I mostly managed to miss the first cocktail era, when the Don Drapers were in full swing. As a teenager, I learned that Jacqueline Kennedy's cocktail request from the White House butler was a daquiri, and that stuck in my mind and (as it was easier in those years of permed hair and armor-like undergarments to pass as being of age) occasionally popped out of my mouth if the occasion required some sort of a drink. This was long before frozen and strawberry daquiris and their ilk appeared, of course, and bartenders knew how to make them the way they knew about old fashioneds (Bess Truman's drink of choice, I understand) and Rob Roys.
But those weren't drinks you had in the world I came to live in. The men around me drank things like 1843 whiskey and club soda or, unfortunately 7 & 7, Seagram's and 7-Up. This did not require any skill as a hostess, just ice cubes and ingredients.
The world changed, I began to discover wine, and time passed. This year, I found myself with adult family coming to visit, family that did like a drink before or with or after dinner. And the New York Times food section came to the rescue. I stuck this in the freezer:
48 oz (= 6 c.) Cran-Tangerine Drink (from Ocean Spray, found it at Diergergs but not at my Schnucks)
6 oz (= 3/4 c.) frozen orange juice concentrate, defrosted
2 c. vodka
Mix in a freezer-proof container and freeze for at least 5 hours. Depending on how cold your freezer is, you'll have a mixture that is partly frozen or the whole thing is the texture of a coarse granita, slush.
The flavor is relatively un-sweet, a slight bitterness to it. The Times titled it a Red Rooster, but don't go expecting Christmas red. Its color is a drab apricot. But it was a big hit, and it spoons nicely into a martini glass. (And I hope you're using those glasses only for gin or vodka and a little vermouth, otherwise. But that's another rant.)
Comments
2 responses
Sounds lovely.
Celia
A delicious concoction that would be most welcome on a sticky summer night as a well as a chilly winter one, said the daughter-in-law, who got to be the guinea pig, with said drink in hand!