cocktail review no. 26 - Potion F

Here it is: the first cocktail review about a cocktail I, yours truly, actually invented.

The Pollinatrix, a dauntless supporter of my barman's ambitions, once suggested I make up some cocktails named after Blogger verification words—you know, those little words you have to type to post a comment on somebody's blog. They're often weird or off-the-wall, like shakera, etrumix, gencalsi and rigunp. For a long while I dawdled and dilly-dallied, not confident enough to actually start experimenting. Then, on the night of December 30, it happened. They say necessity is the mother of invention. I believe it. I was forced into making this drink.

• 3 ounces bourbon
• ½ ounce Southern Comfort
• 2 dashes bitters
• 6 ounces margarita mix (or sweet-and-sour)
• 1 ounce cranberry juice

Chuck all of the ingredients into a shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

This beast started out as just bourbon, SoCo and bitters, shaken and poured (a cocktail known as J.R.'s Revenge). The result was, however, revolting. The pureness of the bourbon was despoiled and violated by the vile mixture of Southern Comfort and bitters, which made the whole affair taste exactly like cough syrup. I don't know why mixologists insist on combining Southern Comfort with bitters so often. There are dozens of drinks with both those ingredients in them, and they are uniformly awful.

After a few sips, it became readily apparent that I wasn't going to finish. Something my father had said to me earlier came roaring back onto center stage: "You can make a whiskey sour with Southern Comfort, right? A sweet whiskey sour?" Sounded like a good idea about then. So I got the margarita mix (also known as sweet-and-sour). I poured my J.R.'s Revenge into a highball glass with some ice, added a few ounces of mix (and a little cranberry juice for good measure), and, after a little fiddling and readjusting of proportions, I took a taste. It was much, much better. It was, indeed, like a sweet whiskey sour. There was tartness and sweetness, perfectly supplemented by the strength of the Wild Turkey, and offset just a tad by the unexpected cranberry sting. An eminently sippable libation it turned out to be, if I do say so myself.

The reason I named it "Potion F" was that potionf was one of those Blogger verification words I ran across and noted down for later. I believe I encountered it while leaving a comment on the Pollinatrix's blog...

Anyway, all the pieces fell into place. The name "Potion F" seemed perfect for this recipe, since there were so many ingredients involved, and I had to play around and add different things in various proportions to get it right. It was kind of like brewing a magic potion. Enjoy responsibly, and thank you for tuning in.

P.S. The holidays may be over, but winter's only just begun. Don't worry. I'll keep those comforting Christmas drinks coming.