...And Twenty-Nine in Each Leap Year

It’s leap year! An extra 24 hours! What will you do with the extra 24 hours? Celebrate? Sleep? Drink?!

There’s a cocktail for every holiday, every celebration, every life transition…and February 29 is no exception. 

The classic Leap Year Cocktail recipe is:

Leap Year

What you'll need

2 oz. Gin

1/2 oz. Grand Marnier

1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth

Dash fresh Lemon Juice

Ice

Lemon peel garnish

Martini glass

How you'll build it:

Pour ingredients (including ice) into a cocktail shaker. Martini shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with lemon peel.

I’ve also seen apricot brandy included in this drink – used in place of Grand Marnier. However, the recipe purist in me contends that’s not a real Leap Year. It’s closer to the recipe for a Belles of St. Mary’s*: 

Leap Year Cocktail (alternate)

What you'll need:

2 oz. Gin

1 oz. Triple Sec

1 oz. Apricot Brandy

Dash fresh Lemon Juice

Ice

Lemon peel garnish

Martini glass 

How you'll build it:

Pour ingredients (including ice) into a cocktail shaker. Martini shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with lemon peel. 

So there are the two most common versions of  the classic cocktail for February 29. But perhaps you want another libation choice for your extra 24 hours. After all, it’ll be four more years before you’ll get another chance for an extra 24 hours. Leap Year is a big deal.

We have Pope Gregory XIII to thank for February 29. The Julian calendar was "wrong" every 128 years. Pope Gregory XIII overhauled the whole marking of the days thing by accommodating for the equinox. Some dates were dropped (10 of 'em) and the Leap Year methodology was revamped. Why was the Pope messing around with the calendar? Easter. The date of Easter is calculated via Computus. Computus Oversimplified: Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. Thank Pope Gregory XIII for that flashback to third grade math story problems. Some people, churches, mostly, didn't jump on the Gregorian Calendar bandwagon. Eastern and Asian Orthodox churches base their Easter celebration on the Julian calendar which is why there are two different Easter dates. The Julian calendar is currently 13 days ahead of the Gregorian calendar. 

In the Julian calendar a year is a leap year if it is divisible by 4. Simple math, easy to remember. No story problems.

In the Gregorian calendar a year is a leap year if either (a) it is divisible by 4 but not by 100; or (b) it is divisible by 400. In other words, a year which is divisible by 4 is a leap year unless it is divisible by 100 but not by 400 (in which case it is not a leap year). Thus the years 1600 and 2000 are leap years, but 1700, 1800, 1900 and 2100 are not.

Whew. 

Okay.  

In honor of the Gregorian calendar and Pope Gregory XIII, I present a few other ideas for February 29 libations.

Vernal Equinox

What you'll need:

2 oz. Port
1 oz. Grand Marnier
1/2 oz. Triple Sec

Ice

No garnish

Rocks glass

How you'll build it:

Fill rocks glass with ice. Pour ice from glass into a shaker. Add all ingredients. Gently roll just until blended. Pour shaker contents, including ice, into rocks glass.  

In honor of the papacy who brought us the Gregorian Calendar: 

Bishop
What you'll need:

Juice of 1/4 Lemon
juice of 1/4 Orange
1 tsp Powdered Sugar

Burgundy Wine

Ice

High ball glass

Fruit garnish - orange, lemon, cherry

How you'll build it:

Shake lemon juice, orange juice, and powdered sugar with ice and strain into a highball glass. Add two ice cubes, fill with burgundy, and stir well. Garnish with various fruits and serve.

Fall of Rome

What you'll need:

2 oz. Dry Vermouth
1 oz Brandy
1 dash Sherry
1 dash Rose's Lime Juice

Orange Juice

How you'll build it:

Pour vermouth and brandy into a glass, add lime and fill with orange juice. Stir, add a splash of brandy on top, and serve with a straw.

*Belles of Saint Mary's

1 1/2 oz. Gin
1 oz. Triple Sec
1 oz. Apricot Brandy
2 tsp. Lemon Juice

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine all ingredients. Shake well. Strain into a martini glass. 

And the Winner is...

I'm not big on the Academy Awards. I love movies, but the Academy rarely nominates the movies and performances I like. But every year I find myself sucked into the televised Oscar show. "My" movies and actors are usually snubbed or robbed, and I dismiss the whole thing as condescending insider back scratching.

But I do like to see well groomed men dressed in nicely tailored suits. And it's always interesting to see what fashion designers choose to display on young starlets. And it's a great excuse/reason/opportunity to break out the champagne glasses.

So. You know. Sometimes I watch the Oscars. And sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised at the nominations and winners.

If nothing else it's fun to make fun of the whole thing from the comfort and safety of my couch.

Or on a friend's couch. Or an event venue. I've attended a few Oscar parties over the years. And they're fun. It's a nice excuse for a post-holiday-pre-Spring party, a fun way to break the winter doldrums. 

Whether you choose to host/attend a black tie Oscar party, host/attend a casual Oscar party at a friend's place or watch at home in your pajamas, a few celebratory drinks are the perfect accessory to your Oscar outfit.

Academy Awards = Hollywood = Classic Cocktails of Success = Champagne or Scotch

Here's mud in your eye, kid.

My family jokes that our minister mistakenly baptized me with drops of the celebratory champagne my parents brought for the post-baptismal party instead of Holy Water. I love the stuff (Champagne, that is). I can (and will) devote many posts to champagne and champagne-related bar/hosting information. This post won't cover all the intricacies and info on champagne. Right now we'll just stick to Hollywood glamor aspects of champagne.


Champagne is expensive. No getting around that point. If you're planning to sip champagne "straight," not as a cocktail, you want to spend money on a decent bottle of champagne.* Many people think they don't like champagne because they've only experienced "wedding toast" champagne.** I've witnessed many a conversion from champagne hater to champagne lover when the cork of a premium bottle of champagne is popped. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars, but plan to spend at least $30 on a bottle of champagne.  Veuve Clicquot, Moet & Chandon and Laurent Perrier offer solid, tasty champagnes in the $30 - $50 range.

You may also find "splits" of these brands. Splits are half-bottles of champagne/wine. Typically you'll get about 2 glasses of beverage from a split. More vintners are offering splits, now, so more restaurants, bars and stores have more champagne/sparkling wine options for consumers. They're a great, affordable way to try premium wines/champagnes. And, they're an affordable way to offer your champagne-drinking guests a few glasses of premium champagne.

For the purposes of this post we're focusing on champagne cocktails. If you're mixing champagne with another liqueur or beverage, go ahead and choose a less expensive sparkling wine but I suggest a Brut variety. Any of the affordable California sparkling Brut wines are a good choice for "champagne" cocktails. As long as you 1) chill the bottle of sparkling wine, 2) mix the cocktails shortly after popping the cork, 3) ensure the wine is effervescing, and 4) use quality mixers, all will be well.

The bad thing about champagne/sparkling wine, even those of exceptional quality, is that they're temperamental and have a short serving window. They must be chilled before opening and immediately served (or within an hour or two). I know people who actually like flat, neat champagne. I am not one of them. The whole point of champagne/sparkling wine is the delightful effervescence and the wonderful, dazzling explosions of flavor that dance on the tongue when champagne is served fresh and chilled. And just because you're mixing champagne in a cocktail doesn't mean that temperature and effervescence are not factors. Even Mimosas, served with heavy orange juice, are best made and served with freshly chilled bottles of sparkling wine.

Before I get to a few chosen Oscar-worthy drink recipes, let's briefly discuss serving glasses. Champagne is best enjoyed in flutes. The shape of champagne flutes isn't just to show off the effervescence (though they do offer a lovely presentation). The flute shape provides limited oxygen into the top of the glass - just enough to let the beverage breathe but not so much open surface area to flatten the champagne in minutes. A larger mouth/top allows more oxygen which flattens the beverage more quickly.

HOWEVER. Since this is the Oscars, Hollywood, baby, the old-school champagne glass offers a vintage air of sophistication and charm. The traditional champagne glass is called a "coupe" or sometimes a "saucer." Technically there's a slight difference. A saucer is wider and flatter - more saucer-like - than a traditional coupe. Whichever you choose, coupe or saucer, they immediately evoke Hollywood glamor and imaginings of the likes of Jay Gatsby and Bertie Wooster.  Your grandmother or great aunt probably had coupes, most likely heavily etched, with her set of crystal. Coupes are mainly used for champagne towers. (I picked up a set of perfectly shaped champagne coupes a few years ago at, of all places, IKEA.)

If you just want to serve an inexpensive, ceremonial sparkling wine/apple juice toast to the winners, or if you have children at the party drinking carbonated apple juice, go to your favorite party decoration store or warehouse club and buy a bag, yes, they're packaged in bags, of plastic champagne glasses. Some assembly required. Cheers.

Whichever type of glass you choose to serve your champagne or champagne cocktails, be sure it has ample stem length to hold the glass. The more contact the bowl of the glass (where the beverage is) has with fingers/hands, the more quickly the beverage will warm up and lose effervescence. So. Yes. Stems matter. A lot. Yes, champagne/sparkling wine is a lot of effort and extra work. So what. It's worth it.

Champagne Cocktail

What you'll need:

One sugar cube per glass (or exactly one teaspoon of sugar)

Dash of bitters

1 oz. brandy (optional)

Champagne/sparkling wine (chilled, freshly opened)

Lemon twist or cherry

Champagne flute

How you'll build it: 
Saturate the sugar cube with bitters.* Drop bitters-saturated sugar cube into bottom of a champagne flute. Pour in one ounce of brandy (optional). Fill glass with chilled, freshly corked champagne. Garnish with a cherry or lemon twist. Serve immediately.

*If using un-cubed sugar, pour one teaspoon sugar into champagne flute, then pour in a dash of bitters. Wait for the bitters to settle/saturate the sugar. Pour in one ounce of brandy (optional). Fill glass with chilled, freshly corked champagne. Garnish with a cherry or lemon twist. Serve immediately.

Kir Royale

What you'll need:

Champagne/sparkling wine (chilled, freshly opened)

1/4 oz. Chambord or Crème de Cassis

Champagne flute

Raspberry or lemon twist garnish

How you'll build it: 
Fill glass with chilled, freshly corked champagne/sparkling wine. Float Chambord or Crème de Cassis. Garnish with a fresh, plump (not frozen and/or mushy) raspberry. If you cannot acquire a fresh, plump raspberry, opt for a lemon twist. Serve immediately.

An old school variation of this is a Chablis Cassis. It is exactly what it sounds like: Chablis wine blended with Crème de Cassis. It's basically the same drink as a Kir Royale with slight modifications.The Chablis version should be served in a white wine glass. Pour 1/4 oz. Crème de Cassis into the white wine glass. Fill glass half-full with chilled Chablis, preferably a French Chablis. Garnish as the Kir Royal.

Okay, that's the toast and celebration drinks part of the Oscars covered. But what about the "where deals are made and hearts are broken" aspect of Hollywood? The movers and shakers, the producers, the directors, the financiers, the legends?

Clooney: Lost in Translation.

Scotch. Oh sure, in the photo ops the starlets and winners are posing with champagne glasses, but in other areas of the parties other people are drinking something a little stronger (but no less photogenic). Scotch.

We'll talk about Scotch and whiskey and Scotch whisky later. Right now we're focusing on Hollywood and the Oscars. If you're hosting a party, some of your guests won't like or want champagne, no matter how prettily you present it. Have a nice bottle of Scotch on hand for this tough crowd.

A Scotch and soda seems like a straightforward dink to mix.

Scotch.

And soda.

Don't be fooled. You can make this drink incorrectly.

• At least 1.5 oz. of Scotch should be used. Typically guests/patrons will expect a full 2 oz. of Scotch. They are not wrong in this expectation. A traditional Scotch and soda contains 2 oz. of Scotch, but many bars and restaurants have shortened the pour to 1.5 oz. or even 1 oz. over the last 15 - 20 years. My bartending school "officially" taught us to make them with 1 oz. of Scotch, but that's to comply with the median bar norm. If you're making these at home do not skimp on the Scotch. If you're making them at a bar or restaurant, ask your manager how they prefer you to pour Scotch and soda.
• Too much soda will ruin the drink. 
• I routinely see Scotch and soda served in the wrong glass and/or improperly garnished. Correct construction: High ball and a lemon. No exceptions other than patron/guest requests.
• Some guests will request their Scotch and soda with no ice or even neat. They may be from the UK or have a toothache or think they're going to get more alcohol without the ice in the glass. Whatever the reason, if they request a Scotch and soda without ice, technically they want it neat, which means the club soda should be room temperature. If you only have chilled club soda advise your guest that the soda is chilled.

Scotch and Soda

What you'll need:

2 oz. Scotch - premium or call

Club soda

Ice

Lemon Twist

High ball glass

How you'll build it:

Fill high ball (not a Collins, not a rocks glass) with ice. Pour 2 oz. Scotch into high ball (not rocks) glass. Fill glass with club soda. Garnish with a lemon twist.  


I have no idea if Francis Ford Coppola or Al Pacino drink these, but I'd bet a couple bucks that Marlon Brando thew back a few. I want to believe that he did, anyway. And it's a fun drink to serve at an Oscar party because The Godfather, the movie, won three Oscars.

God Father

What you'll need:

"Make it a double."

1 1/2 oz. Scotch

1/2 oz. Amaretto

Ice cubes

Rocks glass 

  

How you'll build it:

Fill rocks glass with ice cubes. Pour in Scotch and Amaretto. Serve. (ungarnished, I mean really, you think Marlon Brando or Al Pacino mess with swilly garnishes?) 

This next drink is as old Hollywood exec as it gets. The name says it all. 

Rusty Nail

What you'll need:

1 1/2 oz. Scotch

1/2 oz. Drambuie

Ice cubes

Rocks glass

How you'll build it:

Fill rocks glass with ice cubes. Pour in Scotch and Drambuie. Serve. (ungarnished and best served on a casting couch) 

Since this is Academy Award oriented Scotch, and the Oscars are presented in California, another swanky but frutiy old Hollywood cocktail to try is:

Whiskey Sour

What you'll need:

2 oz. whiskey

3/4 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice (~1/2 average lemon)

1/2 teaspoon powdered or granulated sugar

Ice cubes

Cherries or lemon twist for garnish/cherry and lemon wheel garnish

Martini glass or rocks glass

How you'll build it:

Add whiskey, lemon juice, sugar and ice to a cocktail shaker. Martini shake ingredients. Strain into martini glass. Garnish with cherry or lemon twist.

Or:

Fill rocks glass with ice. Add ice from rocks glass, whiskey, lemon juice, sugar in a cocktail shaker. Roll, do not martini shake, ingredients. Pour all ingredients including ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with cherry and lemon wheel.

A guest might ask for a "stone float" on their whiskey sour, or they may call, "Whiskey Stone Sour." In barspeak, a stone is orange juice. A stone float is a dash of orange juice served floated on top of the mixed drink (not mixed into the drink). A whiskey stone sour uses equal parts orange juice and sour mix instead of the lemon/sugar mix. If you mix with orange juice, even just a stone float, garnish with an orange wheel instead of lemon.

This one's for the party guests who don't drink alcohol and the children in attendance. A lot of people don't actually know how to make these so I'm including the recipe here in honor of the drink's Hollywood legend namesake.
Shirley Temple

What you'll need:

3 oz. 7-up (or lemon-lime soda)

3 oz. Ginger ale

dash of Grenadine*

Ice

Cherry, orange skewered on cocktail sword and cocktail monkey or umbrella

High ball glass 

Wanna buy a monkey?

How you'll build it:

Fill high ball glass with ice. Add 7-up and ginger ale. Float grenadine. Garnish with fruit and monkey/umbrella. 

*Carefully examine the ingredients of your bottle of grenadine!!!! Some grenadine contains alcohol!

And there you have it! Enough booze ideas to keep a Beverly Hills party going for the first 10 minutes. And I feel good knowing I'm one of the few pages on the web featuring Marlon Brando, Shirley Temple, George Clooney and a cocktail monkey. Which sounds like the start of a joke. "Marlon Brando, Shirley Temple and George Clooney walk into a bar. The cocktail monkey says..."



*Only sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France may be called Champagne. "Champagne" from anywhere other than the Champagne region of France is sparkling wine, but that is not an indication of it's quality or potability. There are some extraordinary sparkling wines from Napa which hold up against their French Champagne regions cousins at a fraction of the cost.

**I know, I know, I'm disclaiming right now that not all weddings are toasted with inexpensive champagne. But often the bride and groom are served from a "nice" bottle of champagne while the guests are served champagne that's easier on the budget. Servers/bartenders are not supposed to cover the label of any bottle they're serving from, however brides/mothers-of-brides often request that servers cover the label of inexpensive champagne/wine bottles with a white towel (or their hand) when serving guests. If you attend a wedding or hosted event and you find, or suspect, that this is the case, do not call out your server for covering the label. Servers know it's improper serving form. They're only doing it at the request of the host(ess). Save the dignity of everyone involved and merrily accept whatever the server pours into your champagne/wine glass without question then raise your glass high in tribute to the toasts and drink at least one sip after each salute. A couple swallows of inexpensive champagne will not kill you and ultimately the pride you save will be your own. Calling out the server/host on an inexpensive bottle of champagne/wine will only make you look like the cad you apparently are.

You are Like a Hurricane, There's Storm in Your Eyes

Mardi Gras! Fat Tuesday!

Time to party like there's no booze until Easter.

There's not really much to say about Mardi Gras and Carnival that hasn't already been said.

So.

Drink up!

I've had the pleasure of a few visits to New Orleans. What I love about New Orleans is that it couldn't happen anywhere else on the planet. The confluence of the Gulf bay bringing in sailors and trade combined with Olde South gentility and the French settlers...it's a perfect storm of cultural, agricultural and economic mix that makes New Orleans unique. Truly, there is no place on earth remotely similar to New Orleans, and it could never happen anywhere else. This is reflected in the diverse culture, intoxicating regional cuisine...and magnificent local libations!

I loves me a Hurricane. But ever since Katrina hit I feel a little *awkward* ordering a Hurricane. It feels insensitive to order a party drink named for the disaster that hit New Orleans. Hurricanes (the drink) hit you hard, but comparing their rum TKO punch to Katrina seems, you know, insensitive. They were originally named for the way they hit you when you stand up: Like a hurricane. It used to be a humorous moniker. Hurricane was the punchline of a joke.
"Why is this innocent, pretty, fruity beverage called a Hurricane?"
"Drink all of it, then stand up. It'll hit you like a Category 5."


But now, post-Katrina, hurricanes in New Orleans are no laughing matter. So I feel uncomfortable ordering a drink named for the natural disaster that devastated the beloved city where it originated.

But.

They're good and it's Mardi Gras and I am choosing to put aside my sensitivities and revel in the joy that is a New Orleans treasure. Let's throw on some lively jazz or Zydeco and dust off the Hurricane glasses!

I present to you, the mighty

Hurricane

What you'll need

3/4 oz. Light Rum (Bacardi's a solid choice.)

3/4 oz. Dark Rum (Meyers is a good choice and adds a Caribbean kick)

3/4 oz. 151 Rum* OR an additional 3/4 oz. of light or dark rum.

Orange Juice

Pineapple Juice

1/2 oz. Grenadine

Ice

Hurricane or Collins glass

Garnish: Pineapple, cherries, oranges

How you'll construct it:

You can build this drink or shake it or roll it or blend it. 
Fill Hurricane or Collins glass with ice.
Add ingredients, in order. 
Garnish and serve.
OR:
Fill Hurricane or Collins glass with ice.
Fill shaker about 1/2 with ice. 
Add all ingredients in shaker.
Martini shake the ingredients.
Strain contents of shaker into glass.
Add garnish. 
OR:
Fill Hurricane or Collins glass with ice.
Pour the ice from the glass into shaker.
Roll** ingredients  
Pour all contents of shaker, including ice, into glass. 
Garnish and serve
 
Any way you build or mix it, it's good, but they're best served over ice. 1) It adds a little water to the cocktail. You'll appreciate any extra drop of water you drank with this cocktail when the morning after dawns. 2) Fresh juices, especially pineapple, tend to get "sticky" and syrupy when room temp. The ice keeps the flavors fresh and the viscosity palatable.

You may also wish to serve Hurricanes frozen. You'll need a blender. Measure ice into the serving glass. Pour that ice into the blender (no more, no less). Add all ingredients. Blend until slushy. Pour into glass, garnish and serve.

OR:

Substitute Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Mix for the juices. In my estimation, this is the only acceptable Hurricane mix. 

Pat's recipe varies from the version I learned. It has "just" one type of rum (and no 151) which makes it "safer." 

4 oz. of Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Rum or a good Dark Rum
4 oz. of Pat O'Brien's Hurricane Mix
Fill Hurricane or Collins glass with crushed ice
Garnish with an orange and cherry

**Rolling a drink refers to the mixing method where the cocktail ingredients are transferred from one shaker to another and then transferred into the serving glass. The shaker is not vigorously shaken, the desired result is to merely blend the ingredients and ice. Often the ice is not strained, the ingredients and ice all go into the glass together.  Margaritas, Long Island Iced Teas, tropical drinks and the like employ the rolling mix technique. Rule of thumb: If juice or sour mix is an ingredient, giving the ingredients a roll before serving is a good idea. This method is most often used when the base alcohol is not vodka or gin.  (Obviously there are exceptions (as in Long Island Iced Teas), but vodka and gin are appreciated at cold temps, hence more vigorous and prolonged ice/shaker time cools them down.)

* 151 Rum is just that: 151 Proof. Which means it's 75.5% alcohol. It is also known as "overproof" rum. As a point of reference, Everclear, which is illegal in many states, is available in 151 or 190 Proof. If you choose to mix with 151 go easy on the pour. You are playing with fire. Make sure you serve your guests plenty of water with 151 drinks. They'll thank you later.

So that's the storied, wonderful, fruity, rumfest that is the Hurricane.

But Fat Tuesday celebrations are not limited to New Orleans or America! 

Carnival! Rio!

When I hear Rio! I think:

Caipirinha!  (Ki pur een ya!)

What you'll need:

2 tsp granulated sugar
8 small lime wedges
2 1/2 oz Sagatiba Pura (cachaca)*

How you'll construct it:

Muddle** the sugar into the lime wedges in an old-fashioned glass. 

Fill the glass with ice cubes. 

Pour the cachaca into the glass. 

Stir well.

Garnish with a lime wheel and serve.

These are refreshing, zesty cocktails - and the official drink of Brazil! (It's basically a Mojito without the mint or soda.)

*Cachaca (pronounced KA SHA SA) is a sugarcane alcohol similar to rum, and, like rum, is available in dark and light varieties. It's the most popular liquor in Brazil. It's readily available in larger liquor stores, but if you can't find it locally you can substitute light rum (not spiced or coconut). It changes the flavor but in a pinch rum will work.

**You'll need a muddler to muddle! A muddler and rocks glass are like a mortar and pestle. The muddler is a blunt wood or stainless baseball bat shaped bar tool. It's often included in barware sets and people often don't know what they are or why it came with their cocktail shaker. It's most often used to make a mash comprised of sugar or bitters with limes, lemons or mint leaves. Place the ingredients to be muddled in the bottom of a rocks glass. Gently mash the ingredients with the rounded end of the muddler just until combined/mixed. The goal is to release the aroma of the fruit or mint and soften it's bite with sugar. Then pour in the liquid ingredients. Voila! Muddled and sipped!

I Cannot Tell a Lie

Refrain from drink which is the source of all evil--and the ruin of half the workmen in this Country. - George Washington

It's Presidents' Day in America and I'm celebrating my favorite president's birthday with a cocktail.

George Washington is my favorite president. Independent, intelligent, hardworking, balanced and gosh darnit, just a nice guy.

It's no secret Washington had a distillery at Mount Vernon. Rye whiskey and mead were the drinks of choice brewed up by the Father of Our Country. So it makes sense to celebrate his birthday with a whiskey or honey-based drink.

Or.

Even though it's largely believed he didn't actually cut down a cherry tree*, Washington is closely associated with cherries. And February is National Cherry Month. So I'm going a more modern and palatable route with the drink suggestion.

There are some very tasty cherry wines. I recommend any cherry wine from the great state of Michigan. Look for something from the Traverse Bay area. Cherry Republic (the best destination for all things cherry) has a very good Balaton cherry wine. (Balaton cherries are a tart cherry primarily used in cooking. The cherry tree breed originated in Hungary, but is thriving brilliantly in Michigan.) Cherry Republic also has a lovely Cherry Juice for those who prefer their cherries without fermentation. (Once you have this stuff in your kitchen you'll be amazed how often you add it to your recipes. I highly suggest adding about 1/4 cup of their cherry juice to any salsa. You'll never eat salsa without cherry juice again.) Chateau Grand Traverse has a few good cherry wine varieties. Black Star Farms has a nice, inexpensive cherry wine and a hard apple cherry cider.

Right. You came here to drink. And drink we shall. This might seem an odd choice for Washington's Birthday. I'm pretty sure George never made it to Singapore. But once you look at the ingredients I think you'll agree it's the perfect libation to toast George Washington's February 22 birthday.

There are many versions of the Singapore Sling. Fundamentally the drink is comprised of Gin and Cherry Brandy, and every recipe contains those two beverages as their base. I'm suggesting a basic, easy to prepare version without a lot of ingredients to gather. Once you make the basic version you can experiment to match your specific tastes. Often two ounces of gin are used instead of one, but be warned, that will result in a fairly stiff drink that might catch you off guard because these things go down like KoolAde.

Singapore Sling

What you'll need: 

1/2 oz Grenadine

1 oz Gin

Sour mix

Club Soda

1/2 oz Cherry Brandy (Kirsch, Kirschwasser, and Dekuyper are widely available)
Ice
Collins or Hurricane Glass

How you'll construct it:
Pour Grenadine into the bottom of a Collins (or Hurricane) glass; then fill with ice. 
Add gin. 
Fill glass to almost full with equal parts Sour Mix and chilled Club Soda.  
Top with a float* of Cherry Brandy. 
Serve unstirred. 
Garnish with a cherry. 

*A "float" is any liquid, often a liqueur or juice, poured on top of a drink and not mixed. The liquid floats on the top of the drink. (A stone float is orange juice poured on top of a mixed drink.)


A tasty virgin version of the above Singapore Sling recipe: Substitute 7Up for the Gin and Maraschino Cherry juice for the Cherry Brandy. (It's basically a Shirley Temple.)


If you prefer a stronger flavor and a livelier mix presentation, get out your shaker and rocks or shot glasses.
Add ice, Gin, Grenadine and Sour Mix and Cherry Brandy in the shaker. 
Gently shake - less agitation than a martini, more than a roll. 
Strain into rocks or shot glass (without ice).  



*The cherry tree story is believed to be nothing more than marketing propaganda to sell books circa ~1800. Marketing, baby, marketing.