MGoCocktail: Wife Day 2021
After a nerve racking, exciting Saturday day and night. Wife day couldn’t come at a better time. Two bona fide games of the year candidates and our first back and forth victory in what feels like forever.
https://mgoblog.com/diaries/preview-wifeday-2010 Original post
https://mgoblog.com/comment/723509?sort_by=thread&items_per_page=50&page=1 Flame War!
Now that the original Wife Day post is 11 years old (and I’m spent way too much on the blog), here’s the primer if you don’t want to read through the link. Wife day is the bye week Saturday you spend with your wife shopping, apple picking, dinner so you can continue watching college football the other 12 weeks relatively guilt free.
My wife has figured out this tactic after 13 years of marriage, when I would suggest apple picking or a trip to a zoo or park on these Saturdays and now will make plans in advance. Our first was born in October so a 6 year old’s birthday party is on the docket.
This weekend is very sparse in general for big games with the exception of Kentucky vs Georgia, so make sure to rack up all the brownie points you can. Because after a Northwestern game, it will be a gauntlet afterwards. The Big 10 East 4 top ten teams play a round robin in a span of 5 weeks, where 6 losses will be spread among the 4 teams.
1 loss might get you to Indy, 2 losses probably nets you to the Fiesta, or Rose. Either of them and I would consider 2021 a wildly successful season.
Ruby Red Slipper
This is my wife’s favorite old fashioned style drink. Take a Deep Eddy’s Ruby Red grapefruit vodka I discovered while living in Texas and add St Germain. I would recommend trying St Germain at least once and then buying a bottle. It mixes well in many cocktails, bourbon, gin, Vodka, light rum, champagne.
I don’t know what focus group designed that liqueur, but they did an amazing job.
2 oz Ruby Red Grapefruit Vodka (Deep Eddy’s)
1 oz St Germain
Club soda
In and Old Fashioned glass filled with ice, pour the vodka and the St Germain. Stir. Fill with club soda. Garnish with a lime if you wish.
Cheater Old Fashioned
I don’t want to start a holy war, but I’m a non muddler. I don’t want my old fashioned muddled, especially at any bar using the normal nuclear red cherries. This is what I do when I’m making at home. I prefer it this way. It’s more consistent by disregarding the orange in the muddle.
Ingredients
1- 1.5 tsp Bakers sugar ( this is finer sugar than normal, it dissolves quicker)
2-3 dashes orange bitters
¼ oz water
2.5 oz Rye whiskey bourbon I use Crown
Brandied Cherries / orange peel for garnish
Put the sugar in the bottom of an old fashioned glass. Add the heathy dashes of Orange Bitters and the water. Stir until everything is dissolved. Add your ice. Pour your 2.5-3 oz of whiskey into the drink and stir.
Garnish with the cherries and orange if you choose.
Relax and find a night game to watch.
Sorry, Admittedly pretty heavy pour here. Judgment free Zone!
M Go Salut!
October 13th, 2021 at 5:13 PM ^
I also do not muddle. Instead, I prepare simple syrup and keep it in a jar. Easier and faster to mix. Bottoms up!
October 13th, 2021 at 6:45 PM ^
I've found I don't really care for muddling. Leaves debris in my beverage. And Luxardo cherries and the only ones that will do.
October 14th, 2021 at 11:28 PM ^
There's another cherry you can use besides Luxardo? Huh, learn something knee every day. For those on the fence due to their price, just do it, its worth it and with almost everything else I am a CHEAP sonofabitch.
October 14th, 2021 at 6:14 AM ^
I'll take on the holy war: muddling is barbaric.
I also recommend making your own cocktail cherries. They're pretty easy to make, you can make a good variety, they taste better, and they're much less expensive. Just steep some tart cherries in some luxardo maraschino liquor, for example, and you'll much prefer those to the store-bought luxardoes. Like mbrummer, don't even get me started on those disgusting hot red ones. As I said, you can put together a variety of different types of cocktail cherries that you can match to the specific drink you're making.
October 14th, 2021 at 8:36 AM ^
I’m surprised you thought muddling would be the topic of holy war, when so many bourbon purists will likely come out of the woodwork to decry your use of Canadian whiskey in place of a Kentucky bourbon. I’ve had several bourbons that I prefer over Crown, but when mixing it I certainly don’t think there is any need to use any particular type of whiskey as it all will depend on how the mix is balanced (or overbalanced with the simple syrup/sugar anyway).
FWIW, I do like to muddle my cherries and orange slice, and garnish with an orange rind when feeling fancy.
October 14th, 2021 at 12:56 PM ^
Ha! When making this I thought who is going to to call me out on the Crown
It's something I always have on hand and consistent. With a 31% Rye it does bring something
I generally rotate through bourbons and don't want to experiment due to time and or expense.
On the muddle, it's like Paul Rudd. I understand the appeal. But I'm not waiting in line for it.
October 14th, 2021 at 11:31 PM ^
I actually don't like Bourbon in an old-fashioned, the sweet is already coming from the simple syrup/sugar/fruit and so I think you need a different flavor in there. Similar to using a Japanese whiskey or a rye for a whiskey sour. Just gets a better flavor profile in there and balances the sweet.
October 15th, 2021 at 9:37 PM ^
I'm a big fan of Rittenhouse Rye for manhattan/old fashioneds
October 14th, 2021 at 1:41 PM ^
Muddling is for the birds.
Original wife day post was before I was married, it reads even greater now.
Old Fashioned for me and a classic G&T for the wife.
October 14th, 2021 at 11:35 PM ^
As always, I love this feature and thanks for taking the time to do it. My wife is a margarita girl and I cannot get her into cocktails much as I try, but the ruby red slipper looks like it might be worth a try. Maybe with some lime to pull more towards a G&T(which she also likes).
October 16th, 2021 at 8:06 PM ^
Your wife likes at least two cocktails then! Try a Paloma sometime, that might be another one she'll dig.
October 15th, 2021 at 12:50 PM ^
Muddling is so wrong. An old fashioned is not meant to be a fruit salad covered in whiskey.
I also prefer rye over bourbon in an old fashioned (and most other whiskey based drinks that don't need scotch). The spiciness works better with the sweet flavors than a sweet corn based bourbon that can take it over the top sweet
October 16th, 2021 at 8:09 PM ^
Fruit salad is a no go. When I muddle, I'm muddling sugar and bitters, with the orange peel getting pushed around the outsides. That said I'm usually just doing simple syrup, it's quicker.
October 15th, 2021 at 1:34 PM ^
I like your old fashioned just fine and agree heartily re the muddle. However, IMO the perfect 'old fashioned' is rye, sweet vermouth and Campari. 2 or so:1:1 -- it's very forgiving, so eyeballing it seems fine. I generally splash w/ soda. Simple as can be, very hard to top.
October 15th, 2021 at 2:34 PM ^
Your perfect old fashioned is a Boulevardier (although i have no idea what the club soda is doing there)? A delicious drink and one of my favorites but not an old fashioned.
October 15th, 2021 at 2:37 PM ^
Friday afternoon was the perfect time to come across this post. For your wifeday weekend, I present my own tweak on an Old Fashioned. Perfect after a trip to the cider mill.
- 1.5 oz Rye Whiskey (I like Knob Creek)
- .5 oz dark rum
- 1 oz apple cider simple syrup (find simple syrup recipe, replace water with cider. lower ratio of sugar down a bit from 1:1)
- Couple dashes of Angostura or other bitters (I used an esoteric Orange Cream bitters purchased from a local spice shop)
- Cinnamon sticks
Agree with others on taking a pass on muddling. Add first four ingredients to a shaker loaded with ice and, well, shake. Pour over ice in a low ball glass. Take 3-4 inch piece of a cinnamon stick, light on one end, allow short burn and place in or over glass while just smoking for a fantastically aromatic garnish.
To Guy Fieri this shit, cut a wedge out of one of those donuts you picked up at the mill and garnish your glass OR mix up some cinnamon sugar to rim the glass. Cheers!
October 16th, 2021 at 3:46 PM ^
Your liquor cabinet must be stocked! I picked up some Yuengling Hershey's Chocolate Porter today - pre mixed and ready to go. Easy peasy...
Comments