Getting Smashed

It's Monday. What can I say except I miss the weekend already. I'm having separation anxiety and am wondering how I'll survive until Friday when the weekend comes back to greet us with hopefully this in hand:

It's my 2011 Drink of Summer. I tend to get on these kicks and right now this is it: the Bourbon Blackberry Smash. I first had a version of this a few months ago at a restaurant in town. It was called Red Rocks, which I think is quite a clever name. [I'm in marketing so I can't help but evaluate things like this on menus. . . . ]

But as I ponder how to brand my version, I think I'll call mine Bourberry.

Consider this your gateway drug to bourbon if you think you don't like it. 'Cuz after tasting this, you'll wonder how you made it so many years without this lovely liquor. The next thing you know you'll be drinking two fingers (or sometimes six) "neat" out of a lovely old fashioned glass (or plastic cup).

It really is the perfect summertime drink. The rich, tart fruit at its peak is the perfect match for the wood undertones you find in bourbon. And the sparkling lemonade adds just enough crispiness to it to really quench your thirst. Well, not that you'll want to stop at just one. And because it's considered a "smash," the blackberry seeds are intentionally unstrained , so it's the lazy man's cocktail. Perfect for when it's too hot to do any heavy lifting and you'd rather laugh at the silly face the seeds and lemon slice made in your drink.

I must say, it is rather perfect to sip from the veranda or the pool — or anywhere else for that matter.

So I hope you'll join me this weekend (or tomorrow) and get "smashed!" I hate to drink alone.

Bourberry

Makes 1 drink, but you'll want to quadruple this so plan accordingly

Ingredients

3 oz fresh blackberries

2 oz bourbon

1.5 oz sparkling lemonade (or club soda with some fresh lemon juice squeezed in it)

1/2 oz simple syrup (1:1 ratio sugar to water - or some agave syrup if you're lazy)

lemon wedge for garnish

Directions

Muddle blackberries in a glass. Fill with crushed ice. Add bourbon, sparkling lemonade and simple syrup. Garnish with a lemon slice and sip!