My New Favorite Cocktail: Water

Remember yesterday when I said I was going to make some changes in my life so I can be more of a superhuman?  Well, one of those changes is to do something I loathe, which is drinking water.  In my opinion, water is so boring and because I'm always freezing, I generally like to drink things that warm me, like coffee, mint tea, or alcohol.  Unfortunately, drinking only coffee, mint tea and alcohol is not super awesome for my body so I'm taking the plunge and forcing myself to liquify more healthily.  Besides, it's really difficult to stay hydrated when you're crying all the time, and you guys, I have a lot to cry about.  I mean, the Olympics are giving me weepy inspirational stories all the time and I just can't keep it together.  It's messy, but it's great.

Anyway, water!  Bernadette has graciously been supplying me with lots of delicious leaves to spruce up the watery taste from the tap for my more mundane water consumption (I've also come to learn that Le Chat does not like mint water so she's stopped sneaking sips from my glass which is a major win).  When I'm feeling fancy, I like to drink sparkling water with some of Bernadette's offspring and some fresh lemon wedges for a citrusy kick.  This is super yummy and tastes even better if you drink it out of a wine glass because it tricks you into thinking your water is a cocktail which is funfunfun!  When I'm cold- which is always in this sunshine barren country- I can drink hot water with the same ingredients and feel warm. 

So step one has begun!  Please be brave with me as I approach this daunting task of super hydration.  It's going to be boring, but hopefully really great for my skin and as the Olympians are constantly reminding me, I'm not getting any younger.  :(

@ Catalyst

Since moving to Slum Castle in September, David and I have enjoyed exploring all the glorious splendors that the Cambridge restaurant scene has to offer.  Last night, we stopped in Catalyst for a bite to eat and a couple drinks with our friends Coco and Tobi.  I was really pleased with the ambiance of a space, which seemed an effortless marriage between comfortable industrialism and environmental chic.  The food was delicious and the drinks were well-balanced and thoughtfully crafted. 

I started the evening with a drink from the cocktail list, which is something I rarely do, because the Toronto (rye whiskey, fernet, house bitters) caught my eye.  Though I thoroughly enjoyed it, I found it a little too sweet for my savory taste, so I ordered my staple: a Manhattan.  The drinks are a nice, manageable size (they refrain from filling the cocktail to the brim so you don't slosh it all over your dry-clean only sweater on its trip to your mouth- thank goodness!) and I ordered my first Manhattan with Old Overholt and the second with Rowan's Creek, after which I decided to drink my whiskey properly, i.e. straight.  Now, my go-to whiskey is usually Jameson or Blanton's, but the Jameson well had run dry and the bartender suggested I try something different- namely High West Silver Whiskey, an unaged whiskey that, as the name suggests, is silver rather than amber in color.  The initial impact of the High West was more forward than your typical aged whiskey and the taste was brighter and more refreshing (though the color may have impacted my brain to perceive it as such).  Overall I found it to be an interesting change for my palate and am looking forward to trying it again. 

I'm also quite pleased to count High West Silver Whiskey among my whiskey acquaintances because I've always dreamed of having a white party but have been perplexed as to what to serve my dark spirited friends.  Now I can still serve the whiskey drinkers whiskey (Silver Manhattans- yum yum!), while the tequila lovers and vodka sippers have their drinks, too!  And for all you wine drinkers, you will have to drink Grappa or Champagne at my white party.  Sorry, but rules are rules and last I heard, there is no such thing as white Pinot Noir.