Cocktail Recipe: Summer in Madagascar

I know the springtime refrain as well as you: April showers bring May flowers. But the April gloomy skies make it hard to stay chipper, even if May blooms are imminent. In fact, the gray tinge of the last few weeks has me singing a line from a different song, a favorite from the past, 10,000 Maniacs’ “Like the Weather”: What a cold and rainy day, where on earth is the sun hid away?

There is one way to circumvent the springtime Seattle blahs: have a summer-inspired cocktail. A solid choice in this liquid refusal to be brought down by the weather is a drink called Summer in Madagascar.

It’s a bit fruity, a tiny stitch sweet and delicious. It’ll help you remember the sunny days aren’t too far away. As a bonus, it contains pomegranate juice, alleged to be all kinds of healthy. After a few you’ll be singing a whole different melody, maybe “Summer Breeze” with a slight variation? Summer in Madagascar, makes me feel fine.

This recipe’s from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz: 

Add two strawberries and two blackberries to a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler or long wooden spoon, muddle well. Fill the shaker halfway with ice cubes. Add 1 ounce Navan vanilla liqueur, 3/4 ounces bourbon, 1 ounce cooled black tea, and 3/4 ounces pomegranate juice. Shake well. Fill an Old Fashioned or rocks glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Strain the mix into the glass (I think straining through a fine strainer is a good idea here, if you have one). Garnish with a strawberry and blackberry attached together on a toothpick, as long as you aren’t worried about guests impaling their cheeks.

Photo copyright Jerry Errico and Harvard Common Press, 2011.