Craft Cocktails and A Murder Mystery (23 and 24 of 40)

I haven't felt much like writing lately. Writing for me is like exercise, exactly what I need and yet often the very last thing I prioritize doing. Wanting to be a writer is unquestionably the longest-held dream I've had, but for all that wanting, I've developed an unfortunate process steeped in procrastination. 

As a kid, I wrote all the time. In the aftermath of my spectacular teenage downfall though, I packed everything about that version of me into a metaphorical box because, well, that girl's choices lead to very destructive consequences. Best to toss the baby out with the bathwater and all. 

The further I got into my new life, it became easier to deny that particular part of me. As a result, I didn't write creatively for over a decade. Problem is, I'm a real over-thinker. My mind is filled with constant and frenzied thoughts that multiply and stretch until I become figuratively stuffed with anxious rabble. 

Writing is like releasing the pressure valve, allowing the words to spill out onto the page where they can be sorted through and seen more clearly. You'd think that after years of this, I would have learned by now to release that pressure valve more often and more willingly. 

Ah, but where's the fun in that? 

I like to be fully backed into a corner emotionally before I concede defeat. 

What does this have to do with cocktails and murder? Nothing, really. I'm merely justifying to myself why I have put off posting to the blog in several weeks. 

Let's start with the alcohol, shall we?

I had it in my head that it would be cool to know how to make craft cocktails from memory. I envisioned hosting social gatherings, whipping up a few classics on demand and impressing the masses with my amateur mixologist skills. There have been a few hiccups on this journey however.

Hiccup #1: 'Rona. It is hard to host social gatherings when there is a global pandemic and literal government orders not to gather socially. It is, however, easy to drink alone in this situation...easy, but not necessarily good for mental health. Having a bunch of random bottles of booze on hand just waiting to be consumed felt somehow unwise in this particular season. 

Hiccup #2: Alcohol is expensive. And cocktails often use small quantities of multiple different kinds. Since I'd be building a liquor cabinet essentially from scratch, I balked at the investment capitol needed every time I came back around to this idea.

Hiccup #3: Vodka tastes like hairspray. And whiskey is the absolute worst. Tequila is okay, but we all know it's the stuff that bad decisions are made of. I did discover in the last year that the one spirit I actually do enjoy is gin. 

Growing up, I rarely saw one of my grandfathers without a martini in hand and though we weren't particularly close, the smell of the gin is one of the lasting memories I have of him. He was a bombardier in World War 2 and I suspect he returned home a very different person than when he left. As a little girl, I only knew him one dimensionally. He called me an ornery child and after that I think a part of me always wondered if he even liked me. It's funny the perspective that children have. As I've gotten older, I can appreciate how little I actually knew of who his life experiences had forged him into. 

I digress...

Given all the above complications, I have officially learned to make ONE cocktail. May I present...the Gin Mule.

This three-ingredient beverage is a spin on the Moscow Mule, an American-made drink so named for its association of vodka with Russia. The mule portion of the name is a nod to the 'kick' from the spiciness of the ginger beer. Typically, mules are served in a copper mug. Don't have a copper mug? No problem. The exact same ingredients served in a glass is called a Foghorn so technically this is a two-for-one tutorial. You're welcome. 

You'll need...

• 2 oz of gin. I went with Aviation, because, well, Ryan Reynolds. 

• 1/2 oz of lime juice. Fresh squeezed is preferable.

• 4 oz of ginger beer. For a lower-calorie option, use half regular and half sugar free. I promise it will taste just as good. 

• Combine all ingredients over ice, stir and imbibe away!

Now that COVID restrictions are easing, I finally had the opportunity to put my new-found bartending skills to work by hosting a Murder Mystery party last weekend. I highly recommend! There are tons of options online and I settled on this one largely because I figured costumes would be easy what with the fact that 80's style seems to be all the rage again. 

I sent the guests their characters about a week in advance and not a one disappointed with their appearance or performance. We had the former-class-president-turned-presidential-candidate,

the head jock and his alleged two-timing head cheerleader wife,

the AV-nerd turned successful movie producer and his gold-digging glamourous girlfriend,

the math whiz making it rich off other people's success

the Hollywood starlet with a mysterious past

and me, the embittered band-geek who has been swindled out of my rightfully earned royalties. 

It was a great time all around and such a refreshing reminder of what socializing was before all the craziness of this last year. And what was the verdict on my Gin Mules, you ask? Shockingly, turns out my venture was entirely self-serving. Not a one person took me up on my offer to craft one for them, instead opting for the strawberry-jalepeño margarita concoction my lovely neighbor Sarah brought. 

Sigh. Oh well, can't say I didn't try!