It has been a cold new year and after the activities of the holidays, I have been finding it hard to get back into the daily grind. The cold weather and dark afternoons make photography challenging, though the hungry birds keep coming to supplement their meagre winter calories. With the new year comes a wide variety of sports series to occupy our time inside (I am partial to college gymnastics on the SEC network). One season comes to a close this Sunday with Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. Whether you watch because you are a football fan, a swiftie, or to get a first look at the ridiculously priced commercials, it is sure to be a ratings buster with another match-up between the returning Chiefs and Forty-niners.
I was fortunate today to catch a side-by-side comparison of two difficult to distinguish doppelgangers – a male house finch (left) and a purple finch (right) eating his favorite black oil sunflower seeds. While the house finches are a common year-round fixture of our backyard foliage, purple finches will migrate during the colder months from their northeastern breeding grounds and are glimpsed sporadically in the Carolinas. The male purple finch has a brighter raspberry plumage that extends over his back in addition to the cap and breast he shares with his cousin. Note also the muted belly striping, and the strong facial markings including a white eye stripe behind the beak and a dark line down the side of the throat. They can be found here in winter in a variety of habitats, including shrublands, fields, forest edges, and backyards.
Avoiding the temptation to make a Taylor Swift themed cocktail this week (though a raspberry Champagne cocktail would be a great idea!), I continued my search for a palatable concoction featuring that peculiar ingredient, sweet vermouth. Unimpressed with my Aviation Negroni (you lied, Ryan Reynolds!), I next played with the Manhattan and its cousin, the Old Pal, experimenting with combinations of dry/ sweet vermouth and the less bitter Aperol to Compari. The classic Old Pal cocktail contains rye whiskey, Campari, dry vermouth, and an orange twist. The following recipe preserves the basic bitter and sweet combination while tempering it with the other ingredients to what I believe is a more pleasant experience. I am still a far cry from a sweet vermouth connoisseur, however. My version of the Old Pal became the Patrick My homie, in honor of everyone’s favorite Chiefs’ quarterback and boasts an orangey-red hue similar to the colors of both teams.
Gather your ingredients: Rye whiskey (Woodford Reserve), Aperol, Campari, dry vermouth (Martini & Rossi extra dry), sweet vermouth (Guiseppe B. Carpano). In lieu of a cocktail shaker this time, I used my fancy new crystal mixing glass, bar spoon, strainer, jigger (1.5oz/1oz), 1/2 Tbsp, peeler, and lemon for garnish. I used a football ice cube mold, though you could also pour over a large round ball in a rocks glass.
Patrick Mahomie / Old Pal
1.5 oz rye whiskey
0.5 oz Aperol
0.25 oz Campari
0.5 oz dry Vermouth
0.25 oz sweet Vermouth
Lemon peel, for garnish
Ice cube mold (large ball or football shape)
Place whiskey, Aperol, Campari, dry vermouth, and sweet vermouth into a mixing glass. Fill 1/3 with ice and stir with a long bar spoon for 10-15 seconds to chill.
Strain and pour over a large ice cube in a rocks glass.
Express* a lemon peel over the top, add peel to glass or discard.
*how to express a citrus peel: twist the peel over the surface of the cocktail to release a thin layer of essential oils. You can also run the peel along the rim of the glass to add an extra note of fragrance.
My brief time outside this week was accompanied by my yearly refresher course on the big game since I am, in fact, one of those who only watches one day a year for the commercials. No judgements. Enjoy, and remember to please drink responsibly 🙂
Birds, Books and Bourbon 
So cute!
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