A Boozy Bourbon/Whiskey Break

An Oh Henry and its ingredients.

As my regular readers (all three of you) may have noticed last fall, grad school put a serious crimp in my blogging updates. In fact, it put a serious crimp in nearly every activity other than reading, writing papers, and plotting demand curves. Therefore, I've been relishing winter break like a convict released from prison, immersing myself in museum-hopping, bread-baking, and novel-reading (just like your average convict...uh...maybe the metaphor doesn't hold.)

In addition to all these high-minded activities, I've also had my share of cocktails--forgoing last semester's $2 happy hour PBRs for drinks with friends at the cozy speakeasy PDT, a bar one reaches through a phonebooth in the St. Mark's hotdog mecca, Crif Dogs. At this tiny spot, reservations are usually advisable (you can call starting at 3 pm the day you'd like the reso), but my friends Bala, Booker and I sneaked in at 7:30 on a Sunday, reservation-less. The schmancy cocktail menu touts an old-fashioned made with bacon-infused bourbon. Considering my maxim, I had to try it--and truly enjoyed the smoky, peaty flavor.

A regular diet of $12 cocktails is too swish for my grad student budget, so J and I have mixed up our own concoctions at home as well. Thanks to my friends at Married...With Dinner I bought a bottle of Benedictine, following my fellow bloggers' instructions for the wintry Oh Henry. In a similar vein, I cracked open my cocktail cookbook, The Art of the Bar, and mixed myself a Bobby Burns. Less sweet than the Oh Henry, Bobby's a stiffer drink -- nearly too stiff for my tastes, though it helped push the thought of 2nd semester out of my mind.

Bobby Burns
2 oz. Scotch
1 oz. sweet vermouth
2 dashes Benedictine
lemon twist

Combine all liquid ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Stir, and strain into a glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

PDT (Please Don't Tell)
Inside Crif Dogs, thru the phone booth to your left
113 St. Marks Pl
New York, NY, 10009
(212) 614-0386