By Heather Crawford
It all started with a puzzle I finished at the beginning of the quarantine... A cocktail for each state in the union plus Washington, D.C. I thought it might be fun to make all of the drinks, then I decided to video myself and post on Facebook for all to enjoy. After all, I didn’t have much else to do!
So, on April 1st, I started with Massachusetts and the Cape Codder. I had all the ingredients and, let’s be honest, we’ve all enjoyed a Cape Cod at some point! Since starting the fun cocktail mixing, I have now made thirty-nine total drinks, along with two extras - a “Peep Quarantini” for Easter and a “French 75” for World Cocktail Day. I currently have fourteen state drinks left to make.
During my videos, I keep it quarantine real. I don’t wear makeup or fix my hair and sometimes I still have my pajama pants on. I do have to clean my kitchen every day before the video, so my friends don’t see the dirty dishes in the sink or the snack remnants on the counter. My daughter is usually my camera man but my son and husband have helped too. I also have a little remote that works on my phone for when I’m alone. The three dogs that live in my house contribute too by growling, barking or shaking the tripod as they run by. If we were more tech-minded, I could edit some things out, but when I forget to get the jigger out, the lid to the shaker will have to do!
I’ve definately made some stinkers! The Montana Tornado - similar to a Long Island Ice Tea - was not a hit. Like wise, neither were The Black Gold from Ohio or the Blue Hawaiian from Hawaii.
There have been some new favorites too though! Shockingly, the Mexican Martini, from Texas and the Missouri Mud have been added to my regular rotation of go-to cocktails.
My liquor cabinet now contains Galliano, (which is delicious, by the way), sweet and dry vermouth, slow gin, ruby port and more. I can make just about any cocktail at this point!
During this crazy time, I’ve found a little bit of fun each day making a new cocktail and sharing it with my friends and family around the country. It’s not about the drink - I don’t even finish most of them - it’s about a little happy distraction and a peek into my very imperfect life!
