For those who haven’t clicked on my handle recently, I’ve started a Substack. It’ll just be focusing on cocktails, avoiding politics. As I’ve used some of my old posts there as a starting place, it seemed only fair to bring some of my posts from there back over to here. One of my plans is to do a cocktail of the month, and for my first, I chose the French 75.,
February, a time for love, chocolate, snow, bubbly, the Superbowl, Valentine’s Day, and Galentine’s Day. I could go with a lazy red drink, or something with chocolate, but this is my first Cocktail of the Month post, and I would rather hit this with a drink I feel needs more respect: the French 75.
Origins
This drink came into existence before Prohibition, around the time of World War 1. The drink itself was named after French artillery pieces that fired 75mm shells. Who first came up with it, and the original recipes have been lost to the mists of time (for some reason, bartenders and drinkers didn’t generally take notes when coming up with new things). I’ve seen two major conflicting original recipes, both seem reasonable to me. One was gin, Calvados, grenadine, and lemon juice. The other was cognac, sugar, lemon juice, and champagne.
The second recipe hues much closer to the modern recipe, the first recipe is nearly identical to a drink called the Pink Lady (which includes an egg white), and without the gin would be a Jack Rose (although this is usually made with applejack). All of these are delicious in their own right.
Modern Recipe
- 2 parts (1 oz) gin
- 1 part (0.5 oz) lemon juice
- 1 part (0.5 oz) simple syrup
- 6 parts (3 oz) champagne (or other sparkling wine)
To build this drink, you’ll put everything but the champagne into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until chilled and combined. Strain that into either a flute or coupe glass, and top with the champagne. If you’re using a flute, I would give a gentle stir with a bar spoon here. This gets garnished with a lemon twist.
Variations
As with many classic drinks, there are lots of variations that have evolved over the years. The most common is to use an infused simple syrup to adjust the flavor, with lavender being a favorite. If you want to go full ‘merican, there’s a variant named the French 95 which swaps out the gin for bourbon (95 is bigger than 75, so better, right?).
Now, if you’re making this for Valentine’s Day, and absolutely need it to be pink, there’s several ways to do this. The easiest would be to swap out the simple syrup for grenadine. On the other hand, I’m partial to adding a bar spoon of the syrup that brandied cherries get packed in, and adding a cherry as another garnish.
Batch Prepping
If you’re going to be making several of these, you would be better served by pre-mixing up the spirit, juice, and sugar ahead of time. Store it in the fridge, and add a bit more than two ounces (the little more is for the dilution effect of the ice melting) to the glass and top with champagne.
Mocktail Version
Let’s get this out of the way first. I am not a fan of the alcohol removed “spirits” on the market. There are plenty of options out there if you do enjoy them, and for gin, my complaints aren’t as strong. They at least will have the botanical flavors that are what makes gin more than vodka. Without leaning on those, making a mocktail version of this drink gets rough. You can swap out the champagne for seltzer, ginger ale, or lemon/lime pop, but none of those really come across the same. I would lean into the Calvados based original recipe, and mix up apple cider, grenadine, lemon juice, and then top with ginger ale/beer.
Sorry to be OT, because I haven’t been drinking, but I did just experience a true Florida moment. Watched an iguana race across a road being chased by a raccoon into some woods and brush.
A true Florida moment would have had a fat drunk bearded man chasing after the racoon.
a fat drunk naked man
Hm… I haven’t moved to Florida yet.
a fat drunk naked man… with an erection.
Ah, an Allen Ginsberg.
“Ah, an Allen Ginsberg.”
What’s the difference with a Jeffrey Toobin?
What’s the difference with a Jeffrey Toobin?
Outside cat versus inside cat.
Naruhodo!
https://japan-dev.com/blog/naruhodo-meaning
I guess we now know why the iguana crossed the road.
It’ll just be focusing on cocktails, avoiding politics.
Nothing is apolitical.
Everyone who says that should be punched in the gut.
These are not as quite as good, but they have a kick:
https://olesmoky.com/products/moonshine-cherries
I’ve been using them to garnish old fashioned cocktails.
The jar that I used for that was the Trader Joe’s pitted Amarena cherries. The girlfriend didn’t realize that the syrup could be used for things. She has since taken to putting into quite a few drinks (or just mixing it with Coke, 7-Up, or ginger beer/ale).
I’ve recently got a counter top canner, so I’m looking forward to making some batches of my own brandied cherries.
I had to throw out all my syrups when I replaced the fridge. This weekend I plan on making a few replacement batches (1:1, Demerra syrup, Cane syrup, probably Grenadine.)
I object that Neph is constantly showing us photos of drinks but not providing us with samples.
Make it out to Cleveland and we can either hit up the bars, or I can pour drinks in my basement.
Nice try, but I know better than to venture into a shitlord’s basement.
The drinks are so good that you won’t even mind the rape.
Don’t do it! Stay out of the Ilium Basement!
I can recommend hitting the bars with Nephilium.
Just how much rohypnol is in this simple syrup?
Neph is an excellent drinking companion, and hardly rapey at all.
However, I can’t recommend playing poker with him unless you have very thick skin.
Why does your eye-tye champers say “superior dong” on it?
Pretty sure that’s a c there, and that was a recommendation from the store. While I’m deep on beer, cocktail, and whisk(e)y knowledge, my wine knowledge is weak.
I blame my screen resolution.
Superior Clong?
DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) represents the highest classification for Italian wines, guaranteeing superior quality, strict production rules (yields, aging), and mandatory government sensory testing
Hardly rapey at all is still a little rapey.
Eve: Here ya go, one champagne cocktail. Adam: Oh, thank you. Eve: I thought only hookers drank those things?
Now, if you’re making this for Valentine’s Day, and absolutely need it to be pink – use rose sparkling wine?
That would be the lazy method.
Laziness is an evolutionary behavioral adaptation for expending as little energy as possible while gathering as much cocktail benefit as possible. See, laziness is a good thing.
You’re lazy. I’m efficient.
Once I was in-house, I pretty much made a career out of being lazy. It involved (1) thinking ahead and (2) prepping for contingencies. So that when something came up, I was already a good part of the way there and could deliver what was needed with minimal (additional) effort. My posse was consistently surprised when I would say “I can have that for you tomorrow” and then deliver it as promised. It also helped me project the attitude of serene confidence that a trusted advisor should have.
german general blah blah blah smart and lazy blah blah blah
Suthen for the win.
champagne (or other sparkling wine) – at least use a traditional method sparkling, not Prosecco
I feel like I’m the lone man in the wilderness left attacking athletes, GM’s, or coaches who decide to take time off from their highly lucrative and competitive jobs for the birth of a child. Whether that be the event itself or paternity leave after the fact. The Vikings GM reportedly annoyed some co-workers by doing this during training camp last year. Or at least raised some eyebrows across the league.
Some people tried claiming that a GM is basically on vacation during camp anyway and I’m like outside the draft or FA it’s just about as critical a time to take off as possible for that position. Granted that’s my outsider take on it, but it’s a key part of the roster construction process here…
These guys are judged based on the way the team performs on gameday. In the case of players, they receive their checks for what they do on 17 or so Sundays a year. Some guys are getting game checks of millions per game.
Low paid employees in various fields have to sacrifice holidays and being present for family events to include with newborns. But we are sitting here and making excuses for a guy who holds one of just 32 such positions in the country stepping back.
I really do contribute it to the increased feminization of the country as a whole. The idea of sacrifice is just foreign to so many at this point. I’m aware football is just a game and not life or death here, but you are paid very fucking well to do a job. Do it. You can get help for your wife in other ways during that period. Or you could recognize that you live in an era with an assortment of birth control measures and you could just plan this shit out if you are going to have kids. Crazy concept, I know, but yea…
its just ballsports bro
It’s not a matter of life and death. It’s more important than that.
I think what we need to do then is cap the amount of money that can be spent on salaries related to it then. It’s just a game and there definitely aren’t people who would kill to have those jobs or anything.
There’s probably a healthy middle ground between the fathers of old who didn’t want anything to do with their kids when not at work and the second mother approach taken by many Gen Z and Millennial men.
Is a job a job or a career?
A few thoughts:
-I’m not gonna think twice about taking the lavish paternity leave my job gives me. It’s a part of my comp package and they can pay me hard cash in exchange for me foregoing that part of the comp package if they want me in office.
– It’s not unreasonable to say “now’s not the best time, take your leave later”. However, that should be a negotiation and should come with a price tag attached.
– show loyalty if you want to receive loyalty. Offering somebody a comp package and then getting pissy at them for using it is the opposite of loyalty. It’s manipulative and effeminate. Your word is your word, and when you come to an agreement as to compensation, stand by it. If you don’t want people taking leave during certain parts of the year, SAY SO.
All that said, I think it’s common courtesy for men to take paternity leave at a time convenient for all involved. It’s not critical that dad be off work on this exact day, so scheduling leave for the busiest time of the year is a crappy move, especially as an executive.
Sounds like a bubbly gin gimlet.
Closer to a puffed up Tom Collins.
I do like the French 75. I substitute St Germain for the simple syrup.
Since I have a lime tree I also, on occasion, sub in fresh lime juice for the lemon juice.
this all sounds ever so slightly gay
I enjoy St. Germain, but it’s really easy to see it overused. I went with a lavender simple syrup for this one to kick up some more floral notes another way.
Mmm, yellow limes.
Since a bottle is ~25oz, premix the other ingredients 8x to use one up?
a bottle is measured in milliliters you rube
*pats Pie on his never-been-to-the-moon head*
Ounces.
are you people honestly still pretending the moon thing was real?
If you want to stick with just one style of drink, that would be correct.. The other option would be to provide other mixers for the champagne. Think mimosa bar, but for cocktails. You could have your pre-mixed gin, lemon, simple; bittered sugar cubes (for champagne cocktails, which can be drunk by non-whores); bourbon, lemon, simple; and/or absinthe.
that should have been a link to your substack.
After 3-4 French 75s, I’d probably be fucked up enough to break out the absinthe and start doing Death In The Afternoon cocktails (an ounce of absinthe in a champagne flute, topped up with champagne.) After a few of those, anything could happen.
PieInTheSky:
I already feel guilty enough shilling here. But since I had content, and the site hungers…
Or buy 375s or 187s.
I asked ChatGPT-5 for a suggestion on Champagne. It came up with Louis Bouillot Crémant de Bourgogne, or Nicolas Feuillatte Brut, both readily available for ~$20/bottle. It also said to avoid anything Extra Dry, or Prosecco.
It further said that the French 75 was, “one of it’s favorite cocktails,” but wouldn’t tell me how it would know. I suspect an uplifted mass spectrometer out there somewhere…
try Bauer Johanna
I’ve had the Nicolas Feuillatte and remember enjoying it (but my palate is nothing special)
One was gin, Calvados, grenadine, and lemon juice.
Calvados?
Hmmm… I’m intrigued.
As I mentioned, add an egg white, and you’ve got a Pink Lady. But if you’re looking for a reference for one of the older recipes, this looks like a possibility, but I have questions about the ingredient ratios used in it.
Thanks!
The description on “Highland Grogg” flavored coffee mentions “fine Scottish brandy.”
I never knew they grew grapes in Scotland!
“grapes”. It’s small, round, and ferments. Don’t ask where it came from.
You made me curious:
AI Overview
Fine Scottish brandy is a rare, niche spirit, with producers like Ludlow Distillery offering triple-distilled grape brandy aged in used Scottish whisky casks. These spirits often highlight a “glorious trinity” of fine ingredients, refined craft, and patience, balancing traditional distillation with local maturation techniques.
Their website says:
Our finest Grape Brandy is carefully triple-distilled in our beautiful copper still, before cask ageing in second-use Scottish whisky casks. These casks were first used for American bourbon and then for whisky in Scotland.
So, they must be importing the base wine from Europe.
It has been a while but yeah, they did.
Foine Scottish Brandy? Google and the AI says Apple based or mentions Drambuie as an approximation.
Drambuie as a brandy substitute? It’s a spiced and sweetened whisky blend. Which would have very little in common with what most think of as brandy.
I was joking about the medieval warm period…They grew grapes all over the British isles
I doubt anyone here cares. I barely care and I don’t even play it, but the more I learn about competitive Pokemon the more I hate it. Or at least the players who participate.
There was a literal gimmick (now brought back) where you could “mega evolve” Pokemon. It just gave them 100 more stat points to one of the 6 stats a Pokemon has, may change the ability or typing. Players loved this.
There was a later gimmick called Dynamax where Pokemon got bigger, doubled their HP (one stat, same for all of them) and in a signature move. All got access to Dynamax moves which had some different effects based on their ‘typing.’
Not getting too far into the weeds, but the whiny cunts who play competitively banned the Dynamax on their fan created platforms and complain it was broken. Mega Pokemon were far strong and far more game breaking with most of them not even being usable (you could only use one per battle, so you had to pick carefully). So you ended up with a stale meta game where the same few Pokemon were on every team and dominated across the board unlike any other era of Pokemon before or since.
Why did these mouth breathers hate the Dynamax and ban it despite this? Well, beyond the moronic opinion that one was more aesthetically pleasing (which has little to do with competitive play), it’s because it was more unpredictable. Basically, people used a wider array of strategies and the Dynamax could be used on any Pokemon during a battle. It was less predictable.
That’s the sort of people who are attracted to competitive Pokemon.
A few years ago they also switched to “open team sheets” for official tournaments. Which basically means you have to provide your full team to the opponent from the moves, to the held items etc. What’s the result of that? It means you no longer have the element of surprise for the most part, and while some people still get creatives you end up narrowing the use of strategies. You could employ a creative or underused team that happens to counter the other one well if you use it right or in a new way, but not if you have to spell it out for you opponent before hand. So just stick with the same old shit.
The mouth breathers who play want it this way. They think a game where everyone is employing one of the same few strategies is somehow making it more “skill” based. I mean, prediction and RNG are an inherent part of the game, but don’t you dare go and come up with something really creative that wouldn’t have even occurred to me and make me look stupid beating my uber legendary Pokemon with one of the weak underused guys!
This could also be extrapolated to general problems with video games these days. They just keep getting dumber for the most part like everything else. People complain about grinding. They complain if things are too hard. Complain if they die too much. I know some people on here don’t play seriously, and there’s definitely a place for games where you just turn your brain off and play. But there should also be the other side of that coin for people who want to think and be challenged.
Like this is a defense of the open team sheet bullshit:
So you blame the guy who saw a flaw in how everyone else was building their teams and then took advantage of it. You know, instead of everyone else involved who just used the same old shit as everyone else.
That sounds as bad as that time the Anti-Gaylors and the Multi-Stans teamed up to attack the Gaylors, Larries, and Evermores.
Dude.
You just wrote five hundred and sixty words.
About POKEMON
You counted them?
We’ve finally found a use for LLMs!
This reminds me very much of competitive sailing and motorsports. And yeah, some of the ‘competitive equity’ and equipment division stuff in USPSA.
I think that for a sport to have any shot at mass-market appeal, it needs to understand two things:
1.) The sport is not for you and I. If anyone could be doing it, they would be doing it, instead of watching it from their couch.
2.) It’s a contest between athletes second, and a spectacle for the audience first.
The World Series of Poker figured this out. M:TG never did. Pro wrestling depends on it, mixed martial arts had it for a while but threw it away when Pride FC and Dream Fight went down the tubes.
It’s a contest between athletes second, and a spectacle for the audience first.
I hate this one with a passion. The number of sports made lame in the name of spectacle is high. I get that the lowest common denominator eats that crap up, but it’d be nice to have some sports that were focused on the love of the game and not on putting the best show on for some slob eating Cheetos on his couch.
Full-contact caged chess is pretty amazing.
That approach won’t sell more Cheetos and Merch. Won’t somebody think of the shareholders?!
Like it or not (I don’t, particularly), that slob eating Cheetos on his couch is the one with the money and the willingness to spend it.
Never touched that franchise but I complain a lot about games that are too hard.
Because too hard = not fun especially the older I get. I like developers who add “assists”. I do not like developers who tell their customers to “git gud”.
I’m a strict originalist of Pokémon… It’s Red, Blue and maybe Yellow, played on a Game Boy Color at the newest.
And there are 150 plus one if you have a Gameshark and get Mew.
Anything more is like trying to add new books to the Bible.
This. I have blue, red and yellow cartridges floating around the house somewhere.
I thought you were talking about printer toner for a moment. My beloved Dell printer scanner is finally dying, after ore than ten years. It is depressing me.
My first Pokemon was Pokemon Uranium.
It inspired me to buy a secondhand 3DS and one of the Sun and Moon games.
Since I had the system, I looked at other titles, such as Fire Emblem Fates, which got me into that series.
I only played Pokemon Uranium because it was a PC game, if fan-made. Despite the money it has earned Nintendo from customers like me, they haaate it amd have tried to get it gone from the internet more than once.
I’ve never played the 1990s Pokemon games because I don’t have the hardware to.
On the topic of Fire Emblem, Birthright (part of Fates) is my favorite from a mechanics standpoint. It doesn’t to weapon durability, and there is a mechanism for catching up characters who’ve fallen behind on levels, even if it is grinding. Three Houses has half of that, where it has a means of grinding out the level gap for characters falling behind, but brought back durability, so my inventory is mostly stacks of replacement gear for when the current weapons break and I never use the extra special relic weapons because they break too fast and cost too much to repair.
My progression on Engage stalled because there was no mechanism for catching up the characters who fell behind. All the random encounters were based off your main character level, so instead of earning experience, they’d just get trashed since they couldn’t win even against trash enemies. (There is a part of the main story with several consecutive missions where you have to just keep going and since you’re facing ever stronger enemies, you’re incentivized to keep the group that’s ahead in play, thus creating this punishing gap)
Emulators are a thing, you know…
do I look like a ROM Pirate to you?
Yo ho ho and a cartridge of ROM
Fire Emblem (The Game Cube version) just came out on Switch 2. I never played it, it seems interesting.
Too long, did read – shorter rant – don’t do multiplayer, it is always toxic in every game ever.
I believe our very own Swiss is a big fan of the French 75.
Can confirm.
It is a classic artillery piece, but there are better cannon made since.
Tried to refresh and got a database error.
I panicked thinking we’d be without the Glibs for another day.
Same here.
*takes swig of Fine Scottish Brandy to calm nerves*
Oh, subscribed.
What did I just read??
100% and having somehow doesn’t surprise me having interacted with more than a few marketing people.
https://x.com/LinkedInLunat1c/status/2019410728273473901?s=20
“Cynthia” needs to be aborted. She is simply an evil woman.
I whole heartedly support retroactive abortions.
Some people really need to have their eyes put out with hot pokers, and their tongues removed with a pair of garden shears.
(Note for the record – abortion is a subject that I care not a whit about.)
Abortion is a subject I have very strong opinions on – it is the intentional taking of an innocent life. Pretty much the only circumstance where it is justified is when you’re facing the situations of “either one dies, or they both die” or “only one is going to survive, who do we save?” that is, real medical necessity.
What?!
Cynthia Junior, don’t tell your mother anything anymore (IF that story is even true).
Aged rum works splendidly in a 75 as well.
And I’m perfectly happy using Cava or Cremant de Bourgogne instead of champagne.
You can also achieve the pink color by using a violet gin (Empress 1908 or McQueen do nicely), which will turn pink when mixed with lemon juice.
Superior Seafood in New Orleans has frozen French 75s. One 18 ounce version per dozen oysters will leave one nicely sated after two or three rounds. You can then board the St. Charles Avenue streetcar to get back to your hotel — no danger in doing something reckless like letting your wife drive.
That sounds wonderfully indulgent.
*youngin’ raises hand* The Jack Rose sounds like a Titanic drink, what w Jack Dawson and Rose (whatever her last name was).
Accepted the Holdover Gig at Meijer Gas Stn, and now recording Mom’s band (guitar, hammer dulcimer, violin, folk songs and standards) perform at a hospice.
(Old people get all the fun stuff.) Interesting turn of gears, in Ev-Land.
I thought it was a stolen flower.
The Jack Rose was very popular in the 1920s/30s, but it dates back to the early 1900s.
Congrats on the new gig. Meijer is our preferred gas station. If you save up enough rewards points you can get $1 off per gallon of gas. Which is nice when you have a truck.
I need a truck soon for all the renovation/woodwork stuff I’m going to be doing – not looking forward to the increased gas costs. But we do have a Honda CR-V, so that can be the “good mileage” choice if I’m going far. The truck would be for trips in town to the big box home store.
Leaning towards a Toyota Tacoma or Nissan Frontier, but affordability will be a key factor, so we’ll see.
Also daydreamed about putting a snowplow on it to clear our property in minutes…
I was hoping to get a Toyota or Nissan when I was in the truck market, but ford and Chevy were way over represented in the 4WD, under $10k and can still pass inspection category.
2010s Chevy halftons are pretty reliable and geting cheep enough that high school kids are driving them.
Bukater Dewitt, I was reminded recently.
One of my favorite bits of trivia.
In 1952, claims that smoking causes cancer led Kent cigarettes to introduce an asbestos filter to “protect” smokers.
https://x.com/creepydotorg/status/2019412702893076714
I still wonder why they picked asbestos. Was it just flame retardance? Or was it also the cheapest option?
I believe because the strands are so fine that it did a great job filtering the particulates.
They switched to fiberglass if I’m remembering correctly and people worry about doing the same thing to your lungs as asbestosis.
🤷♂️
All that comes to mind is the scene in Omnirunner where Mrs Cortez is cutting the filters off her cigarettes with kitchen shears.
I know it has *bleep*-all to do with the companies’ filter design decisions.
Camels for me please, I want to stay healthy.
Shot – Dropped my coffee creamer and kiIIed the dog
https://x.com/BigDickBarclay/status/2019209960127594701?s=20
Reply – It was gonna kill either way
https://x.com/FlyoverStoicism/status/2019213070632120799?s=20
are you people honestly still pretending the moon thing was real?
Based on the current evidence, it does look pretty farfetched.
I totally believe we went to the moon in 1969.
Of course, I also fear there is a good chance that planet earth will go up in flames before anyone gets back to the moon.
After some of the shit pushed on us by the Government-Approved Scientists Club, I’d probably just shrug and get on with my day if I heard a compelling case that the moon is a hoax.
the moon? or the moon landing?
It’s made of cheese.
The moon is a myth perpetrated by the Freemasons.
OT question since we were ranting about sports:
If both parties sign waivers, make video statements, and go to other great lengths to document their total consent, should they be allowed to fight to the death in front of paying spectators?
No.
You can consent to risk of accidental death, but not a contest where one will die.
Writer research:
What would be good starter cocktails for someone who’s just starting their alcohol journey after a lifetime of teetotaling?
No, not me.
What reaction are you looking for?
Someone tossing them into the deep end to scare them, or someone guiding them in? Do they have any general tastes defined? Is it a spur of the moment moment of giving up, or looking to learn about it?
Edited to add: Also, general time period? That would influence the options.
Self-directed journey. Present day.
Character thinks liquor bottles are gorgeous and loves gorgeous bottles. Sometimes the liquor is colorful so that’s a bonus. They’re attractive enough that they must ALSO taste good.
Also, it “seems” sophisticated.
Also, character kind of wants to break out of the childhood/adolescent life since the parents went cuckoo and has been incommunicado with them for years.
But mostly pretty bottles = delicious
Mojeaux:
If they’re going based on bottle alone, I would expect at least one misstep pouring an ingredient neat (straight from the bottle into the glass, no ice, no chilling) that is not meant to be consumed that way. Such as stories of people killing of a bottle of vermouth one shot at a time.
If they’re looking for a pretty bottle, I would think going the Galiano route with a Harvey Wallbanger (OJ, vodka, float of Galiano) would be an appropriate route. It’s a drink that was popular back in the day, but has fallen out of favor in the modern era. Another route would be going the Aviation route (Gin, lemon juice, Maraschino, and creme de violette), but that is a potent one without much sweetness in it.
Another option would be to lean into blue drinks, but blue curaco is not in pretty bottles, but the drink would be pretty.
Third option would be the kitsch tiki route, which includes pretty glasses and fancy drinks with pretty garnishes. But that would be intimidating to do for yourself at home as a starting drink.
Oh, Neph! See my quote below. She asks for an Aviation because that’s what Kristen likes.
Actually, I just realized this character has TWO things based on Kristen. Don’t tell her I said that, though.
My sissy drinks of choice in college were amaretto & 7-Up, Kahlua & milk, and Irish Cream (straight up or in milk.) I think your liqueurs tend to have fancier bottles.
What is driving the interest by the character?
Did someone get talked into trying something and had an OMG moment? Now the character is driven by a new-found fascination. {it’s not like I know anyone that fell into a mead trap that way}.
Or is it someone driven by feeling a need to broaden horizons and has no idea how that is going to work out?
Something that tastes like ass so they won’t want to drink. A dirty gin martini should do it.
I think new drinkers prefer sugary drinks and clear alcohol. It seems to take a while to get used to the taste of alcohol, specifically dark liquors.
My guess would be some “sweet beverage + clear liquor” combination. Probably 7up + light rum, or good ol’ orange juice + vodka.
lol That is my usual. I drink like a girl.
Most everyone starts off with simple highballs.
A bear walks into a bar, catches the bartender’s eye, and says “I’d like a whiskey and………………………………………. coke.”
Bartender replies “Sure, pal. Just wondering — why the big pause?”
Bear looks down and says “I dunno. I was born with them, I guess.”
If you want an actual cocktail rather than a mixed drink, you could do worse than a Daiquiri. 2 parts white rum, 1 part lime juice, half a part simple syrup, shake until extremely cold and strain into a cocktail glass. Simple, elegant, and delicious.
What would be good starter cocktails for someone who’s just starting their alcohol journey after a lifetime of teetotaling?
Rum and coke was popular with the girls in my high school, if that helps.
If it’s for a female in a book or short story that’d do. Also, any kind of daiquiri (are those considered cocktails?).
Strawberry daiquiri for greater sissy factor.
what’ll be?
a hickory daiquiri, doc.
In specific:
Let me know if that’s actually realistic, cuz I don’t know.
Depends on the time period. The Creme de Violette that is an absolute necessity for an Aviation (I will die on this hill) wasn’t available between 1960-something and 2007.
Also, gins without juniper do exist, but they’re still pretty uncommon – although one of them, Empress 1908, is about my favorite gin for an Aviation.
Oh, it’s present day, if actually not about 10 years in the future.