21 Drink salute

Happy Flag Day! Our first offering for this summer's 21 Drink Salute to America is a Caribbean Rum Punch: 1.5 ounces of gold rum, 2 ounces each of pineapple and orange juice, a teaspoon of grenadine, and a couple dashes of aromatic bitters. Shake it all together as if you're an angry American colonist in 1733 after hearing about the Molasses Act. (Doesn't just thinking about the 1733 Molasses Act still make your American blood boil?) As we all learned in school, the Molasses Act threatened America's cheap supply of rum by taxing its main ingredient, unless it was imported from British colonies in the Caribbean -- like Barbados, the source of the aged gold Plantation Rum that I'll be using this week. If you're still a little salty about the 1733 Molasses Act, I suggest you make yourself a Caribbean Rum Punch or two to get over it, and drink a toast to the good people of Barbados. This Fall they will finally shed the last vestiges of their British past and become a fully sovereign republic -- just about two and a half centuries after we did. Cheers!

Nectarine Mojito: one shot of our gold rum, juice from half a lime, cubed bits of half a JUICY nectarine muddled with some mint leaves, then mixed together with some iced club soda and a teaspoon of simple syrup. The mint is the essential component of this classic rum cocktail (usually made with light rum, but in the interest of simplicity I'll be using the same rum all week). Speaking of mint, did you know that in 1795 the U.S. Mint was the first federal agency to employ women? They were hired to "adjust" (i.e. file down) coin blanks that weighed too much before the blanks were stamped and released into circulation. Cheers!

The Fort Lauderdale cocktail is an ounce of OJ, a half ounce each of sweet vermouth and lime juice, a teaspoon of simple syrup, and a generous shot of our old, gold friend the Barbados rum. I just spent a week in beautiful Fort Lauderdale (didn't have their eponymous cocktail though). The fort and subsequent tourist mecca were named for an army commander in one of the Seminole Wars, a not-so-cheery part of our nation's past (and ongoing) struggle with race relations. The names we give to places and institutions often serve as an occasion to re-evaluate the people and events that have shaped who we are. I just read that Plantation Rum -- this week's featured spirit -- is going to be renamed in the near future to shed its association with the historic exploitation of enslaved persons on plantations. Whatever they end up calling it, I will gladly drink a toast to our individual and collective self-examination in regard to how we treat each other. We can always do better, can't we? Cheers!

Peachy Rum Tea: a shot of gold rum (and maybe a splash of the peach schnapps that's been hanging around in your liquor cabinet for years), stirred into a nice glass of your favorite peach iced tea. This would probably be great with spiced rum or whiskey, too. Better test that out. It's gonna be a sweltering 100+ degrees here in Nebraska today. Stay hydrated!

Pineapple Rum Fizz: a shot (or two) of gold rum, 6 ounces of pineapple juice (fresh squeezed? or from a can? I'll never tell), topped off with a bit of club soda for the "fizz" part. I'm sipping mine with a sustainable bamboo straw. When I'm done I'll either wash it and reuse it or feed it to my pet panda that I keep chained up in the back yard. Cheers!

Ace of Clubs cocktail: two generous ounces of our gold rum, a half ounce each of lime juice and creme de cacao liqueur, and a teaspoon of simple syrup. Always shake when there are fruit juices involved. This one's basically a Daiquiri (rum and lime juice) with some rich chocolate undertones from the creme de cacao. The cocoa bean, of course, is native to the Americas, and the European colonists couldn't get enough of the stuff. Historians at Mount Vernon tell us that George and Martha Washington liked to drink their chocolate for breakfast, mixing it with milk, water, and even brandy. So be like George... drink your chocolate. Cheers!

Rum Root Beer Floats! Just add a splash of your favorite rum to a frosty mug of root beer (in this case, Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer in honor of all you old fashioned guys on Father's Day), and top it off with a dollop of rich vanilla ice cream. The first commercially produced root beer was introduced by Charles Hires during the temperance movement of the late 19th Century. Hires was a Quaker who hoped that thirsty Americans would give up alcoholic beer when they tasted his yummy medicinal root beer. Gotta love the naive optimism of those Quakers. Cheers!

Good morning! And welcome to the second week of the 2021 edition of my 21 Drink Salute to America -- toasting America (get it... see the "toast" in the pic?!) with a different cocktail every day between Flag Day and Independence Day. This week I'm featuring cocktails made with tequila, so I figured I'd start off bright and early with a simple and beautiful breakfast drink: the Tequila Sunrise. I mixed an ounce of my Corzo silver tequila with three ounces of OJ and a sufficient drizzle of grenadine to make it as pretty as a Nebraska sunrise. You may not think "tequila" when you think "Americana" -- but you should! The agave plant from which it is made is native to the New World, which (lest we forget) was explored and settled by Spaniards long before the English got in the game. And, of course, there were people in the southwest portions of the current USA who were enjoying the agave plant long before their European visitors arrived. It's impossible to deny (but easy to overlook) the profound influence that Hispanic culture has had and continues to have in shaping America. Currently, one in five Americans have Hispanic or Latino heritage, and that number is expected to climb to one in three within the next 30 years. So this week we'll consider another facet of the American experience and enjoy our tequila each day in the process. ¡Salud!

Mexican Iced Coffee: one shot of silver tequila, half shot of coffee liqueur, two teaspoons of your preferred flavored coffee creamer, and about six ounces of cold coffee. Shake it all up and start your day off with a nice buzzy jolt. Initially condemned by European clergy as "the bitter drink of Satan," coffee from the Near East eventually made its way to the Caribbean and then the Americas in the 18th Century. Thomas Jefferson -- voicing his fellow Americans' conversion to the cult of java in in aftermath of the Boston Tea Party -- wrote to a friend in 1824 that coffee would become "the favorite beverage of the civilised world." So maybe civilize your morning with a little boozy brew? Cheers!

The Paloma: a shot of silver tequila, two ounces of ruby red grapefruit juice, juice from half a small lime, a sweet splash of agave nectar, topped off with some bubbly grapefruit soda (my favorite is Fresca, but Paloma purists will insist upon Squirt). This one's a favorite of our friends south of the border, and honestly, it's probably eclipsed the margarita as my favorite summer tequila cocktail. You probably know that "paloma" is the Spanish word for dove, and that a dove is universally acknowledged as a symbol of peace. But did you know that the bald eagle on America's Great Seal (go ahead and get your Great Seal out of the attic, just like I did) is clutching arrows in one talon to symbolize readiness for war, and a palm branch in the other talon to symbolize a desire for peace? Today, let's drink a Paloma or two to peace, shall we? Cheers!

A tequila double-header! Mix it with lime juice and Mexican Coke and you've got a Batanga. Mix it with lime juice and Topo Chico and you've got a West Texas favorite, Ranch Water! People often ask if I take a break from the 21 Drink Salute when I leave town for a few days. Nope! Just have to plan ahead and/or hope you can find an establishment that fits into your alcoholic agenda. Tonight I ordered a Cadillac Margarita (at a KC establishment which shall remain nameless), and it was wholly unworthy of inclusion in this year's Salute. Luckily I had a Plan B and Plan C for today. Guess what I'll be making at home tomorrow night?! Cheers!

Cadillac Margarita: a shot of "top shelf" tequila (whatever that means to you), with 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice and a dash of agave nectar, shaken, with an ounce of Grand Marnier orange cognac liqueur floated in at the end. I ordered one of these at an establishment last night, and my witty sister-in-law quipped "that Cadillac had two flat tires." No garnish, no salt on the rim, very little discernible Grand Marnier, served in a plastic cup. Aside from the sticker shock, there was very little Cadillac swag in that margarita. So tonight I repaired to my kitchen and concocted a margarita worthy of the name Cadillac. Just goes to show that attention to detail makes all the difference. Cheers!

Jalisco Mule: reposado tequila, ginger beer, lime juice and muddled mint. Every once in awhile fortune smiles on the 21 Drink Salute and a restaurant bar will feature a worthy cocktail that was already on my to-do list. And since I don't have my own set of copper mule mugs (I know, I know...), this impromptu outing with some of my siblings and their kids -- celebrating my nephew Cooper's baseball win this afternoon -- proved fortuitous indeed. Cheers!

A Tequila Sour is: 2 ounces of tequila, 1 ounce of lemon and/or lime juice (this one uses both), a teaspoon of simple syrup, and one egg white. The key to a nice foamy cocktail like this is to dry shake the ingredients (no ice!) for thirty seconds to get the proteins in the egg white all hot and bothered. Then add the ice and give it another quick shake before pouring it gently into your glass. Difford's Guide claims that the foam smells faintly of dog's breath, which should be masked with a few dashes of orange bitters or a dusting of... something. I wouldn't know; I'm a cat person. Hard to believe we're about to move into our final week of this year's 21 Drink Salute to America, eh? Tomorrow we'll put away the tequila and spend a week enjoying good ol' American whiskey! But for now, enjoy one last slug of tequila with me as we raise our glasses and sing together: "From the mountains, to the prairies, to tequila white with foam... God bless America, my home sweet home!" Cheers.

The Smokey Bear (is what I'm calling this): single-malt whiskey, lemon juice, maple syrup, egg white, and a dash of bitters. Dry-shaken, as you learned yesterday. I thought this whiskey sour cocktail would pair nicely with a hot bowl of maple and brown sugar oatmeal for my morning constitutional. Did you know that Smokey Bear (without the "the") has been reminding Americans for 77 years that only YOU can prevent forest fires? So next time you hear about a forest fire... YOU should feel guilty. And then you should assuage that guilt with a stiff drink. Cheers!

What do you make when three Catholic ex-seminarians get together in the woods? The Presbyterian Cocktail, of course. It's a shot of single-malt (Scotch) whiskey with just enough quality ginger ale to ease your puritanical guilt over boozing it up. When the Scots came to America, they brought their Presbyterian faith -- and their Scotch whiskey-- with them. This refreshing cocktail is predestined to be one of your summertime favorites. Cheers!

The Bobby Burns: one ounce each of Scotch whisky and sweet vermouth, and a wee ha' ounce o' Benedictine herbal liqueur. One of my great grandfathers -- the handsome man pictured here -- emigrated to this land of opportunity in 1887 from Scotland. So on this seventeenth day of the 21 Drink Salute to America, I'll share this dinner toast by Robert Burns -- Scotland's national poet and the namesake of today's cocktail: "Some hae meat and canna eat, -- And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit!" Cheers!

Blood and Sand: three-quarters ounce each of Scotch whiskey, sweet red vermouth, cherry liqueur, and orange juice. Shaken up but undaunted, like the suave matador in Rudolph Valentino's 1922 silent film "Blood and Sand" -- the supposed inspiration of this cocktail. Our drink is pictured here against the backdrop of a fine bullfighter painting called "The Challenge" by the mid-century artist Lee Reynolds Burr, who made a name for himself creating mass-produced art for American households. Bullfighting was banned in the USA in 1901. ¡Ole!

The Dutch Godfather: two ounces of Scotch whiskey, and a half ounce each of nutty amaretto and chocolaty Dutch creme de cacao. If you're an actual Dutch godfather, like me (I am honored to have three goddaughters), you darn well better enjoy this with a few windmill cookies. Dutch American Heritage day is November 16, commemorating that day in 1776 when the Dutch on the Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius offered a cannon volley saluting an American warship that flew the Stars and Stripes as it sailed into harbor. This is believed to be the first salute to the American flag by a foreign power after the USA declared its independence. Gotta love the Dutch. Cheers!

Rusty Nail: two parts Scotch whiskey and one part Drambuie liqueur. The kind of drink you'd have sitting at the blackjack table of a casino with a cigarette dangling from your lips and your bowtie hanging loosely around the unbuttoned neck of your sweaty tuxedo shirt. Drambuie is a Scotch-based liqueur made with honey and secret spices, giving this classic mid-century cocktail a rich, sweet counterbalance to the smoky, malty flavor of the Scotch. Europeans brought their prodigious honeybees to America in the 17th Century, but of the 20,000 known species of bees, some 4,000 species are native to the Americas, and about 500 of those do produce small amounts of honey. Sweet!

The American 25: just a half ounce of our Scotch whiskey, an ounce of all-American apple brandy, a half ounce of lemon juice, a dash of simple syrup, topped off with sparkling wine and a nice sparkler garnish on this Fourth of July. This will pair nicely with my hotdog and potato chips! Tart, bubbly, and whiskey-fueled... an apt cocktail as we drink a final toast to our raucous Republic on this last day of our annual 21 Drink Salute to America. Thanks for following along again! I always enjoy trying new drinks and sharing an occasional bit of meaningless trivia with you each summer. Hope you have a safe and happy Fourth of July (observed in this weird year, weirdly, as a holiday on the FIFTH of July). Cheers!