Muse Breaks

I used to be seriously against drinking, and for my sake, I'm glad I forced myself to get over it.  It's allowed me to explore another realm of hospitality and serving people that I really enjoy - drink mixing.

For my 22nd birthday party, the first birthday party I'd thrown since junior high, I rented a motel suite with a wet bar and bartended for all of my friends.  I learned all the basic drinks, invested in dishwasher-safe pour spouts and all the garnishes, and had at it.

Now that it's been several months, and now that I have a place I don't mind inviting people over to, I've started to explore all sorts of other drinks.  You can make almost any alcoholic drink non-alcoholic, and vice versa, so I'm finding it to be a great skill to have.  I recently came up with a delicious tropical flavored cocktail involving cherry, coconut, pineapple and orange together with a lightly carbonated texture and however much zing you feel like adding.  I'll add it once I've perfected it - and once the thrill of being the only person to serve it to people fades.  ;)

While discussing drinks at one point with a good friend of mine, an interesting one called the Singapore Sling came up.  I don't have the proper ingredients and I'd be surprised if any bars here could make it, so I haven't had a chance to try it just yet.  It's got an interesting story behind it that you can read about here.  The recipe listed there is different from just about every other recipe you'll find, since very little was written down and preserved.  Even the recipe that's called "standard" is likely fudged and altered a bit by relatives.  Interesting, no?