summer sipper

Back in my early twenties, when my friends and I wanted a drink, liquor cabinet foraging was a pretty regular occurrence.  I was legal, working hard and with little responsibilities, a cold drink after a long day was a treat. There was really never any “plan” to the beverage of choice other than what we had on hand- Is there a beer in the fridge? Perfect- I’ll take it straight from the bottle.  A little rum to mix with the flat two-liter bottle of Coke? That will do. Some kind of box wine leftover from camping? Great. The bar was low and I didn’t care much if it paired well with my frozen dinner. 

Fast forward to my real adulting years with many responsibilities, more refined taste buds in food and alcohol, and deeper care and appreciation for what I put in my body. With a slower metabolism in my forties (ugh) and a busy life, there is always a plan for the beverage I’m thinking of consuming.  Are we sitting at a baseball game on a sunny Saturday afternoon for 2+ hours? A cold beer in a tumbler mixed with a little limeade is not a bad idea.  A Friday night where all my people are at home and the Warriors are on? An old fashioned “sipper”- as my husband calls it- is in order.  Hubby and I are celebrating a good week at work? Corking a bottle of our favorite B cellars wine is a treat.  

Recently, I made a nice restaurant-quality dinner at home- and I wanted a restaurant/fancy bartender quality cocktail to start the meal off.  This is when I did old-school liquor cabinet foraging. I basically pulled out my favorite bottles in the cabinet, some citrus from the fruit bowl and some sparkling water from the fridge and got to work.  I may have regretted this decision of careless mixing except that it ended up being one of the best cocktails I’ve had in recent memory. This baby also would have commanded a $15 price tag in a nice establishment.  I’ve since made it a few times and always have these ingredients on hand to ensure my liquor cabinet foraging game is strong.

Cheers!

Christina