21st November 2012. Another wodge of work has arrived in my intray - 27,000 words-worth of technical French to English translation - ouch! With a bit of luck I should finish it by Christmas.
In the meantime, as winter approaches, I'm starting to get fixated on Stone's Original Green Ginger Wine which, so far, appears to be completely unobtainable down here in deepest south west France. It's an absolutely essential ingredient for one of our all-time favorite drinks. Mixed 50/50 with whisky it makes a Whisky Mac - the perfect winter's drink on a dark night.
What kind of whisky I hear you ask? A quick google search reveals that some people propose using a Single Malt.. <sharp intake of breath!> I'm afraid that here at Piperade Towers that would be classed as Class 1 heresy. Also some people are recommending ginger wine to whisky ratios of 5:1.. More heresy! The right way to mix a Whisky Mac is to pour a finger or two of your blended Scotch whisky of choice, along with an equal measure of Stone's Ginger Wine, into your favorite whisky glass. Note: no ice, repeat, no ice. And that's all there is to it. No slice of lemon, maraschino cherry, salt or sugar around the rim, & definitely no cracked/shaved ice or ice cubes. The only drink better than a Whisky Mac is a second one.☺ If anyone knows of a supplier of Stone's Ginger Wine in the Pays Basque, I'd love to hear from you.
On one of our recent shopping trips to Spain I spotted a bottle of Drambuie. Substituting this for Ginger Wine and mixed with blended whisky in the same proportions as described above, it becomes a Rusty Nail.. One of these should be enough to convince you that you're enjoying life too much. Here's an American recipe for a Rusty Nail that, to me, makes the mistake of overcooling the drink to the point where the taste is lost. It's up to you though. I'm still trying to figure out what "bruising the ice" means?
