Note: This Mixology Monday post is brought to you by our house mixologist, my husband Jon. He makes the cocktails, I just drink ’em and take their pictures, so I had him write this post himself – Jessamyn.
Another note: December MxMo roundup is up on Beers in the Shower!
When Jessamyn informed me of this month’s MxMo assignment, ideas did not immediately spring to mind. Money drinks? What the heck is a money drink? Two different definitions were provided, but neither gave a clear direction. The first definition, a normal drink made with super-high-end ingredients, quickly got ruled out. We just don’t have enough super-high-end ingredients in our liquor cabinet. The other definition provided seemed a little better: a drink that you could give to anyone and they would like it. Still a challenge, but potentially doable.
Since there seemed to be an undercurrent of festivity, with the upcoming holidays, I headed straight for the pomegranate juice. It doesn’t appear in very many cocktails, giving it an aura of something special, plus it has that great, brilliant red color.
For a gin-based pomegranate drink, it’s hard to beat the Diva Quaranta, which Jessamyn has already written about. For cold winter evenings, though, we’re often more in the mood for whiskey-based drinks, so I used the Diva Quaranta as a jumping-off point and began tweaking.
Not all of my attempts were successes, but I do believe I found a winner. Named the Runabout, after one of the better words played in a game of Scrabble the other evening, it uses rye, but would work equally well with bourbon. I retained the Campari, since I enjoy the bitterness it imparts. If the recipient of the drink does not like bitter (after all, this is supposed to be a drink that you could give to someone and know that they would like it), omit the Campari and double the Triple sec.
The Runabout
- 1 oz rye
- 1 oz pomegranate juice
- 1/2 oz Campari
- 1/4 oz Triple sec
Stir all ingredients with ice (shaking creates a bit of foam on the top that detracts visually). Garnish with a lemon twist. Give to someone you really like and then make another for yourself.
– JLN
, which I brought home from the library, and he got a bee in his bonnet that he wanted to make it. He actually went out and bought a bottle of Laird’s Applejack just so he could make this (well, and a few other recipes that called for it. He’d never actually tasted it, though.) Once he had rounded up the ingredients and tried it, it was an instant hit. The sweet-tart of the grenadine and lime (sometimes lemon), combined with the applejack, produces the effect of a ripe tart apple, something Jon is very fond of when it’s just at the right point.
Food on the Brain 