Today was rainy, rainy, rainy - continuous drizzle punctuated by spells of downpours.
I chanced a brief walk to the gym in the afternoon, and the pregnant sky was kind to me - she held together until the moment I got home. Then - whoosh!
April is difficult like that. I've often said that the climate in Rhode Island is suitable for only 6 months of the year - May through October. I stand by that declaration. The other aspects of life here (the corrupt politics; the ignorance and anger that permeates the general population; the extremely high cost of living without salaries to match; the lack of industry/jobs; the generally poor attitude, aptitude, and altitude of the citizens; the shocking lack of skill among bartenders - on 3 recent occasions I had to teach Manhattans 101; the lack of exceptional sushi...I'll stop there, for now) are not so savory, but the weather is truly wonderful from May through the end of October.
So, we're almost there, meteorologically speaking. Thus my thoughts on muddling through.
I found this recipe for an Old Fashioned in the March 2009 issue of Gourmet Magazine. It was the cocktail of the month, by Dale DeGroff in The Essential Cocktail. It involved muddling, which I'd not done before! But the result was delicious, and I'm enjoying the fruits of my labor whilst the rain continues to fall.
I deviated a bit from the recipe since I did not have any cherries on hand, only a sour cherry syrup. I think I used less sugar (granulated, not superfine bar sugar), because I don't like my drinks overly sweet. But it's hard to say because I did not measure. I used Evan Williams bourbon and did not measure that either, because I'm like that. But the results were very good and the technique very easy.
The following is the recipe as quoted from Gourmet Magazine, March, 2009:
"COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH
The Old Fashioned
Dale DeGroff, in The Essential Cocktail (Clarkson Potter; $35) muddles a teaspoon of superfine bar sugar, three dashes of Angostura bitters, a slice of orange, a cherry (we used Luxardo's marasche), and a splash of water or club soda in an Old Fashioned glass. He then removes the fruit solids, adds ice and two ounces of bourbon, stirs, and garnishes the drink with an orange slice and a cherry. It shows off bourbon's charms."
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