I Apparently Have Lost My Ability To Mix A Drink

I used to be able to mix a decent drink, even with limited materials on hand. Granted, I used to tend to mix them a little stronger than most other people liked (my own preferences being a bit to the ‘strong’ side), but they were drinkable. However, since I’ve stopped drinking, apparently my ability to mix a drinkable drink has fallen off a bit.

I was going down to the kitchen last night and my wife asked me to mix her a cocktail. I think she was kidding, but I decided to mix her one anyway. This did not go well.

The liquor wasn’t a problem. There were several choices right in the kitchen. Mixers, however, were another story. Other than the liquor itself, all we had was pure cranberry juice (not a cranberry juice cocktail, no sugar at all) and ice tea.

Still, I did the best I could. I put a little Appleton’s rum in a glass with some ice. Then I added a bunch of blue curacao, some pure cranberry juice, and some water to thin out the pure cranberry juice, and stirred. You see, it was my thought that the good amount of blue curacao would cure the tartness of the pure cranberry juice. Of course, not drinking anymore, I could not taste it to be sure.

I then brought the drink to my wife. She took a sip and her face contorted violently. Apparently, it was still a bit tart.

We were able to fix it, or at least my wife made me think so. She had me get her a packet of Crystal Light pink lemonade powder, which she then added and said it fixed things fine. Of course, she barely drank any of it and put it in the fridge at the end of the night.

So, I guess I can’t mix a drinkable drink anymore. I’ve apparently lost the instinct since I stopped drinking (though I was always big on vodka or bourbon and water so maybe I never really had much instinct on tasty mixed drinks). Next time I’ll just grab her one of her pear ciders or something.