Shallots Web

Sorry, I am a little late with this recipe for the week, but I assume that most of the people reading this would not mind a Sunday nightcap.  This is pretty out of the ordinary for the Bun and me – neither of us are normally fans of vodka or creme de menthe, but we thought the same of Brandy Alexanders a few winters ago and they became a cold-weather favorite.  I am not gonna lie – the biggest reason we chose to try Vodka Stingers this week was the fact that they are mentioned in the Sondheim classic, “The Ladies Who Lunch,” from Company.  When the character Joanne (originally played by Elaine Stritch) brays out, “another Vodka Stinger!!!” we always wondered what all the fuss was about.  We found out.

These are not cocktails for the faint of heart – they go down like candy and hit hard.  I recommend one round and then about a two hour break.  =)  Since we are in the midst of the growing season, I added fresh mint to my shaker for this version, which lends a little green flavor and brightens what might otherwise might be a sugary finish.  I always encourage variations, but I also encourage you to rename your drinks if you change the ingredients or the mixing methods too much.  Let’s start naming drinks for ourselves!

In a shaker, combine:
1 cup of ice
5 parts vodka
2 parts creme de menthe
7-9 mint leaves
Shake all ingredients until the shaker is too cold to hold.  Strain into cocktail or coupe glasses and enjoy.  Expect cool, sweet, clean refreshment!

Our friend Joe seems to have had a particularly difficult month of June and requested that I do weekly cocktails for a while.  If people dig this, I’ll keep it up; anyone who knows me knows that I’ll use any excuse to try a new cocktail.  =)

The first time I heard of a Tom Collins was when my mother told me the story of how she and my dad met.  They were in a bar (where I believe a lot of good couples meet) in San Jose, California and she said, “he wanted to buy me a drink and I remember he came to ask me what it was I would have.  I was drinking Tom Collins back then.”  I liked that she talked of a period of her life when she had a drink that she drank exclusively; I think it lends a strange romance to the story and somehow captures time — even crystallizes it.  My mom has little or no idea of how good a story teller she is, and I often wonder if she learned the art from my dad, who was exceptional at regaling an audience with hilarious vignettes.  The major difference between their styles, I would say, is that my mom includes little details that, on the surface, seem of little importance, but that add a richness to scenes that play out from her words.

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