Thursday, September 10, 2009

The official cocktail of finnyknits

Yeah. That's right. A blog can have an official drink.

And I know so because THIS blog, MY blog, has an official drink. Thanks to Bubba who spoiled me by restocking my corner of our bar with a new brand of gin.

That's also right, friends, Bubba has a death wish.

One that goes, "I stray from my wife's Brand because the glory of discovering That New Great Brand of Gin is worth the potential phonebook beatings that may ensue as a result of my death-defying decision making."

His death wish is a little drawn-out, this is true.

The important thing, though, is that this new Brand is now MY Brand, even though I doubt I'll ever be able to find it in a bar or restaurant given that I've had trouble finding Tanqueray 10 and I've never (not even once, shame) come across diet tonic water in all my searching.

Which is an OK scenario, given that we tend to observe in-house happy hours often enough and this will make it all special and stuff. And then, when we do venture out to drink with the three dimensional people, I will lower my standards briefly and take the Sapphire and regular tonic available at the usual drinking establishments with a limited amount of snobby bitching.

LIMITED, but not non-existent. I am a human girl after all.

So, by now you must be wondering (aren't you? come on.) what this new Brand might be. And then, what the hell makes it so special as to warrant Finny's stamp of approval. Even if that stamp is crooked and soaked in booze.

Well, I'll tell you. It's Hendrick's.

The bottle is very old-timey.

And it's specialness is four-fold.

First off, it tastes like a dream. A velvety smooth dream in which I float along on rose petals with cucumber slices on my eyelids like some kind of drunken fruit.

OK, no - it's not really like that. That was my attempt at working in some of the nuances of the label - but really, it's good. It's very smooth - that's no lie - and it does taste vaguely and refreshingly of cucumber and warmly of rose.

Like when I let the sip sit on the back of my tongue and warm to my body temperature, I can taste the rose and I like it.

So - all that is one of the folds. It tastes good: smooth and refreshing without a crass bite to it but with some interesting nuances which I enjoy.

The next fold involves pushing aside the tried and true lime wedge. Ho ho! Big man - telling me not to squeeze lime into my G&T!

Well, I'll be honest, I tried my first G&T WITH the lime, because that's how I make my drink (ice>lime>gin>tonic), and found it to be good.

Then I tried it with the cucumber slice (ice>gin>tonic>cucumber slice) and it was, well, surprisingly different and pretty heavenly.

It's good in there.

It's weird how the cucumber really does add something to the drink. Not just because it's all huge and floating there staring you in the eye as you suspiciously sip this new beverage, but because the cool flavor of the cuke mingles with the gin and makes some booze magic.

Mind you, I used lemon cucumbers, so that might have swayed me a bit.

And then - to take a bite of that cucumber slice? Well, that tears it - it's fucking great. Like a cocktail you chew. And not like these ridiculous jelly things that I abhor. The crispness of the cucumber with the saturated freshness of the gin and tonic water and the chill of the ice is extravagant.

And to get into the other folds, well, there's the fact that this gin and I see eye to eye on our place in the world.

Why, that's strange - *I* am ALSO not for everyone! Coincidence? Probably.

And the fact that I can go to my garden and pick a fresh cocktail garnish rather than having to settle for, say, the lemons on the counter or HORRORS go to the store and buy a lime, is pretty great.

There's also the matter of the super great neato bottle that looks like it was dusted off after a long stint on a tall shelf in some ancient apothecary and the cork top rather than the metal screw cap that comes standard on most models of booze, and whose tinny chime has always held a happy place in my heart which will now be replaced with the the cheerful 'pop' of the cork sliding out of this bottle's spout.

And I'm sure there are more folds into which I could delve if I hadn't gone on a mild binge enjoying the unusual responsibly and all that. And I consider it to be responsible enjoyment if the neighbors don't flee the dinner table because I've flung my skirt over my head, I remember the night's events and I don't wake up with a hangover.

So you know, I wasn't even wearing a skirt. But still, behavior was tempered.

Based on those qualifications, I enjoyed this, My Official Drink, as responsibly as can be imagined.

And so you know, the official drink of finnyknits is now, OFFICIALLY: Hendrick's and Diet Tonic with a slice of Lemon Cucumber.

I will allow slight variations based on seasonality and variety of cucumber and the availability of the illusive diet tonic. I will NOT, however, allow ridicule regarding the Diet nature of my tonic. What? Do you want me to be a total fatty? No. You don't.

Cheers.

16 comments:

  1. Here's what you need to do - get five or six gins, taste them straight, and then taste them with tonic.
    The gins that make good G&T's don't necessarily shine when imbibed straight, and vice versa. (Besides, a gin tasting is SO much more fun than a namby pamby wine tasting...) I love Hendriks, but as a martini with a cucumber garnish. G&T gin? Plymouth. Have you had Cascade? Also very good...
    :)

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  2. But how does it SMELL? 'Cuz gin's for smellin', not drinkin' in my book. Mind you, it's a dull, unfortunately sober book.

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  3. This makes me wonder...how would it taste with a few crushed rose petals in there??

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  4. This makes me wonder...how would it taste with a few crushed rose petals in there??

    (sorry about that "anonymous" thing...sleep deprivation and tech dyslexia...)

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  5. GODDAMMIT FINNY. You did this just to torture me, didn't you? Knowing that I have Hendrick's (the MiL randomly came home with it awhile ago) and, God knows, cucumbers, and yet? Here I am, forbidden to drink cocktails.

    And I know you did this to torture me, because it's all about me.

    Wait. This is YOUR blog, isn't it?

    Sorry. It's all about you here. So! Happy days when there's a new official FinnyKnits drink! That I will most certainly try next summer.

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  6. got my pickles!!!!!!!!!! xo

    oh I love that it also proclaims that it is not for everyone! ha.

    Can't wait to try that heavenly adult beverage in a few months. Although it might be too summery for a Montana winter. How would it be with a slice of buttercup squash?

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  7. It really does sound heavenly. I hope that it's not hard to find.

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  8. Ok. So its 7:30 in the morning and I am sitting here at my laptop schlurping my mornin' joe and now you have me wanting one. This is wrong. WRONG. As the NORMAL gin and tonic is my favorite drink of choice (which causes many a wrinkled nose/horrified facial expression among my friends) I am now curious about this cucumber thing. After all, I also like cucumbers. I will have to try this new slant on favorite drink thing. But. Not at 7:30 in the morning.

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  9. I've never previously considered the merits of having an official blog drink, but I do see the inherent value in such. I will also never look at cucumbers or other potential drink garnishes the same again. I'm not a big drinker, generally only having two a year, but I'll have to try making a version of your drink soon. The funny thing is that my two drinks a year generally involve my ordering a gin and tonic simply because it's the only drink I can ever remember HOW to order. I always say "double" though, so I guess that means I actually have 4 drinks a year -- obviously I must be a lush.

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  10. Hmmmm.
    Hmmmm, I'm thinking on this.
    Might this be the secret to your running success? You take the edge off of the PAIN???
    {And Junie's comment cracked me up!}

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  11. They actually have Hendrick's at my favorite neighborhood bar in Cupertino - so, you wouldn't really need to go too far.

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  12. See? See? This is why you will always be so much fucking cooler than I. The official drink of my blog is hot cocoa.

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  13. I heart Hendricks. My snobby little heart swooned the first time I read "iconoclastic" on the back of the bottle and I felt so prohibition the first time I carried the black bottle home in the tell-tale brown sack.

    It's quite simply fabulous.


    Nicely done. I'm tempted and it's only 10:30 am.

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  14. Ginger - If only I were that sophisticated. And if only our bar had so much room for six bottles of gin. Maybe if the shine wears off of Hendrick's, I'll give that a try.

    Jen - For smellin'? Whatie? I don't typically spend a ton of time smelling the gin. I mean, sure, I get a whiff when I open the bottle and after it's hit the ice, but after that, it's for drinkin' in my book. A drunken whimsical book :) I will say, though, this smells of rose slightly.

    Anon/Sophie - Ugh. Dunno. Like a plant? Maybe if I get crazy one day with my cocktail near a fragrant rose bush I'll have to try that out.

    Kris - I'm sorry, doll!! I actually did think about you as I was writing the post, thinking, "Oh, poor Kris. She'll read this and be mad. Prego mad! That's scary. Oh well. One day she won't be pregs anymore and then we can all DRINK UP AND BE HAPPY."

    So, there you go.

    Plus, YOU already sorta have an official drink of Going-Country, do you not? The Slippery Slope? You should proclaim it! When you're able to have them again, of course.

    Dig - Yay! I trust they were intact?

    Yes, when I saw that on the label, I knew it was meant to be...

    I imagine it might be nast with butternut squash, but maybe you could try a pickle chip?

    ;)

    Michelle - You and me both, sister.

    Kat - Firstly, I should ask you, What the F is wrong with your friends that they wrinkle their noses at a G&T?? DEVIL PEOPLE. Secondly, You try this drink just whenever you have the chance because I believe it to be an ideal beverage - at any hour.

    Junie - WOW! A double!

    Imagine if it were a double Hendrick's and tonic though...It'd be at least doubly as awesome. Which might make it eight drinks a year! Is that too much?

    Anna - Well, obviously ;)

    Jen - And the name of this bar is...? Don't leave me hanging, friend!

    Decca - With the hours you keep, I'd think you'd at least Irish up that hot cocoa...

    UmberDove - I'll dust off an old chestnut to say, "It's happy hour somewhere!" For a Hendrick's and tonic, anyway.

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  15. Is it ghetto that I have no problems with BeefEater?

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  16. Oh, ha! Paul & Eddie's :) See you there.

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[2013 update: You can't comment as an anonymous person anymore. Too many douchebags were leaving bullshit SPAM comments and my inbox was getting flooded, but if you're here to comment in a real way like a real person, go to it.]

Look at you commenting, that's fun.

So, here's the thing with commenting, unless you have an email address associated with your own profile, your comment will still post, but I won't have an email address with which to reply to you personally.

Sucks, right?

Anyway, to remedy this, I usually come back to my posts and post replies in the comment field with you.

But, if you ever want to email me directly to talk about pumpkins or shoes or what it's like to spend a good part of your day Swiffering - shoot me an email to finnyknitsATgmailDOTcom.

Cheers.