All my creative pursuits.
The spot was still warm where he’d slept
I buried my head in the pillow and wept
Where once there’d been magic
Our love had turned tragic
When, from our bed at first light he had crept
In response to Mind and Life Matters limerick challenge.
After a lot of hard work, an actual editor’s polishing, and a professional cover design, Book Three of The Bucks County series is here! This is Joni and Graham’s story. Even if you haven’t read the first two books of the series, you will recognize Graham from the prequel short stories: Lips Like Sugar and Dear Mr. Fantasy that appeared in Sunday’s Song Lyric in the last couple months. Run For It is available in print and e-book on Amazon. You can find it here. I hope you all will enjoy:
Joni Cooper is in the best shape of her life. In fact, she’s training for the Boston Marathon. So why does she feel like the last kid picked for the team? Mostly because her two best friends have fallen in love with a pair of handsome brothers. It looks like she’s stuck with the third and final brother, Graham, as an escort for both weddings. Even though Graham is gorgeous and successful, he’s also irritating as sin. Will the two of them manage to call a truce until the two couples are married? Or will the sparks these two generate erupt into a five alarm fire?
It’s week two of the Year of Drinking Adventurously. Bourbon. (Find all 52 entries, here.)
This week we cross the pond from Scotland to the southern United States to sample bourbon, America’s most famous spirit. Bourbon has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity recently. Even cool kids like Hilary Clinton are drinking it.
Now, I’m not going to pretend that I haven’t been caught up in this wave of bourbon trendiness. Honestly, three or four years ago, I wouldn’t have touched the stuff given another whiskey option. That’s what happens when your earliest bourbon memories are sneaking a taste of your Dad’s Old Grandad on the rocks when he isn’t looking. Blech.
Then I met Woodford Reserve and my life was forever changed. The thing I hated about bourbon was that “corny, sour mashy” taste and smell. The Woodford had none of that. Recently, I acquired a bottle of Blanton’s Bourbon and it’s become my new favorite.
However, I can’t find it in my local liquor store leaving me to buy this instead:
So how does one drink their bourbon? Straight up? Yes. But I can’t keep posting that every week, you’ll stop reading. Here are 2 of my favorite options:
1. The classic Manhattan:
In a shaker with ice: 3 oz. bourbon, 1 oz. sweet vermouth, 2-3 dashes bitters, 1 Maraschino cherry. Shake and pour into Martini glass or if you prefer, serve on the rocks.
I know it looks like a girly drink but if you were hoping for a Cosmo, you will be sorely disappointed. You have to like whiskey to like this cocktail.
2. The bourbon hot toddy:
(No photo because it looks like a cup of tea)
In a small sauce pan: 3-4 oz. bourbon, juice of half a lemon (or a fresh orange or tangerine is nice too), 1-2 tablespoons honey, water to dilute (not too much!) Heat until honey has dissolved (don’t boil it or you’ll cook off the alcohol and then what would be the point?), serve in a teacup or mug.
Comfort in a cup! Nice on a sore throat, too. Even my tea-totaling Nana would have a hot toddy when she had a chest cold. This was the perfect drink for me with the nagging cough I’ve been battling.
I struggled to tie this into writing. Bourbon was the drink of choice for some famous authors like William Faulkner, Hunter S. Thompson and Samuel Clemens. Bourbon is featured in the lyrics of over 400 hundred songs. I’m sure it’s fueled the muse in many famous drinkers over the years. That’s all I got!
Make sure you check out Lula’s post today. She wrote about rye, bourbon’s kissing cousin!
Meg Sorick, Author/Artist 