You know that feeling when you are ready for a vacation? Like, it’s just time to step away for a bit? Yeah, you know that feeling. You know that feeling when you scheduled that vacation several months ago because you knew you’d get there…that’s a good one.
So that’s what I’m about to do. Past me made some good decisions and got things booked and I’m off to Amsterdam for a week and then Edinburgh for a week. Expect lots of photos if you follow me on other channels, and perhaps a round-up of the places I ended up in both cities as well. I have less of an agenda on the first leg, and will be trying to survive Fringe the second leg, and I expect to have stories to tell.
But in the meantime, I’m trying to clear out my fridge and use what’s around. So what better way to start that than with a little Recovery Action Plan?
I was joking on Twitter as one is wont to do about the Airport’s SF Garter Snake Recovery Action Plan (one of the many illustrious documents you can learn about as an Airport Commissioner (true story!) when I had the following exchange:
And look folks, it’s not glamorous or anything, but sometimes this is how the magic happens and what sparks creativity.
So what should a Recovery Action Plan be? Obviously it should a riff on a Suffering Bastard (not every drink has a Wikipedia page), which involves the fun combination of gin and brandy (like a Fog Cutter). It’s in that fun category of hangover drinks, but sometimes you just want something refreshing, or maybe it’s the mental hangover from my brain being on too long and needing something to ease into the next couple weeks, Whatever the case, it’s here to cure what ails you. But what if you wanna bring back the rum, and ditch things that appear in it in some cases like the neon electric Rose’s Lime.
Well, I gotchu. First off, gotta bust out the rum, and what better rum to complement the theme of recovery than some Panama-Pacific (the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition was to celebrate the rebirth of San Francisco after the 1906 Quake and Fire, for those of you who have not gone down the rabbit hole that is San Francisco history recently). The 9 year is nice and the bottle talks about how it’s a tribute to the PPIE, so I mean…
As for gin, you know, you do you, but I pulled out the Terroir. You know, just to mix it up since I usually reach for the Botanivore. But we strive for variety here, and sometimes you just gotta play by feel. This is one of those moments.
What else will you need? Lime, of course, some simple, bitters never hurt. And of course ginger beer.
Ginger beer? Yeah, ginger beer. Something with a good bite. I got Fentimans around so that’s what we are rolling with, but any well made ginger beer should do the trick.
Here’s what you do:
.5 oz lime juice
.25 oz simple syrup
4 oz ginger beer
1 oz Panama-Pacific 9 Year
1 oz St. George Terroir
A couple dashes of Angostura bitters
Take everything but the ginger beer and mix it in a tin. I was feeling like using my crushed ice so I did a small scoop and poured ungated into a Collins glass (remember you gotta save room). Top that with the ginger beer and a bit more ice. Give it a good stir, pop a tiki umbrella into it, and put in a straw for maximum enjoyment.
You are well on your way to easing into whatever state of mind you need to be in my friends.
Until next time…
BUT WAIT! Fun Bonus Material!
I’m no artist, but I had a stroke of inspiration about a future Trader Jane’s logo, and well…graphic design is not my passion, but it’s cute and it’s fun and someday I’ll commission someone to do a good looking version
This is Trader Jane’s, a periodic newsletter about drinks (mostly tiki) and other fun writing. Follow me on Substack for something every couple of weeks (if we are being honest), and follow me on Twitter and Instagram for more timely updates on my beverages (and for lots of other things of course!)
And, as with any good drink, feel free to share (responsibly, of course)