I’m back in NYC, y’all. The weather in LA was beautiful, but I’m glad to be home with the hubs! On my way back to Brooklyn, I made a PITT stop in Pittsburgh to see my family and friends for my birthday and had the best time. I also shopped my little heart out. I don’t know why, but I bought these pants. I also made my mom take me to the fancy mall in Pittsburgh to pick up a pair of my favorite jeans and this cute top. Whenever I’m knee deep in work, I always think I deserve to treat myself and it just sucks for my finances that I’m never not knee deep in work :)

To honor my homecoming, I decided to make this Manhattan and of course, I couldn’t make it without a touch of the steel city. NYC and Pittsburgh will always have me torn and this happens every time I go home - I get very confused about where I want to be. It also doesn’t help that I have a life partner now. I’m hoping that one day we’ll both wake up and have a plan, but until then I’m just going to live in the moment and think about sipping cocktails al fresco as soon as the weather is nice!

So, cheers to 15 days to Spring!

Ice
2 parts Wigle whiskey
1 part sweet vermouth
1 to 2 dashes bitters
Orange peel
Maraschino Cherries (Don’t judge, but I used the ones from the jar - this girl ain’t got no time to make the real deal, though it’s much preferred)

Place ice in a cocktail shaker. Add the whiskey, vermouth and bitters. Rub the orange peel around the rim of the cocktail glass and strain the drink into the glass. Add 1 to 2 cherries.

Let's face it - we're all going to be consuming a lot of alcohol over the next couple of weeks whether we like it or not. And I'm not complaining about it because I AM excited to see some friends, but I just haven't been in the mood to drink. I’ve been in this hermit-lazy mode as of late…mostly because I’m so busy at work and the only person I want to see lives with me. But If I must drink (and by must, I mean everyone else is drinking so I feel compelled to join), my beverage of choice is the Dark n' Stormy. I find this drink to be very refreshing, I like to think the ginger is good for me and I don't feel like shit the next day - all things you need to consider post-30.

I featured this recipe a couple years back, but wanted to re-share now that I have more readers - yay! It’s like a Moscow Mule, but made with rum instead of vodka…woohoo! Did you know I despise vodka? Anyway, I hope you try and enjoy.

Cheers!

Ingredients

Ice
1/4 lime
2 ounces Gosling's Black Seal Bermuda Black Rum
6 ounces of ginger beer
Lime wedge, for garnish

Directions
Fill a glass with ice. Squeeze the lime wedge over the ice in the glass and add the ginger beer and rum. Stir lightly and garnish with another lime wedge.