Well, the last few weeks–actually all of June–have been nuts. It’s been a blur of work, work, and more work, with some travel and quality time with friends and family mixed in for sanity. But, still, too busy to allow for anything extra, including blog post, bread making, and consistent exercise. That kind of busy wears you down eventually, especially when it starts to feel like the new normal. Yesterday was a very long day; it started for me at 3:30 a.m. in Copenhagen and ended close to midnight in Seattle…oof, long day. Thankfully, it was Friday and, you know what that means: pizza and cocktails, with an added bonus of the company of our friends, Justin and Ruth.

I’d had an idea for a cocktail that I’d been kicking around in my head for a couple of weeks that I hadn’t got to try because the aforementioned nuts-oh time. So, last night, I gave it a go. I made a couple of different versions and had three willing taste-testers to give me their input. Both had gin and grapefruit as their base but little tweaks wildly changed their flavor profile–one with an apricot liqueur and one with Jägermeister. The one with apricot was good but not good enough; it still needs a little tweaking. For now though, guys, seriously, Jägermeister, gin, and grapefruit turned out to be the best of friends. Jägermeister is a crazy mix of 56 ingredients, a company secret since the 1930s, that many of us in the U.S. associate with rowdy college parties and terrible hangovers but that is commonly enjoyed–not to the point of oblivion–as an after-dinner digestif in Germany. It was the perfect last minute addition to this cocktail and a lovely start to pizza and cocktails with friends!

Like I said earlier, this month has been crazy busy and it’s not quite over yet. Hopefully, after this coming week, there will be a little breather and things will be back to a more standard level of busy–hopefully. For now, friends, it’s the weekend! One where there’s not much to do besides hang out with some of my favorite people and enjoy tasty food, oh, and bake some bread and finally write a post!

Hunting Citrus

2 oz. Gin
3/4 oz. Fresh Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 oz. Honey syrup*
1/4 oz. Jägermeister
Dash of Aromatic Bitters
Grapefruit peel & thin lemon slice for garnish

Details

• Add all ingredients except the peel to a cocktail shaker; fill to the top with ice. Shake vigorously for a minute.
• Strain into a chilled coup glass & garnish.

*Honey syrup: Equal parts honey & hot water–stir until the honey dissolves.