Old-Timey Cocktails: Part II

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Alright, time for part two!  I have to say, cocktail number two gets an enthusiastic thumbs up from me!  Let me bring you up to speed if you're not a regular here.  I'm doing an old-timey cocktail series to stretch my legs in the booze department (as if I need to do that).

My plan is to explore some of those classic cocktails that we've all heard of, but haven't necessarily tasted.  The first installment was the Manhattan.  Installment number two was the Tom Collins.  It was tasty!

My decidedly unoriginal take on the Tom Collins is that it's like lemonade with a kick - very refreshing!  It's a cocktail that's made for summer.  Made for summer, but a welcome ray of light in the dark Alaskan winter.  Easy enough to mix up pretty quickly, and a nice little departure from the gloom and dreariness of February in Kodiak.  Makes me pine for those Key West days that feel oh-so-long ago.  Those bright, low-key weekend afternoons spent puddling around in our little plunge pool in the yard, or lazing about at our favorite local haunts.  Yes, yes...whoa is me.

The recipe calls for Old Tom gin, which is a sweeter version of regular London dry gin, but I just used what we already had on hand.  I know Tom Collins mix is also an option, but I don't think the end result would be nearly as good as when it's made with fresh lemon and simple syrup.

That's basically the recipe:  2 oz. of gin, 1 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon), 1 teaspoon of simple syrup, (which is basically just sugar boiled in equal parts water so it dissolves), finished off with club soda/seltzer & ice. 

 
 It's a different type of cocktail compared to the Manhattan, but definitely ranks high up on the scale for me.  I don't think I'd order it at a bar though, because I doubt they would use fresh lemon and simple syrup - which I suspect is a big part of why it's so tasty.  This might be a cocktail that's best made at home!

I look forward to sitting on the lounge chair in my yard with a Tom Collins, looking at the mountains and marveling at the 60 degree temps of summer in Alaska!  Sounds less than tropical, right?  Hey, if the only way to channel the pining for a Caribbean-esque existence is to mix up a citrus-ey cocktail, yearn for warmth and consistent sunshine, & pump up the island music, then I'm your gal.  I'll take what I can get until we get back to where we belong!  If our time in the great white north has shaken out any epiphanies - it's that we belong in a sunny, warm locale.  We'll be back, Key West.  We'll be BACK!

Ta-ta for now.

Cheers!