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A Drink A Day: A Whole Year of Cocktails

January 4, 2010 by Danielle

So here we are folks. A whole year of cocktails. I thought the best way to say “sayonara” to this column was to do a lesson’s learned a mini recap of the past year, and also to answer some common questions I’ve received all year as well.

1.) Did you really make all of these cocktails?

Yes. And no. Did I really make hundreds of cocktails this year? Yes, but there were some were I explicitly noted that I either didn’t make it or didn’t drink it. Generally this was due to one of my bizarre food allergies (e.g. Domaine Canton ginger liqueur) but sometimes it was also because of time constraints. I also had some help from other BYT’ers on this column. I have a lot more respect for people who write something daily for this site and dammit, you should too. Next time you see Svetlana, Libby or Cale give them a hug. They’ve earned it.

2.) So you must have spent a lot of money on this, right?

Oh, Jesus Christ. I don’t even want to think about it. I stopped counting back in March. I started buying basics like vodka and gin in massive, jug-sized quantities just to keep up.  If you take nothing from this little wrap up know this: I did actually make these drinks, and I did actually spend a crap ton of money. I received no promotional bottles and no monetary support. And I’m not complaining; I wanted to do this my way, and I did. I learned a lot. And spent a lot. But I think it was worth it.

3.) What did you learn?

Glad you asked. I learned that much like the animal kingdom, cocktails are as an inbred species subject to evolution. A lot of popular cocktails are related some way or another: a Sidecar is a Margarita made with cognac, which essentially is a Pisco sour, and if you throw in Chartreuse it’s a Brandy Daisy. The trick to knowing about cocktails is to know how and why they’re all related. I loved learning the history and stories behind the drinks and learning the finer points of making cocktails. It’s certainly a conversation topic at parties.

However, doing a drink a day became one giant pain in the ass. It took all the fun out of cocktails. I started to tire of the column by late February. By August I was about ready to give up. It felt like work; every evening researching a cocktail and making it (which generally included running to the store because I was always missing one small ingredient), taking notes and emailing them to myself so I could work on a column the next morning first thing. I’m kind of surprised my boss never found out about this, actually. It’s a New Year’s Miracle!

But anyways. I’m glad I did this column, but there’s a direct link between doing something (almost – I did miss a few days here and there) every day and enjoying it less and less. What I loved most was that you all kept me on my toes and called me out for ignorance/incorrect information. Remember the Moscow Mule, and how I didn’t know it was served in a copper mug? I do, because you all called me out on it, and that’s why I never order it anymore. Cheers!

4.) Common remark: “You made a drink a day? Your poor liver!

Not really, actually. In the beginning I went a little overboard, trying to do multiple drinks in a night. Bad idea. My palate was shot and I got really drunk. As the year went on I fine-tuned it. I could make a drink and write it up within an hour, or if I had to write it out later I took notes and could do it in under 30 minutes. I stuck to making just one drink a night, and it didn’t turn me into a wino. Having one drink a day is not bad by any means – I compare it to having a glass of wine with dinner. Higher proof wine I suppose, but it’s manageable.

On the other hand, I seemed to have missed that lesson that everyone else learned in college: you can’t drink every night and not gain weight. Seriously. If I were more mathematically inclined I’d represent this as a proof or formula (or whatever…frankly I suck at math). My liver was fine. The pants, not so much. Honestly the hardest part of doing a drink a day was managing the fact that I was essentially drinking 300-400 extra calories a night and while doing so was probably watching TiVo’d episodes of “Gilmore Girls”. So not only did I collect a lot of bottles this year, I also got a gym membership and got really good at yoga. Alcohol, even relatively simple stuff like Gin and Tonics, is so insanely, mind boggling-ly caloric (to give you an idea, one Gin and Tonic is equal to a Boston Creme Donut at Dunkin Donuts). Jesus, I know mentioning “calories” in a food post makes me sound neurotic, but this is what food bloggers and drink columnists don’t tell you. Things like cocktails, promotional drinks, and food tastings can give you a fat ass quicker than you can say “shaken, not stirred”. Sorry if I just ruined the mystique for you.

5.) What’s next for this column?

Bigger, badder, in your face X-TREME COCKTAILS. Not really. What I want to do now is focus more on my first love, my first column Uncorked DC. I want to bring you more news and give you more learnin’ about wine and spirits in an easy-to-read, snark-ridden format.  I want to bring you interviews with area bartenders, ban the word “mixologist” (oh how I wish I could), show you how to make your favorite cocktails from area restaurants at home, and sample as many drinks out as I can to tell you what’s good and what could use more bitters. All that and more. Much more. Here’s hoping to seeing more of DC cocktails in 2010 and remember, chase your headache with Advil, not Tylenol!

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