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Something that Europeans do very well (that Americans don’t really do at all) is the digestif.  In a lot of places, any decent meal takes a long time and ends with a digestif, a drink designed to aid digestion.  Given the number and range of digestifs, you’d think that Europeans have lots of trouble with indigestion: brandy and whiskey; aromatic wines like port, sherry, and vermouth; French herbal liqueurs like Chartreuse and Benedictine; and all those wonderful Italian bitters like Cynar, Campari, and Zucca (not to mention the deliciously sweet, lemony Limoncello).  Digestifs are traditionally consumed neat or straight, but they also make for some amazing cocktails.  Here’s one you should try after your next big meal: The Widow’s Kiss.

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No, this is not a pie, but it does involve fruit – lots of fruit.  The results can be fantastically complex, but this is one of the simplest to make and best drinks for improvising on a hot summer night.  Throw together some spirits, a little sugar, and a ton of fruit and ice, and you have: The Cobbler.  Here are three basic recipes to get you started, but play around with this one.  It’s hard to go wrong!

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Our nation’s capital is, in many ways, a really great city.  Nole and I have called it home for about a decade and we have no plans to leave any time soon.  But that’s not to say DC doesn’t have its drawbacks, not the least of which is the oppressively hot and humid summer.  Last summer, it got as hot around here as it was in Baghdad and we’ve already had days in the 80s (in early March!).  Congress gets to go on recess during the summer, but for the rest of us who aren’t so lucky, there’s the Gin Rickey.

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With spring just around the corner, it seemed appropriate to share a recipe for one of the most popular spring and summer cocktails – although the key ingredient might also be among the most misunderstood in American cocktails.  Along with its close relative the Daiquiri, there are few drinks as abused in American drinking culture as the Margarita.  I’m sure there are plenty of bars that serve great, authentic Margaritas, but the sickly sweet, blended drink that most people experience is a pale shadow of this classic drink.

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