Lemon twist

Combine gin and ginger ale in the serving glass filled with ice. Drop in the lemon twist.

Gin and Soda

1 ½-2 oz. gin
Club soda to fill
Lemon twist
Pour the gin into the serving glass filled with ice. Add club soda, and garnish with the lemon twist.

Gin and Tonic

Serve on the rocks in a highball glass.

2-2 ½ oz. gin
Tonic water to fill
Lime wedge or lemon twist

Pour the gin into the serving glass filled with ice. Add tonic, and garnish with a lime wedge (traditional) or, if you prefer, a lemon twist.

The Complete Idiot's Guide