House of Cards released its latest season yesterday. This means that we spent Friday evening on the sofa beholding Francis Underwood’s exploits. Frank, of course, is a southern gentleman from Gaffney, South Carolina. He enjoys himself a stiff bourbon drink.
To make the experience complete, to absorb ourselves in the narrative, we needed to craft the appropriate whiskey cocktail. And, it had to be satisfying because there are 13 episodes, and we were binge watching. Good news. We concocted a magnificent drink that both delighted our palate and helped us fall asleep at a reasonable hour. We dubbed it a Maple Ginger Derby.
Maple Ginger Derby
Ingredients
- Two ounces of bourbon
- One ounce of grapefruit juice
- One ounce of ginger beer
- One tablespoon of maple syrup
Directions
Add bourbon, grapefruit juice, and maple syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until chilled. Open skaker, and add ginger beer. Close shaker. Turn upside down then right-side up. Strain liquid into a glass. Invite a friend, and double the recipe.
You add the ginger beer later because of its carbonation. Shaking it up will pop open the cocktail shaker. If instead of shaking, you are stirring, add all of the ingredients at once.
By the end of two episodes, you’ll be as sober as a bird.
