rye thyme for a collins

the name of this drink is further along the spectrum of ridiculousness than i'm normally comfortable with, but after a weekend which included the unwelcome discovery of a discomfiting little visitor from the past in our car's a/c vent, it seemed fine for now.

after all, it's after 5 on a hot summer sunday - it IS high time for a drink of some sort, and it might as well be this.

i usually think of whiskey as more of a fall/winter drink, but when you add citrus and herbs and sparkling water, all of a sudden it makes sense as a summer pick-me-up+cool-me-down. a tom collins typically uses gin, but all we had was rye and silly old texas doesn't allow one to purchase liquor on sundays. 

other things that were handy included thyme and grapefruit, whose bitterness made it seem like they would go together. i've since looked up the combination and both marcus samuelsson and martha stewart have cocktails that use it, so i'm in illustrious company, i guess? the peppercorns were an attempt to complexify it and respond to the pepperiness of the rye.

just peel a grapefruit, taking care not to dig deeply enough to get the extra-bitter white pith with it. i ended up using maybe 15 sections that were about 3/4" x 2" or so, but it's not an exact thing. then add it and some thyme and peppercorns to 1 cup each of water and white sugar and bring to a boil. let it boil for 3 minutes or so, then turn it off and let it cool. 

i like making simple syrups with lots of things in them. i think it gets to the same childhood idea of cooking that making chicken stock brings out - just toss things in a pot with water and voila! it's magically something much better. 

once the syrup is cool, strain it and mix a couple of tablespoons with an ounce of rye and 1-2 tablespoons of grapefruit and/or lemon juice in a short highball or old fashioned glass. as per usual, this is all to taste. then add a couple of ice cubes and fill the rest of the way with sparkling water or club soda. we often get that water that has pink grapefruit flavoring (it's not sweet - just grapefruity), so if you have that you might as well use it. 

then just kick back with a magazine and let your cares lift away. try not to think about how hot it is or how gross that mouse in your a/c vent probably definitely was. 

 *ingredients*

grapefruit/thyme/pepper syrup

peel from 1 medium grapefruit

7-10 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons dried (my thyme plant is a bit sad right now, so i augmented the 5 or so fresh sprigs i had with a couple of large pinches of dried lemon thyme)

12-15 whole black peppercorns (just grab a large pinch. sichuan pepper might be really interesting here, too, though i'd probably use less)

1 cup water

1 cup white sugar

rye thyme, etc., collins

2 tablespoons syrup

3 tablespoons rye whiskey (we usually get old overholt or bulleit rye)

2 tablespoons grapefruit and/or lemon juice

sparkling water or club soda

listening to: beirut

buffalo gals - bourbon with meyer lemon & rosemary

you don't have to call this drink "buffalo gals." you don't have to make it with buffalo trace bourbon, for one thing. making it with a different bourbon would make the name make even less sense than it already does.

also, it isn't just for gals. i don't even ever say "gals," even though i am from texas and some people expect that. although it does have a nice bright floral thing going on with the meyer lemon syrup, this is not a stereotypical girly drink.

this drink means business. or lounging on a sunday afternoon/evening. it is flexible.

although you could just use regular lemon sorry, you really need meyer lemon in here. or maybe something similarly complex, like cocktail citrus or possibly mandarin oranges with lemon juice as well.

anyway, peel the lemon zest in long strips, trying not to get too much white pith. a little is not a big deal, but don't like dig down in there.

sorry, my brain isn't working well. too much studying and not-studying. when i'm stressed out, i like to play stupid games that don't really require you to think that much. things like solitaire and, lately, asteroids. do you know that game? basically you're a little spaceship and you shoot asteroids and flying saucers and try not to get blown up. it's mindless but also vaguely entertaining, even though i am pretty bad at video games. i don't generally play them, since i don't like doing things i'm not good at, but for some reason, asteroids doesn't bother me like that. i guess i just figure that sure, i'm not particularly skilled at shooting space rocks, but that's why i went to law school rather than asteroids school.

i suppose the same could be said for games where you're a spy or whatever, but i've always sort of imagined that i'd be pretty good at being a spy, so i don't like the idea of discovering via video game that i would suck at it.

but anyway.

once you've peeled the lemon (it does take a sharp peeler, as they have very thin skin), add it, a smallish sprig of rosemary or two (see above) and half a cup each of sugar and water to a pan. bring it to a boil, let it boil for ~ 1 minute or so, then turn it off and let it cool.

this is a very simple drink, so you're almost done already.

bourbon. this one's good. there are also other ones.

once the syrup is cooled, mix the juice of 1/3 - 1/2 a meyer lemon, 1 1/2 - 2 ounces bourbon (to taste), and maybe 1 ounce or so (also to taste) of syrup. the amount of syrup you use depends on how sweet you like your drinks. the amount of bourbon you use depends on how bourbon-y you like your drinks.

that's it! stir, add ice, and sit out on the patio and enjoy the spring. i'll just be in here, alternately studying wills & trusts and playing asteroids.

*ingredients* for 2 drinks (you'll have syrup left over)

syrup

peel/zest from one meyer lemon

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

2 smallish sprigs fresh rosemary

drink

2 ounces bourbon (+/-)

juice from 1/2 meyer lemon

~ 1 ounce lemon-rosemary syrup (to taste)

*if you want to make it a little more afternoon-y and a little less Serious Whiskey, add some club soda or sparkling water

listening to: explosions in the sky

that's my jam (whiskey/jam/lemon/ginger ale)

well i wouldn't be a very good part-irish person if i didn't have a drink to make for good old saint patrick's day, to be sure. but i'm not super-into green drinks in general so i'm not going to make some kind of unholy wheatgrass-vodka thing or an equally unholy green beer. i guess you could make this green if you use mint jelly, but it would be disgusting so i can't recommend it.

there are a lot of other colors in ireland besides green, anyway. stone, for instance. and sheep-color. but green does predominate.

irregardless, this is a drink that you can probably make from the things you have sitting around already (aka The Best Kind of Drink). all it takes is roughly equal amounts lemon juice and jam or jelly, mixed vigorously with a fork (or, if you fancy, a whisk). i was lucky to have some very tasty blackcurrant jelly that my wonderful coworker made, but you can use whatever you have around. maybe not grape. but maybe! necessity and invention and all that... then add an appropriately irish amount of whiskey (note the "e") and fill 'er up with ginger ale.

goes down a treat! sláinte!

*ingredients*

1 tablespoon jelly or jam (your choice - i think marmalade would be great, as would raspberry or strawberry)

1 tablespoon (+ or -) lemon juice

an amount of whiskey

ginger ale

listening to: it probably should be the pogues. let's go with that.

(secretly i was listening to clearlake, who are english, but it made me feel too guilty)

pear/ginger/lemon/bourbon

i know it's officially been fall for awhile now, but somehow late october is when fall starts seeming real to me. i think partly that's because in texas it's generally ridiculous-hot until then. here in portland, it's been pretty cool for awhile, but over the last couple of weeks the trees have started getting really colorful and the smell of woodsmoke is in the air. that's how you know.

fall has always been my favorite season. in texas, it means you lived through another summer (no small feat). in portland, it means scarves, boots, and brisk walks where you crunch through leaves and can see your breath. then when you get home, you can drink this to warm up!

this drink has a wealth of classic fall flavor - the sweet pear, spicy ginger, and, uh, lemony lemon combine with bourbon to make the perfect pick-me-up après-hike. or après-thrift-shopping. or après-whatever-you-like-to-do-on-a-saturday.

plus, you can make a batch ahead of time and then if people drop by unexpectedly, you can nonchalantly be like, "oh, would you like a fancy cocktail? i just whipped this up, no biggie." and they will be all, "wow, you are the fanciest!" and you will smile demurely and pass the cheese straws.

anyway. ginger:
you definitely want some fresh ginger for this. i use a spoon to scrape the papery skin off and then just slice it up (probably not with the spoon, unless it is one of those weird grapefruit ones). it doesn't really matter how thick they are, but think coins, rather than chunks.

i leave the skin on the pear and slice it from the top, also into coins. but you can totes slice it into wedges or whatever. i just think the extra surface area of the coins makes it easier to get it infused into the bourbon (yeah, that's where this is going). but follow your bliss.

then just put the pear and ginger into a thingy, add some strips of lemon rind (you can use a vegetable peeler or knife - just avoid the white pith part) smash them a few times with a wooden spoon to get the oils and whatever started, and add some bourbon.

i ended up using about a cup or so of bourbon, one small pear, maybe an inch and a half or two inches of a thinnish ginger root, and about 1/4 or 1/3 of a lemon's rind. then just cover it and let it sit for awhile. it doesn't have to be too long, but i would leave it for at least a few hours. overnight would be good as well.

then you can strain it, put some in a glass, maybe add some lemon juice if you aren't a fan of the sweetz, top it off with ginger ale or (preferably) ginger beer (it's stronger and much more gingery) and ice, and add a sliver of pear if you want to feel super-fancy. you could also use rye or another kind of whiskey or maybe even dark rum. hooray for fall!

*ingredients* for a number of drinks (4? 6? it depends on how much bourbon you want in yours)

1 small ripe pear

1 1/2-2 inches of ginger root, cut in coins

peel from 1/4-1/3 lemon

1 cup (+/-) bourbon

ginger ale/ginger beer

lemon juice, to taste

the rapture (!)

soooo, we are all eagerly awaiting the rapture, right?
that special time when ... okay, i looked it up, but i kind of don't understand or want to understand it, so i think it is when the besties are allowed up to heaven and all the other losers are left here to loot and wallow in our own filth.

anywho, i thought i was going to have a thing about cold-brewed coffee, which is delicious regardless of your faith (uh, sorry mormons, but i am 99% sure that it would be good with decaf), but the rapture! has come upon us! like (as i was reading somewhere earlier) new year's eve! you can watch asia celebrate, then europe, then new york, etc., as you await your own party-time.

now that i am in a fairly western time zone (portlandia ftw!) i am looking forward to watching the rapture unfold tomorrow as more easterly nations rise and fall with the coming of ... and here is where i should have read a thing about it and didn't care to...

but! if you are not that concerned, or if you are concerned enough to want a drink in hand while awaiting whatever fate Fate decides to bestow upon us, you could actually do worse than the drink, "the rapture."

seriously, i am as surprised as anyone. this was originally intended to be the sad combination of a joke and an excuse to buy bourbon, but in fact it is really delicious.

here it is (as evidenced in the above picture): bourbon (because kentucky is the home of the creation museum, featuring adam and eve and dinosaurs frolicking, as the new yorker has so astutely mentioned); sriracha (aka rooster sauce) for the hellfires that will perhaps burn the unfaithful; lime, for the sour taste that will be left in the mouths of those who must loot to survive and will never taste heaven's ambrosia; and coke, because it is coke and is all-american and sweet, to boot.

seriously, i never thought this would be good, but in fact it is(-ish).

so, if you want a cocktail to ease the transition to a new world order, you could do worse than the rapture.

take a measure (whatever measure you fancy) of bourbon (early times was on sale! end times!) and add a squirt (not too crazy-big, unless you really like vinegar and hotness) of sriracha and a larger squirt (perhaps even up to a half's-worth) of lime, stir, then fill with good ol' coca cola and some ice.

it totally sounds gross, but it is actually ... pretty good. we were all surprised. maybe this rapture thing won't be so bad.

***just so everyone's on the same page, this was pretty good in the sense that it was not totally nasty. however, in the interest of full disclosure, i only had like 1/2 of one. but it was a drinkable 1/2. i don't think you want to go out and buy all the stuff just to make this, though.

until, apparently, next october! can't wait!
*ingredients*

bourbon

coca cola

lime

sriracha
ice!