Good Drinks for Bad Days - Kerry Colburn [10]
Good Drink: Red Eye
3 ounces tomato juice
12 ounces beer (ale or lager)
Pour the tomato juice into a chilled beer mug, and slowly add the beer. Drink slowly while turning the volume down on all appliances in the house.
Bad Day: Buyer’s remorse
It still hasn’t quite sunk in. You wake up early thinking maybe it was a dream, but then you check the credit card receipts—and yes, you really blew through all that dough. Maybe it was one big-ticket item like a snowboard, fancy shoes, a leather couch, or a flat-screen TV. Maybe it was just an innocent spree that somehow took on a life of its own. Either way, you are left feeling queasy. Time to pour yourself something light, bubbly, and refreshing to celebrate keeping the economy afloat!
Good Drink: Mimosa
2 ounces fresh orange juice
3 to 5 ounces chilled champagne
Pour the orange juice into a chilled champagne flute. Top slowly with champagne and stir gently. Say, “I deserve it!”
From Bad to Worse: Over your limit on more than one credit card? Add ¼ ounce of Cointreau to the orange juice before topping with the bubbly.
Bad Day: Tax day
Of all the days that the U.S. government seems like it’s out to get you, this might take the cake—taxes. You know what they say: you can’t escape them. How can you possibly hand over so much money every two weeks and still owe a fortune in April? It’s time for a liberating drink, something to make you feel free and unshackled, if only for a night. Invite some other disgruntled Americans over for a simple, inexpensive cocktail that helped fuel a revolution.
Good Drink: Cuba Libre
½ lime
2 ounces light rum
4 to 6 ounces chilled cola
Lime wedge for garnish
Squeeze the lime into an ice-filled highball glass and drop it in. Add the rum, top with the cola, and garnish with the lime wedge.
Bad Day: Gained weight
Lately, you’ve been feeling a bit . . . well, weightier than normal. The tailor seems to have incorrectly altered your favorite pants, and all of your T-shirts have mysteriously shrunk in the dryer. If you’ve finally dug out your scale and discovered the awful truth, you probably need a drink. And forget that club soda crap; you need a real drink, a calorie-laden bullet, a celebratory shot that lets you properly welcome your newfound pounds. After three of these, you’ll realize you were actually too skinny before. Bigger is better!
Good Drink: Butterball
½ ounce vodka
½ ounce Baileys or other Irish cream liqueur
½ ounce butterscotch schnapps
Pour the vodka, Baileys, and butterscotch schnapps into a chilled shot glass. Knock it back.
From Bad to Worse: Did the scale go up more than ten pounds? Indulge in a heavy cream floater!
Bad Day: Sold out by friend
Et tu, Brutus? Maybe your “pal” gave you the opposite shoulder tap while the boss was offering up box seats. Maybe she sneakily scored the apartment you’d been eyeing and then acted innocent. Maybe he offered your date a ride home while you were buying the next round. Whatever the reason for the treason, getting sold up the river by a supposed friend always stings. So commiserate with a guy who really got dinged, and relax . . . unlike him, you’ll live to fight another day. Onward!
Good Drink: Bloody Caesar
2 ounces vodka
4 ounces Clamato juice
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon horseradish
2 to 3 dashes Tabasco sauce
2 to 3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Lemon wedge
Celery stick or pickled asparagus for garnish
Shake the vodka, Clamato juice, lemon juice, horseradish, Tabasco, and Worcestershire with ice and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Squeeze the lemon wedge over the drink and drop it in. Garnish with the celery.
Bad Day: Got into a fight
Found yourself embroiled in a knock-down, drag-out fight? Sometimes, push really does come to shove and there’s no turning back. Surely, the other guy (or gal) deserved it. Whether fists actually