I stumbled upon the wonderful Rules for Drunk Bastards today, which imparts some excellent alcohol wisdom. They’ve got rules for drinking alone and in groups, what to drink for men and for women, various and sundry suggestions regarding kids and pets at the bar, and any number of other useful hints and tips that are well worth reading if you enjoy alcohol even a little bit. There was one item in particular that really made me think:

Adopt a new favorite cocktail on a seasonal basis.

This is a fine rule, and one that I’ve known about for some time now, yet I’ve not followed it. I’ve been stuck on the martini (6:1 with Bombay Sapphire) for about eighteen months now. It’s a fine, fine drink, but enough’s enough. So I ask you, Lazyweb, what should my new favorite drink be?

Those of you who know me personally know that I am at times a bit of a snob, and that when it comes to alcohol the snobbery is in effect 24/7. By way of example, for every apple “martini” you order, I will loathe you for an hour. Probably not right there at the bar, but later on, in my own time, I’ll get to it, and it will be intense. It’s simply not a proper drink, and it offends my delicate sensibilities.

This perhaps unfortunate trait makes picking out a new favorite cocktail a decidedly non-trivial affair. It’s got to be something classic; there’s a reason the martini lasted quite so long for me. It can’t be anything sweet or frozen or commonly served in an “ultra lounge” or to college students. I’m not incredibly particular about the base booze, but gin definitely tops vodka, bourbon beats rye and if you even think of mixing a single malt scotch whisky with anything other than the slightest amount of room-temperature spring water, I’ll see to it that you’re removed from the bar, never to return.

There’s the tempting and expedient route of just drinking what Sinatra drank, but I’m really not that big a fan of Jack Daniels. Charles Bukowski would have an opinion on the matter, but I can’t see myself ordering T-Bird or MD 20/20 at a cocktail party. Poe, Picasso and many others did wonderful things with Absinthe, but that’s hard to come by in the states.

So please, Lazyweb, help me out. What should my cocktail of choice be this fall? Leave a recipe in the comments and I’ll give it a go (or at least a snarky remark).

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 8th, 2005 at 9:53 pm and is filed under Lazyweb. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.