Grog

Grog: Rum, Boiling Water, Lemon, Cloves, Cinnamon Stick, Sugar Cube

Well, the 'Green' cocktails couldn't last forever...

Rum, Boiling Water, Lemon, Cloves, Cinnamon Stick, Sugar Lump

Grog has a long a storied history, and many variations, and I'll just point you to the Wikipedia entry. In the Guide, things get very specific very quickly.

Ingredients:

2 oz Jamaican Rum (we went with Myers)

3 oz Boiling Water

1 Sugar Cube

1 Lemon Slice

4 Whole Cloves

1/2 Cinnamon Stick

Directions:

Stick the cloves into the lemon, and place it in a glass along with the sugar cube and the cinnamon stick. Add the rum, and then pour in the boiling water. Stir to dissolve the sugar, and drink!

Honestly, it tasted a little chemically to me. DP thought that might be from the Myers; I thought that might be from the boiled lemon. Whatever the case, you could make the argument that it was an appropriately medicinal flavor. And while I'm not going to claim that this was a seasonally appropriate drink, people do get summer colds. I can see how you might be interested in trying this out the next time you get the sniffles. 

It's more flavorful than a plain cup of hot water and lemon would be!

Green Lady

Green Lady: Gin, Yellow Chartreuse, Green Chartreuse, Lime Juice, Lime Peel

You've been thinking that you just have too much Chartreuse in the house, haven't you? Time for a Green Lady!

Gin, Yellow Chartreuse, Green Chartreuse, Lime Juice, Lime Peel

It's a Gypsy cocktail with the St. Germain replaced by Yellow Chartreuse...  It's a Last Word with the Maraschino replaced by Yellow Chartreuse...  It's a delicious, perfect, springtime cocktail.

Ingredients:

3 parts Gin
1 part Yellow Chartreuse
1 part Green Chartreuse
1 part Lime Juice

Directions:

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime peel.

I love this flavor combination. Bright and punchy gin and lime, smoothed out and built up with honeyed herbs and floral liqueurs. Not too sweet, not too weedy. Refreshing and lively and very, very moreish. 

The Guide is really on a roll with these green cocktails!

Side Note: See all those bottles in the background in the photo up above? That's what you get when DP has to empty out one of the liquor cabinets in order to move things around while taking on another fantastically successful wallpapering project. DIY for the win!

Off the Grid: Harvest Cocktail

We had our friends Snappy and Grey over for dinner the other night, and DP spent some time thinking about the appropriate cocktail to have with a rabbit ragu (and if you're not getting your rabbit at Stono Market, you need to rethink what you're doing). 

The answer? The Harvest Cocktail!

Off the Grid: Harvest Cocktail

The perfect choice, it used Applejack...  well, it used Calvados, because we were out of Applejack... and there were bitters... maybe Angostura bitters? and...  I have no idea. 

It was a great party!

Charleston Photo in Place of a Cocktail

You know I'm obsessed with Noisette roses, and our antique roses are going gangbusters these days. I'm not about to pass up an opportunity to show them off (after all, they are "19th Century Charleston's Gift to the World"), especially when the sky is gray and the rain won't stop... It's harder to find a time to take a photo in the sun than it should be this time of year!

Charleston Photo in Place of a Cocktail - Duchess de Brabant

The Duchess blooms almost all year long here in Charleston, and with her full fragrance and ability to thrive wherever she ends up - and to survive even when yanked up by plumbers, tossed across the lawn, and popped back into the ground - she's a winner.

And mildew resistant! In the lowcountry, that's high praise indeed.

Duchesse de Brabant - 1857

Teddy Roosevelt made this rose his favorite, often wearing a bud or flower as a boutonniere. It is very nearly our greatest favorite, too. The cupped pink flowers have a cabbagey roundness to them, as if they were picked from a luscious old rose painting. Nearly continuously in bloom, these roses can be counted on for a rich whiff of fragrance at absolutely any time of the day, even in the hot Texas sun. The apple green leaves are slightly wavy.

http://www.antiqueroseemporium.com/roses/405/duchesse-de-brabant

And your fun fact for the day! The current Duchesse de Brabant is Princess Mathilde, née Mathilde Marie Christiane Ghislaine d'Udekem d'Acoz.