The Raven Haired Mix Master TB!

If you have the nerve to call yourself a LIQUOR STORE, you should sell bitters; there is no excuse not to.

I, stupidly, stopped in a local establishment that was advertised to be a Liquor Store.

As I entered, the proprietor asked if he could help me.

“Where are your bitters?” I asked in my most pleasant, post-workday voice.

The response I received was “Bitters? That whiskey?”

For fuck’s sake.

I almost launched into an explanation of how I was on a mission to create The CY, but once I made eye contact with the man behind the counter, with his vacant, yet exotic, stare, I knew he would not appreciate my mission.  I saved my breath, turned on my heel and walked out.

Since my only objective for the evening was to experiment with bourbon cocktails, I decided to head to The Party Source, I knew they had bitters… and what craft cocktail doesn’t have a drop or 2 of bitters??  None that I’m interested in…

So off I went, crossing the Licking River, heading to the little hamlet of Bellevue.

Aaahhhhhh Party Source… such a magical place.  With their bottles of spirits, lined up so neatly, calling to me from their repose on the shelves.  Their accents so tempting, the Spanish wines, the French liqueurs, my KY bourbons with the voices like mine… all beseeching me to touch them, gently stroke their necks, as I long to draw them to my lips...

But… I shook off the temptation… I headed first to the tool aisle, and picked up a utilitarian muddler… I am a fan of the muddled fruits.  Then I headed over to the bitters aisle.

I wanted them all!  But, as I am still a budget gal, I chose 2 of the Bitterman Bitters, Orange and Burlesque.  I also picked up some lavender, hibiscus and jasmine waters.  Before I left I grabbed a bottle of ginger liqueur and some Bushmills Irish Whiskey.

The Pre-Experimentation ingredients.

So, my cocktail idea was to use Bourbon (of course), apple juice, bitters, and who-knows-what-else…

After a few that were bourbon-heavy, but still palatable, I came up with one I liked.

Bourbon, sparkling apple juice, ginger liqueur, brown sugar simple syrup, and a dash of lavender water, with 2 muddled cherries.

Very tasty!

The Cy prototype.

I’m not sure that it’s the final Cy… but it’s a good start!

The lab, post experimentation.

CHEERS!!

After the cocktail experimentation, I felt pretty good, so I decided to try on the Halloween costume.  I am going to be a slutty, Parisian vampire.  Slutty for Halloween really goes without saying, right?

Raven haired TrippyBeth!

I am simply mad about the black wig!  I always thought that I was too pale to pull off black… but I’m diggin it!  I felt like a different girl!  FUN!

Come on Halloween!!!