It’s that time again – the time when Mixology Monday raises its head and we have to say “What’s up for this month?”
Well, Stevi Deter over at Two At The Most picked this month’s topic and it’s “Guilty Pleasures”.
What’s a guilty pleasure?? Well, according to Stevi, it’s basically the cocktail equivalent of comfort food.? What do you end up with when you’re not drinking a “good drink”?
Good question, Stevi, and it’s one I’ve been wrestling with for a while.? It’s a hard decision to make.? I mean, seriously?
I answered my own question yesterday with my latest purchase.
On the right, you see my usual guilty pleasure.? As of today, our kegerator has a keg of Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA.? When I’m feeling lazy, or just wanting to relax, I’m a big fan of beer.? After all, it’s tasty and it’s good.
On the left, however…
I’d just heard of this stuff this week.? It’s called Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and it comes from South Carolina.? It’s vodka infused with what they say is the only tea grown in the United States, grown less than five miles from the distllery (I’m reading from the back of the bottle).
It’s 70 proof, but really, it tastes exactly like sweet tea except that it has a bit of an alcohol burn on the end of it.? I can drink it just straight, though they suggest on the bottle that you drink it cut with water.
A local restaurant called BreadSoda had an idea for a “hard Arnold Palmer” type drink – basically half Firefly and half lemonade.? That mix kicks butt, and I also tried mixing it with ginger beer and found that worked very well, too.
Another concoction I’m thinking of trying with it, and please keep in mind that this is only in theory so far, is…
…ahhh, you know what?? I’m not going to tell you.?? Not yet.? Come by Thursday Drink Night, maybe I’ll have it ready by then, if I’ve survived the perils of this upcoming week by then.
Alcoholic SWEET TAY???? Holy crap, why haven’t I been briefed about this before!!!! Thank you…. you have done the public a great service….. bring some to Tales….
Count me in! Now that I’ve outed myself as a vodka drinker, I gotta get me a botle o’ that.
Admittedly biased, I run Fentimans US and suggest that you try our Fentimans Botanically Brewed Beverages. Our 1905 original Ginger Beer from Northern England is made over 7-days of both fermentation with bruised ginger and then brewing with incorporation of other botanicals. Just the right level of heat for the perfect mixed drink. Instead of sweet lemonade, try our Victorian Lemonade made with the juice of 1 & 1/2 lemons. Other sodas include Madarin & Seville Orange Jigger made with over 30% mandarin juice, Curiosity Cola, Dandelion & Burdock & Shandy. Plus, we make a killer Tonic Water made with lemongrass from the Cochin area of India and the purified bark of the cinchona tree (source of quinine). All of Fentimans Botanically Brewed Beverages are curiously stimulating, contain less than 1/2% alcohol (from our fermentation) and really make the drink. We’ll be at Tales of The Cocktail this summer. Hope to see you there. Cheers!