My own personally-crafted cocktails and drink suggestions,
inspired by locale.
Cheers!

ALABAMA BLUE BABY BLUE
Mobile, Alabama
For the flightless baby blue jay I took in for the night.
In the morning, I put him high up in the tree where
his jay fam greeted him like he had risen from the dead. He stayed
up in the treetops for days, learning how to fly with his sibs.
2 oz. vodka
.5 oz. Southern Comfort
.5 oz. blue curacao
1 very large strawberry mashed through a sieve (or 2-3 regular-sized
ones)
.25 oz. blueberry juice
splash of lime juice
couple dashes or so of Angostura orange bitters
Shake it all up with lots of ice and strain into a martini glass.
To get the strawberry through the sieve: Cut it up into small pieces,
use a muddler to pound the pieces into a mush (in a bowl), then using
a spoon, mash the mush through a sieve.

SNUFFLE WONDER OF LOVE
Brooksvillle, Florida
To celebrate a day of grace and pure wonder and joy, when three manatees
said hello while I was paddling
on the Chassahowitzka with my brand new take-apart
kayak.
Campari
Patron Citronge
Juice from one freshly-squeezed grapefruit
Freshly-squeezed orange Juice
Measurements are not exact for this, because, well, you just
can't quantify love. Fill a glass with ice, then fill with 1/4
or so of bitter Campari. Add a little sweet Citronge, then squeeze
a grapefruit in and top with fresh-squeezed orange juice. Stir
and enjoy the love.

GATOR BAIT
Sarasota, Florida
Some people think it's not wise to kayak amongst very large alligators.
I believed it when the park rangers told me it was safe, and so I went...but
not without a worry or two. You may be tempted to have a couple of
these right before hittin' the gator-infested waters...I wouldn't recommend
it.
1 oz. Rum
1 oz. blackberry liquour
Sweet tea* (that'd be cold)
Lemon juice
garnish with mint
Fill glass
with ice. Add ingredients. Adjust
amount of sweet tea and lemon juice according to personal taste.
*HOW TO MAKE SWEET TEA: Sprinkle a pinch of baking soda into a pitcher.
Pour in two cups boiling water and add 6 tea bags. Cover and steep
for 15 minutes. Remove teabags and stir in 3/4 cup sugar, until dissolved.
Mix in 6 cups of cool water and refrigerate until cold.

SWEET TURTLE TOES
Sebring, Florida
The meeting of Harley and Mr. Turtle left Harley feeling somewhat
rejected, but that didn't stop him from tasting
Mr. Turtle's toes as he ambled on his way.
2 oz. vodka
.75 oz. midori
pineapple juice
splash of lemon juice
Fill a tall glass with ice. Mix it up.

REDNECK REVENGE
Melbourne Beach, Florida
Oh yeah, it is really really great to have a grassy waterfront campsite
where you can put your kayak in anytime you want and go paddling with
dolphins and stingrays. Yeah, it IS really great, except when you get
loud beer-guzzling neighbors with three screaming young children who
don't know any other volume but SCREAMING.
Shot of favorite whiskey
- chased with -
Cheap domestic beer
Repeat as necessary.

RENEGADE RUMRUNNER
Everglades, Florida
I was sad that the town of Flamingo, deep in the heart of the Everglades,
was now a large parking lot, with no signs of the renegade drug-runners
and plume hunters of yesteryear...but there IS a waterfront cafe. Mix
this up and smuggle it in
to keep the legends alive.
1 oz. 151 rum
1 oz. regular rum
1 oz. blackberry liqueur
.5 oz. banana liqueur
2 oz. orange juice
2 oz. pineapple juice
.25 oz. lime juice
.25 oz. lemon juice
Mix on ice.

PAPA'S MOJITO
Florida Keys
In honor of Papa Hemingway who once had a life
and a beautiful home in Key West. Apparently he loved this drink and
so do I.
2-3 mint leaves
juice from half a lime
1 tsp granulated sugar
2 oz. rum
2 oz. club soda (carbonated water)
Muddle the mint, lime juice and sugar until sugar dissolves. Add
ice, rum and club soda. Stir. Garnish with mint.

DIRTY DOG
Cedar Key, Florida
Deciding to send Harley to daycare was easy...leaving him with
a pack of dogs and in the care of people I didn't know was not. It's
on days like this that only a dirty martini will do.
3 oz. premium vodka
.5 oz dry vermouth
.25 oz. olive juice
Shaken. Pack the shaker with ice and shake it hard, really hard. Shake
it so it hurts to hold it because it's so damn cold (or hold it with
a towel). When you pour it, there should be a thin layer of beautiful
tiny ice crystals floating on top. Garnish with Divina garlic-stuffed
olives, or nothing at all.

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT
New Orleans, Louisiana
Because I found rot in my floorboard from water being where it
wasn't supposed to be, and because Miss River was carrying too
much water and spilling it where it wasn't supposed
to spill. So why not just go ahead and spill some ginger ale where
it doesn't need to be too - into an already perfect bourbon, eh? Why
not.
3 oz. Basil Hayden
2 oz. ginger ale
Mix with ice in a rocks glass.

MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME
Bardstown, Kentucky
Pappy Van Winkle's 12 year old lot B*
Place one or two regular-sized ice cubes in a small glass. Pour Pappy's
on top. Sip, savor and enjoy being in the place that you are.
Roasted, salted pecans are a nice snack to go along with.
*if you absolutely cannot find Pappy's (because it is so very elusive),
Blanton's would be choice #2 and that should be pretty easy to find.

THE RAPTURE
Mobile, Alabama
For May 21, 2011: after all the good godly people have been raptured
away and I was still hangin' around with nothing to do.
2 oz. vodka
.5 oz. cointreau
2 oz. pomegranate raspberry juice
splash of lime juice
Shaken, strained into a chilled
martini glass.

A PARADISE OF POSSIBILITY*
Big Sur, California
By calling me to Big Sur, the universe saved me from shriveling up
in the Texas desert. Once there, Big Sur made it loud and clear
that the Catalog of the Universe contains an unimaginable supply of
life options for us to choose from, if we dared. In the
wilderness paradise that is Big Sur, I did so dare and I placed my
order.
2 oz Hendricks gin
1.5 oz St Germaine
1/2 oz Pama
1/4 oz. lemon juice
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.
* Can be modified into a Royal Paradise of Possibility by topping
with prosecco after straining.
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