cocktail comeback

What happened to cocktails? It occurred to me recently that no one has offered me one for a long time, nor have I made one. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever made myself a cocktail, unless you count a Bloody Mary or a Harvey Wallbanger from a long time ago. Here, everyone loves a Kir royal: sparkling white wine or champagne with a glug of blackcurrant liquor. Delicious! But not the sort of Mad Men cocktail I’m thinking of.

My weekend drinking habit is always the same: if it’s not red wine (or chilled rosé in the summer), it’s Martini Bianco and tonic. Same old, same old. 

So I thought: what if I made myself a great cocktail this weekend? You know, the kind our parents used to drink. I googled around and came up with a Sidecar and a Daquiri. It’s settled then. I’ll make myself one or the other. I’ll have to buy all the ingredients first, including a cocktail glass and a shaker. And I’ll make that delicious olive-fig tapenade I made on New Year’s Eve, served on those Swedish crackers I’m addicted to.

During these dreary Covid lockdown-curfew times I guess you have to make your own party. Ideally, I’d love nothing more than to sit in a dark intimate bar with a drink and an interesting companion on the stool beside me. Quiet jazz in the background. Ice cubes tinkling in my glass. Chatting with the bartender and laughing.

Here’s Dushan the bartender in just such a bar. He’ll make you a Daiquiri. Thanks, Dushan. Cheers!

(287) How to make a Daiquiri Cocktail – Liquor.com – YouTube

9 thoughts on “cocktail comeback

    • I have to admit that I don’t like frozen drinks, Dawn. They numb my teeth. But the pomegranate gimlet from The Barefoot Contessa? Yes! I’ll put that on my list.

      • Let me know what you think! It looks delicious – hoping to try it out once things warm up in Germany!!

      • Oh, heck, don’t wait till it warms up. Do it now. Or at least this weekend, ha ha!

  1. Wish we could go back to that wonderful bar in NYC. That’s the place to drink cocktails! I’m so glad you found it (and the fabulous Japanese restaurant for after!)

    • Yes, but if you remember, Lori, that wonderful bar cost an arm and a leg for a teeny-tiny cocktail! I downed it in one gulp. You had gone to that play, remember?The Japanese resto was nice, in the basement of that nondescript office building. The best part were the toilets. They were heated and sprayed water in unexpected and surprising places. We’ll go back one day. Meet you in New York!

      • Yes, they were small – but I felt so very sophisticated! Also, mine was possibly the best cocktail I’ve ever had! It helped me recover from Blackbird, the play I’d seen.

  2. I love this. I have a bottle of the Empress gin (https://www.empressgin.com/) from Victoria, even though I don’t really drink cocktails — wine, yes, and cider, and sometimes a dram of single-malt at bedtime! I’m hoping my children will be able to come later this year and we can celebrate with this beautiful gin. It is a gorgeous colour!

    • What a gorgeous color, it’s almost lilac! What would you serve with it? A dram of single-malt at bedtime … I’m guessing that’s your husband’s influence (north of England). Dad loved his single-malt.

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