The Justin Macalroy

 My daughter shows zero interest in drugs or alcohol or tobacco or anything else that would, under most circumstances, terrify me as a father.

But she does love food, and she has a remarkable palate for someone her age. Such proclivities do not mean that she lacks the fascination, normal for children her age, with sugar, and as such usually wants to crack open a root beer during tippling time so that she can join in the festivities. So, I have taken to making her her own little softdrink cocktail:

2 lemon cubes

3 parts orange juice (1 1/4 oz. jigger)

1/2 oz. grenadine. 

It's a lot of fresh juice and only a tad of added sugar, which certainly beats 12 oz. of cane sugar fueled mess. Gotta keep the vitamin c going...

She named it the Justin Macalroy, after a favorite comic of hers. I'm deliberately misspelling the name because I don't know how to spell it. Also, I don't want him to sue me. 

For those who are keeping score, this is more or less the same recipe for a Montana Sour, and I haven't yet tried the big batch, in part because we won't be attending parties or having dinner guests for some time.

Montana Sours

Sours are an easy go to during quarantine. They are light, not too boozy, and more or less are a vitamin C delivery system after one's normal intake of vitamin C during the day has passed. I've been working on a recipe that is somewhat idiosyncratic, as we will see, but not hard to replicate, season to season or otherwise.

(For 2, I use a 1 1/4 inch jigger)

3 parts orange juice (fresh squeezed, usually two oranges, although three will make 6 parts for refills)

3 lemon ice cubes

2 parts amaretto

1 part Bulleit bourbon

mix all ingredients in a Boston shaker with no ice cubes. serve in a roly poly or old fashioned glass over ice. garnish with orange peel.

The lemon cubes are a staple for us because we have, it would seem, always had a lemon tree in the family, somewhere. It used to be my mom's, and now it is my wife's mom's, and once the lemons drop, there is nothing to do but juice them and freeze them. I'm not sure how much volume is in the cube, but no matter. The sour mix can be adjusted however one likes.

The oranges come from the Santa Monica farmers market. The valencias are in season in December, really juicy and sweet. 

To make this drink, I start by putting out the glasses and the shaker. Before juicing the oranges, I use a mandoline to separate a pith-less bit of peel from the orange. Do it over the cocktail glasses, and it mists them with a nice citrus perfume. Then juice the oranges.

I drop the lemon cube into the shaker, add the orange juice, and then add the amaretto and bourbon. If I need to do anything else, I do. It gives the lemon cube a moment to dissolve. Then I shake it down, until the lemon cube is all but gone. I wait until the last minute to put ice in the glasses, then I pour out the drink (sans strainer!), reserving the froth to garnish both glasses. Then I express the orange peel and drop it on the top. 

I prefer Bulleit Bourbon because it is less oaky and sweet than Woodford or Maker's Mark. Buffalo Trace would work well in this. Definitely steer clear of rye. I prefer Disaronno because the bottle looks pretty, and I haven't yet found a cheap Amaretto that didn't somehow taste cheap. Fresh orange juice is a must, but that goes without saying.

The drink takes its name from the street we live on, where we are spending a good amount of our time these days, or at least crossing, on our walks, during the great pandemic of 2020.