It is May and I am officially “almost ready” to put the shovel away and bring out the deck furniture. It isn’t quite planting season here in Minnesota, at least not for things that can’t handle frost. But we are getting oh, so close. My wife has her greenhouse up and the plants are at least outside, albeit with a heater to keep them warm at night.
We are so close to travel season too. Well for me at least. I try to take two vacations per year. One is to Kentucky in September. The other varies. Sometimes I escape the winter cold in February. Sometimes I head to the beach. And other times I do something crazy like visit the desert in the summer. That’s what is planned for this summer. I take all of my nieces and nephews on a road trip of their choosing when they turn 7. My niece however has had to wait until she was 10 due to a combination of her family being busy, my finances and then Covid. But this year, now that we are both vaccinated, we head to Utah to show her something new. It should be a great time.
Once we get through Iowa and Nebraska.
In any case, when you are traveling to places off of the beaten path, getting a good cocktail can be challenging. I’ll often just pick up a bottle of bourbon somewhere and call it good. But if I wanted something a little more complex, my options would be limited to what I wanted to bring with. Do I want to bring three bottles along to make a Manhattan? Probably not. But I could be convinced to grab a few small bottles of a pre-made cocktail to throw in the suitcase?
Well that just depends on how good the cocktail is.
Tattersall Distilling Pre-Made Old Fashioned
Purchase Price: $4.99 for a 100 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN.
Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.50
Nose: Malted rye, dried fruits and spices.
Mouth: Sweet with a nice thick mouthfeel. Dried fruit notes are the star of the show here and are supported by the baking spice notes of the bitters.
Finish: Sweet with notes of cherry and baking spices.
Tattersall Distilling Pre-Made Manhattan
Purchase Price: $4.99 for a 100 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN.
Price per Drink (50 mL): $2.50
Nose: Delicate with notes of brown sugar and baking spice.
Mouth: Baking spices, dried fruit and brown sugar.
Finish: Notes of cherry, baking spices, and vermouth. After a bit, a menthol note appears.
Thoughts: Both of these are very good. I think half the fun of drinking cocktails at home is making the cocktails, but if I was traveling I'd happily grab a few of these to toss in the suitcase. They would make a wonderful nightcap after a day of driving, exploring, or hiking. This is something I may have to consider for that upcoming summer trip.
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