Nine times out of ten, wine is my beverage of choice.
When I’m at a Mexican restaurant and most people are drinking margaritas, I’m drinking wine.
When I’m at a Chinese restaurant and most people are drinking tea, I’m drinking wine.
And when I’m at a barbecue or watching a sporting event or eating a pizza and most people are drinking beer, I’m drinking wine.
And yet—
Sometimes a girl needs a cocktail.
Like when it’s late on a summer’s afternoon and I’ve spent the last couple/few hours working in the yard and I’m hot and tired and borderline cranky and desperately needing to chill.
For those times, I need something icy and cold, something I can enjoy in big gulps if I want to, something delicious and refreshing and that has the satisfying sting of actual hard liquor.
But that’s still, you know, girly.
Something like a Strawberry Vodka and Tonic.
It’s inspired by one of my favorite annual summer traditions—whipping up a batch of this amazing strawberry vodka (thank you, David Lebovitz and Sean Timberlake). The beautifully pink, fragrant, and fruity vodka is delicious enough to enjoy straight, over ice. But I like it best with a splash of tonic. (Here’s the recipe, although you could probably figure it out easily enough.)
This cocktail is so gosh-darned yummy, I’ve been thinking about how I might enjoy something similar other times of year.
Honeydew Vodka and Tonic? Pineapple Vodka and Tonic? Mango Vodka and Tonic?
Yes, please.
After one—or maybe, um, one-and-a-half—of my girly cocktails, the working-in-the-yard crankiness is a distant memory and I’m solidly into summery R&R.
Ready for dinner. And a glass of wine.
