Holy Salchow, Boozers. We’ve flipped for the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships, taking place right now in Bensenville, Illinois. What we particularly like about this event is its equal-opportunity vibe, as the skaters range from former ballerinas who can pull off a Biellmann Spin to, well, Mickey Bolek.
Mickey is our local hero — a super nice guy with a hair salon down the street from the Good Booze digs — and he picked up a pair of skates seven years ago to fulfill his childhood fantasy of gliding across the ice like Peggy Fleming, maybe with Dick Button doing a little cackling commentary on the sidelines. He’s made DC proud, the ultimate feel-good story about following your dreams at mid-life, a Julia Child moment in sparkly spandex.
Later today, Mickey will step onto the rink for his first national competition and we think that deserves a special cocktail. As DC is the home of the celebrated Gin Rickey, we thought it only fitting to reinterpret it today as the Gin Mickey — an icy scoop of frozen gin and lime topped off with fizzy club soda. We’ll be swigging it to the tune of “I’m Too Sexy” as Mickey shimmies his way to skating glory — at least his own version of it. Spin it, baby.
Gin Mickey
You know we loves us a granita, so we whipped one up for this Tipple out of lime juice, superfine sugar, and Catoctin Creek Organic Watershed Gin. Granitas can be finicky sometimes, so if it’s not setting up the way you like, add a little more fresh juice and check it every hour or so in the freezer. In a pinch, you can throw a soft granita mixture into a blender with a couple of ice cubes, whiz it up, and then refreeze, which actually gives the granita a pleasing sorbet-like quality.
1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup gin
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (we used superfine, which dissolves well)
1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
Chilled club soda
Mix together the first four ingredients in a bowl (taste to adjust sweetness if too tart) and pour into a shallow baking pan. Place in freezer and check every hour or so; as it begins to freeze, stir gently with a fork or spoon and put back in freezer. This process can take from 4 to 8 hours until it reaches a frozen consistency, then can be stored in the freezer until you are ready to use.
Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, scoop a large ball of the granita, about two or three inches in diameter, and put into a chilled martini or cosmopolitan glass. Top with about two ounces of the chilled club soda and enjoy immediately.
Good Booze 