Sloe Cherry Fizz

A richly red drink, perfect for the holidays.

Sloe Cherry Fizz

2 oz gin
1 oz sloe gin
Cherry soda

Combine gin and sloe gin with ice in a double old fashioned glass. Top with soda.

Autumn Punch

Autumn Punch

2 parts apple cider

1 part applejack

1 part pomegranate schnapps

1 part pomegranate soda

For a cocktail, one part equals one ounce; stir ingredients together with ice in a double old-fashioned glass. For a crowd, simply expand the proportions and serve in a pitcher or a punch bowl.

Stacey's Vietnamese Buzzsaw

Stacey's Vietnamese Buzzsaw

This drink was designed to morph a caffeine buzz from a 9:00pm hit of Vietnamese coffee into a decidedly cooler gin buzz.

2 oz gin

1 oz sloe gin

1 oz creme de cassis

Juice of 1/4 lemon

Shake ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

One of My Favorite Beers

The beer was a can of Corona. But where the beer was, rather than what kind of beer it was, made it one of my favorites.

It was at the marina bar at the Pelican Bend Restaurant in Isles of Capri, Florida. Isles of Capri is a town outside Marco Island in southwest part of the state. Pelican Bend specializes in serving generous amounts of fresh seafood prepared simply and well. The restaurant backs to a marina, and at the water's edge a screened bar seats parties waiting for their tables alongside the regulars. License plates from all over adorn the walls, and a cool mister sometimes runs to blow away the day's heat. The atmosphere is casual, friendly, and relaxed. In the evenings the bar, like many a waterside view in southwest Florida, gets bathed in a stunning sunset.

I'm surprised I ever left.

Thanks to Dan McGarvey for the photo.