Campari Grapefruit
2 ounces Campari
½ ounce Cointreau
6 ounces San Pellegrino Aranciata
soda (or to taste)
juice half a lemon
several dashes Fee Brothers grapefruit bitters
(shake without soda, then pour both
over ice)
Listen, I need to make this short. Short work week, lots to do.
Let's start by dispensing with the niceties. Happy fucking spring. I'm sorry if that sounds rude. I realize that in a lot of places, spring
started about a month ago. But in
Wisconsin, it’s just starting to warm up now.
Sort of. Almost. So that's why I'm cursing about it. Don’t judge, moms. You know it sucks.
It’s been a month since my last cocktail post, so let me now bring you up to speed on my drinking in the last 30 days. For spring break, last week, we went to California. We spent the first half of the trip visiting
relatives in the Central Coast area. My
in-laws live in a one-taco town near Paso Robles. Going there is a bit like going to Coachella, but without the people. Or the music.
There are plenty of opportunities to walk through vine
trellises, though. That area happens to
be the “new wine country” (as depicted in the movie, Sideways). According to
local viticulture lore, the central coast now produces most of Napa’s cabernet
grapes. So basically, suck it
Napa. Just kidding, Napa. Love you. Also, I love red wine but it gives me migraines
most of the time. Really, I don’t have a dog in this fight. Moving on.
After the in-laws bit, we drove down to Los Angeles for
Easter weekend. Of course we did. L.A.: the city of angels. Cue the choir of naked
baby cherubs. In observation of Easter
weekend, we went to the beach, visited Universal studios, swam in the hotel
pool, ate Mexican food, and drank delicious cocktails. Totes angelic.
One of my personal favorites was from a restaurant
called A-Frame, chosen by our friend and tour-guide-master-of-the-universe, Justine.
The drink was called, The Trick. And oh yes, it was. Quite a trick, too. It had some kind of hot and sexy blend of
tequila, cucumber, ginger, lemongrass, lime, and chile powder. Here is a picture of it.
 |
| Die of excitement now. |
I had another incredible drink at a restaurant called Mercado, in Santa Monica. They call it a
spicy cucumber margarita. It’s got
silver tequila, house jalapeno puree, and a chipotle salt rim. If I were going to continue the
drink-as-lover theme, I’d have to admit: I almost left my husband for this drink.
 |
| He's so green. |
So that takes care of one week. Now: What have I been doing for drinks the rest of the last month?
Well, the truth is that prior to my spring break
libations, I had been taking it down a notch. Trying to keep the old liver from turning prematurely into foie gras, if you know what I mean. It was a long, cold winter marked by a lot of
snow and a lot of cocktails. They were good times, and terrible times. It was winter in Wisconsin. But once the thaw got under way, I thought it was time to slow things down. So I
wasn’t drinking as much. At least not during
the week. And when I was drinking, I was
mixing much lighter cocktails.
In your personal mixology repertoire, you sometimes have to consider the
strength of the liquor you’re drinking.
There’s obviously a vast difference in drinks. If you drink Jim
Beam Devil’s Cut, for example – a bourbon that I’ve used in the Nashville Mule – you’re drinking stuff that’s 90 proof. I’m no math genius, but by my calculations,
that’s 45% alcohol by volume. If you
want Tres Agaves Reposado Tequila – another spirit I have in stock in mi casa – you’re looking at 80 proof. 40%
alcohol by volume. Given that a nice
margarita mixes tequila and Cointreau (also 40%), you’re looking at twice that
volume of alcohol in your drink.
Well, nobody needs that on a school night.
So in my lighter spring cocktail mode, I started mixing with
lighter alcohol varieties. A great
weekday cocktail is the Pimm’s Cup. Pimm’s, always tasty and refreshing, is only
25% alcohol by volume. You can find a
lot of recipes on line. I mix Pimm’s
with ginger beer sometimes, or just plain soda water, sour mix, and a little
simple syrup, which I keep in the fridge. A few dashes of rhubarb or
orange bitters, and it’s a drink. One. Done. A refreshing cocktail to cook
with, about as potent as a single glass of wine, but nobody ends up needing to leave the dishes for the morning.
And hint
to the guys: this is a VERY good cocktail for date night. You can pace yourself without getting too
sloppy, so you stay fresh and clever for your long marathon night of Game of Thrones. Later. When you drop off your date.
Another fab lite spirit is Campari. I have always loved Campari. Why? Because
as far as apertifs and such go, I think it’s the spicier Italian cousin to Pimm’s. And really, anything Italian is a little bit
spicier than everything British. I know
some people think Campari tastes like motor oil. But then, some people think that song Happy is cool, and I find it massively annoying. Especially after hearing it 47
thousand times while driving (aka parking) in L.A. on the freeway. There you go.
Frankly, I think more people would enjoy Campari if they mixed it in
cocktails. I appreciate the old standard
blend of Campari and soda. It’s tall,
dark, handsome, and always the
gentleman. But it still comes on too strong for some
folks. I get that. So do I.
For you gentler souls, then, I’d suggest a Campari
cocktail. There are a lot of variations
available on line but remember: If you’re trying to concoct a light
cocktail, you can’t mix Campari with Gin, and Cointreau. Defeats the purpose. I get around this problem with soda (which I
happen to love) and mix it sort of like a Pimm’s
Cup. Throw it over ice. Ahhhhh.
The drink I’m featuring here does use a little bit of Cointreau, for flavor. The great thing about mixing orange liqueur with Campari is that – surprise! – it tastes like grapefruit. Don’t ask me why. I really don’t know. I’m not a real mixologist. I just play one in my suburban midwestern village. Plus, maybe some things are meant to stay unsolved. Like that one day all of Manhattan smelled like syrup. So mysterious. Am I right?
So. Here’s a drink you can feel good about sipping on a Tuesday,
and still get up fresh for -- wait for it -- Hump Day. Salute!
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