#81: Apple Martini 2

1/2 oz Orange Liquer
1/2 oz Sour Apple Liquer
3 oz Vodka
Dash of Cognac or Brandy
Combine in a mixing glass filled with ice and shake
Strain into a chilled glass, and garnish with a lime

There is a note at the end of this recipe to see the Sour Apple Martini later in the book. Flipping to that page, I saw that this has the brandy, the orange liquer, and uses a lime as garnish. It will be interesting to see the difference in tastes, but that is a long way down the road.

Now this was a Martini! The apple flavor was perfectly balanced with the vodka, and there was more crispness to this version than the one yesterday. The regular vodka instead of the apple vodka provided more of a bite.

The orange liquer injects just a tiny touch of noticeable flavor, but the lime garnish really makes this drink stand out. Running it around the outer rim of the glass before sipping really enhanced all the other flavors, and in my opinion made this a top notch drink.

I wasn't sure what the brandy added to this, other than giving it the smallest bit of depth on the flavor profile. Otherwise without it I think the drink would fall a bit flat. It certainly doesn't take much to make a drink better, as long as it is just the right ingredient. The brandy also adds some obvious color. Again not much, but it is noticeable.

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When my wife and I take our dog for a walk, we almost always take her alone, otherwise she gets distracted from the task at hand and thinks it is play time. Getting her to do her business can then take half an evening.

When we come in, we have had to let each other know what she has done, so the other person knows what to expect, how long it might be until next walk, and about how long that walk will be.

One day the dog had accomplished both tasks in a relatively short amount of time, and I decided to give it a code name. We now call getting both done on one walk "pulling a Lawrence Welk", as in "a-one and a-two".* It just sounds so urbane. Well, maybe just better than shouting out the alternative every time you walk through the door. I sear we spend more time talking about her bowel movements than anything else. (the dog's not my wife's) My wife rolled her eyes and thought it was the stupidest thing ever when I first said it, but now she does it too, almost every time. Sometime humor just has to grow on you.

*If you don't get this, you are much younger than me, obviously. Find a grandparent, or at least someone over 40, to explain. Then get off my lawn.