Cucumber Mint Soda

Last night and this morning I went through a bunch of old Bon Apetit magazines. I used to keep them all, but I don't anymore. Half of the magazines were still in the plastic wrapper, which is why I stopped subscribing (but they keep sending them.) In one of the more recent issues I found a recipe for Cucumber Mint Basil Soda. I had all the ingredients, so I decided to try it. Like Ross says, I never met a recipe I liked, so I decided to change it up. I left out the basil and added some alcohol.

Cucumber Mint Fizz

1 c sugar

1 c water

mint

thinly sliced cucumber

ice

club soda

your alcohol of choice

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves.

2. Add mint and cucumber slices to simple syrup and steep for at least 30 minutes.

3. Strain the syrup.

4. Fill a glass with ice.

5. Add 2 Tbl. syrup to the glass.

6. Add 1-2 oz. alcohol to the glass. --I chose Tanqueray Rangpur and Ross chose white rum.

7. Top off glass with club soda and garnish with mint and cucumber.
I only put one ounce (2 Tbl.) of booze in my drink. It was nice and refreshing. Of course there's a lot of leftover simple syrup. I might have to try it in some iced tea tomorrow.

George T Stagg: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

About 5 years ago I asked a guy in Wine Source what was the best whiskey because I wanted to buy some for a friend. When I told him price didn't matter he recommended George T Stagg. I bought a bottle and had to make a box to gift it in because the bottle is kind of tall.

When I got back to Texas I bought myself a bottle because I wanted to see if it was any good. Well, it is. It is apparently also in very short supply. Because I only have drops left in my bottle I decided to buy a new one. That wasn't as easy as just going to the store and picking it up. The liquor store in a nearby strip mall said they'd order it for me. A couple weeks later I went back in, and the manager said they couldn't find it.

I called the Wine Source and the Whiskey Guy--Tim, said he'd take down my email and let me know when he got some. Well, that email came last week and on Saturday I picked up my new bottle. The whiskey is nice and dark--uncut and unfiltered. Strong? Hmmmm. I suppose so--143 proof--handwritten on the label (the reason I bought the first bottle, I loved that detail). I guess I can finish off my old bottle now that I have a new one.